Question about after you die.?

Question

Please atheists, I truely believe in God, and I'm greiving so much right now, I can't handle any rude remarks about God.

My Mother just died last Wednesday. I know in the bible it says "To be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord." And I know Jesus said to the thief on the cross that "Surely you will be in heaven with me "today". But, then it says that the dead are sleeping. They know nothing. Untill the ressurection I assume. Can anyone explain any of this to me. I'm so confused. I don't understand. I'm just wondering more now because of my Mother. I KNOW she was saved and accepted Jesus as her savior. I hope this makes sense to you. Please help me to understand this more. My heart is hurting. And I'm praying to God for help. It's only been a few days and I know it will come in time for me, but for now, it just really hurts.

Answer 1

I would have to do some research to be 100% sure, but I seem to recall hearing that Christians that die are immediately present with the Lord, but that others must sleep until Judgement Day. I think the idea is that they will not be punished until they've had their day in court (so to speak).

I am very sorry for your loss.

Answer 2

At the point of death the soul goes to be either with Our Lord in Heaven or to Hell. You said that your mother was saved then she simply went to sleep and awakened in the portals of Heaven, and that is where she is. The body lays sleeping until we receive our glorified bodies. So yes your mother is in Heaven. So don't worry, she will be there waiting for you. Just remember Christians don't die they just change where they live. I know it has got to be hard, and the only thing we can do is hold on to our faith and believe, your separation from her will be short and soon you will see her. She hasn't left you and really isn't that far away, Shes in our Fathers hands and there isn't a better place to be. I'll pray for Jesus to give you the understanding and the peace in your heart, and to take away the hurt that you are feeling. Be Blessed

Answer 3

There are a couple schools of thought here. Jesus said to the thief that he would be with Him in "paradise". This is not the same as heaven. Some teach that when Jesus died, He took the souls from paradise to heaven with Him, because the debt was paid. So Paul's words, "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord," make sense if you believe this. Others teach that the dead are indeed, 'asleep' and that when Christ returns, the dead will rise first, and then we which remain, will be caught up with Him. They ascribe to the belief that when a person dies, they are still 'in paradise' and awaiting their journey to heaven. Which ever is true, I am sure your mom is very happy where she is, and you will see her again someday.

Answer 4

Dear Shari, Read the story of Jesus and Lazarus. John 11:1-44; 12:1.
At first Jesus said Lazarus was asleep and His disciples thought that Lazarus would be OK when he woke up. Jesus then clearly told the disciples that Lazarus was dead.
Jesus clearly equates death with sleep.
Your mother now sleeps, untouched by the cares and worries of this world. She, like all the saints who have gone before her now awaits the resurrection and the next face she sees will be that of Jesus her Saviour when he comes to gather His own.
When Jesus told the thief that he would be in heaven He did not mean that literal day. He was telling him that day. In fact Jesus died before the thief who was taken down from his cross, his legs were broken and the two thieves were rehung after the Sabbath so they would probably have died on the Sunday or Monday. The problem with this text arises from the placement of the comma. Punctuation is NOT inspired and did not appear until the mid 16th century. The comma should appear after the word "today", not before it because it reflects common theological thinking but not Biblical Truth.
Take comfort in the Scriptures - 1 Cor.15:35-49; vv 50-58; 1 Thess.4:13-18;
I hope that this is of comfort to you in the time of your sad loss.

Answer 5

I am very sorry for your loss, and I am praying for you even as I write this.

I know of the passages you wrote about, and you are definitely on the right track. When it is talking about those two, to be absent from the body means that her spirit is now with God. What it means when it says they are sleeping is that it means they are not dead forever. Their bodies will be raised and renewed without any more weaknesses or problems when Jesus comes back to take everyone.

Answer 6

The bible has a lot of conflicting items in it, mainly due to the many times it's various books have been translated over the centuries. What may translate as "sleeping" one time may translate as "resting" the next, and then something else several times over until the meaning is changed.

I can't speak much for the Christian belief system (so many churches, so many interpretations of God's word), but I believe your mother's spirit is alive & well in the afterlife. She knows you're grieving and she loves you still, because our memories and our feelings are what we take with us when we cross over. Don't grieve too much, because death is just as much a part of life as birth, and just as necessary.

When my mother passed I found I could communicate with her through prayer. Follow the same pattern you use to pray to God or Jesus, but focus on your mother instead. Talk to her as if she's in the room with you, standing right next to you - because she is. Open your heart and you'll feel her spirit and her love.

Answer 7

Please dont fret loss is hard to deal with but its a natural part of life. I have been through the loss of many that I care for but I have found peace in the lord. A very powerful man named Reggie Dabbs once said that as your friends and relatives lay sick you pray for healing, healing comes one way or the other. They are eather healed physicaly and temporarily or they are healed forever in the house of the lord. Heaven does exsist, it is there.
Isaiah 40:28-31
28Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Answer 8

Let me say this, you answered your own question to be absent with the body is to be present with the Lord. As soon as you die you are immediately in the Lords presence and if she had received Jesus Christ she is with him and with all the believers of old in heaven conscience I should say also. I think where you draw the misunderstanding is that her earthly body is sleeping and awaiting resurrection and is in the ground but she is in heaven fully aware.

Answer 9

what if i told you that you have a soul and that when you die you will in fact continue to exist in another format in another realm... even better! when you get there, you will see your mother and everyone you loved so dearly... would that not calm you, console you from the terror and devastation that you get from fearing your own demise. what a nice little white lie. even i think this sounds great and awesome.

why is your particular belief system correct?
i understand the whole faith-robot paradox, but why doesn't this hypothetical moral experimenter just communicate to us directly? why do i need to have faith for my desires or wishes to come true? where is your "locus of control"? do you believe in magic? when you pray to your god is there any responding stimuli perceivable to you through your senses? are you gnostic or have you ever had direct communication with spiritual or supernatural entities?

my grandfather died last january, and honestly, i would rather have him cease to exist than have to endure the sufferings and agony of kidney cancer.

some geneticists, as i have gathered, are working on a way to slow the natural process of aging in humans (homo sapiens). plus, medical science has improved both the duration and quality of life - i should hope. hopefully, our diverse beliefs won't get in the way of creating our own paradise while we can, for the living.

Answer 10

I'm so sorry for your loss. I know it's hard to lose someone so close. You just have to remember. The moment she left, she floated to Heaven, she's watching you right now and admiring what a wonderful job she did raising you - And there is Jesus, sitting right next to her, admiring the exact same thing. You will get through this, I know you will.

xx <3