I was searching the internet and came across this statement; “The dying process usually begins well before death occurs.” I thought “Wow, that’s true!”
I think the dying process starts at birth for those who are not Christians. However, Christians have a different plan of action.
John 8:51 Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.” NKJV
Let me tell you what happens when I’m teaching a new group of people, and I mention a promise that they have never heard before, like the one above. Immediately, their foreheads get wrinkled, and their eyes squint, as if they are looking through the sun, and their lips get twisted.
Sometimes they even challenge a promise in the Bible with a different verse as if both cannot be true. Usually when I mention the promise above, someone will say “It has once been appointed for man to die,” and then they will interpret that to say something like, “we all have a set date with death that cannot change.”
The problem here is that if we never hear a complete message, our interpretation will always be off. Yes, our day to die has been appointed, according to Hebrews 9:27, but we can add to our days, and have them taken away, depending on how we live.
Proverbs 9:11 For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you. NKJV
Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the Lord prolongs days, But the years of the wicked will be shortened. NKJV
Proverbs 4:10 Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And the years of your life will be many. NKJV
Psalm 55:23 But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction; Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; But I will trust in You. NKJV
Now you should be able to see that the day appointed for any of us to die can be moved out, or brought closer, and that is determined by how we live. That doesn’t mean that everyone’s day to die starts off being set at 80 years old, but only that we can add to, or take away from the date set.
Just as those promises are true, so it is with John 8:51, above. If we keep Jesus’ Word we will never see death. Whoever does not believe that promise, cannot possibly receive that promise (James 1:5-7), and the same goes for any promise in the Bible.
It doesn’t say that our body will not die, but that there are things that we can do in order to never see it. Flesh and blood will not be going to Heaven.
1 Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. NKJV
Therefore, what we look at in the mirror every morning will not be going to Heaven. We will have new bodies, and the type of body we will have depends on how we live here on earth.
Daniel 12:2-3 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever. NKJV
1 Corinthians 15:35-45 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” 36 Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. 37 And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain — perhaps wheat or some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.
39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds. 40 There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. NKJV
As you can tell by the verses, the way we live our everyday life will determine, not only where we end up, but how we will be in the life to come. Knowledge is the key.
I’m Alan Ballou; a servant. If I may be of service to you, please contact me. Click here to send me a note.
