“But your dead will live, LORD; their bodies will rise– let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy– your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.” Isaiah 26:19.

In yesterday’s insight, we discussed what happens at the time of death. Death is simply the separation of your soul from the body. “The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:7. At the time of death, the spirit God gave inside you pass away or fly away from you. However, your soul or spirit went home to be with the Lord in heaven, does not stay in a dis-embodied condition forever.

2nd Corinthians 5:2-3 says, “That is why we look forward eagerly to the day when we shall have heavenly bodies that we shall put on like-new clothes.  For we shall not be merely spirits without bodies.” TLB. Bible says we look forward to a day when we put new glorified bodies on us like new clothes, for we shall not be merely spirits without bodies. The intermediate state after death and before the resurrection of the bodies and the desire to be clothed over is in view here in these verses of 2nd Corinthians. 

Beloved, even though the spirit is separated from the body at the time of our death, this separation of the spirit from the body or the intermediate state is not permanent. It says, “But your dead will live, LORD; their bodies will rise– let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy– your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.”

1st Thessalonians 4:13-18 gives more details about the resurrection day when the departed spirit would be clothed with new and glorified bodies. One day soon, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came down to pay the price of your sin and then ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9-11), will come down from heaven to the clouds, with a loud shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet call of God, all the dead in Jesus Christ will wake up and rise from the ground. The soul of a person, who believed in Jesus as his or her savior, goes home in heaven at the moment of death. Later, at the time of the rapture, when the Lord descends from heaven with a shout, the voice of the archangel and trumpet of God, he will rise from the ground. Where ever and however died, they will resurrect from there-ground, or sea or in ashes. God, who created everything from nothing by His powerful voice, would be able to raise your corpse or body from wherever you went down. 

The first thing that happens at the time of the rapture is the resurrection of the dead in Jesus Christ. Along with it, the dead in Christ-believers in Christ, who live at that time and never died, will be caught up together to the clouds. We all will meet the Lord in the clouds. 

The salvation God grants would be complete at that point. Your spirit in the Lord’s presence in an intermediate state, because death already happened, would be clothed with the brand new, beautiful, glorified, celestial body at the time of the rapture. Those believers who live when the rapture happens would never face death. They would be instantly transformed and caught up to the clouds to meet the Lord. We will be with the Lord forever. Bible says to be joyful and comforted in this blessed hope of our beautiful future.  

Therefore, death is not a bad thing for a believer in Christ. A person who accepted Jesus Christ as their savior and Lord, death is not non-existence. It is just a separation of his spirit from the body and at home with the Lord in full awareness and bliss. Although he is in an intermediate state, a believer never dies and he gets the glorified body to put over as a new cloth. 

Remember, Jesus said to Martha in John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Your source of resurrection and life is Jesus Christ. The one who professes his or her belief in Jesus will never die but continues to live.

Beloved, did you accept Jesus into your life? Did you believe in Him? If not, it is not late even today because you haven’t died yet. Would you pray and accept Jesus as your savior now?

“Father in heaven, I believe You sent Your one and only Son Jesus to forgive me, save me and grant me eternal life in heaven. I believe Jesus died for my sins, buried, and victoriously rose again. I accept Him as my savior. Please save me. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen.