Christian Family Services Ministry

11-7-2019 – A Word to the Wise – DEATH AND DYING AND THE HEREAFTER

What happens after death; the state of the Christian? I want to clearly state in the beginning that these are my opinions not revelation. The reader may take comfort or warning as the circumstances may warrant. They are thoughts based on bits of scriptures throughout both the Old and New Testament.

I have decided not to give the scriptural references for the student of the Word references will be clear.
Some observations are based on my own personal experiences. Others are based on the experiences of others. I state again these are my musings and one may take them, disagree, or even perhaps agree as they may choose. There is no way these things can be known empirically.

At the time of death a transition state begins. During this time the spirit of that person in some cases may communicate with others of their passing however, it does not always occur. The experience may be one of sadness or a feeling of a deep sense of sadness or satisfaction depending on how the person dying lived their life and how the person living experienced that person’s life. This experience may not be limited to death.

After the initial experience of death the person or spirit of that person, if they are godly is comforted by angels or the Holy Spirit. Time is now timeless so specific periods are different from one circumstance to another. Lazar, one may note did not speak nor respond to the rich man yet was comforted.

Shortly after the next stage occurs. Its purpose is to comfort the living and the dead or announce judgment. It would seem that the Samuel and Saul encounter represents this stage. Samuel being woken from his ‘sleep’ pronounces God’s judgment on Saul as well as informing him of that which was to occur.
Here I insert my own personal experiences.
My mother died in 1984. It was a tremendous loss for me for she had been a source of wisdom. I felt within my spirit not from any discussion with my mother or knowledge from any other source that I would know her presence.

For months I waited. Nothing. Then 9 months later in the middle of the night I felt her presence. She woke me and started to talk to me. I thought I was dreaming so got up and went downstairs sat in a chairs and we talked. She spoke of her peace, about my deceased father, about my step father. The experience was real at the time yet somewhat clouded but the presence of a beautiful rose. The meaning of which escaped me for yearLater I realized it was a form of confirmation. For it is a reference to that beautiful song “I Come to the Garden Alone While the Dew is Still on the Roses”. That song was one she would sing to me while holding me the first year when I was close to death. About an hour later she left assuring me that we would talk from time to time.

Occasionally I experience her presence in the form of remembrances of words and phrases.

My opinion is she went back to sleep to further heal and be transformed for the purposes of the Lord. It seems unlikely that the Lord would waste eternal sleep on a godly person.

The new work for the dead, I believe, is to influence through the Spirit the living. So similar to the state of angels the person may ‘preach’ in some form or fashion to the living bringing to remembrance important lessons. Some negative some positive. Thus those passed speak to our spirits an allusion of which is found in Peter.

We think we want to be alive for our grandchildren. But the reality is the child will know us better after death than alive. For some a grandparent is a good influence for the child, for some a bad, for others none. However in death they testify to the state of the dead and may comfort or warn based on the circumstances of future generations. Perhaps this reflects on the parable Jesus told about the rich man and Lazarus.
For those who are evil they stand as a warning; you do not want to be here, for the good comfort.
The dead are familiar voices to the living and so when the spirit speaks to the living from the dead the messages are clear, concise, and believable, but not always acceptable.
This is in no way is connected to witchcraft, séances or other wicked inspired occurrences. In fact to engage in such behavior is to incur the wrath of the Lord.
So essentially we are saying death does not mark the end of a person’s duties or responsibilities, nor silence the voices crying from the ground for vengeance.
Again, these are only opinions, and may be far from reality, or not.