April 2026 printable 264 KB .pdf

MOR-Bible, which is by God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, grace, God's, unmerited divine favor be to you, and peace, an absolute end of all strife or trouble, be to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ to the faithful in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 tells us:

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.

Who comforts us in all our tribulation [mental pressure], that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

This month's teaching asks the question "What happens when a believer or a child of God falls asleep?" Using the teachings in the Bible, we will:

• Explain the differences between body, soul and spirit.
• Answer the questions:
  o "Where are the dead until Christ returns?"
  o "When are the dead believers raised from the dead?"
  o "How many believers have died and gone to heaven?"
  

  Note: The sources for all Greek-English words are Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, The Critical Lexicon and Concordance to the English and Greek New Testament (Bullinger), Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible, The Word Study Concordance by George V. Wigram and Ralph D. Winter, The Bible Hub, and Webster's Desk Dictionary of the English Language.
  

Our hearts are filled with sorrow and sadness when we lose a beloved brother or sister in Christ. The only thing I know that comforts me and my family when someone in our family falls asleep is God's Word regarding the gathering of the born-again saints and the hope of the Lord's second coming for His dead and alive saints (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Our love and tender compassion for you and your family are with you when you experience the passing of someone you love. We love you all and have you in our hearts and prayers. We desire with all the love in our hearts to share with you, my brothers and sisters, God's Word about the believers and the children of God who have fallen asleep or who have passed away.

At every funeral service we have attended, we hear sincere minsters telling people that when a person dies, they immediately go to heaven to be with Jesus. Some say that a beloved family member or friend who has passed away is in heaven watching over them. We hear these ministers say that God has taken him or her home. It grieves God's heart and my heart to hear these words from these ministers as they make death seem like it is your friend or that death is a comfort. However, according to God's Word, this is not the truth; these words are tricks of the devil that have been perpetuated by wrong teaching which is not rooted in the Bible!

If there is anyone that died and immediately went to heaven, it should have been the Lord Jesus Christ. He had the best credentials as he:

• Always did the will of His Father.
• Was in all points tempted, like as we are, without sin (Hebrews 4:15).
• Finished God's, his Father, work on earth (John 4:34).
• Was declared by God, his Father, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17).
  

But according to God's Word, Jesus died on the cross or tree and was in the grave three days and three nights (see Matthew 12:40). Then on the third day, God, his Father, resurrected Jesus from the grave (see 1 Corinthians 15:4). God made Jesus Christ to be sin for us, as he knew no sin; so that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (see 2 Corinthians 5:21).

With this understanding, let's explore the differences between body, soul, and spirit. For more on this, see the May 2019 teaching. In the book of Genesis, Adam and Eve had a body, soul, and spirit. But in Chapter 2, we learn that Adam and Eve disobeyed God's Word and lost the spirit of God (see Genesis 2:17). Since that time, everyone born from the seed of Adam and Eve, are born without the Spirit of God. God's Word calls them the "natural" man and woman (see 1 Corinthians 2:14). To understand this more fully, let me explain body, soul, and spirit. Without an understanding of what each represents, you will not be able to fit the Word of God together regarding a child of God falling asleep or dying.

In Genesis, we learned the body was made out of dust, and to dust it goes back. Here, we understand that our body was formed from the dust of the ground and goes back to dust when we fall asleep or die. As it is written in Genesis 3:19:

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

The soul is breath life. Over time, people have confused breath life with spiritual life or God's eternal life. Your breath life is what makes your body a living soul or alive right now. Someone who has passed away, no longer has breath life. They are not a living soul as they have fallen asleep or passed away. As it is written in Genesis 2:7:

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Man did not become a living soul until the Lord God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life! Whenever a person takes their first breath in this life, they are a living soul. And, whenever a person takes their last breath in this life, the Bible says this person is a dead soul. The last breath represents the end of breath life! When that's gone, then we are dead. Where does breath life go? Breathe out now; where did that breath go? It went back into the air. Breath life only lives on if you have progeny (children). Leviticus 17:11 tells us the life of the flesh is in the blood. So, we pass our breath life on to our children. According to the Bible, this is the only way breath life can live on.

Now, let's understand spirit. We have learned that a person that is born-again is body, soul, and what? Spirit! What happens to the spirit when a born-again believer dies? It goes back to God who gave it. As it is written in Ecclesiastes12:7:

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

The spirit goes back to God who gave it, because that's God in Christ in you (see 2 Corinthians 5:19 and Colossians 1:27) and eternal life (see 1 Peter 1:23). When Christ returns, we will receive that new body, which is a life-quickening spirit (see 1 Corinthians15:45). This is the same life-quickening spirit Christ has! As it is written in John 3:15-16:

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life.

For God [Elohim - the Creator] so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The difference between eternal life and everlasting life is that eternal life has no beginning and no end. Everlasting life begins the moment you are born-again of God's Spirit (see Romans 10:9). Let's say I was 17 when I was born-again of God's Spirit. From that point on, I have everlasting life. It is written in 1 Corinthians 2:14:

But the natural man [body and soul] receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

You may be wondering how is it that the natural man or woman of body and soul are born-again of God's Spirit in the Grace Administration. Remember, the Grace Administration started on Pentecost or Acts 2:4; we are currently living in the Grace Administration. God's Word is addressed to His children. Without being born-again of God's Spirit, you are not His child (see 1 John 3:2). So how do we get born-again? It is written in Romans 10:9-10:

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart [operated by the mind] that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved [made whole].

For with the heart [operated by the mind] man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Once you commit in your heart, which is operated by your mind, what is instructed in Romans 10:9, you are born-again of God's Spirit. In other words, you are body, soul, and spirit. You are a child of God. It is written in Romans 8:16:

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.

The question often arises "Were the believers and servants of God in the Old Testament born-again?" The answer is simple: No. Why? Because it was not available to be born-again of God's Spirit until after Pentecost (Acts 2:2 & 4). The Old Testament believers were servants and could not confess the Lord Jesus as he was not yet born, nor had God raised him from the dead. But they were saved by believing God's Word. Being born-again was only available after Pentecost by committing in our hearts Romans 10:9-10; we are children of God, born-again of His seed which is Spirit (see Romans 8:16).

Where are the dead until Christ returns?

Let us search the scriptures carefully and exactly to see what God's Word says about the believers, and the children of God, who have fallen asleep. According to the scriptures, born-again believers who have fallen asleep are in the grave. The word grave is the Hebrew word sheol and the Greek word hades. Sheol and hades is never a place of destruction according to the Bible. The most accurate translation of sheol and hades would be gravedom, a state in which all those who have died dwell. According to God's Word, sheol and hades is a place where there is no remembrance, no consciousness, and no time. It is written in Psalm 6:5:

For in death there is no remembrance [no consciousness] of thee [Jehovah]: in the grave [sheol] who shall give thee [Jehovah] thanks?

In this verse, the word death is the Hebrew word mavot meaning the state of being dead or in the grave. The word thee refers to Jehovah which means God in relationship to that which He created. Since there is no remembrance and no consciousness in the grave, then there is no time. This means the moment a child of God (or born-again believer) falls asleep will be the moment of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ since there is no recognition of the passage of time. How is this possible? Think about it for a minute. How many of you have had surgery where you were put to sleep with anesthesia? The moment you "fell asleep" was also the moment you woke up; you did not experience a passage of time even if the surgery took 5 hours! This is what it means when a child of God dies and then experiences the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, as there is no recognition of the passage of time. For the moment of a child of God falling asleep, it is the return of the Lord Jesus Christ because there is no remembrance, no consciousness, and no time. As it is written in Psalm 116:15:

Precious [costly] in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

In this verse, the word precious means costly. The word Lord is the Hebrew word Jehovah which is God in relationship to that which He created. The word death is the Hebrew word mavot meaning the state of being dead or in the grave. The word saints is the Aramaic word kdisha meaning the sanctified or separated ones. We can now re-read this verse:

Know that costly in the sight of the Lord, Jehovah, is the death of his saints.

Why is this true? It is costly because the saints, once they have fallen asleep, can't give thanks and make known Jehovah and His Word! It is written in Psalm 146:4:

His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

This verse confirms there are no thoughts in the grave as there is no body, soul, and spirit in gravedom, a state in which all those who have died dwell. It is written in Ecclesiastes 9:10:

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave [sheol], whither thou goest.

According to the scriptures, there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave [sheol], whither thou goest in gravedom. This confirms the notion there is no passage of time.

These verses are very plain and clear. Please understand that the believer is asleep and in gravedom awaiting the return of the Lord to receive their new body, like the Lord (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). When sincere, but wrongly taught, ministers tell people that when they die, they immediately go to heaven, it is a lie. It is the trick of the devil! People sometimes commit suicide thinking they are going to be with Jesus and will be able to watch over their families. Children of God, born-again believers, this is not the truth of God's Word! We must, as children of God, go to our Father's Word and search and examine carefully the scriptures for the answers. We cannot blindly accept what is taught to us or talked to us or preached to us. We must stand on the Word of God and ask, "What is the chapter and verse?" "Where is this stated in the Bible?" "What does God's Word say?"

Let's review. According to the scriptures, What happens when a believer or a child of God falls asleep? The Bible tells us (chapter and verse):

• For in death there is no remembrance [no consciousness] of thee [Jehovah]: in the grave [sheol] who shall give thee [Jehovah] thanks (Psalm 6:5)?
• Precious [costly] in the sight of the Lord [Jehovah] is the death of his saints (Psalm 116:15).
• His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish (Psalm 146:4).
• Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave [sheol], whither thou goest (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
  

What do we hear at funerals, celebrations of life, and in conversation when someone we love who is born-again passes away? What are the Devil's lies regarding death?

• God has taken them home.
• When a person dies, they immediately go to heaven to be with Jesus.
• Our loved one (your mother, your father, your children, your sister, your brother, your aunt, your husband, or your wife) is watching over you in heaven.

When the devil tells you, the believers, that are dead are alive and in heaven with Jesus, having a great time, you are being deceived by lies (see John 8:44). You should now understand why this is not true according to God's Word! You should now be armed with God's Word to push back the lies of the Devil! You should now be armed, as Ephesians 6:11 exhorts believers, to put on the whole armor of God to stand firm against the attacks of our enemy, Satan. You are now armed with remarkable Biblical facts that most Christians don't know! It is written in Ephesians 4:14:

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.

The phrase be no more children means to progress, to grow up. Maturity grows from adolescence to youth to adulthood; it takes time to mature as we learn and experience life. The phrase by the sleight of men is translated "by the slyness." This phrase means that the devil is so sly that it escapes observation. The phrase carried about with every wind of doctrine means tossed here and there or back and forth. The phrase cunning craftiness means with subtlety or to execute with nice artistry, ingenious, clever. This verse tells us how the devil lies in wait to deceive the believers.

How does the devil deceive the believers?

#1. Because a lot of believers do not search the scriptures daily, whether those things were so which they have heard (see Acts 17:11).

The Greek word for search in Acts 17:11 is anakrino which means to divide up, to make a distinction, come to a decision, to judge, or to sift. The people who heard the Word of God in Berea (in Acts 17:11) received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. They rightly divided it, made a distinction, and came to a decision, that it was the truth according to the Word of God!

#2. They do not Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15), therefore, the devil cunningly deceives them.

It is important to know God's Word specifically, regarding death. In this way, we can understand that death for born-again believers is a passage to gravedom. As soon as we take our last breath, we are waking to the return of Christ because we do not experience the passage of time. This should bring us great comfort when a loved one falls asleep.

#3 The Word of God is the Will of God.

If we want to know God's Will on the death of His children, we must go to His Word! Only God can interpret His Word, not ministers, not believers, not lay-people. It is written in 2 Peter 1:20:

Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

The word private is the Greek word idios which means one's own, private, personal, peculiar. The word interpretation is the Greek word epilusis or interpretation, explanation. With this increased understanding, let's re-read 2 Peter 1:20 with understanding:

Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private or personal or one's own interpretation or explanation.

This clearly tells us we must let God's Word interpret itself. How does God's Word do this? It does this in the verse, in the context, and how it was previously used in God's Word.

When are the dead believers raised from the dead?

It is written in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, starting with verse 13:

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

God's Word tells us plain and simple, I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep. Yet, there are millions of Christians that are ignorant concerning them that are asleep. Why? Because they have not searched the scriptures daily regarding those things that are preached and taught to them about God's Word (see Acts 17:11)! They have not studied God's Word to show themselves approved unto God (see 2 Timothy 2:15).

How many people do you know that read God's Word daily? How many ministers have the congregation bring the Bible to church and ask them to open that Bible up to review the scriptures during the sermon? How many recite the chapter and verse and let God's Word interpret itself in that verse or chapter or as used before in God's Word? It is God's Word which is His Will!

In verse 13, the word would means passion or intense desire. God's intense desire is that we are not ignorant concerning them which are asleep! The word ignorant means void of understanding and the phrase concerning them which are asleep is a figure of speech to tenderize the harsh reality of death. It compares death to sleep. Even in the figure of speech, it is truthful. The death of someone you love is the hardest thing there is in this life. The phrase that you sorrow not tells us that God does not want us to be in sorrow as if there were no hope. God's Word teaches us that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (see Romans 6:23).

It is alright to grieve the loss of a child of God. One day that child of God, the born-again believer, is going to get up without any recognition that time has passed! This is the hope of the Lord's return! This is what keeps us going. Without the hope of the return of the Lord, and our rising up by him and receiving our glorified bodies, we could not endure the sorrow and pain of death.

Let's continue with 1 Thessalonians 4:14:

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep; in Jesus, will God bring with him.

In the punctuation of the semi-colon, there is a literal pause after the word sleep. The word in that follows this pause is the Greek word dia meaning by way of or through. Sometimes, people have the wrong interpretation here and credit Jesus for people dying. This is in error, we know from the Biblical manuscripts, there was no punctuation, semi-colon, nor comma. Jesus Christ came to destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. It is written in Hebrews 2:14:

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he [Jesus Christ] also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.

Children of God, based on what is written in Hebrews 2:14, the power of death resides in the devil. But the Bible is clear that we are to always hold fast to the truth that God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Father, has not killed His child the born-again believer or anyone. So, I ask you, who has the power of death? The devil!

Back to 1 Thessalonians 4:15:

For [in fact] this we say to you by the word of the Lord [master], that we which are alive and remain to the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

In other words, those believers in the body of Christ who are dead will rise first, when the Lord comes.

Verse 16:

For [seeing that] the Lord [master], himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel [Michael], and with the trump of God [Gabriel]: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.

Children of God, this is the only place in the Word of God where the sequences of events of the Lord's second coming are documented. The dead in Christ shall rise when? First!

Verse 17:

Then we which are alive [that are mortal] and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet with the Lord [master] in the air: and so, shall we ever be with the Lord.

This verse is clear - with the Lord's second coming, there will be born-again believers that are alive. But they will be changed and meet with the Lord in the air with those born-again believers raised from the dead. At that moment, the born-again believers, will ever be with the Lord our master! In the first part of the Lord's second coming for his saints does he come upon the earth? No! they meet in the air according to verse 17.

This is why the word resurrection does not apply to the church of the body. Why? Because when the Lord returns, there will be believers alive. According to the Word of God, in order to have a resurrection, everyone must be dead. The word resurrection applies to all believers before the day of Pentecost Acts 2:4 and all unbelievers before and after Pentecost. They are all dead!

Verse 18:

Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Children of God, it is our hope these words bring you tremendous comfort knowing that a child of God (see Romans 10:9) will rise again. Any pain they had before they fell asleep, any sickness they may have experienced, will all be wiped away and they will be awakened by the Lord and given a life quickening spirit which is that glorified new body! The truth of God's Word is real comfort! To God be the glory for what great things He has done through His only begotten son the Lord Jesus Christ!

How many believers have died and went to heaven?

It is written in 1 Corinthians 15:22-23:

For as in Adam all [What?] die, even so in Christ shall all be made [What?] alive.

But every man [each one] in his own [What?] order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at [what?] his coming.

This verse tells us that Christ is the only one raised from the dead! The rest of the children of God, the born-again believers, will be raised at Christ's second coming as documented in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Christ has not returned yet; so, there are no (zero) saints raised from the dead. For there is no respect of persons with God (see Romans 2:11), for we all forever be with the Lord at the same time (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place (2 Corinthians 2:14).

Children of God, we have searched the scriptures and rightly divided it, made a distinction, and came to a decision, that the born-again believers who have died are in gravedom, where there is no remembrance no consciousness (see Psalm 6:5), no thoughts (see Psalm 146:4), no work nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom (see Ecclesiastes 9:10). They will be awaken when the Lord return (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Glory be to God!

Father, we thank you for giving us your Word and Will and understanding regarding your children, the born-again believers, that are asleep and waiting for the return of your son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, we are so thankful and grateful that one day our brothers and sisters who are fallen asleep shall be raised from the dead, and we, that are alive, will be given that life quickening spirit. Your Word brings immense comfort to our hearts. We are forever thankful and grateful that at that moment of Christ's return, so shall we ever be with the Lord Jesus Christ, your only begotten son. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Children of God, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

In the Lord,

Ministry of Reconciliation
Mack, Son of God through Jesus Christ
Ambassador for Christ

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