DEATH AND BEYOND

For those who have been obedient to Him, rather than rebelling against His commandments, this newly re-created world will be a place of beauty where our gift of eternal life can be enjoyed to the full. There will be no shadows of sorrow or loneliness. The years will roll on with gladness and all will be peace.

In the New Testament Moses and Elijah are seen alive with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. They lived in the time of the Old Testament. Did they die, and when did they go to heaven? Please explain!
The Bible makes quite clear that Moses died. God told him in advance that he would die. Deuteronomy 31:16 ‘Behold thou shalt sleep with thy fathers.’

It is interesting that, when God Himself is talking about death with one of his very favoured servants, the meekest man on earth (Numbers 12:3), he called death ’sleep’. If we do likewise, we shall be saying the same as God himself.
Moses was not allowed by God to take the children of Israel over the border into the Promised Land. He had disobeyed God on a crucial thing that God asked him to do, and therefore God gave the leadership to Joshua for the next stage of their experience, their entrance into the Promised Land. In Deuteronomy 3, Moses recounts how he had asked God to be allowed to see the Promised Land. God allowed him to climb Mount Nebo and look in all directions and then he was told to speak to God no more about the matter. He was not to be allowed to cross over Jordan. Joshua was to be strengthened and encouraged to lead the people over Jordan in his place. When he climbed Mt Nebo, Moses was also told that this would be the place where he would die. Deuteronomy 32:50. ‘So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab according to the Word of the Lord. And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab.’ Deuteronomy 34:5-6.

The book of Jude gives another insight. There had been an argument between the devil and God over the body of Moses. Christ said to Satan, ‘The Lord rebuke thee.’ From the story of the Mount of Transfiguration we know that after the death of Moses, God had resurrected Moses and taken Him up to heaven itself. He was in fact, a representative of all who would die before Jesus comes. They will be resurrected and go to heaven just as Moses did. Elijah, on the other hand, did not die but was taken directly to heaven.

2 Kings 2:11. ‘And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.’ Elijah was a representative of those who will inherit eternal life without dying, those whom Paul describes as ‘we who are alive and remain.’ 1 Thessalonians 4:17. In the glory of the Mount of Transfiguration we have a cameo picture of the second coming of Jesus.

I have read the story of the rich man and Lazarus told by Jesus. Luke 16:19-31. This would appear to be clear support for an immortal soul and a hell fire. Please explain!

This story is often quoted as the key Bible evidence for human beings having an immortal soul which, whether godly or sinful, continues to live on in an uninterrupted life apart from the body. There are those who say that Jesus was not telling a story but that this was doctrinal teaching,

[ Home ][ About Us ][ Lonely Questions ][ Contact Us ]