The question is easy to ask, yet the answer eludes most doctrines. Building on top of the doctrine that judgement is when Jesus returns, what about the already dead people? Resurrection happens for judgement, but what are they judged on—their life before death, right?
This conclusion would mean that what you do while alive will determine where the spinning coin representing life or death finally settles. This post will show that each person's judgement day is when they die since their life determines what happens after death.
The dead know nothing
Many people latch on to the thinking there is nothing after death, and the dead rest in the dirt. The following verse is their comfort—I don't know why since they cannot change anything after death, and thus it is what they do in their life that matters.
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Here, we see the parallel with the dead not knowing anything, having no more reward. The dead are no more, and the living forgets them over time. It's easy to be superficial and leave it like that, but you need context to get the essence of what is being said with all scripture.
Ecclesiastes 9:1-9 shows the context that we all, both righteous and sinners, live in this world where we experience both righteousness and unrighteousness, good and bad, clean and unclean. All our hearts are full of evil, and the righteous person's works are by God's grace. Better it is to be alive, where the beggar has a chance to become righteous, with white rags, than to be a dead king with dirty linen and lose their good reward from God (Revelation 22:12, Hosea 4:9, Ruth 2:12).
The truth comes with context and an open mind.
Samuel risen from the dead
1 Samuel 28:6-19 tells the events of Saul requesting the woman of Endor who had a familiar spirit to bring Samuel up from the dead (as a spirit) so that he could enquire of him. She duly did this, and Samuel rebuked Saul and told him that he and his two sons would be dead tomorrow just as he is.
Now "Christians" do not know what to make of this passage. Their doctrine does not allow for this to be possible, so they disregard or inject Satan into the equation manifested as Samuel. Nothing in the text indicates any relationship to Satan but instead demonstrates there is more than rotting in the ground after death.
Baruch told of his death
1. But, do thou, Baruch, direct your heart to that which has been said to you, And understand those things which have been shown to you; For there are many eternal consolations for you. 2. For you shall depart from this place, And you shall pass from the regions which are now seen by you, And you shall forget whatever is corruptible, And shall not again recall those things which happen among mortals.
2 Baruch 43:1-2
In death, we forget the corruptible things on this earth, the sin, and forget the things which happen on earth. When departing from all those things which involved sin and corruption on earth, we must forget what has occurred; otherwise, this leaves the door open to sin. Sin, which causes death, will be done away (Revelation 21:4, Romans 6:23, Revelation 21:27). The righteous will become incorruptible and raised at judgement day with incorruptible bodies (1 Corinthians 15:50-54). The soul—mind, identity, and who we are, chooses sin or the pursuit of God. This soul will be made incorruptible; how else will those who chose to follow God reside with the righteous and forget the corruptible things of this world?
The righteous soul will be made incorruptible on the death of the physical body.
Paul seeing the death of a righteous man
And I saw that the righteous man had grown in righteousness, and found rest and confidence: and before he departed out of the world there stood by him holy angels, and also evil ones: and I saw them all; but the evil ones found no abode in him, but the holy ones had power over his soul and ruled it until it went out of the body. And they stirred up the soul, saying: O soul, take knowledge of thy body whence thou art come out; for thou must needs return into the same body at the day of resurrection, to receive that which is promised unto all the righteous. They received therefore the soul out of the body, and straightway kissed it as one daily known of them, saying unto it: Be of good courage, for thou hast done the will of God while thou abodest on the earth.
Paul's Apocalypse (Revelation - Etymological definition) shows that when we die, we are either claimed by holy or evil angels based on what they find within us—who we served while on earth. The soul takes knowledge of the body for the day of resurrection, further illustrating that the body lies in the ground, but the soul, which is us, continues.
And as I yet looked upon the tree, I saw a virgin coming from afar off, and two hundred angels before her singing hymns: and I inquired and said: Lord, who is this that cometh in such glory? and he said unto me: This is Mary the virgin, the mother of the Lord. And she came near and saluted me, and said: Hail, Paul, dearly beloved of God and angels and men. For all the saints have besought my son Jesus who is my Lord, that thou shouldest come here in the body that they might see thee before thou didst depart out of the world. And the Lord said to them: Wait and be ye patient: yet a little while, and ye shall see him, and he shall be with you for ever. And again they all with one accord said unto him: Grieve us not, for we desire to see him while he is in the flesh, for by him hath thy name been greatly glorified in the world, and we have seen that he hath excelled (done away with) all the works whether of the lesser or the greater. For we inquire of them that come hither, saying: Who is he that guided you in the world? and they have told us: There is one in the world whose name is Paul; he declareth Christ, preaching him, and we believe that by the power and sweetness of his speech many have entered into the kingdom. Behold, all the righteous are behind me, coming to meet thee. But I say unto thee, Paul, that for this cause I come first to meet them that have performed the will of my son and my Lord Jesus Christ, even I come first to meet them and leave them not as strangers until they meet with him in peace.
Mary, alongside the saints, asked Jesus to see Paul before he died. Not because they observed what was happening on earth but because many new arrivals attributed their guidance to Paul. Once again, it shows the dead cannot monitor or know the happenings on the earth unless revealed by God.
Angels & the harvest
The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
The harvest of souls comes at the end of the world with the angels as the harvesters. But when do they harvest? When the Son of God judges the world, why would the angels need to gather then? Judgement day is the ultimate reaping by God through his Son.
Something is missing from the equation here.
World
When examining the meaning of the word world, there is something very interesting. It doesn't mean the earth, together with all of its countries and peoples as it does today.
OF THE WORLD
aion (ai-own') n.
1. (properly) an age
2. (by extension) perpetuity (also past)
3. (by implication) the world
4. (specially, Jewish) a Messianic period (present or future)
[from an obsolete primary noun apparently meaning "continued duration"]
KJV: age, course, eternal, (for) ever(-more), (n-)ever, (beginning of the , while the) world (began, without end) Compare: G5550, G2540 See also: G104
The word world means age, course, perpetuity or a period of time possibly continuing. Is this a stretch, or is there more to this? The same Greek word also translates as ever and never when looking at the following verses.
The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?
The usage further illustrates that "world" references a duration of time rather than the earth.
Life
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
The word life or alive appears to be more in line with the usage of the world.
LIFE
chay (khah'-ee) adj.
1. alive
2. (hence) raw (flesh)
3. fresh (plant, water, year), strong
4. (as noun, especially in the feminine singular and masculine plural) life (or living thing), whether literally or figuratively
[from H2421]
KJV: + age, alive, appetite, (wild) beast, company, congregation, life(-time), live(-ly), living (creature, thing), maintenance, + merry, multitude, + (be) old, quick, raw, running, springing, troop. Root(s): H2421
Life, also defined as "age" or "a period of time", is in agreement with "world", indicating a period of time. These clues lead to the assertion the angels are reaping upon death—after the time of your earthly life is completed.
Lazarus
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
Lazarus, when he died, found himself in a place of torment, not simply waiting, knowing nothing in the ground. The complete account in Luke shows that he, while on earth, did not serve God.
While "Christians" who the wolves lead take this as a mere illustration, when used in conjunction with the scriptures presented so far in this post, the same scriptures that the wolves have discarded, are all in agreement.
Why the wait?
42.He said to me, "I shall liken my judgment to a circle; just as for those who are last there is no slowness, so for those who are first there is no haste." 43.Then I answered and said, "Couldst thou not have created at one time those who have been and those who are and those who will be, that thou mightest show thy judgment the sooner?" 44.He replied to me and said, "The creation cannot make more haste than the Creator, neither can the world hold at one time those who have been created in it." 45.And I said, "How hast thou said to thy servant that thou wilt certainly give life at one time to thy creation? If therefore all creatures will live at one time and the creation will sustain them, it might even now be able to support all of them present at one time." 46.He said to me, "Ask a woman's womb, and say to it, 'If you bear ten[d] children, why one after another?' Request it therefore to produce ten at one time." 47.I said, "Of course it cannot, but only each in its own time." 48.He said to me, "Even so have I given the womb of the earth to those who from time to time are sown in it. 49.For as an infant does not bring forth, and a woman who has become old does not bring forth any longer, so have I organized the world which I created."
God wants all the righteous, past—present—future, and the earth must continue to allow those people to be born so that they can live, forged in the fire (Daniel 11:35, 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, 1 Peter 1:7, Job 23:8-12, Zechariah 13:9), and eventually be reaped by the angels. The earth cannot hold everyone destined to be born at once, and thus we wait with the ticking clock of time until their sum is fulfilled.
22—23. God's Reply to Baruch's Prayer. He will fulfill His Promise: Time needed for its Accomplishment: Things must be judged in the Light of their Consummation (22). Till all Souls are born the End cannot come (23).
Because when Adam sinned and death was decreed against those who should be born, then the multitude of those who should be born was numbered, and for that number a place was prepared where the living might dwell and the dead might be guarded. Before therefore the number aforesaid is fulfilled, the creature will not live again [for My spirit is the creator of life], and Sheol will receive the dead.
2 Baruch 23:4-5
Baruch confirms what is written in 2 Esdras; the end cannot come until all souls are born that have been numbered. In other words, the numbering of the souls ends at the confirmation in the kingdom of God of the last righteous person.
After death
In addition to the passages already presented, including the account of Lazarus (Luke 16:20-31), these coming passages show there is more after death. The physical body dying does not signal just laying in the ground, but the start of the unalterable journey—judgement.
Do manfully, for thou hast done the will of God while placed in the earth. And there came to meet him the angel who watched him every day, and said to him: Do manfully, soul; for I rejoice in thee, because thou hast done the will of God on earth: for I related to God all thy works, such as they were. Similarly also the spirit proceeded to meet him and said: Soul, fear not, nor be disturbed, until thou comest into a place which thou hast never known, but I will be a helper unto thee: for I found in thee a place of refreshment in the time when I dwelt in thee, while I was on earth. And his spirit strengthened him, and his angel received him, and led him into heaven: and an angel said: Whither runnest thou, O soul, and dost thou dare to enter into heaven? Wait and let us see if there is anything of ours in thee: and behold we find nothing in thee. I see also thy divine helper and angel, and the spirit is rejoicing along with thee, because thou hast done the will of God on earth.
Excerpt from Chapter 14, The Apocalypse of Paul (The receiving into heaven the soul of a righteous man)
78. Now concerning death, the teaching is: When the decisive decree has gone out from the Most High that a person shall die, as the spirit leaves the body to return again to him who gave it, first of all it adores the glory of the Most High. 79. If it is one of those who have shown scorn and have not kept the way of the Most High, who have despised his law and hated those who fear God— 80. such spirits shall not enter into habitations, but shall immediately wander about in torments, always grieving and sad, in seven ways. 81. The first way, because they have scorned the law of the Most High. 82. The second way, because they cannot now make a good repentance so that they may live. 83. The third way, they shall see the reward laid up for those who have trusted the covenants of the Most High. 84. The fourth way, they shall consider the torment laid up for themselves in the last days. 85. The fifth way, they shall see how the habitations of the others are guarded by angels in profound quiet. 86. The sixth way, they shall see how some of them will cross over into torments. 87. The seventh way, which is worse than all the ways that have been mentioned, because they shall utterly waste away in confusion and be consumed with shame, and shall wither with fear at seeing the glory of the Most High in whose presence they sinned while they were alive, and in whose presence they are to be judged in the last times.
38. For indeed I will not think on the disposition of them which have sinned before death, before judgment, before destruction: 39. But I will rejoice over the disposition of the righteous, and I will remember also their pilgrimage, and the salvation, and the reward, that they shall have.
34. Therefore if so be that ye will subdue your own understanding, and reform your hearts, ye shall be kept alive and after death ye shall obtain mercy.35. For after death shall the judgment come, when we shall live again: and then shall the names of the righteous be manifest, and the works of the ungodly shall be declared.
There is no wonder the prescribed scriptures keep ever-shrinking—these passages reveal so many things. All of the early Christian writings are in the bin, and even today, attempts are on the way to delete the Old Testament and become New Testament believers only. The wolves remove all the answers and systematically destroy the faith of the people in God. They teach them to love money and the things of this world, just as the Pharisees: mystery Babylon and the mother of all harlots—oh Jerusalem.
Conclusion
How we live on earth, the short time we have will determine our destination upon the death of our physical body. In this grace period, we must choose the path we will take after death by our works and who we worship in life. Worship is who you serve, demonstrated by your actions, what you speak and what you hold dear in your hearts—your mind. Those who choose God will see life after death, and those who choose this world and its masters, will receive torments just as Lazarus when their physical bodies die.
We all received judgment upon death; the seal on our life story is set. The dead know nothing—nothing happening on the earth, but their souls live on either in life (the good things of God after death) or torments.
For those who take the scriptures as written and follow God wherever He leads, we understand that the shallow offering of Christianity and other religions is precisely that—a shallow, false, worthless offering. The word of God, his Son, has told us how to get to the father and receive life after death.
