THE THREE RESURRECTIONS

The Bible is clear on the resurrection of the dead. But not all humans who have ever lived will be resurrected at the same time . For there is an order of the resurrection, as the Apostle Paul states in 1 Cor 15:22-23, ' For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming'. Those who are Christ's - meaning those true disciples who have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit  (Rom 8:11) - will be in the First Resurrection (Rev 20:5) as the firstfruits of the salvation. The rest of humanity will have to await the Second Resurrection towards the end of the Millennial Age - 'But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished (Rev 20:5)'.

The Apostle Paul describes the First Resurrection clearly in 1 Cor 15:51-53 thus, ' Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.' Those raised at the First Resurrection will reign with Christ for a thousand years (Rev 20:5-6). Those in the First Resurrection will never die again - they are born again as spirit beings and immortal (Rev 20:6)! This is a 'better resurrection (Hebrews 11:35) as they will bear the likeness of Christ (1 John 3:2), the image of the heavenly Man (1 Cor 15:48).

The rest of the dead (Rev 20:5) are all who died but never truly knowing Christ (though many claimed otherwise  -Matthew 7:21-23) including all those who rejected Him as their personal Saviour are two different groups of people facing different destinies. Those who never rejected Christ but yet do not have the real truth will be offered salvation at the second resurrection at the great white throne judgement recorded in Revelation 20: 11-12. The prophet Ezekiel prophesied of all the dead Israelites coming back to life as their graves were opened to become flesh and blood human beings again (Ezekiel 37:1-10). A merciful God will not allowed any to perish without first letting them know the truth.

Millions wrongly assume the Great White Throne Judgment as condemnation for all mankind who never knew Christ. But this is inconsistent with Christ's teaching in Matthew chapter 11. Jesus clearly teaches that all who are in the graves (all the dead) will hear His voice (John 5:28). Christ warns in Matthew 11:21-22, 'Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.'  What Christ is teaching here is about a future judgment when people of His day and age will be judge alongside those who lived centuries earlier.  And all these people will be judged according to their works. They will given ample opportunities to repent of their sins and receive salvation after the second resurrection!

Going down in Matthew 11:23-24 , Christ was comparing Capernaun and Sodom. Even though the people of Sodom sinned greatly some 2,000 years before the time of Christ, they would had repented had Christ done a similar work among them as He did to Capernaum! But all will be given opportunity to repent after the judgment by Christ and offered salvation for those willing to truly repent of their sins as the blood of Christ is available for all people of all ages. Even more astonishing teaching came from Christ in Matthew 12:41 where Christ states that the men of Ninevah will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented in the preaching of Jonah and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. Similarly, the queen of the South (Queen of Sheba)  too will be resurrected in a future judgment to condemn the state of unbelief during the times of Christ, when that generation lived some one thousand years earlier than the times of Christ (Matt 12:42). Since there is no indication that the queen was saved, she could not have arisen to condem the spiritual state of another age during the time of judgment if she is 'burning in hell'.

Paul affirmed the similar truth in Romans 11:26 when he states that the whole house of Israel will be saved . How can this be since most are non believers and were already dead long time ago? For there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just (first resurrection) and the unjust (second resurrection)- Acts 24:15. Why is this so? Because blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has all come in - Rom 11: 25. God's MasterPlan has a timeline for everything under the sun, but only those who are called fully understand the truth (Proverbs 25:2; Matt 13:11).

A perfect and merciful God has to be just. Those who knowingly and wilfully defy God will be judged in the final and third resurrection for which there is no possibility of resurrection - the second death - in the lake of fire (Rev 20:14-15). The wages of sin is death and not eternal life in hell. God in His mercy will annihilate them in the lake of fire (Malachi 4:1) as if they have never been born, to put an end to their misery.

WHY ALL THE HUMAN SUFFERINGS?

The issue of human sufferings has been debated for millennia and will continue so till Christ returns to set up the kingdom of God on earth. As long as life exists on earth, sufferings in whatever form looks set to continue and will get increasingly worse as this church age draws to a close. The problem of sin is real, but most have no clue what sin or sins are involved that cause all the tragedies, with many incidents befalling on innocent lives. However tragic these sufferings were and are, a time is coming when all the sufferings will be history, and that is the good news the world is ignorant about.

Everyday, newswire is flooded with events of disaster and seemingly hopelessness of one kind after another. Diseases, natural disasters like volcanic eruption, tsunami, flooding, drought, poverty, conflicts and wars within and without borders  are happening at double quick time all over the world. The governments and power that be are powerless to address these problems, and will never be able to do so. The big question in the minds of most believers is why isn't God doing something, if He is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient as the Bible claims Him to be so.

While it is true that sin can bring sufferings, it is not the only cause of it. In fact, many innocent people suffer tremendously in this life and died without knowing why. But all the sufferings in this world is not in vain and certainly not without God's knowledge. God is not intervening to prevent it from happening because suffering is part of God's Master Plan for mankind to develop character of Christ-likeness. In Galatians 5:22, longsuffering  - which is to suffer long - is mentioned as one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. One of the reasons Christ suffered was so that He could learn obedience to God the Father (Hebrews 5:8).

I remembered as a kid watching the workers from my dad's hardware shop hammering out a piece of molten red hot iron into the desired shape they intended to form. My dad told me that the more times the malleable red hot iron is cooled in cold water after each shaping, the harder the tool implement will turn out to be. Such lessons on character formation and development had left an indelible mark on me. Little did I know then, that whatever I had seen and experienced as a child have great implications and applications for Christian living later on in my life!

Those who are called in this church age will suffer trials and tribulations in order to qualify as sons  of God to rule and reign with Christ in His coming kingdom (Acts:14:22; 2 Tim 2: 12). All others who are not called in this church age suffer as a consequences of sin of this fallen world whom Satan is currently in control (2 Cor 4:4).  Sometimes, good people faced tragedy or disaster simply because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. They may have done nothing sinful or evil to cause their death.

The Good News of the Gospel of the kingdom of God is that when Christ returns to establish the kingdom of God on earth, there will be peace and prosperity on all the earth. War and suffering will be history and all peoples on earth will learn the ways of God (Isaiah 2; 2-4). Even the animal kingdom will be reconciled to one another (Isa 11: 6-8), for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (v9). But till then, things will get worse before it gets better as the world marches towards the Great Tribulation with cataclysmic events of sufferings such as it had never seen or experienced!

The world has to undergo sufferings so that mortal humans will learn the lessons  of sins and disobedience to God's holy laws. Those who eventually learned and accept God's ways in exchange for lasting character will be born again into spirit being of immortality in the world to come and into eternity. They have great work ahead to develop the whole of the universe! All these are part of God's Master Plan for man in this present mortal life to be made perfect through sufferings (Hebrews 2:10). Those who are not called in this present church age will have the opportunity to learn the whole truth come the millennial age.

THE GREAT COMMISSION

The world's churches are divided as to what is the Great Commission, some think it is to spread the gospel of salvation through the cleansing Blood of Jesus Christ. as their Lord and Saviour. For others it is to make disciples of Christ. Yet some churches feel that mercy relief and good works is the way to reach the world for Jesus Christ. While many will disagree on the focus, most agree that they are doing the will of God by bringing many into the kingdom of God. Sincere as they all are, none of these is the Great Commission commanded by Christ for the true church of God!

God will only use the church that truly understand, teach and obey all His truth to do His work under His government, with Christ as the Head of the Church. All those who are not led by His Holy Spirit fall outside His inner court are doing all kinds of "church work" on their own efforts - without His presence! The spirit of error (1 John 4:6) has entered all kinds of churches. God is doing a short work (Romans 9:28a) through those whom He has called in these last days to warn His people of the coming Great Tribulation (Matt 24:21).

Christ prophesied that "This gospel of the kingdom of God (also called kingdom of heaven - not kingdom in heaven) will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations and then the end will come (Matt 24:14)". The gospel of the kingdom of God is NOT the gospel of salvation as Christ has not walked the road to calvary then. In fact, one of the purposes for His first advent was to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God (Luke 4:43) and to establish the church to continue His work after His ascent to heaven. Christ commissioned His disciples to do likewise (Matt 10:7; Luke 9:2). Even after His death and resurrection, the Apostles Philip and Paul preached the gospel of the kingdom of God, clearly showing that the Person of Christ is different from the kingdom of God (Acts 8:12; 28:31). Many wrongly assume that the kingdom of God is synonymous with the gospel of grace, the church or the Person of Christ.

The kingdom of God refers to the government of God, with God the Father as the Head of the divine Family and Christ as the Head of the church. As disciples of Christ, we are called to continue His work of preaching the gospel of the coming government of God on earth. But most traditional churches are calling the followers to be busy doing everything else except preaching the very gospel Christ's disciples are called to do. Such disobedience will automatically disqualify them from being members of the true church which Christ is heading. If Christ is not leading them, they are none of His (Romans 8:9). Whatever they may say or do, they are not members of His body but assume they are. Hence, the proliferation of splinter groups, confusion and disagreement over theology and even apostasy within the Christian fraternity

Not only are the churches not feeding the flock with the truth as commanded by Christ (1 Pet 5:2) , they are confusing many with erroneous teachings and weird practices not found in Scriptures but contorted by men. King David in Psalms 22:28 and again in 67:4 clearly prophesied that Christ will return to rule in His kingdom on earth. There can be no other gospel, and Christ came as a Saviour and Prophet to proclaim the gospel and by His death (the means of the gospel), sinful men can enter the kingdom of God as immortal spirit beings (the end of the gospel). But rebellious men are out to reject His rule over them (Luke 19:27).

The Great Commission commanded by Christ is to make disciples that will do the work of God  and these include preaching the gospel of the coming kingdom of God (Matt 24:14; Mark16:15), feeding the church with the truth (1Peter 5:2-4; Matt 24:45-47) and warn the lukewarm church to repent in time before the coming Great Tribulation (Ezekiel 33: 5-11; Rev 3: 14-21). However, most churches are simply busy doing all kinds of things except the work of God. They simply believe in Jesus - believing that Christ is the Son of God - which is well and good but not good enough for even the demons believe too and tremble (James 2:19)! But true disciples are the ones who believe Jesus - His very words, commandments and practices - and do them (James 1:22)

Sadly, many churches are on the great omission rather than fulfilling The Great Commission. Those who are not being called in this Church Age will have their chance of salvation in the Millennial Age after Christ returns to set up the kingdom of God on earth (Rev 11:15), with its Headquarters in Jerusalem. All who are called into His church (John 6:44; 1 Cor 12:18) are true disciples who do the work of God (Acts 5:32) will be born again as immortal spirit beings in the Family of God (1 Cor 15:53-54) to teach and rule with Christ in His coming kingdom (1 Pet 2:9; Rev 3:21).

THE PURPOSE OF LIFE

When my paternal grandfather died in 1965, I was devastated. As a kid, I had no clue what life and death hold, and where my grandfather was heading to. I had no idea what life was all about, although I had always wonder why humans have to be born, live and then died. Thank God, I have found the answer to the mystery of life.

The Creator God, has a Master Plan for human being. You and I are all part of that grand Master Plan, whether we know or acknowledge it or not. Atheists may deny the existence of God, cynics will scoff at all truth and things divine, but we cannot escape the reality of what God wants to accomplish in and through us. Just like the Pacific salmon has a purpose for their life - to return to their birthplace to spawn before it dies - human has a purpose for being.

When the first man Adam and his wife Eve disobeyed God, they chose to be self reliant instead of
God reliant. As a result, salvation was cut off from man when God sealed off the tree of life in the Garden of Eden (Gen:3:24). Throughout the millennia, only a small handful of mankind was called to become sons of God and given the Holy Spirit to lead them into eternal life and inherit the kingdom of God (Luke 12:32). God the Father has predestined those He knew and called them with His offer of sonship (Eph 1:4-5). Sadly, because of sin and the lure of this world, only a small group will ultimately bear fruit (Matt13:23) and be chosen for sonship (Matt 20:16b; 22:14).

Evolutionists are attempting to discover the purpose of life through evolution and chance, with humans at the top of the pyramid chain. Religionists are trying to explain life's cause and effect through karma and reincarnation. Only a correct understanding of the Bible explains it  all. In Genesis 1:26, it is recorded that God specifically made man in His own image and likeness - meaning to say that man is made to be the God kind. This differentiate man from all other form of animals. Hence, the human mind is far more complex and superior than animal instinct. The evolutionists simply cannot understand that all human being has a God given spirit which none of the species in the animal kingdom possess. When the human spirit is united with God's Holy Spirit, it could beget the person with eternal life.

God is omnipotent. But there is one thing He cannot do - and that is He cannot transform mortal human to have godly character like Christ through fiat by means of a magic wand. This is because man is created as a free agent to have free will and free choice. The only way man can develop lasting godly Christ-like character is through trials and tribulation of life. However, God has given His Holy Spirit to all those He has called as sons of God to assist in the development process. Only those true disciples who seek after Him and are wise to understand His ways will ultimately make it as born again spirit being in the coming kingdom of God. For God only give His Spirit to those who obey Him (Acts 5:32).

Every man has to be tested in the physical life in order to qualify for eternal life. This is because once a person is born again as a spirit being, he/she is like an angel endowed with immortal life that will never die (1 Cor 15:54). Before a person can qualify to that stage, God has to ensure that the person has learned the lessons of life to ensure that he/she has the right quality to become members of  His divine family in His kingdom - which is the government of God tasked to rule and reign the whole earth during the Millennial Age and then the universe throughout eternity.

It is worthy to note that the kingdom of God or kingdom of heaven is not referring to citizenship in heaven itself, otherwise it should be named kingdom in heaven. The kingdom of God or kingdom of heaven will be headquartered in Jerusalem on planet earth, to rule the world when Christ return. That is why Christ taught that, 'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth' (Matt 5:5). God has given man 6,000 years of  self government, but man has repeatedly failed to govern  the people and  the land according to His laws, and hence the mounting problems the world is facing, inspite of all technological and economic advancement. It is God's ultimate plan to save all mankind, but man has to be tested to qualify for eternal life. Otherwise, countless billions of demonic beings will set to inherit the universe for all of eternity. That would be the mother of all tragedies!

The Apostle Paul was unequivocal and repeatedly states that those with undesirable characters will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9-11; Gal 5:19-21; Eph 5:3-5), whatever man may say about them. In other words, such people will not be born again as sons of God, for only sons born of God will be in the first resurrection to become kings and royal priesthood when Christ returns to claim His kingdom (Luke 19:15). Unless repented in time before His imminent return, they will be in the second resurrection to become reconstituted human beings again as the rest of humanity towards the close of the Millennial Age. Then, they will be given ample opportunity to repent when all truth will be made known with Satan and his demons incarcerated for a thousand years. Those who choose God's way will be given eternal life while those who refuse will end up in the lake of fire, totally annihilated ("second death'' - Rev 20:6) as if they were never born (Malachi 4:1). A merciful God will put them out of their misery.

EXERCISE THE POWER OF GOD

The Holy Spirit is God's power. In Luke 1:35 and 4:14, the Greek word for dunamis means power, dynamic, dynamo or dynamite. It is this same power that  prophet Jeremiah wrote, "I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by MY GREAT POWER and by My outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me".  The same is repeated in Jeremiah 32: 17.

The first recorded martyr in the New Testament, Stephen, saw the source of this power when He looked to heaven, "But he (Stephen), being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God". Endowed with God's power, Peter and John were able to preach the Gospel with boldness even though they were uneducated and untrained men (John 4:13,31).

The Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 1:16-17 that it is through God's power He created all things, both in heaven and on earth. It is through this same power that He preserves all His creation (Nehemiah 9:6). Some preachers may tell you to 'reach deep within' to tap the 'inner self '. But the Bible is clear that the power of the Holy Spirit is a gift received after true conversion and did not reside at birth.

Most are mistaken into believing that the Holy Spirit is part of the trinity of God, like God the Father and Jesus Christ. If that is so, then Christ should be called the son of the Holy Spirit, since God (Father) sent His Spirit to beget Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:5 tells us that God has given us the earnest of the Spirit (KJV). True disciples of Christ receive only a token of God's Spirit, with greater measure of it to come after the resurrection. This clearly shows that the Holy Spirit is not a person, for one cannot receive a part or portion of a living being, let alone a God Being! Though not a living person, the Holy Spirit is active like rivers of living water (John 7:38). The currents of a river are powerful that can generate hydro-electricity for energy consumption.

True believers need to exercise the power of God, much like exercising the muscles to prevent atrophy. Christ was fully aware that without God (Father)'s Spirit, He can do nothing (John 5:30), and He strived to stay connected with the Heavenly Father through His Spirit. We are admonished to be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18)  and through it develop the godly character that God desires for His children. In order to do so, we must think and act like Christ, Who set the example for us to follow.

There are four ways to exercise the power of God's Holy Spirit - pray, study the Bible, meditate and fast. Christ prayed constantly and for long hours into the wee hours of the morning before His scourging and crucifixion. He fasted for forty days and quoted the word of God to ward off temptations from Satan while being tested in the wilderness. To meditate is to contemplate and ponder over what we have learned from studying the word of God that are pure and good (Phil 4:8).

In addition to the four disciplines, the true disciples of Christ also need to obey the word of God. For the Holy Spirit is given by God to those who obey Him (Acts 5:32). God allows trials and tribulations in our life to mold and shape us in the likeness of Christ - as what the Apostle Peter wrote as the trial of faith (1 Pet 1:7). But faith without works is dead (James 2:20). So we need to do good by serving with a humble attitude and compassionate heart. By doing good works, we are helping to stir up the spiritual gifts which God will give to those who are obedient to Him.

A Christian needs to produce good fruits  by connecting to Christ through the Holy Spirit, much like a tree that will produce good fruits by the nutrients taken in from the root source. Without which, we could be in danger of working things out in the flesh. We all need to examine our life constantly to see if the Holy Spirit is evidently working in our life!

What Actually Is Speaking In Tongues?

More and more traditional churches are going down the Charismatic route thinking that they ought to get a piece of the action about invoking the spiritual gifts and the more controversial speaking in tongues. But what is all these about few truly understand. Most of the Charismatic leaders share about their tongue experience, but are tongue-tied to explain what it actually means in the light of Scriptures. They allow their experience to be the new norm in the interpretation of Scriptures.

While it is absolutely true that a Christain must receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in order to be led by it and be 'quickened' (resurrected) from death at Christ Second Coming to receive salvation, it is another thing to be flippant with God's spiritual gifts. Yet most who claim to speak in tongue have no clue what they are babbling about. The Apostle Paul made it very clear when he wrote, 'Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be IGNORANT' . It is not God's intention for His people to be ignorant of what tongue really is.

There are nine spiritual gifts listed in 1 Cor 12: 8-10, and Paul emphasisd that not everyone receives every gift, but rather the gift given to a person is for everyone. Nowhere in Scriptures is mentioned that one must speak in tongue to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Christ teaches that all true disciples are known by their fruits (Matthew 7:20), not by their tongues. Again it is recorded in John 13:35, 'By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another'. From these simple principles alone, those who teach that every Christian is to receive the gift of tongue is in direct violation of Scriptures.

1 Corintinians 13 is a chapter on spiritual gifts, admonishing that faith, hope and love are the greatest of all spiritual gifts one should seek. Yet countless millions in tarry meetings are mesmerised in seeking after tongues, why? The Apostel Paul answers this in 2 Cor 11: 13-15, 'For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.'  Many are seduced by false ministers into Satan's counterfeits, working signs and wonders, when Christ Himself clearly warns, ' A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah ( a reference to His death and Resurrection) Matthew 16:4 '.

Millions the world over are deceived (Rev 12:9) falling right into Satan's death trap. Since they bear the mark of the Beast (part of the mystery Babylon) they will undergo horrendous sufferings in the coming Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord! The preachers and leaders who entice their followers to do likewise will receive the greater punishment as hypocrites, and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 24:51).

When God gives the gift of tongues, they are known foreign languages that require interpretation (that is why the gift of interpretation is required). The word 'unknown' is in italics added by Bible translators. Only those who are serious seekers of the Word of God will find the truth, for the truth will set them free (John 8:32). Those who do not seek the truth of God's word is because there is no light in them (Isaiah 8:20) and they do not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved (2 Thess 2:10).

The incident in Acts 2 was a one time occurence and has not happened since, contrary to what men may claim. The Apostle Peter spoke his own language and different people of different languages heard as if he was speaking to them in their own language. The miracle happened not only to the one speaking but also to all those hearing. This account is unique because it is the founding of the New Testament church which Christ promised will happen (Matthew 16:18). All other accounts of speaking in tongue happened only to the one speaking. God gave an extraordinary miracle because it is uniquely important at the founding of His church!

Subsequent accounts of speaking in tongues recorded in Acts chapters 10, 11 and 19 were not the same as the account in Acts 2. There is no tarry meetings or waiting on the Holy Spirit and nobody cajoled anyone to speak in tongues. The incidents in Acts 10 and 11 were to affirm that God gave His Holy Spirit to the Gentiles through faith in Jesus Christ (Gal 3:14). In the Acts 19 account, the disciples understood repentance from John the Baptist, but they need to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, and Paul laid his hands on them to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and they did speak in tongues. All these accounts were quite different from the one in Acts 2.

Pentecostal meetings are full of drama and begging for His Spirit. Nowhere does the Bible teaches that. But Acts 5:32 teaches that God will give His Holy Spirit to those who obey Him. This can take place only after true repentance, not simply mumble some sinner's prayer as commonly taught by traditional Christianity. Receiving God's Spirit is a mark of being a Christian (Romans 8:9) but not necessarily the gift of tongues. The Day of Pentecost is the founding of the true church of God and are the firstfruits of the harvest (James 1:18, Rev 14:4). Subsequent harvests will come after Christ return to establish the kingdom of God on earth when all human beings will be resurrected (Ezekiel 37; John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15) and given the opportunity for salvation through the Blood of Christ (Phil 2: 10-11). By then, the Spirit of God will be made available upon all flesh who believe on Christ for salvation (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:18, 21). That is the Good News of the Gospel of the kingdom of God!

WHERE ARE ALL THE DEAD?

I read a news report about a murderer in the United States who was given the death sentence and the family of the victim wished that the condemmned murderer will "forever burn in hell". In many of the funeral wakes I have attended, the pastors invariably comfort their parishioners that their deceased loved ones "are now in heaven enjoying a blissful life with Jesus". Are such beliefs based on biblical truth, or are they adapted by some novelists who popularised these notions on misunderstood biblical verses? We shall soon find out.

The belief that man has an immortal soul started at the Garden of Even when Satan lied to Eve with the statement, "You will not surely die" (Genesis 3:4).  Make no mistake, the Bible is uneqivocal that death is the absence of life - man does not have an immortal soul and there is no life beyond the grave. The Bible uses the word "sleep" to describe all those who are dead. The dead in Christ are not in heaven, neither are the "lost" burning in hell! All true disciples of Christ who are asleep are awaiting the first resurrection at the Second Coming of Christ. The rest of humanity are awaiting for the second resurrection to happen sometime towards the close of the millennium age.

The number of biblical verses supporting the above statements are simply overwhelming, and I shall attempt to quote some of them. Soloman states in Ecclesiastes 3:19-22, 'For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breadth; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust...For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?'  Only the spirit in man will return to God who gave it (Eccl 12:7b), but the spirit in man is not conscious of its existence, much like our physical DNA. Similarly, David says in Psalm 6:5, ' For in death there is no rememberance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks.'  The Psalmist in 115:17 says, 'The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into silence.'

The patriarch Job asks in Job 14:14,' If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, till my change comes (First Resurrection - to become immortal born again spirit being)'  Job knows that God will hide him in the grave till His wrath is past (Job 14:13) - the coming Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord before he will be resurrected to immortality. The prophet Daniel was similarly assured by the Archangel Michael recorded for us in 12:13, ' But you go your way till the end, for you shall rest (die), and will arise to your inheritance (the kingdom of God) at the end of the days.' The same assurance was written by David in Psalm 17:15, 'As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness (born again as immortal spirit sons of God in God's divine Family).'

To put to rest the doubts of those who think that the New Testament era is different from the time before Christ, John 3:13 records the words of Christ, ' No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.'  The Apostle Peter preached the same after Christ resurrection, ' Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.' (Acts 2: 29) ; ' For David did not ascend into the heavens' (Acts 2:34).

But many will quote Luke 23:43, saying that Jesus told the thief on the cross that 'today you will be with Me in paradise'. In the original manuscript there is no comma in the verse but added by bible translators. The correct translation should be, 'Assuredly, I say to you today, you will be with Me in Paradise.'  If Christ had promise the thief paradise on that very day, then Christ lied as He was in the grave for three full days. In fact, Christ did not ascend to heaven as yet when Mary Magdalene saw Him after His resurrection (John 20:17). What Christ was promising the thief on the cross was that since he repented, but was not baptised and did not receive the  gift of the Holy Spirit, he will not be in the first but in the second resurrection towards the close of the millennium age. By then planet earth would have been restored (Acts 3:21) to become a paradise much like before the Fall.

The Apostle Paul affirmed us that Christ has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Cor 15:20). He (Christ) is the first to awake from sleep (death) and the true church, who is the firstfruits (James 1:18) will follow likewise when He returns. Till then, all the dead - whether in Christ or not - are asleep in the grave (RIP) and their body sees corruption (decay). But those in Christ will be raised to immortality where there is no more suffering and death (1 Cor 15: 50-58). Only an immortal spirit body that has been born again in the likeness of Christ (1 John 3:2) will be able to enter and inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 15:50).

Coming back to the story of those who wish that the murderer will forever burn in hell, this concept was popularised by novelists in the thirteen century and beyond. Many misunderstood the parable about the Rich Man and Lazarus recorded in Luke 16:19-31. That was not hell fire in the allegory. If it was so, can dipping the tip of a finger in water able to cool the tongue of the rich man in a fiery hell fire inferno? The allegory in Luke 16 is teaching us about humility and stewardship, and a special warning for those who are wealthy not to despise and marginalise the poor.

A passage in Revelation 6:9-11 is often used by those who to support their belief of the immortal soul. But this passage is an allegory to explain that the blood of the martyrs who died for the truth of the gospel will be avenged by God when the time for the numbers of those who are called and chosen has all come into the kingdom of God. Those martyrs who died in righteousness were told to rest a little longer (RIP) before justice is done.  For all died in faith (Hebrews 11:13), including all those in the hall of faith like the patriarchs of old and have yet to receive their promise of salvation.

Alas, do watch and pray for the time is coming when our redemption (from mortality to immortality) draws near (Luke 21:28). The good news is that after salvation, the sons of God will be earth bound to help govern the whole earth. Christ clearly states that in the Sermon on the Mount, 'Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth'. Those who are overcomers will become sons of God in God's divine Family (Rev 3:21) to form the Government of God with Christ as the King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev 19:16). That in the nutshell, is the Gospel of the kingdom of God!