I was wondering that, God forbid, one day a terrorist group like ISIS targets my house. I would know that I would die no matter what. And we all know that people killed in the name of Jesus Christ will go directly to heaven. So I wanted to know if its okay that I go down fighting? Because if I die in their "traditional way", the chances are that they will decapitate or burn me and that's a slow and painful way to go. But if I go down fighting they'll have to shoot me, and though its painful too, it would be much quicker.
The Bible is abundantly clear on this point. When the saved die, they go directly into the presence of the Lord. At this point we remember the words of Jesus to the thief on the cross, �I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise� (Luke 23:43, emphasis added). This appears to be a straightforward promise that at the moment of death the repentant thief would pass from his life of crime and his agonizing death into the realm called �paradise.� This would seem to contradict the teaching called �soul-sleep,� which implies that at death a believer �sleeps� in a kind of suspended animation until the day of the resurrection. How could the thief be that very day in paradise if his soul went to sleep when he died? At the moment of death the believer passes immediately into the personal presence of Jesus Christ. This is our hope and comfort as we stand at the graveside of a loved one.
Paul said he had a desire �to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far� (Philippians 1:23, emphasis added). He also said, �We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body (that is, separated from the body by death) and at home with the Lord� (2 Corinthians 5:8, emphasis added). These are the words of a man who believed that heaven would begin at the moment of his death. Was Paul looking forward to an unconscious slumber after his death? No! He was looking forward to the personal presence of Jesus Christ.
But that�s not the whole story. The soul goes to be with the Lord in heaven, and the body is buried until the day of resurrection when Jesus returns to the earth. 1 Thessalonians 4:14 says, �We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.� Here you have both sides of the truth. Christians who die are said to be �with Jesus� (that�s the soul in the conscious presence of the Lord) and �have fallen asleep in him� (that�s the body which �sleeps� in the grave). Listen to Paul�s description of that great reunion of body and soul: �For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first� (1 Thessalonians 4:16, emphasis added). Here is a clear promise of future bodily resurrection for the believer.
1 Corinthians 15:51-55 adds the crucial fact that our bodies will be �raised imperishable"�that is, with a body that is perfect in every way, free from the vestiges of death and decay In this life our bodies wear out, like a clock continually running down, but when we are raised, it will be with bodies that can never decay, never wear out, never suffer injury, never grow old, never get sick, and thank God, never die.
Many Christians have a wrong view of death. We think we�re going from the land of living to the land of dying. But the opposite is true. If you know Jesus, you are going from the land of dying to the land of the living. Here are some of the images the Bible uses for the death of a Christian: going to sleep and waking up in heaven . . . moving from a tent to a mansion . . . walking from the darkness into a well-lit room . . . coming home to see your family and friends . . . being set free from prison . . . taking a long journey to a new land . . . riding a chariot to the New Jerusalem . . . moving into a brand-new home . . . opening a gate to a brand-new world.
Christians have always faced death with confidence. The very word cemetery comes from a Greek word meaning �sleeping-place,� which refers to their confidence in the promise of the resurrection. Many pagans cremated their dead because they saw no further use for the human body. But Christians buried their dead as a statement of faith in the coming resurrection of the body. I have been asked more than once how God can raise the dead if the body has been burned or lost or vaporized in some terrible explosion. I don�t think that�s a difficult question at all. If you can raise the dead, you can raise the dead. Resurrection is God�s problem, not ours. We don�t need to know the how of the resurrection as long as we know the who.
As he lay dying, D. L. Moody proclaimed, �Earth recedes, heaven opens before me.� Catherine Booth, wife of the founder of the Salvation Army, cried out, �The waters are rising, but I am not sinking.� And George MacDonald, the English novelist, said, �I came from God, and I�m going back to God, and I won�t have any gaps of death in the middle of my life.� John Wesley summed up the faith of the early Methodists with four simple words: �Our people die well.�
When Benjamin Franklin was twenty-three years old, he wrote the following epitaph. His words catch the essence of the Christian doctrine of bodily resurrection:
The body of Benjamin Franklin
Printer;
Like the cover of an old book,
Its contents torn out,
And stripped of its lettering and gilding,
Lies here, food for worms.
But the work shall not be wholly lost:
For it will, as he believed, appear once more,
In a new and more elegant edition,
Revised and corrected
By the Author.
Once our bodies are raised, we will be with the Lord forever. Wherever he is, there we will be, rejoicing, praising, singing, and celebrating throughout the ages of eternity. 1 Thessalonians 4:17 says, �We will be with the Lord forever.� Speaking of his own return, Jesus said, �In my Father�s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am" (John 14:2-3, emphasis added).
What is ahead for us when we die?
Our soul goes into the conscious presence of the Lord.
Our body is buried until the day of resurrection.
When Christ returns, we will be raised bodily from the grave.
Body and soul reunited, we will be with the Lord forever.
As Tony Evans says, �Have a good time at my funeral, because I�m not going to be there.�
... For the Lost
Now we turn to briefly consider the fate of those who die without Jesus Christ. The lost fear death and with good reason. Job 18:14 calls death �the king of terrors.� Hebrews 2:14 reminds us that the devil holds people in bondage through the fear of death. And 1 Corinthians 15:26 calls death �the last enemy.�
Before saying any more, we should note one similarity between the fate of the saved and the lost. At the moment of death, the body is buried in the grave while the soul enters a new realm. For the believer, the moment of death brings him into the personal presence of Christ. For the unbeliever, death begins an experience of unending conscious punishment.
We can summarize the fate of the lost in four short statements:
1. At the moment of death the soul of the lost is sent to hell where it is in conscious torment. In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus told of a rich man who upon his death went to hell and suffered in the flames of torment. It does not matter whether you think this passage is literal or figurative. If you say it is literal, then it must be a terrible punishment. If it is figurative, the figure itself is so awful to consider that the reality must be much worse.
2. That punishment is eternal. Though this is debated in some circles today, Christians have united across the centuries in their belief that the Bible teaches an eternal punishment for those who do not know our Lord. Mark 9:43-48 speaks of the fire that is not quenched and the worm that does not die�a reference to the continuing existence of human personality in hell.
3. The body is raised at the Great White Throne judgment. Revelation 20:11-15 describes the awesome scene as the unsaved dead are raised to stand before God and receive their final sentence of doom.
4. The unsaved are then cast into the lake of fire where they will reside forever, eternally separated from the presence of Almighty God. If this is unbearable to think about, if we shrink from such a thought, then let us by all means do whatever is necessary to make sure that such a fate does not befall us or the ones we love the most.
This is the final destiny of those who do not know Jesus Christ. To make it more personal, it is the final destiny of your friends and neighbors, your loved ones, your parents, your brothers, your sisters, your children, if they die without Jesus Christ. And it is your destiny if you die without Jesus Christ. Let that thought linger in your mind. The reality of hell is more than just a theoretical doctrine. There is a place reserved for you in the lake of fire unless you by a conscious choice put your complete trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Zimneno: There is absolutely no reason for you to lay down and let terrorists harm you and kill you.Defending yourself and your loved ones against evil is not sin!!
There are many many scriptures on fighting and war but here are a few that I decided to post for you. You can do a search online and do a in depth bible study on the subject for further understanding. Its always best to lean on the word of God rather than post on a site where you have no idea who is really walking with the Lord.
Proverbs 25:26
Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.
1 Timothy 5:8
But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Romans 13:4
For he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.
Of David. Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;
Luke 22:36
He said to them, �But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.
Nehemiah 4:14
And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, �Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.
Numbers 31:3
So Moses spoke to the people, saying, �Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord's vengeance on Midian.
And finally:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
A Time for Everything
3 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
Blueyedjewel: My apologies but, right now I can't take the time to read your lengthy replies. However, I may not have been clear in my initial response to the OP.
" And we all know that people killed in the name of Jesus Christ will go directly to heaven." . . . The OP failed to mention if the one who was killed was a believer. I have followed a lot of what this young man has previously posted and it sure sounds like he is verrry new to his walk with Christ.
In my understanding of the NT, one is required to actually BELIEVE before one is saved, correct? Does an 'unsaved,' nonbeliever go directly to heaven if killed in the name of Christ?
This is the question I was posing, not if a saved Christian goes to heaven.
NSRV: I answered your question. There wasnt any misunderstanding on my part. I answered the question pertaining to the unsaved as well as those that are saved.
I always find it best to put the information out that the babes need rather than asking a question. Teachable moments dont arise as oft as we would like. I hope this helps:)
If one is dying for Christ, he is laying down his life. He is fighting the spiritual battle.
"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, �Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,� says the Lord. 20 Therefore �If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.� 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:14-21
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints� 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." Ephesians 6:10-20
"�You have heard that it was said, �You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.� 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48
There are times, like when you are in the company of Christ when He makes war, you fight a physical battle for Christ, but that is not the nature of our most important warfare now, in His absence from the earth, and we are not the nation of Israel. The rule is that leaders of the nations are charged with keeping the peace at the borders by war, not individual people on their own.
Christ didn't commission the church to fight holy war physically. That is the error of the Crusades. We are to fight the spiritual battle, in the spiritual realm.
If you want to be a successful front line warrior, get out your bible and get on your knees and start praying through the scriptures.
I have been living in a Christian family since I was born. But it was only two years ago that I started to follow Christ, because to be a Christian I must act like a Christian too. So yes I am new.
it was written in the bible that blessed are those who are persecuted in my name. For they shall inherit the kingdom of God??? I think it was something like that.
Well since God wants me to love those who persecute me... I choose to not cause any harm. Instead pick up something heavy and run towards them to make them shoot at me. This way my intentions won't be to harm anyone.
