Q. You’ve written that the story of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke16:19-31) is the clearest teaching we have on the after life. So, can we assume from this teaching that those that have passed away during the church age are completely aware of what has happened?  And of everything, everyone and every situation they have left behind at the moment of their death?   It appears that both Lazarus and the rich man were well aware of these things.

Read Post »

Q. I just finished listening to a pastor talking about Luke 7 – the story of Jesus raising the widows son. Farther along in his message, he related an experience about praying for his deceased wife, for the Lord to Bless her, and used 2 Timothy 4:19 in conjunction with 2 Timothy 1:17,18 to say that Onesiphorus had died and that verse 18 was a prayer for him. Therefore, praying for the dead has precedent in the Bible.  I don’t know exactly what the original language actually states – was Onesiphorus dead? Or is this just an extrapolation from the use of past tense words?

Read Post »

Q. I read in your answer to Where Were Their Spirits posted on 4-10 that you mention Tabitha’s spirit having not departed. And that Eutychus’ spirit also had not departed before he was raised from the dead. But I’ve always understood that (2 Cor. 5:8) “absent from the body, present with the Lord” meant just that. Once a believer dies their spirit is immediately transferred to Heaven and does not linger around for even one second much less a few days. Have I misunderstood this? And if I have where can I find evidence for this in scripture.

Read Post »

Q. If there are no marriages in heaven, where does that leave the family unit?  I lost a baby at 6 weeks old, How will she be in heaven? What about all the family reunions everyone looks forward to in heaven? Will we even be know as we are here? Read Post »

Q. I know we are not to contact the dead, and I do not seek to do so.  Two hours after my husband died, however, I felt that his spirit walked through my body.  That is, his spirit approached me from behind, briefly was “in” my body, making me feel that he was now healthy and walking, and then walked onward swiftly.  It lasted only seconds.  I did not ask for this contact.  But I believe it happened.  Is this permitted by God?  If this is not permitted, I am troubled, because I believe it happened.

Read Post »

Q. I come from a family where the women have big hips and some are just plain fat all over. I am over weight and I know the Lord wants us to take care of our bodies. My question may be insignificant to some but to me it is important. I have had to deal with being made fun of when I was over weight and then had to deal with negative comments for my wide hips when I was at my perfect weight. No matter if I was fat or skinny I always had negative comments made about my shape. So, when I get to heaven is God going to give me a perfect shaped body?  Or will I still look like an hour glass that was blown up a little to much. I know I shouldn’t even worry about that but after being treated this way it would be nice to finally be proportioned positively.

Read Post »

Q. During a recent discussion about the Apostles Creed, the question came up as to why Jesus descended into hell before He rose from the dead.  One of the proposed answers was that it was so that Jesus could take the keys to hell and death from Satan.  However, we are unable to locate any scripture to support this proposed answer.  We do find that in Revelation 1:18, He has the keys to hell and death.  When and how did He get them?

Read Post »

Q. Where do believers go after death? Do they go straight to heaven, or a lower level of heaven, or a waiting room? In 1 Thessalonians it talks about the dead in Christ rising.Where do dead believers rise from ?

Read Post »

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

I’ve received several emails lately asking for clarification of the term “Outer Darkness.” It’s mentioned a total of 4 times in the New Testament, three by name and one by implication, and always by Jesus. The term is not used any where else, Old Testament or New, by any other writer. Those who ask want to know if it’s another name for the place of eternal punishment, or if it’s some place different. And they want to know who’s going there.

Read Post »

Q. Reading “Is Only God Immortal?” today and I have a hard time understanding how our soul is eternal already and the eternity of life in hell.  If God grants us eternal life through a belief in Christ’s gift to us, then it would be safe to say we don’t have it yet, or before our belief.  Reading John 3:36 seems to say to me that you will either have life, or not have life.  Wouldn’t an eternal life in hell still be a life?  Could Paul in 2 Thessalonians 1:9 have meant that the fire is eternal, the destruction is eternal, not the time some spend there?

Read Post »