To be absent from the body…

“We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” 2Cr 5:8.

This is one of the verses that many use to explain that as soon as a person dies that they will be with the Lord in an instant. Are they? I was thinking about that the other day and it is only a theory of mine and I am not dogmatic about it. Maybe some of you have a different view and I love your feedback on this. I was just thinking, a person that has died a thousand years ago, has that person been with Jesus for a thousand years by the time I get there? I don’t think so for several reasons.

I believe that once a person dies, they are no longer bound in a time continuum like we are. I was looking at it in this way, if a person goes to sleep at 8pm and awakes at 8am, those 12 hours went by in an instant for the person sleeping. They fell to sleep and woke up. If I would have sat next to the bed awake for 12 hours, time would pass slowly because I was in real-time. I wake up sometimes during the night and to be honest, I could not tell what hour it is. Is it 3am or 5am? I lost all sense of time and how many hours I might have slept before I woke up. What I believe is that we as believers will arrive at the same time to meet the Lord, no matter what century a person may have died.

We will all be there for the marriage supper of the lamb, dressed in white linen. What about the thief on the cross you might ask. Well, Jesus did say to him that today he will be with Him in paradise. The thief died on the cross and time ceased to exist for him. I think he will be there with us at the same time. I’m not sure about the OT Saints, like Abraham, Moses and Elijah for example that died before Christ went to the cross. Most of us know the passage when Jesus took Peter, James and John up on a mountain and they saw Him transformed before them and Him standing there with Moses an Elijah.

Maybe God worked differently with His chosen people in the OT times. I don’t have all the answers, but it is something to think about and as I said, I cannot be dogmatic about any of this. It just makes not a lot sense to me that some have been with the Lord for many centuries, and when I get there, I’m the newcomer, the new kid on the block. Well, however it may be, it will be glorious to be with the Lord and spend eternity with Him. Let me know what you think, or if you have something to add.

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. “And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”John 11:25, 26.

Author: Media 4 Life Ministries

I consider myself a biblical Christian and a follower and disciple of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My blogs are from a biblical perspective in a postmodern world. I love to study the Bible and the truth which it brings forth and applying those biblical principles into my daily walk with the Lord. Freelance Photographer and Photo Editor. Contractor for the Media Department at Maranatha Chapel in San Diego. I love to write and I have a passion to reach people with the good news of Jesus Christ, utilizing the internet. Administrator for Church websites and other ministries. I like reaching out via the social networks to people around the world, that are less fortunate or just need some encouragement in their walk with the Lord. It is not about religion, it is all about a loving relationship with Him Who saved me. All the glory belongs to Him and without Him, I can do nothing. Thank you for visiting my site and please leave me a comment. If you have any questions about the Christian faith, why we believe and what we believe, don’t hesitate to leave me a message. May the Lord bless you all. God is good all the time, all the time, God is good. http://media4lifeministries.com http://media4lifephotography.com https://twitter.com//Media4LifeMin View all posts by Media 4 Life Ministries

13 thoughts on “To be absent from the body…”

I think as humans we view everything as linear and we therefore think God must be that way too. One of those cute human assumptions. I believe God lives outside of our normal time frames and being He is God, He moves around through our time line like He wants to. I believe it is very possible that we could all actually arrive at the same time so to speak when we depart from this Earth. Doesn’t matter if we are an OT Saint or from the Church Age. I believe that might explain why God can be everywhere at all times with every believer. Because His method of time is very different from ours.

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Thank you Yvette, what a glorious hope we have as believers. I think sometimes people don’t realize or think about our ultimate destination which is heaven. Don’t know really how that all looks, but I stand on the promises that Jesus made. Have a blessed Sunday.

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Thank you my friend. Many blessings to you.

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Thank you Paul, that was my intend. It’s good to think about things like that, especially when it comes to eternity and our destination. Blessings, Freddy.

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Thanks Cathy, thinking is good, there are so many things that are not easy to comprehend. God is so awesome and powerful. Have a blessed Sunday.

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Amen, Jesus came to reveal Who the Father is. Jesus is the exact representation of God. A person who knows Jesus, knows God, His attributes, His character and His Love. Heb 1:1 and Col 1:16, 17. Thanks for your comment, have a blessed Sunday.

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I am thinking that God sent Jesus to remind people who God is, and that we need to continue in our belief in Him as our Heavenly Father. In this way, we can know that those from the OT are right there next to God our Father. The prophets in the OT did their work but people were not listening, which is why God had to send His Son to do the work: to remind us that God is our Father and that we need to love others.
Just a thought.

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Thank you all for your comments. I was wondering how people would react when I wrote this. Thinking about eternity and everlasting life is not always easy to comprehend, but it is good to think about it and provoke some thoughts. Eternal Life with the Lord is our destiny. Many blessings to all of you.

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Just when I think I know anything you come up with this! I never thought about it. Great post. Now I will think about it.

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Thought provoking, Jesus himself provoked thought.
Thanks for the blog
Paul

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I totally agree!! Time is a created element. Since God is eternal and exists outside of time, we also are eternal when we are born-again. He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him (this also shows us that the verses which speak of being a pure and spotless bride are more “now” verses than future bc if we are one spirit with Him then He is spotless and pure. Also, we are the righteousness of God in Christ…that’s pure and spotless too). So, when our bodies die, we are eternal and exist outside of time. We know the cloud of witnesses Paul mentioned are not being made perfect without us so we should be together with Him all at once I believe … (the cloud of witnesses weren’t born-again since Jesus hadn’t gone to the cross before they died.)Lots of things to talk to Him about… All I know is He is wonderful!
Thanks for your thoughts! Blessings.

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