Let the love of Jesus be known in all nations by the remnant of His orphaned family as they struggle to overcome aggression from those who despise Truth!

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The Dead In Christ Are Gone! INTRODUCTION: Honest discourse between scholars is helpful when founded on factual information! There is a multitude of reference sources available, including the Bible, along with enlightenment made possible by the Holy Spirit. To encourage serious debate about the current "dead in Christ" controversy, it seems appropriate to consider all ideas presented from a proper perspective. When people died through the centuries, those left behind might believe that they went to be with the Lord in Heaven, joined Satan in Hell, were reincarnated as humans and animals, evaporated into thin air, or simply became "dust to dust." Did any of it happen as imagined? Well, for the sake of brevity, let's contemplate this subject only from a Christian point of view. Let's carefully consider whether or not the "dead in Christ" have already been taken by Christ. Information found when visiting TennesseeElijah.com indicates that the Spirit of Elijah departed the flesh of James Reesor at midnight on March 19, 2006. According to predictions made months prior to that date on BellSouth message boards under the title -- "A day we will never forget!" -- the "dead in Christ" were taken, and the "great and dreadful day of the Lord" started. How should people decide if true or false claims have been made? Please read comments related to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 -- "...But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope..." + COMMENT: When loved ones pass from this Life, Christians can have hope because of information received and believed. "...For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him..." + COMMENT: Having faith to believe in revealed Truth is essential if we expect to join the dead in Christ when our time comes to go. We need to understand what it means for God to bring those who sleep in Him. Apparently, according to Elijah, those who "sleep in Christ" were awakened by Him on March 19, 2006. When Christ returns, they will return as a Spiritual part of Him, as well as separate, new creatures. "...For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep..." + COMMENT: God is everywhere! Now that the sleeping "dead in Christ" are awake, He will be calling those who are "alive and remain" to join those who are already with Him. According to Elijah, the "shout," the "voice," and the "trump" have already happened in the realm of the Spirit for the dead in Christ. "...For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and THE DEAD IN CHRIST SHALL RISE FIRST:..." + COMMENT: Christians will be happy to know that before the end of this generation, those who were dead in Christ and those who are alive in Christ will be merged with Him for ever! "...Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord..." + COMMENT: Just as a light bulb radiates light throughout a room when connected to electrical current, Christ in His resurrected body radiates Light throughout creation as Spirit God. To be alive in Christ means that our new bodies will be Spiritually connected as "one in Christ Jesus" when we are caught up to be with Him. Please read comments related to 2 Corinthians 5:17 -- "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." + COMMENT: It would be foolish to dogmatically declare what becoming a "new creature" entails. Will souls be transformed into glowing, circles of Light? Will souls resemble angels with wings as depicted by artists? Will souls who come back to Earth with Christ appear as humans in flowing, white robes? Will these same souls be indwelling new "vessels" that are capable of being sustained on Earth, throughout the universe, and in Heaven?  Please read comments related to 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 -- "...Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:..." + COMMENT: To be "at home in the body" means that souls indwelling an earthly body have not yet been "caught away" to be joined with the Lord. When we are with the Lord, we will be able to see and touch Him. Until that happens, it is the "Comforter" in the form of the Holy Spirit that dwells in redeemed souls. "...We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord..." + COMMENT: To be "present" with the Lord before March of 2006 meant to be with Him in a "unconsciousness" state of (sleep) after physical "death" (separation of body and soul). Good souls departing since March have remained awake when becoming One with Christ. Those who are presently alive in Christ will make the transition without sleep during the catching away. "...  Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him..." + COMMENT: Bible scholars need to make a distinction between the "dead in Satan" and the "dead in Christ" to understand what happens to souls after physical death. Both good and evil souls appear at the judgment seat of Christ, but only the "dead in Christ" awoke this past March. The "dead in Satan" will continue sleeping until the great White Throne Judgment. As scholars understand, Truth not revealed in Holy Writings is sometimes revealed by prophets inspired by God. "...For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad..." + COMMENT: Each soul will be judged by God. Evidence from lives will be evaluated according to His Almighty wisdom, His ultimate authority, and His unlimited power. Please read comments related to Hebrews 9:27&28 -- "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." + COMMENT: The judgment for those who were "dead in Christ" happened on March of 2006 when they rose up from their sleep to see the Master. Because of the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross, He was able to receive each soul "without sin unto salvation" as new creatures. Please read comments related to Revelation 20:7-15 -- "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw A GREAT WHITE THRONE, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." + COMMENT: Every evil soul, every demonic fallen angel, and Satan himself will pay the price for rebellion against God! All of creation will then be free of corruption, and the children of God will be with Him eternally. Please consider comments in response anonymous statements -- (1) OPINION from someone: "...The grave certainly will open up and the resurrected spirit bodies of the saints will rise (ascend) to be with Christ in the clouds..." + COMMENT: The idea of graves opening up is not logical when considering souls as opposed to decayed bodies. What about those who died while being alive in Christ in ways that totally obliterated their bodies? Since there was no way to implant them within a grave for some future rapture, where were those souls waiting for the return of Christ? Is it possible that carnally minded people focus too much attention on human vessels and have disregarded the spirituality of souls? (2) OPINION from someone: "...The raising of the Christian dead to incorruption occurs at the last 7th trump. We (who are still alive) will see this occurring while we are still in our physical human bodies. Then we will ourselves be changed and follow the others into the clouds..." + COMMENT: We should not assume the duration of the 7th trump. We should not assume how much time might pass after the "dead in Christ" arise before the "alive in Christ" arise. Human logic and deductive reasoning is fallible. Months or even years might transpire as God desires during these two events. (3) OPINION from someone: "...For the saints to be resurrected at the last trump something must be dead. We know the soul is not dead, therefore it is the bodies which are dead and are brought back to life..." + COMMENT: God does not plan to resurrect broken, burnt, decayed, or nonexistent acid-consumed bodies for souls to inhabit once again. Jesus was not resurrected into His original body yet He was able to enter a room with closed doors to be seen and touched. God will give redeemed souls a new and better vessel designed just right to enjoy His eternal Kingdom! It would be absurd to believe that we mortal humans will experience what Christ experienced. The purity of His earthly body should not be equated to the impurity of our corrupted bodies. To assume that His "missing" body proves that it was restored or transformed during resurrection is a mistake. Only what comes down from Heaven will go back up to Heaven. The dead body of Christ was consumed by the fire of the Father to keep it from being publicly displayed after the ascension! Since all Truth has not been shared with the masses, some ideas need confirmation from the Holy Spirit. (4) OPINION from someone: "...When Christ died, many of the dead came out of graves just as Lazarus had done. Read Matthew 27:51&53 -- "...And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many..." + COMMENT: We understand that "many bodies" -- not all of the saints which slept arose. Even so, this event should be equated to other miracles performed as a result of supernatural power. God is the Father of spirits; God is the Father of angels, and God is the Father of souls that indwell the fleshly bodies that He formed out of dirt. God has the ability to make something out of nothing by planting souls like seeds into new vessels, and He can restore dead bodies back to Life whenever He chooses! (5) OPINION from someone: "...If the dead in Christ are rising where are they rising from? I believe they are rising from below the clouds. What's below the clouds? The earth, the grave, the sea..." + COMMENT: Regardless of preconceived notions based on erroneous interpretations of Holy Writings, the Kingdom of God is already within those who have received Christ as their Master. When carefully considering this Truth, we understand that living within two dimensions simultaneously is possible. Fleshly bodies (blood) are a part of Satan's domain; the Holy Spirit within good souls are a part of God's domain. When bodies and souls are separated at death, good souls remain in the domain of God, and dead bodies remain in the domain of Satan. The mention of "clouds" tells us that souls will be rising (figuratively) out of Satan's domain to meet Christ in a higher place where they will become new creatures. Now that the "dead in Christ" are gone, the earthly bodies of those who are alive in Christ will remain behind when good souls rise to meet Christ. Those living "left behind bodies" will then become inhabited by demonic forces -- which is a whole other subject. Please read comments related to 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 -- "...Behold, I shew 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 trump: for the trumpet shall sound..." + COMMENT: Those good souls taken after March will not experience "sleep" when "changed" instantaneously! Please notice that the duration of the trump is not given -- and might be lasting for months or years. "...and the dead shall be raised incorruptible..." + COMMENT: The "dead," meaning souls who are sleeping in Christ -- not in dead bodies! "...and we shall be changed..." + COMMENT: "We," meaning those who are alive in Christ. "...For this corruptible must put on incorruption..." + COMMENT: Good souls that are still inhabiting "corruptible" earthly bodies must be given new, incorruptible bodies.  "...and this mortal must put on immortality..." + COMMENT: When we think of "death" as being a separation of physical bodies and souls, we understand that to obtain "immortality," souls will need new bodies that are capable of eternal existence. To mistakenly believe that God uses elements of Earth to make new bodies for Heaven requires carnal reasoning. "...So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory..." + COMMENT: Death will no longer be a possibility for good souls who have become new creatures in Christ. "Victory" over death will come because "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son," to experience death on the cross, to be buried in a tomb, to experience resurrection, and then ascend to Heaven when leaving Earth. Read this Information COPIED from the Internet before debating -- =================================================== English Translations of the Bible by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D. Introduction: The Bible was not written in English -- not even "King James English"!  Most of the books of the Old Testament were originally composed in Hebrew (with a few portions in Aramaic), while the entire New Testament was originally written in Greek (although some books may also incorporate Aramaic sources).  Thus, what most people today read is not the original text, but other people's translations of the Bible. But why are there so many different English translations of the Bible?  And why can't churches or scholars agree on just one translation? -- No original manuscript of any biblical book has survived!  All of the texts written by the biblical authors themselves have been lost or destroyed over the centuries.  All we have are copies of copies of copies, most of them copied hundreds of years after the original texts were written. -- The extant manuscripts contain numerous textual variations!  There are literally thousands of differences in the surviving biblical manuscripts, many of them minor (spelling variations, synonyms, different word orders), but some of them major (whole sections missing or added). -- Important old manuscripts were found in the last 200 years!  Recent discoveries of older manuscripts (esp. the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Codex Sinaiticus) have helped scholars get closer to the original text of the Bible, so that modern translations can be more accurate than medieval ones. -- The meanings of some biblical texts are unknown or uncertain!  Some Hebrew or Greek words occur only once in the Bible, but nowhere else in ancient literature, so their exact meanings are unknown; and some biblical phrases are ambiguous, with more than one possible meaning. -- Ancient languages are very different from modern languages!  Not only do Ancient Hebrew and Greek use completely different alphabets and vocabularies, but their grammatical rules and structures (word order, prepositions, conjugations of verbs, etc.) are very different from modern English. -- Every "translation" is already inevitably an "interpretation"!  Anyone who knows more than one modern language realizes that "translations" often have meanings that are slightly different from the original, and that different people inevitably translate the same texts in slightly different ways. -- All living languages continually change and develop over time!  Not only is "Modern English" very different from 16th century English, but the language used in Great Britain, America, Australia, and other countries are slightly different from each other (in spelling, grammar, idioms, word meanings, etc.). -- Cultural developments require new sensitivities in language!  Recent awareness of the evils of racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, and other forms of discrimination have shown have certain language is slanted or biased, with corresponding efforts to develop more "inclusive" language alternatives. Thus, no translation is "perfect" (none of them can be completely "literal" or 100% identical to the original texts) and there is no "best" translation (all of them have some advantages and some drawbacks).  In general, however, the most recent translations (1980's or 1990's) are better than the older ones (esp. the KJV or the Douay-Rheims, both about 400 years old), not only since the English language has changed significantly over the centuries, but more importantly because of the ancient biblical manuscripts that have been discovered in the last 50 to 150 years which are much older (and thus closer to the originals) than the manuscripts that were available to the translators of previous centuries. =================================================== SUMMATION: Regardless of opinions shared by humankind, it has been said many times on Tennessee Elijah web sites, "Use the Bible to support or refute me." This is good advice as Bible scholars proceed to debate the "dead in Christ" issue as well as other ideas. Even so, guidance from the Holy Spirit with prayer is vital to achieving accurate understanding. "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." Christians need to start an international debate with Revelation 20:4-6! We are now at the point in human history when God's prophetic plan must be fully understood! The Holy Writings must be clarified to avoid confusion. We must be able to make distinctions between what is symbolic and what is literal when translating and interpreting Holy Writings. May every person who remains humble before the Master be given insight by the Holy Spirit until the fullness of Truth is fully revealed!