At Home with the Lord

Luke 16:19-31. The rich man and Lazarus What happens to a person when death occurs?

James 2:26 - the inner person, the spirit, vacates the material body. Paradise - Luke 23:43 - Jesus told the thief truly today you shall be with me in Paradise...

Greek word for paradise represents a beautiful park, essentially Eden. Rev 2:7, to him who overcomes I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise of God.

One thing we know, All earthly concerns will be vanquished. Other things we don’t know - who will we know? What will we know? What will the experience be like? What will eternity be like?

From 2 Cor 4&5 we know that we will be absent from the body but at home with the Lord.

The story of Lazarus and rich man more likely intended to express the horrific results of a life of materialism than to explain exactly what the next world will be like. 2 Cor 5 says the same, knowing the terror of the Lord, act now.

Hades the abode of departed spirits. Is that still an issue when we die? Hard to know. If you’re with the Lord, what does it matter? We don’t need to worry about who or what will we know. What does it matter? There’s no way to know for sure. There’s no reason for anxiety or concern if you’re right with God.

Does the judgment happen upon death, or how does that work? No reckoning of time, time will be immaterial and irrelevant. It will fix what sin has broken.

2 Pet 3 - new heavens and a new earth. We don’t have all the answers to that either but it will be incredible. An idyllic environment, nothing will diminish heavens glory; the experience will far exceed all expectations we have now.

There will be no lack. We will be completely fulfilled forever. Home = living done right. In the presence of God will be the ultimate expression of living done right.