The Meaning Of Life

https://biblehub.com/job/14.htm

The title of this chapter, added by publishers of the Bible, is “Job Laments His Death”.

And once again, Job speaks so eloquently that is over my head; I’m not eloquent, I’m not smart, I’m just a simple man with simple words. But there are a few verses that I would like to bring out, and you will likely think I’m crazy (I am), but my beliefs go against the majority. And some people believe the opposite than I do because it is comforting to them. But here it is.

When you die, I do not believe you go to Heaven or Hell (in fact, I don’t believe in Hell, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. There are many reasons I believe this, I will list a few, but my main focus now is with Job.

First, if upon death we go to Heaven or Hell, why would Jesus call Lazarus back from the dead? If Lazarus was in Heaven with God, as described in the Bible, no more tears, no more sadness, no more pain, etc., etc., why would Jesus call him back from wonderful Heaven only to bring him back to life on earth and live as a mortal?

And if when Lazarus died, he went to Heaven, did anyone see him descend from Heaven before he emerged from his tomb? And if so, why doesn’t the Bible mention that.

And some people believe their loved ones in Heaven are “looking down and watching over us.” If that is true, what joy could there be in Heaven? Imagine you’ve died and went to Heaven like many believe, would it be joyous for them to look down and watch the bad things happening to us? Would they be living a joyous after-life in Heaven looking down and seeing us in sickness, or perhaps critically injured in a car accident, or maybe our house burned down and we lost everything, or there are hundreds of different scenarios; would God put them through that?

Here is my belief. I believe that went you die, you simply go to the grave, awaiting Christ’s return at which time, the righteous are resurrected to ascent into Heaven with Jesus, or the wicked are resurrected to a final death on earth. And that should be comforting enough within itself.

When you go to sleep at night, do you know the exact second you drift off? Do you know the difference between the last minute of consciousness and the very next second, you are asleep? And while you’re asleep, if you get a good 8 hours of sleep, think how much passes, how much activity that goes on around the world without your knowledge because you are asleep. And one minute you are laying bed, and the next thought is that you are waking up to a beautiful new day. You were unconscious for 8 hour, and you didn’t miss anything. The same thing occurs, I believe, at death. When you die, you simply go to sleep. You have no concept of time; the next time you away will be a Christ’s second coming.

Imagine being Noah, or David, or even Adam for that matter, resurrected from their graves at Christ’s second coming, and it is as if they’ve only been asleep 8 hours, yet thousands of years have passed.

Later on in our studies, I will point out more and more scripture that leads me to this belief. But for now, we are studying Job, and pay close attention to these verses.

10 But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last, and where is he? 11 As water disappears from the sea and a river becomes parched and dry, 12 so a man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no more, he will not be awakened or roused from sleep.

One final thing; the tombstone below is that of my Great-Great-Uncle Clem Tracy, buried in Prairie Lawn Cemetery. I obviously never knew the man, He was an uncle to my grandfather, a Great-Uncle to my dad. If you zoom in on his tombstone, you can read the inscription. “Not Dead, But Sleepeth”.

You can see my beliefs are nothing new. Some have been around for decades.

Father, please bless and keep the person reading this. Draw them closer to you, accept them into your heart. We anxiously await the day of Your return. We love You. Amen.