On Monday I posed a simple question: What is the point and purpose of the resurrection of Jesus Christ if believers go immediately to heaven when they die?
Now let’s ask a similar question which also deserves a logical, biblical answer: What is the purpose of the so-called “Rapture” if believers who have died are already in heaven shouting, “Hallelujah!”, flying around playing harps, and dancing on streets of gold with previously deceased loved ones?
If your answer is that the soul has to be reunited with the physical body, then I would love to see the plain, definitive scriptural basis for that theory. Plain and definitive proof texts, not theological and logical contortions invented to make the Bible say what you want it to say.
So, here’s a question that deserves serious consideration and a logical, biblical answer: What is the point and purpose of the resurrection of Jesus Christ if believers go immediately to heaven when they die?
Why would “He is risen!” hold any special meaning if the faithful are already dancing and singing, alive and well in heaven from the moment of their own death?
If the immortality of the soul is true, then there is no reason for God to raise Jesus from the dead, because death would hold no power or sting over us. Easter Sunday becomes meaningless if the resurrection isn’t a once‑in‑human‑history, glorious, miraculous event that announces to creation that death does not have the final say.
If all believers are immediately and individually transferred to heaven after they breathe their last breath, then Jesus being made alive again after three days isn’t just ho‑hum—it’s three days of being unnecessarily dead.
He walked and talked in His resurrected body with two, just two, of His followers on the Road to Emmaus. Probably the most remarkable and intimate Scripture teaching ever.
Just take a few minutes to read the account from Luke 24:12-35 and meditate on it.
The Road to Emmaus
“But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.
Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.
And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”
Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?”
And He said to them, “What things?”
So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.”
Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.
Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.
And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”
So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.”
There are several versions of this extended metaphor, but here’s one I saw recently that I really like.
In a mother’s womb, there are two babies and one turns to the other and says, “Do you believe in life after delivery?”
The other replies, “Of course there has to be something after delivery. Maybe we’re here to prepare ourselves for what will be later. This can’t be the end.”
“Nonsense”, says the first baby, “There’s no life after delivery. We are here to enjoy ourselves. That’s it. Life after delivery? What kind of life would that be?”
“I don’t know”, said the second, “but maybe there’ll be more light than here. Maybe we’ll walk with our legs and eat with our mouths. Maybe we’ll have other senses we can’t understand now. Maybe it’s beyond our comprehension.”
“That’s ridiculous. Walking is impossible and eating with our mouths? That’s absurd. The umbilical cord is what scientifically supplies nutrition and all that we need, but it’s far too short. Life after delivery is to be logically excluded.”
The other baby says, “What if it’s just different than it is here? Maybe we don’t need that physical cord anymore.”
The first replies, “Okay, if there were life after delivery, then tell me, why has no one ever come back from there?Delivery is the end of life. And in the after delivery is nothing but darkness and silence and oblivion. It takes us nowhere.”
The second says, “But certainly we’ll meet mother and she’ll take care of us. She loves us. She made us.”
The first says, “You actually believe in mother? If mother exists, where is she now?”
“She’s all around us. We are of her. It is in her that we live. Without her, this world would not and could not exist.”
“I don’t see her. It’s only logical that she’s not here.”
“Sometimes when you’re in silence and you really listen, you can perceive her presence. You can hear her loving voice calling down from above.”
Lucas dumped his big bin of Legos onto the carpet, but he pushed aside the faded, chewed‑up bricks without a second glance. Today he was building a castle, and not just any castle—his masterpiece. He wanted the bright, solid, perfectly‑shaped pieces, the ones that clicked together with that satisfying snap. He searched for the best towers, the cleanest walls, and the strongest foundation. Anything cracked, bent, or worn‑out got tossed into a little “not‑good‑enough” pile off to the side.
As the castle grew taller, Lucas stepped back and admired it. Using only the best pieces made the whole thing stronger, sturdier, and way more impressive. He realized something: if he wanted to build something that would last, he couldn’t use junk. He needed quality.
Now And Forever
The Bible teaches us that what we do now matters forever.
A lot of people think this life is just “practice” and the real stuff starts when God’s grand plan is realized and we are with Him and each other in God’s heaven‑on‑earth future. But the Bible actually teaches something even more awesome.
The old saying, “You can’t take it with you when you go,” isn’t entirely true. You will take something with you from this life into the world and age to come.
Not your smartphone or your Pokémon card collection—but your choices, your character, your love, your faithfulness. Those things last.
Choose The Best Legos
In the Bible, the Apostle Paul says our lives are like a building project. Some people build with gold—good choices, love, serving others, following Jesus. Others build with hay—selfish choices, laziness, ignoring God.
1 Corinthians 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
When Jesus returns, everything gets tested as if in a fire. The good stuff lasts. The junk burns away. This doesn’t mean you’re in danger of losing the gift of everlasting life with God—but what you build with matters.
Next, we’ll look closer at what all of this means.
This is a repost of first letter in our Death Row Letters series.
Dear Everyone,
We’re all on death row.
The rich CEO in the modern high-rise. The homeless man huddled in a filthy blanket on the street. The young housewife in suburbia. The children on the school playground.
We’re all on death row.
I’m not saying this to be ghoulish or overly dramatic – it’s just the truth. The Grim Reaper comes for us all (with some exceptions, which I’ll explore at some point in future letters). It may not be by firing squad or Old Sparky the electric chair or lethal injection in some prison basement somewhere, but the result is the same for each of us (again, some exceptions).
The difference between the the vast majority of us and actual death row inmates is that we get to walk around as we please waiting for The Day, while they are sitting in their cells waiting for The Day. That’s a very big difference, isn’t it? Maybe, maybe not.
Because whether you’re on the ‘outside’ death row or the ‘inside’ death row the questions are the same: What are you doing with your remaining time and what is your state of mind during the wait?
We can waste our time wallowing in despair and self-pity, or we can face our circumstance with courage and hope. We can lead an empty, purposeless existence waiting for annihilation and nothingness, or we can believe in and find something more than the empty darkness we imagine.
There is something more frightening than death, and that is living a life without purpose or hope.
So, until my next letter comes your way, don’t be afraid, we’re all on death row together and there’s more to this than meets the eye.
Have you ever heard someone say, “God has a plan for your life”?
Well, He doesn’t.
The Bible doesn’t teach that God has a detailed personal plan and schedule for every decision in every life or that there is only one specific career, spouse, or path that God has predetermined for you.
Instead, God guides each of us as we choose our own paths and make our own decisions.
Proverbs 16:9 A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.
As we have already seen, God has an overall grand plan for His creation and His people, and you and I are invited to participate in His purposes. He is directing history to victory, and we make real choices and walk our own paths within God’s purposes.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
So, our heavenly Father doesn’t have a strict script for each of us to follow. He has a great purpose and asks us to walk and work together with Him in that purpose in a way that fits our own talents, personality, and dreams.
God Knows You
Even though God doesn’t plan every detail of your life, He still knows your heart, cares about even the smallest things in your life, and loves you more than you can imagine.
Sometimes in the Bible God calls specific people to do specific things, like Noah building an ark, but it’s always up to the person He calls whether or not to do what God asks. Free will is never taken away.
It could be that you are called to a specific purpose, but don’t make the mistake of sitting around and doing nothing while you wait for God to tell you what to do.
Plug into God’s grand plan by choosing a path and walking that path boldly, and as you do that, listen for His guidance.
Proverbs 3:5–6 Trust in the Lord… and he shall direct thy paths.
Replacement theology is just another one of the many doctrines of men. The “mystery” that Paul taught was that the Church—which includes Gentiles—would be partakers (Colossians 1:12) of the promise and inheritance, not replacers of the original heirs, Israel.
The Gentiles are grafted into the tree God already planted and nurtured—the Jewish people (Romans 11:24).
The Church is an awesome and marvelous realization of the eternal plan of God, but it is not a replacement for Israel, nor does its existence or purpose supersede God’s intention to fulfill His promise to His covenant people: a King and a Kingdom in their promised land.
I don’t believe the Bible teaches a strict dispensational framework as some, a minority, in the modern Church era teach.
Just a reminder: John Nelson Darby was not an author of Scripture, and Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth (1970) and Tim LaHaye’s Left Behind series are not books of Scripture.
I think the Bible clearly teaches that the return of Jesus Christ is a singular event—not a Second Coming where the Church is scooped up and taken away for three and a half or seven years, followed by a third coming.
That doesn’t preclude our gathering together unto Him to meet Him in the air at His return, or the Millennial Kingdom that immediately follows. It also doesn’t mean that the people of God aren’t going to suffer great tribulation—they have, they are, and they will until the restoration of all things.
The theory of religious relativism is gaining ground in our culture. Simply stated, this type of relativism promotes the idea that there is no Truth, but that every person perceives their own truth as derived from their own experiences and perceptions.
While it is true that we all filter our experiences through our own unique personality and understanding, and that we can change and improve our lives by adjusting our thoughts and words, the basic tenet of relativism – namely, there is no Truth – proposes serious problems for the Bible believing Christian.
Let’s begin with the theory of relativism itself. If truly there is no truth, then that itself becomes Truth, which is counter-intuitive to the foundation of the theory!
Truth be told, the heart of relativism is a useful tool in the arsenal of tools used by our spiritual adversary, the devil, to delude mankind. Relativism must deny not only the existence of a One True God, who is Truth, it must also deny the need for a savior to get us back to God, whom we know to be Jesus Christ. Finally, it must deny the existence of the devil.
Voilé! The deceiver has achieved his ultimate goal: if we do not believe he exists, then evil can be counted for good and good for evil. Nothing we do is “wrong.” No need for repentance or salvation.
Not only that, but “Ye shall be as gods,” becomes cultural truth. The first lie of the devil to mankind is still his greatest promotional tool today. What I find fascinating is that the second part of the devil’s comment to Eve, that not only would they be as gods, but they also would “know good and evil,” fades away into nothingness. There is no good and evil as one embraces relativism and becomes as a god. What a trickster the devil truly is!
In addition, how could we know God anyway, when there is no Truth from which to discern his will, his ways, and his very nature?
The Bible becomes a nice, historical fairy tale about man’s moral condition, with no answers as to how man should conduct himself or how God might be trying to connect with His creation. Creation is not, after all, something God did.
It all begins with the devil effectively negating the reality of Truth. Welcome to Relativism! I once heard the statement concerning the devil, “The secret of his success is in the secrecy of his moves.” I found that to be true then, and I find it to be true now. If we fail to recognize there is Good and there is Evil, then everything can be called good. After all, one cannot judge another man’s truth. Then the worst crimes and the worst criminals must be embraced as part of a positive human experience.
