When you least expect it, I’m informed...
Every second of every minute of every hour of your life.
About a nano second after you post anything on FR!
You’ve gotten my curiousity - I’m going to read the thread with interest.
I honestly don’t know THE answer.
Time and Space means something to us, but God is outside both Time and Space. The question of “Are the dead waiting?” doesn’t have any meaning if you are no longer within our time-oriented world-view. This before that? or after that? I don’t think the question makes any sense at all.
http://www.openbible.info/topics/judgment_day
81 Bible Verses about Judgment Day
http://www.christianpost.com/news/the-real-judgment-days-50391/
The Real Judgment Days
Well, I’m no theologian, but my belief is that when a saved person dies, he goes to heaven immediately.
When a lost person dies, he goes to Hell (Hades) to await judgment. Once you die, your eternal abode is fixed.
When judgment day comes, the lost are removed from Hell and thrown into the Lake of Fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
I confess that I do not know about the saved. Perhaps this is when they receive their crowns.
The Particular Judgment comes right after you die. You are either saved or damned. The damned go to Hell; the saved go to either Heaven or, temporarily, to Limbo (a state of being in which you are purified of the temporal stains of sin.) Meanwhile, for all, their souls are separated from their bodies, which are still in the grave.
The General or Second Judgment comes at the end of time. All of the dead, without exception, are raised, and souls are rejoined to bodies. At that time, everybody sees and witnesses everybody's judgment; all the hidden sins of every person are displayed; this time, it is Heaven or Hell only.
It is Jesus who will judge the living and the dead. The details are in Matthew 25.
Judgment Day happens for all after the Day of the LORD. Flesh is not involved when this ‘day’ comes. No soul/spirit goes to ‘court’ on judgment day, confused, deceived, or ignorant. All souls/spirits will earn their earned reward come ‘judgment day’.
Next Thursday.
Actually I tend to think the soul is dealt with by God upon death, although I’ve struggled with that question before. Also, the concept of time may be completely different in the afterlife.
Any second now, I'm afraid.
Most Christians believe in some form of immediate judgement after death, at least for the saved. However, I haven’t found anything of the sort in the Bible. Instead, there are pretty clear statements that we all have to wait for two resurrections described in the book of Revelation before we get to our final destination.
When someone dies, there is a short period of time immediately after when it seems their soul may be making some kind of transition. This is the time family members and etc. are likely to experience "encounters" or "events" of a strange nature. Especially if you look for these.
Angels are present during these times, and are written to be among us at all times. The Messiah spoke with Angels in the Garden of Gethsemane, so also other prophets in the Bible. I have no idea how Angels are selected, what they are, and etc. I'm just sure that they exist. There is much that is written about them, and much we simply do not understand and perhaps are unable to comprehend.
A little history: At the time the Lord rose from the grave, the scriptures record certain saints, "first fruits", arose as well that night, and were observed actually walking around the city of Jerusalem.
Scriptures say the dead, who are in Messiah, will arise first upon his second coming. So somehow these individuals are known. Next, those living at this time will then be transformed in the twinkling of an eye to join the Messiah "in the air."
This transformation occurs just prior to the great woe that will be poured out on the earth; about halfway through what is called the tribulation. These living will have suffered much!
These that are in Messiah, reign with him for what is termed "a thousand years". After this millennium, another troublesome period occurs. This is the final battle of good vs. evil, when the Messiah finally conquers both evil (Satan) and death.
All of the others who've ever lived, the great majority, rise from their graves. These are judged by the Messiah. It is said to be a time when many will be found wanting, and disappointed their name wasn't written in the book of life as they had thought.
Some interpret that these souls will be cast into a lake of fire, some believe instead they are set apart from those who are judged righteous by their deeds (for why else would they need to judged) and experience what the Messiah calls the second death. I believe the latter occurs.
Those judged to be righteous, along with those in Messiah and the first fruits, inherit the new earth and new heaven - a higher plain of existence when the mystery of God is ultimately revealed.
A good Bible reading would answer all these questions.
It is important to know that humans were created by God with both a body and a soul and that the final judgment will occur after Christ's return and the general resurrection when our (transfigured) bodies are restored to each of us. (Death is the unnatural state of the human person when the body is separated from the soul and returns to dust. Christ will not judge us in this unnatural state.)
In between the partial judgment at death and the final judgment, our souls experience a taste of the blessedness of heaven or the anguish of hell. This foretaste exists even in this life before death. Holy people experience a taste of heaven in the here and now while those who are opposed to God often live a kind of hell on this earth. Since even believers are constantly falling into sin (opposition to God) we also experience times of “hellish” existence. Thankfully, while we are alive (that is before the repose of our bodies), we can use these negative experiences to repent and be restored to God. Those people who have no love for God but who seem to be living the good life with no negative consequences are actually the most pitiful among us because all their joy is based on the ephemeral things of this life and they have nothing invested in the eternal and are totally unprepared for life in the presence of God. The gospel story of the Rich Man and Lazarus describes the sad condition of the spiritually dead materialists of this world who are shocked to encounter the reality of God after death. (see Luke 16:19-31).
Heaven and hell are not “places”. God, who is love, didn't create a place of torments and punishment. Heaven and hell are how each soul experiences the loving presence of God. For those who love God, Christ's shining light is experienced as blessedness, as heaven. Those who do not love God experience this same blessed light as a hateful burning fire. The light is the same. God is the same: goodness and light. The person's perception of this reality, which is determined by the state of the heart, is what creates “heaven” and “hell”.
Unlike Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians do not teach that there is a limbo or a purgatory in the afterlife, however, the Church does teach that there is the possibility for a person's spiritual state to be improved after death (but before the final judgment) by the fervent prayers and good life of those people who loved them and are vigilantly struggling in this life.
It is essential to note that a person cannot repent for his own sins after death. (See again the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus). God gives each one of us every opportunity to repent from our selfish errors which estrange us from Him in this life. Once our bodies die, when we are in that “unnatural” bodiless condition, we can no longer repent for our sins.
However, as was already stated, those who haven't yet died, can pray for the departed. The good effect of prayers for those who have died is a mystery of love. It has to do with the fact that though each of us was created individually and uniquely, we are nevertheless connected with each other. All of humanity is in a sense one body, with Christ as the head. In God's mercy He takes into account the prayers of loved ones for the departed and the state of the soul of those waiting the final judgment can be improved. Since God is just and true, this loving assistance does not go against the basic choice that each soul has made to be either with or without God. Prayers for the dead are lifted up with the hope that forgotten, unrepented sins will be erased and that their loved one will be helped. These prayers are sent up with the knowledge that all is in the hands of our merciful and just Jesus Christ. We don't presume to know the end result and we certainly can't quantify anything with regard to the benefit of prayer or good works. We simply pray with hope and the knowledge that God will do everything short of violating our human freedom to save us. He wants everyone to enjoy eternal blessedness.