Is there a consciousness immediately after death?

[Jennifer Johnson]

Paul seems to indicate so:      2 Cor. 5:8 “…..we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.”

Phil. 1:23  “But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better.”

In this verse, the word Paul uses for depart is “analusai” from “analuó” which means to loose up for departure. Some have said that analusai is a word used in regards to military activity – the idea that soldiers break camp and move on to new territory.

I suppose it could be argued that Paul anticipated sleep until the resurrection and that his next conscious moments would be with Christ. Either way, it would seem he believed alive one moment, once dead = with Christ the next moment.

Interesting passages to consider are those that deal with the final destination of the beast and the false prophet. In Rev. 19:20 we are told that (during Armageddon), “And the beast was seized, and with him the who false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.”…….What does this mean? These two don’t die first? Or they are taken there by God and then physically die? Whatever the case may be, after the thousand year reign of Christ, when Satan is punished, the beast and the false prophet are apparently still alive in the lake because Rev. 20:10 says, “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are (not were?); and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. So both Satan and these men, at least, are enduring eternal torment.

Of course there is the story in Luke 16:19-31 that Jesus told about Lazarus and the rich man. I have heard the argument that this is just a parable; but, as much as I can remember, Jesus never told a story that couldn’t have actually happened…..that is to say, just because the characters may not have existed, doesn’t mean the setting or events in them isn’t possible……that’s what brought the truth of his stories home. Some of his stories were “scandalous” so to speak (e.g. the good Samaritan, the father embracing the prodigal son), but not impossible. And, if Jesus was just inventing tales about the afterlife, would his story have any more relevance than a Greek myth?

Perhaps another passage to consider, too, is Jesus’ transfiguration in Matthew 17. Elijah and Moses appear and are talking with Jesus. This seems odd if they weren’t already conscious beings……that God would just bring them up for a time to talk with Jesus and then send them back to a state of unconsciousness (what a tease that would be….although, I suppose you don’t care in a time when you’re not conscious 😉 ). But really, since we aren’t told that Elijah (and Enoch) died a physical death, would he ever have been unconscious? As far as we know, God took him somewhere alive. And as it is supposed that he will be one of the 2 witness during the tribulation who is killed (and so one would assume not yet in a resurrected body), is he living in his original body (or not in it) somewhere with God right now? How does that work??? I mean really, I’d like to know. 😉

My thoughts are wandering late at night. 😛 I’ll leave it at the above.

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