"He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not." (Job 14:2) In one short verse the prophet Job describes the entire life span of all mankind, yes, and as always, life ends in death. One does not have to look hard to see the frailness of man’s existence in Job’s words. Shortly after a flower sprouts in the spring and flourishes in the summer, it withers in the fall and dies in the winter. Nevertheless, the question has always been, what awaits man in the after-life. The answer is simply Death.

Death is not a one day event as many believe, but covers a period of time just as life did. Man being scared and petrified of death, has always tried to by-pass or lighten its blow. Centuries ago the Mizraimites (whom you know as Egyptians) buried food, clothing and even living servants with their deceased supposing to aid them in the afterlife. In more recent history the Romans (Italians) populated the heavens with their deceased, which is where we got our tradition of the dead "going to heaven."

Where do the dead really go? This is really a stupid question because most of us have been to funerals and burials and seen exactly where the dead go. Still we try to imagine otherwise and dress up death, just like we do the dead, even as our eyes see them descending below. We even try to rejoice instead of mourn and have invented phrases to rejoice over such as; "She’s gone on home now" as she lies motionless in the casket. Many don’t even call it a funeral anymore but call it a "home going. "In a sense this is true because at death man does return home where he came from; which is not heaven. "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt return." (Genesis3:19) The grave truly is the last resting-place.

Sure there is something after death (which we will get to) but even a flower has to wait another season to live again after it has returned to the ground from which it came. Job knew this and wrote (Job 14:14) "If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come." Job does not claim to be carried off to some other tabernacle in heaven immediately upon death, but instead wrote of waiting many days to live again. Job also knew that this waiting period would be spent in. no other place but the ground. "0 that thou wouldest hide me in the grave.... that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me." (Job 14:13)  That set time (The resurrection) has not come, so Job and all the dead are still waiting in the ground.

Many will still say I know my mother is in heaven smiling down, but in the next sentence say she is turning over in her grave. Simple reasoning will tell us she can not be in two places at one time and the Bible has shown us the place the dead go. The question still remains concerning the state of the dead. Are they conscious, happy, sad, smiling, grieving, or loving. Solomon told us (Ecciesiastes9:5-6) that the dead don’t know anything and that all their emotions have died with them.

Mt. 22: 31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

Apparently, according to Jesus, there is life after death!  And apparently at least some enjoy it now. 

NO....Enoch is still here, In Hebrews 11:5 - By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.




According to the Bible they where afraid, after all it was just a vision. Matthew 17:7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. 17:8 And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. 17:9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead




Death....the wrath of God



First question.....yes
Second question...no




I wouldn't use the word hidden, all the prophets knew about revelation. To truthfully answer the question, you have to have both, new and old testament to see the light.


Keep this mind, what Jesus said in Matthew  3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven

true

Could it be dead in sin? We know He is the God of the living... 

Matt 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

Although the scriptures clearly teach that the dead are in a state of sleep until Christ returns and resurrects them, as the above verses indicate, this is not the case for all those in Christ. When our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross," many bodies of the saints which slept arose". For a while, these resurrected saints witnessed for Christ in Jerusalem. These saints are no doubt in heaven now, some of them may even be among the twenty four elders mentioned in the book of Revelation. There are others that we know are also in heaven now. Observe the following scriptures.

Gen 5:23-24 23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Heb 11:5 5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

Enoch is one of the only two people, according to the scriptures, that did not see death. Elijah is the other one. these two people will not experience the resurrection, for they never died. The only other people that will have this experience, are those who are alive, and saved, when the Lord Jesus Christ returns a second time to receive his own. Here are some verses in relation to Elijah's experience.

II Ki 2:9-12  9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.
10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.
11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.


Enoch and Elijah both went to heaven without seeing death. There is one other person who also is in heaven, but was resurrected after dying. We know from Matt 7: 1-3 that Moses and Elijah appeared to Christ and certain of his disciples from heaven. The book of Jude tells us that Christ came for the body of Moses, an obvious reference to his resurrection. Notice the following verses.

Jude 1:9 9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

This Michael, is referred to as the archangel, it is the voice of the archangel that calls forth the dead from their graves at the second coming. There is no reason to believe that the above verse is talking about anything other than the resurrection of Moses from the dead, and the argument the Devil presented to Michael at the event.

1Thes 4:16 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

The bible does not state exactly where the saints that were resurrected went after they appeared in the city and witnessed to many.  On the other hand, where else would they go after they had been resurrected?  Surely God would not just send them back into the grave.  They also did not apparently stay around for long, or else they themselves would have been the greatest witnesses of the new testament, being those who were resurrected from the dead to bear witness of Christ.  There is no more mention of them in the new testament after they are said to have been raised and appeared to many.  This seems to be a clear implication, that they did not stay around. 

Now concerning Moses, Michael did not fight over the bones of Moses, it was over the body of Moses.  Suggesting of course, that this resurrection took place shortly after Moses' death, not long after he had already turned to bones in the grave.  No one can no for sure, but I am willing to bet, that if Moses hadn't messed up shortly before entering the promised land, he would have entered heaven much like Elijah, or Enoch, instead of dying first.  In any case, we know that Moses was alive during the time of Christ and appeared to Him with Elijah, who we know went to heaven, the two being a fit representation of all the saved.  Moses representing those who have died in Christ and will be raised at His appearing, and also those who will be alive at His appearing and never taste death.  This is how those who saw Christ transfigured and talking with Moses and Elijah, can be said to have seen the kingdom of God with power.  That was the power of Christ's divinity and His resurrection unto eternal life through Moses, and the power unto eternal life unto all those who will never taste death as Elijah.

Mark 9:1 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.
2 And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.
3 And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.
4 And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.

I agree with you, that it is at the resurrection at the return of Christ that the saved go to heaven.  I just think there are some obvious exceptions to the rule.  If the saints that were raised from the dead at the time of Christ were around and alive until they died again, I feel sure we would have heard a lot more about, and from them, in the new testament scriptures.  This is why I do not think they were around, and probably went to heaven.