(tm) Salvation is not a ticket to Heaven.
Back to The First and Second Resurrection
Salvation is the transformation of the individual so he no longer has anything to do with Satan or Satan’s works but instead has entered the eternal Life that is in Christ and the Father. He who is undergoing this transformation is not under Divine condemnation but is passing from the death of Satan into the fullness of the life that is in the Lord Jesus.
The transaction begins the moment we truly receive Christ. But we must walk diligently in grace each day so we have enough "oil" (Matthew 25:4); so the Word in us is not choked out by the things of the world (Luke 8:14); so no man steals our crown—our place of rulership in the first resurrection (Revelation 3:11); so our name is not blotted out of the Book of Life (Revelation 3:5).
Our names were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, not when we heard and believed the Gospel but from the creation of the world (Revelation 17:8). Now the task is to keep our name there. This we do, according to Revelation 3:5, by living the victorious life in Christ; by pursuing the Christian walk according to the directions given us by the Apostle Paul.
The righteous and holy attitude and conduct that the eternal Life of Christ works in us demonstrates our deliverance from the second death, from the Lake of Fire. Even with this the tongue of some believers is "set on fire of hell [Gehenna ]" (James 3:6).
If we march forward in the Holy Spirit, gaining the victory over the world, Satan, and our lusts and self-will, we will win the Kingdom. We will rise to greet the Lord at His appearing. But if after having believed in Christ we continue in the ways of the world we will reap corruption in the Day of Christ. All the Apostles taught this.
There is no eternal life apart from righteous and holy conduct. The amount of eternal life we possess is revealed in our behavior. It is impossible for eternal life and sin to dwell together (I John 3:15). The fruit of freedom from sin, and slavery to God, is holiness of personality and behavior. The final result of holiness of personality and behavior is eternal life (Romans 6:22).
Without holiness no person ever shall see the Lord or be received by Him (Hebrews 12:14; II Corinthians 6:17).
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. (Revelation 20:13)
When a person dies physically a decision must be made concerning where he is to reside until the first resurrection or the second resurrection.
There are several areas of "waiting" set forth in the New Testament writings:
Outer darkness—Matthew 25:30.
Hell (Hades)—Luke 16:23. . Gehenna —Matthew 5:30.
The deepest abyss—II Peter 2:4.
The eternal habitations—Luke 16:9.
The sea—Revelation 20:13.
Death—Revelation 20:13.
Paradise—Luke 23:43.
To be present with the Lord—II Corinthians 5:8.
Under the altar—Revelation 6:9.
Before the Throne of God—Revelation 7:15.
On Mount Zion—Revelation 14:1.
The Old Testament adds:
Sheol —Isaiah 14:9.
Gathered to his people—Genesis 25:8.
Where does each individual go when he or she dies physically? As we have stated previously, the Old Testament and New Testament writings are not as clear as we may wish or as our tradition suggests. However, it certainly is true that the Scriptures do not portray eternal residence in the spirit Paradise as the goal of redemption.
For the Apostle Paul, to be absent from the body was to be present with the Lord (II Corinthians 5:8). Our opinion is that every overcomer, every individual whose life is hidden with Christ in God, whose life Christ is, will immediately be brought to the Throne of God upon his physical death; because the victorious saint already has become a part of Christ’s Life.
The best known passage of the Scriptures concerning Hell may be that of the rich man and Lazarus. This incident has nothing to do with receiving or rejecting Christ. The story concerns the rich man’s misuse of wealth.
Lazarus died and went to an area of the greatest blessing—"Abraham’s bosom" (Luke 16:22). Here is another place where souls are waiting for the Day of the Lord.
Why did Lazarus go to Abraham’s bosom? Not because he worked righteousness; not because he accepted Christ. Lazarus went to Abraham’s bosom because he had suffered in the world.
We can see from this that our simplistic concept of salvation does not represent the complete witness of the Scriptures.
Lazarus was gathered to his people. Whether or not Lazarus will rise in the first resurrection as one of God’s kings we do not know. We think Lazarus will have a place in the Kingdom of God when it descends from Heaven into the earth.