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 Your Guardian Angel
If you are a good Christian, chances are, even if there are no other people with you right now, you are not alone. You have at least one constant companion quietly and invisibly serving you.
 Angels, those who have chosen to remain forever obedient to God, are our good friends. Along with the many other things that angels do, they are also assigned to protect and guide people - "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14)
The same angel or angels may have been with you right from the moment you were conceived, and in all probability know far more about you than you know about yourself. It could be that everything that you have ever said or done has had at least one irrefutable witness.
Angels are described in the Bible as forever distinct from humans - that is, humans do not somehow become angels after they die. However, angels have often manifested themselves with the appearance of a human when they were dealing with humans.
Angels appeared to many people throughout the Bible, sometimes to inform or assist e.g. Gabriel's Message to Mary that Jesus Christ would be born (Luke 1:26-28), or rescuing Peter (Acts 12:8-11), and at other times as agents of God's wrath against evil e.g. The Destruction Of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:1), or the killing of the 185,000 Assyrian troops who were besieging Jerusalem and openly challenging and insulting God (2 Kings 19:35). They will also be very busy carrying out a number of spectacular events as described through the Book of Revelation, and elsewhere. Angels have a lot to do.
There is one other unseen visitor that you might possibly have the company of occasionally, one that you are more familiar with, a spirit being that you actually have known by name.
Humans themselves cannot bodily travel through time. Even if it were not physically impossible, it may be logically impossible, as is often summed up in a paradox that usually goes something like, "If I were to travel back in time and, say, got into an accident that killed my father, then I would not have been born. But if I had not been born, I could not have traveled back into time to get into the accident that killed my father." And around it goes. Human time travel would likely be very clumsy and imperfect.
Spirit beings are not however bound by the same physical laws as humans. For them, the physical laws that create paradoxes do not exist. Spirit beings can travel through time without the same sort of consequences that affect humans. They can, and almost certainly do make physical changes in human events that adjust future outcomes in desired directions. A large amount of Prophecy might actually be fulfilled just this way - to not just have the ability to know events of the future, but to have the power to actually bring them about exactly when and how they are desired. The difference is, that when God or His messengers make adjustments, they do it perfectly.
After your physical life's journey has ended, if you have accepted God's offer of eternal life, you will be changed to spirit, a spirit being that can travel through time perhaps just as easily as you can now travel from one thought to the next. It is entirely possible that, along with the angels now there to protect you, you might also get an occasional visit from the future "you" that you will be after you have been changed into spirit. And why not - who better to advise angels on how to take good care of you than the one who survived being you?
Fact Finder: Is it possible to have met an angel without knowing it?
(a) yes (b) no
Hebrews 13:2
Eternal Life
Most people who believe in God naturally look forward to eternal life, which will be granted to them if they are found worthy through repentance and obedience to God. Salvation means being saved from death, but why are humans being saved? Why has God gone through all of the trouble, and aggravation, of "bringing up" humanity in the first place? God already had billions of angels as servants long before humanity was created, so what's the point? What's our point?
Let's imagine for a moment what will happen to those who make it, at the end of their physical lives, when they awaken as spirit beings. There they will be, alive, never again subject to injury, illness, or death. What a glorious day!
But then what? What will they be doing, day after day, year after year, century after century, for endless billions and billions of years, forever?
The answer to that question may be found throughout The Bible, where humans are constantly referred to as God's children. Jesus Christ referred to Christians as His brothers and sisters (e.g. Matthew 12:50). The Father is referred to as The Father (e.g. Matthew 6:9) for a very profound reason: "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." (Genesis 1:27 RSV).
That we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." (1 John 3:1-2 RSV)
"For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" it is The Spirit Himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him." (Romans 8:15-17 RSV)
Children, after a time of learning and growing, eventually become adults, just like their parents, although always and forever "out ranked" by them. God does not do things in vain. Everything has a purpose. That infinite universe out there has a purpose. We have a purpose. Consider:
"For the creation [i.e. the universe, see The Seven Days Of Creation] waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons [i.e. the transformed children, male and female, who will be transformed to spirit beings] of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of Him who subjected it in hope [i.e. God halted its development until we are ready]; because the creation itself will be set free [i.e. planets transformed from undeveloped, dry, lifeless hulks to living, breathing ecosystems] from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God." (Romans 8 :19-21 RSV)
It's estimated that there are far over 200,000,000,000 (200 billion) stars in our galaxy, the "Milky Way," (left) alone (the telescope photograph above is of just one galaxy which shows billions of stars as a distant "mist" in space). Astronomers believe that there are at least that many galaxies, with perhaps an average size equal to our galaxy, in the universe. 200 billion times 200 billion equals an incomprehensible number of stars.
With the aid of modern technology, astronomers are now obtaining the proof of what many have believed for a long time - that other stars have planets just as our star (the "sun") does. After all, why shouldn't they? There are certainly a vast number of planets, many just like earth, out there - immensely more inhabitable planets than the total number of people that have ever lived through all the ages.
Eternal life will not be spent in useless idleness. There is going to be much to do for those who repent and obey God.
Fact Finder: Is the purpose of all angels to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Hebrews 1:14
Forgive
"'Our Father Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our debts, As we also have forgiven our debtors; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.' For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:9-15 RSV)
 Most people can remember someone who hurt them somehow. Whether it be a school yard bully of long ago, or someone who did something only recently, it's a natural human emotion to want to "get even," or at least to hold a grudge.
Human nature such as it is, we can all usually remember very clearly what others have done to us, but somehow what we may have done to others tends not to come to mind. God makes plain however that we have all sinned to some greater or lesser degree, against Him, and against other people. No one is without fault or blame.
Forgiveness on a personal level is sometimes very difficult, especially if the offense is very great. But we must, not merely because it's the right thing to do, but because salvation is very much a "what goes around, comes around" matter. God makes clear that if we want Him to forgive us, then we must forgive others. Forgiveness is a very big part of good Christian Living.
Consider what Jesus Christ said of forgiveness:
"Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back." (Luke 6:36-38 RSV)
Fact Finder: Why did The Messiah die for us?
(a) so that our sins may be forgiven
(b) so that our sins may be held against us forever
Ephesians 1:7
Immortality
"For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." (1 Corinthians 15:53-55 RSV)
Humans are mortal, a word derived from the Latin mortalis, meaning death. God could have created humans as immortal right from the start, as He did with the angels, so that we could live on and on forever no matter what, but He didn't. God deliberately created us so that we can die, totally die, for the same reason that computers can delete corrupt or malicious files. Those who choose to repent and obey God, on His terms, will be made immortal, never again subject to illness, injury or death, while those who choose to rebel and defy God will be completely erased forever.
Old Testament
The people of the Old Testament were well aware of the human potential for immortality:
"Thou dost guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward Thou wilt receive me to glory." (Psalm 73:24 RSV)
"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. These all died in faith, not having received what was promised, but having seen it and greeted it from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth." (Hebrews 11:8-13 RSV)
New Testament
With the coming of Jesus Christ, the means of finding immortality was made more clear:
"the power of God, Who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not in virtue of our works but in virtue of His own purpose and the grace which He gave us in Christ Jesus ages ago, and now has manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, Who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." (2 Timothy 1:8-10 RSV)
"For he will render to every man according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, He will give eternal life; but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury." (Romans 2:6-8 RSV)
Fact Finder: Can humans be granted eternal life just by having faith alone?
Forever and Ever
We humans have our own sense of time. If we see someone who has lived 100 years, we may be amazed at that person's longevity. But, with all due respect to those who have managed to do it, is a century really such a long time?
What if we were able to live to 200 years? Or 1,000 years? What if we could live 10,000 years? Most of us find such vast expanses of time difficult to grasp.
Going even farther, what if we could live forever? Imagine being able to live without fear of illness, or injury, or just wearing out with age, FOREVER! Imagine always being strong and healthy, full of enthusiasm and energy, always with plenty of good things to do, with plenty of time to do them. Imagine living forever in perfect peace and happiness, free of all the effects of a world submerged in sin that has caused humanity so much grief and suffering for so long.
The whole point of the gospel is that you can!
As Christians, we all stand on the verge of eternal life. The cold dark night of sinful human experience can be replaced by a warm, bright dawn of glorious eternal life.
We have a decision to make however, each of us for ourselves, whether or not to accept the astonishing offer that has been presented to us by the God who has the power to make it happen.
Have you made your choice yet?
Fact Finder: What is meant by "children of God" in the Bible?
Elisha's Bones
"Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died ... And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet" (2 Kings 13:14,20-21 KJV)
Elijah and Elisha
 Elijah, and Elisha who succeeded him when Elijah was taken away in a "chariot of fire" (in illustration - see Where Did Elijah Go?) were two of the most powerful Prophets of God in Bible History. They did everything from calling down fire from heaven (1 Kings 18:37-38) to raising the dead (2 Kings 4:18-37), but as true prophets of God, their great power was of, and from, God. As even Jesus Christ said of Himself (John 5:19,30), Elijah and Elisha could do nothing of themselves, or for themselves. As the opening paragraph makes plain, when Elisha's natural time to die came, he suffered and died just like any other human - even though during his lifetime the Holy Spirit healed the sick and raised the dead through him. It was the Holy Spirit of God that made it possible.
Elijah was an ordinary human being, who knew hunger (1 Kings 19:6), weariness (1 Kings 19:5), and fear (1 Kings 19:2-3), just like any other. After being threatened by the wicked Jezebel, he "went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers" (1 Kings 19:4 KJV). Neither was Elisha, or any other human before or since.
The Holy Spirit Remained
In the miracle of Elisha's bones (unlike the widespread fraudulent religious industry of "miraculous relics of saints" that has been operating for centuries, right to the present day), for however long it lasted (there is only one recorded miracle from Elisha's bones), a measure of the Holy Spirit actually remained for some time (at least a number of months, since all that was left was his bones) with Elisha's body - the only way that the miracle of reviving that dead man (back to physical life from which he would again have died later - see "Resurrections" in the Fact Finder question below) could have happened.
Fact Finder: Are true believers "sealed" with the Holy Spirit until they receive their inheritance, i.e. eternal life, which will begin at their future resurrection?
Ephesians 1:13-14
The Greatest Secret
Most Christians naturally look forward to eternal life. After all, isn't that what God's offer of salvation is all about?
Let's imagine for a moment what will happen at the end of our physical lives, when we awaken as spirit beings. There we will be, alive, never again to be subject to injury, illness, or just plain old age. What a glorious day that will be!
 But then what? What will we be doing, day after day, year after year, century after century - forever?
The answer to that question may be found throughout the Bible, where humans are constantly referred to as God's children. Jesus Christ very often referred to Christians as His brothers and sisters (Matthew 12:50). The Father is referred to as The Father (e.g. Matthew 6:9) because we were made in the image of God - "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:27). Children, after a time of learning and growing, eventually become adults, just like their parents, although always and forever "out ranked" by them.
God does not do things in vain. Everything has a purpose. We have a purpose.
Consider:
"The Creation [i.e. the universe] waits in eager expectation for the sons [i.e. the transformed children, male and female] of God to be revealed [i.e. transformed to spirit beings]. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it [i.e. God halted its development until we are ready], in hope that the creation itself will be liberated [i.e. planets transformed from undeveloped, dry, lifeless hulks to living, breathing ecosystems] from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God." (Romans 8:19-21)
Eternal life will not be unending idleness. We are going to have much to do, and forever to do it.
Fact Finder: What did Jesus Christ say we are to do if we want to inherit eternal life?
Matthew 19:17
What happens when you Die?
Everyone has had family or friends who have passed away, and it's quite natural to wonder what happened to them when death occurred. Where are they now? Are they somehow still conscious? Are they alive and dead at the same time?
The example of Jesus Christ clearly answers the question. The Son of God was born as a normal physical human (Hebrews 2:14-18). After He was brutally killed, His body was placed in the tomb where He remained dead until He was resurrected to life. His resurrection would not have been necessary if He had been alive while He was dead.
 What does The Bible actually say about what happens when humans die, and more importantly, what does The Word of God say about how and when they stop being dead?
A Peaceful Sleep, No Sense Of The Passage Of Time
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"For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing" (Ecclesiastes 9:5 RSV)
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"For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts; for all is vanity. All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again." (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 RSV)
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"Brethren, I may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.... For David did not ascend into the heavens" (Acts 2:29,34 RSV)
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"No one has ascended into heaven but He who descended from heaven, the Son of man." (John 3:13 RSV)
A Later Resurrection
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"But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:20-23 RSV)
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"Thy dead shall live, their bodies shall rise. O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy!" (Isaiah 26:19 RSV)
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"But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet The Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with The Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 RSV)
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"Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom judgment was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years." (Revelation 20:4-6 RSV)
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"for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment." (John 5:28-29 RSV)
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"And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." (Daniel 12:2 RSV)
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"Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it; from His presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged by what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; and if any one's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:11-15 RSV)
Fact Finder: What is the last enemy of God that will be destroyed?
1 Corinthians 15:24-26
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