"On the Last Day"

There are two things that need to be highlighted in this post:  resurrection on the last day and the day we receive eternal life.

Let's start with the day of resurrection.  Most talk in the Christian church these days is about "heaven."  And most people have clouds, angels and harps in mind when they talk about "heaven."  In the popular Christian imagination, "heaven" is "where you go when you die."  And facile interpretations of John's Apocalypse (aka the book of Revelation) have contributed to this understanding.

However, the images of the beasts, elders, angels and martyrs "in heaven" are all situated during the time between the victory of Christ and the last day.  If you want to know what's coming "in the end," you need to read from Revelation 21 on:  It'll be a new heaven and a new earth.  

And where do you think creatures like humans belong?  That's right!  The new earth.  But the REALLY cool thing is that God makes His eternal dwelling with man.  (Revelation 21:3)  Thus, heaven comes to earth on the last day!  No more separation between God and man!

Now remember:  Separation from God is death.  So what do you think it means if God is no longer separated from man?  That's right!  Eternal life!  Just like it was supposed to be in the beginning before man turned away from God in the fall!

So what happens to your believing family members and friends when they die? Their spirits and their bodies are separated. (And that is NOT a good thing.) Their spirits rest in the presence of Christ, waiting for the events of the last day and eternity. Their bodies rest in the ground, waiting for the life-giving presence of God to cross the divide from heaven to earth on the last day, an action which will raise them from the dead.