The Appointment That You Don't Want To Keep…That You Don’t Have To Keep
...no matter what you have been told...
The Bible clearly indicates that not all people will die a physical death (1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 1 Thessalonians 4:17), yet it also says is appointed for everyone to die once (Hebrews 9:27). This may be deemed as a contradiction to some. I would speculate that there are even some who at least call themselves Christians that would deny the biblical truth of the Rapture, based at least in part on this idea.
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
So, if each of has to die once, how would it be consistent with Scripture if someone was simply raptured; simply going about their business and then was snatched away, and then instantaneously became more alive than ever before, in the presence of Jesus forever? The Rapture is indeed a catching up, or away, as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. The Greek word “harpazo” which means to be forcefully caught up, or caught away, is translated as “rapturo” in Latin. This is where we get the word “rapture.” Yes, the Rapture is indeed clearly mentioned in the Bible, contrary to what some may assert. There is no biblical connotation of the Rapture being a form of death in any way. It would therefore seem that such a person somehow skipped on his or her divine appointment with the grim reaper. Wouldn’t this be a contradiction in Scripture?
How about the other side of the coin, so to speak; someone like Lazarus (John 11:43), or any of the others that Jesus or one of His apostles raised from the dead? Did they die again? How would such a thing be fair to them if they were only appointed to die once? Did they somehow get treated unfairly? First of all, we have no way of knowing for sure that any of these people physically died a second time. It would seem unlikely, but certainly not impossible for those folks to still be living among us today, perhaps moving around geographically and taking other identities through the centuries, as to “fit in,” or to not draw undue attention to themselves. Or perhaps at some point God may have even just took them to Heaven, as He has done at least 2 other times as recorded in Scripture with Enoch and Elijah. They may however, have indeed died physically a second time within the normal human lifespan, via any one of the many myriad causes that would have taken out anyone else. It seems that many tend to lean toward this being the case. I am by no means certain that I agree with them, however nothing in the passage we are discussing here forbids them from being correct.
The solution for this supposed dilemma is really rather simple. The reason that it is appointed unto men once to die is found in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” All of us were born in sin, and we do indeed sin (Romans 3:23); it is our nature right from the get-go. Does anyone have to teach a little child how to be naughty? I know that my parents did not need to teach me how. The wage (requirement/punishment) of sin is death, which is appointed unto (required of) each of us, without exception. The beautiful thing is Jesus took the wage (fulfilled the requirement) for us upon Himself. It is therefore no longer even there to be paid to (fulfilled by) the believer (Romans 6:23). When I refer to a believer, I refer to the person who has trusted Christ as Savior; the person who has simply taken Him at His word, PLUS NOTHING ELSE.
[These 2 links may be of help to you if this concept is unfamiliar to you: Important and Just Take Him at His Word]
In other words, Jesus took the one death that is appointed unto each of us; the one we have all earned, upon Himself, and has filled our appointment for us. The appointment is over; there is no longer an appointment to be attended or fulfilled. This is an appointment that cannot be rescheduled once it has been fulfilled (Romans 8:1), as the service has already been rendered (1 Corinthians 15:3), so to speak, and is therefore no longer available to be rendered again (Hebrews 6:4-6). Your appointed death; your appointment for death is either to be filled by you or by Jesus.
Taking what has been discussed here into account, we are still left with the question about those who were raised from the dead by Jesus and the apostles, as well as any other true believer who dies before the Rapture. First off, all of those who go to their deaths as nonbelievers (committing the unforgivable sin) will die twice (Revelation 20:11-15). They will die their physical deaths and then will keep their own appointment that Jesus would have kept for them (Revelation 20:11-15), had they only simply trusted Him to do so. The believer who dies before the rapture (or after the Rapture, during the 7 year Tribulation) will die one physical death him or herself. Those in the Scriptures who were resurrected, such as Lazarus, may possibly die 2 physical deaths. There is nothing in the appointment discussed in Hebrews 9:27 guaranteeing that some people won’t die more than once. Hebrews 9:27 says man is appointed to die once…not allowed to only die once; the passage only discusses the death that all are appointed to.
Hebrews 9:27 also states “after this the judgement.” The judgement that is rendered unto believers in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, where the believer’s works are judged and he/she is rewarded accordingly (not condemned [Romans 8:1]), does indeed chronologically follow his/her appointed death. This is of course because Jesus already kept the appointment that we have been talking about here for believers about 2000 years ago. However, it may seem out of order for the scenario I have been discussing here, at least in terms of the unbeliever. The Greek word “meta,” which is rendered as “after” in the KJV Bible, can also be rendered as “along with,” or “accompanied by;” not just “following.” Accordingly, it also therefore fits with the judgement that we see in Revelation 20: 11-15 where the final condemnation of the lake of fire, the second death, is accompanying; going along with the horrific and unspeakably sad (but perfectly just) final White Throne judgement of the unbeliever.
If you have not trusted in what Jesus already did for you in order to keep your appointment; your appointment that you really don’t want to keep…AND DON’T HAVE TO KEEP, please just trust Him and take Him at His word today. As a result of doing this, your unspeakably horrible appointment will no longer even be there for you to keep, EVER (Romans 11:29, etc.)! If you are still not sure what that means, please click here now. If you choose to trust Christ as Savior and take Him at His word, you will be eternally grateful that you did. For further discussion, please download, or just read, the free e-book that can be found by clicking here. God bless.