A Question

"And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him." Matthew 17:1-3

"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; 1 Thessalonians 4:16

Most people teach that when you die, if you are a believer in Christ, you come into the presence of God. But the scripture teaches many things like what we have read in the second scripture above. After Jesus finished his work, ascended to the Father and waits for a period of time, he is to return and then the "dead in Christ" will rise. But yet in the first scripture that comes from Matthew, Jesus hadn't died yet, he had not crushed the serpents head, destroyed death and was raised from the dead...yet, Moses and Elijah came to see him. How could they be raised from the dead if Jesus hadn't completed his work?

It would seem there is a contradiction here. Are people (believers) who die dead and waiting for the resurrection or when they die do they immediately step into the presence of God?

I have my understanding...which is really not yet quite clear and I'm not even sure if it's completely biblical. But, what do you think? Whether you comment or not is not the point. But this is something that I think if you struggle with, the Lord will reveal some things that we may have missed that will change a lot of our understanding.

Martin Luther King Jr * The Drum Major Instinct

"And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came unto him saying, ‘Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.' And he said unto them, ‘What would ye that I should do for you?' And they said unto him, ‘Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.' But Jesus said unto them, ‘Ye know not what ye ask: Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?' And they said unto him, ‘We can.' And Jesus said unto them, ‘Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of, and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.'" And then Jesus goes on toward the end of that passage to say, "But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your servant: and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all." Mark 10: 35

A couple of years ago our family spent a day in Atlanta. We decided to spend most of it at the Martin Luther King Jr museum. Within walking distance was also the church that Dr. King was the minister. It was a humbling day to see how much this man did to bring about change in America. We purchased books and other material such as his sermon "The Drum Major Instinct".

A friend sent me a link to Mike Huckabee's site which has the whole sermon laid out in an easier to read fashion that what most sites offer.

Please read this great sermon. If allowed, the message will change you.
http://www.mikehuckabee.com/?Page=The%20Drum%20Major%20Instinct