Why did Paul say "to die is gain"?

[Deena]

If death is a long dirt nap till the resurrection, as some believe, why would Paul say it was "gain" compared to physical life?  :dontknow:

[marie glen]

I think because when I die, the next thing I will know, we all will be with Jesus.. I see the scenario of an individual afterlife as very disorganized, and as a kind of ascension, which is prominent in non-christian faiths stemming from Babylon (maybe even from Cain?)

If a person were to 'go to heaven' or 'go to hell' or 'hades' - 'place of the dead', at their death, that would be sentence (or reward) before judgment. I view the place of the dead as still the grave.. and see graves like beds with headstones :laughing7:
              God bless!

PS. - I also think about how it was the liar, in Eden, who said "...surely.. you won't... die..?" But our heavenly Father said "dust thou art.."

He alone is Life! that's what we're learning.. (imo) :gsmile: :dsunny:

[marie glen]

....what was the original sin? ...."I will.." ...whereas Yahweh is the "I am" ...I don't know.. I can't explain what I'm thinking..

Cain's offering.. was it an offering which said "I will.."?

"Every knee shall bend.." (Is 45:53; Ro 14:11 & Phil 2:10) has to be. In order for Him to share His life and be "all in all"..

...just thinking outloud.. :smile: :Peace2: ..have a good day!

[eaglesway]

Yea, I agree with marie glen. To die is gain because it is the door through which we enter the glory of fellowship with Jesus and the rest of our family in Christ. Onward and upward into the next stage of our priesthood. Even if there is a long dirt nap we wont be conscious of it. We will sleep one moment to awaken in the glory of His presence.

Heb 12

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.

Its gonna be huge! :o)

[Dandelion]

I believe that when we die, we enter the 'eternity' time zone and are no longer tied to the sequential time on earth.

While our bodies lie in the ground, in this world, our Spirit resides in an eternity, where past, present and future are all one and accessible.

How that works, I have no idea......but I do believe that is the way God exists and we will experience it when we die, as well.

D.

[Ross]

Physical life is temporary- spiritual life is permanent.