Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
This past year, I had to put a new roof on my house. The man from the roofing company was a 30-40 year old man named Craig. From the moment I met Craig, he showed interest in Bible. He said he didn't know anything about Bible, having been raised Catholic, but there was something there. The subject of what happens to us when we die came into conversation. I talked to him about following and shared this scripture with him.
I Thess. 4 ... But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep(concerning those who have died), that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
I explained that death is simply sleep. When we die we are asleep. And when Jesus returns, the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then those who are alive at the time Jesus returns will be changed from this form of body to another form. And then we will rise to meet Jesus and those raised from the dead.
I Cor. 15 ... Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep (die), but we shall all be changed, 52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put immortality.
I told Craig that all things must be proved by the Bible. Of course you must have Holy Spirit in you to sort through everything and to show you truth for the Holy spirit is the Spirit of truth.
After Craig left, I copied the scriptures shared that day and mailed these to him so he could see them.
A few weeks passed and Craig came over to pick up a ladder he had left here for me to use. He came in and sat down and immediately he asked me where those scriptures were in Bible, the ones I shared with him. He said he had told his wife about them and she said, "Well ... I don't know about that." And he replied, "Well let's just look them up." But he didn't know where to look for them.
So I wrote out on piece of paper I Thess. 4:13-18 ... I Cor. 15 ...
And I began to talk to him about Lazarus ... Jn. 11 ... where Jesus explains clearly to his disciples that Lazarus is dead ... Jesus had been speaking of Lazarus being asleep and the disciples didn't realize Jesus meant Lazarus was dead.
When I talked to Craig about this, he took his cell phone and asked me where that scripture was and I told him and he found it on his cell phone. I was so interested to know that Craig has the Bible on his cell phone.
Jn. 11 ... Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. 12Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. 13Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. 14Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
We read this passage together and then I said, when a person dies he is asleep. He is not watching over people. He is asleep. And he will awaken from the dead when Jesus returns if he belongs to God. But he is not watching over his children when he is dead as some think. The dead are sleeping. And I said to Craig, it is just exactly like when you are asleep. You are not watching over your children in your house while you sleep. Neither can dead people watch over the living.
After Craig left, I thought of what an interesting subject this had been. God knows exactly how to reach us. This is not a subject I would have thought about sharing with a person who does not know anything about Bible.
And I spoke about the Bible being "the inspired word of God." The Bible is not the word of man.
II Tim. 3 ...
the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Later I mailed the above scripture to Craig, wanting him to be sure to see this in written form.
I know all this was spoken to Craig by the Spirit of God and not by the thinking of myself. The subjects shared are so different from any subject I would have chosen.
And I thought of Jesus and how HE just went about speaking what he heard from God and when people talked with Jesus he often spoke things they didn't expect and those things didn't even seem to fit the question asked by them.
Jn. 3 ... There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
And when the Holy Spirit is speaking through us, it is the same way ...
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Jn. 8