The Bible describes this in many ways. The one that comes to my mind is...
1 Thessalonians 4:15
“For 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.”
It seems that we will all experience heaven for the first time together (to me, at least.)
God's Word, as well as observable science, provides a very simple and feasible solution. (Possible solution.)
1 Corinthians 15:52
“
In 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.”
This tells us that the migration is not a gradual one, but nearly instantaneous. It is a well-known fact that time does not conform to classical notions when near instantaneous processes are involved. For example, if a rocket-ship were to travel to a distant place nearly instantaneously, vast amounts of time could seem to have passed in the eye of the beholder at home, while the time experienced by the migrator (soul of the saint) would only be the twinkling of an eye. This is a well understood phenomenon that is verifiable by scientific experimentation.
ie. A very short sleep/travelling time for the saint's soul. No travel pillow required.
From God's point of view, the dead saint's soul would be whisked straight from death time to Rapture time. This would have been confusing until the time of Einstein and modern physics.
* Tech note: The linear distance between grave and cloud need to be a factor due to fact that route need not be linear. Astronauts were able to travel through time by merely circling the Earth at a very high rate of speed.
As I said, this would result in all of us as the Church going in together. Grandpa would not have to spend years in Heaven grating his teeth at every stupid thing junior was doing down on Earth.
I completely agree that God could accomplish all of the above even if it was not a modernly understood property of space-time physics.
1 Thessalonians 4:15
“For 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.”
if you look at what Paul’s establishing as awake and asleep before the at verse does it change the thinking of what it means ?
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 KJV
see if you keep reading on is he talking g about death ?
“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
But ye,
brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day:
we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but
let us watch and be sober. For
they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
But
let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our
Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”
1 Thessalonians 5:2-11 KJV
see Paul’s using a visual to help us understand “ sleep “ here he’s talking about those who seem to fall off of following the lord and the evidence is t showing. He’s sort of establishing himself how Toni deer tend e term sleep there I think he’s saying those who don’t turn against God but believe In Jesus but never pursue him and never show a lot of fruit
he’s sort of saying I believe like when he says “ some who’s work is burned up , Will still be saved as by fire “
there are those alive in Christ and awake who have heard this
“Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth
proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”
Ephesians 5:6-11, 13-17 KJV
again he’s not actually talking to dead people in the grave he’s calling for believers to wake up and sin not
“
Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.”
1 Corinthians 15:34
Because there’s a difference in those who do this
“Verily, verily, I say unto you,
If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.”
John 8:51 KJV
and this
“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him:
and I will raise him up at the last day.”
John 6:44 KJV
as Christian’s the mature and fruitful shouldnt look at the immature and less fruitful and assume they aren’t saved or aren’t going to be saved in the end we shouldn’t sorrow about a believer thinking thier lost even if they fall asleep he can save them in the end at the last resurrection
but we can attend the first if we repent and believe the gospel d wake up and realize sin is a bond and it’s a lie that we can’t break free