Now, think about this. The rich man was in Hell in the spirit realm. Lazarus, the poor man, also was in the spirit realm with Abraham. If we will not have the sensations of the body to deal with, how then could Lazarus, in the spirit realm, dip the tip of his finger in water? How then could the rich man have a tongue that could be cooled with water? What finger? What water? What burning tongue?

This reminds me of another verse.

For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. (I Peter 4:6 NIV)

It seems to me that Lazarus and the rich man were living according to God in regard to the spirit but were behaving according to men in regard to the body.

Does it sound like this to you?

The practical effect of this teaching is that we cannot any longer look to physical death as our redeemer. The great work of God, that of creating sons, brothers of the Lord Jesus in His image, holy people dwelling in the rest of God, in the center of His will, continues after we die.

This does not mean we can live a careless life now and then make up for it after we die. Not at all! When the Spirit presents a challenge of growth to us, whether we are on earth or in the spirit realm, we have to obey. We cannot evade the challenge, hoping to go around it and serve God in some other direction. At that point, whether on earth or in the spirit realm, we are judged as a disobedient servant. We shall be punished.

Can you see now the practical consequences of understanding the continuity of our life from earth to the spirit realm? We cannot escape the curriculum of instruction by dying. The believer who refuses to obey Christ will be beaten with lashes, and there is no escape in death. In fact, after we die we are judged.

The careless believers of today who are hoping to be caught up in a "rapture" will find that when they enter the spirit realm they will face the consequences of their behavior on the earth. If they are an ardent, faithful follower of the Lord Jesus, feeding the Lord's sheep and lambs today, when they die they will continue to grow in Christ and probably be given greater opportunities for service. Those who have used their talents well shall be given more talents, more cities to rule, so to speak.

But if they are a lazy, careless, fleshly believer they will find, on entering the spirit realm, that they still are lazy and careless. They shall receive the consequences of laziness and carelessness. This is the practical effect of what we are teaching and the reason why we are dabbling in that which is somewhat mystical.

Let me tell you what got me started on this topic. I was thinking about the division between the righteous and the wicked that will take place at the end of the age.

This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous. (Matthew 13:49 NIV)

To be continued.