Is this life all there is? For the Christian, absolutely not! Because Jesus Christ arose from the dead, death is not the end. Our confidence comes from the Bible. Numerous passages allude to this truth. One such Scripture can be found in 1 Corinthians Chapter 15.

“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept” (1Cor 15:20).

Did you notice the word “firstfruits”? What does it mean? It is the word “ἀπαρχή. In the context of this resurrection chapter it refers to the only One who would literally die but come back to life again. And by the way, this means He would never die again. He would be the first of many who “slept”.

The word “slept” is κοιμάομαι (koy-mah’-o), which means the sleep of death.

These verses along with others reveal that not only does a person go to heaven at the moment of death, but he or she will also be raised bodily from the grave at the coming of Jesus Christ in the rapture.

“For 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: Then 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” (1Thess 4:16, 17).