I have been writing articles for Rapture Ready for about fifteen years, and I often wonder what I can write on next.
I have the honor of speaking at a funeral today, and I plan to make five points about death that I think are Biblical and that I have decided to pass on.
FIRST—LIFE IS TEMPORARY
Paul said, “It is appointed unto men once to die” (Heb. 9:27). And that includes women.
Moses said, “The days of our years are threescore years and ten [70 years]; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years [80 years], yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away (Psa. 90:10).
This is the point: We shouldn’t get too comfortable on this earth.
It is not our permanent home.
We are just passing through.
We can reasonably expect to live here on Earth about 70 years (some do and some don’t).
But if we make it to 80 years of age, we can expect to have health problems.
We can expect life to become an uphill struggle.
And it will seem like our life has quickly passed.
Have you ever asked yourself, “Where has my life gone?”
Have you ever heard an older person say, “I am tired of going to the doctor,” or “I have asked God to take me before I get to where I can’t take care of myself?”
That’s what Moses said happens to people.
I will say it like this (and it should be obvious in addition to being Biblical).
All of us are moving from one phase of life to another: Childhood, youth, adulthood, middle age, and, finally, old age.
We move through times of success and times of struggle.
Good times and bad times come and go, but they are all temporary.
And our life here on Earth is temporary.
SECOND—DEATH IS TEMPORARY
Jesus was raised from the dead.
He even raised people from the dead while He was here.
And many OT saints were raised from the dead when Jesus was raised.
Because these people were raised from the dead and because Jesus lives, we Christians believe we will live again.
Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (Jn. 14:2-3).
Paul said, “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. 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.
“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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (I Thess. 4:13-18).
This is the point: God wants Christians to tell people that death is temporary.
There will be a future resurrection of the saved and a future resurrection of the lost, of the just and the unjust, of the righteous and the unrighteous.
Everyone will be raised from the dead at some point in the future.
We don’t know the day or the hour, but it seems to be getting close.
THIRD—OUR STUFF IS TEMPORARY
My wife, Rachel, and I lived in a nice house.
Rachel had nice clothes, nice jewelry, etc.
On July 24, 2020, Rachel went to the doctor.
Two days later, a nurse called to tell Rachel that she tested positive for Covid.
The next day, she got out of bed and put on just her house coat and a pair of house shoes.
Late that afternoon, she started feeling bad, and she asked me to take her to the emergency room of the hospital.
I helped her out to our car, and we took off.
Two weeks later, she died at the hospital.
This is the point: When Rachel and I pulled out of our driveway, Rachel saw her stuff (her house, clothes, jewelry, etc.) for the last time.
She would never see her stuff again in this life.
Even if she had died at home, she would never see her stuff again.
She had a husband, 3 children, and 6 grandchildren, and she would never see any of them again in this life.
Understand this: If the Rapture doesn’t happen first, we will all come to the point of never seeing our stuff or our family again in this life.
That is an awful thought.
But the good news is that God has provided a way for all of us to lay up treasure in heaven and to see our loved ones again.
That way is by truly accepting Jesus as our Saviour and asking Him to come into our heart.
FOURTH—WE WILL KNOW OUR LOVED ONES WHEN WE SEE THEM
We will be able to see, talk, and interact with loved ones and others after we have been raised from the dead.
After Moses and Elijah were long dead, some of the disciples saw them talking with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, and they knew them (Matthew 17:3).
In the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, after they both died, the Rich Man saw Lazarus in Paradise, and he knew him (Luke 16:19-31).
When Samuel was called up from Paradise by the witch of Endor, Samuel recognized Saul (1 Samuel 28:15-19).
When the disciples saw the resurrected Jesus, they knew Him.
Thomas doubted, but when he felt Jesus’ wounds, he believed.
This is the point: We will know and be able to interact with our resurrected loved ones in the future.
Finally—WE NEED TO GET OUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT
We have pain, toil, and tears in this life, but we will have no pain, toil, or tears in heaven.
We may live in a nice house on Earth, but we will live in a mansion in heaven, walk on a street of gold, and live by a river of life.
We may have nice jewelry on Earth, but we can have crowns in heaven.
We may have nice clothes in this life, but we can be clothed with a white robe and the glory of God in heaven.
We came into this life with nothing, and we will leave this life with nothing.
In conclusion: Life on Earth is temporary, death on Earth is temporary, our stuff is temporary, so we would be wise to get our priorities straight (make our salvation sure and live for God).
Here are some recent events that seem to indicate that the end of the age is near.
One, concerning the days of Noah and great wickedness on Earth at the end of the age: on Oct. 2, 2026, the RAIR Foundation USA reported that:
- The Red/Green Alliance is in the streets of France, setting her on fire.
- Muslims and leftists, along with a lot of students, are setting fire to hundreds of schools, churches, and vehicles.
- They are also setting fire to principals, firefighters, and bystanders.
- It’s an evil apocalypse come home to roost.
(More: On Oct. 5, 2026, RAIR Foundation USA reported that the Red/Green Alliance of Marxists and Islamic thugs is behind all of this regardless of what you hear in the news. Almost a thousand rioters were arrested as the country is set ablaze and over half of France’s high schools have been shut down, according to Fox News. France’s interior ministry reports that 6,100 people have been taken into custody since the protests began in September, with approximately 87 percent being minors. At least 715 police officers and 215 teenagers have been injured in clashes, according to Reuters.)
(More: On Oct. 6, 2026, Pres. Trump said, “What’s happening in France is nothing less than out-of-control mass migration. This isn’t about schools; this is about Islam wanting to take over a once great Country!”)
Two, concerning the Days of Noah and great wickedness on Earth at the end of the age: on Oct. 3, 2026, it was reported that Elon Musk said, “I think we’re going to see widespread slaughter in Europe. You’re clearly seeing a massive increase in the number of attacks. And the legacy media downplays these attacks. But the attacks, the terrorism, and the killing of innocent people are rising. Every week, there’s more.”
Three, concerning a rebuilt Temple and the animal sacrifices in Israel: on Oct. 6, 2026, the Prophecy News Watch (PNW) staff wrote (in part):
- According to Rabbi Tovia Singer, one of the most widely followed Jewish teachers in the world, an altar suitable for Temple sacrifices has already been prepared.
- For years, prophecy watchers have focused primarily on the enormous political obstacles to rebuilding the Jewish Temple.
- The Temple Mount contains the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque and remains perhaps the most religiously explosive piece of real estate on Earth. Any serious attempt to construct a Jewish Temple there could produce repercussions across the Middle East.
- But rebuilding the Temple and resuming sacrifices may not necessarily be the same event.
- The biblical precedent is found in Ezra.
- When Jewish exiles returned from Babylon to Jerusalem in the sixth century B.C., they found their city devastated and Solomon’s Temple destroyed.
- Yet they did not wait until a new Temple could be constructed before restoring biblical worship.
- They built the altar first.
- Ezra 3:6 makes the sequence unmistakable:
- “From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid.”
- The Temple wasn’t standing.
- Its foundation hadn’t even been laid.
- Yet sacrifices had already begun.
- That ancient precedent suddenly makes today’s Temple preparations considerably more interesting.
(Reminder: I believe the Temple will be rebuilt early in the Tribulation Period – after the Rapture and after the Antichrist confirms the seven-year covenant.)
Here is a link to the entire article:
https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=10583
Four, concerning the wannabe world government (United Nothing): on Oct. 6, 2026, a UN spokesperson said, “An internal investigation has concluded that UNRWA humanitarian workers in Gaza ‘very likely’ participated in the massacre carried out by Hamas on October 7, which claimed the lives of 1,200 Israeli men, women, and children!”
Five, concerning persecution of Christians at the end of the age: on Oct. 6, 2026, Alex Newman (The Liberty Sentinel) reported that Maine’s courts have ruled that a church’s teaching on heaven, hell, Christ’s return, and angels is “psychologically harmful” to children and grounds for reassigning parental rights for a mother who took her child to church — a precedent critics call one of the most dangerous in years.
Six, concerning the spiritual decline of the U.S.: on Oct. 6, 2026, the Ottumwa, Iowa, city council meeting opened with an invocation delivered by resident and former council member Matt Dalbey (a member of the Satanic Temple of Iowa). It included a satanic prayer and concluded with a “Hail Satan.”
A local pastor objected, but he was ruled out of order.
Seven, concerning the U.S. economy at the end of the age and the implications for a global economic collapse early in the Tribulation Period: on Oct. 6, 2026, Hal Turner wrote:
- Yields on the United States 30-year Treasury Bonds have risen to 5.70%; the highest rate since the year 2002.
- This shows Investors are rapidly losing faith in the United States creditworthiness and fear inflation.
- Before they will lend any more money to the USA, they want to make certain they get more money for taking what they now see as a risk.
- Since the Bond Market is the foundation of the entire financial system, because government bonds are allegedly the “safest” investment anyone can make, everything else that relies on credit must therefore get more expensive because all those other credit risks are deemed riskier than government bonds.
- Ergo, Home Mortgages, auto loans, credit card interest rates, and the like must all be raised in comparison to the Bond yields.
- This ongoing sudden and dramatic rise in US Government Bond Yields is a gigantic drain on the economy.
- This drain cannot be sustained because the US Government is some $40 trillion in debt.
- Interest payments by the government now exceed 1 Trillion dollars a year – and rising.
- This math doesn’t work. There isn’t enough money to continue this pattern of government overspending.
- This debt level and Interest level simply cannot be sustained.
Eight, concerning the division of Israel (Two-State Solution) and the controversy over Jerusalem at the end of the age: on Oct. 6, 2026, Worthy News reported that:
- Diplomatic tensions between Britain and Israel have escalated in recent days.
- Britain maintains that the final status of Jerusalem should be determined through negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, while Israel regards Jerusalem as its “eternal and undivided capital.”
- The dispute comes as several European governments increase pressure on Israel over settlement construction and violence in the West Bank, which Israel refers to by its biblical names Judea and Samaria.
- Britain said Israeli government-backed plans to expand settlements and rising attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians were undermining prospects for a negotiated two-state solution.
- France and Canada joined Britain in measures targeting trade involving Israeli settlements. Israel has so far taken no comparable diplomatic action against either country.
Nine, concerning the fact that Israel cannot be defeated at the end of the age: on Oct. 7, 2026, (three years after the current war began ), Israel reported that more than 31,000 rockets, missiles, and drones have been launched at Israel, and she still stands strong.
- Approximately 10,200 from the Gaza Strip
- Approximately 20,000 from Lebanon
- Approximately 1,200 from Iran
- Approximately 50 from Syria
- Approximately 90 from Yemen
Here are some day-to-day reports on what is happening in the U.S.-Iran war:
Fri. (Oct. 2, 2026) 204 days after Operation Roaring Lion/ Epic Fury (Day 163 of Trump’s latest ceasefire extension) (123 days from the day Pres. Trump said he will declare total victory over Iran) (9 days after Pres. Trump told the UN Gen. Assembly that Iran has a choice: capitulate or be annihilated. This is at least the third time that he has threatened to destroy Iran) (The war is now 1,091 days old)
- Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs bluntly urged: All foreign nationals and Diplomats should leave Kiev Immediately. The Russian Federation can’t guarantee your security. In recent days, you are very aware of the increase in strikes by the Russian military. It will only get worse for the Kiev regime.
Sat. (Oct. 3, 2026) 205 days after Operation Roaring Lion/ Epic Fury (Day 164 of Trump’s latest ceasefire extension) (124 days from the day Pres. Trump said he will declare total victory over Iran) (10 days after Pres. Trump told the UN Gen. Assembly that Iran has a choice: capitulate or be annihilated. This is at least the third time that he has threatened to destroy Iran) (The war is now 1,092 days old)
- I didn’t report anything.
Sun. (Oct. 4, 2026) 206 days after Operation Roaring Lion/ Epic Fury (Day 165 of Trump’s latest ceasefire extension) (125 days from the day Pres. Trump said he will declare total victory over Iran) (11 days after Pres. Trump told the UN Gen. Assembly that Iran has a choice: capitulate or be annihilated. This is at least the third time that he has threatened to destroy Iran) (The war is now 1,093 days old)
- The U.S. pulled all 12 B-1 bombers out of RAF Fairford in the UK over the weekend after commanders received new warnings of an Iran-backed plot against the base. A senior U.S. official said Israel separately warned Germany that U.S. bases there, especially Spangdahlem and Ramstein, were at heightened risk. An Iran-backed plot against a U.S. bomber base on British soil, and warnings that other American bases in Europe, including in Germany, could be next, are a major escalation by Iran, carrying the war beyond the Middle East and onto the territory of NATO allies.
Mon. (Oct. 5, 2026) 207 days after Operation Roaring Lion/ Epic Fury (Day 166 of Trump’s latest ceasefire extension) (126 days from the day Pres. Trump said he will declare total victory over Iran) (12 days after Pres. Trump told the UN Gen. Assembly that Iran has a choice: capitulate or be annihilated. This is at least the third time that he has threatened to destroy Iran) (The war is now 1,094 days old)
- Israeli Prime Min. Netanyahu said, “There will be no Hamas rule in Gaza. Anyone who was involved in the attack against us and held our hostages is living on borrowed time. Every day, we settle accounts with these despicable murderers.
- A Saudi-led coalition said that it is providing air cover for Yemeni armed forces on the ground, with 100 fighter jets reported to have taken part in the operation. The coalition says it attacked 324 “high-value targets” and is providing air support at the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea. Yemen’s armed forces said they have begun a “strategic offensive” in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. The Iran-aligned Houthis have held the capital and vast parts of the northwest, where most of the population lives.
- Turkey and Pakistan said they will undertake a “rapid deployment” of troops to Saudi Arabia as part of their new mutual defense alliance, the Mecca Pact, in a move that could deepen the Houthis isolation in the region. It is not clear what impact they will have.
Tues. (Oct. 6, 2026) 208 days after Operation Roaring Lion/ Epic Fury (Day 167 of Trump’s latest ceasefire extension) (127 days from the day Pres. Trump said he will declare total victory over Iran) (13 days after Pres. Trump told the UN Gen. Assembly that Iran has a choice: capitulate or be annihilated. This is at least the third time that he has threatened to destroy Iran) (The war is now 1,095 days old)
- Defense Minister Katz at the cabinet meeting: “The IDF is preparing for a scenario in which Palestinian Authority forces turn their weapons against Israel in Judea and Samaria. In such a case, war will be declared against the Palestinian Authority, and the IDF will launch a full-scale offensive.”
Wed. (Oct. 7, 2026) 208 days after Operation Roaring Lion/ Epic Fury (Day 168 of Trump’s latest ceasefire extension) (128 days from the day Pres. Trump said he will declare total victory over Iran) (14 days after Pres. Trump told the UN Gen. Assembly that Iran has a choice: capitulate or be annihilated. This is at least the third time that he has threatened to destroy Iran) (The war is now 1,096 days old)
- Several days ago, the Pentagon directed the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) to finalize preparations for possible large-scale military strikes against Iran as Pres. Trump considers resuming major combat operations amid stalled nuclear negotiations and escalating tensions across the Middle East.
Finally, are you Rapture Ready?
If you want to be rapture ready and go to heaven, you must be born again (John 3:3). God loves you, and if you have not done so, sincerely admit that you are a sinner; believe that Jesus is the virgin-born, sinless Son of God, who died for the sins of the world, was buried, and rose from the dead; ask Him to forgive your sins, cleanse you, come into your heart and be your Saviour; then tell someone that you have done this.