My Father's House--Part Two

II. How are we going to get there? Who will take us there?         Do you realize the significance of what Jesus is saying about how His children actually make the journey from their deathbed to heaven's glory? Look at it carefully: don't allow your heart to be troubled because Jesus has given us His peace (John 14:27); we trust in God the Father; trust also in Jesus. In "my Father's house." What a description! We're home and in the place that Jesus has prepared for us.

        Now don't miss verse 3, when the time comes, Jesus said,

         This is stupendous, absolutely glorious! You say, "Jesus became a man, one man. How can He do that with all the children that He has in this world?" You may be overlooking one very important thing. Jesus is God and in the incarnation when He became a baby and grew to manhood, He was still God--the perfect Man but also completely God from all eternity past as the eternal Son of God. Since He is God, He is omnipresent--and has all the attributes of deity that He has always had. The reality is that God cannot become less than God. So it is Jesus Himself who comes for us when we die. Hold onto that promise; it's there in John 14:3. And in v. 6 "No one comes to the Father but by Me."

 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." The word translated from the Greek is much stronger than the KJV shows. The Greek word is paralambano and it means to receive or to take in the sense of "taking along with. . . of taking to. . . . Jesus, by the Spirit, takes His own along with Him through life, and then takes them to His side at death. He Himself conducts them to Himself." (Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament, II, p. 240) That’s why the ESV and the NIV both translate this "I will take you (to be with me.)"

        "The change of tense (to future) is intentional; the future pointing to the future personal reception of the believer through death." Vincent’s Word StudiesParalambano how can we know the way?"what’s going on after death. I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."means taking along with or taking to. Jesus takes His own along with Him through life, and then takes them to His side at death. He Himself conducts them to Himself "that where I am, there ye may be also." Whether the Lord comes back or whether we die first, Jesus will come for us and take us to be where He is. "And so shall we ever be with the Lord."

          You can see the meaning of paralambano clearly in Matthew 2:13KJV "And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him." This was written when King Herod ordered the slaughter of the little baby boys in Bethlehem. But the meaning of "take" (paralambano) is clear in "take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt." That’s what Jesus will do when He comes for us on our death bed: He will "take" us to be with Him.

4] "And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. [5] Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and
Thomas was saying, "Our knowledge stops at death. How can we go to the Father unless we die? You’re going to die and go somewhere, but we don’t know
[6] [Jesus saith unto him,

        In other words, "You don’t need to know how to get there. I’m coming to take you there!"Jesus doesn’t just give us directions to the Father’s house–He takes us there! That’s why death for the Christian is such a glorious experience. Whether through death or in the Rapture, we can trust Him to take us to the Father’s house.
         Death is called "sleep" in scripture. We go to sleep down here and we awake in the Presence of Jesus. "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." Psalm 17:15 "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." 1 John 3:2

         In the Old Testament you get a picture of something similar to your spirit being taken into heaven when you die. Psalm 73:24 says, "Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Receive also means "take" in the OT.   The word is laqach meaning "to take." The HCSB translates 73:24 "You guide me with Your counsel, and afterwards You will take me up to glory." Psalm 49:15