One of the most intriguing aspects of death is just how complex the whole thing is, and it could be even more complicated if we were to delve into what death was like before the resurrection of Jesus. So convoluted were some of the details, I found it easier to understand by diagramming just what can happen to a spirit on this side of the empty tomb.

According to the Bible there are only two ways out of this earthly existence, death or some kind of rapture. The majority of mankind by far will experience death and either ascend to the heavenly plain or descend into hell. For those who have put their trust in Jesus, however, there is another option: Jesus’s second coming wherein he will snatch those still living at that time away to a place in the heavenly plain of existence. Those who descend await final judgment on Judgment Day where they will then be thrown into the Lake of Fire (which is the fifth fact we now know about death, that hell is merely a holding cell). The story for those who ascend is another matter entirely, for they eventually return to Earth to rule with Jesus during the millennial kingdom. They will be present when Judgment Day begins as well, but will be ushered into eternal life with God.

That in and of itself is clear. I don’t know why the dead in Paradise and Hell are present on Judgment Day; it seems to me their fate has been decided and that any additional judgment is unnecessary, but in the mind of God I’m sure there is a reason. In addition to all of mankind’s presence at Judgment Day, so too the fallen angels – both those still roaming the earth and those that were imprisoned in Tartarus - are brought before the Great White Throne for judgment. All those who rejected Jesus whether they be man, woman or angel, are cast into the Lake of Fire while all the others remain in heaven.

So far so good, but between the time of the fall of Adam and the second coming of Jesus it appears that heaven is in a state of flux. God descends to interact with man (Genesis 3.8, Genesis 11.5, John 1.14 , Revelation 21.3) and he brings man up to heaven at least in spirit to receive revelation (Isaiah 6,1-.8, 2 Corinthians 12.2-.4). Angels, both holy and fallen, appear before God at some regular interval to explain themselves (Job 1.6-.7). Adding to the mix, human spirits can return to the earthly plain in one of three ways: summoning, raising and resurrection.

Summoning is when a witch, spiritist or conjurer summons the spirit of a deceased person to temporarily return to the earthly plane. The purpose is usually to gain some wisdom or insight that only the deceased person can impart. Throughout the entire Bible such a practice was only once successfully performed. It should be noted that a spirit may only return to earth by God’s permission and that only those whose spirits are in the heavenly plain can return. As mentioned before, Hell is a holding cell where those who have rejected Jesus await final judgment and punishment. There is no escape and no reprieve from the torments of hell.

Raising (egero) is the act of raising someone from the dead, as Peter did with Tabitha in Acts chapter 9. This is when a human spirit has been separated from its physical body due to death, the spirit has ascended to Paradise (a section of the Heavenly Plain), and for whatever reason is returned to spirit’s original body along with whatever power and authority God sends along to give new life to the old physical body. This person continues to live until such a time as they die again. We do not know if the person being raised has a choice to return or to stay in heaven. We do not know if the person remembers their time in Paradise when they return to the Earthly plain.

Resurrection (egesis) is the most powerful event of the three. In the case of resurrection a person has died, they have ascended to heaven, and then whatever remains of that person’s physical body is transformed from a mortal, corruptible body into an eternal and incorruptible one. Furthermore, the body and the spirit are together provided a new nature whereby instead of being bent toward sin and selfishness it is inclined toward righteousness and holiness. A resurrected body is the body a spirit will have for all eternity.

There is so much more that could be said about everything mentioned in the chart. This is only an overview to help us understand just what happened when Peter raised Tabitha and how such an act fits into the universe of the redeemed.