Resting in Peace in the Bible Study
Biblical Rest in Peace Meaning Explained
What does it mean to rest in peace and how does resting in peace affect the Christian afterlife? Let us take a Spiritual journey into the realm that is entered when we pass from this physical realm to the next promised Spiritual adventurous journey.
There are a couple of instances in the Bible where Jesus brought souls back from the "dead". When He did this, He told the people around Him that the souls were not dead, but rather sleeping:
John 11:11-13
11 These things said He: and after that He saith unto
them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that
I may awake him out of sleep.
12 Then said His disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do
well.
13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that
He had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
Luke 8:49-55
49 While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of
the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble
not the Master.
50 But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.
51 And when He came into the house, He suffered no man to
go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother
of the maiden.
52 And all wept, and bewailed her: but He said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth.
53 And they laughed Him to scorn, knowing that she was
dead.
54 And He put them all out, and took her by the hand, and
called, saying, Maid, arise.
55 And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway:
and He commanded to give her meat.
Blessed Resting in Peace in the Bible
Biblical Rest in Peace Meaning Explored
What did Jesus mean when He said that these souls, who everyone
thought were dead, were merely sleeping? The Bible reveals that when
we pass on from this physical realm to the next Spiritual realm, that
we are merely asleep. A time of rest.
Deuteronomy 31:16
And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers.
Acts 13:36-37
36 For David, after he had served his own generation by
the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers,
and saw corruption:
37 But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.
In this physical realm, we define being asleep as ... A natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended. We are not conscious of the world around us as we are in another state of consciousness. Our mind (soul) is somewhere else and this is proven by the dreams that we oft times have. However, being "asleep" in the next realm is a little different. Check this out;
Isaiah 57:1-2
1 The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart:
and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous
is taken away from the evil to come.
2 He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their
beds, each one walking in his uprightness.
Eternal Resting in Peace in the Bible
Biblical Rest in Peace Meaning With No Fear
So, it appears that when we pass from this realm to the next that we are truly resting in peace. I would like to share a quick Biblical Rest in Peace story with you from God's Word about a man who chose to try and wake up one of the souls that had passed from this realm to the next and was resting in peace.
1 Samuel 28:5-10
5 And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was
afraid, and his heart greatly trembled.
6 And when Saul enquired of the Lord, the Lord answered
him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
7 Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that
hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And
his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a
familiar spirit at Endor.
8 And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment,
and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by
night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar
spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.
9 And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what
Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits,
and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare
for my life, to cause me to die?
10 And Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord
liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.
King Saul, who was the first human king of Israel, had always had a
prophet named Samuel to go to when he had issues that he faced. But
when Samuel died, king Saul had an issue arise where he was in fear
and he chose to try and contact Samuel who was "sleeping" and resting
in peace. So, he sought out a person who could contact him from the
"other side" for him.
Let's see what happened next ...
1 Samuel 28:11-15
11 Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee?
And he said, Bring me up Samuel.
12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud
voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived
me? for thou art Saul.
13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what
sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out
of the earth.
14 And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said,
An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul
perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the
ground, and bowed himself.
15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted
me, to bring me up?
Resting in Peace in The Bible Blessing
True Biblical Rest in Peace Meaning
The definition of "disquieted" is to deprive of peace, rest, or tranquility. So, Samuel is telling Saul that he had disturbed Samuel's peace by awakening him. This further confirms that those who pass from this realm to the next are not dead but rather sleeping and Resting in Peace as they await the time to be resurrected:
1 Corinthians 15:51-53
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this
mortal must put on immortality.
These sleeping souls will join those who have been taken up in the Rapture (in the air) to meet Jesus as the Bible confirms:
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
13 But 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.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even
so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 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.
16 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:
17 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.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
As Daniel pointed out, these sleeping souls will awake and receive eternal life or ... Eternal suffering.
Daniel 12:2
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the Earth shall awake,
some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting
contempt.
Resting in Peace in the Bible Hope
Biblical Rest in Peace Meaning Promise
Jesus confirms this Truth:
John 5:25-30
25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming,
and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and
they that hear shall live.
26 For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He
given to the Son to have life in Himself;
27 And hath given Him authority to execute judgment also,
because He is the Son of man.
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the
which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice,
29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto
the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the
resurrection of damnation.
30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge:
and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the
will of the Father which hath sent me.
It will depend on their choices as to what their eternal life will bring forth. Here is another interesting tidbit to ponder on:
Matthew 27:52-53
52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the
saints which slept arose,
53 And came out of the graves after His resurrection, and
went into the Holy City, and appeared unto many.
Resting in Peace in the Bible Gift
Biblical Rest in Peace Meaning Answer
This is saying that many sleeping Saints came out of their resting place after Jesus had been resurrected and showed themselves to many people. Now, though it says they came "out of their graves" ... I believe that we can all assume that the skeletons of these past saints did not crawl out like they do on some kinda zombie movie that we see on television, but rather their souls came out and appeared unto many. They were seen as who they were, but had a Spiritual body. Just as Jesus did when He appeared at times for the 40 days after His resurrection:
Acts 1:3
To whom also He [Jesus] shewed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God ...
Jesus said not to touch Him as He had not ascended to God yet.
John 20:17
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not
yet ascended to my Father.
Although most people imagine that when someone dies, their soul goes straight to Heaven when they pass from this realm to the next. However Scripture is very clear, Jesus was the first soul to ever be resurrected:
1 Corinthians 15:20-22
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become
the firstfruits of them that slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the
resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be
made alive.
When a Christian dies and then after resting in peace, they are then resurrected and they rise to Heaven. They receive a new Spiritual body:
1 Corinthians 15:40-44
40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies
terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of
the terrestrial is another.
41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the
moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from
another star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is
sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is
sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual
body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
So whether we are alive or asleep when the Lord returns,iIf we chose to believe in and serve Him during our lives ... We are His !!!
Romans 14:8-9
8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and
whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore,
or die, we are the Lord's.
9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived,
that He might be Lord both of the dead and living.
My friends, never forget this: The "death" of the Lord's saints is precious to God:
Psalms 116:15
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.
Resting in Peace in the Bible Summary
Biblical Rest in Peace Meaning Conclusion
I have a friend whose husband died recently and she was devastated as they had been married 51 years and he was her whole world. No words shared by man, could console her grief.
She knew her husband was a Christian and therefore he was at peace, but she just could not get over the depression and would lay in bed day in and day out. Then one morning she awoke and heard her husband's words coming from the foot of the bed.
He called her by name and said ... "Get up."
Our loved ones that pass from this realm to the next do not want us to mourn the great tidings that they are now in a place that each of us seeks to attain. They do not want us to sit around moping. They want us to get up and carry on.
Resting in Peace Summary
Rest in Peace Meaning is Comforting
So, if you know of a Christian that has passed on to the next realm or know someone who is about to ... Encourage and comfort those involved with the words of Truth shared today. As it is written in the Bible to do so:
These souls are not dead.
They are resting in peace.
So, you can rest in peace !!!
