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Originally Posted by Peace-be-with-you  I do not feel they are dead at all. |
It's not really a matter of what we feel, it's a matter of what the Bible teaches. Paul, under inspiration in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says that on the day of judgment, all of the dead who are in Christ shall arise. This clearly teaches that the saints who have gone before us are dead physically. They are not, however, dead spiritually because those "in Christ" are not dead but rather alive in Christ.