What Else When We Die?

As I keep reading and studying, I am reminded that when we die, we are not just “there”. We are not lifeless and without form. So it stands to reason that we are not lacking consciousness either.

“⁹When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. ¹⁰They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ ¹¹Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.” – Revelation 6:9-11 (ESV)

Randy Alcorn pointed out the above passage in the MasterWork study I am working in. Here we find that those who were martyred for their faith, are waiting for the return of Christ. In their waiting, they are speaking with Him, recognizing His sovereignty, questioning Him to understand, and comforted in their waiting. All of these indicate that when we die and meet Christ in the intermediate Heaven, we are still who we are and that we conscious, and continuing to learn and work to understand.

When you look at the verses above and I mean really look at them, you not only see the consciousness and learning, but you also see the anticipation and to some degree, sorrow in the waiting for it all to be over. But how can that be if there is no more sorrow in Heaven. Well, that removal of sorrow is in the New Heaven and not the intermediate or present Heaven we go to in death. The New Heaven, New Earth is the place of eternal glory for all. We may not experience and personal suffering any longer in the intermediate Heaven, but we will still experience sorrow for those who have yet to join us and are still being persecuted on Earth.

So, here is what I know about Heaven when I die and what I am looking forward to. I will pass from the suffering in this world. I will no longer be under attack by the evil one. I will be with my LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ. I will be there worshiping and waiting on His return and reunited with my body. I will have a form of some kind and be distinguishable from others. I will be conscious to learn and understand. I will still experience sorrow for those who are still suffering. I will be anticipating the time when we will all be together again in Glory of eternal Heaven and the New Earth when it comes down after the battle has been won.

How are you seeing yourself in Heaven after you pass from this world? Are you just a lifeless being? How about this, you have a body, a mind, a soul, and are still learning and waiting for the suffering of others to end and the return of our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ?

In Spirit When We Die?

When we die, we go to be with Christ in spirit as our bodies stay behind to be resurrected when Christ comes again. Our spirit leaves this world and joins Jesus in the intermediate Heaven, but what about when we arrive there. Do we get some sort of body while there? Do we have a form? What does scripture say?

“²⁴And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’” – Luke 16:24 (ESV)

“⁸Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, ‘Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.’ ⁹So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, ‘Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.’” – Revelation 10:8-9 (ESV)

Here are two passages where a physical form of some kind is mentioned in scripture, the first by Jesus himself, and the second by John when he visited Heaven. So, yes, it would seem to be that we have some sort of body when we arrive in Heaven. But, we have to remember that the body we have would be temporary as we will receive our resurrected body when Christ come again.

But what about the thoughts that all of this language is just figurative to paint a picture for the human to grasp and we have no real body at all? Well, that deserves to be mentioned as it is a debated thought. In fact, Randy Alcorn asks for my opinion in the MasterWork study: “do you think Jesus would have included these references if those in the present Heaven are disembodied spirits?” To which my answer is no. Although they may be references to give the mental image, Jesus is truth and why would he tell of something that would not be true.

Remember, all of this is related to when we die and not when Jesus comes again. This intermediate body would be just that, intermediate and temporary as we will unite with our resurrected body at the time of Christ’s return.

So, when we die, our spirit leaves this world and unites with Jesus in the intermediate Heaven. There we will take on a bodily form for the temporary until Christ comes again. At that time, we will reunite with our resurrected bodies in Heaven as it comes down.

What is your thought or view of bodies when you die? Are you of the thought that we are just spirits waiting? What if we were to receive a temporary body to dwell with Jesus until His return?

When We Die

When our lives come to an end here in this world, what happens? Well, we go to be with Christ. But we go to be with Him in spirit until the second coming. Our bodies stay behind and we make our way to the intermediate Heaven or Hell, based on our faith in Christ.

We will be there with Christ awaiting the second coming to accompany Him in battle and then once the battle is won, Heaven will come down and we will be rewarded with our room in the New Heaven.

Well, at death we find ourselves in either Heaven or Hell, is that the end of it from a judgment point of view. Not exactly. This is only the first judgment and is solely reliant on our faith in Christ as our savior and Lord. Our acceptance that He died so that we did not have to determines whether we will get Heaven or Hell in this first judgment.

There is a final judgment, although the timing of it is constantly debated. This final judgment is where we are held to account for the works done in this world. No, our works do not determine our salvation, that is done through our faith and got us to Heaven or Hell in the first judgment. But, we are held to account for the works we performed once we arrive.

These works determine our reward. I like to think of it this way. I have already received the acknowledgment from the teacher that I completed the work. Now I get to go back to the desk of the teacher to collect the gold stars for the quality of the work performed. The neatness of the work gets one star. The help I provided my peers gets another star. The cheering on of the others in class gets another star.

The same holds true for those in Hell. The final judgment accounts for all the ways that we failed in this world. The way we snickered when watching the elderly struggle crossing the street. The actions we took to end someone’s life. The hatred we displayed at people of faith. All will be judged and counted out.

So, when we die in this world a few things happen. Our spirit will leave our body. We will be separated by our faith to the intermediate Heaven or Hell. We will worship and prepare for battle. We are reunited with our bodies at the second coming of Christ. We are ushered into the New Heaven or Hell once the battle is complete. We will receive final judgment as to our works and those will count for the rewards received.

What is your view of what happens when you die? Are you of the opinion that everything is just, well over at that point? How would your approach to this life change, knowing that there is more to it than just the ending of life in this world?