Why would Jesus need to return if when we die, we already go to heaven?
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Asked July 15 2014
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Lois Korpal
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Seth Freeman
When God created mankind, He created us as both physical and spiritual beings. This will actually never change. When Christ returns, part of His glorious restorative work will be to renew and redeem both us and all of creation. All of creation was affected by the fall, and all of creation needs to be redeemed. Scripture tells us that Heaven will come down to Earth. Our final destination where we will spend eternity with Christ is actually here, on a remade and perfected earth in our redeemed and perfected bodies, just as God originally intended it to be.
Singapore Moses
It is appointed or laid up by divine decree: "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Gen. 3:19). This law of death will hold firm for all men until the time of the rapture when the living who are to be translated will not see death (1Cor. 15:51-58 1Th. 4:13-16 Php. 3:21). All who live at the end of the Millennium and who do not rebel against God will be permitted to live on the new earth forever without dying. Death will be destroyed and all things will be restored as they were before Adam sinned (Rev. 20:7-10; 21:1-22 Rev 5; 1Cor. 15:24-28). "Come, see the glorious works of the Lord: See how He brings destruction upon the world" (Psa 46:8) In His life Jesus did not stop with loving what was right. He also hated what was wrong (Heb 1:9a). With the power of the Holy Spirit He went about doing "good" and delivering folks from (d)evil (Acts 10:38). But during His ministry He did not eradicate all evil from the world. He repeatedly acknowledged that Satan was the prince of this wicked world system (Jn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). Even after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, apostle John observed, "The world around us is under the power and control of the evil one" (1 Jn 5:19b). It is the Second Coming of Christ that will ring the deathbell for evil. The Lord Jesus will consume Antichrist with the breath of His mouth, and destroy him by the splendour of His coming (2 Thess 2:8). At His return He will deal not only with Satan but also with his followers (2 Thess 1:7-9). Anyone who has not kissed the feet of the Son of God will be consumed by His fury (Psa 2:12). Satan will be bound for a thousand years and thrown into the bottomless pit so he will not be able to deceive nations (Rev 20:1-3). Finally he will be thrown into the lake of fire prepared for him and his angels. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Rev 20:10). Think of a land where Satan will not be! Demonic spirits will inspire the rulers of the world to gather and fight against God. This is called the Battle of Armageddon (Rev 16:14-16). "Together they will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because He is Lord over all lords and King over all kings" (Rev 17:14). The evil and ungodly system of the world, called Babylon, will be fallen, and fallen forever! (Rev 18:2). Today I become proud when I am preferred, and envious when another is exalted. But when Christ comes back and distributes His rewards, the recipient will not become proud and the onlookers will not become jealous! Heaven will also be a place of surprises. The first will be last, and the last will be first (Lk 13:30). Many whom I expect to be there may be missing, and many whom I had written off here would be merrymaking there (Mt 21:31). No surprise will make us unpleasant, because there would be no presence of sin! What a place!
Walrus theCat
When Jesus returns, we will receive physical resurrection, as we have already received spiritual resurrection, but one could suppose that he could do that without actually returning. Jesus is coming back to rule on the earth where He was despised and rejected and crucified. He will break the nations with a rod of iron. He will usher in 1,000 years of enforced righteousness amongst an ungodly populace. Then, the population will be stirred up by Satan and rebel against Jesus, showing that they still hate God and His Christ, despite all of the grace He has shown them. At that point, Jesus will destroy the earth and create a new heavens and a new earth. There's so much more going on with the universe than our personal salvation, as important as that is.
Frederick Thomas
“We already go to heaven” “We” refers to the spirit and soul 2Co 5:6 So we are always full of courage. We know that as long as we are at home IN THE BODY we are away from the Lord's home. (the body our Earthly vehicle) 2Co 5:8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. (who is absent from the body? The body is left behind when we die) The body is still in the grave on earth. 1 Corinthians 15:50 But first we must be entirely changed; for such flesh and blood as we are clothed with now, cannot enter into that kingdom which is wholly spiritual: neither doth this corruptible body inherit that incorruptible kingdom. In heaven now the saints “spirit and soul” are incomplete until resurrection day when all who died will receive a new body and the new bodies will be united with the soul and spirit in heaven. Jesus will return to do the renewal of our bodies. 1Co 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 1Th 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. At death the spirit depart from the body Luk 8:54 He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Child, arise!" Luk 8:55 And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat. At death the soul is still alive in heaven “paradise” Mat 10:28 "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Mike Henson
The immortal soul doctrine comes from the original lie told to Eve by satan, it is not biblical. But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”Genesis 3:4-5 John 3:13 No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man. Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward; but the memory of them is lost. 1 Corinthians 15:12 [ The Resurrection of the Dead ] Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 1 Corinthians 15:13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; Revelation 20:5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.
Mark Vestal
Death has no power over believers as they are alive spiritually 'in Christ' now and already in heaven. We just do not have the ability to physically realize this yet. Those who have believed during God's dispensation of grace (Eph 3:2) are baptized by the holy Spirit into the body of Christ immediately upon belief (Eph 1:13). They have already 'died' with Christ on the cross (Rom 6:4), and have also spiritually risen with him in His resurrection (Col 2:12). They have been sealed and protected in Christ by the holy Spirit of promise (Eph 4:30). Jesus Christ will first return in the clouds to gather his body, which is the church (1 Thes 4:17) once it is filled. This is upon the completion of this ‘age of God's grace’ (Eph 3:2), and at the moment the last believer will have believed the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified. It is also the time that believers (those 'dead in Christ' or still 'living in Christ') will receive their new incorruptible glorified bodies (1 Thes 5:10, 1 Cor 15:53-54). Jesus will then physically return to earth at the completion of the remaining prophetic seven-year tribulation (Daniel's seventieth week), and reign for one thousand years (Rev 20:6). After the millennial reign of Jesus Christ on earth, Jesus defeats Satan at the battle of Armageddon. He will then cast him, the false prophet, the beast, all unbelievers, hell, and death into the lake of fire at the White Throne Judgement. The 'new heaven and new earth' will then be established for all eternity (Rev 21:1), which is when all things 'in Christ' from heaven and earth will come together (Eph 1:10).
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