Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

I had the same question at one time. I thought, "If (as I have always believed) my disembodied soul will possess all the essential characteristics of 'personhood' (such as my senses and the ability to recognize others) after my death, even before the resurrection of all the dead at the Final Judgment, then what will be the purpose of the resurrection of my physical body? What will it add to my existence that I will not already possess?"

Some deal with this by saying that our soul "sleeps" after our death until it is reunited with our body at the Resurrection, but I could not accept this, because, to me, if there were any interval after death when we would not be fully conscious in some form, it would mean that eternal life was not really "eternal". (Jesus had said in John 11:26, "He who lives and believes in me will never die." To me, that meant that we always had to be conscious in some form, even after physical death.)

The question was finally answered to my satisfaction by a free e-book that I found entitled Journey Out Of Time by the late Dr. Arthur C. Custance, which is fully available online at http://www.custance.org/Library/Journey/index.html. Briefly, Dr. Custance explains that the instant we die, we are freed from the constraints of time, and go immediately to our eternal "end state" in our glorified resurrected physical body at the Final Judgment (along with all other believers from eternity past to eternity future, who arrive together). To those we leave behind, our physical body appears to be lifeless here on earth after our death, but that is because those we leave behind are still "trapped in time".

When I first encountered this concept, I thought of several Biblical passages that seemed to present problems with it. However, Dr. Custance addressed all those questions in a logical, thorough, and completely Biblical manner.

I highly recommend this free e-book to your attention. It has settled this question for me, and given me a great deal of peace, comfort, assurance, and joyous anticipation in dealing with the inevitability of my own temporal death, whenever it may occur.

September 29 2017 • 3 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

James Kraft 74 year old retired pipeline worker

When we trust Jesus as our only salvation, we are given eternal life. We are predestined to be resurrected at the resurrection at the of the church age.. Those that go in the rapture before the tribulation, will be changed at the rapture. 

When we die our soul/spirit either goes to heaven or hell. Those who have trusted Jesus as their savior, have His Spirit in them Ephesians 1:13 and will go directly to heaven when we die. John 5:24 says the believer has already passed from death unto life. Spiritual death, not physical death. Colossians 3:3 For ye are dead and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

At the rapture, the dead in Christ will rise first, the New Testament saints who have the Holy Spirit that are in heaven will receive their new spiritual bodies.

So I do not believe that our soul/spirit ever sleeps but is either in heaven or hell when we die. Every believer has this hope in them that has his Spirit in them that they go directly to heaven to be with the Lord at physical death. 

Who has the Spirit? Every one who has ever trusted Jesus as their savior has His Spirt in them who is the earnest until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory. Notice it is to the praise of His Glory, not ours. Ephesians 1:14 OSAS

First John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know ye have eternal life. Since it is eternal life, then there is no Spiritual death. When we die we just pass from death unto life, and it is eternal life for the believer. It is eternal death for the unbelievers. Our souls live forever either in heaven or in hell. Hell is where our worm dieth not. 

John 6:47 Verily verily I say unto you, He that believeth on me HATH ETERNAL LIFE. John 3;14 and 15 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever, (anybody) believeth in Him, should not perish but HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.

Praise God we have eternal life. AMAZING GRACE. JESUS PAID IT ALL.

December 15 2017 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Paul Gerardi Engineer, Student of the Word - living and written

We do not have to be resurrected to have eternal life. At least not according to Jesus who said, while praying to God the Father, "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You. For You granted Him authority over all humanity, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him. Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent." (John 17:1-3)

Eternal life is ours when we believe, because at that moment the gift of God, eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord, is given - we believe on (trust) God and believe on (trust) the finished work of Christ as propitiation for our sins. We are no longer apart from God, but have a new intimate relationship with God (we know God). 

The resurrected body - the new and incorruptible body - is given at the end of the age to all who believe and have that relationship, that eternal life, so they may live bodily in the new heaven and the new earth.

Remember God created humans with physical bodies so they could occupy, experience and enjoy His physical creation. At the last day when the old heavens and earth are passed away, and the new heaven and new earth are created we will occupy them with new, physical, and incorruptible bodies. That is just a continuation of our already attained eternal life, but now with bodies and bodies that, like our new nature in Christ, that will not sin, will not grow old, will not die (all forms of corruption the Bible mentions at various times)

December 15 2017 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report