The Amazing Resurrection of the DeadExemplo

What happens when we die?

There are two common opinions about what happens when believers die. The first is that we go straight to be with the Lord. So Paul speaks of his tension in trying to choose between living and dying (Philippians 1:21-23). Dying, he says, would mean departing and being with Christ, ‘which is far better’ (see also 2 Corinthians 5:6-8).

Similarly, Jesus told one of the thieves who was crucified with him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise’ (Luke 23:43).

This is a strong statement. The word ‘truly’ in the original text is ‘amen’, which has the literal meaning of ‘firm’ or ‘trustworthy’ or ‘so be it.’ Jesus used it in the sense of ‘without doubt’. The term ‘paradise’ means ‘garden’ or ‘park’. It only occurs three times in the New Testament. From two of these (2 Corinthians 12:3 and Revelation 2:7), it can be assumed it is a reference to heaven, although some commentators believe it may refer to an intermediate state of irenic joy and contentment.

On the other hand, to the Corinthians, Paul frequently compares dying to falling asleep until we are wakened at the trumpet call of God (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). It was not uncommon in New Testament days to use the word ‘sleep’ like this (1 Corinthians 7:39; 15:6, 18, 20; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15; 5:10).

On this basis, it may be argued that although the body decays, the soul, the real person, continues. But how? Is the soul asleep or somehow in fellowship with Christ? A disembodied soul cannot normally act, behave, or feel like a person. Yet, what about Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration? (Mathew 17:1-9). That they conversed with Jesus indicates they were very much alive.

In practical terms, it makes little difference, as when we are asleep, we are unaware of the passing of time; our experience of meeting the Lord whether seconds or centuries after we die will be indistinguishable.

The nearest hint is Paul’s statement that both being in this present body and being away from it (in other words, dead), may involve pleasing the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8-9).

The problem is that we try to understand all this in linear terms. Our earthly concept of time is that it is consecutive. But this is not true of post-resurrection life. When God told Moses that he was to be known as I Am Who I Am, he was affirming that past, present and future have no meaning in eternity (Exodus 3:14). Jesus said, ‘Before Abraham was, I am’ (John 8:58). With God, earthly time restraints are meaningless (2 Peter 3:8). Eternal occurrences are synchronous, not sequential. The word ‘eternal’ implies depth as well as length. It defines the quality of the years not just the quantity. It is hard for us to embrace such an impossible prospect. But anything less will not do. Just as in Christ the human and the divine are perfectly blended, so too, in eternity, are time and place. Past and present are one.

To be absent from the body and present with the Lord may merge both here and now with there and then, without discordance. It is a new dimension of existence.

Meanwhile, the really important words in what Jesus said are not ‘today’ or ‘paradise’ but ‘with me’. Like both the dying thief and the apostle Paul, we long for the day when Christ will transform us and we shall see him and be with him as he is.

What next?

Google Charles Wesley’s hymn, ‘Lo! He comes with clouds descending’. How many Scripture passages can you identify in this hymn? Perhaps do this with a friend.

Read (aloud), record, repeat, and recall 1 Corinthians 15:20.