9-30-18 Heaven Is Not Your Final Destination

HEAVEN IS NOT YOUR FINAL DESTINATION 

Michael Horton Wednesday, 26 Sep 18
Editor's Note: Is the resurrection only spiritual? Will we have bodies in Heaven or will we be spirits for eternity? These questions are common questions that have been asked for centuries. Dr. Horton gives an answer in Episode 16 of the Core Christianity Radio Show. 
The pagan, Greek view that we've inherited as a civilization says that the body is a prison-house of the soul. So, once we die, the soul is finally freed from its bodily care and purpose and flies up like a butterfly to be reunited with the divine, one of which is a spark. Okay, that's the pagan view.
Now, the Bible does teach that when we die the soul is separated from the body and enjoys conscious existence in the presence of the Lord. And that's wonderful, but it's not the climax. In contrast with pagan thinking, the Bible affirms this world. It affirms creation and the body. We're not saved from this world, but with this world. 
The soul was never intended to be separated from the body. That's the result of death, which is the penalty for sin. The separation of body and soul is only temporary. And that's why we call it the "Intermediate State." It's not the final state. The final state is the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. So any gospel, so called, that stops short of the resurrection of the body and life everlasting, that there will be no continuity between this earth we're living on right now and our everlasting state, is not reading the Bible correctly.
The distinction between heaven and earth will disappear. Heaven will be on Earth, a renewed Earth, not a different world but a world in a totally different condition. At the end of the day here, "no eye has seen or heard what God has prepared for those who love Him" [1 Cor. 2:9]. 
We don't know exactly how all this is going to play out. But we do know this: after Jesus rose from the dead, he was hungry, and he asked for fish. We do know that Jesus was fully human, a ghost doesn't have flesh and bones, as you see that I have, he said, after the resurrection when he met up with the disciples. As goes the head, so go, the members. Our resurrection is going to be like Jesus' resurrection. And if that same Jesus who died on the cross was raised, this same world is going to be raised not just us as individuals. 
Paul says in Romans 8 that the whole creation is waiting for its redemption from bondage to decay. So it's not the soul looking for redemption from the body and this world. It is the body and the soul and the whole creation longing to be redeemed and together join in the celebration of God's redemption in Jesus Christ. 
Adapted from an answer given in Episode 16 of Core Christianity.

Related Resources:

Photo of Michael Horton

Michael Horton

Michael Horton (@MichaelHorton_) is the Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California. The author of many books, including Core Christianity, he is also the host of the new Core Christianity radio show, a daily Bible question-and-answer show broadcasting nationwide. He lives with his wife Lisa and four children in Escondido, California. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

9-16-23 Santa Staleness

Santa Staleness :: By Edwin Tan Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles My one and only trip to Israel had more than a profound effect on my present-day psyche. It might have been three decades ago, but there is more than a lingering aftertaste. It happened smack in the last fortnight of the year. Surprisingly absent were the familiar sights and sounds of the Christmas most people are accustomed to. Hardly any Christmas decorations in downtown Tel Aviv, if not any of the shopping thoroughfares across the Holy Land. Hanukah was a breath of fresh air – not anything resembling a Christmas carol most people grew up with did surface. The Christmas Eve service in a small Protestant church not far away from Jerusalem’s Old City was awesome; songs that truly celebrated the virgin birth of our Lord, which though seemingly unheard of, were a welcome inspiration to many a soul. There was even one sung in Arabic! So it began, my overt disdain for the secular Christmas t...
Read more

9-25-23 The Farm Chronicles: One Christmas

The Farm Chronicles: One Christmas :: By Bill Wilson Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:Bill Wilson, General Articles There are a lot of terrible things going on right now in the world. But we are at the time of the year when we, as Christians, celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We can choose to be impacted by the world around us in its dimly lit arena, or we can choose to let our light so shine. I choose the latter. I want to tell you a little about the Christmas that I had growing up on our family farm in Ohio. I was blessed to be born into a horse and cattle farm that has been in our family for some 200 years. And Christmas, especially Christmas Eve, was a wonderful time for our family. December 24 was my Dad’s birthday. And my Dad was well-loved by his neighbors and friends, so we had a lot going on Christmas Eve. I remember one special Christmas Eve. I must have been about four years old. The night was falling, and the wind and snow were whipping across the barny...
Read more

9-15-23 Miracles 2

Miracles 2 :: By Jim Towers Published on: December 21, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles This story is a continuation of the exciting things God continues doing in my life. I was supposed to have died a while back, and sometimes I feel as though I may do so soon. But since I’m ready to meet my maker, I have no fear of death. In fact, my evangelistic zeal has only increased, especially as I see the fast approaching of the “Tribulation period” mentioned in the book of Revelation. Insofar as my acting career is concerned, I just finished filming a soliloquy featuring Melchior, one of the three Magi who followed the star to Christ lying in the manger, and am preparing to portray a Jewish Priest on stage. Like I said, God is working overtime in my life, and I will be appearing on stage singing Broadway show tunes sometime in March, so I have a lot of rehearsing to do. In the meantime, I will be signing Christmas carols acapella at a park here in Naples. Since it is a spontaneous th...
Read more