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NASB | 2 Corinthians 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. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 2 Corinthians 5:8 we are [as I was saying] of good courage and confident hope, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. |
Bible Question:
I am questioning my view of death. For most of my life I have been taught that upon my death I would be in heaven. However I recently heard a speaker say that we stay in a state of waiting to be raised when Christ returns. I can read where sleep is refered to as death. When it says in the N.T. concerning those who have fallen asleep. I feel rather ignorant, because I have studied this, and felt I had the answer. Now, I am not so sure. I would like some feed back, as this is sorta bugging me. Thanks for your input. Peace, farout |
Bible Answer: Farout, This is an interesting question. I think that answer may be open to a some speculation. But I also think that there are a few givens: The Bible does say that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So the question becomes, when are we absent from the body? Does our soul sleep in our body (or it's eventual decayed remains)? I think that maybe part of the answer lies in understanding the spirit and the soul. Do this components of man remain with the body after death? Consider Acts 8:59: Stephen was being stoned and, somehow, saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God the Father. (Obviously, the crowd could not see this as they stoned him anyway.) But Stephen also cries out, "Lord Jesus, recieve my spirit." So it is implied that, at death, our spirit immediately is received by Jesus Christ. In fact, Jesus cried out the same thing from the cross, "Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit." So there is pretty solid biblical evidence that our spirit goes immediately into God's presence. What about our souls? Rev 6:9 seems to speak of dis-embodied souls under the altar (in heaven) waiting to be avenged and clothed with their bodies again. There are given white robes to wear in the meantime. Well, Farout, that's just a couple of my thoughts. If we are most fundamentally spiritual beings with human experiences, instead of vice-versa, then it would seem that who we really are goes directly into God's presence at physical death. Hope this helps. ChristLifer2001 |