Before answering this question, it is important to know what a Christian is.
A Christian is someone who follows Jesus Christ, believes in His teachings, and trusts in Him for salvation. Christianity is not just a religion; it is a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus.
Core Beliefs
- The Trinity: Belief that God is one in three persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit.
- The Life and Resurrection of Jesus: Belief that Jesus lived, was crucified, and rose from the dead.
- Salvation: Belief that through Jesus’s death and resurrection, humanity can receive forgiveness for sin and eternal life
- To live according to His teachings – Following Jesus’ example of love, grace, and obedience to God.
A common view is that Christians believe that they go to heaven when they die. Is heaven a real place?
Yes. Jesus confirms it in John 14:1-3
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house (heaven) has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
Where is heaven?
Paul tells us 2 Corinthians 12:2-4
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell.
The term “paradise” is synonymous with the third heaven. In the conversation of Jesus with the penitent thief on the cross, which is recorded in Luke 23:43. The thief asks Jesus: Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom. “Jesus replies: Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.
The first heaven is where we dwell, our immediate surrounds. The Bible uses the phrase; the floodgates of heaven were opened to describe the rain coming onto the earth at the time of Noah’s flood.
The second heaven is where the whole cosmos is, where the stars are. The Psalmist states the heavens declare your glory (Psalm 19:1).
The third heaven is beyond the universe, it is outside creation and it is where God dwells. Although God is omnipresent, His throne room is in the third heaven. We are told that Jesus sits on His right-hand a position of supreme honor, authority, and power (Colossians 3:1, Hebrews I:3, Romans 8:34, Mark 16:19, and Psalm 110:1)[1]
The writer of Hebrews says that when Jesus returned to the Father, he passed through the heavens (Hebrews 4:14). Obviously the first and second heavens.
Whatever Paul saw in heaven, it must have impressed him because he would later state, to the church at Philippi that I desire to depart and be with Christ which is better by far, but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body (Philippians 1:23).
Only a believer’s soul goes to heaven
The Bible states that only the believer’s soul goes to heaven initially, and the body suffers decay. The image presented here is compliments of Shutterstock.
This is supported by many verses,
Soul going to heaven
2 Corinthians 5:8: We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Philippians 1:23–24: I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.
Luke 23:43: Jesus answered him, Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise. (Spoken to the thief on the cross whose physical body clearly remained on the cross).
Body suffering decay
Ecclesiastes 12:7: and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Genesis 3:19: By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.
1 Corinthians 15:42: So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable.
Jesus Will be with believers in heaven
Paul writes:
2 Corinthians 5:8: We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Philippians 1:23: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.
1 Thessalonians 4:17: And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Jesus tells us so as well:
John 14:1-3: He told Martha that He was going to prepare a place for her as previously quoted.
John 14:3: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
Luke 23:43 Jesus tells the penitent thief on the cross next to Him: Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.
Stephen sees Jesus in heaven
Acts 7:55-56 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
It is quite possible that Jesus was standing in heaven to welcome Stephen in.
Comment
Jesus paid the penalty for our sins with His death on the cross. The Father accepted this as payment in full and raised Jesus to a position of authority and power in heaven. In doing all this, Jesus opened the gates of heaven for believers to enter, and as shown above, Jesus will be with us in heaven for eternity. What a Saviour!
The next part of God’s heavenly plan is for the body and soul to combined to form a new resurrection body and this takes place at what has been called the Rapture
The word rapture comes from the first compilation of the scriptures in Latin, which is known as, the Jerone’s Latin Vulgate. It used the Latin word, Rapturo which translates into Greek as Harpazo meaning “caught up” in English.
The event will be worldwide and witnessed by everyone as stated in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18:
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
1 Corinthians 15:51–53: Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 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 shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
Acts 1:11: Angels tell the disciples that Jesus will return from heaven in the same way they saw Him go into heaven. Verse 9 tells us that he was taken up into the clouds and 1 Thessalonians says that believers will be caught up with Jesus in the clouds.
Matthew 24:30: Jesus explains that all peoples on earth will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.
It is difficult to get an image of what the rapture will be like. This image by Victor Francis, https://medium.com/@victorfprospect/the-rapture-is-too-late-my-story-096c0fbfd386, is consistent with scripture.
The key events of the Rapture in chronological order are:
- Christ returns personally from heaven with loud and powerful signals. However, He does not set foot on earth.
- Believers who have already died come back to life first and are raised bodily to be with Jesus.
- Living believers join them in the clouds with Jesus.
Note, Jesus does not return to earth, but believers are taken up to Hin in the clouds. Jesus’ does return to earth in what is known as the Second Coming or Second Advent.
This is what does the Bible tells believers what they will be like when body and soul are joined.
Imperishable and Immortal: The physical body will no longer be subject to disease, aging, decay, or death (1 Corinthians 15:42, 53)
Glorified and Like Christ: Believers will receive a body modelled after the resurrected body of Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:21), reflecting heavenly glory rather than earthly dishonour (1 Corinthians 15:43)
Spiritual and Powerful: Described as a “spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:44), it will be fully energized and governed by the Holy Spirit, raised from weakness to absolute strength and eternal vigour.
Recognizable and Physical: While profoundly changed, it remains a true bodily existence rather than a formless spirit, maintaining personal identity just as Jesus was recognizable after His resurrection (1 John 3:2, Philippians 3:21, John 20:27).
The Second Coming of Jesus
Revelation 19:11-16: Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
The intermediate period between soul only in heaven, and the soul and body united at the Rapture
Will the souls of Christians simply float around in space in some sort of unclothed form like a ghost, waiting to be united with their bodies at the Rapture? The Bible reveals a person’s soul in this intermediate state is conscious, personal, and immediately in the presence of God, rather than wandering the physical cosmos.
The apostle Paul wrote that to be away from the body is to be at home with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). This implies an immediate, conscious relocation to a spiritual realm (heaven), not an aimless floating in outer space
The most revealing insight of existence in the spirit form, is the account that Jesus tells of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31). This account depicts the deceased as fully conscious, recognizing one another, and experiencing either comfort or agony, despite not having their resurrected bodies yet. Image credit: https://wwyeshua.wordpress.com/2017/07/20/lazarus-and-the-rich-man-luke-1619-31/ Some claim that the account is a parable and not real, however, the arguments for the account of a real situation are strong. First, the story is never called a parable. Many others of Jesus’ stories are designated as parables, such as the Sower and the Seed (Luke 8:4); the prosperous farmer (Luke 12:16); the barren fig tree (Luke 13:6); and the wedding feast (Luke 14:7). Second, the story of the rich man and Lazarus uses the actual name of a person. Such specificity would set it apart from ordinary parables, in which the characters are not named. And third, this story does not seem to fit the definition of a parable, which is a presentation of a spiritual truth using an earthly illustration. The story of the rich man and Lazarus presents spiritual truth directly, with no earthly metaphor. The setting for most of the story is the afterlife, as opposed to the parables, which unfold in earthly contexts.
Image credit: Mary Evans Picture Library.
Two other occasions mentioned in the Bible when the dead have come back for a purpose, are God using Saul’s act of desperation and rebellion in seeking advice from a medium to pronounce judgement on him through the spirit of Samuel who God brought up miraculously from where it was and enabled him to speak. This is recorded in 1 Samuel chapter 28. In this instance, the apparition of Samuel is recognized by what he was wearing, so in this intermediate state, the soul is clothed, conscious and can communicate. Some Christians think that it was a demonic impersonation of Samuel, but the Bible states four times that it was Samuel, verses 12, 15, 16 and 20.
The other is at the transfiguration of Jesus when He appeared with Moses and Elijah, as recorded in Matthew chapter 17. Verse
3 records Jesus speaking to both Moses and Elijah and Peter knowing who they are as he offered to build a shelter for them in verse 4. So, here Moses and Elijah appear in their disembodied spiritual form clothed and able to speak.
Image credit: Early Writings, by Ellen G. White. The Transfiguration
The Great Tribulation
The Great Tribulation is a prophesied period of unprecedented global distress and divine judgment mentioned in Christian eschatology.
Biblical evidence for the Great Tribulation
- Daniel’s Seventy Weeks (9:24-27): A straightforward reading of the Bible gives the final “week” as a literal seven-year period of judgment and distress before Christ’s return.
- The Olivet Discourse: In Matthew 24:21, Luke 21:10-11), Jesus speaks of a coming great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now”.
- The Book of Revelation: Passages detailing the seals, trumpets, and the rise of the Beast (Antichrist) are viewed as descriptions of escalating global judgment and persecution.
Since Daniel gives the order of what will happen in the future in his seventy “weeks” which are years and the final “week (seven years) is the Great Tribulation then it must be the last action of God’s prophetic calenda.
Summary
When believers die their souls go to heaven and their bodies disintegrate. At some time in the future at the Rapture, body and soul rejoin to provide a resurrection body like that of Jesus free from wear, disease, and any disfigurement. Believers will be with Jesus for eternity. However, God will bring a great tribulation and judgement on the residents of the land: some will have the opportunity to worship Jesus. Those who do, will be martyred and be saved spiritually. Those who continue to reject Jesus will face the Great White Throne judgement and thrown into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20). But before then, Jesus will reign for one thousand years in a new Jerusalem.
With the Rapture happening before the tribulation, believers will be saved from the agony of the Tribulation.
[1] The NIV Study Bible, Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1985, page 1,776.
