“No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man (Jesus Christ).” (John 3:13) If saved Christian believers indeed go to heaven when they die, why did Peter say that King David, a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), “is both dead and buried, and his grave is with us unto this day. For David has not ascended into the heavens.” (Acts 2:29, 34)
Millions of saved Christians believe the go to heaven, yet righteous David didn’t go there! And if the saved go to heaven when they die, what need is there for a “resurrection” from the dead? Why a “resurrection” if they have already “gone to their reward”? (Matthew 25:34) Isn’t it about time these puzzling, yet vitally important, questions were answered?
To Inherit the “Kingdom of God”
What message did Jesus Christ proclaim during His ministry on Earth? Christ preached the gospel—the “good news” of the coming “Kingdom of God.” Mark 1:14; Matthew 9:35 Will all the righteous men be “in” the Kingdom of God? The promises God made to the fathers included entrance into the “Kingdom of God”! Matthew 8:11; Luke 13:28
What did Jesus say Christians should strive to enter? Matthew 6:33; 7:21. Notice in Matthew 7:21 that it is the Kingdom “of” heaven—not “in” heaven! It is the Kingdom of, or owned and ruled by, heaven, in the same sense that the Bank of Morgan was not in Mr. Morgan—but was owned and managed by him. Matthew uses the term “kingdom of heaven” to express exactly the same idea that Mark, Luke and John express as “kingdom of God.” But the expression “kingdom of heaven” does not mean a “kingdom in heaven” any more than it means a kingdom in God! But it does mean a kingdom owned and ruled by God, whose throne and dwelling place is in heaven.
What did Jesus say the “meek” shall inherit? Matthew 5:5. But what did He say of the “poor in spirit”? Verse 3 The “meek” and the “poor in spirit”—in other words, humble Christians—shall inherit the Earth for an everlasting possession, and shall enter the “kingdom of heaven,” which will be on Earth! The Kingdom of God, which Christ will establish on Earth at His return, is the divine Family of God, which will rule by the government of God! To enter into—or “inherit”—the divine Kingdom of God is a destiny of such marvelous glory that the human mind cannot really grasp it! We mortals have no concept of what is really in store for those who obey God. As we read in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived, the things God has prepared for those who love him.” The full extent of the “inheritance” God has promised true Christians cannot be even remotely imagined by the natural mind of man, but God does reveal it to us “by his Spirit” (verse 10).
What does Matthew 6:10 also tell us about God’s Kingdom? Christians today are to pray earnestly: “thy kingdom COME”! The word “come” implies it will come to Earth. Christ did not tell us to pray, “Let us go to heaven”! Obviously God’s Kingdom has not come to the Earth yet.
Where is the Christian’s inheritance being kept? 1 Peter 1:3-4; Matthew 5:12; Luke 6:23. These verses do not say, “Great is your reward when you get to heaven.” They do not tell us when or where Christians will receive their inheritance and rewards—only that they are now being “reserved” for them in heaven!
When will the righteous “inherit” the Kingdom of God? Matthew 25:31-34. Is this also when the rewards reserved in heaven will be conferred? Revelation 22:12. Clearly, it is when Christ returns that Abraham and his children through Christ will become inheritors of the promises and receive their reward! But notice what else will happen at Christ’s coming.
Importance of the Resurrection
Can anyone inherit the divine “Kingdom of God” while still a mortal flesh-and-blood human being? “I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.” 1 Corinthians 15:50
What did Paul say must happen to our mortal bodies in order to inherit—to actually become a part of—that spiritual Kingdom? Verses 51, 53. When will our bodies be changed—converted from flesh to spirit? Verse 52. Does that trumpet sound at the Second Coming of Christ? 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. Is this when Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and others will inherit the promises? Same verses. What did Jesus tell Nicodemus about this change? John 3:6, 8. And if we are “born of the spirit,” can we finally “see”—enter—the divine, spiritual Kingdom of God? Verse 3. At Jesus Christ’s Second Coming, all the dead in Christ will be raised with new spirit bodies. Those Christians still alive at His return will be instantly changed into the same kind of spirit bodies—bodies that will then be in the Kingdom or Family of God. Our present flesh is corruptible, subject to death and decay. Spirit beings, however, are eternally new—immortal, incorruptible, never subject to death or decay!
Did Jesus declare that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will—in the future—be resurrected? Matthew 22:31-32. This text is often twisted and perverted in an attempt to prove that Abraham is not dead—that he went to heaven when he died—just the diametric opposite of what Jesus used this illustration to point out. God is the God of the living, not the dead. God sometimes speaks of things that are to be as though they have already happened (Romans 4:17). Jesus was speaking of their future resurrection to immortal life! For He plainly said, in context, “As touching the resurrection of the dead ….”
We can now see why Abraham and his children through Christ have not, as yet, inherited the promises. They simply cannot come into their eternal inheritance until they receive eternal life! This, as Paul explained, will happen at the resurrection from the dead! Without a resurrection, the dead would never live again (1 Corinthians 15:16, 18); therefore, the resurrection of the dead is central to God’s plan. And, unless Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all deceased Christians are resurrected from the dead at Christ’s coming, they cannot inherit the promises!
Within the Christian faith, there is a significant amount of confusion regarding what happens after death. So, what exactly does the Bible say happens after death?
For the believer in Jesus Christ, the Bible tells us that after death believers’ “souls/spirits” are taken to heaven, because their sins are forgiven by having received Christ as Savior (John 3:16, 18, 36). For believers, death is to be “away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Philippians 1:23). However, passages such as 1 Corinthians 15:50-54 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 describe believers being resurrected and given glorified bodies. If believers go to be with Christ immediately after death, what is the purpose of this resurrection?
It seems that while the “souls/spirits” of believers go to be with Christ immediately after death, the physical body remains in the grave “sleeping.” At the resurrection of believers, the “physical body” is resurrected, glorified, and then reunited with the “soul/spirit.” This reunited and glorified “body-soul-spirit” will be the possession of believers for eternity in the new heavens and new earth. (Revelation 21-22)
For those who do not receive Jesus Christ as Savior, death means everlasting punishment. However, similar to the destiny of believers, unbelievers also seem to be sent immediately to a temporary holding place, to await their final resurrection, judgment, and eternal destiny. Luke 16:22-23 describes a rich man being tormented immediately after death. Revelation 20:11-15 describes all the “unbelieving dead” being resurrected, judged at the great white throne, and then being cast into the lake of fire.
Unbelievers, then, are not sent to hell (the lake of fire) immediately after death, but rather are in a temporary realm of judgment and condemnation. However, even though unbelievers are not instantly sent to the lake of fire, their immediate fate after death is not a pleasant one. The rich man cried out, “I am in agony in this fire” (Luke 16:24).
Therefore, after death, a person resides in either a place of “comfort” or in a place of “torment.” These realms act as a temporary “heaven” and a temporary “hell” until the resurrection. At that point, the soul is reunited with the body, but no one’s eternal destiny will change. The first resurrection is for the “blessed and holy” (Revelation 20:6)—everyone who is in Christ—and those who are part of the first resurrection will enter the millennial kingdom and, ultimately, the new “heavens” and new “earth.” (Revelation 21:1)
The other resurrection happens after Christ’s millennial kingdom, and it involves the wicked and unbelieving being “judged according to what they had done” (Revelation 20:13). These, whose names are not in the book of life, will be sent to the lake of fire to experience the “second death” (Revelation 20:14–15). The “new earth” and the “lake of fire”—these two destinations are final and eternal. People go to one or the other, based entirely on whether they have trusted Jesus Christ for salvation. (Matthew 25:46; John 3:36)
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