Bible study about eternal life and the resurrection of the body

Everyone wonders what eternal life will be like, but the Bible does not give a lot of details. At death we will enter an intermediate state until the second coming of Jesus. Then, all who have ever lived will be resurrected for a final judgment.

Intermediate State

The intermediate state is the time between a person's death and the second coming of Christ. The Bible does not make many direct statements about the intermediate state, so several different beliefs have arisen:

1) Continued life of the soul
A majority view among Protestants is that a person's soul (or spirit) survives physical death and remains conscious during the intermediate state. At the time of death, a person's soul is freed from his or her body (Matthew 10:28, Acts 2:27, Revelation 20:4). In this intermediate state, those who are saved will dwell in peace with God (1 Thessalonians 4:13-15, John 11:25-26, 14:23, Luke 16:22-24, Luke 23:43, Philippians 1:23-24), but the souls of the wicked will be in torment (Luke 16:23).

Jesus told His disciples not to fear for their lives; eternal life is infinitely more valuable than one's earthly life:

Don't be afraid of those who want to kill you. They can only kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (NLT, Matthew 10:28-29)

In his Letter to the Philippians, the apostle Paul looked forward to the time he could leave this earthly life behind and be with Christ:

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 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. (NIV, Philippians 1:21-24)

2) Purgatory
The Roman Catholic Church's teaching is similar to the majority Protestant view above, except those who are saved are said to undergo a process of purification after death to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. This purification process, called Purgatory, is inferred from the testing by fire of 1 Corinthians 3:15 and 1 Peter 1:7, and the atonement for the dead mentioned in 2 Maccabees 12:45.

3) Soul sleeping
The Bible sometimes speaks of the dead as having fallen asleep:

After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up." His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better." Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. (NIV, John 11:11-13)

For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. (NIV, Acts 13:36)

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. (NASU, 1 Thessalonians 4:13)

From this, some people reason, the souls of the dead are asleep and unconscious during the intermediate state and will remain that way until Christ comes again. The majority view, however, is that these references to sleep are just a figure of speech for death, perhaps used to indicate that death will not be the final end for those who are saved.

4) Nonexistence
Jehovah's Witnesses teach that people do not have a soul that survives death. At death, a person totally ceases to exist until he or she is brought back to life at the resurrection of the dead. Several Old Testament passages are cited in favor of this belief (Genesis 3:19, Ecclesiastes 9:5, 9:10, Psalms 146:3-4). Most Christians, however, believe the revelations of Jesus and the apostles give a more accurate view than these Old Testament passages.

Resurrection of the Dead

When Christ comes again, there will be a resurrection of all the dead. Both those who are saved and the wicked will be resurrected at some point in time. Those who are saved will receive new glorified bodies and take their place with God, but the wicked will be cast into hell (Matthew 5:29-30, 10:28, 18:8-9, 25:31-46, Mark 9:43-47, John 5:28-29, Acts 24:15, Revelation 20:12-15). Jesus said,

Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his [Christ's] voice and come out - those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. (NIV, John 5:28-29)

Our new glorified bodies will be different from our old earthly bodies, but will in some ways be similar (1 Corinthians 15:50-55, 2 Corinthians 5:1-5, Philippians 3:21-22). In eternal life with God, there will be no marriage, but we will live like the angels in heaven (Matthew 22:30), and there will be no more death (Luke 20:35-36).

Conclusion

When Jesus comes again, all who have lived will be resurrected from the dead for a final judgment that determines their eternal fate. There is less certainty about what will happen in the intermediate state between the time of death and Jesus' second coming.

The apostle Paul makes the analogy that our earthly bodies are like seeds that die and fall to the ground, then sprout into new, glorious forms of life (1 Corinthians 15:35-44). It is only an analogy, however. The reason we know so few details of eternal life is probably that, as with other spiritual matters, the glory and reality of it is simply beyond our ability to comprehend. As Paul said,

Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now. (NLT, 1 Corinthians 13:12)