Where do Christians spend eternity?

Eli1 · Jun 11, 2022

Here: https://christianchat.com/miscellaneous/tiers-of-heaven.205617/

montana123 · Jun 12, 2022

When a Christian dies they will be with Jesus for to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

Which there are souls under the altar in heaven waiting for the rest of the saints on earth to join them then Jesus will punish the world.

They probably have not received their glorified body yet.

Which the Bible says the dead shall rise first which might mean they receive their glorified body and then those that are alive will meet them in the air where they will probably receive their glorified body and so shall they be forever with the Lord.

God said He is going to create a new heaven and earth and the former shall not be remembered nor come to mind.

Peter said that the heavens shall melt with fervent heat and the earth shall be burned up and all the works of it so this current heaven and earth will pass away and there will be a new heaven and earth.

The saints will spend eternity at the New Jerusalem a new earth where sin has never been and sin will never be and the angels and saints will remember nothing prior to the New Jerusalem for then they would know of sin and rebellion and they will never know that again but only know about the ways of the Lord.

Runningman · Jun 12, 2022

montana123 said:

That verse doesn’t say what you’re saying it does. It says “willing” to be absent from the body and with the Lord. That doesn’t guarantee you go to the Lord. It just means it’s a preference.

2 Corinthians 5:8 KJV
8We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:8 NASB
8but we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

Those are the souls of saints martyred in the great tribulation, not the general assembly of rank-and-file believers from all eras.

True, that’s at the resurrection.

I agree, but where do they go after meeting the Lord in the air?

True.

I agree, but what’s that verse for remembering nothing? It sounds familiar, but I can’t recall it at the moment.

birdie · Jun 12, 2022

birdie said:

Thanks Runningman for your question about whether Christians sleep in their grave until the resurrection. Sorry not to respond sooner but it was the weekend. I do not claim to be an expert but I will mention what seems to me to be the most likely to me at this time. The term 'grave' is likely a parable word for those who are dead in trespasses and sins, spiritually speaking. We read: "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. " To me, this seems to be using the word "all" in the sense of all who actually hear the gospel. The just are those who hear God's words and do them. The unjust are those who hear God's words and do not do them. One builds upon the rock, and uses gold, silver, and precious stones so to speak. Whilst the other uses perishable wood, hay, and stubble, so to speak. Remember, when Jesus rose from the dead the graves opened and saved persons were seen in the holy city. This is parable language for Jesus having the ability to make people born again after his resurrection from the dead.

The resurrection happened when Jesus was resurrected from the dead, but continues as any new soul is saved, those new souls are raised from being dead in sins and trespasses and are resurrected to a new life in Christ. Some were trying to say in 2 Timothy that the resurrection was past and no good to convert or raise up a new believer: "concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already ". However, the resurrection is not a past event never to happen again. Rather, people can be born again, resurrected to a new life in Christ.

To my mind, the term "sleep" in the Bible has to do with death. A person who has fallen asleep has died in Bible lingo. However, if they have died in Christ, they will go immediately to be present with the Lord. If sleep refers to physical death that the physical body of a believer experiences, that believer would still go to be present with the Lord, in the spirit. However, any spiritual death of a believer should be taken care of by Jesus' own death. In a sense, a believer died with Christ, because Christ took that person's death upon himself just as if that person were there with him in death.

I guess you could say that the resurrection mentioned in your question about "Do you believe that Christians sleep in their grave until the resurrection?" is answered by saying that the resurrection happened when Jesus was raised from the dead and continues to be effective today, and so is not just a past event.

Runningman · Jun 12, 2022

birdie said:

Thanks Runningman for your question about whether Christians sleep in their grave until the resurrection. Sorry not to respond sooner but it was the weekend. I do not claim to be an expert but I will mention what seems to me to be the most likely to me at this time. The term 'grave' is likely a parable word for those who are dead in trespasses and sins, spiritually speaking. We read: "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. " To me, this seems to be using the word "all" in the sense of all who actually hear the gospel. The just are those who hear God's words and do them. The unjust are those who hear God's words and do not do them. One builds upon the rock, and uses gold, silver, and precious stones so to speak. Whilst the other uses perishable wood, hay, and stubble, so to speak. Remember, when Jesus rose from the dead the graves opened and saved persons were seen in the holy city. This is parable language for Jesus having the ability to make people born again after his resurrection from the dead.

The resurrection happened when Jesus was resurrected from the dead, but continues as any new soul is saved, those new souls are raised from being dead in sins and trespasses and are resurrected to a new life in Christ. Some were trying to say in 2 Timothy that the resurrection was past and no good to convert or raise up a new believer: "concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already ". However, the resurrection is not a past event never to happen again. Rather, people can be born again, resurrected to a new life in Christ.

To my mind, the term "sleep" in the Bible has to do with death. A person who has fallen asleep has died in Bible lingo. However, if they have died in Christ, they will go immediately to be present with the Lord. If sleep refers to physical death that the physical body of a believer experiences, that believer would still go to be present with the Lord, in the spirit. However, any spiritual death of a believer should be taken care of by Jesus' own death. In a sense, a believer died with Christ, because Christ took that person's death upon himself just as if that person were there with him in death.

I guess you could say that the resurrection mentioned in your question about "Do you believe that Christians sleep in their grave until the resurrection?" is answered by saying that the resurrection happened when Jesus was raised from the dead and continues to be effective today, and so is not just a past event.

Okay thank you. I think I understand your perspective.

TheLearner · Jun 13, 2022

Runningman said:

That verse doesn’t say what you’re saying it does. It says “willing” to be absent from the body and with the Lord. That doesn’t guarantee you go to the Lord. It just means it’s a preference.

2 Corinthians 5:8 KJV
8We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:8 NASB
8but we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

Those are the souls of saints martyred in the great tribulation, not the general assembly of rank-and-file believers from all eras.

True, that’s at the resurrection.

Paul was not speaking in the context of the great tribulation, so you are really wrong in that one friend.

2 Corinthians 5
Easy-to-Read Version
5 We know that our body—the tent we live in here on earth—will be destroyed. But when that happens, God will have a home for us to live in. It will not be the kind of home people build here. It will be a home in heaven that will continue forever. 2 But now we are tired of this body. We want God to give us our heavenly home. 3 It will clothe us and we will not be naked. 4 While we live in this tent, we have burdens and so we complain. I don’t mean that we want to remove this tent, but we want to be clothed with our heavenly home. Then this body that dies will be covered with life. 5 This is what God himself made us for. And he has given us the Spirit as the first payment to guarantee the life to come.

6 So we always have confidence. We know that while we live in this body, we are away from the Lord. 7 We live by what we believe will happen, not by what we can see. 8 So I say that we have confidence. And we really want to be away from this body and be at home with the Lord. 9 Our only goal is to always please the Lord, whether we are living here in this body or there with him. 10 We must all stand before Christ to be judged. Everyone will get what they should. They will be paid for whatever they did—good or bad—when they lived in this earthly body.

Helping People Become God’s Friends
11 We know what it means to fear the Lord, so we try to help people accept the truth. God knows what we really are, and I hope that in your hearts you know us too. 12 We are not trying to prove ourselves to you again. But we are telling you about ourselves. We are giving you reasons to be proud of us. Then you will have an answer for those who are proud about what can be seen. They don’t care about what is in a person’s heart. 13 If we are crazy, it is for God. If we have our right mind, it is for you. 14 The love of Christ controls us, because we know that one person died for everyone. So all have died. 15 He died for all so that those who live would not continue to live for themselves. He died for them and was raised from death so that they would live for him.

16 From this time on we don’t think of anyone as the world thinks of people. It is true that in the past we thought of Christ as the world thinks. But we don’t think that way now. 17 When anyone is in Christ, it is a whole new world.[a] The old things are gone; suddenly, everything is new! 18 All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between himself and us. And God gave us the work of bringing people into peace with him. 19 I mean that God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. In Christ, God did not hold people guilty for their sins. And he gave us this message of peace to tell people. 20 So we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is like God is calling to people through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God. 21 Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we could be right with God.

I agree, but where do they go after meeting the Lord in the air?

True.

I agree, but what’s that verse for remembering nothing? It sounds familiar, but I can’t recall it at the moment.

TheLearner · Jun 13, 2022

good discussion all

Runningman · Jun 13, 2022

TheLearner said:

The passage you quoted says “really want” to be with Him. It says Christ is at the judgement seat. You’re missing the elephant in the room, blind to the forest because of a tree, and not understanding the context. The context says they want to be where Christ is then it says Christ is at the judgement seat. The judgment seat where we are judged is a temporary event.

p_rehbein · Jun 15, 2022

Runningman said:

Why would anyone answer? Your OP itself is in error because it poses the wrong question........goodness........

Runningman · Jun 16, 2022

p_rehbein said:

I am not following your line of thinking here. How is the OP in error? You can get salvation of the soul while alive on Earth and then spend eternity somewhere else. Or do you disagree with that?

TheLearner · Jun 19, 2022

Runningman said:

Hebrews 9:27 death then Judgment. Basically, a person is taken immediately to the Judgement at the end of time. Matthew 25 happen right away, thus after the cross there is no waiting period for the spirit of people because they are resurrected with indestructible bodies. I cor 15

Adstar · Jun 19, 2022

Runningman said:

Revelation chapter 21 deals with where humans will be spending eternity... In the New Jerusalem on the New Earth..

Relavant scripture::

(Revelation 21:1-4) "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. {2} And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. {3} And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. {4} And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

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Where do Christians spend eternity?

Eli1

Well-known member

montana123

Well-known member

Runningman

Banned

birdie

Senior Member

Runningman

Banned

TheLearner

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TheLearner

Well-known member

Runningman

Banned

p_rehbein

Senior Member

Runningman

Banned

TheLearner

Well-known member

Adstar

Senior Member