our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal maybe swallowed up by life" (2 Corinthians 5:2-4). Some
take this to mean that the intermediate state is a condition of disembodied nakedness. They may well be right. Others, however,
believe that Paul is longing to be with Christ (Philippians 1:21), but he cannot long for a state of Platonic nakedness, which
he considers repugnant. Thus, they understand Paul to be saying that at death we are immediately clothed by a heavenly dwelling
(whether Heaven itself or an intermediate form), in which we will await our resurrection.
Women sometimes have the problem of trying to judge by artificial light how a dress will look by daylight. That is very like
the problem for all of us: to dress our souls not for the electric lights of the present world but for the daylight of the
next. The good dress is the one that will face that light. For that light will last longer.
C. S. LEWIS
There is evidence that suggests the latter position could be correct. For instance, the martyrs in Heaven are described as
wearing clothes (Revelation 6:9-11). Disembodied spirits don't wear clothes. Many consider the clothes purely symbolic of
being covered in Christ's righteousness. Of course, they could also be real clothes with symbolic meaning, just as the Ark
of the Covenant had symbolic meaning but was also a real, physical object.
Because these martyrs are also called "souls" (Revelation 6:9), some insist that they must be disembodied spirits. But the
Greek word psuche, here translated "soul," does not normally mean disembodied spirit. On the contrary, it is typically used of a whole person,
who has both body and spirit, or of animals, which are physical beings. It is used in Revelation 12:11 to describe the martyrs, who "did not love their lives [psuche] so much as to shrink from death." Because death relates to their physical bodies, not their spirits (which would not die), the emphasis is more on their bodies than on their
spirits. According to the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, "[Psuche] does not carry with it any clear distinction between a noncorporeal and a corporeal state. . . . The reference is not to a
part of man that has survived death, but to the total existence of man." 56
It appears the apostle John had a body when he visited Heaven, because he is said to have grasped, held, eaten, and tasted
things there (e.g., Revelation 10:910). To assume this is all figurative language is not a restriction demanded by the text
but only by our presupposition that Heaven isn't a physical place. (For a discussion of literal and figurative interpretation,
see appendix B.)
In the apostle Paul's account of being caught up to the present Heaven (which he calls "the third heaven"), he expresses uncertainty
about whether he'd had a body there or not: "Whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows" (2 Corinthians
12:3). The fact that he thought he might have had a body in Heaven is significant. He certainly didn't dismiss the thought as impossible, as Plato would have. His
uncertainty might suggest that he sensed he had a physical form in Heaven that was body-like but somehow different from his
earthly body. If he had been nothing but spirit in Heaven, it's unlikely he would say he wasn't certain whether or not he'd
had a body there.
If those in Heaven are granted temporary forms—and I recognize it only as a possibility—it would in no way minimize the absolute
necessity or critical importance of our future bodily resurrection, which Paul emphatically establishes in 1 Corinthians
15:12-32. In fact, itwould only be on the basis of the certainty of a future resurrection that temporary bodies might be given—just as in Old Testament times the certainty of Christ's future death and resurrection permitted those people, who
otherwise would have been Hell-bound, to enter Paradise.
We do not receive resurrection
take this to mean that the intermediate state is a condition of disembodied nakedness. They may well be right. Others, however,
believe that Paul is longing to be with Christ (Philippians 1:21), but he cannot long for a state of Platonic nakedness, which
he considers repugnant. Thus, they understand Paul to be saying that at death we are immediately clothed by a heavenly dwelling
(whether Heaven itself or an intermediate form), in which we will await our resurrection.
Women sometimes have the problem of trying to judge by artificial light how a dress will look by daylight. That is very like
the problem for all of us: to dress our souls not for the electric lights of the present world but for the daylight of the
next. The good dress is the one that will face that light. For that light will last longer.
C. S. LEWIS
There is evidence that suggests the latter position could be correct. For instance, the martyrs in Heaven are described as
wearing clothes (Revelation 6:9-11). Disembodied spirits don't wear clothes. Many consider the clothes purely symbolic of
being covered in Christ's righteousness. Of course, they could also be real clothes with symbolic meaning, just as the Ark
of the Covenant had symbolic meaning but was also a real, physical object.
Because these martyrs are also called "souls" (Revelation 6:9), some insist that they must be disembodied spirits. But the
Greek word psuche, here translated "soul," does not normally mean disembodied spirit. On the contrary, it is typically used of a whole person,
who has both body and spirit, or of animals, which are physical beings. It is used in Revelation 12:11 to describe the martyrs, who "did not love their lives [psuche] so much as to shrink from death." Because death relates to their physical bodies, not their spirits (which would not die), the emphasis is more on their bodies than on their
spirits. According to the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, "[Psuche] does not carry with it any clear distinction between a noncorporeal and a corporeal state. . . . The reference is not to a
part of man that has survived death, but to the total existence of man." 56
It appears the apostle John had a body when he visited Heaven, because he is said to have grasped, held, eaten, and tasted
things there (e.g., Revelation 10:910). To assume this is all figurative language is not a restriction demanded by the text
but only by our presupposition that Heaven isn't a physical place. (For a discussion of literal and figurative interpretation,
see appendix B.)
In the apostle Paul's account of being caught up to the present Heaven (which he calls "the third heaven"), he expresses uncertainty
about whether he'd had a body there or not: "Whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows" (2 Corinthians
12:3). The fact that he thought he might have had a body in Heaven is significant. He certainly didn't dismiss the thought as impossible, as Plato would have. His
uncertainty might suggest that he sensed he had a physical form in Heaven that was body-like but somehow different from his
earthly body. If he had been nothing but spirit in Heaven, it's unlikely he would say he wasn't certain whether or not he'd
had a body there.
If those in Heaven are granted temporary forms—and I recognize it only as a possibility—it would in no way minimize the absolute
necessity or critical importance of our future bodily resurrection, which Paul emphatically establishes in 1 Corinthians
15:12-32. In fact, itwould only be on the basis of the certainty of a future resurrection that temporary bodies might be given—just as in Old Testament times the certainty of Christ's future death and resurrection permitted those people, who
otherwise would have been Hell-bound, to enter Paradise.
We do not receive resurrection
Similar Books
