Given the consistent physical descriptions of the present Heaven and those who dwell there, it seems possible—though this is certainly debatable—that between the time of our entrance to Heaven and our resurrection, we may be given temporary pre-resurrection bodies (Luke 16:19-26; Rev. 6:11). This fits the doctrine that, unlike God and the angels—who are in essence spirits, though capable of inhabiting bodies (John 4:24; Heb. 1:14)—human beings are in essence both spiritual and physical (Gen. 2:7). A temporary body would allow us to retain the qualities of full humanity between death and resurrection.
A fundamental article of the Christian faith is that the resurrected Christ now dwells in Heaven. We are told that His resurrected body on Earth was physical and that this same, physical Jesus ascended to Heaven, from where He will one day return to Earth. It seems indisputable, then, to say that there is at least one physical body in the present Heaven. If Christ’s body in the present Heaven has physical properties, it stands to reason that others in Heaven could have physical forms as well, even if only temporary ones.
The Apostle Paul writes, “I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell” (2 Cor. 12:2–4).
Paul expresses uncertainty about whether he’d had a body in his visit there. The fact that he thought he might have had a body in Heaven is significant. He certainly didn’t dismiss the idea as impossible, as Plato would have. His uncertainty might suggest that he sensed he had a physical form in Heaven—similar to but somehow different from his earthly body. That would make sense because he had not yet died nor been raised, and the only body he could have had was his current one at the time which was still subject to curse, sin, and death. If he absolutely knew he was only a disembodied spirit floating in Heaven, he surely wouldn’t have said he wasn’t certain whether or not he’d had a body there.
If we will indeed have an intermediate physical form immediately after we die, it’s critical we realize this would in no way make our eventual resurrection unnecessary or redundant. The Bible could not be more emphatic about the centrality and significance of the resurrection (see 1 Cor. 15).
We do not receive our resurrection bodies immediately after death. Resurrection is not one-at-a-time. If we have intermediate forms in the intermediate Heaven, they won’t be our true bodies, which will have died. Continuity is only between our original and resurrection bodies. So again, if we are given intermediate forms, they are at best temporary vessels (perhaps comparable to the human-appearing but temporary bodies angels sometimes take on), distinct from our true bodies, which remain dead until our resurrection.
The resurrection is what Scripture explicitly teaches and what we are to place our hope in, because it is a certain future event!
This article originally appeared on epm.org and is reposted here by permission.