When does our eternal life start?

Neostarwcc

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So our Lord Jesus has promised to all believers the gift of eternal life but when does that eternal life start? The moment we are born again? After we die and are given our perfect bodies on the last day? Jesus promised believers will live even though they die so does that mean that when our bodies die we still live in spirit? So that would mean that our eternal life starts from when we first come to Jesus. Maybe even from the moment we were born because Christians were chosen by God before he formed the world. But there are verses in the bible that seem to support all views. Like for example on the last day we are given eternal life to reign with Jesus during his 1,000 year reign. I just don't know. Thoughts?
 
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So our Lord Jesus has promised to all believers the gift of eternal life but when does that eternal life start? The moment we are born again? After we die and are given our perfect bodies on the last day? Jesus promised believers will live even though they die so does that mean that when our bodies die we still live in spirit? So that would mean that our eternal life starts from when we first come to Jesus. Maybe even from the moment we were born because Christians were chosen by God before he formed the world. But there are verses in the bible that seem to support all views. Like for example on the last day we are given eternal life to reign with Jesus during his 10,000 year reign. I just don't know. Thoughts?
John 3:3 - "Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." This is a single event that takes place when you walk down the Romans road and confess Christ. It's everlasting from the moment of being born again.

Also, he reigns for 1000 years, not 10,000.
 
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tampasteve

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Different denominations have different viewpoints, the scriptures are not clear on what happens between death and the resurrection and salvation or damnation/annihilation. Some say we are essentially asleep, both the wicked and the righteous until the second coming of Jesus. Some say our spirits go to Heaven or Hell immediately after death.

But if we believe in "eternal life" through the death and resurrection of Jesus then we probably are more leaning to eternal life of our soul, and bodily resurrection eventually. So, as essentially souls in our body we are living our eternal life now and when our souls are freed from the body at bodily death, but the soul goes on, whether asleep or straight to Heaven we do not know for sure.
 
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I recall being taught that everlasting and eternal are not the same.
Everlasting is quite simply lasting for ever and ever. one dimensional.
Eternal means a second or even third dimension. That is, eternal life is not only never ending, it also has fantastic quality - the difference between "just surviving" and "really living!"

Perhaps some greek or hebrew scholar can enlighten us on original language differences and meanings?
 
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Kit Sigmon

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So our Lord Jesus has promised to all believers the gift of eternal life but when does that eternal life start? The moment we are born again? After we die and are given our perfect bodies on the last day? Jesus promised believers will live even though they die so does that mean that when our bodies die we still live in spirit? So that would mean that our eternal life starts from when we first come to Jesus. Maybe even from the moment we were born because Christians were chosen by God before he formed the world. But there are verses in the bible that seem to support all views. Like for example on the last day we are given eternal life to reign with Jesus during his 10,000 year reign. I just don't know. Thoughts?

Let me share something I just read on a christian's post on Facebook this morning a quote posted in: The Voice of the Martyrs
"You can't kill a Christian.
You can only change his address."
~Pastor Duke Downs


 
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Neostarwcc

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John 3:3 - "Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." This is a single event that takes place when you walk down the Romans road and confess Christ. It's everlasting from the moment of being born again.

Also, he reigns for 1000 years, not 10,000.

Yeah my bad ill fix it.
 
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Rescued One

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The second that God quickens us, we are passed from spiritual death to spiritual life.

Ephesians 2
1And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

I believe that resurrection of the physical body is a separate event.
 
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Rescued One

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John 3:3 - "Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." This is a single event that takes place when you walk down the Romans road and confess Christ. It's everlasting from the moment of being born again.

Also, he reigns for 1000 years, not 10,000.

I don't think it requires a walk, but instead a quickening by the Holy Spirit.
 
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Neostarwcc

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Different denominations have different viewpoints, the scriptures are not clear on what happens between death and the resurrection and salvation or damnation/annihilation. Some say we are essentially asleep, both the wicked and the righteous until the second coming of Jesus. Some say our spirits go to Heaven or Hell immediately after death.

But if we believe in "eternal life" through the death and resurrection of Jesus then we probably are more leaning to eternal life of our soul, and bodily resurrection eventually. So, as essentially souls in our body we are living our eternal life now and when our souls are freed from the body at bodily death, but the soul goes on, whether asleep or straight to Heaven we do not know for sure.

So our soul is eternal with or without God and our bodies are not eternal. They only become eternal after the second coming when Jesus makes our bodies perfect. That makes sense thank you for explaining it.
 
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Neostarwcc

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Neostarwcc

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The second that God quickens us, we are passed from spiritual death to spiritual life.

Ephesians 2
1And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

I believe that resurrection of the physical body is a separate event.

Right. Most Christians believe that we go to be with Jesus when we die and that our bodily resurrection is a separate event. So that would mean that we are born with eternal life. Since God foreknew those who would come to believe and who wouldn't.
 
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I don't think it requires a walk, but instead a quickening by the Holy Spirit.
Oh I didn't mean to make it sound like it was an actual walk, my mistake. I was simply referring to coming to an accurate understanding of the Gospel, believing it and confessing it.
 
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tz620q

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So our Lord Jesus has promised to all believers the gift of eternal life but when does that eternal life start? The moment we are born again? After we die and are given our perfect bodies on the last day? Jesus promised believers will live even though they die so does that mean that when our bodies die we still live in spirit? So that would mean that our eternal life starts from when we first come to Jesus. Maybe even from the moment we were born because Christians were chosen by God before he formed the world. But there are verses in the bible that seem to support all views. Like for example on the last day we are given eternal life to reign with Jesus during his 1,000 year reign. I just don't know. Thoughts?
How about another thought? If God comprehended our being and created a soul for us (at least in his mind) before we were born, do we begin life at that moment (hence eternal) or when we are born (or as others have stated at some later event). My thought is that though we are created in a potential way, that idea or creation does not happen until a specific moment in real time. My thought is that life begins when the egg is fertilized and the soul is placed in this new body. This seems like a logical biological start, since there is unique DNA of a new lifeform created and since spiritually, the soul has given this new being a new life force. Now the length of this new life is not known at this time; but God desires to be with us forever.
 
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Also, there are many scriptures that point to a spiritual existence after our physical death. To die is to be judged by God, either justified before him or condemned depending upon if we believed on Christ.

Hebrews 9:27 - "As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this judgement."

The thief on the cross was with Jesus in paradise the very day he died on the cross. Luke 23:43.

2 Corinthians 5:6-10 speaks of the absence of being with the Lord while being physically alive, but then we should rather be absent from the body (dead) so we can be with Christ. After death, we must all stand before Christ's judgement seat to be judged.

So I definitely believe scripture points to immediate spiritual judgement after we die, and we end up in either heaven or hell.

Eventually though, at the great white throne, all will be resurrected to either eternal life or eternal damnation. All of us, either way, end up with a new body - some are appointed to a glorified body through Christ, and some are appointed a vessel of eternal wrath. Daniel 12:2. Revelation 20:12-15.
 
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Just think about it. The early Church understood it more completely than we do today. They did not flinch when they were cast into lion's dens and were crucified. The understanding of Lord Jesus words that we will live even though we die imparts a surety or confidence that we live with or without our corporeal body imparted the strength they needed to go through the persecution they endured with praise and thanksgiving.
 
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PeaceJoyLove

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I recall being taught that everylasting and eternal are not the same.
Everlasting is quite simply lasting for ever and ever. one dimensional.
Eternal means a second or even third dimension. That is, eternal life is not only never ending, it also has fantastic quality - the difference between "just surviving" and "really living!"

Perhaps some greek or hebrew scholar can enlighten us on original language differences and meanings?

No Greek or Hebrew scholar, but...
Eternal is lasting or existing forever; without end or beginning...valid for all time, timeless ; essentially unchanging; according the dictionary. Many perceive eternal to be something that begins after the physical body dies.

Many say they believe the spirit lives within their very being, yet perceive it as something separate/outside their very being. Though Jesus said the kingdom is within you and Paul said we have the mind of Christ. What we picture this to be and what is it truly is, is as different as flesh is from spirit.

We enter into this truth as far as we are willing to go...by faith...

For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done. Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.
 
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Neostarwcc

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How about another thought? If God comprehended our being and created a soul for us (at least in his mind) before we were born, do we begin life at that moment (hence eternal) or when we are born (or as others have stated at some later event). My thought is that though we are created in a potential way, that idea or creation does not happen until a specific moment in real time. My thought is that life begins when the egg is fertilized and the soul is placed in this new body. This seems like a logical biological start, since there is unique DNA of a new lifeform created and since spiritually, the soul has given this new being a new life force. Now the length of this new life is not known at this time; but God desires to be with us forever.

That's really interesting. We will never know when our life actually began because we don't remember being in our mothers womb for 9 months. We don't remember being born, we usually don't remember the first 2-3 years of our lives. But God knew. Our birth wasn't a surprise to him. He eagerly awaited for us to be born. Think about that for a second. Every Christian was chosen by God and God eagerly awaited for them to be born. He knows when they will die even if they don't know and when they die he takes their spirits to heaven to be with them forever. That or we sleep for a while until he raises us on the last day. Whatever the truth is. Amazing.
 
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Neostarwcc

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No Greek or Hebrew scholar, but...
Eternal is lasting or existing forever; without end or beginning...valid for all time, timeless ; essentially unchanging; according the dictionary. Many perceive eternal to be something that begins after the physical body dies.

Many say they believe the spirit lives within their very being, yet perceive it as something separate/outside their very being. Though Jesus said the kingdom is within you and Paul said we have the mind of Christ. What we picture this to be and what is it truly is, is as different as flesh is from spirit.

We enter into this truth as far as we are willing to go...by faith...

For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done. Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.

Yeah Eternal means lasting forever. So eternal life would be life without a beginning or end. Its life that lasts past physical death into an eternity. Its the way Adam and Eve and all the human race could have been. But the human race disobeyed God and they have to suffer physical death as punishment. But those chosen by God will have eternal life again.
 
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PeaceJoyLove

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Yeah Eternal means lasting forever. So eternal life would be life without a beginning or end. Its life that lasts past physical death into an eternity. Its the way Adam and Eve and all the human race could have been. But the human race disobeyed God and they have to suffer physical death as punishment. But those chosen by God will have eternal life again.
Physical death is nothing...for the flesh profiteth nothing...in relation to our soul and this LIFE in Christ. God is outside the confines of space and time. Infinite. No beginning or end. HE just IS...I AM...

There was a death that took place in the garden after the fall...not their bodies...but a separation from God. An inward/inner truth...Adam and the woman were still in the same place, though their eyesight had changed and suddenly Adam was ashamed of being naked and afraid, hearing God's voice outside of himself for the first time.

The mind of man perceives a beginning and an end...spirit has always been...though the end of our faith takes us back to the beginning that has no end.

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: "Death has been swallowed up in victory.

Perception being everything...like the question asked of Adam, "Where art thou?"

We being the temple not made with human hands/dwelling place of God...for a time (until HE causes us to see beyond what the five senses perceive) we don't 'see' that within our being...And HE reveals that to our inner most being...
 
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