I'm not sure. I don't know if I believe that Christians have immortal souls. I do believe that eternal life is gift to Christians but not to unbelievers. What did Paul mean when those died in Christ had fallen asleep?
1 Corinthians
Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
"Sleep implies a subsequent waking, and as a
symbol of death implies continued and conscious life beyond the grave. In the presence of death no truth has been so sustaining to Christian faith as this. It is the distinct product of Christ's resurrection. Paul speaks of
departed believers as having "fallen asleep in Christ" (
1 Corinthians 15:6,18);
as proof of the soul's immortality he terms the risen Christ "the first- fruits of them that are asleep." Lazarus and Stephen, at death, are said to have "fallen asleep" (
John 11:11;
Acts 7:60); so of David and the ancient patriarchs (
Acts 13:36;
2 Peter 3:4). The most beautiful description of death in human language and literature is Paul's characterization of the dead as "them also which
sleep in Jesus" (
1 Thessalonians 4:14 the King James Version). This blessed hope has wrought itself permanently into the life and creed and hymnology of the Christian church, as in the hymn often used with such comforting effect at the burial service of believers:
"Asleep in Jesus! blessed sleep!"
Dwight M. Pratt [from biblestudytools.com]
"And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:26
There is physical death and the flesh dies and rots and turns to dust. Then there is spiritual death, which from the beginning God warned Adam and Eve that on the day they eat of the fruit they will surely die. They didn't die physically that die. They were separated from God. Sin brought death also physically, but not instantly. Their cells began to die. Sin created distortions, sickness, mutations, diseases, bacteria, viruses, etc and from that time on, physically they were no longer in a perfect state (as we will be when we get our new bodies). As for the spiritual death, Jesus conquered that.
"...death is swallowed up in victory. Oh death where is your sting. ...?" 1 Cor. 15:54, 55
We are "in Christ", saved from the curse of death. We are in the Kingdom of Heaven now, eternally. Death does not have any power over us - just our physical bodies.
Our soul and spirit are the invisible part of our nature, they pass on. Why would the Spirit of God dwell in us and grow us spiritually, if after physical death, we are put into an unconscious sleep, disconnected to God, unaware of anything? Our soul is our mind, will, emotions and then we have a spirit, which is the special compartment within our souls that God dwells. Likened to the OT temple, the soul is the Holy Place, but the spirit is in the Most Holy Place.
The point is there will never be a separation (death) of our spirit and God for any amount of time. As Jesus said, we will never die. When our physical bodies pass, we will go directly to be with the Lord. Prior to Jesus death, OT saints went to a part of Sheol, referred to as Abraham's bosom (meaning at his side). So that is where Enoch, Moses, Elijah, all the prophets and all the people who lived by faith were.
This is your opinion, and you have not provided solid scriptural evidence that people's spirit goes to heaven before the resurrection. This is only a long held tradition.
When Jesus gave his spirit to God, did he go directly to the presence of God before his resurrection? No he didn't. Then why would stephen?
No, He didn't got directly to His Father in Heaven, He went to a place called Sheol, which was divided into two parts, one for the righteous and one for the unrighteous.
Some scriptures that will give you insight:
1 Samuel 28:13-21 (
Samuel, who was dead, spoke to Saul from the dead). Samuel was where the righteous were.
Psalm 31:17 says,
let the wicked be ashamed and silent in Sheol.
Numbers 16:30 "But if the Lord creates a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord."
Psalm 86:13 "For great is your mercy toward me, and you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol."
Gen. 37:35 Jacob said in response to his Joseph's apparent death "...For I shall go down into Sheol to my son in mourning."
Isaiah 38:10 Hezekiah said while sick, "... I shall go to the gates of Sheol"
Isaiah 14:9 To the King of Babylon:
"Hades from beneath is excited about you,
To meek you at your coming;
it stirs up the dead for you,
All the chief ones of the earth;
It has raised up from their thrones
All the kings of the nations.
they all shall speak and say to you:
'Have you also become as weak as we?
Have you become like us?"
In this verse, God's judgment against Tyre, a Phoenician island:
"then I will being you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lower parts of the earth, like the ancient waste places, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set glory in the land of the living."
On earth appearing before the disciples teaching about the kingdom of God
Acts 1:3
He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
And he was only seen 10 times (portions of days) within that time period. So where was He on earth if with nobody? This is of course conjecture and the Bible doesn't say where He was, but I believe He ascended and descended in a blink of eye. When Mary held onto to Him, after the resurrection, He told her to tell the disciples that He must go to His Father and that He would see them at another time. I'm taking Him for His word --- Let me go, I have to go see my Father and then I will meet the disciples.
He was on earth. Can you provide scripture that states Jesus was in heaven before his ascension?
Heaven is not in a physical location. It is a spiritual dimension. He was able to appear, and disappear.
It's also important to understand that the transfiguration was a vision:
Matthew 17:9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying,
Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.
You say they were in heaven before Jesus. Jesus said no one had ascended except the son of man in
John 3. So who should I believe, you? or Jesus?
When someone sees a beautiful woman, they might say, you are a vision of beauty.
A vision is either in your mind or you visually see it. Jesus was there, it wasn't a vision as if a person was given one in their mind. When a person saw an angel, it was real.
Jesus was there physical, then all of a sudden showed them His glory with Moses and Elijah present. You know what Peter said, "let us make three tabernacles ..." Moses and Elijah were talking. They heard them talking.
So where have they been? Abrahams bosom, Sheol.
This isn't talking about bringing souls to heaven. Where does it say that?
Here is a story about a visitation to heaven.
"
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago- whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows -- such a one was caught up to the third heaven". " How he was caught up in Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." 2 Cor. 12:2, 4
Notice the reference to heaven and Paradise, they are the same.
I believe John had this same experience.
1. this is a parable
2. Abrahams' bosom is sheol, not heaven, not the presence of the Father.
True, but Jesus brought those who were in Sheol (those who were righteous) to Paradise.
the first line literally says "for david says concerning him" David is not talking about himself, he is prophesying about Christ's resurrection.
Peter even says right after that David did not ascend to heaven:
Acts 2:34
For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
Yes, I know. Jesus was not left abandoned in Hades. This strongly suggests that He was there!!! When anyone says, you aren't going to abandon me here, it means they are in that place or will be going to that place. Why else would they use the word abandon if they don't go there?
