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WHEN
WILL WE GO TO HEAVEN? As I said from the pulpit recently, Jasmine (my
five-year-old daughter) has asked me the question, “When will we go to
heaven?” Of course, I didn’t tell her
everything I’m about to tell you. But
did you know that some people
have said that we go to heaven when we die, while others have said that we go
to heaven only after we’re resurrected?
In either case, no one knows the day—since we neither know when we’ll
die (James 4:15), nor do we know when we’ll be resurrected (Matthew 24:36). [By the way, if you didn’t hear the rest of
the story, I answered Jasmine’s question with, “I don’t know”—to which she
said, “Dad, you’re a preacher. You’re
supposed to know.” J] Not until we’re
resurrected? There are several passages that leave us with the
impression that we will not go to heaven until that great day comes when we are
resurrected. For example: 1. John wrote, “No one has ascended to
heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man, who is in
heaven” (John 3:13 NKJV). 2. Likewise, in Peter’s famous Pentecost
sermon, he preaches that while Christ has ascended into heaven, “David is not
ascended into the heavens” (Acts 2:34). 3. And while Jesus promised to take His
apostles to His “Father’s house,” it would not be until that Day when He “will
come again” (John 14:2-3 ESV). 4. Likewise, Jesus said, "you will be
repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:14 NASB). Then we should also think about Paul’s intense desire to
“attain the resurrection from the dead” (Philip. 3:11 ESV). Our brother J.W. McGarvey pointed out that
many people fail… …to exult, as the apostles did, in
anticipation of the resurrection of their own bodies. As long as men entertain the idea that their
spirits enter into final bliss and glory immediately after death, they can
never be made to regard the resurrection of the body as a matter of
importance. The idea has produced a
general skepticism among the masses, in reference to a resurrection of the
body; for men are very apt to doubt the certainty of future events for which
they see no necessity (Original Commentary On Acts, page 35). As soon as we die? Those who believe that we go to heaven as soon as we die
point to passages that show that we go to be with the Lord as soon as we
die. There are several such passages: 1. Solomon spoke of death in this way: “the
dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it”
(Eccles. 12:7 ESV). 2. Paul spoke of death as: “to depart and be
with Christ” (Philip. 1:23 ESV). 3. Paul also said, “Yes, we are of good
courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord”
(2 Cor. 5:8 ESV). 4. Likewise, just before Stephen died, he
said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59 ESV). 5. Similiarly, just before Jesus died, He
said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" (Luke 23:46 ESV). However, we must consider Psalm 139:8, where David says,
“If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You
are there” (NASB). God is not only in
“heaven.” He is also in “Sheol.” [In fact, God is everywhere, as other verses
in Psalm 139 show.] “Sheol” (an Old
Testament word) is the equivalent of “Hades” (a New Testament word), as the following
chart demonstrates:
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