Afterlife

How do you reconcile what appears to be conflicting verses about the dead being raised from the dead, and yet we are "appointed once to die?" [Hebrews 9:27, Luke 8:52-55, John 11:43, Luke 7:12, 1 Kings 17, Matthew 27:51-52, Matthew 10:8, 1 Corinthians 15:51, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, Hebrews 10:10].

Will we be serving God in the afterlife? Will those who get saved on their deathbed be able to serve God then? [Matthew 16:27].

Is my understanding of the motivation for living the Christian life different than yours, when it comes to the pending judgment and the rewards of heaven? [Matthew 16:24-27].

What do you think about some of the "near-death" experiences that have been reported?

What do you think about my view of the difference between "Paradise" and "Heaven?" What about the meaning of the word "paradise" and the "third heaven?" [2 Corinthians 5:8, 2 Corinthians 12:2].

Are my prayers to the saints and Mary helpful to my son who recently repented on his deathbed?

How do we reconcile the verses about immediately being with the Lord and yet being raised later when He comes again? [2 Corinthians 5:8, 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 1 Thessalonians 1:14, Revelation 21:4].

What is the final state of believers in the New Earth? What will it be like? [Philippians 3:21, 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, Romans 8:17, Revelation 22:3, Luke 24:39].

What is the role of "the bride of Christ" in eternity? [Genesis 2:24].

What are the departed spirits doing with the Lord?

When we are absent from the body upon death, is that when we receive our immortal bodies? [1 Corinthian 5:8, 1 Corinthians 15:43-53, Philippians 3:21].

Could you help me understand Luke 22 in relation to how we are perfected in the afterlife? [Luke 22:30, Galatians 2:7].

Will we have telepathic capabilities in the afterlife?

Could you talk about people receiving various rewards in the afterlife and also their possibly suffering loss? [1 Corinthians 3:15, Luke 16:10].

Is "paradise" and "hades" the same place in scripture? [Luke 23:43, Acts 2:27, Psalm 16:10, Acts 2:31, Revelation 20:14, Luke 16:19-31].

When we are with Jesus, will we still have free will?

Upon death, does one go to hell where there is gnashing of teeth, outer darkness, the Lake of Fire, or do they just disappear?

Don't we have to be judged before we go to heaven, which would make idea of going directly to heaven upon death? [John 5:24, Matthew 25:21].

Can you explain what all the different "heavens" in the Bible and where we will go? And also hell? [John 4:1, 2 Peter 2:4}

Where is heaven? [Acts 17:28].

Is there any information about how the future will be lived in heaven with our loved ones? What will we be doing? [1 Corinthians 13:12, Luke 19:17].

Caller shared his brother's death experience.

What happens to us when we die? [1 Thessalonians 4:14, 1 Corinthians 15:51, 2 Corinthians 5:7-9, Philippians 1:23, 2 Corinthians 12:3].

Are we going to know more on the New Earth or will we not remember anything? [1 Corinthians 13:12, Isaiah 65:17, Jeremiah 3:16, 1 John 3:2, Isaiah 43:18-19].

Will there be male and female in heaven?

What is your take on whether those in heaven see us and are functioning outside of time? [Revelation 22:2].

Will there be children in the new earth? Will women still be getting pregnant? [Isaiah 65:17, Isaiah 11:8].

Caller questions why Steve would say the Bible doesn't say much about heaven. He clarifies.

Caller disagrees regarding the lack of emphasis on "heaven" in the Bible. Instead, he thinks there is significant emphasis. [Philippians 3:20-21, 2 Corinthians 5:8-10, Exodus 20:12, John 3:16].

Will animals be in the afterlife (heaven or on the new earth)? [Isaiah 11:6-9, Isaiah 65:25, Ephesians 2:14-18, Romans 8, Revelation 21:22].

Why do you say that even if there were no heaven, you would still serve God? Isn't the Bible full of references to the future life? [1 Corinthians 10:31, Colossians 3:17].

If we are "caught up" (raptured) to be with Jesus, does the Bible say where we are going to be?

Would you elaborate on the "New Heaven & Earth?" Are we coming back to earth (after heaven)? [2 Peter 3:13, Hebrews 12:22, Matthew 5:5, Psalm 37, Romans 4:13, Romans 4:13, Psalm 2:8, Genesis 1:26-27, Revelation 5:10, Psalm 115:16, Revelation 21:2-4, Galatians 4:26].

Do little children and the mentally challenged get a free pass? [2 Peter 2:3, John 3:16, John 15:13, Matthew 23:37, John 5:39-44, 2 Corinthians 5:6].

What happens immediately upon death? Do I stay in the ground or go to heaven? [2 Corinthians 5:8-9].

Isn't it so different for us to value our future resurrection in contrast to what they may have understood in the Old Testament, with no real knowledge of an afterlife?

If in the Old Testament, they didn't really understand the resurrection, would I be using the verse in Job about "in my flesh, I will see God" out of context to use it on my tombstone? [Job 19:25-27, Daniel 12:2].

Will we have free will in heaven?

Do you think that we (our souls) continue to progress toward holiness after death? [1 Corinthians 15:20-22, 1 Corinthians 6:20].

After we die, will we be active participants in spiritual warfare?

What do you think about reports of previous lives from Lee Strobel's book "Case for Heaven?"

Would you give me some feedback on Lee Stroebel's book about heaven ("The Case for Heaven")? [Revelation 21-21, 1 Timothy 5:21].

Do you know of any good books about after-death experience reports? [Matthew 16].

Is there another chance to be saved, if one dies before becoming a believer? [Hebrews 9:27, 1 Corinthians 4:5].

Will God-fearing Jews just go to sleep when they die and then have another chance to be saved? [Galatians 3:28].

When do we get our glorified bodies? [1 John 3:2, John 5:28-29, 1 Corinthians 15:43, Philippians 1:23, 2 Corinthians 5:6-8, Philippians 3:21].

What happens to us when we die? Do we just rest until we are raised? [2 Corinthians 5:8, 1 Samuel 28:15, Hebrews 10:20, Luke 23:43].

Will we be given some kind of body in heaven, or will we just be spirits, until the resurrection and our bodies are raised and renewed?

Why doesn't the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, say more about the afterlife? [Psalm 23:6, 2 Timothy 1:10].

Did the Sadducees believe everything just ends at death - with no afterlife?