 | The Reverend Amy Baumgartner is the Associate Pastor of First Presbyterian Church, 525 N. Broadway, Wichita, KS. Amy was ordained at First Presbyterian Church of Wichita, Kansas in June 2008. She earned a Masters of Divinity from Denver Seminary. Before attending seminary, Amy graduated from Ball State University with a degree in Landscape Architecture and worked several years for an architectural firm in Indianapolis, Indiana. You may contact Rev. Baumgartner by email AssociatePastor@firstpresbywichita.org, or by phone at (316) 263-0248. |
Religion
2012-10-02 13:59:28
Is heaven a lonely place with disembodied souls?
Q- Many believe that at the end of time the body will be resurrected an rejoin the soul for all eternity. If this is so, and the soul has no physical presence by itself, won't heaven be a pretty lonely place until the end of the world happens? I mean the only ones there right now with a soul and body are God, and some believe the Blessed Virgin Mary, Enoch and Elijah.
A- The question of what happens when individuals die can be very perplexing, particularly because all of us have experienced the death of someone we love and each of us is mortal and will face our own deaths. As a pastor, I often get the question (although sometimes not verbally asked) “where is my loved one right now?” This question of what happens to the body and the soul/spirit after death is difficult because there are more Biblical passages on the ultimate outcome than on the immediate situation of our souls/spirits and bodies after physical death.
The Bible speaks of three different types of death. There is physical death in which the body is separated from the spirit/soul (see Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:4-5, Ecclesiastes 12:7); it is the result of sin. These is spiritual death in which a person is cut off from God (see Ephesians 2:12), and there is eternal death, a final state of separation (also referred to as “second death” in Revelation). Your inquiry asks about the time between physical death and the final resurrection, when the eternal death is determined. Interestingly, there are very few Biblical passages that discuss the “intermediate state” of people. Many theologians believe the lack of information was because the early church did not consider that a vital topic because it was believed Jesus Christ would return quickly. Yet from the few passages, it seems that for the righteous, their souls will be received into paradise or a blessed place with God upon physical death (see Luke 16:19-31; 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:1-10; Philippians 1:19-26). Those who are not righteous may be in a sleep-like state until the final resurrection and judgment.
While you surmise that heaven might be a lonely place from now until the end of the world, I would encourage you to take a wider view. In light of eternity, the time from now until the end of the world might actually be a very short time. And in the meantime, the spirit/soul of the righteous is with God, and the righteous individuals will receive their spiritual, resurrected bodies at a future time.
Death can be frightening because of the unknowns; however, death does not need to be a fearful predicament if we put our trust and faith in God. Because as Paul writes in Romans, we know that nothing—neither death nor life—will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38).
