Angelican Bishop Says That Scripture Doesn't Support Us Going Straight To Heaven

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I thought that this would be an interesting news article to debate. The Bishops says that scripture doesn’t support the notion that Christians immediately enter heaven upon death. But that we wait until Christ’s return to enter heaven.

worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=56071

"There are several important respects in which it’s unsupported by the New Testament. First, the timing. In the Bible we are told that you die, and enter an intermediate state. [The Apostle] Paul is very clear that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead already, but that nobody else has yet. Secondly, our physical state. The New Testament says that when Christ does return, the dead will experience a whole new life: not just our soul, but our bodies. And finally, the location. At no point do the resurrection narratives in the four Gospels say, ‘Jesus has been raised, therefore we are all going to heaven.’ It says that Christ is coming here, to join together the heavens and the Earth in an act of new creation."
In the Gospel of John, Jesus himself is quoted as saying, “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.” (John 3:13)
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A lot of Protestants that I know believe that they sleep until Christ’s return. It would be interesting for me to know how to debate this belief.
 
deb1 said:
I thought that this would be an interesting news article to debate. The Bishops says that scripture doesn’t support the notion that Christians immediately enter heaven upon death. But that we wait until Christ’s return to enter heaven.

worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=56071

"There are several important respects in which it’s unsupported by the New Testament. First, the timing. In the Bible we are told that you die, and enter an intermediate state. [The Apostle] Paul is very clear that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead already, but that nobody else has yet. Secondly, our physical state. The New Testament says that when Christ does return, the dead will experience a whole new life: not just our soul, but our bodies. And finally, the location. At no point do the resurrection narratives in the four Gospels say, ‘Jesus has been raised, therefore we are all going to heaven.’ It says that Christ is coming here, to join together the heavens and the Earth in an act of new creation."
In the Gospel of John, Jesus himself is quoted as saying, “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.” (John 3:13)
**
A lot of Protestants that I know believe that they sleep until Christ’s return. It would be interesting for me to know how to debate this belief.
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Hi, deb!

…I have a different take on all of that… let’s take if from Jesus’ own words… when He makes the statement, has He Risen?, Resurrected? Died?

If we dig deeper… could we not understand a different meaning from Jesus’ Word?: no man hath ascended up to Heaven, I am not a mere man so I am, right now, on this very second, in Heaven with the Father–for I am in the Father and He is in Me!

At this very particular time Jesus is revealing that He is God; there was no one challenging Him on who is in Heaven… Jesus is making a revelation to Nicodemus and He is asserting His Divinity and Authority.

…the end of times… Apocalypse says that Death and even the Sea/Ocean will give up the dead and all shall rise/resurrect… true… but here’s a catch… before we get to that passage we are told that the four living creatures and the twenty four elders were in front of the Lamb (prostrated) and offered the golden bowls with the prayers of the saints; this precedes the breaking of the Seven Seals… which precedes the Final Judgment… which proceeds the resurrection of the dead… so how did the four creatures and the twenty four elders get into Heaven?

Then there’s that little matter of Enoch and Elijah being taken bodily into Heaven–is there a disagreement in Scriptures?

…and what of Moses? Some would like to explain away the Transfiguration as a mere “vision;” but if Jesus was simply doing some magic trick He certainly had no confidence in His craft! …and it does not explain how Kephas, recognizing the event, jumpped right in and offered to build three tents (temples?) to Jesus, Moses and Elijah–the latter two being dead for hundreds of years before he was born–and there were no ipods with camera/video features back then… so it could only have been a revelation of the Holy Spirit! …and if not in Heaven, did Yahweh God simply took these people and placed them in some limbo state (not dead, not alive, not in Heaven, not in Hell, not buried, not walking the earth…)?

Maran atha!

Angel***
 
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