Q. The apostle Paul said he wanted to die so that he could immediately be with Christ (Philippians 1:23) and that when Christians are absent from the body they are in the presence of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). Does this mean good people go to Heaven when we die, or conversely, bad folks go to Hell? (Submitted by: Gordon) A. The scriptures you are referring to are: "For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: . . . " (Philippians 1:23) "We are confident, [I say], and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. " (2Corinthians 5:8) One important aspect to realize here is that neither text says anything about eternal torment (Hell) or having an immortal soul (and going directly to Heaven when you die). Both such thoughts have to be read into the texts here. After all, theoretically one could believe in people going to heaven or hell at death, but still believe that the souls placed in hell would be eventually completely destroyed, not eternally tortured. In both cases, the defender of the orthodox position would assume that no resurrection occurs between the time of death and entering the presence of the Lord. Yet 1Corinthians 15:16-18, 23 presupposes that the only way to gain eternal life is from a resurrection. Here it's necessary to look at all the texts on a subject instead of just figuring out a doctrine from a few that seemingly favor a particular position. |
