The verses of 2 Corinthians 5:8 and Philippians 1:23 are always used to support the belief that those who die are conscious and enjoying themselves in heaven.
2Cor.5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Phi. 1:23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better.
For a complete discussion of 2 Corinthians see here, and for Philippians see here.However I have never heard a reasonable explanation as to why Jesus, the Apostles, or the Old Testament prophets would bring anyone back to life if they were enjoying themselves in the bliss of heaven; in the very presence of God.
Jesus says that Lazarus was asleep (John 11:11) before he calls him from the tomb. Martha confirms the belief of the Jews at that time, "Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day." John 11:24
Paul says God had mercy on Epaphroditus and healed him from his sickness (Phil. 2:27) so that he did not die. This was written immediately after 1:23 where Paul said it was better to depart and be with Christ. Paul must have had the future resurrection in mind or he wouldn't have said God showed mercy to Epaphroditus by healing him.
When Stephen was killed in Acts 7 he commits his spirit to God, verse 59, but immediately afterward, verse 60, it says Stephen fell asleep. This happened immediately after Stephen had seen a vision into heaven with Christ standing on the right hand of God. This seems to be conclusive. Stephen sees into heaven, he commits his spirit to God, he dies, and scripture says he falls asleep. If the Bible is to be believed for what it plainly says then nothing could be clearer.
Luke 18:29-30 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake,
Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting."And in the word to come life everlasting" The word "world" in the King James is "aiōn" in the Greek. It means "age" and is so translated in the the NIV, NASB, NKJV and others. In other words Christ is saying life everlasting will be given in the age to come, when He returns and establishes His Kingdom - not life everlasting in heaven. And immediately after this Christ talks of His future resurrection, verse 33.
It is interesting how the doctrine of going to heaven can distort our view of scripture. On a discussion board a Christian wrote, "In Matthew 7 He states, Heaven can only be entered through the narrow gate!..." The writer is quoting Matthew 7:14, Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. The writer substituted "heaven" for "life" thinking there is no difference.
In John 5:29 we read, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
I have recently heard a pastor, well versed in scripture, say Christians should look forward to spending eternity in heaven. Now I think I know what he means. We should look forward to spending eternity with the Lord. But see how this "going to heaven" belief subtracts from the Blessed Hope of Titus 2:13,
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.Easton's Bible Dictionary says this under the description of Hell:
"The blessed dead are in that part of Hades called paradise (Luke 23:43). They are also said to be in Abraham's bosom (Luke 16:22)." Because of "going to heaven" they completely miss the true explanation of Paradise or Abraham's Bosom. Trying to make scripture "fit" with "going to heaven" leads to gross errors in interpretation.
There are times when the New Testament writers used the idea of sleep or being asleep and apply it to the Gentiles or unbelievers. For example:
1 Cor. 11:30 - For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
Eph. 5:14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.From verses like this it can be seen that the audience addressed in the letters understood the meaning. To be dead was to be asleep. To awake was to see the truth of the gospel message.
The Bible's description of Noah's flood the events of that period may bear consideration. Now I admit this is speculation.
God is highly displeased with the generation then living. He said all was wickedness (Genesis 6:5) but Noah found favor in His sight (6:8.) We then read that Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord. Then directions for building the ark, gathering the animals and food. In chapter 7 we learn when the flood started and read of Noah and his family entering into the ark. God calls Noah and says, "come" into the ark and then in verse 16 we read, "and the Lord shut him in."
The remainder of chapter 7 speaks of the flood but we read nothing of Noah or what is happening on the ark. Chapter 8 starts with, "And God remembered Noah..." Now this does not mean God had forgotten Noah and just happened to think about him. It means God kept Noah in remembrance.
We then read about the water abating and in Gen 8:5-6 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:Nothing is said of Noah during most of the flood, all the time he and his family is shut up in the ark. We read nothing of how they felt, what they did, how they survived. All we read is that after 40 days, "Noah opened the window."
Do we have a glimpse of death? Noah in God's remembrance. Nothing to report during the tribulation of the flood. After it is over Noah opens a window.
As I said, just speculation.
If we believe, as the Bible states, that all scripture is given by the inspiration of God then we should find no great contradictions. Yes, expect passages hard to understand, beyond our human comprehension. Expect prophecy that is yet to be fulfilled open to various interpretations. There may even be slight differences in scripture due to translation errors from one language to another over the course of 2000 or 3500 years. But we should not find passages that say in one place white is not black and in another white is black.
Consider a few passages used by critics of Psychopannychy:
1 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Philippians 1:23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:Now if we interpret these passages by Paul to mean that he expected when he died to go to heaven and be in the immediate presence of Christ then what explanation do we give to these verses that indicate the saints should first expect to see Christ when He returns at the resurrection?
2 Cor. 4:14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
1 Thes. 2:19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?
1 Cor. 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
1 Cor. 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
1John 2:28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.We will be presented to Jesus when He comes again. 1 Cor. 5:8 and Phil. 1:23 must be applied to the resurrection, the return of Christ. And on examination that is exactly what they do indicate.
When will death be conquered? If we are conscious in heaven and not "asleep" then, surely, we are not dead. Yet scriptures tell us death will be conquered when we are resurrected.
1 Cor. 15: 51,54 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.Rom 5:21 is sited to claim that we have eternal life the moment we accept Christ and so must be alive (awake) in heaven when we die. That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. But this would conflict with 1 Cor. 15:54. We have assurance of eternal life but it will be delivered to us at the resurrection. This is what Paul says he "groans" for in Romans 8:23, 2 Corinthians. 5:2,4. Notice the word "unto" eternal life. It is coming as Christ is coming.
There are many verses that indicate the dead are not aware of anything and they must be reconciled with the rest of scripture. Critics will mumble over these with the general reply that, well these verses apply to our body, not our soul. No, our bodies decay and see corruption in the grave. Our spirit returns to God who gave it. Reconcile these verses with "going to heaven:"
Here is part of what the on-line encyclopedia, Wikipedia, has to say about "Resurrection."
In the literal sense of the word—and as it was understood in Near Eastern antiquity—resurrection refers to the event of a dead person returning to physical life, or to the state of someone having returned. Thus it is not to be confused with Hellenistic immortality in which the soul continues to live after death "free" of the body.
While a dying-and-rising god motif was prevalent throughout ancient literature, belief in personal resurrection (before the Common Era) was known among only one culture: the Hebrews.
From the time of its development from within the Judaisms before and during the second-Temple period to the incipient decades of Christianity, the meaning of the word acquired sharper edges and mutations, to include differentiating the common quality of the premortem body from the new glorious quality of the postmortem body (cf. 1 Cor. 15:35-54 and the Gospel accounts of Easter). It held to a permanent unification of physical body and soul.
Notice it is Hellenistic immortality that held the belief of an immortal soul.
Notice in was Judaism, and only Judaism, that believed in a personal resurrection.
Did you know that Paul, in his 13 letters, wrote twice about Holy Communion, 13 times concerning baptism, and 50 times about the Lord's return. The return of Christ is mentioned directly in 23 of the 27 New testament books.
How many times does the New Testament say directly, specifically, that we will go to heaven? None!
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