Why do most christians think that your "soul" goes to heaven?Would that make resurrection unnecessary?

Question

I mean if Jesus promised that man would rise from their tombs, what would be the point of them being in Heaven, would they then have to be expelled from heaven to come back down to their resurrected bodies? That would be ridiculous cause why would one want to be put back on earth if they were in heaven? Any intelligent commentary would be much appreciated.

Answer 1

First of all, you do not have and immortal soul, if you did, then why had no one gone to Heaven before Jesus came to the Earth, 4000 years had came & gone since Adam & Eve, millions of people had died, what did Jesus say to a man of the Pharisees, Nic·o·de'mus was his name, a ruler of the Jews.

John 3:13
Moreover, no man has ascended into heaven but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man.

Jesus Christ spoke about the condition of the dead. He did so with regard to Lazarus, a man whom he knew well and who had died. Jesus told his disciples: “Lazarus our friend has gone to rest.” The disciples thought that Jesus meant that Lazarus was resting in sleep, recovering from an illness. They were wrong. Jesus explained: “Lazarus has died.” (John 11:11-14) Notice that Jesus compared death to rest and sleep. Lazarus was neither in heaven nor in a burning hell. He was not meeting angels or ancestors. Lazarus was not being reborn as another human. He was at rest in death, as though in a deep sleep without dreams. Other scriptures also compare death to sleep. For example, when the disciple Stephen was stoned to death, the Bible says that he “fell asleep.” (Acts 7:60) Similarly, the apostle Paul wrote about some in his day who had “fallen asleep” in death. 1 Corinthians 15:6.


The Bible teaches that the dead “are conscious of nothing at all.” They are not alive and have no conscious existence anywhere. The account of Lazarus confirms this. Upon returning to life, did Lazarus thrill people with descriptions of heaven? Or did he terrify them with horrible tales about a burning hell? No. The Bible contains no such words from Lazarus. During the four days that he was dead, he had been “conscious of nothing at all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5) Lazarus had simply been sleeping in death. John 11:11.
The account of Lazarus also teaches us that the resurrection is a reality, not a mere myth. Jesus raised Lazarus in front of a crowd of eyewitnesses. Even the religious leaders, who hated Jesus, did not deny this miracle.

Think about this too: If Lazarus had been in heaven for those four days, would he not have said something about it?— And if he had been in heaven, would Jesus have made him come back to earth from that wonderful place? Of course not!

Yet, many people say that we have a soul, and they say that the soul lives on after the body dies. They say that Lazarus’ soul was alive somewhere. But the Bible does not say that. It says that God made the first man Adam “a living soul.” Gen. 2:7, Adam was a soul. The Bible also says that when Adam sinned, he died. He became a “dead soul,” and he returned to the dust from which he had been made. The Bible also says that all Adam’s offspring inherited sin and death too.

The Scriptural teaching of the resurrection, however, is not compatible with the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. If an immortal soul survived death, no one would need to be resurrected, or brought back to life. Indeed, Martha expressed no thought about an immortal soul that was living on elsewhere after death. She did not believe that Lazarus had already gone to some spirit realm to continue his existence. On the contrary, she showed her faith in God’s purpose to reverse the effects of death. She said: “I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.” (John 11:23, 24) Likewise, Lazarus himself related no experiences of some afterlife. There was nothing to report.

Clearly, according to the Bible, the soul dies and the remedy for death is the resurrection. You enjoy the best sleep ever, until Jesus resurrects you, sometime in the future.

Answer 2

I am a Christadelphian and we preach the resurrection and the Kingdom as well. Jesus says Matthew 25:34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. Revelation 22:12 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done....20He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. "End Times".... Where did Jesus go that day? He went to the grave...then 3 days later he was resurrected, 40 days later he ascended to heaven. Note the thief said "WHEN" you enter your Kingdom. Also, Greek does not have punctuation. Hebrews 11: 39-40 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. All these and David...still dead...awaiting the return of our Lord Jesus. Ecc 9:5-6 5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun. The idea of an immortal soul is nowhere in the Bible. "Paradisemtn" Psalm 90:10 does not mean we have an immortal soul, The psalmist compares life to a bird that quickly flies off (see Job 20:8). The words mean : and we fly away `uwph (oof) to cover (with wings or obscurity); hence to fly; also (by implication of dimness) to faint (from the darkness of swooning) Also: Your quote from Philippians - It is mistakenly assumed "to depart" means to be immediately with Christ. Paul indicated where his hope lay for being in the presence of the Lord. This was in the return of Christ and the resurrection. Note the following passages: 1. "Until the day of Jesus Christ." (Phil. 1:6,10; 2:16). 2. "If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." (Phil. 3:11). 3. "We look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body. . . " (Phil. 3:20-21).

Answer 3

The soul / spirit of someone who has accepted the gift God offers to those who believe goes to heaven to be with God. But ultimately, upon Christ's return, we'll be reunited with a new and perfect resurrected body that will live on a new earth that is without pain and suffering forever.

Answer 4

This is a confused doctrine of so many Christians. The truth, revealed to us through scripture, says that when we die our spirits return to that God Who created us and we will reside in a spirit world until the day of our resurrection. We do not immediately go to heaven if we've lived righteous lives.

Sometime after our resurrection, Jesus Christ and His appointed apostles, will judge mankind and from there earn their eternal mansion in some degree in heaven or in a world not a glory at all (outer darkness).

The resurrection of all living beings will be a necessity because Christ allowed it to be through His own infinite Atonement for us. He overcame the bonds of death so that we, God's children, may return to Him with an immortal body and spirit.

Answer 5

The human body is made up of spirit, soul and body. Therefore man is a spirit, he has a soul and lives in a body. When a Christian goes home to Jesus at the present time his spirit and his soul go to heaven. Resurrection refers to the time when Jesus comes back again when every believer dead or alive will be given a heavenly body and at this time also for him who is dead his spirit and soul will be united with his new body. Resurrection of the body is the final and necessary part of the redemption of man. The earth will also be restored because there will be a new heaven and a new earth. There will be a perfect earth for perfect man to enjoy and live in.

Answer 6

The resurrected body will not be a physical body. I do not know why, but in the spiritual realm, a spirit must be "housed" or clothed in a body. When Jesus resurrected from the dead, His physical body was changed into a NEW body which housed His spirit. This physical body must die (like a seed in the ground) and then when we are resurrected, we have NEW bodies(like the shoot which comes from the seed) which are not corruptible, they will not age and die. You see, ask a farmer what happens to the seed in the ground...it dies, but from that seed comes a shoot, or a plant.
Between death and resurrection, the soul returns to God's keeping, but we do not appear before God until we are reclothed in that new body. We are at rest in Paradise until the end of the world.

Answer 7

Your right. It makes no sense at all. It takes the dust of the earth and the breath of God to make a soul. Souls will be reproduced on Resurrection day.

Answer 8

There is no time in heaven. I think that there is more of a holding place until the day when Christ defeats Satan and throws him into the pit. The saints will be called on the earth to fight and then rise with Christ to heaven for eternity. Revelations does explain this better. Try reading "The Word" translation. It's like reading a novel.

Answer 9

Because we don't go to heaven when we die, we are just dead and non existent. But God remembers us and at the appointed time his Son Christ Jesus will call us from our memorial tombs and come out, those who are righteous to life and those who are unrighteous to judgment, not for their past sins because their death paid for those sins, but for being judged on what they do during Christ's thousand year reign where they will be taught the truth and given a chance to accept it. There is a small number, have no fear little flock, who do go to heaven to serve as priest and kings with Christ Jesus though.

Answer 10

I think that it is the difference between those that believe that you go straight to heaven and those that believe that they wait for the resurrection before they actually enter. Many of the "straight to heaven" folk think that when Christ died he at that very moment secured the resurrection of anyone who believes in him. Some think that it is in the future, without actually working it out. Somethink that it isn't necessary to "work it out."

It all boils down to a person's religious ties and rarely do religions always tell a linear tale.