I Believe The Saints In Heaven Do Have Bodies

2nd Corinthians 5:1, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

Philippians 3:21 plainly teaches that at the Rapture every believer in Heaven will receive a new glorified body fashioned like unto the Lord's resurrected perfect body. Our bodily pain, disabilities, baldness, poor eyesight, bad hearing, my crooked nose from a childhood injury, and all weaknesses will be gone, gone, gone! Amen and amen!

We read in our text passage from 2nd Corinthians 5:1 that when our earthly body can no longer house our soul and spirit, we have a tabernacle in Heaven waiting for us, not built with hands. I honestly do not know what that means, but it seems to suggest that we will indeed have some form of body in Heaven.

When the Apostle John met what he thought was an angel in the Book of Revelation, he bowed to worship him but was rebuked. Revelation 22:9, “Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.” In this case, we see that John met another fellow saint in a physical body. This leads me to believe that the saints in Heaven do have bodies. And as a side note, we should never worship men nor angels, but only God.

When Jesus went up to the Mount of Transfiguration, He took Peter and James and John. They saw Moses and Elijah appear in physical bodies. So, here again we see that the saints in Heaven do have physical bodies. Jesus told Peter in John 14:1-3 that He was going to prepare a "place" for him, and for all believers. To reside in a "place," let alone a "mansion," you would need a physical body, since a mansion is a tangible thing.

When Jesus ascended into Heaven in Acts 1:11, He had a physical body. The disciples watched His body ascend into the clouds until He was gone. This again suggests that the saints in Heaven do have literal physical bodies. Colossians 3:1 says that Jesus sits on a throne (not an abstract object), at the Father's right hand. Clearly, the Father and the Son have physical bodies in Heaven, which would certainly indicate that we will as well.

And as another side note, Colossians 3:1 destroys the falsehood of Modalism (which false doctrine blatantly denies the Godhead). Heaven is a literal physical place somewhere in the universe, likely in the north according to Job 26:7. Since God the Father and God the Son have physical bodies in Heaven, and we find several examples in the Word of God of saints having physical bodies, it is reasonable to conclude that believers in Heaven do have some form of a body. I cannot be dogmatic, and my opinion is mere speculation, but we do find numerous biblical examples of departed saints in Heaven who appeared in a physical body.

In His resurrected body, Jesus ate and drank for enjoyment with the disciples (John 21:12-14). He walked through closed doors (John 20:26). He ascended physically into the air in defiance of the laws of gravity (Acts 1:11). We will be able to do the same, since our body will be fashioned like unto the Lord's resurrected immortal body. Philippians 3:20-21, “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also 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, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” This is why at the Rapture, all of the saints will ascend bodily into the clouds in our immortal changed bodies to meet the dear Lord in the air (1st Corinthians 15:51-58).

We read in 2nd Corinthians 5:8, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” I think the Bible is plain that there is no such thing as “soul sleep,” a popular false teaching among Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh-Day Adventists, which says that when we die our soul is unconscious in the grave and will remain in such a state until a future resurrection.

These cults say that the wicked will not be resurrected. The inspired Holy Bible teaches something quite different, that everyone who dies immediately goes to either Heaven or Hell forever (Luke 16:19-31). Someone may choose to deny the existence of God, but no one can escape His judgment and wrath, except through faith in the blood of the Lamb of God (Romans 5:9). Are you prepared to meet God dear reader?

Since we know Scripturally that Jesus and the Father both have physical bodies in Heaven, it would be unreasonable to think that the saints do not. I humbly do not think the heavenly saints have their resurrected bodies yet, which we will all receive at the Rapture, but in ways that I do not claim to understand, I believe they do have some form of physical existence in eternity. Obviously, some things were not meant to be understood at this time. 1st Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”

Concerning our heavenly body, I often am reminded of the 2009 science fiction movie starring Bruce Willis, “Surrogates.” In the movie, people vicariously live their life through a robotic surrogate. Sometimes when their surrogate was out for repairs, they'd use a cheap loner for the time being. I don't mean any disrespect to the Lord, but I cannot help but wonder if our temporary body in Heaven will be inferior to our immortal glorified body received at the Rapture. It's just speculation.

It is clear to me that when we die, our physical body (whether burned in ashes, eaten by a hungry shark or bear, or formally buried with all due honors in a casket) does remain here on earth until the time of the Rapture. At the Rapture, our spirit and soul will be reunited with our redeemed body. Romans 8:22-23, “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”

At the time of the new birth when we got saved, our spirit and soul were redeemed by God. But our body will not be redeemed until the Rapture, which I humbly believe will happen BEFORE the Tribulation period (i.e., a pretribulation Rapture). I believe the Tribulation period, which is Daniel's 70th week of prophecy according to Daniel 9:24, will last for 7 years. I believe in a pretribulation Rapture. All other theories just don't fit into Bible prophecy. If the Lord were to return at any later time than before the Tribulation, we would literally be able to calculate the time of His return down the the exact day! That goes against the plain teaching of Scripture that no man, not even the angels, know the timing of Christ's return (Mark 13:32-37).

I am fully aware that some pastors and theologians claim Jesus could not have been speaking about the Rapture in the four gospels, because the Apostle Paul called the Rapture “a mystery” when he revealed it in 1st Corinthians 15:51-58. However, Jesus gave vivid prophecies in Matthew chapters 24 and 25 about the future Tribulation period, which are also a great mystery. Jesus was almighty God in the flesh and He knew the future.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Oh, what a wonderful day that will be!!!