In the first part of this Q&A, we ascertained that the fundamental idea of Christian universalism is that ALL human beings will eventually receive salvation.   We looked at a number of biblical references which refute this assertion, and we will now continue to show from the pages of the Bible, that this belief is void of any Scriptural approval.

Universalism seems to ignore the fact that some will commit the unpardonable sin. In our free booklet “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?” we find this information:

“What is the Unpardonable Sin?

“From other Scriptures we know that there are at least two ways in which the unpardonable sin can be committed.

“Jesus warns us in Mark 3:28–29, not to ‘blaspheme’ the Holy Spirit, regardless of whether we are converted or not. If we do, we reject the only power that can convert and change us. And if we continue with that course of action of resisting God and refusing to repent, then we might reach a point when it will become impossible for us to repent. We will then have made the final, irrevocable decision never to repent and to change. Such an attitude will lead to actual hate and resentment for God and His way. You see, if we don’t want to repent, God will not grant us repentance. And without repentance, there can be no forgiveness. That is why a sin which we refuse to repent of, will not be forgiven.

“In addition, converted people who have received the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, can commit the unpardonable sin, if and when they later fall away and irrevocably reject God’s way of life (cp. Hebrews 6:4–6; Hebrews 10:26–29).”

We have already seen how wrong this “Universalist” concept is and how it can lead on to, or incorporate, other false ideas which we will now address.

The mainstream Christian teaching of going to heaven and hell is mentioned in the context of universalism.   In our Q&A entitled, “Do the Wicked Go to Hell?”, the first paragraph states that: “The concept that the wicked go to an ever-burning hell after their death is nowhere taught in Scripture. In fact, the Bible does not even teach the existence of an ever-burning hell, torturing wicked souls of departed ones for their evil deeds.”

In a further Q&A, “Would you please explain Revelation 14:11? Does this Scripture teach that the wicked will be forever tormented in hell fire?,” we read the following:

“The unrepentant wicked will ultimately be burned up. That will happen after the Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment. However, the passage in Revelation 14:11 does not address that time period. It merely serves as a forerunner and a warning. Most people who will worship the false political and religious system of Babylon, as well as its human representatives, won’t fully comprehend what they will be doing — they will not commit the unpardonable sin leading to the second death, from which there will be no resurrection (Revelation 20:14-15; 21:8). Rather, God will bring them back to life in a Second Resurrection, when the gravity of their wrong conduct will be revealed to them, and when they will be given an opportunity to repent and accept God’s Way of Life.”

In another Q&A, entitled “What are the biblical proofs that we do not go to heaven when we die?”, we read:

“The idea that we will go to heaven after death is an entirely unbiblical concept. It is derived from paganism.  

“The biblical understanding is not complicated, but pure and simple, and very easy to comprehend: When a man dies, he is dead, but he will live again through the resurrection from the dead. Until then, he will sleep a dreamless sleep, without any consciousness. He will not go to heaven when he dies, nor will he suffer in a purgatory or ‘hell.’ Rather, he is asleep, until Christ awakes him out of his sleep. And He will, because as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all will be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:22).” 

Now let us briefly address the Lake of Fire.  In our Q&A, “Will There Be Punishment in the Third Resurrection? (Part 1)”, we read:

“Sadly, there are those who have had their opportunity. They have committed the ‘unpardonable sin.’ They knew and understood perfectly well that they had to submit to Christ, but they refused to do so. They became bitter, hateful, resentful and malicious. They made the unchangeable decision NEVER to repent. If a person has reached that stage that he CANNOT repent, because he has made the final decision NOT to WANT to repent, then God will not force repentance on such a person. God grants repentance, but a person must want to receive it. A person, though, who maliciously rejects Christ would only continue to live in misery and pain–and that is why God will save such a person from eternal misery, by DESTROYING him or her in a lake of fire.

“The Third Resurrection describes those sinners who have made the final and irrevocable decision to rebel against God. They have refused to ever obey God, and they have developed a hostile attitude towards Him, filled with hatred and contempt, which prevents them from ever repenting of their terrible sinful conduct and nature. They will be raised to physical life to be burned up and destroyed in the lake of fire.”

It is impossible to refute Revelation 21:8 which reads: “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”   The wicked will be destroyed.

We say in our Q&A, “Do the wicked go to hell?”

“It is true that the New Testament speaks about a fiery place, which is translated in some English Bibles as, ‘hell.’ The Greek word for this place is ‘gehenna.’ It does not, however, describe an ever-burning hell, as commonly understood by many… Please note the following excerpts from our free booklet, “Do You Have an Immortal Soul?”, addressing the concept of a fiery hell:

“The word ‘gehenna’ and the very concept of it are derived from the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem in which the corpses of dead people, mainly criminals, would be burned up. It is another expression for the ‘lake of fire’ in Revelation 20:15, in which all who have acted wickedly, and who have refused to repent, will be thrown into, to be burned up or ‘devoured.’ (Remember that Hebrews 10:27… tells us that the wicked wait for God’s fiery indignation that will ‘devour’ them.). That is the ‘hell’ or the ‘gehenna’ fire that Christ is talking about…-‘the second death’ from which there will be no resurrection.

“Those who sin deliberately, willfully and maliciously, God will resurrect to physical life [please note that they were dead — not in heaven, hell, limbo or purgatory — and that they had to be brought back from death to physical life] to throw them-their physical body and their soul or their ‘life’-into ‘gehenna’ or the lake of fire (Revelation 20:13-15; 21:8). They won’t burn there forever-rather, they will be burned up. They are the ‘chaff,’ that will be ‘burned up’ with unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:12)-that is, no human can quench it. Notice that this fire will ultimately even burn up or bring to dissolution ‘heaven and earth,’ so that a ‘new heaven and a new earth’ can be created by God (2 Peter 3:10-13).

“The wicked, such as the rich man in Christ’s parable in Luke 16, will not burn forever and ever, for all eternity, in an everlasting hell fire, but they will be ‘burned up’ (cp. again Matthew 3:12). The Greek word for ‘burned up’ is ‘katakaio’-conveying the meaning that nothing of what is burned up will remain. We read in Revelation 18:8 that modern Babylon ‘shall be utterly burned with fire.’ The word for ‘utterly burned’ is, again, ‘katakaio’ in the Greek. And we are told that ‘that great city Babylon [will] be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.’ (Revelation 18:21).

“In the same way, the wicked, such as the rich man in Luke 16, that are [brought back to life from the dead and then] thrown into ‘gehenna’ or the lake of fire [called the SECOND death!], will be ‘burnt up’-they ‘shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up… that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.’ (Malachi 4:1). They will become ashes under the feet of the righteous (Malachi 4:3); it will be as if they had never existed (Obadiah 16).”

In Romans 11:26-27 we read the following: “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”

If all of Israel, every last one, was going to be saved, all of the Scriptures that we’ve looked at would be null and void and that cannot be so, as the Scripture cannot be broken or contain contradictions (John 10:35).

The statement that “all Israel” will be saved must not be misunderstood. We say the following in our Q&A, “I have heard it said that the Biblical terms “all” or “every” [such as, “every person” or “every thing”] do not necessarily have to mean, “without any exception.” Is this correct?”:

“… the concept that Christ is the Savior of ALL men does not rule out the fact that some will NOT be saved. Here, the word ‘ALL’ is NOT used in an all-inclusive sense. Some WILL commit the unpardonable sin and be destroyed and burned up in the lake of fire (Hebrews 6:4-8; Revelation 20:13-15). Still, we read that ‘ALL Israel will be saved’ (Romans 11:26). As stated, this might give the impression that every last Israelite will inherit salvation. But this is not true, as there will be some who will reject salvation. For instance, Christ warned the Pharisees that they were walking on very thin ice, heading towards committing the unpardonable sin (compare Mark 3:28-30 and Matthew 9:34).

“Paul continues in Romans 11:32 that God, in His dealings with Israel, ‘has committed them ALL to disobedience, that He might have mercy on ALL.’ In both cases, the word ‘all’ is not used to teach all-inclusiveness, without any exceptions. Not every last Israelite will repent, and not every Israelite–even at the time of Paul–was disobedient. The early Church of God consisted at first exclusively of Israelites who had become obedient to the faith.

“We also read in Romans 14:11 that ‘EVERY tongue shall confess’ to God. But again, this does not include every last person, as some will not confess to God, but instead, they will be destroyed in the lake of fire–they will die the second death–in utter rebellion to God.

“There are additional examples where the words ‘all’ or ‘every’ are not to be understood in an all-inclusive sense…

“In Matthew 23:3, Christ told the Jews to ‘obey ALL’ (Authorized Version) what the scribes and Pharisees commanded them to do. In Ephesians 5:24, Paul says that women are to be submissive to their husbands in EVERYTHING. And Peter says in 1 Peter 2:13 that we are to submit ourselves to EVERY ordinance of man. However, these passages are not all-inclusive and allow–yes, DEMAND–an exception. This exception is found in Acts 5:27-32, where Peter makes it clear that we must obey God rather than man, and that we must DISOBEY man if we would otherwise disobey God.

“We also read that the gospel of the Kingdom of God will be preached in all the world as a witness, and then the end will come (Matthew 24:14). This does not mean that every last person on earth will hear the gospel just prior to Christ’s return. There will be those alive at the beginning of the Millennium who never heard Christ’s gospel message (compare Isaiah 66:19). This is why Matthew 24:14 must be read together with Scriptures such as Mark 13:10 and Luke 24:47, stating that the gospel will be preached “among” all nations…

“In Luke 6:30, Christ tells us that we are to give to EVERYONE who asks of us and wants to borrow from us. Again, this is not an all-inclusive command, as Paul says, for example, that we must work to make a living, and if we are unwilling to work, we should not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). So, Christ was not telling us that we must give to just EVERYONE who wants to eat, even though he is unwilling to work…

“Finally, we read in 1 Timothy 4:1-5 that ‘EVERY creature of God’ is good for food. Some use this passage to claim that we are therefore no longer obligated to refrain from eating UNCLEAN meat. However, we also read in Genesis 9:3 that ‘EVERY moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you ALL things, even as the green herbs.’ It goes without saying that we must not eat POISONOUS green herbs–even though ‘all things’ were given to us for food–and we therefore must not eat meat which was not created for food (Compare again 1 Timothy 4:4, stating that those who believe and know the truth of God’s Word, as revealed in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, understand WHICH animals God has created FOR FOOD). We see, therefore, that these passages are not all-inclusive, but must be understood in context.

When Paul speaks about the concept that “all Israel shall be saved,” he does not mean, every last one of the Israelites. Matthew Poole’s Commentary agrees, stating: “all Israel is not meant every individual Israelite, but many, or (it may be) the greatest part of them. So ‘all’ is to be taken in Scripture: see John 6:45; 1 Timothy 2:6, and elsewhere.”

In conclusion, the belief in universalism is not taught in the Bible.   We have looked at the fact that our behavior now does matter for those who have been called and chosen by God.   We have reviewed the unpardonable sin and have also looked very briefly at the fact that people don’t go to heaven or hell when they die and why the Lake of Fire is necessary.  

There are also many Scriptures about not staying with our calling until the end and that we have to be careful that no one takes our crown.   Matthew 24:13 quite simply states: “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

None of the information given in this Q&A gives even the slightest impression that universalism – that of all people being eventually saved – is an accurate statement that the Bible teaches.  Quite the reverse, and this teaching should be completely rejected.  And the further danger is that it can lead to further incorrect biblical understanding.

The apostle Paul wrote: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

Finally, we read in James 1:12: “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

Universalism is yet another deceptive offshoot of mainstream Christianity and runs contrary to the teachings of the Word of God!

Lead Writers: Brian Gale (United Kingdom) and Norbert Link

In order to address this question, we need to know what a universalist is.

Wikipedia states the following: “The fundamental idea of Christian universalism is universal reconciliation – that all humans will eventually receive salvation. They will eventually enter God’s kingdom in Heaven, through the grace and works of the Lord Jesus Christ.”   They also have this reference:

“Otis Ainsworth Skinner (1807-1861), A Series of Sermons in Defense of the Doctrine of Universal Salvation, Page 209, [points out that universalism] is not part of mainline Christian doctrine either Catholic or Protestant. [He writes that] ‘Repentance is a means by which all men are brought into the enjoyment of religion, and we do expect any man will be saved while he continues in sin. However, Unitarian Universalism holds a universal salvation, because… ‘we expect all men will repent.’”

The Free Dictionary similarly defines universalism as “the doctrine held especially by some Christian groups, that all people will eventually be saved.”

On the website universalist.org under the heading “Who Are We?,” we read:

“We are a liberal, Universalist Christian church–liberal in that we have no creedal test for membership, Universalist in our belief in the final harmony of all souls with God, and Christian in that our mission is to create a loving community for worship and service in the spirit of Jesus Christ. We are a member congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).”

We learn from Learn Religions.com that “Some universalists believe that after a certain cleansing period, God will free the inhabitants of hell and reconcile them to himself. Others say that after death, people will have another opportunity to choose God. For some who adhere to universalism, the doctrine also implies that there are many ways to get into heaven.”

On the website britannica.com, we read the following:

“From the beginning, Universalists have differed widely in matters of belief. Attempts to write statements of faith, one as late as 1935, met with only partial success. Liberalism, freedom of individual interpretation, tolerance of diversity, agreement on methods of approaching theological and church issues, and belief in the inherent dignity of each person have been the strongest elements keeping the movement together. Universalists generally stress the use of reason in religion and modification of belief in the light of the discoveries of science. Thus, the miraculous elements of traditional Christianity are rejected as incompatible with modern knowledge. Jesus is considered a great teacher and an example worthy of imitation, but he is not held to be divine. A broader conception of Universalism began to emerge in the 20th century. Although stressing their ties to the Christian tradition, Universalists were exploring the universal elements of religion and seeking closer relationships with non-Christian religions.”

There are many issues to be addressed from all of the above information.  Let us firstly address the belief that all humans will eventually receive salvation.

If everyone will eventually receive salvation (as it was stated by the Free Dictionary, quoted above), it simply does not matter, nor does it make any difference, how we live our lives.   The word “eventually” is interesting as it can give the impression that someone who may have lived an evil life may have to go through some “hoops” in order to finally receive their salvation.   If that was correct, it would be against all that the Bible teaches.

Let us review a few Scriptures that show behavior really does matter.

We read in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 with our emphasis underlined:

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?   Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

We read here that some used to behave in a wrong and sinful manner, before they became converted and members of the church of God,  but we also read in Proverbs 26:11:

“As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly,” meaning that some Church members could turn back to their former life. Therefore, anyone who has gone off the straight and narrow way and has not repented and got back on track will not be in the Kingdom of God.

Further, in 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, we read:

“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.” Paul says they have to hold fast to that which he preached to them.

Hebrews 10:26 is also instructive:

“For if we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.” So again, anyone who has been converted can still go off track and sin wilfully and will not be continuing in the Truth. For such a person, the consequences are dire.

We further read in 2 Peter 2:20-22:

“For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’”

We know that at the end time, the love of many will grow cold.   We read in Matthew 24:12:

“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” The love mentioned here is “agape” which is godly love and applies to Church members.  Unconverted people of this world do not have godly love within them and, because of lawlessness, the love of many in the Church will grow cold. When that happens, those who lose this godly love will not make it into the Kingdom of God unless they repent quickly of this and return to fully following the Way of God.

We also know that there will be a falling away from the Truth at the end of the age, as we read in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3:

“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.”

The time frame is obviously the end time as it talks about the man of sin or the false prophet, and verse 10 is very telling in the context of the “once saved, always saved” belief of some.  It states: “… and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” The love of the Truth is vital to our salvation; without it, we will lose out!

1 Timothy 4:1 is also a revealing piece of Scripture:

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.” Departing from the faith, for whatever reason, will be a terrible position to be in unless there is true repentance.

And in Hebrews 6:4-6, we read:

“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”

Can true Christians lose their salvation? Yes!  Once saved, always saved? The Bible gives an emphatic NO to that question also.  If we’re saved now and we can’t lose out whatever we do, where’s the motivation? Why continue to grow and overcome? There would be no need, as the matter would be unchangeable, irrespective of our future behavior. However, the Scriptures clearly tell us that we must grow and overcome AND endure to the end.   We are instructed in 2 Peter 3:18 to “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.”

We read in Revelation 3:11:

“Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown,” which clearly indicates that we could lose out.   The crown referred to is the crown of righteousness which we read about in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27: “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

And so, according to the above reference, the apostle Paul understood that he could be disqualified and not receive his crown.   That goes against the teaching that we have been reviewing.

(To be continued)

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

The Christian Post reported on September 15^th 2024 what the Pope (Pope Francis at that time) had said during a visit to Singapore.  It read as follows:

“During a three-day visit to Singapore, Pope Francis declared that ‘all religions are a path to God,’ sparking backlash among religious leaders in the U.S.  The statement was made at an interreligious meeting with young people at a Catholic junior college shortly before his departure back to Rome. Departing from his prepared remarks, Francis spoke off the cuff, stating that different religions are like ‘different languages to reach God. During his 2022 trip to Kazakhstan, he made similar statements. Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Astana, a frequent critic, had then commented on the risk of creating a ‘supermarket of religions.’”

The chaplain and Theology Department Chair at St. John XXIII College Preparatory in Katy, Texas, stated that: “Unsurprisingly, the pope’s remarks have drawn criticism, but what he said is not substantially different from things said by his immediate predecessors. Pope St. John Paul II was often criticized for his participation in interfaith prayer and dialogue. He said at a general audience in 1998 that other religions are ‘different routes’ that attempt to answer the same human desire for communion with God.”

The headline in the publication Christian Today in May 2018 was “Why Jesus is no longer the one way to heaven for many American Christians,” and this remark was made by a minister from the First Corinthian Baptist Church: “People take many paths to God, he argued, noting that he personally celebrates the paths others take in finding Him — even if that path does not involve faith in Jesus.  And so the key is you believe in God. And whatever your path is to God I celebrate that. Personally, I celebrate that.”

One writer, decrying the Pope’s comment, said: “Jesus is still the only way to heaven.”   This was correctly decrying a wrong concept and, then, mentioning another wrong concept about going to heaven at death which we have disproved time and time again.

vaticanfiles.org stated that “On April 15th, 2018 Pope Francis claimed that atheists go to Heaven thus reinforcing the impression that his opinions on the afterlife are somewhat clumsy when compared to standard biblical views.” 

In 2008, a Pew Research Center Study found that more than half of all American Christians believe that at least some non-Christian faiths can lead to salvation. Nearly a decade later, a new study has shown that even among the most traditional Christian groups, significant minorities are also rejecting God as described in the Bible.

We may recall that when the Israelites were in Egypt, that land had so many different gods.  Wikipedia writes that “gods and goddesses appear in virtually every aspect of ancient civilization, and more than 1,500 of them are known by name. Taking the Pope’s recent remarks, would any of the ancient Egyptians find the true God by worshipping these fake gods?”

It was interesting to read the following comments in the Christian Post in October 2021 with the heading “Nearly 70% of born-again Christians say other religions can lead to Heaven: study”:

“Nearly 70% of born-again Christians disagree with the biblical position that Jesus is the only way to God, according to a new survey from Probe Ministries.  The survey, which looked at religious beliefs and attitudes toward cultural behaviors, polled 3,106 Americans ages 18 to 55 from all religious groups, including 717 respondents who identified as born-again Christians.”

One other author wrote, “The very claim that there are many ways to God, assumes that some religions are wrong, because not all religions are trying to get to God.  I would like to humbly suggest that there are good reasons to think that the Christian position is true and hence, I am not angry that God has only provided one way to Him in the person of Jesus. Rather, I am grateful that, although I didn’t deserve it, God lovingly provided the way for me (and, indeed, for everyone who believes—c.f.  John 14:6.”

John 14:6 reads: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”

And that is correct! The Bible says that there is no other way other than through Christ!   And yet the Catholic Church themselves state: “In its own authoritative text on the ‘unicity and universality of the salvific mystery of Jesus Christ,’ the Vatican cites the Acts of the Apostles: ‘There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved’‌ (Acts 4:12).”   You have to wonder how the Popes reconcile their views that atheists get to heaven (a wrong concept anyway) when their church quotes Acts 4:12.

Perhaps the Popes ought to preach and teach according to the beliefs that the Catholic Church has; otherwise, it is hypocrisy!

Christianity is a unique and exclusive faith, the One True God as outlined in His Word, the Holy Bible.  Along with John 14:6 and Acts 4:12 which clearly reveal this, we ought also to consider Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

True Christianity, as we have written and said many times, is the narrow gate and involves much more than just “giving your heart to the Lord”.

In our booklet: “Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen,” this shows that you cannot just join the Church of God.   We read on page 6 the following:

“Jesus called His disciples a ‘little flock’ (Luke 12:32), and history has certainly proven that very few people have ever been a part of the Church of God. Paul explained to the brethren in Corinth about whom God has chosen to call:

“‘For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence’ (1 Corinthians 1:26–29).”

True Christianity is the only Way to God today, and very few people have been called by God at this point in time!   The Conclusion in this booklet on page 65 reads as follows:

“What we have described and what you have learned in this booklet should prove the magnificent aspect of God’s incredible and awesome master plan for ALL of mankind. But it is YOU whom God might have predestined before time began to be called for salvation in this day and age. 

“If you understand and act upon the information contained in this booklet, as revealed in the Bible, there is every reason to conclude that YOU are one of the few—the firstfruits—who are called today with the potential to inherit eternal life and enter the Kingdom and Family of God when Christ returns.

“This means, then, that you would have a responsibility, because today would be YOUR day of salvation. It is up to you, with God’s help, to make your calling and election sure, and not to neglect such a great salvation offered to you. God is confident and convinced that you, whom He knew and predestined long before your birth to be called now, will make it into His Kingdom. Please, share His conviction in you, and act accordingly.”

The Bible is clear and unequivocal.   There is only one Way to the true God, and true Christianity is unique among all of the false religions of this world.

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

In part one of this two-part series, we looked at the assertion by some, maybe many in mainstream Christianity, who believe that Jesus’ resurrected body was physical and that this same, physical Jesus ascended to Heaven, from where He will one day return to Earth.

Let us continue to look at evidence that proves otherwise.

We read Christ’s words and action in Luke 24:39:

“‘Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.’”

As we said in the previous instalment, the Roman Catholic Church “explains”: “Christ makes it plain to His disciples that He does have a physical body; He is not a disembodied spirit.” 

Again, as pointed out before, this “explanation” overlooks that Spirit beings do have form and shape—they are not “disembodied” spirits, but their bodies are composed of Spirit.

There is plenty of evidence of angels taking on the form of a human being so that they could be seen, as we know that a flesh and blood human being can’t see a Spirit being unless it materialises itself.   The question has been asked and answered as to “How many times do angels appear in the Bible? More than a dozen times in the New Testament, and a dozen or so other times in the Old Testament.”  

Jesus was raised up at the resurrection with a spirit body which the disciples and humanity could not see unless He materialised Himself as He did on a number of occasions. How could Jesus appear in the midst of the disciples if He was physical?  In John 20:24-29, we have the account of doubting Thomas.   We read in verses 26-28:

^“And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, ‘Peace to you!’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ And Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”

We can see that Jesus entered the room while the doors were shut and suddenly He appeared in their midst, and said, “Peace to you!” After Thomas saw Jesus, he was convinced that Jesus had been resurrected.   As a Spirit being, Jesus was able to go through closed doors and be wherever He chose, irrespective of any physical obstacles that could be in the way.   In modern scientific terminology, the glorified body is not subject to the forces and laws of physics and chemistry.

How could Jesus appear in the midst of the disciples if He still had a physical body?  If this assertion was correct, He would not be able to go through walls and other physical barriers and instantly appear before the disciples.  In addition, Jesus would be the only physical being in Heaven and we should know that that cannot be the case as everything in the Third Heaven is spiritual, man’s doubting and misunderstanding or misapplying Scripture notwithstanding!

Romans 6:4-5 is instructive in this regard:

^“Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,’

In Philippians 3:21, we read that Christ “will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”

Jesus’ resurrection body is the pattern for our resurrection body, and we read the following in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17:

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

Jesus is now a Spirit being in heaven. He will return to earth to set up the Kingdom of God, and His people will be caught up in the air to meet Him in the clouds.

In our two-part Q&A “Who and What is in Heaven?” we showed that “In heaven, there is God the Father, Jesus Christ the Word, and innumerable angels” and no physical beings are there.   In John 4:24 we read: “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”   God the Father and Jesus Christ, the two members of the God Family at this time are composed of Spirit, as will be the born-again members of God’s Church at the resurrection when Jesus returns to this earth.   We must remember that in Mark 16:19 we read: “So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.”  And He would have been a Spirit Being to have been in such a position next to the Spiritual Father and all the other Spirit beings that live in the Third Heaven.

In our booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World,” we read the following on page 17:

“Christ did not appear to His disciples in His glorified state. He did not appear, prior to His ascension to heaven, with all His power and glory that He has today. We can find a description of His glorious appearance in Revelation 1:10, 12–17. We also find a description of His glory, prior to His human birth, in Ezekiel 1:26–28. When He appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, He appeared just as an ordinary man, so much so that they did not recognize Him. Accounts of His appearances can be found in John 20:14–16 and John 21:4–7. They only came to recognize Him after He spoke a certain way or performed a certain miracle that He had performed earlier before His death.

“We read that the disciples on the road to Emmaus did not recognize the resurrected Christ until He ‘…took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight’ (Luke 24:30–31). The reason that they did not recognize Him earlier is explained in Mark 16:12: ‘After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.’”

A good question to ask is how a physical body could just vanish from their sight, as it states in Luke 24:31? 

In the same booklet on pages 44-45, we explain the misunderstood passage in Luke 24:39:

“Christ manifested Himself to the disciples as a being with flesh and bones. He even ate food in their presence to convince the disciples that it was He, not a spirit or a demon. The Greek word for ‘spirit’ is ‘pneuma’ and can refer to demons (compare Matthew 8:16; 10:1; 12:43, 45; Luke 4:33, 36; 6:18; 7:21, etc.). We understand, of course, that Christ is not a being with flesh and bones. Rather, at His resurrection He received a spiritual body and became a life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:44–45, 50). He was able to manifest Himself, however, as a person with flesh and bones. We saw earlier that angels can manifest themselves as human beings as well. Demons cannot. Christ used this opportunity to show His disciples that He was not a spirit or a demon, because demons cannot manifest themselves as human beings with flesh and bones.”

It is emphasized above that Christ became a life-giving SPIRIT… not, as we quoted the following false assertion in the first instalment and repeat it again below,  a physical human being with a “physical body” which is “designed with eternity in view.”

In our Q&A entitled: “We read in Matthew 27:52 that many saints were raised at the time of Christ’s death. How can Christ then be called the firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18)?,” We make these observations:

“Christ… became born again when He was resurrected to Spirit. It was at that time that He became the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8:29 tells us that we are to be ‘conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.’ We also read in Colossians 1:15, 18: ‘He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation… And He is… the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.’

“Christ was the first human who became born again as a Spirit being. The Greek word for ‘firstborn,’ ‘prototokos,’ designates the person who is born first. It can refer to the firstborn Son of the spiritual Family of God, and it can also refer to the firstborn son in a physical family. We read, for example, in Hebrews 11:28 that Moses kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood by faith, ‘lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.’ Christ was also, quite literally, Mary’s firstborn Son (Compare Matthew 1:25; Luke 2:7. The Greek word, ‘prototokos,’ used here does not mean ‘only’ or ‘only begotten’ son. That concept is conveyed by the Greek word ‘monogenes’…). Since Christ was Mary’s firstborn Son, it goes without saying that Christ as a human being had younger brothers. In fact, He also had sisters (compare Matthew 13:53-58).

“The same Greek word, ‘prototokos,’ is also used in Revelation 1:5. The New King James Bible translates the entire passage quite accurately in this way: ‘…and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.’ (The Authorized Version’s rendition, ‘first begotten of the dead,’ is clearly wrong. The context here is the resurrection from the dead. The Ryrie Study Bible comments that ‘Christ was the first [man] to receive a resurrection [glorified] body which is immortal’).” (our emphasis).

As we mentioned earlier, there is the invention of a new description of Jesus “who has a physical body, with a difference. His resurrected body is designed with eternity in view.”   Why would anyone make up something that the Bible certainly doesn’t say?  Jesus’ resurrected body was a Spiritual body—a body with form and shape, but composed of Spirit—and He is now in Heaven, seated at the right hand of God the Father where all around them are Spiritual beings and Spiritual things.  

It would be ridiculous to think that God the Father and all the angels in heaven are all spiritual, but Jesus is the odd one out having a physical body!

In His resurrection, Jesus did not and does not have a physical body. Neither will we. His physical body was in the grave for three days and three nights, but when He was raised from the dead, His physical body was changed into a spiritual body, which is the same that will happen to us, when we, who are still alive, will be changed.

We asked the question: “Is Jesus Christ a Spirit Being Today?,” and the answer, as we have shown in this Q&A, is an unequivocal YES!

Lead Writers: Brian Gale and Norbert Link

At first glance, it might seem a ridiculous question to ask but there are those who think that when Jesus went back to Heaven, He did so as a physical being.

In our Q&A entitled “How Important is the Correct Understanding About the Immortal Soul? (Part 2),” we quoted a Christian author who wrote:

“A fundamental article of the Christian faith is that the resurrected Christ now dwells in Heaven. We are told that His resurrected body on Earth was physical and that this same, physical Jesus ascended to Heaven, from where He will one day return to Earth. It seems indisputable, then, to say that there is at least one physical body in the present Heaven.”

On the website catholic.com, we read: “In Luke 24:39, the risen Jesus says to the disciples, ‘See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have’ (emphasis added). This verse is sufficient to debunk the idea that Jesus did not rise bodily, but John 2:19-22 provides another nail in the coffin. Here Jesus claims, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ Two verses later, it is made clear what Jesus has in mind; ‘he spoke of the temple of his body.’ Thus, Jesus prophesied that his body would rise.”

We will discuss at length Jesus’ statement in Luke 24:39 in the next instalment. Regarding John 2:19-22, the Catholic teaching does not follow, as it is being overlooked that Spirit Beings do have Spirit bodies; that is, they do have form and shape, but that is not physical. God created us in His image; with our potential of becoming immortal Spirit beings, as God is Spirit or a Spirit being.

In the book of Daniel, God the Father is described with form and shape consisting of Spirit, and so is Jesus Christ, even before His incarnation. We read that Moses saw the form of the LORD—Jesus Christ. Also, glorified angels are described with form and shape. What Christ is saying in John 2 is that He will be resurrected with a body composed of Spirit. His body which did not see corruption would be changed into Spirit—as we will be changed into Spirit when we are still alive at the time of Christ’s return. Others who have died in Christ, will then be resurrected as Spirit Beings. More about that later.

So, Christ confirmed that the Father would resurrect Him—bring Him back to life—and that He then would rise up—stand up—no longer with a physical body, but with a body composed of Spirit.

It appears that there are others who share this false Catholic “understanding”.

Let us have a thorough look at this assertion.

In John 1:1-3, we read:

^“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

In verse 14, it states:

^“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

It is evident that the Logos, The Word, was always an immortal Spirit being along with the Father. Jesus later prayed to God the Father prior to His arrest, to bestow on Him the glory which He had with the Father before the world was. Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers observes: “‘The Word was made flesh.’ The term ‘flesh’ expresses human nature as opposed to the divine, and material nature as opposed to the spiritual…”

It is interesting that Jesus as the God of the Old Testament had a discussion with Moses about Who He was and what His Name was, as we read in Exodus 3:13-14:

^“Then Moses said to God, ‘Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they say to me, “What is His name?” what shall I say to them?’ And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.”’”

Matthew Henry’s Commentary states: “A name that denotes what he is in himself, I AM THAT I AM. This explains his name Jehovah, and signifies That he is self-existent: he has his being of himself. That he is eternal and unchangeable, and always the same, yesterday, today, and forever…”

That was about Jesus Christ as the God of the Old Testament—He was Spirit or a Spirit being for eternity along with God the Father, with no beginning. Then He came to earth and for about 33½ years was a human being before being crucified.

Most theologians and writers would probably agree with the fact that Jesus has always existed, except for those who believe that Jesus was a created Being which is contradicted by a number of Scriptures, or that He is the archangel Michael or Gabriel although the Bible shows that “Jesus is so much better than angels.” We also read that we will rule angels. If Christ was an angel, we would rule over Him—a preposterous concept.

Hebrews 1:2-4 reads:

“[God the Father] has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”

In addition, this passage also describes Jesus as “the brightness of His glory” which, of course, far exceeds any physical body.

Regarding the assertion that we are discussing in this Q&A, “Is Jesus Christ a Spirit Being Today?” the following is the answer given on gotquestions.org:

“Later in the same chapter of Luke, Christ makes it plain to His disciples that He does have a physical body; He is not a disembodied spirit: ‘See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have’ (Luke 24:39).  After spending forty days with His disciples, Jesus ascended bodily into heaven (Acts 1:9).  Jesus is still human, and He has a human body in heaven right now. His body is different, however; earthly human flesh is perishable, but heavenly bodies are imperishable (1 Corinthians 15:50).   Jesus has a physical body, with a difference. His resurrected body is designed with eternity in view.”

As mentioned, we will address Luke 24:39 in the next instalment. It seems, one writer copies the false “explanation” from another writer, and so on. All of this is just a man-made invention.   Why not just admit that Jesus was raised from the dead with a body composed of Spirit and all of this new-found wording would be unnecessary?

1 Corinthians 15:50 reads: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption,” but then there are those who invent a new description of Jesus “who has a physical body, with a difference. His resurrected body is designed with eternity in view.”  It is much easier to accept that Jesus, at His resurrection, was resurrected as a glorified Spirit being to continue as He was before coming to this earth to die for the sins of mankind, than making up a new description which is without any biblical foundation.

At His resurrection, Jesus was raised from the dead with a body composed of Spirit. Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers discusses 1 Peter 3:18, as follows:

“‘Being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.’… we should point to such passages as Romans 1:4; Romans 8:11 to show that the resurrection of Christ was due to the action of the Holy Ghost (better “Spirit”).”

Romans 1:4 reads:

“And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”

McLaren’s Expositions state, “The grand avowal of faith in His Resurrection loses meaning, unless it is completed as Paul completed his ‘yea rather that was raised from the dead,’ with the triumphant ‘who is at the right hand of God.’ Both are supernatural, and the Virgin Birth corresponds at the beginning to the supernatural Resurrection and Ascension at the close.”

Since both Father and Son are “supernatural,” the Son cannot have a physical body!

In Romans 8:11, we read:

“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who (better “which”) dwells in you.”

Acts 13:34 confirms the following Truth: “And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption…”

It has been pointed out that Christ gave His flesh for the world, and He could therefore not receive it back in the resurrection, as His Supreme Sacrifice was made only once and for all time. Another question is: How could He appear and disappear with a physical body?

This, and more, will be answered in the next instalment.

(To be continued)

Lead Writers: Brian Gale and Norbert Link

In previous Q&As, we’ve already looked at false assertions by some Christian writers that “human beings have an immortal soul, that the present Heaven is a temporary lodging place even though the present Heaven is not our final destination place and that that between our earthly lives and our bodily resurrection God may grant us some temporary physical form that will allow us to function as human beings while in that unnatural state ‘between bodies’ awaiting our bodily resurrection.”  We have also reviewed the spirit in man which is not the same as the soul as the Bible shows, in simple terms, that man is a soul, not has a soul.   We showed that each human being has a non-physical component in his brain, called “the spirit in man.”

We also looked at the fact that the Hebrews did not believe that we go to Heaven when we die. Neither did the early Christians.   We also reviewed the false belief that “the resurrected Christ now dwells in Heaven and that His resurrected body on Earth was physical and that this same, physical Jesus ascended to Heaven, from where He will one day return to Earth.” This leads on to the erroneous assertion, where we are told that it seems indisputable, then, to say that there is at least one physical body in the present Heaven!   Of course, mainstream theology believes that man goes on either to heaven or hell at death together with the fallacy of purgatory and other intermediate states.

We mentioned that the Catholic Church invented a new description of Jesus by stating that “Jesus who has a physical body but with a difference. His resurrected body is designed with eternity in view.”  

Over the years, we have produced much Scriptural evidence on so many topics that much of mainstream Christianity falls short in understanding much of the Bible at all.  If all of the confusion mentioned above was not enough, a further idea is floated—that the present Heaven may be a physical place.   We are not talking about the first or second heaven which are both physical but the third Heaven where God’s throne is.

The following writing is offered by one author as some form of proof: “If we look at Scripture, we’ll see considerable evidence that the present Heaven has physical properties. We’re told there are scrolls in Heaven, elders who have faces, martyrs who wear clothes, and even people with palm branches in their hands. There are musical instruments in the present Heaven, horses coming into and out of Heaven, and an eagle flying overhead in Heaven.”   We showed in our two-part Q&A entitled “Who and What is in Heaven?” that this is a spiritual place and there are no human beings nor anything physical there.

God the Father and Jesus Christ are both spiritual.   Jesus came to earth for a most important purpose and had to be human to fulfil that role.  He was fully man while on earth until His physical death. He was seen, spoke and ate as a physical person would.  After His death and resurrection, He was able to appear through walls, doors and other physical obstructions which no living physical person could do, but which He was able to do as a Spirit Being and the Second member of the God Family.   Those who think that He was still a fully human being and could achieve such feats are deluded, to say the least.   After His resurrection, He could manifest Himself as a human being (without becoming a human being, of course) in order to be with the brethren in a fully locked and enclosed place—something, no physical human being could ever achieve!

So, let us now look at the proposal that the third Heaven could be physical.   In fairness to the proponent of this suggestion, he is not definitively insisting that the third Heaven is physical, but he feels that it could be.   But the fact that he even thinks that it could be is quite alarming.  

In our Q&A, “Who and What is in Heaven?,” we showed that only God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ and angelic beings are in the third Heaven.   It is a spiritual place where no human being has been, except in vision.

The third Heaven refers to God’s home and as He is spiritual, His home is also spiritual.  Man has no idea where it is because it is not a physical domain. It is entirely spiritual. One writer observed that “It could coexist right alongside us, and we wouldn’t even know it. It’s in a completely different plane of existence.”

In Eason’s Bible Dictionary, we read: “According to the Jewish notion there were three heavens: (a) The firmament, as ‘fowls of the heaven’ Ge[nesis] 2:19 7:3,23 Ps[alm] 8:8 etc., ‘the eagles of heaven’ La[mentations] 4:19 etc. (b) The starry heavens De[uteronomy] 17:3 Jer[emiah] 8:2 M[atthew] 24:29 (c) ‘The heaven of heavens,’ or ‘the third heaven’ De[uteronomy] 10:14 1Ki[ngs] 8:27 Ps[alm] 115:16 148:4 2Co[rinthians] 12:2.”

2 Corinthians 12:1-6 is sometimes used as proof that man has been to Heaven:

¹ It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord: 

² I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. 

³ And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— 

⁴ how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. 

⁵ Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities. 

⁶ For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me.

This passage mentions that “Paradise,” the spiritual garden, is in the third Heaven where God dwells and is a Heaven composed of spirit—the third Heaven where God lives (Psalm 11:4; Hebrews 9:24). The physical garden of Eden, which God later created for Adam and Eve, was patterned after the spiritual garden that exists in Heaven, and in which is a spiritual Tree of Life. When the heavenly Jerusalem comes down to the new earth, the heavenly garden, with the Tree of Life in it, will come down to the new earth as well.

One observer wrote: “Don’t read into these verses something that’s not there. Paul isn’t talking about the immortality of the soul. He’s not talking about his soul leaving his body. He didn’t mean to write, ‘I don’t know whether I went to heaven bodily or as a disembodied soul.’ That’s just wrong, though that may be the way it’s usually read. Paul is a Christian. Christians [don’t] believe in… disembodied souls.  Paul is saying that he had an experience of heaven. He calls it a vision or a revelation. The experience was so vivid, so real, however, that if it was an inner vision (a mental panorama), he found it indistinguishable from an actual visit (a physical panorama).”

There are a number of visions that are written about in the Word of God.   Indeed, the apostle John “was in the spirit,” as we read in the book of Revelation (compare Revelation 1:10) to see and write about what He saw there right through to the New Jerusalem coming down from Heaven to earth, but it was in vision only.   He was not there physically.  If it was not in vision, he wouldn’t have seen anything at all as physical human beings can’t see the spiritual realm.  The Topical Encyclopedia states: “The concept of spiritual versus physical realities is a recurring theme throughout the Bible, highlighting the distinction and interaction between the unseen, eternal realm and the tangible, temporal world. This dichotomy is foundational to understanding the Christian worldview, which emphasizes the supremacy of spiritual truths over physical appearances.”

In Colossians 1:16, we read: “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”   This shows that the spiritual realm (the invisible) is just as real and authentic as the physical world that we inhabit.  Visible and invisible; what else could the invisible be if it was not referring to the third Heaven?

Think about this.  Would it make any sense for the great Creator God and His Son, Jesus Christ Who have both existed from eternity as Spirit Beings to live in a physical Heaven?    In our Q&A, “Who and What is in Heaven?,” we show that all that is in Heaven is spiritual – there are no non-spiritual beings there and everything else is spiritual too.   We also quoted the following:

“Wikipedia gives the following insight into the 3rd heaven: ‘A third concept of Heaven, also called shămei hashamayim (שׁמי השׁמים or “Heaven of Heavens”), is mentioned in such passages as Genesis 28:12, Deuteronomy 10:14 and 1 Kings 8:27 as a distinctly spiritual realm containing (or being traveled by) angels and God’” (our emphasis).

“In Psalm 47:8 we read: ‘God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne.’   And in Psalm 103:19: ‘The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.’”

Everything in the third Heaven is spiritual, and in our free booklet, “Is That in the Bible? – The Mysteries of the Book of Revelation,” we read on page 145:

“Jesus says in Revelation 2:7 that the tree of life is presently in the midst of the ‘Paradise of God.’ ‘Paradise’ describes a beautiful Garden, also called ‘Eden.’ The reference here is to a spiritual garden, which is presently in heaven (compare 2 Corinthians 12:1–4), but which will descend to… earth, together with the (spiritual) tree of life and the heavenly Jerusalem. A reference to the spiritual garden of Eden or Paradise can also be found in Ezekiel 28:13, where Lucifer’s fall from heaven is described.”

Also, on page 141 of the same booklet, we read:

“In addition, John sees the ‘holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God’ (Revelation 21:2). This is a literal city—albeit not physical, but spiritual. (For more information on the spiritual nature of the new Jerusalem, please read our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World.”) That this city is literal and not just a symbolic reference to the Church, for example, can be seen from the very detailed and specific description in Revelation 21:10–22; 22:1–5. We are told in Revelation 21:2, in conjunction with other Scriptures, that God is presently ‘preparing’ this city in heaven (compare Revelation 3:12; Hebrews 11:9–10; 12:22; 13:14; Galatians 4:26). We also read that Jesus Christ is presently ‘preparing’ for us a place in the ‘Father’s house’—the new Jerusalem (John 14:1–3).”

Could anyone really think that God would sit on His throne in a physical heaven while being the supreme Spiritual Being in the universe?   How ludicrous would that be?   Jesus stated in John 5:37: “And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.”   This shows the complete spirituality of the Father and to even think that He would be in a physical place when He is the greatest Spiritual Being that there is, or ever will be, is simply preposterous.

We have a Q&A entitled: “Will there still be physical people after the Great White Throne Judgment?,” and it concludes with this statement: “Taking all the Scriptures together, it is clear that there will be no human physical life in existence after the Great White Throne Judgment, when God will create everything new (Revelation 21:5). For more information regarding that ‘new’ world, please read our free booklet, ‘God Is A Family.’”

Most people who read and understand the Word of God would agree with the statement that the Bible clearly defines the created world as consisting of two distinct realms, the greater of which is the invisible realm of the Spirit.  The natural world is subject to this unseen realm.

The Book of Revelation is full of references showing that the third Heaven where God lives is a Spiritual place and where no physical being is, has been, nor ever will be.

The apostle John saw in vision the Throne Room in Heaven, as recorded in Revelation, chapter 4.   We will quote the whole of this short chapter, showing how spiritual all of this is; hence the reason why John could only see it in vision and not in reality.

¹ After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”

² Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.

³ And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.

⁴ Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.

⁵ And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

⁶ Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.

⁷ The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.

⁸ The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”

⁹ Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,

¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:

¹¹ “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”

If anyone thinks that that is a description of a physical place, it would be most surprising.

Unquestionably, the third Heaven is God’s dwelling place; He is Spirit, Jesus Christ is Spirit, all of the “elders” and other angels are Spirit, and everything in that most wonderful place is Spirit!

And so back to the question, “Could the third Heaven Be Physical?” The answer is a very complete and comprehensive no!

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)

In part 1 of this Q&A, we discussed the fact that many religions believe that each person has an immortal soul.   Orthodox Christianity, in general, has the same understanding.   But is it true? 

In our booklet “The Theory of Evolution – A Fairy Tale for Adults,” the Spirit in Man is discussed and below are a few selected highlights taken from pages 19-26.   This shows that the Spirit in Man is not the soul.  

“Herbert W. Armstrong… published his findings in a book entitled, ‘The Incredible Human Potential.’ This is what he wrote on pages 74 and 75, ‘Animals are equipped with brain and instinct. But they do not have power to understand and choose moral and spiritual values or to develop perfect spiritual character. Animals have brain, but no intellect—instinct, but no ability to develop holy and Godly character. And that pictures the transcendental DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ANIMAL BRAIN AND HUMAN MIND.

“‘What then can account for the vast difference? Science cannot adequately answer. Some scientists, in the field of research, conclude that, of necessity, there has to be some non-physical component in human brain that does not exist in animal brain….’

“Mr. Armstrong then explains that, according to the Bible, each human being has a non-physical component in his brain, called ‘the spirit in man.’ On page 81 of his book, he points out, ‘[T]his spirit is not the man—only something in the man… This spirit cannot see, hear, or think. The man sees, hears and thinks through his physical brain and the five senses of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and feeling. The spirit in man imparts the power of physical intellect to the physical brain, thus forming human mind.

“‘This spirit acts, among other things, as a computer, adding to the brain the psychic and intellectual power. Knowledge received in the brain through the eye, ear and the senses is immediately “programmed’ into the spirit computer. This “computer” gives the brain instant recall of whatever portion of millions of bits of knowledge may be needed in the reasoning process. That is to say that memory is recorded in the human spirit, whether or not it is also recorded in the “gray matter” of the brain. This human spirit also adds to man a spiritual and moral faculty not possessed by animals.’

“Most people know nothing about the existence of the spirit in man—even many religious people—lay persons and theologians alike. When they read passages in the Bible describing the spirit in man, they assume the Bible is talking about the soul. But the soul is not a non-physical component of the human being. The soul, according to the Bible, is totally physical. The Bible does not teach the concept of an immortal soul. Rather, we read in Ezekiel 18:4, ‘The soul who sins shall die.’ The word ‘soul’ in the Bible refers to the living body of both man and animals. In Revelation 16:3, we read that every living soul—both men and beasts—died in the sea. The soul does NOT distinguish man from animals. Rather, the spirit in man is THE distinguishing factor between man and animals. It explains man’s superiority over the animals and totally disproves the concept of evolution. 

“The Bible strongly indicates that God gives the human spirit at the time of conception, and then takes it back at the time of death. We read in Zechariah 12:1, ‘Thus says the Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.’ Ecclesiastes 12:7 says, ‘Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.’ When the spirit in man leaves a person, that person is dead. James 2:26 says, ‘For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.’

“Jesus Christ Himself, at the time of His death, cried out to the Father to receive His spirit. What exactly did He say? Let’s read in Luke 23:46, ‘And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last.’ When He died, His human spirit returned to God, as we read in Ecclesiastes. 

“Understand though, that when a man dies and his spirit returns to God, that spirit does not continue to live consciously, apart from the body. Rather, God ‘stores’ it, so to speak, in heaven, until He unites it at the time of the resurrection of man with a new spiritual or physical body. The concept that man’s soul is immortal is as wrong as the concept that man’s spirit continues to live consciously after death. Rather, the body—or soul—dies, and the spirit of man returns to God to await a resurrection.

“Note Ecclesiastes 9:4-6, ‘But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope… For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing…Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished…’ And verse 10, ‘Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.’ In other words, there is no conscious activity after a person dies. The spirit does not continue in the realm of consciousness.

“Jesus Christ also made it clear that dead people do not continue to live on. Rather, the dead will have to be brought back to life through a resurrection from the dead. In Matthew 22:31-32, He asked the Sadducees, since they did not believe in the resurrection, ‘But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.’ If the dead persons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had somehow continued to live consciously after their death, including a conscious existence of their spirit that had returned to God, then Christ’s words to the Sadducees would have been without sense.

“WHY does God give each human being a spirit? The spirit in man records all the human characteristics of the person, as well as his or her outward appearance. At the time of the resurrection, the spirit of the dead person is combined with a new body of the dead person. This means, all the experiences and memories and ideas of the former life are back in the resurrected individual, and the resurrected person will also look the same way he or she did in their former life.

“When a person dies, his body returns to dust. But the spirit of man in him has recorded the appearance of the person, the personality, the personal attributes, and God gives the spirit of that person back into the newly created physical body. 

“Just as the Bible teaches a resurrection to physical life, so it also teaches a resurrection to spiritual life. Those who died after having been counted worthy to enter the Kingdom of God at the time of Christ’s second coming, will have part in a spiritual resurrection, as the Apostle Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-44, ‘But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be… But God gives… a body as He pleases… So also is the [spiritual] resurrection from the dead [to spiritual life]: The body is sown in corruption [flesh and blood], it is raised in incorruption…It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.’ But as with a resurrection to physical life, the resurrection to spiritual life will also incorporate the spirit that was in man and that recorded the person’s characteristics.

“So we see that it is the spirit in man that explains the vast differences in self-awareness, intellect and intelligence between man and animals.”

What you have just read is something that so many simply don’t understand.  Because so many believe in an immortal soul that has to go somewhere when the body dies, Bible verses are interpreted in a way that allows this belief.   As we saw in the previous instalment, many religions are convicted of this and even in mainstream Christianity, it is the prevailing view with the good going to Heaven at death and the evil unbelievers going to Hell being accepted as Biblical Truth, when it isn’t.   And once such error is accepted, then further errors creep in, which is why it is so vital to have the correct understanding that we don’t have an immortal soul.

In part 1 of this Q&A, we mentioned that one writer opined that “the present Heaven is not our final destination, it’s a wonderful place, and it’s understandable that those who have had loved ones die in Christ wonder what life is like for them there. Based on the Bible’s teaching, we know several things: the present Heaven is a real (and possibly physical) place. Those who love Jesus and trust Him for their salvation will be with Him there, together with all who have died in Christ. We will be awake and cognizant.” 

We had explained that this is most certainly not the prevailing view in orthodox Christianity which holds that the good remain forever in Heaven as their final destination. But this writer even thinks that “The Present Heaven May Be a Physical Place.”  He also wrote that “A fundamental article of the Christian faith is that the resurrected Christ now dwells in Heaven. We are told that His resurrected body on Earth was physical and that this same, physical Jesus ascended to Heaven, from where He will one day return to Earth. It seems indisputable, then, to say that there is at least one physical body in the present Heaven. If Christ’s body in the intermediate Heaven has physical properties, it stands to reason that others in Heaven could have physical forms as well, even if only temporary ones.”

To add to the confusion even more, he writes: “Given the consistent physical descriptions of the intermediate Heaven and those who dwell there, it seems possible—though this is certainly debatable—that between our earthly lives and our bodily resurrection God may grant us some temporary physical form that will allow us to function as human beings while in that unnatural state ‘between bodies’ awaiting our bodily resurrection. If so, that would account for the repeated depictions of people now in Heaven occupying physical space, wearing clothes and crowns, carrying branches, and having body parts (for example, Lazarus’s finger in Luke 16:24).”  

As mentioned previously, we address the question about Lazarus and the rich man in our booklet “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?” on pages 31-32: 

The opinion of the writer, as quoted above, is wrong for many reasons. One, there are no physical bodies in heaven, and there never will be. Two, nobody went to heaven except for Jesus Christ, but not in a physical body, but as a Spirit being. 

We said in one of our Q&As: “God also created the third heaven with all its spiritual components, including His throne, His temple, the heavenly Jerusalem, and the heavenly garden or Paradise, because we read that the Father created everything there is through Jesus Christ (John 1:1-3)—the visible and the invisible (Colossians 1:16). We understand, of course, that both the Father and Jesus Christ have always existed; Christ was not created (Hebrews 7:3). So it was the God Family who created everything.”   In view of this information, how could anyone even think that heaven could be physical?

Another disagreement we would have with the concept of going to heaven and that it might even be physical etc, we write in our booklet “Why This Confusion About Life After Death” on pages 8-9 under the heading “Man Can Reach Two Heavens But Not the Third Heaven Where God Dwells” the following:

“As Lewis Brown explains in ‘This Believing World’: ‘In very early times that idea flourished not alone among the Babylonians and Egyptians, but also among the barbaric tribes in and around Greece… these mysteries [came] down from Thrace or across the sea from Egypt and Asia Minor… they declared that for every man, no matter how poor or vicious, there was a place in heaven. All one had to do was to be ‘initiated’ into the secrets of the cult.’

“The Hebrews did not believe that we go to Heaven when we die. Neither did the early Christians. But in time, the concept developed within the Roman Catholic Church that one will be saved and go to Heaven when one has been baptized into the church, including as a little baby. 

“The Bible does not teach this. Much confusion exists because many do not understand that the Bible speaks of more than one heaven. 

“When the Bible speaks of ‘heaven,’ it may refer to any one of three different locations. The first heaven is the atmosphere, surrounding the earth, where birds can fly and clouds move (Genesis 1:20; 27:28). The second heaven is the universe, with all its galaxies, suns, stars and planets (Psalm 8:3). 

“It is possible for man to reach these two heavens—at least, to a limited extent. But man cannot reach the Third Heaven, where God dwells—where His angels live and where His throne is located. It is spiritual, not physical. Physical beings cannot enter it—except in a vision—and we won’t go there after our death, either. 

“According to the biblical testimony, the only Being who entered the Third Heaven after death was Jesus Christ. Others saw the Third Heaven in a vision—such as Daniel (Daniel 7:9), Paul (2 Corinthians 12:2), Stephen (Acts 7:56) or John (Revelation 4:2), but they did not enter the Third Heaven in bodily form, or as spirit beings. 

“Christ said in John 3:13 that no human being—except He Himself—has entered the Third Heaven. The German Luther Bible from 1964 wrote: ‘And no one goes to Heaven except for the One who came down from Heaven, namely the Son of Man…’ (‚Und niemand fährt gen Himmel, denn der vom Himmel herniedergekommen ist, nämlich des Menschen Sohn…‘). 

“Most translations render the passage as, ‘No one has ascended up to heaven…’, but even then, it is at least clear that no one before Christ ever went to the Third Heaven. This means that contrary to popular belief, Elijah and Enoch did NOT enter God’s Third Heaven.”

In Time Magazine in December 2019, author N.T. Wright wrote the following:

“Indeed, for most modern Christians, the idea of ‘going to heaven when you die’ is not simply one belief among others, but the one that seems to give a point to it all.

“But the people who believed in that kind of ‘heaven’ when the New Testament was written were not the early Christians.  They were the ‘Middle Platonists’ — people like Plutarch (a younger contemporary of St Paul who was a philosopher, biographer, essayist and pagan priest in Delphi). To understand what the first followers of Jesus believed about what happens after death, we need to read the New Testament in its own world — the world of Jewish hope, of Roman imperialism and of Greek thought.

“Israel’s scriptures had long promised that God would come back in person to dwell with his people for ever. The early Christians picked this up: ‘The Word became flesh,’ declares John [1:14], ‘and dwelt in our midst.’ The word for ‘dwelt’ means, literally, ‘tabernacled,’ ‘pitched his tent’ — alluding to the wilderness ‘tabernacle’ in the time of Moses and the Temple built by Solomon. Studying the New Testament historically, in its own world (as opposed to squashing and chopping it to fit with our own expectations), shows that the first Christians believed not that they would ‘go to heaven when they died,’ but that, in Jesus, God had come to live with them.

“That was the lens through which they saw the hope of the world. The book of Revelation ends, not with souls going up to heaven, but with the New Jerusalem coming down to earth, so that ‘the dwelling of God is with humans.’”

There is so much confusion in all of this mainstream “understanding” and over many years we have covered all of these issues in our literature and in sermons, where the Bible is clear. In brief, the answer is that if the understanding about the spirit in man was accepted, no one would need to be in heaven, a temporary waiting place, purgatory or any other variation of such an erroneous belief.  And understanding that we do NOT have an immortal soul is basic Truth and understanding right from the Word of God.  If we did have an immortal soul, we couldn’t be destroyed,  and if the “going to hell at death” reasoning was correct, then those going there would be there for eternity which is neither correct nor would it be the act of a loving God.

The correct knowledge about the immortal soul is vital to our understanding about God, His plan of salvation and His love for all His creation.  Incorrect knowledge will lead to further misunderstandings as we have seen in these Q&As.

Material available for further study:

Our booklets pertinent to what has been discussed in these two Q&A’s are:

The Theory of Evolution – A Fairy Tale for Adults?

Do We Have an Immortal Soul?

And in our 79-page-booklet “Why This Confusion About Life After Death,” we cover many topics, a few of which are:

Man Does Not Have an Immortal Soul Which Goes to Heaven

Man Will Not Be Judged at the Moment of His Death

Man Is a Soul Not Has a Soul

Mary, and Everyone Else Who Has Died, Are Still in the Grave

Limbo and Purgatory Are Not Biblical Concepts

Indulgences

The False Concept of Hell

An Ever-Burning Hell-fire; After Death, Is Unbiblical

The Dead Know Nothing

The Spirit in Man

Most People Have No Knowledge About the Existence of the Spirit in Man

and much more, which can be accessed online via this link: https://www.eternalgod.org/why-this-confusion-about-life-after-death/

Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)