Part 4 of 5 of the theme 'Where are the dead' by Gijs van den Brink
When Paul speaks of his death in Philippians 1:23-24 he says the following: 'from both sides I am impelled; I desire to go and be with Christ, for this is by far the best thing; but to remain yet in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.' To die for Paul is to "be with Christ. He already experiences this union with Him now (cf. 1 Cor. 6:17ff.), but he expects this bond to become much more intense after his death. This is why he says: dying and being with Christ is, compared to continuing to live on earth, by far the best. In 2 Cor.5:8 he says, "We desire all the more to leave our abode in the body and take up our abode with the Lord. This life with Christ, which follows death, Paul calls a coming home or "moving in" with the Lord. The present tense "we have" (2 Cor. 5:1) points to the certainty that this new existence is ready at the time when the old, earthly will be broken down.
Two-stage structure
Paul speaks of both a salvation with God immediately after death and a later resurrection of the dead (1 Cor. 15). The two seem to be an extension of each other in time. This has been called a "two-stage expectation. A temporary security in heaven with Christ, which takes effect immediately after death will be followed by a resurrection from the dead at the end of time. So we need not think here of a development in Paul's thinking on this theme, as has often been said.
We also find this two-stage structure with Jesus and the evangelist Luke. On the one hand, there is talk about the hades, paradise and the "eternal tents" spoken of, where one will reside immediately after death, and on the other hand about a resurrection from the dead at the end of time (Luke 20:27-40). In Jewish apocalypticism we also encounter the same two-stage expectation (e.g., in 4Ezra and 2Baruch).
Author: Gijs van den Brink
From: Study Bible Magazine
This is part 4 of 5 concise articles on the theme 'Where are the Dead' from Study Bible Magazine, Some of which we will be posting online in the near future. We hope this will help you understand the Bible better!
