Chris Altrock – March 28, 2010
Dan Brown is the best-selling and controversial author of books such as The DaVinci Code and Demons and Angels, both of which have become movies. I recently listened to the audio version of one of Brown’s latest books, The Lost Symbol.[1] In that book, the main character Robert Langdon is forced to wrestle with what happens to a person after he/she dies. Langdon, a university professor, is an atheist. He believes that once someone dies he/she simply ceases to exist. There is no human soul that lives on after death. There is no afterlife. But then Langdon comes face to face with scientific evidence suggesting there is a human soul. He is plunged into circumstances which suggest there is an afterlife. For awhile, this issue remains academic. Langdon can debate it casually with his colleagues. But when it appears that Langdon is about to drown to death, the issue becomes very personal. Langdon suddenly takes a heartfelt interest in what might happen to him if he dies.
Like Langdon, some at Highland have or are now facing the reality of their own deaths. For some here this morning, cancer or other diseases have raised the likelihood that your life may end within months or a few years. And you are very interested in this matter of what happens when a person dies. Many more of us at Highland have faced the reality of the death of someone we loved. And as we sat in that funeral service or as we stood at that graveside, we were intently interested in what happened to that loved one when he/she died. It is a fundamental question of life. You may be thirteen, or a young professional or a middle-aged husband, and death may seem like forever away. There are some of you here this morning who are much more interested in how to make ends meet than you are in what might happen after death. But let me assure you that this question is inescapable. You can ignore it or be academic about it as the character did in Dan Brown’s book. But there will come a time when you will take a heartfelt interest in what happens after death. It is such a critical life-question, after all, that Dan Brown built another best-selling book on it.
But frankly, many of us have beliefs about what happens after death that are different than what the Bible teaches. The common belief in this country and among most Christians is this: When a Christian dies, his/her soul floats to heaven and he/she lives eternally in the clouds with God in a kind of ethereal state. But in reality, that is not what happens. As we’ll see in this morning’s text, there’s a lot more to what happens after death than we typically imagine.
1For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. (2 Cor. 5:1-4 ESV) When Paul writes about what happens after death, he uses three images. He envisions a journey from a tent, to nakedness, to a house. First, Paul writes about “the tent that is our earthly home” and a “tent” in which “we groan” and being “in this tent.” Second, Paul writes about being “found naked” or being “unclothed.” Third, Paul writes about “a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” and “our heavenly dwelling.” As Paul explains what happens after death, he explains it as a journey from a tent, to nakedness, to a house.
Here’s what these metaphors mean. First, “the tent” is the body we live in before we die. The tent refers to the body you have right now. Take your finger and poke your chest. Say, “This is my tent.” Second, “the house” refers to the body we will have in heaven after Jesus raises us from the dead. At some point after death, Jesus will raise us from the dead and give us new bodies. That’s “the house.” What may come as a surprise is that after Jesus raises us from the dead, we will be living in heaven in a literal body. It will be different from this body (the way a house is different from a tent). But it will be a body. Heaven is not going to be an eternity in some ghost-like existence living in the clouds. After your life in this tent is over, and at some point after you die, Jesus will raise you from the dead and give you a new body. That’s “the house.” The tent is the old body. The house is the new body. What body is the tent? It’s the “old” body. What body is the house? It’s the new body.
But what about the period between the time when someone dies and the time when Jesus raises that person from the dead? None of the people whom you love and who have died have been raised yet from the dead. Jesus has not returned to raise anyone from the dead. So, what’s happened to Christian people who have died and haven’t been raised? And what would happen to you if you died today? That’s what Paul uses the third metaphor of “nakedness” or “not being clothed” to describe.[2] What many of us may not realize is that life after death actually has two parts. There’s the final part, the house, the new body in which we’ll live eternally in heaven. But before the final part, there’s another part. There is a time during which we live in-between: we’ve left the tent, the old body, but we’ve not yet arrived at the house, the new body. There is a time after death when we live in-between—not in between earth and heaven, but in between the tent and the house. Paul calls this “nakedness” or “not being clothed.” That’s the state in which every Christian you know who has died is now living. That’s the state you’d be living in today if you are a Christian and you died today.
And Paul describes this in-between time in two ways. First, he describes it as an escape from an earthly burden. Listen once more to Paul’s words: 1For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. (2 Cor. 5:1-4 ESV) Paul believes there is a burden that humans experience while living in our earthly bodies, our tents. I don’t want to spend much time on this because it will be the focus of next Sunday’s sermon. But Paul believed that this “in-between” time of after-death but before-resurrection was an escape from the burden that comes from life in this body, life in this tent.
That is why Paul could write this: 21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. (Phil. 1:21-23 ESV). Paul is writing about what happens immediately after death. He’s not writing about what life in heaven will be like after we receive the resurrection body. He’s writing about life in heaven immediately after we die. And for Paul, life immediately after death is about one thing: being with Christ. For Paul, there was great gain in leaving the earthly tent, because this in-between time would be a time of being with Christ. The burden of being separate from Christ ends the moment a Christian dies. Relief isn’t delayed until the resurrection. It appears immediately upon death.
Jesus tells a story in Lk. 16 which reveals more about life immediately after death: 19″There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. (Lk. 16:19-25 ESV) Here, the poor man named Lazarus has a terrible burden which he experiences in his earthly body, his tent. He is covered with sores and he has nothing to eat or drink. But immediately upon his death he escapes those burdens and receives comfort. This place in-between the tent of the earthly body and the house of the resurrection body is a place of comfort from the burden of poverty and hardships. Those burdens end the moment a godly person dies. Relief isn’t delayed until the resurrection. It appears immediately upon death.
We can clearly say that this intermediate state in which we exist in heaven without our earthly body or tent and not yet dwelling in our resurrection body is a time in which we escape earthly burdens associated with this tent.
Yet it is also an existence filled with the expectation of a heavenly blessing. Let’s return to Paul’s words: 1For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. (2 Cor. 5:1-4 ESV) Because life in heaven immediately after death is an escape from earthly burdens Paul can say in Phil. 1 that he longs to die and be with Christ. Yet this intermediate state is also a time of expectation, a time in which we are longing for that which we do not yet have. And that’s what Paul focuses on here. He longs to put on his heavenly dwelling, to receive his resurrection body. He wants to be further clothed. This intermediate time in heaven is a time of expectation.
But it’s not a negative thing. We shouldn’t imagine that Paul is describing this intermediate time as a time when we are dissatisfied. Rather, it is a time of joyful anticipation. We are happy for the burdens we have escaped. And we are excited about the body we will soon receive. Every Christian person you know, upon their death, experienced relief from earthly burdens and is now experiencing joyful anticipation of the body he/she will soon receive.
I’ll close by illustrating all of this in two ways. First, I’ll use an account from my own life. In January, 1994 Kendra and I moved from Memphis, TN to Las Cruces, NM to begin my first full-time preaching ministry. While in Memphis, we lived in a decaying one-bedroom-one-bathroom apartment on the campus of Harding University Graduate School of Religion. Despite its poverty of size, we made many happy memories in that apartment. It truly was home during my grad school years. We had birthday parties and game nights and laugh-until-you-cry moments there. But it was small, old, and things kept falling apart. In Las Cruces, we would eventually move into a three bedroom home with a two-car garage, large backyard, full-sized kitchen, and two full bathrooms. It was a huge contrast, going from that small apartment in Memphis to that new home in Las Cruces. That’s what the contrast will be like going from the tent of this body to the building of the resurrection body. It’s not that there isn’t any joy to be had while living in this tent. There is overwhelming joy. But, things do keep falling apart. And, the joy we experience while living in the tent is nothing compared to the joy of moving into that new home, that resurrection body.
Kendra and I didn’t transition directly from the Memphis apartment to the Las Cruces home. Upon arriving in Las Cruces, we took up residence in the back bedroom of Kendra’s childhood home where her parents still lived. Kendra’s parents were great. We always had good food and they helped with many things. We enjoyed that time. It was so good to escape the things we didn’t like about that grad school apartment. But while in Kendra’s childhood home, we were also joyfully anticipating moving into our own home. Then we found a two-bedroom apartment and moved into it while we saved more money for the purchase of a home. The apartment complex had a nice pool and we had space to stretch out. We enjoyed those months. It was so good to escape even further the things we didn’t like about that grad school apartment. But the whole time we lived in that Las Cruces apartment, we were also joyfully anticipating moving into a new home. And when that day came, there was nothing like it.
When a Christian dies, he/she takes up that in-between experience. Immediately, he/she escapes the things that just weren’t right about life in the tent, in the old body. And quickly, he/she begins to joyfully anticipate moving into a new home, a permanent dwelling, the resurrection body.
As a second illustration, I’ll use an account from the Old Testament. The word Paul uses for “tent” can refer to the tabernacle of the Old Testament. The tabernacle was that portable temple, that temporary dwelling place of God. As the Israelites wandered through the wilderness, they would carry the tabernacle with them. When God told them to stop, they would stop, unpack the tabernacle, and set it up. When God told them to go, they would breakdown the tabernacle, pack it up, and march on. That image of the tabernacle is the image Paul uses for our earthly bodies. A tent. As you probably know, eventually, Solomon built God a permanent temple. God “moved” from the tent to the temple. And the word “temple” is similar to the image Paul uses for our resurrection bodies. Our earthly body or tent is like that tabernacle. And our resurrection body is like that permanent temple.
Did you know that there was a brief period of time when God was not “dwelling” in the tabernacle any longer, but had not yet taken up residence in the permanent temple? There was a time when God was no longer in the tent and not yet in the house. In 2 Chr. 5 we read this scene: 1 So Solomon finished all his work on the Temple of the Lord. Then he brought all the gifts his father, David, had dedicated—the silver, the gold, and the various articles—and he stored them in the treasuries of the Temple of God. 2 Solomon then summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel and all the heads of tribes—the leaders of the ancestral families of Israel. They were to bring the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant to the Temple from its location in the City of David, also known as Zion. 3 So all the men of Israel assembled before the king at the annual Festival of Shelters, which is held in early autumn. 4 When all the elders of Israel arrived, the Levites picked up the Ark. 5 The priests and Levites brought up the Ark along with the special tent and all the sacred items that had been in it. 6 There, before the Ark, King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep count! 7 Then the priests carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim…11 Then the priests left the Holy Place. All the priests who were present had purified themselves, whether or not they were on duty that day. 12 And the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and all their sons and brothers—were dressed in fine linen robes and stood at the east side of the altar playing cymbals, lyres, and harps. They were joined by 120 priests who were playing trumpets. 13 The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices and praised the Lord with these words: “He is good! His faithful love endures forever!” At that moment a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. 14 The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God. (2 Chr. 5:1-14 NLT).
Can you picture the scene? The Ark of the Covenant—the presence of God—moves from the tabernacle to the temple. And that procession from one to the other is a celebration! People dancing and singing and praising! They can’t wait until the Ark finally rests in the temple! I think that image is what Paul has in mind as he thinks of our journey from our earthly tent to our permanent temple. It is like a praise-parade. We’ll be singing. We’ll be dancing. We’ll be rejoicing. Because we know that very soon we’ll receive our house not made with hands. And all we’ll be able to say is, “He is good! His faithful love endures forever!” That’s what life is like immediately after death for those who follow Jesus.
[1] Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol (Doubleday, 2009).
[2]Wiersbe, Warren W.: The Bible Exposition Commentary. Wheaton, Ill. : Victor Books, 1996, c1989, S. 2 Co 5:1
Chris,
Why did you not use “paradise” as terminology for that “in-between experience”?
Thanks,
MLS
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