Expert: Phillip Senn - 8/6/2007

Question
QUESTION: I am looking for the scripture that says....  to be absent from the body is to be in the presence of Christ.  
I am having a discussion with someone about someone dying and saying they went to Heaven,  but didn't see the Lord. It seems like I have read that scripture and wanted to make sure I am comparing what people say to the Word.  Thanks,  Shelly

ANSWER: Shelly,

Thank you for your noble examination of what people say. The passage you seek is in 2 Corinthians 5. Specifically you are searching for verses 6-8. The reading of verses 1-11 all appear to go together in context.

I also share your concern that someone says they died and went to Heaven, but there is no testimony that they saw the Lord. I had a near death experience, but I had no "out of body experience." I was never pronounced "dead", but they had to use the paddles on me several times to revive me. I give God the glory, not because I got to go to Heaven, but because He allowed me more time to be of service to His kingdom here.

The Scriptures indicate that those that diligently search the Scriptures to see whether "these things be so" (things that other people tell them) are noble. Thank you for being one of those people.

With Love In Christ,
Phillip Senn

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your quick response.  I do have a follow up question.  I have been discussing the book....  90 minutes in Heaven with another believer and I am questioning if there are any scriptures that tell us we have the ability to have a near death experience.

This man that wrote the book talks about going to Heaven,  but never mentions actually seeing Christ.  So the scriptures I shared with my friend are....  Phil 1:23 - 1John 3:2 -  1 Corinthians 13:12 -  and 2 Cor. 5:6-8.  All the commentaries I have read so far about this verses seem to say that we will see Christ face to face when we die.  The question I have is......  is this referring to the state we will be in after death and while we are waiting for Christ to return for his church that is still on the earth-----  or are these scriptures referring to seeing Him face to face after He comes back to get his church???

Answer
The indication that "we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" is referring to His return in the clouds. This is after we have died and gone to be with Him. The saved go to be with the Lord at their death. Then, at His coming in the clouds, our body is "caught up" to be with the Lord in the air. This is the hope of the believer, to have a bodily resurrection, as our Lord did. That will take place when He returns in the clouds. This is when the believers will be judged to determine their rewards at the judgement seat of Christ. It is 1000 years later that the bodies of the lost are resurrected to face condemning judgement at the "great white throne" judgement.

The believer will not have full knowlege of Christ, and will not be fully mature in Christ, until His coming in the clouds. That is why we need to "prepare to meet thy God". We need to be preparing our lives in honor of His return.

Then there will be another time, when Christ returns to the Earth, with His church, to set the battle in order against Satan, His demons, and all of the Nations that deny His Lordship.

So the answer is twofold.. 1. We will see Him at His coming, and be made like Him. 2. We will see Him in all of His glory, at His coming to the Earth to destroy those that deny God.

And then there is one other aspect... The New Jerusalem will descend from Heaven, and in it the LAMB will be the LIGHT of it... Praise the Lord.

Bottom line, we will be with Him in Heaven at our death if we are believers. Then at His coming we shall see Him as He is, and we shall be made like Him in the resurrection. Then we shall see Him in all of His Earthly glory at His coming to the Earth. Then lastly, we shall see Him in all of His Heavenly glory in the New Jerusalem.

I hope this has help, and hasn't been too confusing.

With Love In Christ,
Phillip Senn

PS. The other Scriptures that you used were also very good passages to share with your friend.