What Bodies Will They Have?

This subject has been explained to some extent in the previous section as well as the beginning of this book of the afterlife and definitions. Here, we will take a deeper look into this subject and the relevant Bible passages.

In Matthew 22:23-33, the Sadducees (who didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead) asked Jesus a question to try and trap Him. They wanted to know that if the resurrection was true, who would people be married to in the afterlife if on earth they had married many times to different people. Jesus answered them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry no are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven” (v. 29-30). Was Jesus indicating here that our future bodies are going to be spiritual bodies like that of the angels? Or maybe, they will be physical bodies but with different functions, or perhaps a combination of physical and spiritual. Regardless, the truth we can take away from this is that in the resurrection, our bodies will not be exactly the same as they are now and neither will we have the same functions as we do now.

Another question we may have about this text is whether this is an applicable thing to the resurrection of the righteous or to the unrighteous as well? The answer is not spelled out. But if the Jews at the time believed that only the righteous would be raised to life, then this may be a reason why particular distinctions are not made in the text because that knowledge is already assumed. Therefore, to be like the angels, is a truth applicable which has the resurrection of the righteous in mind but not the unrighteous. Another thing to think about is that if ECT were true, what relevance would this question have for people going to hell? Marriage would be so irrelevant that it would be the last thing to ever be on their minds considering the degree of torment they would constantly be experiencing. Furthermore, even if Jesus had the unrighteous in mind when answering the Sadducee’s question, the point He is making is regarding marriage, not the immortality or lack of immortality of an individual. Therefore, I do not believe it would be correct to presuppositionally assume that angels are immortal and this means we will be immortal as well because we will be like the angels. I do not believe this is the point Jesus was making and therefore should not be our conclusion from this text.

What is the fate of the unrighteous? Will their bodies go to hell? Or will it be a hell with no body but just spiritual and psychological anguish? Matthew 5:29-30 says,

If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.

This text seems to indicate that it is better to suffer some loss on earth than it is to suffer total loss by going to hell. The phrase “whole body” seems to imply that it is the bodies we currently have now because if an eye or hand were missing, it would not be a whole body. Therefore, it is the present earthly body that gets thrown into hell, not a resurrected immortal body. If then it is a physical body and hell is a physical fire, then naturally, that body will be burned up and be completely consumed.

Now, one might concede to this fact that the body will be consumed but will say that the soul will continue existing afterwards and that it is the soul which will be tormented without end. However, this cannot be gleaned from the text. The emphasis of the warning seems to be about the body suffering, not the soul suffering. If the soul suffering would be exponentially more severe than a temporary bodily suffering, it would not make too much sense to emphasize the suffering of the body if the purpose of this were to evoke an adequate warning and fear response from Jesus’ listeners. If one does not believe in annihilationism, the next most plausible belief would be in the continued ongoing physical suffering of both body and soul in hell since the emphasis of this text points to bodily suffering. The least likely conclusion would therefore be of mere psychological pain in hell for eternity. But if we take Matthew 10:28 which says, “fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” and also take Matthew 5:29 which says that your whole body will be thrown into hell, it seems most reasonable to conclude that hell is a total loss of the whole person and this loss is not merely symbolic but literal. A total destruction. A total loss. Even as John 12:25 says, “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal” (cf. Lk. 9:24). As Conditionalists, we don’t’ need to overspiritualize the text to interpret this, the meaning is plainly clear. To lose your life is to no longer have any form of living. But to save or keep your life, is to continue existing forever.

For the believer, what kind of eternal existence body will they have? As Paul has indicated in 1 Corinthians 15, it is a spiritual and heavenly body. As Matthew 22 has indicated, they will be bodies like that of the angels. The Apostle John says this, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is” (1 Jn. 3:2). Taking this verse in combination with the message of 1 Corinthians 15 that our resurrection is derived from and united to the resurrection of Christ, we can conclude that whatever resurrected body Christ has, we also will have. So, when Jesus resurrected from the dead, what was His body like?

It was spiritual and immaterial in the sense that Jesus appeared to the two men on the road to Emmaus and then vanished from their sight. He also appeared to the disciples when they had the door locked, so apparently material substance did not prevent Him from movement. This is also a common knowledge fact about angels and demons. They can transport through walls as the spiritual dimension is not confined by our world of three-dimensional space. Jesus’ ascension into heaven also defied our physical laws of gravity.

Jesus’ body was also physical or material in some sense as well. He wasn’t just a vision, spirit, or ghost floating around. Jesus still had scar marks on His hands and feet in His glorified body. Now, He could have healed these scars if He wished but He didn’t. He also had the same body in a way because the body from the tomb had disappeared. As it is written, “He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay” (Acts 2:27, 31; Ps. 16:10). So when Jesus came into the world, He came in the flesh and when He rose from the dead, He was also in the flesh. This is also evident when He appeared to the disciples and told him to touch the scars in His hands and feet so that He would believe it really was Him.

Luke 24:37-43

And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 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.” 40 And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41 While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; 43 and He took it and ate it before them.

John 20:27

Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

Additionally, we see that Jesus ate food. Physical bodies eat food. Jesus also did this later when He ate breakfast on the beach with His disciples (Jn. 21). He also said at the last supper while drinking wine that He would do so again with His disciples in the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 26:29). All of the evidence presented here points to the fact that our bodies will be both physical and spiritual after we have been resurrected.

Philippians 3:20-21 says,

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

All of the Scriptural evidence points to the fact that for believers, our natural bodies will be transformed into the likeness of Christ’s body. He was never abandoned to Hades and nor did His flesh suffer decay and it never will. This is immortality. This is what we will be conformed to at the resurrection of the dead because Christ as the first fruits has guaranteed this future for us. These promises are only for those who believe, receive life in Jesus, and are united to Christ in His resurrection. Immortality is therefore excluded for all others. Unbelievers will only be resurrected physically to receive their just sentence and punishment to suffer a full decay into the fire of hell where they will perish as their souls are abandoned to the grave forever.

John 5:28-29

Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.