Some religions teach that after death the soul of an
individual merges with an impersonal Supreme Soul. However, the Bible teaches
that there is and always will be—even in heaven—a distinct difference between
human beings and God, who is infinite, personal, just, and loving.
There will be personal identity in heaven. Jesus, in His resurrected body, ascended physically to heaven and will return in the same recognizable manner (Acts 1:9–11; Titus 2:13). Christians also will receive resurrection bodies that will be fully and completely transformed from what they were physically in this life (1 Cor. 15:12–57). Christian theology teaches that even those whose physical bodies have been destroyed by trauma or cremated will receive a perfect resurrection body.
There will be personal identity in heaven. Jesus, in His resurrected body, ascended physically to heaven and will return in the same recognizable manner (Acts 1:9–11; Titus 2:13). Christians also will receive resurrection bodies that will be fully and completely transformed from what they were physically in this life (1 Cor. 15:12–57). Christian theology teaches that even those whose physical bodies have been destroyed by trauma or cremated will receive a perfect resurrection body.
When a Christian dies, he or she is consciously and immediately in the
presence of Jesus Christ, our Savior in heaven (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8).
Although our bodies remain in the grave, our souls are immediately in God’s
presence, where we are conscious and awaiting resurrected bodies that will be
attained at the rapture when Christ returns (1 Thess. 4:15–17; 1 John 3:2). Death does not eradicate identity.
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