And this is the promise that He has promised us —eternal life.
1 John 2:25 NKJV
The most important thing is to know you’re saved.
How will we escape [the penalty] if we ignore such a great salvation [the gospel, the new covenant]?
For it was spoken at first by the Lord, and it was confirmed to us and proved authentic by those who personally heard [Him speak],Hebrews 2:3 AMP
"To neglect so great a salvation" is a phrase that recalls Israel’s experience. The author of Hebrews remembers the Israelites’ wilderness wanderings (see Hebrews 3:7—4:11) and how the people ignored God’s great salvation. As a result, they lived in captivity for years. The Greek verb (amelēsantes), translated as “if we neglect” in Hebrews 2:3, is from a root word meaning “to be careless of, disregard, pay no attention to.”
Jesus used the same word in the parable of the wedding feast (Matthew 22:1–14). The guests summoned to the wedding banquet represent people invited to enter the kingdom of heaven. In the parable, these invited guests “paid no attention” and went to tend to their businesses and farms (verse 5). They all ignored or neglected so great a salvation.
Neglecting salvation is not the same as rejecting it. The author of Hebrews is not talking to sinners and inviting them to be saved. He is speaking to Christians, urging them to pay close attention to the great salvation they have received from the Lord. He wants his brothers and sisters in Christ to understand that careless neglect of one’s salvation has dreadful consequences. Some listeners had apparently heard and responded to the gospel’s truth but were now at risk of drifting away. The writer is sending out a wake-up call. God doesn’t just sit back and let His people drift away into rebellion. He issues warnings, and, when necessary, He disciplines His beloved children (see Proverbs 3:11–12; Hebrews 12:5–7; James 1:12).
To neglect so great a salvation is to “become spiritually dull and indifferent” (Hebrews 6:12, NLT). This happens when we get too comfortable and self-satisfied. We grow careless and complacent. The Bible repeatedly warns against such complacency (Proverbs 1:32;1 Corinthians 10:12
How to know I’m saved:
Jesus saves completely—2 Corinthians 5:21
Saved by grace — Ephesians 2:8
Holy Spirit is our seal —2 Corinthians 1:22
What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.
1 Corinthians 15:50-52 NLT
As this metaphor is used in the Old Testament, that is where we will begin. It is related to three Hebrew words: shakab, which means “to lie down”; yashen , which means “sleep”; and shenah, which also means “sleep”. In one of the oldest books of the Bible, death is described as to “lie down in the dust” (Job 7:21; 20:11; 21:26NIV).
“Soul sleep” Is a belief that after a person dies his or her soul “sleeps” until the resurrection and final judgment. The concept of soul sleep is not biblical. It’s true that, in some places, the Bible speaks of those who have died as being asleep. Daniel 12:2 describes the resurrection as the time when “multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake.”
The New Testament speaks of believers who are “asleep” in Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 15:6, Paul speaks of those who are “still living,” in contrast to those who have “fallen asleep” (see also verses 18 and 20). Luke relates the death of Stephen with the words, “He fell asleep” (Acts 7:60), much the same as how Jesus describes Lazarus in John 11:11 and Jairus’s daughter in Luke 8:52. So, for those who expect a resurrection, sleep is a metaphor for death.
Death is a “sleep” for the believer because it is temporary; the resurrection is the “awakening.” But what exactly is it that sleeps, and what is awakened? It is the body, not the soul. A body, when dead, appears to be resting in sleep, and that gives rise to the metaphorical usage of sleep. But the soul does not sleep. The moment we experience physical death, our souls are transferred to a different place. For believers, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6–8; Philippians 1:23). For unbelievers, death means everlasting punishment in hell (Luke 16:22–23).
Until the final resurrection, there is a temporary heaven—paradise (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:4)—and a temporary hell—Hades (Revelation 1:18; 20:13–14).
According to Jesus’ account in Luke 16:19–31, neither in paradise nor in Hades are people sleeping. The three individuals in Jesus’ story—Lazarus, Abraham, and the rich man—are quite conscious and active in the afterlife, prior to the resurrection.
Five traits of your glorified body:
#1 It can be touched. (Physical)
“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.”
Luke 24:39
The need for human touch is one of our most basic, primal needs. Touch deprivation is correlated with negative health outcomes such as anxiety, depression, and immune system disorders. From a developmental standpoint, infants literally cannot survive without human touch. Skin-to-skin contact in even in the first hour after birth has been shown to help regulate newborns’ temperature, heart rate, and breathing, and decreases crying (Ferber, Feldman, & Makhoul, 2008).
#2 You can enjoy your favorite foods.
“While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them.”Luke 24:41-43
To see a man brutalized by beating and scourging, impaled on a cross until He dies in agony, then stabbed through the chest makes it difficult to believe He could come back to life. This is one reason many who knew Jesus did not recognize Him after His resurrection. It was hard to believe, even when multiple people claimed they saw Him, and even when He appears in the room like the door isn't locked (John 20:19).
That's the case for some of Jesus' disciples. Jesus patiently lets them see the scars on His hands and feet, touch Him to prove He's not a spirit. These disciples don't believe quite yet: their minds haven't caught up with their emotions. But at least their terror has turned to joy (Luke 24:36–40).
To further prove that He is real, Jesus asks for something to eat. Spirits don't eat. Furthermore, spirits don't practice the fellowship that occurs at meals. Earlier this night, Jesus revealed Himself to two disciples by breaking bread. When He invited them into the relationship that a meal creates, their eyes were opened and they realized it was Him (Luke 24:30).
Jesus will do this again, in Galilee. When seven disciples, including Peter and John, are fishing, He'll build a fire and prepare fish for their breakfast. Having invited Peter to His table, He'll then invite Peter into a reconciliation of their relationship (John 21:1–17).
#3 Not limited by space and time.
“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
John 20:19
“A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”John 20:26
#4 Power over sin.
And nothing that defiles or profanes or is unwashed will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices abominations [detestable, morally repugnant things] and lying, but only those [will be admitted] whose names have been written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Revelation 21:27 AMP
Your glorified body will be in what is called “eternal state” James 1:14 provides another assurance that we will not sin in heaven: “Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.” In this sinful world, we face temptation daily, and James identifies two forces that prompt us to sin: our own evil desire (our sin nature) and enticement (the devil’s schemes). Neither of those forces will be in heaven. Our sin nature will have been eradicated in our glorification, and the tempter will have been consigned to the lake of fire where he can do us no harm (Revelation 20:10).
The Bible’s teaching is that heaven or the eternal state is completely holy. There will be no possibility of sin, we will be clothed with righteousness (Revelation 19:8), and we will be eternally confirmed in our state of bliss. The work that God promised to complete in us will have been finished (Philippians 1:6). Our deliverance will be complete, as the elect are redeemed—body, soul, and mind—to the glory of the Lamb (Revelation 5:6–10).
#5 Will no longer suffer from death, or sickness
So it is with the resurrection of the dead. The [human] body that is sown is perishable and mortal, it is raised imperishable and immortal. 43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in strength;
44 it is sown a natural body [mortal, suited to earth], it is raised a spiritual body [immortal, suited to heaven]. As surely as there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.1 Corinthians 15:42-44 AMP
