( Updated on 7/2023 )
Most people avoid the topic of death. Having someone we love leaves us or leaving those we love behind is not a pleasant thought. The fear of the unknown and annihilation fuels much of the anxiety about death.
We humans only have experience dealing with our lives on the earthly plane, leaving behind that can be discomforting. The thoughts of what the body goes through after death is not pleasant as well. The thought of a corpse withering away and decaying in a tomb is not something loved ones would like to think about when they have known the person in question to be once so vibrant and full of life.
So what happens to us at the moment of our death?
When we finally arrive at the moment of our death the soul will separate from our body and will be given a particular judgment. The body itself in the most ideal cases is prepared and given a proper burial by family or friends of the departed, there it will rest in the ground or in the mausoleum until the day of Resurrection.
Cremation is a more acceptable practice in modern day but traditionally Christians did not cremate because the body was viewed as something sacred and baptized and should not be willfully destroyed but instead be prepared for burial or entombment with care (unless in case of unusual and extreme circumstances which would warrant public health and safety concerns due to corpses piling up war, plague, etc which the Church makes an allowance for cremation. )
The corpses of the dead, that were once inhabited with a soul during earthly life, those that have long decayed in the ground centuries ago, lost and dissolved in the depths of the sea, or torched by the flame in an act of cremation will all be reanimated. The bodybuilding elements found in the dust of the earth will recompose God's creation that is the human body. To what degree? Most likely this would have to do with if you're body will be one of the glorified of the elect or the corrupt of the damned.
If you happen to be one of the elect, the body will be glorified and have extra properties that our previous bodies did not have. The best example of the Ressurection body we have is that of Jesus himself. When Christ was resurrected on Easter Sunday he had a physical body, he was recognizable to those who knew him, and was even capable of and partook of food. Jesus ascended into heaven with a physical body that had supernatural attributes, he did not leave as a wispy smoke of mist or fog.
This video does a great job of explaining our body beyond. The explanation and comparisons used are spot on in illustrating the very real flesh-bone bodies we will have with special properties.
Do we keep our size, physical stature, and strength with our new bodies?
Since we do retain identifying physical features from the old body to the new body, if you are indeed one of the elect, then I would say yes. This may also be determined by what you look like at death. We know Christ came back in the same but glorified form, the same age, with the same identifying features so His disciples could recognize him and be witness to His bodily Resurrection.
What if one dies in advanced old age? Would they come back as an elderly man? I have heard a theory we would actually return to the age Christ was when He was crucified (33). I cannot verify this to be true but it would make sense. Plus I have seen photos of my grandfather as a younger man and I could still identify him.
Another exception would be if someone died with a handicap or disability. It is fair to say that the new glorified body would be free of these earthly defects while the person would still be recognizable.
Since there is a continuum between the bodily identity of the old body and the new body, I would imagine one who had a strong body in life and died in a state of grace, would also have his physical stature and strength reflected in his new Resurrection body since it is an identifying feature. I would even argue that our best features will be even more amplified in the glorified Resurrection body.
The wicked and the damned will also be resurrected, but if one died a championship bodybuilder who was damned, would the bodybuilder with the perfect body during life in his prime, would he keep his gains with a resurrection body?
Arnold Schwarzenegger for example has denied the afterlife and denied the resurrection of the body. He has also discussed how he is angry about death and disgusted with aging. The sad irony is that if Arnold was a believer in Christ he would have faith in the bodily resurrection and get an even more glorified body than he ever had during his life.
If one is damned and has spent their life rejecting Christ they will not receive a glorified body. The bodies of the damned will be riddled with corruption, rot, and decay as it will match the sinful nature of their souls. They will be dark, horrifying, and a dread to look at. They will be physically complete enough to feel physical pain, the fires of hell, and the worm that dieth not but will not exhibit any physical glory or beauty that those in Christ will receive at the Ressurection.
To close this article I will include verses that reference our Ressurection.
This also should be the final nail in the coffin of those who condemn physical culture from an erroneous faith perspective and denounce taking care of our physical bodies as sinful or altogether denying the importance of the body which houses the soul. Those misguided fools who condemn physical culture, weight training, and bodily care are actually guilty of a Gnostic heresy. Specifically, they are guilty of the heresy of Docetism.
If the body was not important God would not have given us one at our creation, nor would He have given us a new glorified physical resurrection body should we be one of the fortunate to die in a state of grace.
Our bodies house our immortal souls, and we will have one whether damned or among the elect. You on earth can affect changes in your body for the better. An ultimate testament to God's great creation on how we can alter it for the better through certain actions of physical training and diet.
Ultimately you also have the free will choice to determine what your body of beyond will be like by your actions during your life on earth in the here and now.
"Who will reform the body of our lowness, made like to the body of his glory, according to the operation whereby also he is able to subdue all things unto himself. "-Philippians 3:21
"And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and hell gave up their dead that were in them; and they were judged every one according to their works. "-Apocalypse 20:13
“But this I confess unto you, that after the Way which they call a sect, so serve I the God of our fathers, believing all things which are according to the law, and which are written in the prophets; having hope toward God, which these also themselves look for, that there shall be a resurrection both of the just and unjust” (Acts 24:14-15)
"And many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth, shall awake: some unto life everlasting, and others unto reproach, to see it always."-Daniel 12:2
"And I — in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness."-Psalm 17:15
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