So when Paul says, " to be absent from the body is to be present with the savior. " Was he also referring to people who are not necessarily following Jesus?
It’s all in the context. Remember, this is a letter (2 Corinthians), to a group of followers of Jesus living in the port city of Corinth. So we can assume he is trying to encourage the Christians, still living, about their future hope if they were to perish before resurrection. Whether or not Paul believed that for every person who dies, the letter doesn’t say. What we can say is, that for those who put their trust in Jesus, like the community in Corinth. They will be with Jesus if they die before final resurrection.
So when Paul says, " to be absent from the body is to be present with the savior. " Was he also referring to people who are not necessarily following Jesus?
It’s all in the context. Remember, this is a letter (2 Corinthians), to a group of followers of Jesus living in the port city of Corinth. So we can assume he is trying to encourage the Christians, still living, about their future hope if they were to perish before resurrection. Whether or not Paul believed that for every person who dies, the letter doesn’t say. What we can say is, that for those who put their trust in Jesus, like the community in Corinth. They will be with Jesus if they die before final resurrection.