The Afterlife: Where Do We Go When We Die?
John 17:1-4
These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
The afterlife should be of concern to everyone. While some people don’t believe there is an afterlife and it is viewed as unscientific and wishful thinking, it is a very significant part of our existence because after our temporal life here on earth is over, our eternal destination defines our existence for time without end. In comparing our 70-100 years or so of life to forever, it is easy to see which is more significant.
So is there any way to prove an afterlife? Today’s scientific world bases all belief on what can be measured. This tends to leave out many things which are real yet have no material dimensions upon which to perform tests and develop theses. For some time infrared light and ultraviolet light as well as x-rays and the whole array of the electromagnetic spectrum were unknown. They existed, but until scientific advances they were not measurable. We may have noticed their effects, like the fact that we cannot see the air, but we know it is there because it makes the trees move. John 3:8 I believe that it is apparent that there are spiritual aspects to existence that are not measured by science that point toward the existence of a realm that modern science by definition cannot define, yet it is a part of every single person’s life.
For instance, take love. What color is it? What does it smell like? Does it have a taste? How long is it? How much does it weigh? As Chris Rice says in his song by this name, it’s like trying to smell the color nine. Love is a spiritual thing, bringing out emotions sometimes felt and expressed in our physical bodies, but ultimately not definable by the scientific method because it has no material properties by which to test it. Yet none can deny it is and that it affects our daily lives, we just don’t usually think about it as such.
So is it possible from our daily lives to see the possibility of our consciousness continuing on outside of our body and the physical reality we know as this world? I believe God has given us a glimpse of this as well. In fact Yeshua also spoke of it interchangeably with death - that is sleep. We all do it every night and during that time we often have experiences that take place outside of our physical bodies and reality, yet they can seem very real in the moment. So how is it that we can see and hear things that are not real while our bodies are inanimate and resting? Would this not be defined as experiences of our consciousness outside of the limitations of our physical bodies? We “see” things without our eyes and “hear” things without our ears that we can recall soon after waking up yet tend to fade as the real world comes into focus. If our consciousness can experience non-material reality while our bodies are comatose every night, is it not also possible then that who we are, our consciousness can exist and experience things after our bodies are gone?
Of course when we sleep we still have a beating heart and brain activity so for most people this example may not be enough to convince anyone. However there are some people, who through the advancement of medicine and modern science, have had near death experiences where it is documented that their heart and brains had become inactive yet they still experienced things outside of their bodies and even looking down on their dead bodies. These people are able to recall what doctors were doing and saying while they were lying there brain-dead.
Assuming the belief in an eternal afterlife, the question becomes “what is it like?” My answer comes from the foundation of scripture and it is pretty black and white. There are only two ultimate destinations, with God forever at His dwelling place or apart from Him forever outside of his dwelling place. Everything good comes from God and so being apart from Him is an eternal lack of the good that is part of being with Him. We call these places heaven and hell respectively.
Matthew 25:31-46
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
God created a place for the fallen angels where He would not be forever. God is love, 1 John 4, and so to be apart from God is to be completely devoid of anything that He is. God does not want any of us to choose to be apart from Him, but rather that we repent and follow His ways of love. However, because we were given free will that choice is and always will be our own to make, for some to our everlasting detriment. Galatians 5 paints a picture between the Spirit of God and the lusts of the flesh.
Galatians 5:22,23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
To be separated from God eternally by our own choice is to lose experience of all of the above forever in addition to and as part of the eternal torment experienced in separation from God. This is why understanding who God is and following after Him is so important and why I’ve made this website to help share it.
We all die, that is a part of life because of the curse brought by our disobedience. There are lots of beliefs about the afterlife, some believe we reincarnate into other things to keep bettering ourselves. The Bible makes it clear this is not the case, connecting our only hope in Christ who covered our transgressions. This is the reason for our death in the first place and we have no power to eliminate them by our works, only through Christ’s blood.
Hebrews 9:27,28
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Hebrews 2:12-15
Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. And again, I will put my trust in him. [Yeshua] And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Fear of death is bondage which we are delivered from through Christ who offers us eternal life if we love and obey Him.
Matthew 10:26-28
Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Revelation 21:8
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
When we realize that Yeshua has power over death by paying the debt for our sin and offering us eternal life, we have no fear in dying physically and are no longer in bondage to the fear of death. The question is, where do we go when we die? If you don’t accept Christ, He won’t accept you, the choice is yours. If you choose to reject Christ, He will reject you and give you the promised eternal separation from Him. God is Love, so think hard before you choose because the opposite of love for eternity is not good. What is hell?
As a Biblical Christian, are we with Yeshua right after we die?
As a Christian however, the question becomes whether we are with Yeshua immediately when we die, or if we are asleep awaiting His coming to gather us to Himself. First we must understand where Yeshua currently is, and in that same passage we have a clue to the answer to this question.
John 14:1-3
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Yeshua has told us where He was going and what He would be doing, He is preparing New Jerusalem for His bride in accordance with the Hebrew wedding traditions that were foreshadowing His coming to gather His bride. There’s no mention of us going to be with Him. In fact His next statement makes it pretty clear we won’t be with Him because He promises to come back for us that we will then be with Him. It is from the point of the harpazo that we are forever with Him. He’s still “building” our future residence until He comes for us after it’s ready and the time has come that only the Father knows.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
I think there’s a misunderstanding on where the dead in Christ are. They are not currently with Christ to be coming back with Him. The italicized portion above is where you stopped, but looking at the whole context we can see that the dead in Christ are raised first. That means they were sleeping in the earth, not with Christ. They are resurrected before we are all caught up to the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. If they were already with the Lord, why would they be resurrected and then caught up with the rest of us? The dead are asleep right now. They will be awakened with the trump of God as they are raised incorruptible.
What I believe scripture is stating here is that the dead in Christ will be brought with Christ when the rest of us are taken to heaven. We’re all going to be caught up together and go to the marriage of the Lamb in heaven. All the dead in Christ will be brought by God with Christ to that event even though they were asleep. We’re to comfort each other with these things. We don’t lose hope in death, but await to see the glory of God raise them incorruptible to join us all with Him and God will bring us all to Himself. That’s what I believe this passage is stating, not that the dead are with Christ now and will come with Him from heaven to harpazo us.
Isaiah 26:19-21
Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
Here we see a resurrection of dead bodies. Notice this takes place BEFORE God’s wrath comes. After they’re resurrected, they’re told to hide because the Lord is coming out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. We’re not appointed to His wrath in several places in scripture.
Hebrews 11:36-40
And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
This seems to say it all, everyone who dies in Christ is resurrected at the same time.
John 3:13
And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
In Progress...
It is commonly accepted that those that have died in Christ are with Him now in heaven.
Luke 23:42,43
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradiseG3857.
Revelation 6:9-11
And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
They have died in Christ and are speaking with God prior to the cosmic signs.
Jesus’ own words telling the thief he would not have to wait until the kingdom to be with Jesus in paradise. Rather he told him “today” he would be in paradise with Jesus.
My response:
1 Corinthians 15:50-58
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
It would seem from this passage that death isn’t swallowed up in victory until we are raised incorruptible or changed depending on status at the harpazo.
Job 28:12,13
But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.
The “land of the living” always seems to refer to earth. And Christ referred to death as sleep. God is the God of the living because we have all gained eternal life through Yeshua the Christ. Does that mean we don’t die because God is the God of the living? Or does it mean that we sleep now and when the resurrection/harpazo takes place we are then given our immortal bodies with which to follow Christ to the place He’s been preparing for us?
John 14:1-3
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Wouldn’t that mean that we aren’t with Christ until He comes to receive us unto Himself?
I don’t argue that our souls are present, just not in our immortal bodies until the resurrection/harpazo. Our bodies will die (sleep) and our spirits will then be in Abraham’s bosom, kind of like a common dream with the rest of the dead in Christ. I’m just having a hard time with the clear transition when Christ comes to receive us to Himself and the fact that the dead aren’t raised until that point. I believe our spirits enter an alternate dimension (for lack of a better term) that’s like a dream state, where our consciousness still exists, just without a tabernacle. The new body collocated with Yeshua in the Father’s house doesn’t come until the resurrection.
What is paradise? Is that another term for Abraham’s bosom? Christ hadn’t gone to heaven yet and so if paradise is the holding place till the resurrection, then Christ would see him there that day. Only Christ, and those resurrected with Him Matthew 27:50-53, would then be resurrected and leave that place for the land of the living again. Then He ascended into heaven while the thief remained in waiting for his resurrected body. Perhaps those resurrected were the 24 elders seen in heaven later in the vision.
“To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord?” (paraphrased) Ever hear of that one? When a Christian dies, his or her soul goes instantaneously to heaven to be with Jesus.
My response:
2 Corinthians 5:1-10
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
I would rather be absent from the body and be present with the Lord as well. Reading the context of the beginning, it’s centered around the incorruptible body we get, but we don’t get that until the resurrection/harpazo according to scripture. Then there’s the story of the afterlife we do hear about. It’s not terribly detailed, but the rich man isn’t in the lake of fire, he’s in Hades.
Luke 16:19-31
There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
So is heaven Abraham’s bosom? Or is that a place the dead go in waiting for the return of Christ to have their souls placed in the new tabernacles which are incorruptible and immortal? Kind of like how Hades is the holding place of the wicked until the great white throne judgment?
Douggg wrote:
Hi Brother Triton,
Triton57: “I’m just trying to understand the two different impressions the Word gives. It’s said to be absent from the body is present with the Lord, but the dead aren’t resurrected until Christ comes here. The only way it fits right now is that, like the Holy Spirit’s presence with us, so too is He present (trinity) in our death and waiting for His physical return to give us our incorruptible bodies. Nobody has them yet except for Christ. Otherwise, why would any be resurrected at His return? They would already have the new bodies. More research needed. Thanks for the discussion!”
What is dead and in the grave of EVERYBODY - right now? It is the body. Not the soul. The soul of EVERYBODY is either with the Lord - if a person is saved. Or the soul is in sheoul...hell... if a person has not received Jesus. That’s only TWO places....to consider... heaven or hell.
Daniel 12:2
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Daniel 12:13
But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
Triton57: The way this is described is as sleep and the dead are asleep in the dust of the earth. Both verses compare death to a sleep, an unconscious state, which is to continue until the time of the resurrection. Here’s a study on this topic
The idea that death is merely a separation of a conscious, immortal soul from the body came not from the Bible but from Greek philosophy. Notice what Plato wrote in Phaedo:
“The soul whose inseparable attitude is life will never admit of life’s opposite, death. Thus the soul is shown to be immortal, and since immortal, indestructible... we believe there is such a thing as death? To be sure. And is this anything but the separation of the soul and body?...being dead is the attainment of this separation when the soul exists in herself and separate from the body, and the body is parted from the soul. That is death... death is merely the separation of the soul and body.”
An interesting philosophy— very much in harmony with the modern concept of the soul; but it is nowhere taught in the Old Testament. Even modern theologians who believe in the immortality of the soul admit frankly that it is not taught in the Bible.
John 11:11-27
These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
Obviously this was before Christ’s death and resurrection. The dead in Christ sleep until the awakening blast of the last trump. Those living in Christ are changed before death.
1 Timothy 6:14-16
That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
2 Corinthians 5:1-10
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
This statement, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord,” isn’t stating that when we die we’re with the Lord. It’s stating that we are confident (by faith) in the promise of eternal life and willing (desiring) to be absent from this body and clothed with the immortal one, the tabernacle from heaven. However, we know that nobody is raised into this incorruptible until the last trump, the catching away.
Ecclesiastes 12:7
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
Jesus’ body was not left in the grave because he was the firstfruits.... as the bible says. The rest of us will have our bodies resurrected or changed in the twinkling of an eye if we are alive when the event of 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 takes place.
Triton57: “Do you have a scripture stating that Abraham’s bosom was emptied and nullified as a place for the just to go when dead? Is there some reason why the story of Lazarus and the rich man no longer represents the afterlife before Christ comes again and resurrects the dead in Christ? Why are they being resurrected on His return? Do we need our physical incorruptible bodies to be in heaven, that’s how Christ ascended.”
No, we don’t need our incorruptible bodies, for our souls to go to heaven... evidenced by the souls that John saw in Revelation of those in heaven who died during the great tribulation.... Revelation 7.
The soul does have some sort of form there, because the multitudes in Revelation 7... their souls are pictured. But in that form, it is not the promise of God... that redemption of the body will occur. God is correcting what that Satan wanted to destroy of God’s creation. Satan instrument for destruction was-is ....sin. It is in everything... even the earth itself must be redeemed... it too will be destroyed.... and be made anew.
I am not saying that Abraham’ bosom was nullified....it still exists...but it never was the place that CHRISTIANS go. The story of Lazarus and the rich man...was before there were any Christians. One has to keep that in mind.
The conclusion of the story of Lazarus and the Rich man itself (that the rich man’s relatives wouldn’t listen Moses so they wouldn’t also accept the gospel message)... and that hell doesn’t give up its those who have died “souls” UNTIL the final Great White Throne Judgment at the end of the millennium... indicates that hell is still operational.
What Paul said regarding being present with the Lord when absent from the body (until the resurrection of the body occurs) .... applies to Christians....of where out souls go when a Christian physically dies. We have that comfort. And that when the resurrection and redemption of the body that is now in the grave takes place.... those who are alive at that time... won’t be left out... we also have that comfort.
More Scriptures
John 13:31-36
Therefore, when he [Judas] was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seekG2212 me: and as I said unto the JewsG2453, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwardsG5305.
What is Jesus telling us about our ability to be with Him now in His physical presence? There’s a chapter separation, but this is the continued conversation...
John 14:1-6
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
This tells us that we are not with Christ until He comes back to “receive you unto myself.” So what does this mean when applied to where the dead are currently at when they die. Where is your Father, Grandmother, Sister, or Brother who has died? The general answer is always, for the Christian, that they’re with Jesus. But is that what the Bible says?
1 Corinthians 15:50-58
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
I view death as falling asleep. When we sleep, we dream. We aren’t really in these places we dream and many times they never happened to our knowledge, but we still experience them even though our bodies are unconscious and in a death-like state. When we wake up, they may have even affected our conscious thought.
In death, we sleep. Our bodies remain in the earth while we “dream” a shared dream with those who died in Christ of Abraham’s bosom. The only difference is this is reality, just in a “dream state.”
When Christ comes for His bride, the last trump will wake the dead and they will be raised in their incorruptible bodies and taken, with those living who are changed, to meet the Lord in the air. This verse is not representative of the harpazo, but it shows the relationship of sleeping and waking as related to death. (The only time the unjust are raised is the great white throne judgment after the millennium. Revelation 20:4-5)
Daniel 12:2
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
John 14 makes it clear that Christ has left to prepare a place for us. It is also clear that Christ promises to return one day to gather us unto Himself so that we can be with Him from that time on.
John 14:1-3
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
If we’re already with Him when we die, why would He be promising to come receive us to Himself so we can be with Him? It is His coming again that brings us together as He gathers us to meet Him in the clouds.
Near Death Experiences (NDE)
Near Death Experience Cases & Research on Coast to Coast AM - Dr. Jeffrey Long, a leading researcher into near-death experiences (NDEs), shared new findings and reports on the phenomenon. He also reacted to Prof. Kevin Nelson’s recent study (see below) which connected NDEs to out-of-body experiences (OBEs) and sleep paralysis. While Long was pleased that research into this area was being conducted, he was critical of the study’s conclusions. He felt their surveys didn’t retrieve enough details from respondents, and that more information could have highlighted the differences between these experiences. There is a startling similarity across countries and cultures of what people report during NDEs, which can include being greeted by deceased relatives and friends, traveling through a tunnel, and undergoing a life review. Even NDErs who have been blind from birth report seeing similar things, he said. About 5% of NDEs involve hellish encounters, Long noted. In a few cases he’s collected, people have reported interactions with beings on other planets. He shared the report of Roger C. who described speaking telepathically, and conveying images to members of an advanced civilization on a distant planet. The beings, dressed in strange uniforms that molded to their skin, expressed surprise when he told them that humans eat foods that had been alive. “We knew there were primitive civilizations but not as bad as that!,” they commented.
- International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) - The International Association for Near-Death Studies is the first organization in the world devoted exclusively to the study of Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) and Near-Death-Like experiences. Founded in 1978, it has become the premier NDE resource for research, education and support. Based on scientific and scholarly research roots, IANDS is the most trusted source for researchers, experiencers, professional care providers, clergy and seekers of greater meaning.
- Near Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF) - The largest NDE Website in the world with over 1000 full-text published NDE accounts.
- After Death Communication Research Foundation (ADCRF) - extensive information and resources regarding after death communication (ADC), bereavement, grief, life after death.
- Out of Body Experience Research Foundation (OBERF) - Out of Body Experience (OBE) spiritually transformative events, consciousness studies, extensive information and research. People share their stories and learn more about different states of consciousness.