Where do we go when we die?
[Note: This series of questions about Heaven and the Eternal State were sent in to Lamb & Lion Ministries and answered by Dr. David Reagan, Nathan Jones, and Tim Moore on our television program Christ in Prophecy.]
Dr. Reagan: We are going to focus on questions people sent in to our ministry about Eternity, or to put it another way, questions about Heaven and Hell. The first question deals with when a person dies, whether he or she immediately goes to Heaven or Hell, or spiritually sleeps in the grave until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Their childhood preacher taught them about a concept called Soul Sleep.
Tim Moore: There are some who have become misled when it comes to the concept of Soul Sleep. This concept teaches that our souls are buried with our bodies and we just hang out in some kind of limbo until Jesus returns to resurrect our bodies. But, the Apostle Paul was very clear, and he told us a couple of different times, such as in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 where he states, “Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight, we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” Paul also revealed in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” And, again in verse 23, “But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better.” Paul said he knew that when he departed his body he would be with Christ.
Dr. Reagan: Those are very good points, but the person who believes in Soul Sleep would come back at you and say, “Okay, if there is no Soul Sleep, then why is it the Bible refers to death as sleep?”
Nathan Jones: That is because we are talking about the body here. What is six feet under is our physical, human body, our earthly body, which naps underground. Can you imagine being a soul trapped in a decaying corpse under the ground with the worms and the bugs and stuff? No wonder so many people are terrified of death! But, no, the Bible says that when we die we will be escorted by the angels up to Jesus Christ. So, the very second that you die, if you believe in Jesus as your Savior, you will then immediately stand before the Lord.
Now, the body still waits under the earth. It waits for the Rapture, or the Resurrection if you are already dead. The earthly body will be resurrected and merged with our intermediate bodies, and then we will at last don our glorified bodies, and those are the bodies that we will indwell for all of eternity.
Dr. Reagan: It is metaphorically true that death is sleep in the sense that the body goes into the ground, or the body is burned, or the body is lost in the ocean, or whatever fate. But, when Jesus returns, a supernatural thing is going to happen. Jesus is going to speak and all of those bodies are going to come back together. The dead are going to awake, in the sense that the Bible uses sleep to refer to the body which remains here, and that the body will one day be resurrected and rise again. At the resurrection, our earthly bodies are going to wake up. The body may sleep, but not the soul. The soul immediately upon death goes to be with the Lord.
Nathan Jones: There are a number of people, especially Catholics, who write in to the ministry and ask about cremation. They ask, “If I were to burn up my body in cremation, then how could the Lord resurrect my body?” The Lord works at the subatomic level. He can put every atom back in place, so don’t worry about it. Trust that your body will indeed be resurrected. After all, the Bible talks about the sea giving up its dead, and the earth gives up its dead. Wherever your body is, even if it was blown into the wind as atoms, the Lord will put them all back together again.
Will we live forever in Heaven or on the New Earth?
Dr. Reagan: A lot of people are surprised to learn that our eternal home is not going to be Heaven but the New Earth.
Tim Moore: The New Jerusalem on the New Earth is going to be Heaven, for what defines Heaven? Heaven is where God is. Wherever God is, that’s where I want to be, and that to me is a heavenly place. It is Heaven. The Scriptures say that the Lord is going to return to reign over the earth. Heaven will come down and God’s glory will fill the earth. When that happens, Ezekiel reveals that Jesus’ name will then become Yahweh Shammah, meaning “the Lord who is there.” The Lord will be there ruling over the earth, and so Heaven will be here. Christians will reign with Jesus on the earth during the coming Millennial Kingdom and then on after into the Eternal State.
Dr. Reagan: Having been raised in an Amillennialism-teaching church, when I first began to believe what the Bible really says about the end times and started the transition to becoming Premillennial in my view, this revelation about Heaven being on the New Earth was one of the things that was the biggest shock to me. I had always been taught that when we died we were going to become like ghosts, we were going to be kind of like spirits, and we were going to float around on clouds and play harps. Heaven wasn’t going to be tangible and material, but an ethereal place filled with spirits. A lot of that kind of thinking is actually due to Eastern religious concepts and not biblical concepts. When I read in the Bible that we are going to be given glorified, eternal bodies and that we are going to live on a new earth, I was shocked. Nobody had ever taught me that, but that is indeed what the Bible teaches.
Nathan Jones: I have always wondered how some can teach that we will be living forever in ethereal bodies, sitting on clouds, and playing harps. Wouldn’t our immaterial hands go right through the harps? Ever since I was a kid, that imagery bothered me.
Rather, John 14 reveals that ever since Jesus ascended to Heaven He has been preparing a place for His children to live. Read Revelation 20-22, for there we learn about this prepared place will be like, and it’s given a name — the New Jerusalem. It’s this super-city that the Lord has been building. And what a structure! John explains that this super-city is going to be 1,500 miles wide, and long, and high. So, it could be a cube or it could be a pyramid. The New Jerusalem will actually come down to a New Earth.
Now, it has been calculated that this city is so big that if it was placed on the current earth the earth would wobble uncontrollably because of the city’s sheer size. So, it’s been estimated that the New Earth might even be as large as Jupiter in order to handle a city of such mass. The New Jerusalem will be Heaven on earth.
Dr. Reagan: This eternal city will descend down to the New Earth just at the end of the Millennial reign. God is then going to take all of those who are believers in Christ and place them in that glorious new city while He refurbishes the planet, burning off all the effects of sin and the curse. Then the city is going to descend to the purified New Earth, and the Father Himself is going to come and live in our midst. We are going to be living in our new bodies, in the New Jerusalem, on a New Earth, living in the presence of our Creator Jesus forever and ever.
Tim Moore: What a glorious picture! Revelation 21:23 further describes the New Jerusalem as “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.” That is what God’s faithful can look forward to, and that will be right here on the earth.
Dr. Reagan: When the high priest went into the Holy of Holies once a year to sprinkle the blood on the Mercy Seat, that was symbolic of the fact that the death of the Messiah — His blood — would make it possible for the grace of God to cover the Law of God, which was in the Ark. But, the priest also stepped back and sprinkled the blood on the ground, and most people overlook that. That act was symbolic of the fact that the Messiah’s death would also result in the redemption of the physical universe. God intends to redeem this universe and place it back into its perfected state as God had originally created. So, yes, there is going to be a New Earth, but it is going to be a perfected earth, and beautiful beyond anything we can imagine.
Nathan Jones: You would have to think, too, how could we be ghosts if we are eating from the Tree of Life? Ghosts don’t need to eat from the Tree of Life. Revelation talks about how the city’s inhabitants will be traveling in and out of the city through its 12 gates. Why would we need to come in and out of gates if we didn’t have bodies? We know then that our glorified bodies will be tangible, they would be recognizable, and they will be physical. We’ll also be wearing clothes. Ghost don’t need to wear clothes, but we will indeed be wearing robes, so our bodies must be tangible.
Tim Moore: Jesus in His glorified body ate with the disciples. He enjoyed the bounty of the catch.
Dr. Reagan: Oh, yes, and that is one of the things I am most excited about. I believe in my glorified body I’ll be able to eat all I want without having to gain a pound. Not even an ounce!
In the second part of this series answering questions about the Eternal State, we will look at the judgments people will face after they die.
Resource
This Q&A series is also available in a video album which contains two DVD discs that feature seven television programs in which David Reagan, Tim Moore, and Nathan Jones respond to questions about the Bible and Bible prophecy. These programs are great for both individual and group study and provide an excellent starting point for discussion.
What then if you are cremated and your ashes scattered where then is the body at rest well the soul is in heaven?
The question concerning cremation usually occurs over concern that cremation would hamper God making a believers’ resurrected body. God has the power to put every atom back in place when God resurrects His saints, so cremation is not a roadblock for Him and also therefore not a sin.
For more on what happens after you die, watch this short Inbox video at http://christinprophecy.org/sermons/the-inbox-19-what-happens-when-you-die/, check out the article http://www.lamblion.com/articles/articles_eternity1.php, and another on Heaven at http://www.lamblion.com/articles/articles_eternity2.php, and https://christinprophecyblog.org/2011/05/fhco-your-future-in-heaven-part-1/, or watch online our “Christ in Prophecy” series about Heaven at http://www.lamblion.com/television/programs.php#Heaven.
Are your loved ones watching you from heaven?
The Bible doesn’t teach that our loved ones are watching us from Heaven, but the Bible does indeed teach that we will know our loved ones once when we get to Heaven.
When a believer dies today, his soul is taken directly to Heaven where he resides in an intermediate spirit body until the time of the resurrection. We know they have bodies because martyred believers during the Tribulation are pictured in their spirit bodies standing before the throne of God clad in white robes and waving palm branches (Revelation 7:1-9). They are fully conscious as they sing, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (Rev. 7:10). Samuel (1 Sam. 28:7-19), Lazarus and the Rich Man (Lk. 16:19-31), and Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration also were clothed and recognizable, showing they had physical bodies.
Resurrected believers in Jesus are destined one day receive new glorified bodies. In Philippians 3:21 Paul states that the glorified bodies which will be given to believers will be like the body that Jesus had after His resurrection.
Jesus had a tangible body that could be touched and recognized (Lk. 24:41-43; Jn. 20:27-28). It was body very similar to the bodies we have now, and yet it was also very different. It could pass through a wall into a locked room (Jn. 20:26), and it could move about from one place to another at a high rate of speed (Lk. 24:30-36).
His disciples were so startled and frightened by His ability to vanish and reappear suddenly at another place that they thought they were seeing a spirit. But Jesus countered that idea immediately by telling them, “Touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Lk. 24:39).
And so, like Jesus, the Redeemed are promised glorified bodies that will be tangible, immortal and certainly recognizable.
For more on what happens after you die, check out http://www.lamblion.com/articles/articles_eternity1.php, and on Heaven at http://www.lamblion.com/articles/articles_eternity2.php, and http://www.lamblion.us/2011/05/fhco-your-future-in-heaven-part-1.html, or watch online our “Christ in Prophecy” series about Heaven at http://www.lamblion.com/television/programs.php#Heaven.
What happens to Jews who don’t believe in Jesus when they die? Going back thousands of years until now?
I love your show and pray for you every day.
Timothy, we appreciate your prayers! According to the Book of Hebrews, Old Testament believers were saved by faith in God. Salvation has always been about faith. Sacrifices did cover one’s sins temporarily for a time, but the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus on the cross finally covered their sins once and for all.
The victory of Jesus meant that these Old Testament saints after death no longer had to wait in a place called Paradise, but could be finally taken up to Heaven to be with God (see the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31). Their salvation was fulfilled when Jesus’ sacrificial work was completed and so now the Old Testament Saints dwell in Heaven and New Testament believers in Christ like us go directly to Heaven upon death.
For more on what happens when you die, check out http://www.lamblion.com/articles/articles_eternity1.php and this short Inbox video at http://christinprophecy.org/sermons/the-inbox-19-what-happens-when-you-die/.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful answer Nathan.
Keep up the excellent work. We are living in the most exciting time in history.
Do you find anywhere that the bible says the Church is the Bride of Christ? I have found where the New Jerusalem is. I found this on the net:
Christians are not the bride of Christ, that is the New Jerusalem; Christians are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb.
Ephesians 5:22-33 is the main teaching concerning the Church being the Bride of Christ. In contrast, the eternal city – the New Jerusalem – is not Christ’s bride, but instead the inhabitants of the city are. That the city is called “the bride, the wife of the Lamb” in Revelation 21:9 is metaphorical language – the use of an object for what it contains (the Church in the city). Revelation 21:2 says the city is “made ready as a bride adorned for her husband,” a clear use of simile, a literary device that makes a comparison between two separate things. Moreover, in Revelation 22:3 the church (“the bond-servants of the Lamb”) is clearly separate from the city (in which they serve), so it cannot be a symbol of them. The city qualifies in every sense as a physical reality with measurable architectural structures. In Revelation 21:9, the angel takes John (who is part of the Church) to see the Bride (the Church) inhabiting the New Jerusalem city.
If I say New York City, am I talking about just some buildings, or the people and events that make it alive? The eternal New Jerusalem in Rev. 21:9 is called “the bride, the wife of the Lamb,” but it is what Jesus built for His Bride the Church. “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). The key to understanding Revelation 21:2 is “prepared as a bride.” In other words, the city is beautifully adorned like a bride, but that doesn’t mean the city is a bride. The true Bride of Christ dwells inside it, along with all those others in time who have been saved (Jn. 14:2-3). When it comes down to Earth just after the Millennial Kingdom and at the start of the eternal state, Heaven will finally be “the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God” (Rev. 21:3). For more info on the New Jerusalem, check out http://www.lamblion.com/articles/articles_jews4.php.
You seem to ignore the words of Jesus. In John 3 He tells Nicodemus that no one has gone to heaven. Later in John 14 He tells his disciples that he is going to prepare a place for them and will come back for them.
If they are already with the Lord, why does he have to come back for them?
Jesus told before His death a story about the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:9-31). When they died, their spirits went to Hades. The rich man’s spirit went to a compartment called “Torments.” The spirit of Lazarus went to a compartment referred to as “Abraham’s bosom.” On the Cross, Jesus called this compartment “Paradise” (Luke 23:43). The two compartments were separated by a “great chasm” which could not be crossed.
When Jesus died for the sins of Mankind, Paradise was moved from Hades to Heaven. Paul attests to this in 2 Corinthians 12:4 where he states that he was taken up to the “third heaven,” which he identifies as “Paradise.” The Redeemed could not go directly to Heaven before the Cross because their sins had only been covered by their faith, not forgiven. Their forgiveness awaited the shedding of the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 9:22).
And so, the Old Testament saints were in Paradise until Jesus’ death provided the way for those in Paradise to be taken to Heaven.
For more details on where OT saints went, check out http://www.lamblion.com/articles/articles_eternity3.php.
John 3: 3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” Jesus revealed to this devout Pharisee that the kingdom of God would come to the whole world, not just the Jews, and that Nicodemus wouldn’t be a part of it unless he was personally born again. John 3:5. This was a revolutionary concept: the kingdom is personal, not national or ethnic, and its entrance requirements are repentance and spiritual rebirth.
God’s kingdom has already begun in the hearts of believers. Luke 17:21. It will be realized when Jesus returns again to judge the world….and abolish evil forever. Revelation 21-22.
I believe that when we die…the intermediate state we are given either our glorified body or some sort of tangible body…2nd. corinthians 5…also what about the souls in revelation ch. 6 i think or maybe 20 not sure but they were beheaded for the testimony of christ, and the word of God. the bible says each one of them were given robes…how can you put a robe on a spirit as you said.
Thanks for clarifying this Lamb & Lion. Our souls go to be with the Lord after death, and our bodies will follow later in the rapture, the dead will rise first and then we who are still alive with ascend to meet the Lord in the air.
1 Thessaloniana 4:13-18. Brothers and Sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will Bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the Coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.