NOTE: All Links are in red.
Bible verses have a link which allows you to go to the actual verse and see it and most of the translations,
and also you will be able to click through and read the whole chapter so you can see the context of the verse.
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DO WE GO TO HEAVEN RIGHT AWAY?
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Let's look to the Bible (my favorite place) to see what happens at our death.
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CRIMINAL GOING TO HEAVEN THAT SAME DAY.
Luke 23:39; One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Jesus is talking to the criminal being crucified beside Him. He lets him know that "TODAY" he will be in paradise. If you look at the diagram, you will see where a person goes when they die.
It doesn’t say anything about any time lag or I'll see you in several thousand years, as some believe. (soul sleep)
Hebrews 9:27; And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
Jesus, as God's Son, knew He would be spiritually present in the Father's "hands" at the very moment of His death, not asleep in the grave (soul sleep).
STEPHEN ASKED JESUS TO RECEIVE HIS SPIRIT
Acts 7:59; They went on stoning Stephen
as he called on the Lord and said,
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”
Here Stephen is asking Jesus to "receive his spirit" (lower case = human spirit,). In other words, Stephen knows he has a human spirit which is separate from his dying body and that Jesus will receive it.
Note: It is evident that Stephen is expecting his spirit to be received right away,
not in the thousands of years which is believed by some (soul sleep).
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OTHER VERSES WORTH LOOKING AT
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The transfiguration
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Rachel's soul departing when she died (Genesis 35:18)
Two more passages bear further discussion. First, John 11:23–27:
Revelation 6:9-10; When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, e were killed just as they had been.
Photo credit: Faith Direction & isaiahsixtyoneseven.blogspot.com
These are beings who are very much alive and communicating. (They are not in 'soul sleep'). It says that "each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been."
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If they were given a white robe, then they are most likely in human form. (Not in a flesh form as we are today, but in a human form, but still recognizable)
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Here is some more information on what happens after death from Got Questions. (The video is a little fast for some, but you can read what the video says below the video)
As we can tell from Philippians 3:20-21 (above) that our bodies when we die "will be like His glorious body.
We can tell this from these 2 verses, when Jesus is showing his transformed body to His disciples, that it is recognizable to them.
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This verse tells us that our bodies will be transformed "so that they will be like His Jesus) glorious body.
WHAT WILL OUR HEAVENLY BODIES LOOK LIKE?
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Philippians 3:20-21; But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
John 20:27; Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving but believing".
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Luke 24:39; "Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”.
As we can tell from Matthew 17:1-3 that our bodies "will be like His glorious body. This verse also talks about Moses and Elijah appearing. They must have been in the form of human bodies because they were recognizable to Matthew who wrote this verse. Please note they are not sleeping in 'soul sleep'.
Photo credit: Faith Direction & St Anthony's weekly bulletin
WHAT ABOUT OUR SOUL?
Matthew 16:24-27; Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
Jesus is talking about our "soul" as different from the human world which would include the body/brain/flesh. Then it goes on to say how the "soul" will be rewarded "according to what they have done". Which means the soul must live on after body death.
It says we "shall not perish, but have eternal life". If we do not perish, what does? The body/brain/flesh perishes. The human spirit/soul does not. It can pretend it perished, by thinking it is a body/brain and hang around the grave for thousands of years. However, it is not possible for a spirit to perish/die.
John 11:25; Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;
It is very specific “though they die” (body + brain death) the one who believes in me “will live”. What else could live on, when the body and its brain are dead? There is only the human spirit and the soul.
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See also 'JUDGEMENT DAY'
SUMMARY 1: DEATH AND WHAT HAPPENS: The human spirit/soul live on after the death of the body + brain.
All spirits have one thing in common, they cannot die. That is God and Jesus, the angels, the Holy Spirit, our human spirit, and Satan/demons.
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Here is a good video and article by Gotquestions.
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SUMMARY 2: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DIE?:
The body + brain goes into the ground and the human spirit/soul goes directly to heaven where (I believe) it is occupied in some endeavor, until Judgement Day. And Satan and his demons have to find someone else to bother. LOL
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JESUS GOING TO HEAVEN RIGHT AWAY
Luke 23:46; Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
Jesus, as God's Son, knew He would be spiritually present in the Father's "hands" at the very moment of His death, not asleep in the grave (soul sleep).
BEGAR LAZARUS WENT TO HEAVEN RIGHT AWAY
Luke 16:19-24; The Rich Man and Lazarus
19“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue because I am in agony in this fire.’
This is Jesus teaching people a lesson. Notice that when the beggar (Lazarus) died the angels carried him to heaven right away. It doesn't mention anything about 'soul sleep' (hanging around the dead decaying body for thousands of years).
JESUS TELLS HIS DISCIPLES ABOUT HIS NEW BODY
John 6:47-56; “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. Yes, I am the bread of life! Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die.
What does it mean "will never die". What remains after death, after the body has gone into the ground? It must be the human spirit.
We know that all spirits are eternal and can never die, that is one of the reasons there is the eternal lake of fire for the evil, and an eternal life in paradise for the good.