The Living Dead

We've all heard people say, "Well, he or she is in heaven now" after the death of a loved one. But are they? Are they really? How does anyone really know?

Let's start with some basic truths from the Bible.

"To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." - 2 Corinthians 5:8

That's a good truth. An important thing to remember though is that The Lord is God. God is omnipresent. God is everywhere.

Here is some more evidence that God is everywhere.

"If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there." - Psalm 139:8

For a little more insight into where we go after we die, read the parable of the rich and poor man that Jesus told His disciples.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

Remember, this is a parable, but we can see that the two men are clearly in two different places after they died. One was in torment. The other was with Abraham, a man who was considered righteous in God's eyes.

Abraham and Lazarus were 'above' and the rich man was below. None could cross to the other side. This is known as a place called Sheol - "the place of the dead." The living dead.

There are two parts in Sheol - Abraham's bosom (where the righteous go to wait for Jesus) and the more general Sheol (where the unrighteous go to await judgement). ALL are waiting on Jesus. And although Sheol is an Old Testament word, the concept makes a New Testament appearance in the parable we just read in Luke, told to us by Jesus Himself.

So, when we die, do we immediately go to 'heaven'? The Bible would seem to indicate that we do not. No one says this any better than Jesus Himself.

"NO ONE has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven." - John 3:13

It doesn't get much clearer than that!

We are made righteous by the shed blood of Jesus, our Savior. ALL who believe in Him will be saved. And we can have great confidence that, when we die, we will be standing there with Abraham, Lazarus - and with Jesus - the Lord of us all.

Jesus ascended into heaven 40 days after He was resurrected, according to the scriptures. As He was ascending, two angels told His disciples that He would return one day "in like manner." Are you ready for His return?

"And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.'" - Luke 24:10-11

"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that where I am you also may be." - John 14:3