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

Sheol

After someone dies we who remain are usually showered with a myriad of condolences, well-wishes and comforting words like, "She's in heaven now" or "He's in a better place now." Are we sure? Where DO we go when we die?

Every religion has their own beliefs and theories about life after death. Even the Christian faith has differing opinions, depending on your denomination. So what is true? Everyone can't be right. Let's go to the Bible to see what we can find.

There are three different beliefs within the Christian faith. GotQuestions.org describe these differing "camps" this way.

Within the Christian faith, there is a significant amount of confusion regarding what happens after death. Some hold that after death, everyone “sleeps” until the final judgment, after which everyone will be sent to heaven or hell. Others believe that at the moment of death, people are instantly judged and sent to their eternal destinations. Still others claim that when people die, their souls/spirits are sent to a “temporary” heaven or hell, to await the final resurrection, the final judgment, and then the finality of their eternal destination.

Sheol is a Hebrew word used throughout the Old Testament. Sheol means "place of the dead." When the Old Testament texts were translated into Greek (200 BC) this word became Hades. It means "the place of the dead." That's where we go when we die - Sheol. Not heaven.

There also appears to be two parts to Sheol. Open your Bibles to Luke 16:22-23. The words of Jesus:

"22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.6 The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side." - Luke 16:22-23

We can tell quite a few things from this text. Lazarus is physically higher than the rich man, yet they are both in near proximity because they can see each other. There appear to be two "places" in Hades, one where there is torment and the other without torment. What determined their destinations in Sheol? Their faith.

Then there are these words from Jesus to the thief on the cross - the thief who believed that Jesus was the Son of God. Both were about to die and Jesus said this.

"Today you will be with me in paradise." - Luke 23:43

So, do we go to heaven when we die. The answer seems to be no. Is their indeed no more pain after death? That all depends upon our faith. How is your faith these days? None of us knows for sure where we will end up. That decision is in God's hands. We can say we believe but do we really? There is one thing we DO know however . . .

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

Blessed be the name of the Lord!

What Happens After Death - Got Questions.org