Where do we go when we die?

June 12, 2022 • Bible Teachings

10 min read

The Bible teaches that when we die, the only thing that sleeps is our bodies. However, our soul lives on. The soul's existence is eternal and never ends.

When we die, we immediately start to experience God's blessing or God's judgment.

The saved

A saved person is one who has lived a lifestyle of continual repentance of their sins and continual faith in Jesus Christ, while they are still alive.

As soon as a saved person dies, their soul goes immediately into the presence of Jesus.

I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.

Philippians 1:23-24

Writing to the Philippian church, the apostle Paul expressed his desire to be with Christ. He knew that when he would depart from this life by dying, he would be with Christ.

And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise."

Luke 23:42-43

The thief being crucified beside Jesus expressed faith in who Jesus was, asking Jesus to remember him. The response that Jesus gave him was remarkable. Starting that day, the thief would be with Jesus in paradise. There was no waiting period. Upon his death, the thief would go directly to paradise to be with Jesus.

Saved individuals go to paradise, or heaven, to be with Jesus, as disembodied souls without bodies. Their bodies will remain asleep. We will have a continuous consciousness of our existence after we die, even as disembodied souls.

This will be an intermediate state, as we await the resurrection of our bodies and the transformation of our bodies, which will occur at the return of Jesus.

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 4:14-17

One day, Jesus will return to earth, and will descend from heaven. Jesus will give the command, and all the dead bodies of the saved will be resurrected. The disembodied souls of the saved that are in heaven will reunite with their bodies. They will join the bodies of the saved who are still alive on the earth when Jesus returns. Together, they will all be caught up with Jesus in the air, to remain with him forever.

The fact that our bodies will meet Jesus in the air means that these will not be regular bodies that we know today. Our resurrected bodies will be glorified bodies. The Bible calls them spiritual bodies.

So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44

Our human bodies are perishable, dishonorable, and weak, because of sin. Our glorified bodies will be powerful and eternal, no longer subject to aging, sickness, and death. They will be suited for eternal life.

Our glorified bodies will be like the resurrected body of Jesus. They'll be touchable (Luke 24:39-40), which means they'll have a form and be solid. They'll still be able to enjoy food, but won't necessarily need to eat (Luke 24:41-43). They'll be able to move freely, without being subject to the natural laws we know today (John 20:19, John 20:26). These glorified bodies will be what God originally intended for us, rather than the bodies we now have, which have been corrupted by sin.

The unsaved

When we refer to an unsaved person, we mean a person who has refused to repent of their sins and to believe in the only savior, Jesus, while they were still alive.

When an unsaved person dies, they immediately go to a place called Hades. Hades is the temporary waiting place of the unsaved dead as they await their final judgment. It's a terrible place. The Bible describes it as a place of torment that begins the moment an unsaved person dies. That is where unsaved individuals go right now, but that will not be their final destination. Their final destination will be the lake of fire, also known as hell.

and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.'

Luke 16:23-24

The experience in both Hades, and the Lake of Fire, is one of physical and psychological pain. In Luke 16:24, the rich man says that he is in agony because of the flames.

The final judgment of the unsaved

The final judgment of the unsaved will take place at the "great white throne".

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.

Revelation 20:11-13

At the final judgment, Hades will be emptied and all the unsaved who have ever lived will stand before God. Since their names are not written in the book of life, they will be judged by what they have done. They will realize that their works do not meet the standard of perfect righteousness that God requires and understand why they have been sentenced to the lake of fire.

The great white throne

The Bible doesn't specify exactly where the judgment of the unsaved, before the great white throne, will take place.

It's not on the earth, because at the presence of the one on the throne, earth and sky fled. It's not in heaven because a sinner cannot enter presence of God there. It must take place somewhere between heaven and earth.

The white color of the throne speaks of holiness, purity, and justice. The greatness of the throne speaks of the majesty of the one sitting on it. He has the authority to determine the destiny of his creation. The judge on the throne is Jesus (Romans 2:16, Acts 10:42).

The book of life

The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.

Revelation 3:5

The book of life contains the name of every saved person who ever lived. That is, individuals who, throughout history, have put their faith in Jesus and have chosen to follow him.

When we are born, our name goes into the book of life. We have our entire lifetime to turn to Jesus and be saved. If, as adults, we come to the end of our life and haven't turned to Jesus, our name will be blotted out of the book of life. No one can go to heaven if their name is not in the book of life.

The lake of fire

The final destination of an unsaved person is the Lake of Fire, which is often called hell. The unsaved dead will go from Hades to the lake of fire.

Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:14-15

The unsaved dead are sent to Hades and the lake of fire, not because God chooses to send them there, but by their own choice - by refusing to repent of their sins and to put their faith in the savior, Jesus.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

2 Peter 3:9

The lake of fire is a place of eternal suffering. Jesus spoke more about hell and the lake of fire than he did about heaven. The reason was to warn people about what sort of fate awaited the unrepentant unbelievers, in the hope that they would take their eternal destination seriously.

In Matthew 13:41-42, Jesus describes the lake of fire as a fiery furnace, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. The expression, "gnashing of teeth", is used to express anguish. For example, when we hit our toe, we often clench our teeth to hold back from screaming.

The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 13:41-42

The anguish of being eternally separated from God does not go away. It is one of unrelenting remorse, regret, and suffering. Some might say we're already separated from God on earth, so what's the difference? This is not actually true, since we receive good things from God on earth. Jesus reminds us of this in Matthew 5:45. Speaking about God, Jesus says, "For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."

We all deserve the lake of fire.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23

However, God, in his mercy, has made a way for us to be saved from the eternal pain and suffering that we deserve.

For the wages of sin is death (eternal death - i.e. the lake of fire), but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23