What happens to people between the time they die and judgement day?

Question

Isnt there discrimination between those who died long before judgement day and those close to it because one spends more time in the wilderness than the other

if they sleep do they dream?
do they sleep peacefully?

Answer 1

Bill is right

When you die you are asleep in the grave until Jesus returns and takes you to Heaven. You don't go to Heaven or Hell when you die. This is what Jesus and the Bible teaches.

"And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the LAST DAY."
John 6:40

No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the LAST DAY.
John 6:44

Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the LAST DAY.
John 6:54

Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the LAST DAY.
John 11:23-24

He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the LAST DAY.
John 12:48

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment
Hebrews 9:27

The order: death – resurrection - judgment


If you go directly to Heaven wouldn't you be praising and thanking God? Yet the Bible Says

Psalms 115:17 The dead praise not the Lord.



In order to understand death we have to let the Bible speak for itself which is why In the following answer there is a text to back every statement

I was listening to a sermon recently in which the pastor talked about this subject. Talking about death we should look at how life was created

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. - Genesis 2:7

From this we see that the soul is the combination of both the breath of God and the physical body.

So what happens when you die?

1) In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.- Genesis 3:19

2) And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. - Luke 23:46

3) Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. - Ecclesiastes 12:5
From these scriptures we see that when you die the two components of the soul either decay (the physical body) or goes back to God (the spirit)

Many people believe that the spirit is some intangible ghostlike substance but if you look at what the bible says

All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils - Job 27:3

From this we see that the spirit is the Breath of Life not a … ghost (for lack of a better word)



Do the dead go directly to heaven or hell?

Psalms 115:17 The dead praise not the Lord.
Psalms 6:5 In death there is no remembrance of thee.
Isaiah 38:18 Death can not celebrate thee.
Psalms 146:4 His thoughts perish.
Job 21:32 Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb.
Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they shall die; but the dead do not know anything, nor do they have any more a reward; for their memory is forgotten.

From these verses we see that there is no thought in death

Some may argue that these are all Old Testament examples of the teaching of death so let’s look at the New Testament

Jesus speaking about the death of Lazarus
These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus SLEEPETH; but I go, that I may awake him out of SLEEP. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. John 11:11-14

Matthew 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which SLEPT arose

1 Thessalonians 4:15 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are ASLEEP, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

1 Thessalonians 4:14 Them also which SLEEP in Jesus will God bring with him.

If we look at what Jesus said on the cross in Luke 23:43
And Jesus said to him, Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.

Many use this to prove the point that we go directly to our reward. The problem is in the Greek there was not a comma, the comma was placed centuries later by people who believed that we go directly to our reward. If you move the comma it conforms to the rest of scripture

And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you today, you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Read what happens on Sunday morning and Jesus tells Mary he did not ascend to heaven yet.

But doesn’t the Bible say to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord?

As I mentioned above the Bible says we do not go directly to heaven or hell. I think we should look at 2 Corinthians 5, but rather than only looking at verse 8 lets look at the whole chapter in order to gain better perspective. If you read the whole text we see Paul talking about three states of being. In chapter 1 Paul writes 1) our earthly house {our earthly bodies} 2) a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens {glorified bodies}. In verse 3 he says 3) naked.

The question to ask is when do we get our glorified bodies?

1 Corinthians 15:51 says we get them at the last trumps when Christ returns proving we do not go directly to heaven upon death.

If we go directly to heaven or Hell when we die then there is never a time when we are “naked” (not existing on earth or in Heaven)

Let’s look at what Peter said in Acts chapter 2

Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
Acts 2:29

For David is not ascended into the heavens
Acts 2:34

But what about Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration.

The Bible tells us how they got to Heaven, Moses was resurected according to Jude 9

And Elijah was taken to heaven in a fiery chariot 2 Kings 2:11

If you read the Bible you see that when you die you sleep in the grave until Jesus returns

this video explains the topic
http://prophecycode.org/Resources/Video/PCVideo/ProphecyCode_13.asx

Answer 2

I'm not so sure I understand your clarification. "One spends more time in the wilderness than the other"?

In Luke 16, we see Jesus telling a parable about a beggar named Lazarus who died and was taken to Paradise (where Jesus told the thief on the cross he would be with Him that day). I think this gives us insight into what happens after the Old Testament saints died.

The cross changed everything and now 2 Corinthians 5:6-9 indicate that when Christians die, their spirits are immediately at home with the Lord.

Remember, there is a difference between the body and the spirit. The body is still in the ground until the resurrection (or the rapture for those who belong to God).

Answer 3

The devil would be chained up for one million,000 years and then enable loose back for a short volume of time. the those that have been already born back christians formerly Gods 2nd coming do no longer could stay back because of the fact they're already saved and already promised a place in heaven, however the those that weren't saved or the followers of devil are given yet another hazard to be saved inspite of the undeniable fact that it is going to maximum probable be plenty plenty greater durable then it extremely is now to be a Christian. Revelation chp 20

Answer 4

Those who die are asleep in death without any consciousness at all (no dreams). They are unaware of time passing and therefore would not be cheated in any way. Once they are resurrected, they will have 1,000 years to come to perfection before the final judgement and it will be based on what they have done during the 1,000 years.

Answer 5

WHAT JESUS SAID ABOUT DEATH

Jesus Christ spoke about the condition of the dead. He did so with regard to Lazarus, a man whom he knew well and who had died. Jesus told his disciples: “Lazarus our friend has gone to rest.” The disciples thought that Jesus meant that Lazarus was resting in sleep, recovering from an illness. They were wrong. Jesus explained: “Lazarus has died.” (John 11:11-14) Notice that Jesus compared death to rest and sleep. Lazarus was neither in heaven nor in a burning hell. He was not meeting angels or ancestors. Lazarus was not being reborn as another human. He was at rest in death, as though in a deep sleep without dreams. Other scriptures also compare death to sleep. For example, when the disciple Stephen was stoned to death, the Bible says that he “fell asleep.” (Acts 7:60) Similarly, the apostle Paul wrote about some in his day who had “fallen asleep” in death.—1 Corinthians 15:6.


The Bible teaches that the dead “are conscious of nothing at all.” They are not alive and have no conscious existence anywhere. The account of Lazarus confirms this. Upon returning to life, did Lazarus thrill people with descriptions of heaven? Or did he terrify them with horrible tales about a burning hell? No. The Bible contains no such words from Lazarus. During the four days that he was dead, he had been “conscious of nothing at all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5) Lazarus had simply been sleeping in death.—John 11:11.
The account of Lazarus also teaches us that the resurrection is a reality, not a mere myth. Jesus raised Lazarus in front of a crowd of eyewitnesses. Even the religious leaders, who hated Jesus, did not deny this miracle.

Think about this too: If Lazarus had been in heaven for those four days, would he not have said something about it?— And if he had been in heaven, would Jesus have made him come back to earth from that wonderful place?— Of course not!

Yet, many people say that we have a soul, and they say that the soul lives on after the body dies. They say that Lazarus’ soul was alive somewhere. But the Bible does not say that. It says that God made the first man Adam “a living soul.” Gen. 2:7, Adam was a soul. The Bible also says that when Adam sinned, he died. He became a “dead soul,” and he returned to the dust from which he had been made. The Bible also says that all Adam’s offspring inherited sin and death too.

The Scriptural teaching of the resurrection, however, is not compatible with the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. If an immortal soul survived death, no one would need to be resurrected, or brought back to life. Indeed, Martha expressed no thought about an immortal soul that was living on elsewhere after death. She did not believe that Lazarus had already gone to some spirit realm to continue his existence. On the contrary, she showed her faith in God’s purpose to reverse the effects of death. She said: “I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.” (John 11:23, 24) Likewise, Lazarus himself related no experiences of some afterlife. There was nothing to report.

Clearly, according to the Bible, the soul dies and the remedy for death is the resurrection. You enjoy the best sleep ever, until Jesus resurrects you, sometime in the future.

Answer 6

The Bible says that they go to a long peaceful sleep until judgement day. And when that day comes the dead will be transformed into spirits first and then the people will be transformed and those who go to Heaven, will live in eternal peace.

Answer 7

According to Islam, once you die, and you are buried, you are visited by 2 angels that question you. They ask your religion, your god, your follower, and a few other like that. Then they leave, and you sleep until it's judgement day. But you don't feel the time pass, just like any other normal sleep.

Answer 8

I think if you consider the concept of reincarnation, or rebirth, one goes on and on, born again after his death, in a new womb. And Judgement is Individual, Not a single day fixed for everyone. I think it is right to say you are judged when you ask for. It is like an online exam, you can appear whenever you are ready.

Answer 9

rekha c,
Discrimination? Yes! There is a lot of discrimination in the Bible.

There are those that are His, and those that are not His. The ones that are not His are given the shaft.

I believe that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

Answer 10

there is no such thing as soul sleep. the Bible says "sleep" meaning the body dies, not sleep like some interpret it. the Bible says "absent from the body, present with the Lord" so when you die you go directly to either heaven or hell.. there you stay until judgment.
the guilty are judged and sent back to hell.
and the righteous are judged for their works and rewarded.

Answer 11

Their bodies already become dust; their souls continue to exist in darkness.They are considered as spiritually dead. There is no injustice, because the life of the soul depends not on time and space.
When another Teacher comes (or the old Teacher returns), they are still dead, if they refuse to take the water of living (the divine teachings) He gives to them.