Where do we go when we die?

Question

If you are a Christian, you believe that there is a day of judgement that God will decide if you go to heaven or hell. Where do we go in the mean time?

Jesus told the sinner being crucified beside him, "Today, you will be with me in Paradise". Is that the place we go to wait for Judgement day?

The bible says that upon Jesus' return, the dead in Christ shall rise first. Does that mean that the dead are still in the grave? Or somewhere else?

Answer 1

You go to the spirit world. Paradise for those that were good and accepted the gospel and prison for those that were bad. Your body goes into the ground to await the ressurection when your spirit and body will be reunited back together, never to be seperated again. I have provided a link to give you more info.
Good question!
http://www.mormon.org/learn/0,8672,1144-1,00.html

Answer 2

oh, this is a good one. its all in revelations, if you want to check it out.
well heaven and hell are more like the holding places. when the rapture occours, all the christians that ever lived will be present while everyone else who is alive and chrsitian will be gathered up into the clouds. i think that dead christians will be in heaven. but anyways.

dead non believers are in Hell right now... hell isnt the final judgement, its like the holding tank for non believers. the final judgement is the Abyss/ the pit. its apparently worse then hell!
but anyway, right before the millenium (the 1000 year rein of christ after the tribulation) every creature... every deamon, every angel, every human ever made... from adam and eve to the last guy born will be before the judgement seat.

christians will go free becasue we are redeemed in christ... the rest are sent to the abyss.

hope that helped... sorry if i was a little foggy.

Answer 3

I don't believe the bible is totally clear on this subject. Catholics believe in a waiting area type of place, called purgatory, but most other Christians do not believe in this.

I know I have read at least two places in the bible, maybee three, where it refers to death as "sleep". This seems to concur with what you stated about Jesus' return were the dead in Christ will rise first.

This idea of "sleeping untill you are called to rise" , seems to conflict with Jesus saying "Today you will be with me in paradise. My guess is that time is twisted , or totally different to our souls after we die. " A day is as a 1000 years unto God, and 1000 years is as a day unto God".

Given the previous statement from the bible, I believe we sleep for what could be thousands of years but it will just seem like a moment to us that we have slept when the lord awakens us!

Answer 4

yes everyone is still in their graves awaiting Christ return. Yes the dead in Christ shall rise first. John 3:13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.

Answer 5

i am a muslim.. and the dead are still in the grave.. if u are bad.. once everyone is gone from the graveyard.. it will CRUSH u where ur ribs come together and overlap one another. a really poisonous snake whose one bite takes u ten meters underground. insects and all that.. its bad.. even flames.. ur soul will feel all this pain. if u are good, u will get heaven's air.. we believe that once u go to the grave, an angel.. i forgot the name. will ask u three questions. 1st is who is ur God, 2nd is who is ur prophet.. 3rd is something im not sure. if u can answer them correctly.. u will get heaven's air. if not..the angel will hammer ur head and it will hurt. u think u can answer that question now.. but if u are a truly good person.. u can answer it. if u are not a good person.. u will not be able to answer it even if in this world u know ur god and all that. so be careful

Answer 6

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 7

If u r a christian and u die, u go to a junction called the place of judgement. This junction has two gates . one leading to heaven or paradise and the other leading to hell.

Answer 8

I believe that when you die you will go face God and you will be judge by your actions in your life. He will decide whether you go to Heaven or Hell.

When he told the sinner next to him about "Paradise" he was talking about Heaven. :)

Answer 9

Don't get hung up on ideas and theories. As deeply as you can, become apprehended by God's love for you and trust in that Love that God is. Then you will know, that you know, that you know. Heaven and hell aren't for you to figure out. That stuff is too big for you. Don't ever let your eyes be taken off of the Love of God.

Answer 10

Eccl.9:5 "For the living are conscious that they will die,but as for the dead they are conscious of nothing at all."
Gen.3:19 "...until you return to the ground,for out of it you were taken.For dust you are and to dust you will return.
John 11:11-13 gives us the account of the death of Jesus' friend,Lazarus where Jesus say - "'Lazarus our friend has gone to rest,but I am journeying there to awaken him from sleep'Therefore the disciples said to him 'Lord,if he has gone to rest,he will get well'Jesus had spoken about his death.But they imagined .he was speaking about taking rest in sleep.At that time,therefore,Jesus said to them outspokenly: 'Lazarus has died'"
The Bible clearly shows that when we die we are not aware of anything,we are in a state of nonexistence.We remain in God's memory(John 5:25-29)
Those who are counted worthy are given the opportunity to eternal life here on earth.
The Bible speaks of a limited number who are anointed with Holy Spirit and these are the ones that will go to heaven to rule as kings and priests with Christ Jesus over the earth.(Rev.14:1-4;
Ps.37:9-11,29;Pr2:21