Do you go to heaven right away when you die or do you believe you sleep until the Lord's return?

Answer 1

IS DAVID ASCENDED YET??

It seems there are passages teaching what is commonly called 'soul sleep' by many groups, and of course a few seeming to teach the other, that we would ascend to heaven instantly upon death. I have studied these two sides of the subject the most, not to say there are no other views, for there certainly are, including reincarnation, but I would say we SLEEP til the resurrection, whether that is the first resurrection or the second. The passages that suggest an instant trip to heaven CAN be understood that when a person dies they 'fall asleep' and the next thing they realize is being present in the ressurection. Therefore SEEMING to be instant.
2Co 5:8 We are confident, [I say], and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

1Jo 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
THIS PASSAGE obviously depicts a soul sleep application most would say, but I must confess, it could simply be suggesting the disembodied spirit of an individual will not receive his redeemed body until the time of resurrection and then be like the messiah with his risen body. What about others however?

1Th 4:13 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.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

THIS passage seems to suggest 'soul sleep' as well to me, except of course for the ones that are alive at his coming. I think it is a little harder to suppose this to be like the 1 John passage above because Paul gives personality to those 'asleep'. That suggests he was considering the person to be sleeping not waiting in heaven for a body to be resurrected. Else you have A person in TWO places at once.

Psa 17:15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
The writer of this Psalm knew WHEN he was going to have the likeness we are speaking of. It was not going to be until HE awoke! Again personality to one that is dead.

The instant ascension at death makes no sense when compaired to the teaching Paul is trying to express in this application of ones old man being dead and THEN rising to life in a ressurection unto life.
Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6 And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus:
SAME IN THESE: Eph_2:1, Eph_5:14; Joh_5:21, Joh_6:63; Rom_8:2
THEY ARE DEAD and need the ressurection in ALL these typifications.

AGAIN, WHEN did Messiah say we would be with him???
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also.
To get around this one, a person would HAVE to say Messiah returns many times before ever actually 'returning' for the resurrection. Ofcourse it means his return which brings about the resurrection unto life eternal for all true believers regardless of the time they have lived on this earth. The graves will be opened! Halleluyah!
It is VERY soon to happen I believe.

Ecc 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

Isa 26:14 [They are] dead, they shall not live; [they are] deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.

Psa 6:5 For in death [there is] no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?

Psa 115:17 The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.

Act 2:29 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.
Act 2:30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
Act 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
Act 2:32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Act 2:33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
Act 2:34 >>>>>>>>>>>For David is not ascended into the heavens: <<<<<<<< <<<<< Act 2:35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.

The argument concerning Lazarus and the rich man is nothing more than a parable concerning House of Judah and House of Israyl. IF IT WAS NOT A PARABLE then the Messiah was not the Messiah, for it is prophecied promise that he would speak to the common people in parables ONLY.

There are those that believe in a place of holding for the person that is not actually the grave nor 'heaven'. Some call this place paradise, some sheol, some 'the guff', and etc. The explanation around these ideas can be found in the passage above I have already quoted. They are in error if they would take the time to receive the correction and study it out further.

Answer 2

if ur not a church person...then i'm not sure how mature you are in your belief...i believe that when a true believer passes on..they will go to heaven right away. if the person is not a believer, they will go to hell right away. then at the end of time..Jesus/God will make a new heaven and a new hell and everyone will be judged and put into either the new heaven or new hell.

Answer 3

I believe that you sleep until the Lords return.

Answer 4

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.


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.
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.” Likewise, Lazarus himself related no experiences of some afterlife. There was nothing to report.

Answer 5

I believe that as a kind, experienced parent, our Heavenly Father would not want us to "sleep" that long, but He would allow us our free agency to keep learning and growing, as we have here. I believe there is a place called Paradise, or the spirit world, which Jesus Christ Himself referred to, which is more of a place where we live until the Second Coming and Resurrection, and there are places, houses or large apartments but nicer than what we have here, where we live, and there are places to work and places to go to school, such as what we have here only cleaner. Have a happy day, and I send you a gummy bear.

Answer 6

Your body goes to the grave. Your soul goes to Heaven or Hell, whatever the case may be. At the rapture, our bodies will be resurrected, and will go to meet our Lord in the sky, and will be changed in the "twinkling of an eye." Our souls will be joined with our new glorified bodies(I'm speaking of those who are going with the Lord, not those who are going to Hell).
The Bible tells us "To be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord. This means your soul is absent from your body, and is with the Lord as soon as you die. God Bless

Answer 7

I believe we sleep until Judgement day, but I also believe that after death the person is allowed a certain amount of time to 'visit' loved ones. I know my mum visited my two sisters and my brother, but for some reason she could not get through to me. One night I dreamt that my neighbour came out to me while I was in the back garden to tell me that an elderly lady was banging on my front door desperate to speak to me. I believe that dream was telling me my mum was TRYING to contact me but couldn't. That was almost seven years ago and since then none of my family have been visited. I just WISH she had been able to get through to me. My only consolation is that I know I will see her again one day.

Answer 8

To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. That's Scriptural.

Answer 9

Rather, I believe that our spirits go to Paradise to await the resurrection and then judgment -- then, hopefully, I will be able to return to the presence of God.

Answer 10

I believe I'll go right to heaven.

Answer 11

Conscious until resurrection and conscious after
I think most people need to be cleaned up a bit by grace before they can experience heave,full union with God.