Heaven Now or Later?
Have you heard over and over how our loved ones are in heaven immediately after death?
How Grandma or Grandpa would be so proud of what you are doing, how they are watching us right now from their “pillowy” heavenly realm? Sometimes when we have love ones that have died and we attend their funeral or celebration of life, we are told that they are in a better place now, maybe even sitting on a fluffy (pillowy) cloud somewhere watching us, and why is it that we never refer to our deceased loved ones as being in hell rather than heaven?
According to the Bible, we do not go directly to heaven or even hell at the time of death.
Using scripture and logic, I will explain how we are “sleeping” after death and waiting for Christ to return to take us home.
We will start in the New Testament and the book of John, where death is referred to sleep many times.
John 11 NIV
1Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 3So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick."
4When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."
11After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."
12His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better." 13Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14So then He told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, 15and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."
17On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 23Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." 31When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
34"Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. 36Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" 37But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
38Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39"Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."
43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."
After reading the above scriptures from chapter 11 of the book of John, you can see that Jesus and Lazarus were friends. After Jesus had heard that Lazarus had died, He told his disciples that He was going to Bethany to wake Lazarus up (raise him from the dead). As you can see already just from these few verses, the Bible refers to death as sleeping.
When Lazarus died, and scripture is clear that he had, if he had ascended to heaven at the point of death, why would Jesus call him back? Logic says that Jesus would not have made him leave a place that there is no more death or mourning or crying or pain, to return to a sin filled earth. He (Jesus) would though wake Lazarus up from sleeping to make a point, and the point would be to help those around him understand that he (Jesus) is the Son of God. Even the scripture above in verse 4 above states, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."
The book of John is good reading and not very long. There is more to the book of John than I have listed here. Take a few minutes to read the entire chapter; there is a lot of good information there.
Matthew 27:52 KJV
And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
This verse is actually speaking about when Christ died on the cross. In other words, the moment Christ died, the curtain ripped from top to bottom, there was a earth quake, and many people that had already died (slept), were risen (came to life).
2 Samuel 7:12 KJV
And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers,
1 Thessalonians 4:14, 15 NIV
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lords own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
Now we can see again in the above three verses how the Bible refers to death as sleeping. If we are in the grave sleeping, how could we already be in heaven, and if we are already in heaven, how do we get back in the grave to be raised to meet the Lord in the air? The Bible and logic says that we are not in heaven at time of death, but in the grave sleeping waiting for Christ to return to take us home. I will explain this further later.
You can find many scriptures that refer to sleeping during/at death by doing a search online using an online Bible and searching for the word “sleep or sleeping”. The one I use the most is www.biblegateway.com and there is another I use sometimes that is www.biblesources.bible.com. You can also search for “online bibles” to find one you like.
Some of the scriptures that you will find that refer to death as sleeping are Psalm 7:5, 13:3, 90:5, Daniel 12:2, 1st Corinthians 15:51, and Ephesians 5:14.
One more scripture,
Ecclesiastes 9:5 NIV
For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.
For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.
The above verse says that the dead know nothing! If this is so, then how are my parents or grandparents in heaven looking down on me? For the Bible says “they know nothing”!
Beware!!
Hollywood loves to produce shows that focus on ghosts and spirits that are trying to contact family or friends, or people that say they are communicating with our love ones that have died. Do not believe these productions! They are false and are only produced to generate dollars. Remember, the verse in Ecclesiastes above says that the dead know nothing.
Also: There are many people who state that they have had what is called “a near death experience”. Normally these people tell of dying, going to Heaven and then returning. Rarely do you hear of some one dying and going to hell, only having to return for no apparent reason.
The NLT (New Living Translation) states in John 3:13, No one has ever gone to Heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from Heaven.
From Dust to Dust
Let’s look a little about what happens to our bodies when we die, and to do this we need to go back to the beginning. To the 1st book of the Bible, Genesis.
Genesis 2:7 KJV
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.
When God formed us, He made us from the dust of the ground, and then He breathed the “breath of life” into our body through our nostrils. He literally breathed into Adams body. His breath was the only ingredient left to add to our body to bring us to life.
So, a body and the breath of life make a living soul.
Ecclesiastes 12:7 NIV
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
When we die, the breath of life goes back to the Lord and the body returns to dust from what it was made of.
The breath of life goes back to the Lord, not our bodies. Remember, without breath (which God gave us), we are nothing, we are dead, we are sleeping in the grave until the Lord returns to take us to heaven, and also, remember, as stated above, the dead know nothing!
I have heard many people say, but the Bible speaks about “being absent from the body and being present with the Lord”. Many people believe this is speaking about being with God immediately when we die.
Scripture says:
2 Corinthians 5:8 NIV
We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:8 KJV
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Many theologians (which I am not), believe that these scriptures state that when we are absent from the body (we have died), we are present with the Lord.
Being titled a “theologian” does not mean you will be correct in your explanations of the scriptures. They (theologians) are human and tend to make mistakes like the rest of us do.
Remember, the verse we are speaking about says,
From the NIV, “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord”.
The NIV uses the word “prefer” and the KJV uses the word “willing”.
Neither one of these words is describing where I am going when I die, but rather where I would prefer to go or am willing to go.
If I am going to be absent from my body (die/sleep), I would prefer to be with the Lord, rather than the alternative. It does not mean we go directly to heaven at time of death.
Now we have covered that we are sleeping at the point of death, we do not go directly to Heaven when we die, and our bodies return to dust when we die. Let’s keep going.
What will Happen Just Prior to the Return of Christ?
Just prior to the return of Christ (the rapture), will be the Tribulation. This is a time that the Earth and everyone on it, will go through conditions and experiences that they have never seen before.
Revelations 16: 18, 20, 21 NIV
Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.
The above verse says there will be flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. The quake will be so severe every island will flee away (disappear). It does not say one island will disappear, or two islands will disappear, but every island will disappear! This does not mean that the islands will vanish into thin air, but means that the earth will shake so violently that they will be leveled and will not rise out of the waters anymore.
If you are doing yard work and you are moving bark dust or soil with a wheel barrow, when you fill the wheel barrow to the top and the material is mounded up, what do you do before you move it? You grab both handles and shake it making the mound of material flat so that you will not spill any. This is the same action that will happen when the earth quakes and the islands to flee away. Meaning they will be flattened.
We are currently living in a time that there are, and have been severe earthquakes, famines, wars and rumor of wars. If you watch the news, you will know that these things are happening, and if you trust the Bible, you should know that all these things are Biblical and we are living in the end times.
The “Rapture”?
The rapture “theory” involves Christ returning to take his people home (to Heaven) in a “secret” rapture.
The word rapture dates back to the 1600’s and means to be taken up. I have researched and found that you will not find the word rapture or raptured in any of the following bibles. King James (KJV), New King James (NKJV), New International Version (NIV), New American Standard (NASV), New Living Translation (NLT), or the English Standard (ESV) Bibles.
In this “theory”, Christ will return to take us home, and then there will be a seven year period (The Tribulation) in which the “left behind” will have a chance to turn their lives around.
The book series Left Behind written by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim Lahaye are glorifying this theory and can/may be very damaging to its readers.
If you are reading these books as pure fiction, they are somewhat good reading, sort of adventurous.
The problem is that many people are reading these books as scripture and the books do not follow the Bible. Be careful what you read. Compare everything you read to the Bible, even what I am writing here.
I was speaking to a gentleman one time about this theory, about being raptured. He told me, “when Christ returns I know that I will have seven years to straighten my life up and turn to God”.
The problem here is “if” this theory is true, who is going to guarantee you are going to be alive at the time of the rapture?
What if you contracted cancer and died prematurely, what if you had a massive heart attack and died in the ambulance in route to the hospital, what if you got hit by a bus on the way home today? You would not have a chance to turn to the Lord.
If, this theory is right, and Christ is going to return twice, with a seven year span between each arrival, why not be ready for the first coming?
Let’s look at it this way. If you were standing on a street corner waiting for a bus, and the schedule on the bus stop wall said that the bus would stop at 12:00 PM, but someone scratched into the schedule with their pocket knife that there was going to be a second bus at 7:00 PM (seven hours later), wouldn’t you want to take the first bus just in case there is not a second bus?
Do not trust the scratches on the wall, research and trust scripture.
It is your eternity you are dealing with, please be ready.
In the verse in Genesis below, the Lord instructs Noah to build an ark and he is instructed to enter it at a certain time. This event is a good example to what is going to happen when Christ returns.
Genesis 7:1-4 NIV
1 The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. 4 Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made."
16 The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.
21 Every living thing that moved on the earth perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.
23 Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.
God instructed Noah to build an ark and that he and his family were to enter prior to the rain coming. Once Noah and his family were inside the ark and the door was shut, no one else was allowed in. Everyone had a chance to enter, but Noah and his family was the only ones righteous enough to be saved.
The door of the ark was shut and stayed shut. It was not opened at a later point to save those who had been “left behind”. The scripture says that everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died and
every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out. This is the same as when Christ returns to take us to home. The ones left are the ones that are not going to be taken to Heaven. Everyone had a chance to enter the ark, only a few were chosen.
The same will happen when Christ returns; we are only going to have one chance to be taken to Heaven to live with God forever.
Let’s look some more into “who will be taken, and who will be left”.
One Will Be Take, One Will Be Left
When Christ returns to take us home to Heaven, there will be four groups of people and one person on Earth.
Group 1: The dead in Christ (these are the Christians that have already died (fallen asleep).
Group 2: The Christians that are alive (these are referred to as “the other left”).
Group 3: The dead non-Christians (these are referred to as the rest of the dead).
Group 4: The non-Christians that are alive (these are referred to as “one will be taken”).
One Person: satan
Let’s look at some scripture.
Matthew 24: 40, 41
Two men will be in the field; one will be taken (group #4) and the other left (group #2).
Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken (again group #4) and the other left (and again group #2)
1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17 NIV
For the Lord himself will come down from Heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first (this is group #1). After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (this is group #2).
The Lord will come down with a loud command. Key word here is loud. It will not be a secret! Also, the word trumpet is used and trumpets are typically loud.
Revelation 20:4, 5 NIV
I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years (this again is group #1).
(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.
(the rest of the dead, this is group #3)
John 5: 28, 29 NIV
Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice
and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned (those who have done good, this is group #1, & those who have done evil, this is group #3).
When Christ returns (aka the rapture), group #1 will be raised from the grave and taken to Heaven. Then group #2 will be taken to Heaven. As groups 1 & 2 are ascending to Heaven, group #4 will be destroyed by the glory of God. This will all happen simultaneously, in the blink of an eye.
The rest of the dead that are referred to in Revelation 20:5 is group #3. These are the non-Christians that had already died prior to Christ’s return. This group will not be resurrected until the 1000 years are complete.
Where will satan be during the 1000 years we are in Heaven?
Revelation 20: 1, 2
1And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain.
2He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
Isaiah 24: 1
See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants
Jeremiah 4: 23-26
I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone. I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying. I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away. I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger.
Jeremiah 25: 33
At that time those slain by the LORD will be everywhere—from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered up or buried, but will be like refuse lying on the ground.
Revelations 20: 5
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.
At this time (today) satan is able to roam anywhere in the universe he wishes including Heaven. During the 1000 years, satan will be bound to the earth (not allowed to leave). He will not be bound to the earth with physical chains, but his feet will be anchored to the earth as ours are now.
You say, why would it torment satan to be bound to the earth? Because the earth will be desolate and dark from the severe earthquake described above. Also, there will be no one for satan to torment because everyone will have already been taken to heaven or destroyed by the glory of God. He will wonder the earth aimlessly for 1000 years.
What Kind of Bodies Will We Have in Heaven?
1 Corinthians 15:51, 52 NIV
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
Philippians 3:21 NIV
who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
When Christ returns and takes us to Heaven, our bodies will be changed drastically. We will have glorified new bodies, unlike anything we can imagine. Bodies that will never grow old, be injured, or be filled with aches and pains.
Revelations 20: 8, 9
and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
Revelation 20: 9, 15
They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelations 21: 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
After the 1,000 years, satan will be let loose for a “short period” to roam the earth and recruit people to partake in the battle of Armageddon. The people satan will be gathering will be from group 3 as described previously. These will be the non-Christians that had died prior to Christ returning 1000 years earlier. Satan will gather these people together to over throw Gods new city. We read a lot about the “battle” of Armageddon, when in reality, there will not be a battle because God will destroy satan and his followers with fire from Heaven before they have a chance to attach the city.
Summing It All Up
Every one of us has been put on this earth for one reason, and that is to glorify God, and to share His word with others and help them to be drawn close to Him.
Because of Adam and Eve sinning thousands of years ago in the Garden of Eden, we have a sinful nature and cannot fully grasp what the Lord wants to do for us.
In the Bible, 2 Peter 3:9 says that the Lord is longsuffering and not willing for any of us to perish but all should come to repentance. He cares very deeply for every one of us and wants to share eternity with us.
Believing that our loved ones are in heaven immediately after death is really not a salvation issue and probably will not keep you out of heaven, but here is the problem with believing this theory, if you are going to believe in something that is so clearly explained in the Bible, what else are you going to believe that completely contradicts what the Bible teaches and “may” affect you salvation?
If you believe in the “rapture theory” and are like the gentleman I spoke about earlier and are waiting for Christ to return before you turn from the life you are living to a life with God, you will be lost! There will be no second chance. I know it sounds harsh and cruel, but it is the truth. Like Noah and the ark, once the doors were closed, everyone on the outside was lost, never having a chance to experience what the Lord wants to do for us.
The door once again is going to be shut, do not be on the outside looking in. Take the steps today to experience God in His glory. I also must warn you though, when you turn to the Lord, your path will not suddenly be easy, it will be difficult and you will run into many people that will tell you that you are wrong, they will tell you false truths, this is part of satan’s grand scheme to drive you further from the Lord.
The Lord never said He will take our troubles away, but He will be right there to help deal with them. He is our friend, our companion, our savior.
As a child I was raised in the church. When I was seventeen years old, I left wanting to have nothing to do with Christianity. In my late thirties I felt there was something missing in my life. With the help of my wife, we realized that it was the Lord that was missing. I blocked Him out all those years. He never ever blocked me out and never left me. He was there waiting for me all the time, just like He is there waiting for you right now.
Do not waste many years without Him in your life like I did. Start today building your new life with Him.
There has never been one moment in my life that I have regretted turning back to Him, and I am sure you will not regret it either.
Find a good Bible believing Sabbath keeping church with people you can lean on, that will help you. There are some good ones out there.
May God bless you and give you strength.
