There are a lot of opinions about what happens when we die, and before the day of judgement. Let’s take a look at what Scripture has to say about it.
In Matthew chapter 25 Jesus spoke the parable of the sheep and the goats. The sheep represents the righteous and the goats the unrighteous. Verse 46 tells us that the righteous will go to eternal life and the unrighteous, eternal punishment. Cleary, Scripture shows us there is a heaven and a hell. But there is one day of judgment and we don't all die on that day so there must be some answer to what happens in between death and judgment.
First we need to understand the terms, body, soul and spirit. The body represents our physical body, our flesh. When we die the body decomposes and eventually turns to dust. Scripture uses the terms spirit and soul sometimes interchangeably, but we see in an example that is a little confusing. When Jesus is asked what the greatest command His reply is recorded in three places; Matthew 23:37, Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27. Using the NIV the list of things with which we need to love the Lord our God include all of our: heart, soul, mind, strength. I believe that there are three parts to the human being; the body, the spirit that God puts inside us so that we are alive; the soul/spirit/mind. This is the part of us that contains our personality, our will, and all the things that make us spiritually unique. This is also the part of us that will stand before judgement and live eternally in either heaven or hell.
With this in “mind,” let’s continue to look at the period between death and judgement. When the thief on the cross asked Jess for mercy (Luke 23:43), Jesus replied, "Today you will be with me in paradise." The place that Jesus was speaking of isn't heaven but it's a lot like heaven. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Luke 16:19 we see that there are two places that people go when they die, torment or Abrahams bosom (this is widely believed to be the same as paradise). Between torment and paradise is a chasm (a wide bottomless canyon). The term hades is used to refer to this place, with paradise, torment, and the chasm between them.
So when we die, we go to hades. At that point it is almost like we are already judged because we are in a good place or a bad place. Judgement, then, is not so much a pronouncement of guilt or innocence. It’s more like a reading of the charges against or for you and a sentencing. Those in paradise will be welcomed into heaven and those in torment will be thrown into the everlasting lake of fire, hell.
In Matthew chapter 25 Jesus spoke the parable of the sheep and the goats. The sheep represents the righteous and the goats the unrighteous. Verse 46 tells us that the righteous will go to eternal life and the unrighteous, eternal punishment. Cleary, Scripture shows us there is a heaven and a hell. But there is one day of judgment and we don't all die on that day so there must be some answer to what happens in between death and judgment.
First we need to understand the terms, body, soul and spirit. The body represents our physical body, our flesh. When we die the body decomposes and eventually turns to dust. Scripture uses the terms spirit and soul sometimes interchangeably, but we see in an example that is a little confusing. When Jesus is asked what the greatest command His reply is recorded in three places; Matthew 23:37, Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27. Using the NIV the list of things with which we need to love the Lord our God include all of our: heart, soul, mind, strength. I believe that there are three parts to the human being; the body, the spirit that God puts inside us so that we are alive; the soul/spirit/mind. This is the part of us that contains our personality, our will, and all the things that make us spiritually unique. This is also the part of us that will stand before judgement and live eternally in either heaven or hell.
With this in “mind,” let’s continue to look at the period between death and judgement. When the thief on the cross asked Jess for mercy (Luke 23:43), Jesus replied, "Today you will be with me in paradise." The place that Jesus was speaking of isn't heaven but it's a lot like heaven. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Luke 16:19 we see that there are two places that people go when they die, torment or Abrahams bosom (this is widely believed to be the same as paradise). Between torment and paradise is a chasm (a wide bottomless canyon). The term hades is used to refer to this place, with paradise, torment, and the chasm between them.
So when we die, we go to hades. At that point it is almost like we are already judged because we are in a good place or a bad place. Judgement, then, is not so much a pronouncement of guilt or innocence. It’s more like a reading of the charges against or for you and a sentencing. Those in paradise will be welcomed into heaven and those in torment will be thrown into the everlasting lake of fire, hell.
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