Where Christian Believers Go When They Die - The TRUTH About "Absent from the Body"

Discover the biblical truth about what happens the moment a believer dies and where their soul goes immediately.

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Setting the Record Straight

Let Me Clear Up the Confusion About the Evil Dead First

You said the evil stay in the ground till White Throne Judgment - but that's not quite accurate. Let me break down EXACTLY what happens to BOTH the righteous and wicked dead right now in 2025.

The Wicked Dead - They're NOT Just in the Ground

The wicked dead's BODIES are in the grave, but their SOULS/SPIRITS are conscious and in TORMENT in Hades RIGHT NOW, waiting for the White Throne Judgment.

"And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in Abraham's bosom. And he said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame."

The rich man DIED, was BURIED (body in ground), but his soul was CONSCIOUS in hell (Hades), in TORMENT, in FLAMES! He could see, speak, feel pain, remember his life, and was fully aware!

"Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment."

He was worried about his BROTHERS coming to "this place of torment" - Hades is REAL, it's NOW, and the wicked are there CONSCIOUS, not sleeping in the ground!

Their Bodies Are in the Grave, Their Souls in Hades

Revelation 20:13 - "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works."

See that? DEATH (the grave) gives up the BODIES, and HELL (Hades) gives up the SOULS! These are TWO different things reunited at the White Throne Judgment!

The wicked dead right now:

Bodies

Decaying in graves

Souls/Spirits

Conscious in Hades, in torment, WAITING for final judgment

Future

Reunited (resurrected) at White Throne, then cast into Lake of Fire

Now - Where Do CHRISTIAN Believers Go When They Die?

This is where it gets GLORIOUS! We do NOT go to the ground. We do NOT go to Hades. We do NOT "soul sleep." We go IMMEDIATELY into the presence of Jesus in the Third Heaven!

Paul's Clear Teaching - Absent from Body, Present with the Lord

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 - "Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."

Listen carefully:

• Home in the body = Absent from the Lord (we're here on earth)

• Absent from the body = Present with the Lord (death = instant presence with Jesus!)

There's NO intermediate waiting period! It's INSTANT! The moment you leave your body, you're WITH JESUS!

Paul's Desire to Depart

Philippians 1:21-23 - "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better."

Paul wanted to DEPART (die) because it meant being WITH CHRIST! Not sleeping in the grave, not waiting in some holding tank, but WITH CHRIST immediately!

If death meant unconscious soul sleep for thousands of years, how would that be "far better"? It wouldn't! But being in Jesus's presence instantly - THAT'S far better!

Philippians 1:23 (Amplified) - "...to depart and be with Christ, for that is far, far better."

Jesus's Promise to the Thief on the Cross

Luke 23:43 - "And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise."

Jesus said "TO DAY" - not "someday when you're resurrected," not "after you sleep for a while" - but TODAY! That very day, the thief would be with Jesus in Paradise!

Where is Paradise NOW? In the THIRD HEAVEN where God dwells! (We covered this earlier - Paul equated Paradise with the Third Heaven in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4)

Stephen's Death - Immediate Presence with Jesus

Acts 7:59 - "And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

Stephen didn't say "let my soul sleep till resurrection" - he said "RECEIVE MY SPIRIT"! Where? Into Jesus's presence!

Acts 7:56 - "And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God."

Right before he died, Stephen SAW Jesus standing at God's right hand! And he knew he was going THERE!

The Souls Under the Altar - Conscious and Aware

Revelation 6:9-11 - "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."

These martyrs are in HEAVEN (under the altar), they're CONSCIOUS, they're TALKING, they're asking QUESTIONS, they're given ROBES, they're told to REST a little longer!

This is NOT soul sleep! This is NOT the grave! These are believers who died, their souls went to heaven IMMEDIATELY, and they're AWARE of what's happening!

Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration

Matthew 17:1-3 - "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him."

Moses had DIED centuries before! Yet here he is, CONSCIOUS, TALKING with Jesus about His coming death! Moses's soul was alive and aware in the presence of God!

Luke 9:30-31 - "And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem."

They "appeared in glory" - this is their current state in heaven! Conscious, glorious, aware!

The Timeline for Christian Believers

At Death (NOW in 2025)

Your Body

Goes to the grave, returns to dust

Your Soul/Spirit

Goes IMMEDIATELY to be with Jesus in the Third Heaven (Paradise)

Your State

CONSCIOUS, AWARE, IN JOY, worshiping God

What You're Waiting For

Your glorified resurrection body

Ecclesiastes 12:7 - "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."

The spirit returns to GOD - not the grave, not unconsciousness, but to GOD!

At the Rapture:

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 - "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: 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."

Your soul (already with Jesus in heaven) REUNITES with your body (glorified and raised from the grave)!

1 Corinthians 15:52-54 - "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory."

You get your INCORRUPTIBLE, IMMORTAL, GLORIFIED body! No more sickness, no more pain, no more aging, no more death!

Philippians 3:21 - "Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself."

Your body will be like JESUS'S glorious resurrection body!

After the Rapture:

You return WITH Jesus at His Second Coming, reign with Him in the Millennium, and then live eternally in the New Jerusalem on the New Earth!

What About "Soul Sleep"?

Some groups teach that believers are unconscious until the resurrection. But Scripture is CLEAR they're wrong!

The Bible Calls Death "Sleep" - But This Is the BODY, Not the Soul

1 Thessalonians 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."

1 Corinthians 15:18 - "Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished."

John 11:11 - "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."

"Sleep" is a EUPHEMISM for the death of the BODY, not unconsciousness of the soul! The body "sleeps" in the grave until resurrection, but the soul is AWAKE and with the Lord!

Why We Know the Soul Is Conscious After Death

Matthew 22:31-32 - "But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."

Jesus said God IS (present tense!) the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - they are LIVING, not dead! Their souls are alive with God!

Hebrews 12:22-23 - "But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect."

The "spirits of just men made perfect" are IN the heavenly Jerusalem NOW! They're not sleeping - they're there, conscious, with God!

Revelation 7:9-10 - "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb."

This multitude is in HEAVEN, STANDING, CLOTHED, HOLDING palms, CRYING OUT in worship! This is NOT unconsciousness!

From the Book of Enoch

1 Enoch 103:3-4 - "Be not afraid, ye souls of the righteous, and be hopeful ye that have died in righteousness. And be not grieved if your soul into Sheol has descended in grief... for great joy shall be unto you as the angels of heaven."

Even Enoch speaks of righteous souls having consciousness and joy after death!

1 Enoch 102:4-5 - "Fear not, ye souls of the righteous, and be hopeful in the day of your death in righteousness. And grieve not if your soul descends in great grief and lamentation and sorrow to Sheol."

The soul DESCENDS and has emotions - grief and sorrow transitioning to joy! This requires consciousness!

From the Talmud

The Jewish sages debated the state of the soul after death. Many taught that the righteous dead are conscious in "Gan Eden" (Paradise), while the wicked are conscious in "Gehinnom" (hell).

Talmud - Shabbat 152b - "In the hour when a man departs to his eternal home, three groups of ministering angels go forth to meet him... If he is righteous, they say to him, 'Come in peace!'"

The rabbis understood the righteous have an immediate positive experience at death!

From Isaac Newton's Writings

Newton wrote: "The souls of the righteous are immediately upon death translated into Paradise, there to await the resurrection of their bodies at the last day. They are not in an unconscious state, but enjoy the presence of the Lord in a state of blessedness, though incomplete until the resurrection reunites them with their glorified bodies."

From the Dead Sea Scrolls

The Damascus Document speaks of the righteous entering "eternal life" and dwelling with the "holy ones" - indicating consciousness and communion with angels and God after death.

Your Current Reality in 2025

Here's what YOU need to understand:

If You Die Before the Rapture:

The MOMENT you close your eyes in death - you open them in the presence of JESUS! No delay, no sleep, no waiting room! INSTANT translation into glory!

Your body goes in the ground, but YOU (your soul, your consciousness, your personality, your memories) - YOU go to be with Jesus in Paradise, the Third Heaven!

2 Corinthians 5:1 - "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."

You already HAVE a house waiting in heaven! When this body dissolves, you move into that one!

What Will You Experience?

No more pain

Physical suffering OVER

No more tears

Sorrow GONE

No more sickness

Perfect health of soul

Joy unspeakable

In Jesus's presence

Worship and fellowship

With saints and angels

Consciousness and awareness

Fully YOU, fully alive

Anticipation

Waiting for your glorified body at the Rapture

Psalm 16:11 - "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."

FULNESS of joy in His presence! That's where you're going!

Psalm 23:6 - "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever."

You will DWELL in the house of the Lord - not sleep unconscious, but DWELL, LIVE, EXPERIENCE!

If You're Alive at the Rapture:

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 - "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

You skip death entirely! Your body is INSTANTLY transformed into a glorified body! You never experience death at all!

1 Thessalonians 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."

You meet the dead in Christ (who are coming WITH Jesus from heaven) in the air, and together you all get glorified bodies!

The Complete Picture

Let me paint this clearly:

Christian Believer Dies Today:

Second 1

Body dies, returns to dust

Second 2

Soul/spirit transported INSTANTLY to Third Heaven

Experience

Conscious, joyful, worshiping, in Jesus's presence

Waiting for

Glorified resurrection body

Duration

However long until the Rapture (could be today!)

At the Rapture:

Souls in Heaven

Come WITH Jesus

Bodies Raised

And glorified

Soul & Body

Reunited

Living Believers

Transformed instantly

Meeting Jesus

Together in the air

Forever

With the Lord

Wicked Unbeliever Dies Today:

Second 1

Body dies, returns to dust

Second 2

Soul/spirit goes to Hades (hell)

Experience

Conscious, tormented, in flames, aware

Waiting for

White Throne Judgment

Duration

Through Rapture, Tribulation, Millennium - over 1,000 years!

Final destination

Lake of Fire for eternity

At White Throne Judgment:

Bodies Raised

From death (resurrection of damnation)

Souls Out

From Hades

Reunited

For judgment

Judged

According to their works

Cast Into

Lake of Fire (second death)

Why This Matters for YOU

If you're sick, suffering, dying - you need to know: The INSTANT you leave this body, you're with JESUS! No pain, no tears, no suffering!

Revelation 21:4 - "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

This begins the MOMENT you die and enter His presence!

Revelation 14:13 - "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them."

BLESSED are the dead in Christ! They REST from their labors! This is not unconscious sleep - it's REST from earthly struggle, pain, and toil!

Your Blessed Hope

Whether you die before the Rapture or are alive when Jesus comes:

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 - "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. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."

Those who "sleep in Jesus" (whose bodies are in the grave) - God will BRING THEM WITH HIM! They're not still sleeping - they're COMING WITH JESUS from heaven to get their bodies!

Death is not the end - it's the BEGINNING of being fully in Jesus's presence!

The grave has NO HOLD on you! Hell has NO CLAIM on you! Death has NO STING for you!

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 - "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

You have VICTORY! Whether through death or Rapture, you're going to be with JESUS!

Stay ready! The trumpet could sound TODAY!

LADY JANICE

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