What happens when you die do you go to heaven

Q: Where does God say you go when you die?

Heres what happens at death to a believer: Your spirit goes into the immediate presence of God, into the Fathers hands. Thats why the New Testament says that to be away from the body is to be at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). Whatever happens to your body, your spirit is safe in the Fathers hands.

Q: What happens after you die?

During death, your bodys vital functions stop entirely. Your heart no longer beats, your breath stops and your brain stops functioning. Studies suggest that brain activity may continue several minutes after a person has been declared dead. Still, brain activity isnt the same as consciousness or awareness.

Q: Does the Bible say when you die you go to heaven?

As the Apostle Paul wrote, Now I know in part; then I shall know fully” (1 Corinthians 13:12). However, the Bible certainly does indicate that when we die we enter immediately into Gods presence if we belong to Christ.

Answer: The short answer is NO! The Bible is clear that nobody goes to heaven when they die. John 3:13 says, "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven."

Table of Contents Show

What does the Bible say about death?
What happens to your soul when you die?
Is there life after death?
Where does God say you go when you die?
What happens after you die?
What happens after you die where do you go?
Does the Bible say when you die you go to heaven?

Why don't we hear that scripture preached at funerals? We've all been taught that when we die we immediately go somewhere for some form of reward or punishment. That is NOT what the Bible says. The Bible actually describes death like sleep. The dead are all asleep in the grave awaiting the resurrection.

In Ecclesiastes 9:5 it says, "For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten." In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15 the apostle Paul is calling us ignorant if we don't truly understand what happens at death. He says, "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep."

As shocking as this may seem, the Bible teaches that when we die, we remain dead until the resurrection. Daniel 12:1-4 (KJV) "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."

The Bible never speaks of the dead as being alive in Heaven or Hell! Daniel confirms that those who die sleep in the dust of the earth only to be resurrected in the future.

The Apostle Paul refers to deceased Christians as those who sleep in Jesus. Sleep is used here as a metaphor for death. Think about this. If we all went to heaven when we died…. Why would there be any need for a resurrection talked about so much in the Bible? Christ said in John 5:28-29, "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth--those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."

I know it's hard to digest but that is what the Bible says. Look at all of those gravestones that say RIP… rest in peace. They got it right.

Death is the unconquerable foe that has taken over the likes of Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. Postulates or theories by minds like Einstein or Stephen Hawking can never be proved upon this subject. So what does the Bible say?

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One of Jesus’ most significant miracles recorded in the Bible was the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead (John 11). There are other instances of people who had been raised from the dead, but unlike those mentioned before in the Bible, Lazarus had been dead for an entire period of four days. When Lazarus died, Jesus said, “‘Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.’ Then His disciples said, ‘Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.’ However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep” (John 11:11-13, NKJV).

What does the Bible say about death?

The Bible compares death to sleep more than fifty times. After death we are asleep, we are unconscious; we are not aware of the passing of time or of what is going on around us. That is what death is like as well. The Bible says, “for the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing… their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, NKJV, see also Psalm 146:4; 115:17). It makes sense that after Lazarus was raised from the dead, he doesn’t share what he saw or experienced. He didn’t have anything to tell, except that once he was dead, and now he is alive! He didn’t experience hell or heaven. He was simply “sleeping” in his tomb. Peter on the Day of Pentecost said the same of King David. “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day…For David did not ascend into the heavens…"(Acts 2:29, 34).

>> Related Topics: Are ghosts real? | What does the Bible say about cremation?

What happens to your soul when you die?

Many Christians think of the soul as an immortal entity within us that goes on living after death. What does the Bible say? Describing the creation of human beings in the beginning, the Bible says, “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” (Genesis 2:7, KJV). Other Bible translations say, “. . . and man became a living being” (NKJV; NIV). God did not put a soul into man. He formed the body from the dust of the ground, and then He breathed His life-giving spirit into the lifeless body—and the result was a soul, or a living being. When a person dies, the reverse takes place. The breath of life departs from the body, and the soul no longer exists. That’s what the Bible says. “The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7, NIV). At the resurrection, God reunites the body and His life-giving spirit—and the person lives again.

If souls existed as separate entities that lived on after we died, that would mean we have immortality. However, the Bible says human beings do not have immortality. Only God is immortal (see 1 Timothy 6:15, 16). Paul says that the righteous “seek for glory, honor, and immortality” (Romans 2:7). If we had immortal souls, why would the righteous seek after something they already have?

Is there life after death?

Though we may die, Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live” (John 11:25). We will receive immortality when Jesus comes again (see 1 Corinthians 15:51-54). The Bible says that all those who have died—both righteous and wicked—will be raised to life in one of two resurrections. The righteous will be raised to life at Jesus’ second coming. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16, NKJV). According to this verse, the righteous do not go to heaven when they die. They remain asleep in the grave until Jesus returns and raises them to immortal life (see 1 Corinthians 15:50-57).

The wicked are raised to life in a separate resurrection—the resurrection of condemnation. Jesus said, “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28, 29, NKJV).

The prophets never mention in the Bible that the righteous immediately go to heaven or the wicked go to hell when they die. Neither did Jesus and His apostles teach it. When Jesus was about to leave His disciples, He did not tell them they would soon come to Him. “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3, NKJV).

When He returns, our loved ones asleep in Christ will awake from their tombs. No matter how long the time has passed, be it long or short, will seem but a moment to them. By the voice of Jesus, they are called forth from their deep slumber they will begin to think just where they ceased, awakening to a glorious immortality.

“For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible … So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written:

‘Death is swallowed up in victory’” (1 Corinthians 15:52, 54).

The last sensation was the pang of death, the last thought, that they were falling beneath the power of the grave, but then, imagine, when they arise from the tomb to the shout,

“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).

You may wish to learn more through the Discover Bible Lessons on our Bible studies section.

Where does God say you go when you die?

Here's what happens at death to a believer: Your spirit goes into the immediate presence of God, into the Father's hands. That's why the New Testament says that to be away from the body is to be at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). Whatever happens to your body, your spirit is safe in the Father's hands.

What happens after you die?

During death, your body's vital functions stop entirely. Your heart no longer beats, your breath stops and your brain stops functioning. Studies suggest that brain activity may continue several minutes after a person has been declared dead. Still, brain activity isn't the same as consciousness or awareness.

What happens after you die where do you go?

Normally, the body is transported to a morgue or mortuary. Depending on the circumstances of the death, an autopsy may be performed. The body is then usually taken to a funeral home. The funeral home prepares it to be viewed by friends and family or makes it ready for burial or cremation.

Does the Bible say when you die you go to heaven?

As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Now I know in part; then I shall know fully” (1 Corinthians 13:12). However, the Bible certainly does indicate that when we die we enter immediately into God's presence if we belong to Christ.