When Christians die, do they go straight to heaven or do they go to a special paradise first?
Answer:
The bible tells us that when we die, we immediately enter into the presence of God. We will be fully conscious.
The Bible tells the story of Lazarus dying and immediately being carried to ‘Abraham’s side’ (Luke 16:22). What is ‘Abraham’s side’? Jesus makes much of the fact that Abraham is alive (and was alive in 33AD)—see Matthew 22:29-32. So when you die you are immediately alive and not in a half-state waiting to wake up to live once Judgment Day happens.
Are you alive in heaven or in an alternative ‘paradise’? Paul was convinced that the moment he died he would be ‘with Christ’ (Philippians 1:23). In fact Paul was convinced all believers are so ‘in Christ’ that they are in heaven even when they are on earth (Ephesians 2:6). We know that Jesus told the thief on the cross that he would ‘today’ be ‘with Jesus’ in ‘paradise’ (Luke 23:43). So we are certain that when a believer dies he is immediately ‘with Christ’.
It does not matter to me whether I am in heaven or in a special paradise—I will be ‘in Christ’ when I die and that is the only destination I need to know about!
Those verses which speak about dead believers ‘rising’ are probably also referring to a rising at Judgment Day a sort of ‘standing to one’s feet’ as opposed to rising from a half-state of suspense (1 Thessalonians 4:14-16, Daniel 12:2).
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