Article by: Kenneth J. Ester
What Happens When We Die?
John 3:13 (NASB)
13 No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.
At the time Jesus said this, it was 100% true. Nobody who had ever died went to heaven yet. Only Jesus had been to heaven because He came from there. He is God. However, we also know that nobody has gone to the Lake of Fire yet either.
In Revelation 20, we first read about Satan being bound and tossed in the abyss for a thousand years. In verse 7 we learn that after the thousand years is up, Satan is let loose again. All of this happens after the Second Coming of Jesus. Then in verse 11 we learn about the Judgment before the great white throne.
Revelation 20:11 (NASB)
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Since these come from Hades and are judged and then thrown into the Lake of Fire, and since it does not happen until after the thousand years are up, we know that nobody has been judged and cast into the Lake of Fire yet today. If nobody is in the Lake of Fire even today, then we certainly know they were not yet there when Jesus died on the cross. So before Jesus died, nobody had ever been to heaven or the Lake of Fire. So where did everyone who died go?
There is a place that in the Old testament is referred to as "Sheol" and in the New Testament it is called "Hades". Hades is a place where all souls went to await judgment. However, they were not together. Hades has different sections to it. We do not know the name of the section for the ungodly. The section for the Godly was called "Paradise". You may be thinking Paradise is in heaven, and it is. It wasn't always though. How do we know Paradise was in Hades? Jesus tells us.
When Jesus was nailed to the cross, the thief beside Him stood up for him and then asked Jesus to remember him when He came unto the throne. What was Jesus reply?
Luke 23:43 (NASB)
43 And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
Jesus did not ascend to heaven until after He rose from the dead on the third day. We know this also from Jesus own words.
John 20:17 (NASB)
17 Jesus *said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’”
So if Jesus did not go to heaven until the third day after he died, and He told the thief that he would be with Him before the sun set that day, the only possible options are that either Paradise was a section in Hades, or Jesus lied. And we know Jesus never lied.
How is Paradise in heaven now you ask?
Ephesians 4:8 (NASB)
8 Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.”
According to this, when Jesus ascended to heaven, He took others with Him. By this we know that 1) Paradise is now in heaven. 2) Anyone true believers who die today also go to heaven because Jesus has opened heaven to the saved now.
Some might wonder at this time how anyone can go to heaven yet if they haven't been judged yet.
John 3:18 (NASB)
18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Now some might wish to point out that we all stand before the judgment seat.
2 Corinthians 5:10 (NASB)
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
One day we will all stand before Him, but this is not the same as the great white throne of judgment where the condemned are judged and cast into the Lake of Fire. This is what is referred to as the BEMA Seat. This is a judgment seat but not in the sense of being judged and sentenced. This is when all of the saved will have their good deeds and sins judged and then they will be given their rewards. We will never be judged in the way of being sentenced.
The moment we truly believe in our heart, God sends the Holy Spirit to enter us and seals us with the promise of salvation.
Ephesians 1:13 (NASB)
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
Everyone who has the Holy Spirit will be saved and enter heaven. We do not need to wait to be judged first. Still, this is not where we spend all of eternity. For after the condemned are cast into the Lake of Fire, God will destroy this earth and give to us a new earth. That is where we will spend eternity.
Revelation 21:1-4 (NASB)
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
In Summary
There is nobody in the Lake of Fire yet. Everyone who dies and does not believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior will go to Hades where they wait for the day of Judgment before the great white throne.
Everyone who is a true believer however, enters heaven immediately and after the day of judgment passes, we will be given a new Earth where we will have new lives in imperishable bodies.
What About Hell?
You may have noticed I left hell out. The reason being is because there is a lot of confusion as to just exactly what hell is. When they translated the KJV Bible in 1611, they were a bit too liberal in the use of the word "hell". They ended up using it for words referring to Hades/Sheol, as well as words that pertain to the Lake of Fire.
The word "hell" seems to pertain more to Hades/Sheol than it does the lake of Fire, but the entire world today seems to think of hell as the final place of punishment for the condemned. So I felt it is best not to add to the confusion and simple put, just more simple to not even use the word and to refer to the different places as Hades, Heaven, the New Earth, and the lake of Fire.
13 No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.
At the time Jesus said this, it was 100% true. Nobody who had ever died went to heaven yet. Only Jesus had been to heaven because He came from there. He is God. However, we also know that nobody has gone to the Lake of Fire yet either.
In Revelation 20, we first read about Satan being bound and tossed in the abyss for a thousand years. In verse 7 we learn that after the thousand years is up, Satan is let loose again. All of this happens after the Second Coming of Jesus. Then in verse 11 we learn about the Judgment before the great white throne.
Revelation 20:11 (NASB)
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Since these come from Hades and are judged and then thrown into the Lake of Fire, and since it does not happen until after the thousand years are up, we know that nobody has been judged and cast into the Lake of Fire yet today. If nobody is in the Lake of Fire even today, then we certainly know they were not yet there when Jesus died on the cross. So before Jesus died, nobody had ever been to heaven or the Lake of Fire. So where did everyone who died go?
There is a place that in the Old testament is referred to as "Sheol" and in the New Testament it is called "Hades". Hades is a place where all souls went to await judgment. However, they were not together. Hades has different sections to it. We do not know the name of the section for the ungodly. The section for the Godly was called "Paradise". You may be thinking Paradise is in heaven, and it is. It wasn't always though. How do we know Paradise was in Hades? Jesus tells us.
When Jesus was nailed to the cross, the thief beside Him stood up for him and then asked Jesus to remember him when He came unto the throne. What was Jesus reply?
Luke 23:43 (NASB)
43 And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
Jesus did not ascend to heaven until after He rose from the dead on the third day. We know this also from Jesus own words.
John 20:17 (NASB)
17 Jesus *said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’”
So if Jesus did not go to heaven until the third day after he died, and He told the thief that he would be with Him before the sun set that day, the only possible options are that either Paradise was a section in Hades, or Jesus lied. And we know Jesus never lied.
How is Paradise in heaven now you ask?
Ephesians 4:8 (NASB)
8 Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.”
According to this, when Jesus ascended to heaven, He took others with Him. By this we know that 1) Paradise is now in heaven. 2) Anyone true believers who die today also go to heaven because Jesus has opened heaven to the saved now.
Some might wonder at this time how anyone can go to heaven yet if they haven't been judged yet.
John 3:18 (NASB)
18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Now some might wish to point out that we all stand before the judgment seat.
2 Corinthians 5:10 (NASB)
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
One day we will all stand before Him, but this is not the same as the great white throne of judgment where the condemned are judged and cast into the Lake of Fire. This is what is referred to as the BEMA Seat. This is a judgment seat but not in the sense of being judged and sentenced. This is when all of the saved will have their good deeds and sins judged and then they will be given their rewards. We will never be judged in the way of being sentenced.
The moment we truly believe in our heart, God sends the Holy Spirit to enter us and seals us with the promise of salvation.
Ephesians 1:13 (NASB)
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
Everyone who has the Holy Spirit will be saved and enter heaven. We do not need to wait to be judged first. Still, this is not where we spend all of eternity. For after the condemned are cast into the Lake of Fire, God will destroy this earth and give to us a new earth. That is where we will spend eternity.
Revelation 21:1-4 (NASB)
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
In Summary
There is nobody in the Lake of Fire yet. Everyone who dies and does not believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior will go to Hades where they wait for the day of Judgment before the great white throne.
Everyone who is a true believer however, enters heaven immediately and after the day of judgment passes, we will be given a new Earth where we will have new lives in imperishable bodies.
What About Hell?
You may have noticed I left hell out. The reason being is because there is a lot of confusion as to just exactly what hell is. When they translated the KJV Bible in 1611, they were a bit too liberal in the use of the word "hell". They ended up using it for words referring to Hades/Sheol, as well as words that pertain to the Lake of Fire.
The word "hell" seems to pertain more to Hades/Sheol than it does the lake of Fire, but the entire world today seems to think of hell as the final place of punishment for the condemned. So I felt it is best not to add to the confusion and simple put, just more simple to not even use the word and to refer to the different places as Hades, Heaven, the New Earth, and the lake of Fire.
