WHERE DO THE DEAD GO WHEN THEY DIE?

Charles N. Spence, Jr.

There are many misconceptions as to where the dead are after they die. Many believe that the departed spirits go to Heaven after death. Some have used the passage in Ecclesiastes 12:7 in support of the idea that people go to Heaven when they die. Solomon said, “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” Jesus taught in Matthew 4:5-7 that the Scriptures must not contradict. One cannot interpret a passage in a way that contradicts another. They must harmonize.

In regard to where the dead are, let us hear what Jesus says about this. In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus gives the account of the rich man and Lazarus. In this account both men die. The rich man is found in torments while Lazarus is taken to Abraham's bosom. One point that must be made is that the rich man's body was buried. It was his soul that was in torments. It was the soul of Lazarus that was with Abraham. In the account, there is no mention of Heaven. If this account is speaking about Heaven, why would Lazarus be greeted by Abraham and not the Lord Himself? If Lazarus was in Heaven, then it must necessarily follow that the rich man was in hell (the lake of fire). Yet, 2 Thessalonians 1:9 reads, “These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power.” In the account of the rich man and Lazarus, Abraham was speaking with the rich man. This could not be the case if Lazarus was in Heaven and the rich man in the lake of fire because the rich man would not be punished in their presence.

Consider another passage in Revelation 20:13. This passage reveals that Hades will deliver up the dead in it on the Day of Judgment. Now, if all the righteous go to Heaven immediately after they die, why does Hades deliver up the dead in it on the Day of Judgment? Revelation 20:13 informs us that Hades is a place where the souls of those who have died go. In the account of the rich man and Lazarus, they were in Hades (Luke 16:23). One side was a place of torments, the other a place or rest and comfort. When the writer of Ecclesiastes says that the spirit returns to God who gave it, in the context of other Scriptures, he is saying that the spirit is put under God's care. Hebrews 12:9 says that God is the father of spirits. Every spirit originated with God and is under his authority or charge. When Jesus cried from the cross, “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit,” He had committed His spirit to the Father's charge. Yet, according to Acts 2:27-28, Jesus' soul was in Hades while his body was in the grave. After Jesus' resurrection, Mary sought to cling to Him. However, in John 20:17 Jesus told her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not ascended to My Father.” If Jesus went to Heaven when He died, He must have ascended to His Father, since His Father is in Heaven. Jesus did not go to Heaven immediately after His death.

From this simple study we have learned that when people die they do not go straight to Heaven, but are committed to God's care in Hades; whether in torments or in paradise. On the day of Judgment those souls will be released from Hades to be raised in a new heavenly body to stand before God (John 5:28-29, 1 Cor. 15:51-55). There, all must give an account of the deeds which were done while in the body (2 Cor. 5:10).