What Happens to Born-Again Christians When They Die?

When a Christian's body is laid to rest, where do they go, and when do they get there?

The daughter-in-law of a friend of mine asked me about this right after his passing. I didn’t have a ready answer because when I thought about it, I realized that there are differences of opinion on what happens. The two most prevalent schools of thought are that, upon death, we are immediately present with the Lord, or, that we fall into some type of spiritual sleep to be awoken into our resurrected bodies in the rapture. As is the case with any question of this nature, and so that I could give a definitive answer, I had to refer to scripture myself to find the answer.

Let’s start with the penitent thief in Luke 23:42-43 (KJV), ⁴²And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. ⁴³And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. This statement does not refer to some occurrence in the indeterminate future, but in the present future, “today,” and this was directly from the mouth of Jesus. Now you may want to debate that the thief wasn’t a Christian, or born again. Let me direct you to Luke 23:41 (KJV), ⁴¹And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

The thief checked all the boxes for receiving salvation: 1) he confessed his sins, 2) he confessed (with his mouth) and acknowledged that Jesus was Lord, and 3) he asked for mercy while stating his faith in the power of God beyond death. This is why he was able to receive the gift of immediate fellowship with God after his death.

Now you may be thinking, that’s fine, but that’s just your interpretation. So let me show you where there is definitive information. We see in Revelation 6:9 (KJV), ⁹And 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: 

Here it is clearly shown that the souls of those that died as Christians are in Heaven with God, conscious and not sleeping. I want to point out here that whenever the the word “sleep(ing)” is used in the Bible when talking about death, the reference is to the state of the body, not the spirit or soul.

At this point I would like to caution everyone about embracing divisiveness over harmony when it comes to things that are not crucial to the exercise of faith, and the health and welfare of the Kingdom of God. Focusing on disagreements that are not important opens the door for the enemy to sow doubt and discord. We are admonished in Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV) to, ⁵Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. ⁶In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. We may not be privy to the mechanics and intricacies of the universe, but God is and that is who our trust is in. We leave the details up to Him and, with the spirit of discernment, we focus on our walk and on spreading His word, love and hope to everyone around us.