What Happens After Death
Before Christ
- All bodies went to grave
- All souls went down to Hades/Sheol or to the pit, the realm of the unseen.
- All spirits (breath) go back to God.
Before the resurrection all men went to the same place.... Sheol, Hades, commonly referred to as the pit.
Christ
went to Sheol when he died also. Where was Sheol? It was in the Heart
of the Earth (Matt 12:40) Sheol/ Hades the unseen place in the heart of
the earth commonly mistranslated as 'hell'.
But Heaven was Closed Before Christ
The way to heaven was not open. We could not follow Him there.
"No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven" (John 3:13)
The
good news is Christ raided Hades and with his ascension performed an
Alcatraz styled jail break where now,. He is the Resurrection and the
Life. You shall never Die (You would no longer go to Sheol). Also
(paradoxically), though you are dead, yet shall you live (because the
gates of Hades shall not hold you in anymore. No More Sheol or Hades
holding for you).
If you confess Him as Lord, you have life to follow Him to be where He is when you die.
We can now follow Him.
"Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you.
Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?”
Jesus answered him, “ Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.” (NKJV) (John 13:33,36)
So After Christ' Resurrection
- All bodies still go to grave- Where do the souls go?
The Full Preterist View (or Fulfilled Eschatology) (At and after AD 70)
- Believers go to God in spiritual bodies upon death. Resurrection began with Christ and is continuous, so that when believers die, each man is resurrected, each in His own order, receiving their spiritual body. We all now have access to Most Holy Place, where it was previously closed.- Unbelievers go the Lake of Fire in spiritual bodies. As unbelievers died, they are immediately resurrected as the unjust in the resurrection of damnation. Hades already cast into the Lake of Fire. The unjust as soon as they die are judged are also cast therein.
Alternative: Lake of Fire was AD 70 also. Inconclusive of where the dead goes if the Lake of Fire is no more and if there is no actual invisible New Heaven and Earth for believers to enter (since the New Heavens and Earth are right here on earth only, and there is no spiritual equivalent in the invisible realm)
The Partial Preterist View
- Believer's souls go straight to God. Has access to Most Holy Place.- Unbelieving souls go down to Hades, as sole residents. The gates of Hades cannot prevail against those who are member of His Church or Body.
- One day, upon Final Return of Christ, upon resurrection of just and unjust, Believers will receive Spiritual (non-natural) bodies that can also materialize and be physical (Paul compares Spiritual Vs NATURAL; not Spiritual vs. PHYSICAL). (similar to Ezekiel 44; appear before God in wool (no sweat -i.e. spiritual); appear before men in linen (spiritual flesh). In both cases NEVER Natural)
- Hades and Unbelievers cast into the Lake of Fire
Evangelical Universalistic View
- All those in Lake of Fire will be given life after paying their last farthing, and after some eons and when the judgment has done its work... the Work of judgment is so that people will learn righteousness. The gates of New Jerusalem are always open. The wicked when cast into the lake are found outside the City. The tree of Life is for the healing of nations. The River of Life is for many to wash robes and drink. The wicked will enter after a period of judgment, and then each in His own order will access life, until God is all in all, and all things go back to Him.
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For more on this see When Was the Resurrection From the Dead
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