Over the years, I’ve stood at a lot of deathbeds, conducted a lot of funerals, said goodbye to a lot of my friends and family, and counseled more people in grief than I can remember. Two types of questions come up again and again among those standing by the graveside of a loved one:
- Where is my daddy right now? Where is my loved one? Is my little girl alive right now somewhere?
- How is it going with them? What are they doing right now on the other side of the grave? How are they?
Those aren’t new questions. They’ve been discussed throughout history — including among those who lived in New Testament times. Paul wrote to the Thessalonian Christians so they would not be ignorant “concerning those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:13, NKJV). Falling asleep was, of course, a metaphor for death — the same one Jesus used to describe Lazarus (John 11:11). Dr. Luke described Stephen’s death as him falling asleep (Acts 7:60), and Paul described the death of David in the Old Testament the same way (Acts 13:36).
When people ask, “Where is my loved one now?” following his or her death, they obviously are not asking about the body. They’re asking about the person’s soul. The material body is laid in the grave, but what happens to the immaterial person?
The Bible has the answer, and it is illustrated clearly in a story told by Jesus about two individuals who went to two different places when they died.
A Story of Two People
You’ve likely heard the story Jesus told about the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31). Let’s pause here because this story offers something we don’t see anywhere else in the Bible: a unique glimpse into the afterlife from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ. This happens in no other place throughout Scripture, so we should certainly pay attention!
Also, notice I refer to these verses as a story, not a parable. That’s important. Our Lord employed a lot of parables throughout His public ministry, but there was never a time when He used someone’s given name in a parable. The characters in parables always had generic labels — “A certain man,” “a judge,” “an older brother.” But in this passage, Jesus told us of a man named Lazarus. This was a specific man with a specific name. Why? Jesus was telling a real story.
Because this is a real story, it gives us real insight into what Lazarus and the rich man experienced after death — which means it also gives us real and meaningful insight into what our loved ones experience after they die. This is a story with real answers for each of us.
Two Men Contrasted in Life
Jesus didn’t name the rich man, but many over the centuries have referred to him as Dives (pronounced Dye-vees) because dives is the Latin term for “rich man.” This particular wealthy man showed his riches by dressing in purple garments and fine linen, and by eating sumptuous foods of the finest quality for every meal. He was outwardly wealthy, displaying his assets for all to see.
The second man, Lazarus, wasn’t the brother of Mary and Martha whom Jesus raised from the dead. This Lazarus was a poor beggar. Instead of fancy clothes, his body was covered in sores. Instead of dining on fancy foods, he spent much of each day lying outside the gates of Dives’s house, hoping someone would provide him a few crumbs from the rich man’s table. Lazarus was in such bad shape that “the dogs came and licked his sores” (Luke 16:21, NKJV).
Two Men Contrasted in Death
After introducing these two men, the story takes a turn by jumping to the moment of their deaths:
So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Then he cried and said, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” But Abraham said, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.” (Luke 16:22–26, NKJV)
To understand where these two men went when they died, we have to understand the Old Testament’s teaching about the afterlife. Before Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the Bible teaches there was an intermediate place where souls went after death. This place of the dead had two divisions separated by “a great gulf fixed” (Luke 16:26, NKJV).
On one side was Paradise, also known as Abraham’s bosom. This was a temporary “heaven” where the righteous dead went. It was a place of comfort, love, and companionship. On the other was a temporary “hell” called hades. This was a place of torment for the unrighteous dead. And between these two places was a great, uncrossable gulf.
| THE PLACE OF THE DEAD (Luke 16) | ||
| Paradise (Abraham’s bosom) | The Great Gulf (Fixed) | Hades |
| A temporary heaven | A temporary hell | |
| A place for the righteous dead | A place for the unrighteous dead | |
| A place of comfort, love, and companionship | A place of torment | |
Now let’s take a closer look at what happened to these two men in the story Jesus told.
Jesus said that when Lazarus died, he was carried by the angels to “Abraham’s bosom” (verse 22). As we have seen, the term Abraham’s bosom is another name for Paradise, or the place where the spirit of Old Testament believers went when they died.
Please note: Jesus did not say, “Lazarus was carried by the angels to heaven.” I will explain why in a moment.
But Dives went to hades where he was “in torment” (verse 23). In verses 23–31, Jesus went on to describe hades as a place of misery, memory, and mourning. In many respects, the rich man and Lazarus changed places. The proud man of time became the beggar in eternity. The one who in life denied the poor man a crumb from his table was now begging the poor man to give him a drop of water on his finger. The one who in life fared sumptuously every day would now be happy with just one drop of water to cool his tongue.
A Story of Two Places
Now let’s directly and definitively answer the question: What happens today to people when they die? The Bible says they go to one of two places.
The Unsaved Go to Hades
When a person dies today without knowing Christ, that person’s body goes in the grave, and his or her soul and spirit go to hades, the intermediate “hell,” until a particular point in time in the future. This is where the rich man in Jesus’ story remains today.
But here’s what we need to understand. Revelation 20:13–14 says that after the judgment at the Great White Throne, death and hades will give up those who are in them, and they will all be cast into the lake of fire forever. There will be a moment of final judgment that is still to come.
The Saved Go to Heaven
As we have seen, when Old Testament believers died they went to the temporary “heaven” called Paradise or Abraham’s bosom. This was a place of peace, but it wasn’t yet heaven. Then something incredible happened on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday that changed everything. Jesus, though His body rested in the grave, descended in spirit to the place of the dead — the realm we have been talking about. And He didn’t go there to suffer. He went to declare victory! He stepped into the unseen world and announced the triumph of the cross.
We know this because of what Jesus said to the repentant thief: “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43, NKJV). Remember, at that time Paradise was the temporary place where the souls of the righteous dead were gathered.
Jesus went there and 1 Peter 3 tells us He “proclaimed to the spirits in prison” (ESV). Ephesians 4 says He “descended into the lower parts of the earth” and “led captivity captive” (verses 8–9, NKJV). And in Revelation 1:18 (NKJV), Jesus declared, “I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”
What did Jesus do in the place of the dead? He preached victory to the fallen angels, the unrighteous dead, and to the Old Testament saints who had long waited for the Messiah. And then, in triumph, He led the righteous out of that waiting place and into the very presence of God.
In other words, Jesus took the Old Testament believers from Paradise into heaven. Since then, believers no longer pass through an intermediate heaven at death. The soul and spirit of every believer now go directly to heaven because Paradise is now in the presence of God (2 Corinthians 12:2–4).
Where Are They Now?
So here is the answer to the question, “Where are they now?”
If your loved ones were followers of Christ, I can tell you for sure where they are. Their bodies are in the grave, waiting for the day of resurrection at the rapture; their souls and spirits are in heaven! And in 2 Corinthians 5:1–5, Paul hinted at the fact that they have some kind of intermediate body as they await their full resurrection at the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17).
Think back to what Abraham told the rich man in Jesus’ story from Luke 16: “And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us” (verse 26 NKJV). Scripture also says, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27, NKJV).
The Bible does not tell us we’ll have a second chance to secure the redemption of our souls after death. Rather, it says, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
The rich man in Luke 16 could have heard and heeded the truth of the gospel, but he let the days slip away until there was no time left. I urge you not to make the same mistake.
Questions for Further Reflection
- Read John 14:3 and Philippians 1:23. What is the most important thing about our being in heaven once we have died?
- Read Revelation 7:15; 19:5; 22:3. What do these verses imply we will be doing in heaven?
- After reading Matthew 25:23, what do you think our work might be like once we’re in heaven?
Adapted from The Promise of Heaven: 31 Reasons to Get Excited About Your Eternal Home by Dr. David Jeremiah.
Reflection questions adapted from The Promise of Heaven Bible Study.
Have you ever looked around and thought, There has to be more than this? You’re not alone … and you’re right. Heaven is your forever home. In The Promise of Heaven, Dr. David Jeremiah invites you to lift your eyes above the disappointments and burdens of this world and catch a glimpse of the one to come.
Dr. David Jeremiahis the founder of Turning Point, an international ministry committed to providing Christians with sound Bible teaching through radio and television, the Internet, live events, and resource materials and books. He is the author of more than fifty books, includingThe Book of Signs,Where Do We Go fromHere?,andThe Great Disappearance. Dr. Jeremiah serves as the senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, California. He and his wife, Donna, have four children and twelve grandchildren.
