What Happens to the Christian When He Dies?

No passage of the Scriptures portrays the righteous living in mansions in Heaven.

For example:

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; (Revelation 7:9)

Revelation 7:9-17 appears to be confined to those believers who stand true to Christ during the great and terrible tribulation that will accompany the reign of Antichrist. Their destiny is to serve God day and night in His temple.

Standing before the Throne of God and before the Lamb with palms in our hands, serving God day and night in His temple, is a marvelous prospect. If we think about it, it is greatly to be desired in preference to living our private life in a mansion.

What does it mean to be clothed with a white robe? Remember, when we die we are a bodiless spirit. Being clothed with a white robe very well may signify that we have been given a body of glory with which to clothe our spirit. When it is time for the Lord to return to earth we will return with Him in a glorified body, descend to where our physical remains are interred, call up from the place of death our flesh and bones and receive them as part of our personality.

Now we are ready to return to the Lord in the air in preparation for the attack of Armageddon.

Notice also:

And 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: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. (Revelation 6:9-11)

Again we see the clothing of the bodiless spirits with the white robe woven from our Christ-filled, righteous behavior. Receiving the white robe means we have attained the first resurrection from the dead.

Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. (Revelation 3:4)

Perhaps Peter, James, and Paul are under the altar of God in Heaven, among those who are crying out with loud voices for vengeance on their persecutors. They will they be given the white robes of the royal priesthood during the opening of the fifth seal. At present they are they resting in the Presence of Christ.

And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. (Revelation 14:1)

And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. (Revelation 15:2)

The above are representative of the passages that describe the state of the Christians who have lived a victorious life in Jesus. There would be no place among these overcomers for the careless, the lukewarm, for those who have buried their talents or allowed their lamp to run out of oil.

We do not say the above passages describe the limits of our future experience, for the testimonies of saints who were dead, or nearly dead, and then were revived, indicate a much different setting. The revived saints profess to have seen happy, righteous spirits in the Paradise of God. We do not for one moment doubt their testimony.

We note that Moses and Elijah were active with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.

We can be certain only of what is written. Also, it is important to understand the Gospel is not directed toward what takes place when we die physically but what takes place when the Lord Jesus returns in glory. The Gospel of the Kingdom has to do with the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth, not with our going to live forever in the spirit realm as is taught currently.

The Apostle Paul was willing to die and go to be with the Lord.

We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. (II Corinthians 5:8,9)

The context suggests this is not as much a longing to go to Heaven to live as it is the realization he was preparing to be clothed with a body of life from Heaven, a white robe of righteous conduct, a body fashioned from his afflictions (II Corinthians 4:17). Paul was stressing his desire to be acceptable to the Lord in view of the day when he stands before the Judgment Seat of Christ.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. (II Corinthians 5:10)

And notice:

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. (Philippians 1:24)

"And to be with Christ."

Paul always emphasized going to be with the Lord rather than going to Heaven or to Paradise. There is a truly great difference between desiring to be with the Lord and desiring to go to Paradise. Many people desire to go to Paradise when they die, but their lives on the earth reveal that they care little for the Presence and fellowship of Jesus.

The above passages often are cited by believers. "It is gain for me to die," they quote; or, "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord."

This may or may not be true for every believer. Because it was better for the imprisoned, persecuted Paul to die than to live, and that for him to be absent from the body was to be present with the Lord, does not mean this is true for every individual who makes a profession of faith in Christ.

The current practice of ignoring contexts and focusing on certain "key verses," and then claiming that because we profess faith in Christ these verses apply automatically to us, is one of the reasons behind the prevailing spiritual deadness of the Christian churches.

Verses such as Galatians 2:20 or I John 3:2, apply to us only as we enter the spiritual maturity of the Apostles. These passages announce spiritual realities to which we are to aspire. They are not legal states given to us because our doctrine is correct.

The purpose of the Scripture is to bring us to the living Word, Christ. The Scripture is not Christ and must never become a substitute for Christ in our thinking.

We see, therefore, that neither the Old Testament nor the New Testament tells us much about what happens to us when we die. We know judgment follows death. We know also if we serve Jesus with all our heart He will keep in careful custody, until the Day of His appearing, that which faithfully has been committed to Him.

The preceding paragraphs provide great hope for the Christian who is living as a true disciple of Christ. What we have stated is true and scriptural. However, in order to provide comfort for the reader who may have picked up our book because he is facing death, or because of a dying loved one, let us make some additional comments.

Keep in mind that what we are stating in the following few words is not based on any passage of Scripture and therefore is not set forth as "Thus saith the Lord."

There have been many instances in which saints of God have died momentarily, or have had a near death experience, and then have been revived to live several additional years. During the period of "death" they have been able to see people and circumstances that ordinarily are hidden from our eyes.

The author has read many of these accounts and, with one or two exceptions, is convinced they are genuine revelations of life after death. It may be noted, however, that such visions never emphasize the primary revelation of the Scriptures—that Christ is being formed in us and is preparing His throne in us. The dreams and visions deal only with an external paradise, presenting Christ as being with us but not in us.

Also, the near-death revelations do not portray life after the resurrection of the dead—only what happens to the saint after he or she dies and prior to the Day of resurrection.

Combining the visions we (the author) have read, and our own perception of the spirit realm, we would suggest the illusory environment in which we live at present will be continued for a season, at least for the righteous, until we are able to enter the mysteries of the Kingdom of God.

Now, what do we mean by stating we are living in an illusory environment and that this will be continued.

If we have some knowledge of science we understand the present world of molecules and atoms has no "real," lasting form. What we see and feel result from the properties of molecules we perceive by electrical impulses interpreted by our brain. If our eyes were powerful enough we would "see" electrical phenomena instead of people and houses. Yet, we could not "see," we could only perceive in terms of our brain.

There is a real world, a world that actually can be seen by eternal, spiritual eyes. But it is not the physical world.

The physical world is a temporary device that God has constructed for the purpose of testing spirits. If we are faithful in the present world, which is least in significance, we will be entrusted in the future with the spiritual realities, which are very great in significance.

Because of God’s goodness it may happen that when we die, God will continue, for a season, to construct an environment in the spirit realm that will represent "Heaven" to us, such as might be experienced in an instructional dream or vision. This tailored environment will comfort us greatly and teach us spiritual realities. Also, we may for the first time contact some of the reality of the spirit realm.

It is highly likely that our misunderstandings of doctrine will continue after we are in the spirit realm. Dying and passing into the spirit realm will not clear up the mysteries of God. We will not know as we are known until that which is perfect comes, that is, until we are filled with the Presence of the Father in the Son through the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Those who have followed the Scriptures and the people who have adhered to their teachings will be radiant in righteousness in the Day of Christ. Those who have taught that Christians are not required to behave righteously, and the other fables that fill the Christian assemblies of today, will be ashamed. They and their followers will be admonished by the Lord. What their end will be we cannot say. We do know every individual will reap what he has sown, whether or not he is a believer.

The actual Kingdom of God, that for which we have been appointed, may still be barely discernible for most of us. The Kingdom of God is at once an external Kingdom and an internal Kingdom. In the eons ahead of us, God will install His Person in us so He may be Present in us and through us wherever He desires throughout His creation. The Divine love of God that fills Christ will continue to be expressed in us. We shall be the temple and revelation of God, just as the Lord Jesus is today.

The joy and peace of the inner Kingdom of God will be far superior to any paradise of external delights we can envision in the present hour. God, fully understanding our immaturity in spiritual matters, holds out "Heaven" as a paradisiac environment, knowing that we find joy and peace in the idea of going to a country where all is love, beauty, peace, and joy.

It is not at all unlikely that the righteous individual, upon dying physically, will be ushered into a wonderful world of beauty and joy, there to live in bliss among relatives and acquaintances. Perhaps the musician will be provided with an instrument, the artist with a brush, the gardener with a garden. We personally believe this to be highly probable.

The incomprehensible joy of the inner Kingdom of God, bringing the Presence of God to the nations of saved peoples of the earth, is not clear enough to us yet to provide a strong hope—not as much of a hope as the prospect of returning to the Garden of Eden in Heaven.

It seems true that when the righteous individual dies he enters a world that is marvelous, a world from which he would never return voluntarily. When we are able to look back on the present world, after having seen the beauty and peace of the next, we will understand we now are attempting to survive in the darkest of caverns, in the very environs of Hell.

The present world is the "valley of the shadow of death." The spirit realm of the righteous dead is Paradise.

The wicked person faces no such release. He is living in Hell now by his own choice. When he dies physically he will continue in the chains of Satan. In the present hour he is able to pull down righteous friends and relatives into the darkness he has chosen as they attempt to encourage him to serve the Lord and live righteously.

After he dies he no longer will be able to oppress the righteous. He will be placed among those who prefer the works of Satan just as he does. But then he no longer will be able to enjoy the goodness of the Lord, the light and life of his righteous relatives and friends.

The righteous person will enter love, peace, and joy, when he dies to a degree that cannot be experienced in the present world. The wicked will enter hatred, unrest, and agony, when he dies to a degree that cannot be experienced in the present world.

God cannot be mocked. Those who love Him will be blessed beyond measure. Those who hate Him will be punished beyond measure.

Now, back to the teaching of the Scriptures.

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