Its clear in the Bible, you do not go to Heaven or to Hell, when you die.

[Reddogs]

Its clear in the Bible, you do not go to Heaven or to Hell, when you die, you lay in the grave and await the resurrection. Scripture says it plainly, you dont go to Hell or Heaven, you go back to dust in the grave, nothing more.

"19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:19.

"21 Why then do you not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust; And You will seek me, but I will not be." Job 7:21.

"10 But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?..12 So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." Job 14:10&12.

"17 The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence." Psalm 115:17.

"4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish." Psalm 146:4.

"19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again." Ecclesiastes 3:19-20.

This tells us that what happens to man and what happens to the beasts is the same, as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts. They all go to one place, which is the same. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. Solomon decleares in Ecclesiastes:

"5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun." Ecclesiastes 9:5-6.

Over and over again the Bible says that the dead know nothing. These are only a few examples. The dead don’t think. They don’t praise the Lord. They have no consciousness. They return to the earth, as dust. The dead are in a completely unconscious state without thought or feeling, just as they would be if they were asleep.

Once people die, it’s like if they were to fall into a deep coma or sleep. They aren’t aware of anything at all, or passage of time in any form or communicating with those they left behind. If they return to dust as scripture says, its clear that the dead aren’t taken straight to Heaven, or to Hell for that matter. If they were with God as soon as they died, there would be no need for a Savior or Christs death at the cross. And if they went straight to Hell, there would be no need for the Second Death at the Lake of Fire as the scripture clearly shows us.

"15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:15.

The wicked are not found in the book of life and only at the lake of fire at the end do they find their punishment.

"8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Revelation 21:8.

Referring to death as a sleep is what we find throughout the Bible and when someone falls asleep, eventually they wake up again. So, what does it say in scripture as if the Bible describes death like a sleep, like something temporary, we can deduce that there must be some way to come back from death, to ‘“wake up,” as it were. But how does one “wake up” from death?

"14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just." Luke 14:14.

The idea of resurrection, of someone “waking up” from the dead, is throughout the Bible. Elijah and Elisha, through the power of God, raised people from the dead. Jesus did the same during his time on earth, bringing back a widow’s son, a young girl, and his dear friend Lazarus, proving that God’s power is greater than death. He can get us out of this first death, from this deep coma or sleep in the grave, to life everlasting.

"24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day." John 11:24.

Its called the resurrection of the just which scripture tells us will happen at the Second Coming for saints and Christ has the power and has promised to call us from the grave like Lazarus and take us to heaven to be with Him in His Heavenly Kingdom.

"15 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:" John 11:25.

We will be raised in the resurrection of the saints at the first resurrection, and the wicked will have to await the resurrection of damnation. No one goes to Heaven or Hell until these events at the very end at the Second Coming.

[RabbiKnife]

That’s funny

The thief on the cross was immediately in the presence of Jesus in paradise

To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lors

You read a funny Bible

I’ll ask again

Are you Seventh Day Adventist?

[Athanasius]

This guy is just spamming the same threads that he's posted elsewhere over the last few years. Is he engaging enough to keep around?

[RabbiKnife]

Not exactly a riveting conversationalist

[Reddogs]

That’s funny

The thief on the cross was immediately in the presence of Jesus in paradise

To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lors

You read a funny Bible

I’ll ask again

Are you Seventh Day Adventist?

Yes, now to your question. We know that Jesus did not go to Paradise after His death that day as He was buried and remained in the tomb until His resurrection. The day of His resurrection He appeared to Mary, stating that He had “not yet ascended to My Father” but that now He was ascending to "My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God”.

John 20:17 King James Version (KJV)
17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

The obvious implication is that He could not have promised the thief that He would be with him in Paradise on Friday. and Jesus and the thief did not die at the same time as Jesus died Friday and the thief was still alive, and his legs were broken to keep him from escaping as it usually took several days for those who were crucified to die. The thief addressed Christ on the cross:
...Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. Luke 23:42

He was looking at a future event, asking to be remembered on the day of final rewards. He was looking forward to the Second Coming. Jesus reply to the thief on the cross was:
Verily I say unto thee today shalt thou be with me in paradise. Luke 23:43.

Was the thief in Paradise with Christ today" on Friday afternoon or evening? The answer is no, as Christ Himself had not even ascended into Heaven by that time, as we saw from what He stated on Sunday morning.
Touch Me not for I am not ascended to My Father. John 20:17
If Christ had not ascended to Heaven by Sunday the resurrection morning, neither had the thief.

The reason for this confusion is to be sought in the fact that the original New Testament was written in Greek unicals which had each word running into the next without spacing or stops or verses as we now have. It was only after 1557 that verse divisions were introduced to the Biblical writings. The correct placing of the comma in Luke 23:43 is vital to our understanding of the text. Placing the comma after the "today" renders the text as follows:
Verily, I say unto thee today, thou shalt be with Me in Paradise.
Harmony then exists between this text and the statement in John 20:17 that Jesus had not yet ascended to heaven. The thief merely received the promise on the day of his crucifixion that he would be in heaven when the Lord set up His Kingdom.

[Reddogs]

This guy is just spamming the same threads that he's posted elsewhere over the last few years. Is he engaging enough to keep around?

What do you expect for a techie. I've been on various forums for twenty years, started trying to save our neighborhood from the county. The county commissioners just voted to take everything below us by eminent domain, so we are still fighting.

[Reddogs]

Not exactly a riveting conversationalist

When you all say 'Oy vey' its not conducive for 'coversation' IMHO...

[RabbiKnife]

Significant difference between talking at someone and talking with them.

[Reddogs]

Significant difference between talking at someone and talking with them.

Well whats 'Oy Vey', a dissertation?

[Athanasius]

What do you expect for a techie. I've been on various forums for twenty years, started trying to save our neighborhood from the county. The county commissioners just voted to take everything below us by eminent domain, so we are still fighting.

Fight away, oh copy pasta techie.

[Reddogs]

Guess some dont like to read what scripture says...

[RabbiKnife]

We’uns read good like we wuz learnt .

It’s opinion without conversation— lecturing ones lesses— than is not engaging

[Reddogs]

Opinion is good, but when you ignore any truth and let it drift in the wind, then what do you have left..

[Reddogs]

So getting back on point, the reason people have not gone to heaven or hell for that matter is that they must first be judged....

2 Corinthians 5:10
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.

And it begins with the saints, so no one has been judged worthy of hell to say the least and begins with the saints...

1 Peter 4:17
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

[RabbiKnife]

1.  Does it matter?
2.  Can anyone or anything change one’s eternal destiny after death?
3.  If it doesn’t matter and no one can change their eternal destiny after death, exactly why are we worrying about a solution is search if a problem, especially if the offered “solution” is as speculative as the alternative?