10 Biblical Reasons I (still) Believe We Go to Heaven when We Die

Over the last few years I have gotten to know some wonderful, godly evangelical Christians who don’t believe that we go to Heaven right after we die, at least not in the sense that most Christians believe this. They also don’t believe that people have souls that can live consciously separate from our bodies after death. What do these Christians believe? They believe in something called soul sleep which is also sometimes called physicalism. They believe that when a Christian dies, we will be unconscious until Jesus returns and we are raised to life in new, immortal, resurrection bodies. To us it will feel like no time has passed. We will close our eyes in death and it will feel like an instant later we are opening our eyes in our incorruptible, glorious new bodies as we meet our Lord and Savior face to face.

I don’t think that is a terrible view. I would not hesitate to support an otherwise qualified evangelical Christian for a position of teaching and leadership in the church if they believed in soul sleep. They do make arguments for their view based on their understanding of the Bible. I’m not talking about progressive Christians or theological liberals; I’m talking about theologically conservative Christians who interpret the Bible differently than I do when it comes to the intermediate state. While I don’t think the soul sleep view is terrible, I do think it is wrong.

In this post I will share why I still believe that we have souls that will leave our bodies at death and will live consciously with Christ in heaven until we are resurrected. I will do this by sharing ten biblical reasons for this belief.

Reason #1: There are spirits that can enter and leave human bodies

"When an unclean spirit comes out of a person,

 it roams through waterless places looking for rest but doesn't find any.”

- Jesus (CSB17 Matthew 12:43)

Some indirect support for my view comes from the fact that the Bible has stories about spirits (also called demons) that sometimes can enter a person’s body, influence their thoughts, speech, and body, and come out of their body. These spirits are personal beings. On a more encouraging note, the Holy Spirit of God can also come into us, fill us, and guide us. These spirits are invisible to us. The Bible also speaks of people having spirits:

ESV 1 Corinthians 2:11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

CSB17 1 Corinthians 14:14 For if I pray in another tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.

CSB17 James 2:26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

Human spirits are different from either evil spirits or the Holy Spirit in some ways. Our spirits can’t leave and enter our body at will. However, the fact that we have a spirit makes it seem at least plausible that our spirit might be able to leave our body when we die and go to Heaven and then enter our new resurrection body later. This isn’t proof that my view is correct, but it lends credibility to the traditional view that the spirits of Christians go to Heaven when we die.

Reason #2: Jesus told the story of the rich man and Lazarus

In Luke 16 Jesus tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus. After they die, they each go to a different location. This occurs immediately after their death before the return of Christ and therefore is describing the intermediate state. I don’t know if the story Jesus told is an historical account of what happened to two actual people or if it is a parable. The evidence is mixed. Whether it is an historical account or a parable it seems to have at least some symbolic elements in it, and it is hard to say with certainty which parts are literal and which parts are symbolic. But this one thing is clear: Jesus told a story which agreed with a widespread view at the time (not the only view, but a common one), that people have souls which leave their bodies at death and go somewhere where they are either comforted or punished. A teacher with great authority and with knowledge of what comes after death telling such a story was bound to reinforce the common belief that our souls leave our bodies and go somewhere else to live when we die. Jesus never teaches anything that explicitly contradicts this common view. At the very least, Jesus must have considered this common view not to be harmful or He would not have reinforced it. To me, the most reasonable explanation for the story of the rich man and Lazarus is that the common view that our souls leave our bodies at death is correct.

One additional note: this was a story about the intermediate state. It  does not tell us what will happen at and after the final judgment. Jesus discusses the final fate of people quite explicitly in a number of other places and His teaching consistently supports the doctrine of conditional immortality (which is a doctrine about the final fate of people, not a doctrine about the intermediate state).

Reason #3: Jesus teaches that there is a part of us, our souls, that other people cannot kill

“Don't fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

- Jesus (Matt. 10:28 CSB17)

When I read and reread this verse it is difficult for me to come to any conclusion other than that I have both a body and a soul. People can kill my body. But they cannot kill my soul. Doesn’t this imply (pretty strongly) that my soul will continue to live if someone kills my body?

This passage does not teach that all souls are immortal. It explicitly warns that God can destroy both body and soul in hell. But this passage does seem to teach the survival of the soul after death here on earth (survival after death is not the same thing as living forever after death, as the Bible teaches that Christians, and only Christians, will have eternal life).

Those who believe in soul sleep say that Jesus meant something like “people can kill your body, but that does not mean you are permanently destroyed.” But that is not what Jesus said. He easily could have said that people can kill you, but God can restore you. But Jesus instead spoke about us having a soul that can’t be killed by people (but can be killed by God).

Reason #4: Jesus told the thief on the cross he would be with Him that day in Paradise

And he said to him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise."

(Lk. 23:43 CSB17)

The simplest interpretation of Jesus’ words on the cross to the thief who put His faith in Christ is that later that day, after they have both died, they will be together in heaven. There’s no reason in the words themselves or in the immediate context, not to interpret the passage this way. If this interpretation is correct, it would settle the issue in favor of the traditional view that the souls of Christians go to be with the Lord when we die.

Because the original Greek text had neither commas nor quotation marks, it is grammatically possible to translate the sentence this way:

And he said to him, “Truly I tell you today: you will be with me in paradise.”

In this alternative translation “today” refers to when Jesus is telling the thief something, not to when they will be in paradise together.

While the alternative translation is possible, it is unlikely. The opening statement, “Truly I tell you” is a standard phrase used by Jesus to introduce an important statement that immediately follows. The pattern is found in all four gospels. I found 77 examples (this is based on searching for the phrase “truly I tell you” in the CSB and then looking at both the English and Greek). Adding “today” to the introductory statement “Truly I tell you,” does not fit the consistent pattern. I honestly doubt anyone would seriously consider the alternate translation if they were not trying to avoid the implications of the more likely translation.

If Jesus was communicating to the thief that it would feel like just an instant before he was with Jesus in paradise (which could be true from the soul sleep point of view), He easily could have said something like “soon you will be with me” instead of saying “today you will be with me.” “Today” is specific. Finally, if Jesus had in mind their reunion at the resurrection, why didn’t He just say so? Jesus often spoke of the resurrection.

Reason #5: Stephen saw heaven opened and asked for the Lord to receive his spirit

Stephen was the first Christian martyr who gave His life for Christ. Right before he died, God allowed Stephen to see into heaven. As they began to stone him, Stephen knew he was about to die and cried out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”

I have no doubt that Stephen will be resurrected when Jesus returns. But I don’t think that’s what Stephen was thinking about as he was stoned. He could see (or had just seen) heaven open and he knew his body would soon be dead. As Jesus had explained in Matthew 10:28, people can kill our body. But Stephen wants to be with God. So, he asks God to receive his spirit. Those words are an awkward fit if Stephen had his future resurrection in mind, because the resurrection will involve us gaining new, very physical, bodies. Stephen’s words, especially in this setting, seem to fit much better with the assumption that Stephen believed his spirit could live on after his body was crushed and desired God to take his spirit up into heaven. Read and decide for yourself:

CSB17 Acts 7:55 Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

 56 He said, "Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"

 57 They yelled at the top of their voices, covered their ears, and together rushed against him.

 58 They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. And the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

 59 While they were stoning Stephen, he called out: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!"

 60 He knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" And after saying this, he died.

Reason #6: Paul said that to be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord

It is not easy to interpret all of the details in the first 8 verses of the 5^th chapter of 2 Corinthians. Here they are:

CSB17 2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal dwelling in the heavens, not made with hands.

 2 Indeed, we groan in this tent, desiring to put on our heavenly dwelling,

 3 since, when we have taken it off, we will not be found naked.

 4 Indeed, we groan while we are in this tent, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortality may be swallowed up by life.

 5 Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.

 6 So we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.

 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

 8 In fact, we are confident, and we would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

I feel that this passage does give some support to the view that our souls will go to Heaven when we die, although parts of the passage also may be looking forward to the resurrection. Here are a few observations:

1. The “earthly tent” (vs. 1) seems to be referring to our current bodies. The very image of a tent suggests that there is a part of us living inside the tent. It fits well with the common view that our soul/spirit is in our body during our life on earth.

2. The “building from God,” (vs. 1) however is also called “an eternal dwelling in the heavens.” Is this referring to our new resurrection bodies we will receive at the resurrection? If so, then why is it said that this dwelling is “in the heavens”? Our resurrection bodies are described as rising up out of the earth when Jesus returns. Could the “building from God” refer to some type of body we will have while in the intermediate state? It could, but then I would have thought it would be temporary and not “eternal.” After researching various commentaries and studying this myself, I’m undecided on specifically what the “building from God” refers to. Even if it refers to our future resurrection bodies, this does not negate the other evidence for our souls going to Heaven. Paul easily could be looking towards our whole future after death and mixing references to the intermediate state and the resurrected state together. Verses 2-4 contain the same tension.

3. Verses 6 and 8 contain the language that seems to most strongly support the idea of our souls being with God after we die. Paul writes, “while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.” This obviously refers to our current life now. The very phrase “at home in the body” implies that there is a “me” that is in my body. This language fits with the view of souls that are normally in bodies much better than it fits with physicalism. But vs. 8 is the real clincher. Paul writes, “we would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” It doesn’t make sense for Paul to be speaking here of our resurrection bodies because no one will want to be away from those! And it doesn’t make sense to prefer being “at home with the Lord” if we will be unconscious. Why would we prefer that? The language “away from the body” makes the most sense if Paul believed we have souls that leave our bodies at death. “Away from the body” would be a very strange way of referring to being in new, incorruptible resurrection bodies. It appears that Paul believed what most Christians today believe, namely that when we die our spirit leaves our body and we enjoy peaceful, joyful fellowship with Jesus and other saints while waiting for the resurrection. This conclusion is reinforced by what Paul writes seven chapters later.

Reason #7: Paul thought that it was possible to be out of his body

A physicalist would not think that they might have been out of their bodies at some point. Yet, Paul writes:

CSB17 2 Corinthians 12:1 Boasting is necessary. It is not profitable, but I will move on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

 2 I know a man in Christ who was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether he was in the body or out of the body, I don't know; God knows.

 3 I know that this man-- whether in the body or out of the body I don't know; God knows--

 4 was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a human being is not allowed to speak.

There is no question that Paul had visions and revelations. The question is whether one of these visions occurred while Paul was out of his body (I’m assuming, as most commentators believe, that Paul is referring to himself). Paul doesn’t know. A dualist who believes we have both bodies and souls and believes that it is possible for our bodies and souls to part, could have an experience, a vision, where afterwards he wasn’t sure if his body had been lifted up into paradise or if his soul had been lifted out of his body and up into paradise. But for a physicalist, the very notion of being “out of the body” would be impossible. Also, in this case we know for sure that being “out of the body” did not mean being out of our current body and in a resurrection body because the visions occur before the resurrection. This makes it likely that Paul has the same thing in mind when he speaks of being out of, or away from, the body elsewhere.  It appears that Paul was not a physicalist.

Reason #8: Paul longs to leave his body and be with Christ

Perhaps the clearest statement of the “when we die our souls go to heaven” view is found in the first chapter of Philippians:

CSB17 Philippians 1:21 For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

 22 Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don't know which one I should choose.

 23 I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ-- which is far better--

 24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

When Paul speaks of “the flesh,” sometimes he is referring to our sinful desires and tendencies (see Galatians 5:17). But Paul cannot mean that here because living on in sinful desires would not result in fruitful work! Here, by the flesh, Paul seems to simply mean his current body. The very language of “live on in the flesh” and “remain in the flesh” suggests the possibility that a part of us could live outside of our body. This possibility is made explicit when staying in his body is contrasted with departing and being with Christ. The context is clear that this departing will occur if Paul dies. I don’t see a better way to interpret the language of remaining in the body versus departing and being with Christ than to think that Paul held the common view that the souls of the righteous will depart our bodies at death and go to heaven (that is where Jesus lives now) while awaiting resurrection (which he discusses later in this letter).

Notice also that Paul says that “to die is gain” and feels that our situation after death will be “far better.” This makes sense if we will consciously be with Christ in heaven after death.

Reason #9: The author of Hebrews describes human spirits in heaven

CSB17 Hebrews 12:22 Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels, a festive gathering,

 23 to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven, to a Judge, who is God of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect,

 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood of Abel.

While this passage could be referring to the heavenly Jerusalem after it has come down to the new earth (Revelation 21:2), the fact that the author of Hebrews refers to “the spirits of righteous people” as opposed to simply “righteous people” makes me think it is more likely that he is referring to the heavenly Jerusalem while it is still up in heaven. If so, this is a beautiful picture of the intermediate state, where we will be joyfully celebrating the grace and goodness of our Lord together with the angels while we wait for something even better – the resurrection and the new earth.

Reason #10: Peter compares his body to a tent that he will soon leave

CSB17 2 Peter 1:13 I think it is right, as long as I am in this bodily tent, to wake you up with a reminder,

14 since I know that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed made clear to me.

15 And I will also make every effort so that you are able to recall these things at any time after my departure.

When Peter compares his tent to a body that he can lay aside and speaks of his departure it sounds to me like he expects a part of him to depart his body at his death.

Conclusion and Pastoral Comments

I don’t think the ten reasons above amount to an airtight, 100% proof that we have spirits that will go to be with Jesus in heaven and will be consciously with him after we die while we await the resurrection. However, I think the ten reasons do add up to a strong case for this view.

Even though I think we will go to heaven when we die, I also feel that most Christians today focus a lot on this fact (the intermediate state) and focus far less on the promise of the resurrection. This is strange because the biblical authors do just the opposite. They speak much more often of the hope of the resurrection. So, I feel we are a bit out of balance. Still, the thought of ourselves and Christian loved ones being in heaven with Jesus and with each other immediately after death is comforting and has a good biblical basis. We don’t have to choose between our souls going to heaven immediately at our death and the future hope of a glorious resurrection. I believe both are true.

Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .