1 Thessalonians 4:13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
1 Thessalonians 4:14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words
1 Kings 2:10 Then David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David.
Acts 2:29; 34 (29) “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. … (34) For David did not ascend into the heavens…
Acts 13:36 For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption,
John 11:11 After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.”
Acts 7:60 And falling (Stephen) cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
Daniel 12:13 But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.”
Daniel 12:2 And many of those who sleep, in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Luke 8:51 “… but he said, ‘Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.’”
Mark 5:39 Matt 9:24
Conclusion: We are asleep and unconscious until the resurrection. Our bodies decompose — turn back to dust.
The story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-31 relates the events after the deaths of two men. One, the rich man, is in the section of Sheol (the underworld) were there is torment and the other, Lazarus, who led a righteous life, is in the section of Sheol called “paradise” or “Abraham’s bosom,” where there is no torment. It appears, from this story, that at least the rich man may not be in unconscious slumber because he talks to Abraham, at whose side was Lazarus, across the chasm separating them. How much of this conversation was real and how much was the point of the story Jesus was telling?
Ephesians 4:8, 9 “Therefore it says, ‘When he ascended into heaven he led captive a host of captives,…’ … (In saying, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean but that he had descended into the lower regions, the earth?”
Did Jesus go to the paradise section of Sheol and bring all the believers who had died to heaven at that time?
II Corinthians 5:1-10 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
When our body on earth is destroyed (dies), we have a house waiting for us in heaven. The phrase, “we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord,” may indicate that we could enter that “house” when we die, but the next statement indicates that it will be at the “judgment seat of Christ.”
Philippians 1:21-23 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
Again, it seems to indicate an immediacy between dying and being with Christ. However, this may be explained by the seeming timelessness one experiences in “unconscious sleep”. One who is dead and asleep will awaken at Judgment Day and not realize the time of waiting he had endured.
So what about heaven? When do we “go to heaven”? Or do we even go to heaven? Or does heaven come to us in the New Heavens and New Earth?
“Heaven” probably refers to the New heavens and the new earth. Since we will sleep in “sheol” (in the earth) until we are resurrected at Judgement Day, we can conclude that we aren’t “in heaven” during that time. Heaven will come down to earth. Being saved is referred to in the following ways. Where in scripture are we told we will “go to heaven”?
“comes to the Father” John 14:6
“has eternal life” John 3:16, John 3:36, I John 5:12, Matthew 7:14, Matthew 25:46, Romans 6:23,
“salvation, saved” Acts 4:12, Romans 10:9, Acts 16:31,
“inherit the kingdom of God” I Corinthians 6:9-11
“bring us to God … made alive in the spirit.” I Peter 3:18 [For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.]
“come into His presence” Psalm 100:2
Elijah went to heaven. II Kings 2
Enoch may have been taken to heaven or he may be in the Garden of Eden. [if they are different places] Genesis 5:24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him.
When are we caught up into the air?
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
When the dead in Christ rise — are resurrected, we will be “caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air”. This is at the resurrection. This is when Jesus returns.
But what about the Luke 17 passage, which many believe describes the “rapture” of believers?
Luke 17: 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29 but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— 30 so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. 35 There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.” 37 And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”
Comments: Those left behind were saved from the destruction. Those who were “taken” were destroyed. This happens on the day of the Son of Man which is Judgment Day or Resurrection Day — the day when Jesus returns.
There is no indication that it will be a two-part event with a “rapture” occurring many years before His return as some teach. Notice, again in I Thessalonians that the “dead in Christ rise” and then “we who are left” join them. All in one event. This is “the coming of the Lord.”