Luke 16:19-31, What do ya’ know: Everybody Has a Future (2)

Where do the dead go when they die?  What is their eternal destiny?  Just so you know, the answer to these two questions is not the same.  Furthermore, the answers differ depending on when the person lived.  It is different, for example, for people who lived prior to the resurrection of Christ than for people who lived after that gospel event.  In addition, we must distinguish between those who are saints (that is, those who died in a right relationship with their Creator) and the wicked (the rest of mankind).  And lastly, we need to make it clear: we are not talking about the body of a person but the soul or “inner man” of the person.  The definition of “death” applies to the body; it ceases to function and must be dealt with properly.  But when the body dies, the inner man continues to exist.  Our question is, where is the person?

1)    People in the Old Testament, by which we mean those who lived and died before the resurrection of Christ.  The answer to this question rests significantly on the parable Jesus told about a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus (Lk. 16:19-31).  Some believe that this was not a parable but an actual story, since Jesus did not call it a parable.  Either way, the setting for the story was an accurate description of where the two men went upon death, because one mark of Jesus parables was that they were stories that could have actually happened.  The description of Hades was just as Jesus said it was. 

a)    Saints: OT saints, upon death went to Hades, to the part referred to as “Abraham’s bosom,” a place of comfort.  These saints did not immediately enter into the presence of God because they were awaiting the shedding of the blood of the Savior God promised. 

i)      They remain in this place until after the resurrection of Christ.  Matt. 27:52-53 describes an interesting scene of OT saints coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.  This strange but true event is part of the Bible’s evidence of Christ’s resurrection as well as it’s significance for OT saints.  But we believe that OT saints did enter into heaven after Christ sprinkled His blood on the mercy seat of heaven (Heb. 9:11-15).  This is what the OT saints were waiting for.  In my view Eph. 4:8 and 1 Peter 3:18-20 refer to this event. 

ii)   They will remain in heaven until the time of Jesus’ second coming when the hosts of heaven accompany Him as He comes to establish his Kingdom.  They will be part of Jesus’ earthly reign and will then join all the saints in the New Heaven and Earth of eternity (Rev. 21-22).

b)    Wicked: These will remain in Hades, in the place of torment (where the rich man was in Jesus’ story) until after Jesus’ earthly reign.  All who are in Hades will be raised to appear before the “Great White Throne” (Rev. 20:11-13).