Death is real. People die and their bodies are buried in the ground. That much we see. As Christians we believe that there is going to be a resurrection of the body at the end of time (John 11:24). The question then is this: “What happens to a person between death and the resurrection?” The Bible speaks clearly concerning this matter. It tells us that at death our body returns to dust and our spirit goes to its eternal destiny (Luke 16:22-23). There are two destinies. One is heaven. The other is hell. At death the Christian goes immediately into God’s presence (2 Corinthians 5:8). Then when Christ returns to the earth, our bodies will be resurrected and our spirit will re-inhabit them. Paul gives God’s most complete statement on these future events in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. An outline of what will happen seems to be:
1. We die and are buried (verse 13).
2. The body decays and returns to dust, and the spirit of the Christian returns to God (verse 14).
3. When Christ returns to the earth, the resurrection of our bodies will take place. Then the spirit and the body will be reunited (verse 16). We will have a glorious resurrection body like Christ’s throughout eternity (Philippians 3:20-21).
4. If we are alive when Christ returns, our bodies will be transformed without having to go through the death experience (verse 17; 1 Corinthians 15:50-52).
5. We shall be “together” and “be with the Lord” forever (verse 17).