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[Newbie]

I've heard some people say that your soul sleeps, or that you go to a place of limbo between death and heaven or hell. What does the Bible say about it?

[jimwalton]

This is a tricky question, because the Bible isn't as clear about it as we would want it to be, but I still think it's clear enough that I can say with relative certainty that you go straight to your eternal destination.

“Limbo” is the belief that after you die, you just sort of go nowhere (neither to heaven nor hell) until later when you are assigned to heaven or hell. According to Wikipedia, limbo, though taught by Roman Catholics, is not an official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. Biblical passages that might imply such a thing are:

Luke 16.22: The beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s “bosom,” as if that's a different place than heaven.
Luke 23:43: Jesus told the thief, “Today you will be with me in Paradise,” as if that's a different place than heaven.
John 11.11-14: Lazarus had died and obviously was not already in his eternal place of rest. It was 4 days between his death and Jesus bringing him back to life.
1 Peter 3.19: Jesus is spoken of as preaching to the spirits in prison.

People who believe that the first two describe a kind of holding tank are missing the obvious Scriptural imagery of words used to describe our eternal existence with Jesus. Though “heaven” is the most common term, “Paradise,” “Abraham’s Bosom,” “glory,” “sabbath rest,” “the Father’s kingdom,” “eternal life,” and others describe the same thing: the abode of God, filled with his presence. (The last reference, 1 Pet. 3.19, is darkly obscure, much disagreed upon, and hugely debated. We dare not base any doctrine on a verse so poorly understood.) (NOTE: There are also multiple terms for the place of torment: hell, hades, Lake of Fire, Gehenna, outer darkness, and others. And though there are nuances of differentiation between these places, they all describe a place of torment for those who reject God.)

Even though you may disagree about the meaning of these texts, however, the more important issue is the more solid teaching of Scripture that as soon as one leaves this earth that person enters their eternal destiny, with no opportunity for second chances:

Luke 16.22: The story is clear that upon death they are in Paradise or hell.
Lk 23.43: Today you will be with me in Paradise.
Romans 8.35-39: Death does not separate the believer from God’s love and presence.
2 Cor. 5.1-10: There is no indication of a time lapse between life here and life there.
Phil. 1.21, 23: With death comes joyful existence in the presence of Jesus.
Heb. 9.27: There is no indication of a time lapse between life here and life there.
Rev. 6.9-11: The souls of those who had been martyred are there, and conscious.

The term “sleep,” when applied to death, clearly refers to the body only (Mt. 27.52; Jn. 11.11-13; 1 Cor. 11.30; 15.20, 51; 1 Thes. 4.14; 5.10).

Hope this helps. If not, ask some more.

[Tom]

Very well explained on where you go after death, could you touch on the subject on judgement day. If you are already in hell, do you come out of hell to be judged, and if you are already in heaven, what are you being judged for?

[jimwalton]

Tom, thanks for asking. Yeah, that's exactly what happens. You come out of hell to be judged, just as a prisoner or defendant comes out of prison to stand before the judge. Revelation 20.11-15 describes it clearly: The sea (probably a symbol of life on the earth) gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them (v. 13). Then 14 says that Death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire—the second death. Death claims the body; Hades claims the soul. Both of them are cast into their final eternal state.

As to the second part of your question, you need to realize that there are degrees of punishment in hell and degrees of reward in heaven.

Look in Luke 19.11-27. The parable that Jesus tells speaks clearly of different rewards in heaven based on faithfulness in this life—how much we have multiplied our life for Him. Of course it makes sense, since we will all, as believers, be judged according to our works (2 Cor. 5.10; Rev. 20.13). It's hardly possible that we can be held accountable, judged, and then all receive the same thing.

What is a believer judged for?
2 Cor. 5.10: for what we did
Rev. 20.12: according to what we did
Mt. 25.41ff: according to what we did
Rom. 2.6: according to what we did
Ps. 62.12: according to what we did
also Jer. 17.10, 1 Pet. 1.17
Heb. 4.12-13: our attitudes and thoughts

What are we judged for? Whether we were good and faithful servants, whether we loved each other as Christ loved us, whether we forgave as Christ forgave us, whether we gave to the poor, visited the sick, helped the needy, supported orphans and widows, obeyed his commands as a sign of love, lived the Sermon on the Mount, obeyed the Great Commission, lived the two greatest commandments, put away the sinful nature, fled from the Devil, etc. I think you're getting the point. We are saved by grace, but we are accountable for how we live.


So also with hell, there is teaching that there are different levels of punishment. Here are the texts that teach it:

Mt. 11.22-24 & Luke 10.12: Jesus says it will be "more tolerable" for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah than for the people of Capernaum. That would indicate to me a more harsh punishment and a less harsh punishment.

Mt. 23.14: Jesus tells the Pharisees they will be punished more severely for the way they are deceiving the people and living as hypocrites.

Rev. 20.13: Again, if each is going to be judged according to what he has done, then the punishments and rewards can't be the same for everybody.

and finally, Luke 12.47-48.

Hopefully that helps. Let me know if you have more questions.