Do we go to Heaven when we die? What is The Kingdom of Heaven?

We often hear the phrase “He’s in a better place” at funerals. Many Christians believe that they go to heaven when they die. But what does the Bible teach us about this subject? Do we ascend into heaven when we die to be with God?

In a previous study we discovered the meanings of “The Grave” (Sheol/Hades), Lake of Fire (Gehenna) & Tartaroo (Bottomless Pit). While the Lake of fire is the place of torment and destruction(Rev 20:10), the Grave(She’ol/Hades) merely stands for the abode of the dead. The Abyss(Pit) is different from both other places as the Angels who sinned are the ones held here. Hell as we see depicted in popular media and mainline Christianity merely does not exist, and it is quite beneficial for us to understand that the word “Hell” in our English versions can be quite misleading, as all 3 of these 3 distinct places have been called Hell, even though they are vastly different from each other. Now let’s see what the Bible says about Life after Death.

1. The Dead are asleep and are unconscious of the world of the Living

Psa 6:5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
Psa 115:17 The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
Isa 38:18,19 For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.
Ecc 9:5,6 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
Ecc 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
Job 14:10-15 But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.
Deu 31:16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.
Mat 9:24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
Joh 11:11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
Act 7:60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
1Th 5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

2. The Dead are mentioned of having a physical Resurrection

Psa 17:15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
Psa 49:15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.
Job 19:25,26 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
Isa 25:8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
Isa 26:19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
Eze 37:12,13 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
Hos 6:2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
Hos 13:14 I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
Dan 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Joh 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Act 24:15 And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

3. Resurrection – When and Where?
So it is thus clear that the dead are merely sleeping but will arise with new bodies. But do they arise at different times or at once? Do they arise in Heaven or in His Kingdom? The Gospels, Paul’s Writings and the Book of Revelation give us most of the final clues for this question.

Job 19:25,26 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
Dan 7:27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
Mat 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Mat 22:31,32 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
Joh 11:23-26 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
Heb 11:39,40 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
1Th 4:14-17 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Co 15:51,52 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Rev 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
Rev 20:4,5 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

4. No man has entered Heaven
It is clear looking at the above that all who are dead and asleep will rise at the coming of Messiah. No one receives the promise of Everlasting Life before anyone else. All who rise will enter His Kingdom. It is abundantly clear that no one has ascended into Heaven other than the one who was raised from the Dead – Our Messiah Yeshua! As Peter proclaims at the Day of Pentecost – Not even David has ascended into Heaven. All who are dead await the Trumpet Sound of His Coming.

Joh 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
Joh 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Pro 30:4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?
Act 2:29,34 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day…. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,

5. Are The Kingdom of God & The Kingdom of Heaven two Different Kingdoms?
The Kingdom of Heaven (Malkuth Shamayim) mentioned exclusively in The Gospel of Matthew is identical to the Kingdom of God mentioned in the other 3 Gospels. A few examples are given below for comparison.

Ex A. Mat 26:29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.
Ex A. Mar 14:25 Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
Ex A. Luk 22:16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
Ex B. Mat 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Ex B. Mar 10:15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.
Ex B. Luk 18:17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.
Ex B. Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Ex C. Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Ex C. Mar 4:11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
Ex C. Luk 8:10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.
Ex D. Mat 13:31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
Ex D. Mar 4:30 And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?
Ex D. Luk 13:18 Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?

This coming Kingdom is said to be established on Earth and not Heaven. The Reason for it to be called “Kingdom of Heaven” is that it is “OF” Heaven, and in its likeness. Daniel speaks of this Kingdom, interpreting the dream of Nebuchadnezzar where the Image made of Kingdoms is broken in pieces by a “Stone” which becomes a Mountain and fills the whole Earth (Dan 2:35).

Dan 2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Dan 7:27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

This Kingdom “OF” Heaven is Established “ON” Earth, in the Chosen Place that God placed His Holy Name, which is Jerusalem.

Mic 4:1,2 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Jer 3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Act 1:6,7 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
Act 3:20,21 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
Rev 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Yeshua is said to have resurrected from Jerusalem and to be returning to the same place.

Act 1:9-12 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey.
Zec 14:4-9 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

6. Objections and Misunderstood verses
Comparing the overwhelming evidence throughout the Bible, we can see that the Idea of immediately going to Heaven or Hell at death, comes from a few verses that are misunderstood. These verses are addressed below.

A. 2Co 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
This verse is often quoted to show that death will cause us to be immediately present with God. But as we saw above death is a state of sleep. A person who goes to sleep has no knowledge of time. From the moment one sleeps to the moment he/she wakes up, it can be a few minutes, a few hours or a few thousand years – it will all seem the same. One moment you close your eyes. Next moment you are at Yeshua’s Second Coming and the beginning of His Kingdom.
B. 2Co 12:3,4 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
Paradise mentioned here and Luke 23:43, as well as Rev 2:7 is the Equivalent of the Garden of Eden mentioned again in Rev 22:2 & 14. This is a Time in the future. So being caught up into paradise is a vision, as Paul himself says it may not be in the body. A similar instance can be seen in Rev 1:10 where John is transported to the Lord’s Day, which is also a time in the future.
C. Luk 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
It is important to note that the Original Greek Manuscripts of the New Testament do not contain any punctuation. Please see how the meaning changes of this verse when the punctuation is placed a little differently. “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee today, Shalt thou be with me in paradise.”. And even if Yeshua was saying that the thief would be in paradise “today”, it would not be a contradiction if we take the argument in point A into consideration.
D. Joh 14:2,3 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
The word “mansions” used here gives us the idea of different places in Heaven, and Yeshua preparing a separate mansion for us. But the Greek word used here “Monay” is only seen in 1 more place in the whole of the New testament in John 14:23 where it is translated as “abode”. This is Bridal language of having Communion with one’s Bride. Yeshua as the Bridegroom(John 3:29) is going to prepare all of the necessities before He comes to marry the Bride as we see happening in Rev 19:7. Yeshua is speaking of a future time set in God’s Creation, when He speaks of an abode for His Bride.
E. Luk 16:23-26 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
“Abraham’s Bosom” is another phrase used for being collected to the fathers. In other words, Lazarus was deemed worthy of being with his forefathers going back to Abraham. The Rich man was deemed unworthy. The story is told to explain a far greater story and is not a literal retelling of true events.
F. 1Pe 3:18-20 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
One of the most confusing passages in the New Testament, Peter is saying here that the same Spirit that caused Yeshua to rise from the dead was working in Noah, when he(Noah) preached to those who were disobedient and now lie in “prison” as even though they are dead, they will not arise to life. Peter talks of this again in 2Peter 2:5
G. 1Pe 4:6 For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
This does not mean that Yeshua preached the Gospel to the dead. Peter explains that the Gospel has been preached to those who were living even before Christ. People such as Abraham who are currently asleep also received the Gospel as we see Paul mentioning in Gal 3:8
H. 2Ki 2:11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
Elijah being transported to heaven is also frequently used to show that people have ascended to heaven. The issue here is that the word used as Heaven here (Shamayim in Hebrew) is frequently translated “sky” as well. In 2Kings 2:16&17, the sons of the prophets say that the Spirit of God may have transported Elijah to some other place and even go looking for him. It is most probable that Elijah was transported to a different place as Elijah sends a letter to King Jehoram afterwards mentioned in 2Chr 21:12. The same sort of transportation of a person is mentioned in Acts 8:39,40 where Philip was ransported from Jerusalem to Ashdod.
I. 1Sa 28:15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.
In the last days of Saul, he visits a woman with a “familiar spirit” (Obe in Hebrew) which has the meaning of a whisperer/mutterer/mumbler(Isa 8:19). It is unclear whether Samuel is speaking here or whether it is the woman who is acting as the medium. It is important to note the details of the story. Saul did not see Samuel – The woman explained what he looked like(v14). The prophecy that Saul would die the next day(v19) also does not come to pass, as we see a few days pass between the supposed prophecy (which could have been an instance such as in 1Kin 22:20-22) and his death. It is more likely that Samuel was not brought up from the Grave, but that a lying Spirit spoke through the woman.

7. Conclusion
The Bible is clear that the Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven is one, and that it will happen in the future at the Coming of the Messiah. Everyone who dies in this world simply falls asleep to be resurrected to Eternal Life or Destruction in the Lake of fire. All of us sleep at different times, but we will all wake at the same time at the call of the Trumpet, as followers in Messiah’s footsteps. May it be speedily in our days!