143. What Happens When We Die? Heaven, Hell, and the Spiritual Realm

Death isn't the end—it's the beginning of eternity. But what exactly happens when our earthly journey concludes? Do we immediately ascend to heaven or descend to hell? Do our souls sleep until Christ's return? These profound questions have echoed through human hearts across generations.

Diving deep into scripture, we unravel the complex biblical picture of the afterlife that challenges many common assumptions. The Bible presents fascinating evidence for both an immediate presence with Christ and a "sleeping" state until resurrection. Jesus told the dying thief, "Today you will be with me in paradise," while Paul describes the dead as those who "sleep in Christ." Could both perspectives somehow be true?

We carefully distinguish between often-confused terms—Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, and Heaven—and explore the concept of an "intermediate state" between death and resurrection. Scripture reveals that the final judgment comes with Christ's return, when we receive resurrected bodies and enter our eternal destinations. The biblical heaven isn't about clouds and harps but a renewed earth where God dwells with his people forever. And while hell represents the sobering reality of separation from God's presence, we're reminded that salvation through Christ is available to everyone who chooses it.

Understanding what awaits us transforms how we live today. Whether we experience conscious rest with Christ or soul sleep until resurrection, death marks our transition into eternity. As Romans beautifully puts it, "Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." Join us for this thought-provoking exploration that brings clarity, hope, and biblical truth to life's most profound mystery.

Share this episode with someone wrestling with questions about eternity. And if you're new to our Coffee Talk series, check out previous episodes where we tackle other big spiritual questions with the same biblical depth and clarity.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Coffee Talk Series
• 1:12 Heaven or Sleep After Death?
• 3:26 Understanding Biblical Terms for Afterlife
• 5:24 The Coming Resurrection
• 7:13 The Reality of the Spiritual Realm
• 9:54 Final Thoughts and Call to Action

Transcript

Rebecca Twomey: 0:32

Hello and welcome to the Radiant Mission podcast. My name is Rebecca Twomey and welcome back to Coffee Talk if you have been joining us for this series. If you haven't, please go back and listen to some of the other episodes. These have been some great questions, great reflection. It's just been a really good series overall, I feel personally, and I've gotten some good feedback. So if you've been listening, I would love to hear from you. If you haven't already reached out to me, please do.

Rebecca Twomey: 1:02

But if you're new, this series is about tackling big spiritual questions and seeking truth from the word of God. So today we are going to be exploring a question that every human eventually wonders at some point, or maybe even many times throughout their lives, and that is what happens when we die. Do we go straight to heaven or hell? Are we asleep until Jesus returns? What is the spiritual realm and how does it all fit together? This episode, just to be clear, is not about speculation or fear. It's about clarity, hope and truth. So let's open the Bible together and walk through what it really says.

Rebecca Twomey: 1:55

First things first, the big question do we go to heaven or sleep when we die? Heaven or sleep when we die? Many Christians assume that when we die we instantly go to heaven or hell. But scripture offers a much more nuanced picture and some verses point to a kind of spiritual sleep until the resurrection. First Thessalonians 4, verses 13 through 14, tells us brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus, believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. The word sleep often appears in the Bible as a metaphor for death.

Rebecca Twomey: 2:52

In the book of Revelation there is a picture of future resurrection, not something that's already happened. Revelation 20, verses 12 through 13. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. The sea gave up the dead that were in it and the death and hades gave up the dead that were in them. This implies that the dead are still somewhere, not yet fully resurrected or judged. So what does that mean? Well, biblical clues. They give us this idea about the intermediate state you might call it.

Rebecca Twomey: 3:38

Some verses suggest that we remain conscious after death, others suggest we sleep. So could both be true in different ways. Luke 23, 43, jesus tells the thief on the cross. Today you will be with me in paradise. Philippians 1, 23,. Paul says he desires to depart to be with Christ, which he calls better by far. I agree with him totally. But yet at the same time, the resurrection of the dead is something that clearly happens in the future, not immediately, in John 5, 28 through 29,. A time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out, when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out. So this has led to a theory that is called soul sleep, and it's the idea that when we die, our spirit is at rest, unconscious or in a paused state until the return of Christ. Some believe that today you'll be with me refers to Jesus's timing, not the thief's immediate experience. Interesting right, no-transcript.

Rebecca Twomey: 5:03

We've got to untangle some of these terms that get used interchangeably, but they mean different things and there's also different linguistic differences here. So Sheol is Hebrew and it is the place of the dead in the Old Testament, a holding place for all souls. Hades in Greek, the New Testament equivalent of Sheol, it's not hell, but a temporary realm of the dead. Gehenna is a term that Jesus used to refer to the final place of judgment. What we're now calling hell and then heaven is God's presence, but not yet the final new heaven and new earth. So there are references in scripture to the righteous and the unrighteous being separated after death but not yet assigned to their eternal home Luke 16, 22 through 23,. To their eternal home Luke 16, 22 through 23, which is about the rich man and Lazarus. They are aware, separated and conscious. But even this appears to happen before final judgment.

Rebecca Twomey: 6:25

So let's talk about the resurrection and when the dead are raised. According to scripture, there will be a bodily resurrection at the return of Christ. First, corinthians 15, 52 says the dead will be raised, imperishable, and we will be changed. And Daniel 12, 2,. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. This moment, not death itself, is when people are judged and assigned to their eternal destination. So this means that the final heaven and the final hell are still to come. Now, you might be wondering, are still to come Now you might be wondering what will the final heaven be like?

Rebecca Twomey: 7:11

And the Bible gives us some stunning glimpses of what's to come Revelation 21, 3-4,. God's dwelling place is now among the people. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning, or crying or pain. The final heaven will be a restored, redeemed earth where God dwells with his people forever. We won't be floating on the clouds sorry if that bursts your bubble but we will have resurrected bodies, meaningful purpose and eternal joy in the presence of our creator.

Rebecca Twomey: 7:48

So what about hell? This one isn't easy to talk about, especially after talking about heaven. But in scripture Jesus talked about it often Matthew 25, 46,. Then they will go away to eternal punishment. Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. Hell is described as a place of conscious separation from God, often with the imagery of fire, outer darkness and weeping. But we must remember God doesn't want anyone to go there 2 Peter 3.9, to go there 2 Peter 3.9,. He is not willing that any should perish. The gift of salvation through Jesus is for everyone, but we must choose to receive it.

Rebecca Twomey: 8:38

Now let's talk a little bit about the spiritual realm, because it is very real. As we wait for Christ's return, we live in a spiritually active world. There are angels, there are demons, light and darkness, and there is an unseen war over every soul. I actually once heard it said that this is a battle of souls and it really put first it was kind of a crazy thing to think about, but then the more I really ruminated on that idea of this battle of souls, the more serious it really is, guys, at the end of the day, ephesians 6.12 tells us, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Rebecca Twomey: 9:35

Knowing what comes after death should impact how we live now, with urgency, compassion and hope. Compassion and hope. So what happens when we die? We either enter rest with Christ or we wait for judgment. There may be a pause, a sleep, until the resurrection, but what's clear is this death isn't the end, it's the beginning of eternity. Romans 14, 8,. If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

Rebecca Twomey: 10:22

I have a few reflection questions for us today, so be thinking about these as you're going through your week. Have I been avoiding thinking about eternity out of fear or discomfort? Do I live with the urgency of what scripture says about life after death? Am I confident in where I'll go and am I pointing others toward truth? If this episode gave you clarity or peace or was just interesting, please share this with a friend. That is how others are going to find this.

Rebecca Twomey: 11:01

And if you're just joining the Coffee Talk series, be sure to go back. Series, be sure to go back. Episodes 41 and 42 have some more interesting info in them. And thank you so much for being on this journey. If you would like to follow along outside the podcast, you can do so on Instagram at the Radiant Mission. You can join on Facebook at the Radiant Mission Podcast. Or if you would like to check this out in video format, please join the mission on YouTube. You can do that by searching for my name, rebecca Toomey, and my last name is spelled T-W-O-M-E-Y. Today, I am going to close with 2 Corinthians 5.1. For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Wishing you a radiant week and I'll see you next time. Bye everyone.