The 'spirit' that goes back to God, what is it?

[reddogs]

We have seen that man does not have a 'immortal' soul as scripture makes that clear..

Ezekiel 18:4 - Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Ezekiel 18:20 - The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
Revelation 16:3 - And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
Genesis 3:19 - In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 - For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

But what about the “spirit”? Does it remain conscious even after the death of the body as many believe so, and they even try to justify their view by saying it look at Ecclesiastes 12:7 which says it goes up to God so it must be living or immortal part of us.
Ecclesiastes 12:7
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Well the problem is this statement does not suggest that the spirit of the dead remains conscious in God’s presence or that man is immortal. What Ecclesiastes 12:7 refers to in death is the reversal of the creation process where God gave the breath of life and man came alive.

Genesis 2:7
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

So what is the 'spirit' that returns to God, is it living entity and floating on the clouds looking back down on earth. Well, there's a problem if one looks closely, it does not differentiate between the good people or the wicked, so essentially it opens the door to sinners going to heaven, and clearly that doesnt happen. So what is the 'spirit', it is the breath of life that God breathed into the nostrils of Adam, and that He has also provided to all other human beings is what returns to God or, in other words, simply stops flowing into and through them. In ancient times, all man knew was if you stopped breathing you were dead, and this was considered given of God as how could you explain what amazes us even today when people revive after drowning or other shock.

Now another thing is that its not just human beings that die this way but all the animals, and no one is going to say all the animals are taken to heaven, thats not supported in scripture. If the alleged spirits of all who die survive as conscious entities in the presence of God, then are the spirits of the wicked with God, of course not. This is not in harmony with the overall teaching of the scriptures, as only the saints will be there, not sinners. Because the same dying process happens both to human beings and to animals death is nothing else than ceasing to exist as living beings.

But what about Steven when he died some may say, what does that mean..
Acts 7:59
And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

Well as we see, the body plus the breath of life produced a living soul. The word for "breath" in Genesis 2:7 is neshamah in the Hebrew original and pnoe in the Greek translation and the words mean "breath, wind." The breath that God breathed into the inanimate body gave it life and we see this same breath of life is spoken of in Job 33:4, "The spirit [ruach] of God has made me, and the breath [neshamah] of the Almighty gives me life." The breath of life (neshamah) is, therefore, the spirit (ruach) that God breathed into Adam's nostrils. The word ruach means "breath, spirit, wind."

We see this more in Job. 27:3 when Job in referring to himself during life says, ". . . as long as my breath [neshamah] is in me and the spirit [ruach] of God is in my nostrils. . . ." (Job. 27:3). Once again the "breath" and the "spirit" are identified. When this spirit or breath returns to God the individual dies and awaits God to restore life at the resurrection. We see the same thought Psalms 146:4 when David described what happens to man in death that when their breath [ruach = spirit] departs, they return to the earth or the grave and on 'that very day their thoughts perish.
Psalm 146:4
His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

So no thoughts or what makes one who he is continue. Now compare the description of death as given in Ecclesiastes 12:7: "Then shall the dust [body] return to the earth as it was: and the spirit [ruach = breath] shall return unto God who gave it" . This simply reverses the process as described in Genesis 2:7. So now we see God takes the life force back to himself and the dead body disintegrates. The "spirit" or "breath" that goes back to God is not some kind of conscious part of us that separates from the body at death, it simply is what animates us, same as the beasts in the field. Look what it has in Ecclesiates 3:19-20, "For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath [ruach = spirit]; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast [in this respect]: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again

Ecclesiastes 3:19-20
19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. 20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

So lets take a look at one more verse, which was when Christ died, and go over it...
Luke 23:46
And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

Now did Christ go up to the Father that day, lets look and from what He declared..
John 20:17
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

Jesus and Stephen were committing their "spirit" or life force to God. They knew that they were about to die or dying. The life that came from God was being taken from them. The day Jesus died His human "spirit," "breath," or life force went back to God, but He certainly did not go to heaven as a conscious being that Friday afternoon, and all Christians should believe in His resurrection. Also, Stephen did not ascend to heaven when the life force was taken from him, and he will wait in the grave as dust until the saints are raised at the resurrection.

 

[Alfred Persson]

Don't confuse the believer's Holy Spirit born again "spiritual man" "new creation" "spirit" with the animating principle breathed into Adam, the "breath of lives" so he became a "living soul".

The unregenerated spirit of man returns to God, it is the animating principle, the spark of life. But not so believers, who have passed from death into life. The scripture equates their "spirit" with that of "angelic spirits", so heavenly Jerusalem is a city of spirits of just men made perfect.

Their "being" "soul and spirit" partakes of divine nature and therefore is a "new creation." While it can still be spoken of in tripartite terms (body soul spirit), soul and spirit regenerated by divine nature is a "new creature" and can when disembodied, be called "spirit" just as an angel is spirit, a "son of God" "born from above"(="born again"). For this reason, the "least in the kingdom of God" is greater than any OT saint.

Professor Oehler explains the OT view of spirit of man, which applies to all unregenerate humans, not believers born again by God's Holy Spirit.

If you have BibleWorks10 or earlier versions, you can look up the Hebrew cited Nephesh and Ruach etc.

Body, Soul, Spirit

Man, like all beings endowed with life, originated from two elements,—namely, from earthly material (עָפָר, אֲדָמָה), and from the Divine Spirit (רוּחַ), Gen. 2:7, comp. Ps. 104:29 f., 146:4. As in general נֶפֶשׁ, soul, originates in the בָּשָׂר, the flesh, by the union of spirit with matter, so in particular the human soul arises in the human body by the breathing of the divine breath (נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים) into the material frame of the human body. But although the life-spring of the רוּחַ, from which the soul arises, is common to man and beast, both do not originate from it in the same way. The souls of animals arise, like plants from the earth, as a consequence of the divine word of power, Gen. 1:24 (תּוֹצֵא הָאָרֶץ נֶפֶשׁ). Thus the creating spirit which entered in the beginning, 1:2, into matter, rules in them; their connection with the divine spring of life is through the medium of the common terrestrial creation. But the human soul does not spring from the earth; it is created by a special act of divine inbreathing; see 2:7 in connection with 1:26. The human body was formed from the earth before the soul; in it, therefore, those powers operate which are inherent to matter apart from the soul (a proposition which is of great importance, as Delitzsch rightly remarks). But the human body is still not an animated body; the powers existing in the material frame are not yet comprehended into a unity of life; the breath of life is communicated to this frame directly from God, and so the living man originates. According to the view of many, the specific difference between the life of the human soul and that of animals is expressed by the use of the term נְשָׁמָה in 2:7 (2). This, however, cannot be established, for in 7:22 (“All in whose nostrils was the breath of life died”), the exclusive reference of the expression נְשָׁמָה to man (as merely another expression for כֹּל הָאָדָם, ver. 21), coming between the general terms comprehending man and beast, which stand both before and after it, is not natural. In Deut. 20:16, Josh. 10:40, 11:11–14, כָּל־נְשָׁמָה denotes only men; but in these passages the special reference of the expression is made clear by the connection,—in the passage in Deuteronomy by ver. 18, and in the book of Joshua because from 8:2 onward the cattle are excepted from the חֵרֶם. Otherwise one might as well prove from Josh. 11:11, where כָּל־הַנֶּפֶשׁ is used exclusively of man, that the human soul alone is called נֶפֶשׁ. But it is correct that in the other places in the Old Testament in which נְשָׁמָה occurs it is never expressly used of the mere animal principle of life; p 150 comp. Isa. 42:5, Prov. 20:27, Job 32:8, and Ps. 150:6 (כֹּל הַנְּשָׁמָה). Thus the substance of the human soul is the divine spirit of life uniting itself with matter; the spirit is not merely the cause by reason of which the נֶפֶש contained beforehand in the body becomes living, as Gen. 2:7 has by some been understood (3). For in the עָפָר as such, in the structure of dust, there is, according to the Old Testament, as yet no נֶפֶשׁ, even latently. This is first in the בָּשָׂר, in the flesh; but the earthly materials do not become flesh until the רוּחַ has become united with it, 6:17, 7:15, Job 12:10, 34:14 f. It is no proof against this (as has further been objected) that in some passages (Lev. 21:11; Num. 6:6), the dead body from which, according to Gen. 35:18, the soul has departed, is called נֶפֶשׁ מֵת before it crumbles to dust. I believe this expression is to be understood as a euphemistic metonymy, just as we speak of a dead person without meaning to say that the personality lies in the body; or perhaps in this designation of a dead person the impression is expressed which the corpse makes immediately after death, as if the element of the soul had not yet entirely separated itself (thus Delitzsch) (4). But as the soul sprang from the spirit, the רוּחַ, and contains the substance of the spirit as the basis of its existence, the soul exists and lives also only by the power of the רוּחַ; in order to live, the soul which is called into existence must remain in connection with the source of its life. “God’s spirit made me” (רוּחַ אֵל עָשָׂ֑תְנִי), says Job. 33:4, “and the breath of the Almighty animates me” (וְנִשְׁמַת שַׁדַּי תְחַיֵנִי, with the imperfect). The first sentence expresses the way in which the human soul is called into being; the second, the continuing condition of its subsistence. By the withdrawing of the רוּחַ the soul becomes wearied and weak, till at last in death it becomes a shadow, and enters the kingdom of the dead (comp. § 78); while by the רוּחַ streaming in, it receives vital energy. With this explanation the Old Testament usage in connection with the terms נֶפֶשׁ and רוּחַ becomes intelligible. In the soul, which sprang from the spirit, and exists continually through it, lies the individuality,—in the case of man his personality, his self, his ego; because man is not רוּחַ, but has it—he is soul. Hence only נַפְשִׁי, נַפְשְׁךָ, can stand for egomet ipse, tu ipse, etc., not רוּחִי, רוּחֲךָ, etc. (not so in Arabic); hence “soul” often stands for the whole person, Gen. 12:5, 17:14, Ezek. 18:4, etc. When man is exhausted by illness, his רוּחַ is corrupted within him, Job 17:1 (רוּחִי חֻבָּלָה), so that the soul still continues to vegetate wearily. When a person in a swoon comes to himself again, it is said his spirit returns to him, 1 Sam. 30:12 (וַתָּֽשָׁב נֶפֶשׁ) compared with Judg. 15:19. But when one dies, it is said the soul departs, Gen. 35:18; his soul is taken from him, 1 Kings 19:4, Jonah 4:3. When a dead person becomes alive again, is is said the soul returns again, 1 Kings 17:22 (וַתָּֽשָׁב נֶפֶשׁ). It is said of Jacob, whose sunken vital energy revived when he found his son again, that his spirit was quickened, Gen. 45:27 (וַתְּחִי רוּחַ). On the contrary, of one who is preserved in life it is said, חָיְתָה נֶפֶשׁ, [the soul lives] Jer. 38:17–20. When God rescues one from the jaws of death, it is said, Ps. 30:4, “Thou hast brought up my soul out of Sheol;” comp. Ps. 16:10 (5).—Man perceives and thinks by virtue of the spirit which animates him (Job 32:8; Prov. 20:27); wherefore it is said in 1 Kings 10:5, when the Queen of Sheba’s comprehension was brought to a stand, that “there was no spirit in her more” (לֹא־הָיָה בָהּ עוֹד רוּחַ); but the p 151 perceiving and thinking subject itself is the נֶפֶש (comp. § 71). The impulse to act proceeds from the רוּחִ, Ex. 35:21; hence one who rules himself is a משֵׁל בְּרוּחוֹ, Prov. 16:32. But the acting subject is not the רוּחַ, but the נֶפֶשׁ; the soul is the subject which sins, Ezek. 18:4, etc. Love and attachment are of course a thing of the soul, Gen. 34:3 (וִתִּדְבַּק נַפְשׁוֹ) and ver. 8 (חָשְׁקָה נַפְשׁוֹ); and so in Cant. 5:6, the words of the beloved, נַפְשִׁי יָצְאָה, cannot be explained, “I was out of my senses” (as De Wette thinks), but the bride feels as if her very personality had gone forth from her to follow and seek her beloved. In many cases, indeed, נֶפֶשׁ and רוּחַ stand indifferently, according as the matter is looked upon—that is, to use Hofmann’s words (Schriftbeweis, i. p. 296), according as “the personality is named after its special individual life, or after the living power which forms the condition of its special character.” Thus it may be said on the one hand, “Why is thy spirit so stubborn?” (מַה־זֶּה רוּחֲךָ סָרָה), 1 Kings 21:5; on the other hand, “Why are thou so bowed down, O my soul?” (מַה־תּשְׁתּוחֲחִי נַפְשׁי), Ps. 42:12. Of impatience it may be said, “The soul is short” (וַתִּקְצַר נֶפֶשׁ), Num. 21:4, and “shortness of the spirit” (קֹצֶר רוּחַ), Ex. 6:9; compare Job 21:4. Trouble of heart is “bitterness of the spirit” (מֹרַת רוּחַ), Gen. 26:35; and of the soul (הֵמַר נַפְשִׁי), Job 27:2, it is said וַתּפָֽעֶם רוּחוֹ, Gen. 41:8, and נַפְשִׁי נִבְהֲלָה מְאֹד, Ps. 6:4. Compare with this in particular the climax in Isa. 26:9 (6). From all this it is clear that the Old Testament does not teach a trichotomy of the human being in the sense of body, soul, and spirit, as being originally three co-ordinate elements of man; rather the whole man is included in the בָּשָׂר and נֶפֶשׁ (body and soul), which spring from the union of the רוּחַ with matter, Ps. 84:3, Isa. 10:18; comp. Ps. 16:9. The רוּחַ forms in part the substance of the soul individualized in it, and in part, after the soul is established, the power and endowments which flow into it and can be withdrawn from it (7), (8).



Oehler, G. F., & Day, G. E. (1883). Theology of the Old Testament (pp. 149–152). Funk & Wagnalls.

 

[reddogs]

Don't confuse the believer's Holy Spirit born again "spiritual man" "new creation" "spirit" with the animating principle breathed into Adam, the "breath of lives" so he became a "living soul".

The unregenerated spirit of man returns to God, it is the animating principle, the spark of life. But not so believers, who have passed from death into life. The scripture equates their "spirit" with that of "angelic spirits", so heavenly Jerusalem is a city of spirits of just men made perfect.

Their "being" "soul and spirit" partakes of divine nature and therefore is a "new creation." While it can still be spoken of in tripartite terms (body soul spirit), soul and spirit regenerated by divine nature is a "new creature" and can when disembodied, be called "spirit" just as an angel is spirit, a "son of God" "born from above"(="born again"). For this reason, the "least in the kingdom of God" is greater than any OT saint.

Professor Oehler explains the OT view of spirit of man, which applies to all unregenerate humans, not believers born again by God's Holy Spirit.

If you have BibleWorks10 or earlier versions, you can look up the Hebrew cited Nephesh and Ruach etc.

Body, Soul, Spirit

Man, like all beings endowed with life, originated from two elements,—namely, from earthly material (עָפָר, אֲדָמָה), and from the Divine Spirit (רוּחַ), Gen. 2:7, comp. Ps. 104:29 f., 146:4. As in general נֶפֶשׁ, soul, originates in the בָּשָׂר, the flesh, by the union of spirit with matter, so in particular the human soul arises in the human body by the breathing of the divine breath (נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים) into the material frame of the human body. But although the life-spring of the רוּחַ, from which the soul arises, is common to man and beast, both do not originate from it in the same way. The souls of animals arise, like plants from the earth, as a consequence of the divine word of power, Gen. 1:24 (תּוֹצֵא הָאָרֶץ נֶפֶשׁ). Thus the creating spirit which entered in the beginning, 1:2, into matter, rules in them; their connection with the divine spring of life is through the medium of the common terrestrial creation. But the human soul does not spring from the earth; it is created by a special act of divine inbreathing; see 2:7 in connection with 1:26. The human body was formed from the earth before the soul; in it, therefore, those powers operate which are inherent to matter apart from the soul (a proposition which is of great importance, as Delitzsch rightly remarks). But the human body is still not an animated body; the powers existing in the material frame are not yet comprehended into a unity of life; the breath of life is communicated to this frame directly from God, and so the living man originates. According to the view of many, the specific difference between the life of the human soul and that of animals is expressed by the use of the term נְשָׁמָה in 2:7 (2). This, however, cannot be established, for in 7:22 (“All in whose nostrils was the breath of life died”), the exclusive reference of the expression נְשָׁמָה to man (as merely another expression for כֹּל הָאָדָם, ver. 21), coming between the general terms comprehending man and beast, which stand both before and after it, is not natural. In Deut. 20:16, Josh. 10:40, 11:11–14, כָּל־נְשָׁמָה denotes only men; but in these passages the special reference of the expression is made clear by the connection,—in the passage in Deuteronomy by ver. 18, and in the book of Joshua because from 8:2 onward the cattle are excepted from the חֵרֶם. Otherwise one might as well prove from Josh. 11:11, where כָּל־הַנֶּפֶשׁ is used exclusively of man, that the human soul alone is called נֶפֶשׁ. But it is correct that in the other places in the Old Testament in which נְשָׁמָה occurs it is never expressly used of the mere animal principle of life; p 150 comp. Isa. 42:5, Prov. 20:27, Job 32:8, and Ps. 150:6 (כֹּל הַנְּשָׁמָה). Thus the substance of the human soul is the divine spirit of life uniting itself with matter; the spirit is not merely the cause by reason of which the נֶפֶש contained beforehand in the body becomes living, as Gen. 2:7 has by some been understood (3). For in the עָפָר as such, in the structure of dust, there is, according to the Old Testament, as yet no נֶפֶשׁ, even latently. This is first in the בָּשָׂר, in the flesh; but the earthly materials do not become flesh until the רוּחַ has become united with it, 6:17, 7:15, Job 12:10, 34:14 f. It is no proof against this (as has further been objected) that in some passages (Lev. 21:11; Num. 6:6), the dead body from which, according to Gen. 35:18, the soul has departed, is called נֶפֶשׁ מֵת before it crumbles to dust. I believe this expression is to be understood as a euphemistic metonymy



Oehler, G. F., & Day, G. E. (1883). Theology of the Old Testament (pp. 149–152). Funk & Wagnalls.

I try to explain it a bit more simple, when I see a close loved one who is resurrected, I will know him or her by their traits and personality, they wont be a blank reproduction, but the real person that went down into the grave...

 

[Alfred Persson]

I try to explain it a bit more simple, when I see a close loved one who is resurrected, I will know him or her by their traits and personality, they wont be a blank reproduction, but the real person that went down into the grave...

My error; didn't read your entire post. We disagree what happens upon death, believers immediately go into the presence of the LORD, to await the resurrection / rapture of the church. Our LORD brings those spirits with Him at His Parousia/coming, and they are resurrected BEFORE the church on earth is raptured:

13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thess. 4:13-18 NKJ)

Believers never die, they already have eternal life.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. (Jn. 5:24 NKJ)

Of course our bodies die, but in a twinkling of an eye angels guide us to the "intermediate state" where Abraham and all the saints are:

"So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. (Lk. 16:22 NKJ)

The idea of a person being "reproduced" isn't scriptural. If God were reproducing people who died, they are copies and the promise of eternal life for believers, is a fraud.


As for Jesus, He is a special case. Upon physical death He went to the spirits in prison and rescued them who gave the answer of a good conscience towards God, just as the Church did. That is why they reminded Peter of baptism, dying and rising in Christ:

18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,
20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
21 There is also an antitype which now saves us-- baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him. (1 Pet. 3:18-4:1 NKJ)

8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men."
9 (Now this, "He ascended "-- what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
(Eph. 4:8-10 NKJ)

Christ took those captive spirits to heaven with Him as He rose up from the dead, and was resurrected on the "third day". He crucified body was changed into a glorious supernatural body, the first fruits from the dead. Believers will also receive a similar physical body, that is organically connected to the body (the seed) that died:

42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.
43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
45 And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.
47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.
48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly.
49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
(1 Cor. 15:42-49 NKJ)

Christ is seated now on His throne in heaven in His glorious resurrected body.

As God the Son Jesus never ceased to be in heaven and so could say to the thief crucified with Him, "today you will be with me in paradise":

And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." (Lk. 23:43 NKJ)

Christ told Mary to stop clinging to her sorrow, He had risen, the tomb was empty! But He hadn't yet officially ascended into heaven, that happens on the day of Pentecost:

NKJ Acts 1:1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen,
3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me;
5 "for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
7 And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,
11 who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." (Acts 1:1-11 NKJ)

This was an official ascension, after forty days.

 

[Alfred Persson]

I try to explain it a bit more simple, when I see a close loved one who is resurrected, I will know him or her by their traits and personality, they wont be a blank reproduction, but the real person that went down into the grave...

10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.
11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb.
12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
13 Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him."
14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, "Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away."
16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher).
17 Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them,`I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.'"
(Jn. 20:10-17 NKJ)

Mary was so engulfed by sorrow she missed noticing Christ had risen. Evidently even the disciples didn't realize Christ had risen. Mary saw two angels in the tomb and still didn't realize something supernatural was happening.

She was clinging to the horror of the crucifixion, to Jesus as dead. Weeping at the tomb looking for His body.

Why commentators think Mary was told "don't touch me" when Thomas is invited to touch Him later, is a bit odd.

Instead of sorrow, she should be rejoicing. Christ is risen! To paraphrase "Stop clinging to me (as crucified, dead and buried), and go tell My Brothers I am ascending to God our Father"

It has nothing to do with physically touching Christ as we see proved later. Thomas is invited to touch Him:

24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."
26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!"
27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing."
28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"
29 Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book;
31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. (Jn. 20:24-31 NKJ)

Instead of sorrow she Jesus commands her to preach the good news of His resurrection and ascension, to His brethren the disciples.

 

[Carry_Your_Name]

We have seen that man does not have a 'immortal' soul as scripture makes that clear..

"Immortal soul" is dualistic gnosticism, which teaches that matters are evil and temporary, spirits are good and eternal, the body is a sinful vessel containing the immortal soul, and true salvation can only be achieved when your "soul", your innermost being is activated and delivered from the boundaries of the sinful body. It was the prevailing Greek philosophy that is quietly slipped into Christianity in the early church. Most people still hold onto this philosophy, soul and spirit are often confused and used interchangeably.

 

[for_his_glory]

Jesus nor the angels have never returned for anyone after His ascending to sit at the right hand of the Father being our mediator before God, John 3:13. The resurrection of the dead has not happened yet as it is only our breath/spirit that returns back to God who gave it when this physical body returns to the dust of the ground from where it came from, Genesis 2:7; Ecc 12:7. No one is resurrected until the one and only return of Christ who calls His Bride to meet Him in the air and then forever we will be with Him in all of Gods glory, John 5:28, 29, 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Here dust + breath/spirit from God = a living soul. When the flesh dies physically it returns back to the dust of the ground and our spirit is preserved with God for final judgment.

Genesis 3:19 in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Ecc 12:7 then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

We return to the dust of the ground when this physical body dies and our breath/spirit returns to God as we wait for Gods final judgment when Christ returns.

Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Our spirit can never die and is preserved until Gods final judgment on the last day when Christ returns, John 6:40.

1Thessalonians 4:
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 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.
16 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:
17 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.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

No one has ever entered the third Heaven where God sits on His throne. Third Heaven is where God and the holy angels and spirits of just men dwell. It is called “The heaven of heavens,” Deuteronomy 10:14; 1 Kings 8:27; Psalms 115:16; 148:4; 1Kings 8:27; Psalms 2:4, John 3:13.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Ruach, the Hebrew word for spirit here, means "breath" or "wind" as well as "spirit".

Revelation 22:
11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Jesus only comes once and at that time will bring His reward to those of the first resurrected who are made righteous by that of Gods grace. The second resurrection are those who have rejected Gods grace and their reward is that of an eternity in the lake of fire. 1Corinthians Chapter 15; Revelation 20:6, 15.

Ecc 9:5 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.

Psa 104:29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.

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.

James 2:26 for as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

This body/flesh dies and deteriorates as it turns back to dust while in the ground. The breath/spirit goes back to God who gave it, Ecc 12:7. The soul which makes up the conscious part of ones being is that of thought, action and emotion. The spiritual nature of man regarded as immortal and separable from the body/flesh at death and susceptible to happiness or misery in a future state.

Without the spirit/breath from God our soul would not be alive as spirit and soul are connected, Genesis 2:7. When we physically die our soul, as the breath, goes back to God who gave it. 1 Corinthians Chapter 15 speaks of the resurrection of the dead as those who have died that are the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus as this is the first resurrection. We will not be raised from the grave in our old physical bodies, but will be raised with new Glorified bodies which we not know what we will look like, but will be like Christ, 1John 3:1-3.

 

[Tenchi]

We have seen that man does not have a 'immortal' soul as scripture makes that clear..

Ezekiel 18:4 - Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Ezekiel 18:20 - The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
Revelation 16:3 - And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
Genesis 3:19 - In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 - For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

??? This isn't what these verses - and the rest of Scripture establish at all. In context, they indicate quite the opposite:

Ezekiel 18:4-9
4 "Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.

God told Adam and Eve the same thing (Genesis 2:17), yet, though they had sinned, they didn't immediately fall dead to the ground, their nephesh withdrawn by God and reabsorbed into Himself. In what sense, then, did they "die"? Not in a literal, physical sense. No, "death" in the situation with Adam and Eve in the Fall, spoke of separation from God, not the annihilation of the individuated soul. This is how the word "dead" was used in Christ's parable of the Prodigal Son, too. The father says upon his son's return:

Luke 15:24
24 for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.' And they began to celebrate.

Was the father's son ever actually dead in the physical sense? No. But the son was separated from his father such that their fellowship with one another was totally halted. In this sense, the son was "dead" to the father.

It's very important, then, to recognize that "dead," or "die," or "death" in Scripture can have this sense (and others, besides) rather than the complete destruction and annihilation of the body and soul of a person.

5 "But if a man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness,
6 and does not eat at the mountain shrines or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, or defile his neighbor's wife or approach a woman during her menstrual period—
7 if a man does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing,
8 if he does not lend money on interest or take increase, if he keeps his hand from iniquity and executes true justice between man and man,
9 if he walks in My statutes and My ordinances so as to deal faithfully—he is righteous and will surely live," declares the Lord GOD.

If the soul that sins will die, and this means the entire cessation of the human being, body and soul, what does it mean that the righteous man will "surely live"? Verse 9 is given in direct contrast to verse 4 in Ezekiel 18, so, if one wants to say that the sinning soul dies such that his/her existence ends entirely, is the opposite true for the righteous man? Will the existence of the righteous, soul and body, never cease? We know that the bodies of righteous people have ceased. In what sense, then, do the righteous live? We know the sinner doesn't drop dead the moment s/he commits their first sin. In what sense, then, do they die? It seems obvious to me that the sinner dies in a spiritual sense, first and foremost, which is to say they are separated from God, unable to enjoy fellowship with Him, as Adam and Eve were unable to do after the Fall, and the Prodigal Son with his father after the Prodigal had gone off into a "far country."

Does Ezekiel mean to say that a person's nephesh, their soul, doesn't survive the death of their body? No. He can't mean this since so much of the rest of God's word denies this idea. God is not the God of the dead, after all, but of the living (like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - Matthew 22:32; Matthew 17:1-4). And the parallelism of the passage from Ezekiel 18 above doesn't make sense, nor does it comport with reality, if "dies" means "permanent annihilation, body and soul," and so "lives" must mean "no annihilation of body and soul."

Much of the problem is in thinking of nephesh as merely an animating energy, the life-giving "breath" of God, exactly the same in humans as in animals.

Genesis 2:7
7 Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

This verse is, of course, to be taken in tandem with the following verse from Genesis 1 that describes the same event:

Genesis 1:26-27
26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

The idea some have is that, when God breathed into Adam the "breath of life" and Adam became a "living being," God did no more with Adam than He did with any fish, or bird, or mammal. But as Genesis 1:26-27 indicate, Adam was a unique creature, unlike all others God had made, bearing the "imago dei" and set by God over all other creatures. When, then, God made Adam a "living being," Adam was not of a kind with the animals but bore the marks of the divine in his being, among which was that his soul was immortal, enduring beyond the death of the physical body, as Christ's parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), the event of Christ's Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-4); and the souls of martyrs in heaven crying out for justice (Revelation 6:9-11) all illustrate.

 

[reddogs]

My error; didn't read your entire post. We disagree what happens upon death, believers immediately go into the presence of the LORD, to await the resurrection / rapture of the church. Our LORD brings those spirits with Him at His Parousia/coming, and they are resurrected BEFORE the church on earth is raptured:

13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thess. 4:13-18 NKJ)

Believers never die, they already have eternal life.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. (Jn. 5:24 NKJ)

Of course our bodies die, but in a twinkling of an eye angels guide us to the "intermediate state" where Abraham and all the saints are:

"So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. (Lk. 16:22 NKJ)

The idea of a person being "reproduced" isn't scriptural. If God were reproducing people who died, they are copies and the promise of eternal life for believers, is a fraud.


As for Jesus, He is a special case. Upon physical death He went to the spirits in prison and rescued them who gave the answer of a good conscience towards God, just as the Church did. That is why they reminded Peter of baptism, dying and rising in Christ:

18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,
20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
21 There is also an antitype which now saves us-- baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him. (1 Pet. 3:18-4:1 NKJ)

8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men."
9 (Now this, "He ascended "-- what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
(Eph. 4:8-10 NKJ)

Christ took those captive spirits to heaven with Him as He rose up from the dead, and was resurrected on the "third day". He crucified body was changed into a glorious supernatural body, the first fruits from the dead. Believers will also receive a similar physical body, that is organically connected to the body (the seed) that died:

42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.
43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
45 And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.
47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.
48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly.
49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
(1 Cor. 15:42-49 NKJ)

Christ is seated now on His throne in heaven in His glorious resurrected body.

As God the Son Jesus never ceased to be in heaven and so could say to the thief crucified with Him, "today you will be with me in paradise":

And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." (Lk. 23:43 NKJ)

Christ told Mary to stop clinging to her sorrow, He had risen, the tomb was empty! But He hadn't yet officially ascended into heaven, that happens on the day of Pentecost:

NKJ Acts 1:1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen,
3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me;
5 "for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
7 And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,
11 who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." (Acts 1:1-11 NKJ)

This was an official ascension, after forty days.

No, nobody goes immediately to heaven, or hell for that matter, you forget no one has been judged at that point.

 

[Alfred Persson]

No, nobody goes immediately to heaven, or hell for that matter, you forget no one has been judged at that point.

#1 Christians have already passed from death into life, do not come under additional judgment as to where they are going upon physical death:

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. (Jn. 5:24 NKJ)

#2 The unsaved are judged immediately upon physical death how they will wait for Judgment day. Those who did not commit eternal sin can repent, and eagerly wait for Christ's second coming for the rapture/resurrection in Hades, or reject Christ and wait for Judgment Day when it is confirmed they are not in the Book of life and cast into the Lake of Fire:

27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. (Heb. 9:27-28 NKJ)

5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
6 For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. (1 Pet. 4:5-6 NKJ)

13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thess. 4:13-18 NKJ)

Those who committed eternal sins, or wouldn't repent in Hades, will rise on Judgment Day and be cast into the Lake of Fire, that is "die the second death" from which there is no resurrection:

13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:13-15 NKJ)

Does the Bible teach there is a Second Chance to be saved by Jesus? | End Time News

Scriptural Proof Universal Opportunity for Salvation in Jesus Spans this life and the After-life God is to us a God of deliverances; And to Yahweh the Lord belong escapes from death. (Ps. 68:20) As Christ alone is the Door to Salvation, what is the fate of those born before His time, or in...

endtimenews.net

 

[DJT_47]

We have seen that man does not have a 'immortal' soul as scripture makes that clear..

Ezekiel 18:4 - Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Ezekiel 18:20 - The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
Revelation 16:3 - And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
Genesis 3:19 - In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 - For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

But what about the “spirit”? Does it remain conscious even after the death of the body as many believe so, and they even try to justify their view by saying it look at Ecclesiastes 12:7 which says it goes up to God so it must be living or immortal part of us.
Ecclesiastes 12:7
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Well the problem is this statement does not suggest that the spirit of the dead remains conscious in God’s presence or that man is immortal. What Ecclesiastes 12:7 refers to in death is the reversal of the creation process where God gave the breath of life and man came alive.

Genesis 2:7
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

So what is the 'spirit' that returns to God, is it living entity and floating on the clouds looking back down on earth. Well, there's a problem if one looks closely, it does not differentiate between the good people or the wicked, so essentially it opens the door to sinners going to heaven, and clearly that doesnt happen. So what is the 'spirit', it is the breath of life that God breathed into the nostrils of Adam, and that He has also provided to all other human beings is what returns to God or, in other words, simply stops flowing into and through them. In ancient times, all man knew was if you stopped breathing you were dead, and this was considered given of God as how could you explain what amazes us even today when people revive after drowning or other shock.

Now another thing is that its not just human beings that die this way but all the animals, and no one is going to say all the animals are taken to heaven, thats not supported in scripture. If the alleged spirits of all who die survive as conscious entities in the presence of God, then are the spirits of the wicked with God, of course not. This is not in harmony with the overall teaching of the scriptures, as only the saints will be there, not sinners. Because the same dying process happens both to human beings and to animals death is nothing else than ceasing to exist as living beings.

But what about Steven when he died some may say, what does that mean..
Acts 7:59
And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

Well as we see, the body plus the breath of life produced a living soul. The word for "breath" in Genesis 2:7 is neshamah in the Hebrew original and pnoe in the Greek translation and the words mean "breath, wind." The breath that God breathed into the inanimate body gave it life and we see this same breath of life is spoken of in Job 33:4, "The spirit [ruach] of God has made me, and the breath [neshamah] of the Almighty gives me life." The breath of life (neshamah) is, therefore, the spirit (ruach) that God breathed into Adam's nostrils. The word ruach means "breath, spirit, wind."

We see this more in Job. 27:3 when Job in referring to himself during life says, ". . . as long as my breath [neshamah] is in me and the spirit [ruach] of God is in my nostrils. . . ." (Job. 27:3). Once again the "breath" and the "spirit" are identified. When this spirit or breath returns to God the individual dies and awaits God to restore life at the resurrection. We see the same thought Psalms 146:4 when David described what happens to man in death that when their breath [ruach = spirit] departs, they return to the earth or the grave and on 'that very day their thoughts perish.
Psalm 146:4
His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

So no thoughts or what makes one who he is continue. Now compare the description of death as given in Ecclesiastes 12:7: "Then shall the dust [body] return to the earth as it was: and the spirit [ruach = breath] shall return unto God who gave it" . This simply reverses the process as described in Genesis 2:7. So now we see God takes the life force back to himself and the dead body disintegrates. The "spirit" or "breath" that goes back to God is not some kind of conscious part of us that separates from the body at death, it simply is what animates us, same as the beasts in the field. Look what it has in Ecclesiates 3:19-20, "For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath [ruach = spirit]; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast [in this respect]: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again

Ecclesiastes 3:19-20
19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. 20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

So lets take a look at one more verse, which was when Christ died, and go over it...
Luke 23:46
And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

Now did Christ go up to the Father that day, lets look and from what He declared..
John 20:17
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

Jesus and Stephen were committing their "spirit" or life force to God. They knew that they were about to die or dying. The life that came from God was being taken from them. The day Jesus died His human "spirit," "breath," or life force went back to God, but He certainly did not go to heaven as a conscious being that Friday afternoon, and all Christians should believe in His resurrection. Also, Stephen did not ascend to heaven when the life force was taken from him, and he will wait in the grave as dust until the saints are raised at the resurrection.

The spirit is not the same as the soul; 2 different things since they can be divided (Hebrews 4:12).The spirit, the breath of life that God gives returns to him, the body back to dust, but the soul, the conscious entity that we become, remains as a separate thing. The rich man in the parable immediately found himself in torment. The thief on the cross was promised he would be in paradise with the Lord. So, in both cases, it was the soul that was yet living on in a conscious mode.

 

[reddogs]

#1 Christians have already passed from death into life, do not come under additional judgment as to where they are going upon physical death:

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. (Jn. 5:24 NKJ)

#2 The unsaved are judged immediately upon physical death how they will wait for Judgment day. Those who did not commit eternal sin can repent, and eagerly wait for Christ's second coming for the rapture/resurrection in Hades, or reject Christ and wait for Judgment Day when it is confirmed they are not in the Book of life and cast into the Lake of Fire:

27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. (Heb. 9:27-28 NKJ)

5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
6 For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. (1 Pet. 4:5-6 NKJ)

13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thess. 4:13-18 NKJ)

Those who committed eternal sins, or wouldn't repent in Hades, will rise on Judgment Day and be cast into the Lake of Fire, that is "die the second death" from which there is no resurrection:

13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:13-15 NKJ)

Does the Bible teach there is a Second Chance to be saved by Jesus? | End Time News

Scriptural Proof Universal Opportunity for Salvation in Jesus Spans this life and the After-life God is to us a God of deliverances; And to Yahweh the Lord belong escapes from death. (Ps. 68:20) As Christ alone is the Door to Salvation, what is the fate of those born before His time, or in...

endtimenews.net

But God will still pronounce judgement at the end, so until then it is all by faith.

 

[Alfred Persson]

But God will still pronounce judgement at the end, so until then it is all by faith.

We are saved by faith believing now, in this life and so no longer go through a judgment to determine if we are saved.

Faith in God's promise is different than "hoping in faith something will occur."

 

[reddogs]

We are saved by faith believing now, in this life and so no longer go through a judgment to determine if we are saved.

Faith in God's promise is different than "hoping in faith something will occur."

He will judge every man and you can be justified and sanctified by faith but there will come a day for you to be judged..

Hebrews 10:30
For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

1 Corinthians 11:32
But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Acts 17:31
Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

Romans 3:4
God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

Christ knows who are His and will be your advocate before the Father...

1 John 2:1
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

 

[Alfred Persson]

He will judge every man and you can be justified and sanctified by faith but there will come a day for you to be judged..

Hebrews 10:30
For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

1 Corinthians 11:32
But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Acts 17:31
Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

Romans 3:4
God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

Christ knows who are His and will be your advocate before the Father...

1 John 2:1
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

You cited 1 Corinthians 11:32 that proves judgment Christians will undergo is different than judgment to determine if one is saved. Christians are saved "to the uttermost" "when they believe" for they have "passed from"
death into life" eternal.