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I do not think that a person's state between death and the resurrection at Christ's return is described clearly and unambiguously in the New Testament. This is probably because we would not understand it if it was. It is best to start with what we can be certain about. We know from experience that all die but we depend upon the revelation of Scripture for our knowledge of the resurrection.

A key passage on the resurrection of the dead is in Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians: See 1Cor15v17to24. The great apostle writes very much the same thing to the Thessalonians: See 1Thes4v13to18. John records Jesus as saying "A time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his (the Son's) voice and come out - those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned." John5v28and29.

These passages teach that we have to wait until the return of Jesus for the resurrection of the body. Christian believers share the same experience as Jesus - he is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Jesus was raised to life from the dead and given a new body and so shall we be. This means that between death and the resurrection we do not exist in bodily form.

Paul does not rate this kind of existence very highly whatever it might be. For Paul the great event following death is not going immediately to be with God in heaven but being resurrected from the dead at the Second Coming of Jesus. He writes: If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,

Paul tells the Philippians that what he eagerly awaits and longs for is the resurrection from the dead. See Phil3vs10,20and21.

There are many other Scriptures that indicate that something is lacking between death and the resurrection. Christians do not enter into their reward until the return of Christ to earth. Only then will he transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

John writes: Dear friends, now we are children of God and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 1John3v2. John is sure that at Christ's return all believers will see him and be like him. That is the great event we anticipate by faith.

Jesus did not tell his disciples that he was going to prepare a place for them to go to when they died. I don't believe that is the meaning of John14v1to4. Rather he promised that after he had come back he would take them to the place he had prepared for them.

Finally, Paul says to the Corinthians: we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 2Cor4v14.

All these reference teach that the Christian's hope is the resurrection. Indeed, without the resurrection there would be no hope. We were not saved from sin and adopted into God's family for the state we are in between death and the resurrection. It is not an ideal state. There is something sadly lacking about it otherwise there need be no resurrection. I think the lack of a body is a serious drawback for a human being!

This is an appropriate place to deal with Jesus' story about 'The Rich Man and Lazarus.' This is a story about hades, the place of the dead before the resurrection. It has nothing to do with Gehenna, the ultimate fate of the wicked following the final judgement. Yet the story is used by preachers who are either unscrupulous or ignorant to prove that the wicked will suffer everlasting torment.

Jesus did not intend the story of 'The Rich Man and Lazarus' to be taken literally. Abraham, Lazarus and the rich man all have bodies. We have seen that between death and the resurrection the dead do not have bodies. There would be no point in a resurrection if they had.

Luke 16 is a strange passage. The two parables and three additional teachings sandwiched between the parables do not seem to have much in common. They do have one thing in common. They are all ironic and should not be taken literally. The parable of the 'Shrewd Manager' makes no sense if the words of verse 8 are taken literally: The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. He didn't act shrewdly. The manager was a commodities broker. Then as now, 'their word was their bond.' The manager was actually encouraging other commodity brokers to falsify their bonds! He was undermining the very principle upon which the system depended! It is hardly likely that his boss would commend him! Jesus is being ironical.

He is being ironical too when he says, "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached and everyone is forcing his way into it." They were not. People were not like prospective shoppers at a sale - queuing for hours and then bursting through the doors at opening time. There was a marked reluctance to enter the kingdom. Jesus' statement should not be taken literally.

His remark in verse 17: "It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law," is also heavily ironical. Jesus in fulfilling the law did modify it, "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you: Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." Mt5v38.

Even Jesus teaching on divorce was a bit tongue in cheek. Legally a man was allowed to divorce his wife. The Law of Moses permitted it. The person who remarried was not technically committing adultery.

Jesus did not expect his story about 'The Rich Man and Lazarus' to be taken literally. He was using popular belief about the afterlife to teach the Pharisees about the danger of presumption and complacency. The Pharisees presumed that a rich man was rich because he was in favour with God and a poor man was poor because he was out of favour with God. They did not attempt to explain what it was about the rich man that God found necessary to reward or the poor man that God needed to punish. There wasn't really any explanation! God was to all appearances making a quite arbitrary decision to favour one and punish the other because based on the evidence there was no other explanation. So in hades God quite arbitrarily reversed his decision and now it is Lazarus who has the good things and the Rich Man who suffers. There is no explanation of why Lazarus should be so blessed and the Rich Man so cursed.

The Rich Man does, however, realise that there must be an explanation and he wishes Lazarus to return and acquaint his brothers with it. Here Jesus highlights the danger of prosperity that is as relevant for us in Britain today as it was in Palestine 2000 years ago. Successful, prosperous and comfortable people are not much interested in what God wants. They will not even listen to the one who proved his credentials by rising from the dead.

The parable of 'The Rich Man and Lazarus' teaches us about the presumption and complacency of the wealthy not about our state between death and resurrection.

To find out more about this we have to examine the life of Jesus because Paul says that he is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 1Corv20.What happened to Jesus will also happen to a believer.

On the cross Jesus committed his spirit to God his Father and gave it up. See References about his death. It seems that Jesus' work of salvation was done when he cried, "It is finished." God foreshortened his physical suffering. When Jesus knew the work was done he dismissed, or gave up, his spirit. He died prematurely. The soldiers were very surprised to find him dead. Crucifixion was usually a lingering death. A man could hang for several days upon a cross. Jesus did not really die a natural death - he willed his own death - no-one took his life from him. This is not a point often dealt with or commented upon.

So when Jesus dismissed his spirit what happened? It doesn't mean that Jesus went bodily into God's presence in heaven. On the resurrection morn he tells Mary Magdalene, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" John20v17.

Jesus only went to heaven after he was raised to life - as Peter puts it in his first sermon: God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he had received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. Acts2v32and34

The Bible makes it plain that no-one has gone bodily to heaven as Jesus did at his ascension. John writes, No-one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven - the Son of Man. John3v13. Peter says in his first sermon, "For David did not ascend to heaven....Acts2v34. No-one goes to heaven at death to be there as Jesus is now. We, too, have to await the resurrection of our bodies. The great doxology of Jude will be realised after Christ's return and our resurrection, To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and for evermore! Amen. Jude1v24and25.

So we are left with one difficult question - what did happen when Jesus committed his spirit to God.

Before we answer this question we need to understand what is meant by a man's spirit. It is not the same as a man's life. Rather it is a man's personality, knowledge, beliefs, memories and character. These are expressed in more than one way. They are expressed in life in what a man is. However they can be partially expressed in both life and death in what, for example, a man writes. There are at least two more records. One is in the chemistry of the brain. There is a record there that is, as yet, but poorly understood. Whilst a man sleeps he does not express his spirit in life. Certainly when a man dies he does not express his spirit in life. However, the record of a man's spirit remains in the brain so long as it does not decay. A dead man can be resuscitated and display his spirit again. The other record of our spirit is with God. It is always with God. He has perfect knowledge of our personalities, abilities, beliefs, memories and character. So long as he has that knowledge our spirits can never be lost. We remain alive to him. Perhaps this is what Jesus means when he is arguing with the Sadducees about the resurrection and he says, "But about the resurrection of the dead - have you not read what God says to you, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead but of the living." Mt22v31. God has a perfect copy of our brain chemistry in his consciousness. When we die God retains that copy and will be able to restore it to a new body and new life at the resurrection. At the resurrection we are raised to life and therefore to consciousness. It is only in life that our spirits are active.

The essential difference between a dead and resuscitated body is consciousness. It is also the main difference between a person who is asleep and one who is awake. It is of great significance that death is likened to falling asleep and the state between death and the resurrection is likened to being asleep. There are many references: See 1Cor15v17to24. See 1Thes4v13to18. See others.

It is very wrong for commentators like Wiersbe to argue that it is the body that falls asleep and not the spirit. We all know what happens to the body after death - it decays or is in some other way destroyed. Nor do we talk like this about sleep. We do not say when someone is asleep, "Their body has gone to sleep." We say, "He is asleep." It is a state we are in when the spirit rests, when we are without consciousness but from which we awake. Jesus could quite easily have said of Jairus' daughter and Lazarus, "They have gone to heaven." The fact that he said they slept suggests that their spirits were at rest, that they lacked consciousness and that they would awake and return to life.

Those that object to this view of what happens between death and resurrection quote three texts in support of their position. By far the strongest evidence for consciousness existing between death and the resurrection is Jesus' words to the dying thief, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." We will assume for the moment that the comma is in the right place! It is significant that Jesus did not promise the thief that he would be with him in heaven. We have to ask what Jesus meant by, 'paradise.' It is not a word that is common in the Bible. It is only used on two other occasions. See other references to paradise.

I don't think these references help very much! Originally paradise was a Persian word for a lovely, pleasure garden. So the word came to be used to describe either the experience of being in a beautiful garden or the beautiful place itself. I think Paul uses the word to describe an ecstatic, euphoric, experience whereas the writer of Revelations is using it of a second Garden of Eden. We still use the word like this - enjoying a meal with friends can be paradise and so can a tropical island.

I believe Jesus was describing what he and the dying thief would experience in death. There would be something akin to sweet dreams - a blissful sensation of well being, security and repose - without real consciousness. Jesus did say, "In my Father's house are many rooms." John14v2. Perhaps in one of those rooms there is a way of preserving the spirits of the believing dead that we cannot, as yet, understand. However agreeable, it is not what we were made for. It is at the resurrection that we come to life. It is impossible to conceive how we can be truly alive without bodies!

There is an alternative interpretation of Jesus' words, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." In the new interlinear Greek-English New Testament by the Rev. A. Marshall the literal English translation of this remark is: truly thee I tell today with me thou wilt be in the paradise . I have left out all the punctuation marks because they were not used in written Greek. The translator has to put the crucial comma where he thinks best! It could come after the word, 'today.' So Jesus says, "Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in paradise." People who object to this translation argue that it is pointless Jesus saying, "Truly I tell you today, ... ." Of course Jesus was speaking that day - there was no need for him to say so. However, equally there is no need for Jesus to say, "Truly..... ." Of course what he said was true. Everything he said was true. He wouldn't say it if it wasn't true! There was also no need for Jesus to say, "Truly I tell you .... ." What is the point of Jesus saying that. It was he speaking and not someone else! The dying thief did not need Jesus to inform him that it was he, Jesus, who was speaking. The dying thief was aware of that. Jesus says, "Truly... ," to emphasise his statement. He goes on to say, "Truly I tell you .... ," to give additional weight to his assertion. To give the strongest possible assurance to the dying thief he prefaces his promise, "Truly I tell you today, .... " It is a bit like someone saying, "I tell you here and now..." The phrase, 'here and now,' is quite superfluous except insofar as it lends emphasis to what is said.

Obviously if Jesus said, "Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in paradise," then it doesn't follow that the dying thief was in paradise with Jesus that day. The promise could refer to the believer's life of bliss following the Last Judgment.

It is dangerous to quote a text in favour of a belief where the meaning of the text can be changed considerably by the placing of the comma. The full stops and comma's were not originally part of the inspired word. We should also remember that Jesus needed to say something to the dying thief that he would understand; something that would cheer his heart. It was not going to be high doctrine. I would like to believe that both Jesus and the dying thief had on dying a beautiful sensation of sweet and fragrant repose that fell short of true consciousness. The word, 'paradise,' must have some significance after all.

Finally many Christians who believe in a fully conscious experience between death and the resurrection quote Phil1v2 or 2Cor5v8. I think it is important to see Paul's statement in 2Cor5v8: We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord, in context. See references on absent from the body and at home with the Lord.

It is not entirely clear what Paul means in the passages quoted. In 2Cor5vs1to10 he is writing about the earthly body as a tent. In death it is destroyed; it does not sleep! He also writes about being clothed with our heavenly dwelling. This can only refer to the resurrection body. That is when what is mortal is swallowed up by life and it is for this purpose that God made us. To die is to be unclothed. He seems to suggest that the period between death and resurrection is a time when we are naked. Our spirits exist apart from bodies. They are unclothed. When we are re-clothed with our heavenly dwelling we will not be found naked.

When Paul says that he would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord he could be saying that he longs to be rid of his old body and present with the Lord clothed in his new body. That is what he has been saying in verses 1 to 5. He could possibly be indicating that he would prefer his spirit to be absent from the old body and safe and secure in the keeping of Jesus. After death his next conscious experience would be returning with Jesus to earth at the resurrection. I believe we do pass from death to new life in an instant as far as our consciousness is concerned.

I would conclude by saying that, on the whole, the Scriptures suggest that at death God preserves our spirits. It is not possible for us to be conscious without bodies. At death our bodies are destroyed and we are no longer alive. This condition is best described as, and is most like, sleep. Our spirits rest unconsciously but, perhaps, with some sensation of blissful well being in the care of God the Father and God the Son. We awake on the day Jesus returns to earth. On that day we will be resurrected and re-clothed with new bodies. Every single believer who dies has the same experience. They pass from death to new life in Christ in an instant. One moment they are dying and the next they are with him in the air above the earth - but I may be wrong! I have tried my best to interpret the relevant Scriptures.