Question 43: When Believers Die

Question: What happens when a believer dies?

Answer: When believers die, their souls enter God’s presence while awaiting the resurrection of their bodies.

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43

In his final moments, Jesus makes a stunning promise to the dying criminal beside him. To a man with no time for religious works or spiritual achievements, Jesus offers immediate entrance into paradise. This reveals a profound truth about what happens when believers die. The thief’s soul will be separated from his body and enter God’s presence that very day—not sleeping in unconsciousness or waiting in an intermediate state, but consciously present with Jesus in paradise. Paradise is a place of worship and rest—a spiritual home free from sin, despair, pain, death, illness and regrets. For the believer, physical death simply continues the life that began when they accepted Jesus as Savior.

When believers die, our souls immediately enter God’s presence in a new, richer way while our bodies await resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). Death is not the end, but a transition from faith to sight, from earthly struggle to heavenly rest and worship. We do not grieve like those without hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13) because we know our loved ones who died in Christ are with Jesus now. These truths change our understanding of death and how we face it. Death loses its sting when we understand it merely ushers us into the very presence of the One we’ve been following by faith (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).

TODAY: Thank God that death is not the end, but a doorway into his presence. If you fear death or are grieving a believer who has died, let this truth replace your fear with confident hope. Learn more about what the Bible teaches on eternity in our We Believe document.