"All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust.”   ~Ecclesiastes 3:20

When we die our spirit (breath) returns to God, and our body returns to the earth—to dust. It’s imperative to know some of the Hebrew and Greek root words in Bible verses to understand exactly what they mean. The word spirit has several meanings, one is pneuma, which means breath—the other is kardia, which means heart. So when we read an English translation of the Bible, we can know which meaning is applicable by which makes the most sense.

Understanding that the word spirit often means ​breath is essential to understanding what these verses are referring to. Which in this case means, when we die our spirit returns to God. It is our breath that returns to God from whence it came, and our bodies return to the earth.

“Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.”   ~Ecclesiastes 12:7

“So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor be roused from their sleep.”   ~Job 14:12

When we die we will rest in the grave, hence the expression "Rest In Peace"/RIP. Yes, we will rest in peace until Jesus’ second coming when He returns to take us home with Him. When we die we don’t sprout wings and fly off to heaven as some kind of disembodied soul—this simply is not Biblical.

​"Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead."  ~Isaiah 26:19

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”No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.”   ~John 3:13

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.”   ~Ecclesiastes 9:10

Maybe you might like to think of your deceased mother or husband floating around on a cloud somewhere waiting for you to call on them for help—to reach out to them just to talk because you miss them so much. I get that, but the truth is that Jesus is waiting to hear from you when you’re in pain when you’re missing someone or needing help. He is patiently waiting for you to call to Him for all of your needs. We will be reunited with our loved ones one day, but for now, Jesus is who we need to be talking to, not our deceased relatives.

"The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any who go down into silence."   ~Psalm 115:17

Surely if we went straight to heaven when we died, we’d praise God! Wouldn’t we? It’s a Biblical fact that we rest in the grave when we die. The Bible states, that even David, which God refers to as, a man after His own heart, still sleeps in the grave to this day.

“For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.”   ~Ecclesiastes 9:5

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“For in death there is no remembrance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks?”   ~Psalm 6:5

Most certainly if we went straight to heaven when we died, we would remember God and want to give Him thanks! And then in the following verse Jesus makes the same point when He says that Lazarus is dead. Jesus refers to being dead as asleep, but when the disciples get confused, He plainly said to them, Lazarus is dead!

“These things He said, and after that He said to them, our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up. Then His disciples said, Lord, if he sleeps he will get well. However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead.”   ~John 11:11-14

Another indisputable point in this verse is that Lazarus wasn’t in heaven. Jesus didn’t summons him back to earth from heavenly bliss just to make a point. Lazarus was dead, in the grave, Jesus clearly said so! In fact, He was so dead that the Bible even makes a point to mention that the grave was stinking because Lazarus had been dead for several days before Jesus arrived.

“Jesus said, “Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”   ~John 11:39

Yes, the believer who dies will fall asleep in what we call death, but it’s not an eternal death. Just as it was for Lazarus, it will also be for us, we will sleep in the grave, but someday our Savior will come to awaken us from our slumber to live with Him.

“Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice.”   ~John 5:28

​Will we all go to heaven when Jesus returns…?

”For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God”   ~Job 19:25-26

Those that have accepted the salvation of Jesus Christ will be awakened from their sleep when He returns, and given a new body and taken with Him to heaven. However, there are some people that aren’t going to heaven when Jesus returns—those that have chosen not to accept the free gift of salvation.  Even though Christ died for everyone, even the ungodly, they have made a choice to decline His offer and will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction. Everlasting, eternal destruction . . . they will burn up and be dead forever!

“They are dead, they will not live; they are deceased, they will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.”   ~Isaiah 26:14

There are no second chances once Jesus returns to take us home. There are only two choices, dead forever or alive forever. Who will be dead forever? Those who do not know God. What will happen to them? They will suffer eternal destruction, be dead forever.  When will this happen? At the second coming of Jesus.

“These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.”   ~2 Thessalonians 1:9

This everlasting destruction punishment can mean nothing else but eternal death, burned up and forever destroyed . . . as in, dead forever! An all loving God is not going to sentence even the evilest of men to eternal torment with Satan in charge. No, He is going to euthanize them, put them down, kill them dead, remove them from existence…forever. Even Satan will be eternally destroyed forever!

​“…You have become a horror, and shall be no more forever.”   ~Ezekiel 28:19