What happens immediately after a person dies?
The Straight Answer
Scripture gives a real but incomplete picture. Believers are described as immediately present with Christ, though final bodily resurrection and judgment come later, at Christ's return.
What Is Clear
Jesus tells the thief on the cross, today you will be with me in paradise, in Luke 23:43. Paul says to be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord, in 2 Corinthians 5:8, and elsewhere says he desires to depart and be with Christ, in Philippians 1:23.
What Is Genuinely Debated
Whether that presence with Christ is immediate and conscious, the majority Christian view, or involves a kind of unconscious waiting sometimes called soul sleep until final resurrection, a real minority position held by some traditions, is a live disagreement among sincere Christians.
The Final State Is Different
This immediate state is distinct from the final resurrection and new creation described in Revelation 21 and 1 Corinthians 15, which is still future for everyone, not something that has already happened to those who have died.
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