The afterlife is one of the most common topics among the world's religions and each group has its own version of what lies ahead after death. Thankfully, we have the Bible - the Word of God to give us the truth. In His perfect Book, He gives us a glimpse of where we go when we die. If you ask the average Christian, they will reply with "Heaven or Hell". This answer is not wrong, but it is not complete either.
This lesson is going to cover the afterlife from Genesis to Revelation.
If you have not already done so, please read the lessons on Dispensationalism, The Rapture, and watch The Doctrine of the Rapture video first as they will lay the foundation for this lesson.
The most common Rapture teaching is the pre-Tribulation Rapture. The Bible teaches that, prior to the 7-year Tribulation, Christ will snatch His Church away to meet Him in the clouds (1 Thess. 4:16-17). What is often left out, unfortunately, is that a rapture is a "sudden, snatching away" and does not indicate where the snatched individual(s) are taken. An example of this is found in the book of Acts:
"And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea." - Acts 8:39-40
Philip was taken from the path to Gaza (Acts 8:26) to Azotus (Acts 8:40). It is important to understand that just because a rapture takes place, it does not mean that those that are raptured are taken to the third heaven.
Another fact to remember is that prior to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ the Old Testament saints did not go to the third heaven (Luke 16:19-31). Jesus said, "and no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven" (Jn. 3:13).
The final two items to remember before we begin this lesson are that there are three heavens (Mk. 1:10, 2 Cor. 12:2, Heb. 4:14) and three places called Paradise.
The first heaven is the sky (2 Chron. 7:13, Ps. 104:12, Acts 14:17, James 5:18)
The second heaven is outer space (Gen. 1:14-18, Ps. 8:3, Is. 13:10, Matt. 24:29, Rev. 6:13)
The third heaven is where God dwells (1 Kings 22:19, Ps. 103:19, Matt. 5:34, Jn. 3:13, Acts 7:49, Heb. 8:1, Rev. 4:1-2)
Paradise is Abraham's Bosom (Lk. 23:43 remember that Christ didn't go to the third heaven until 40 days after His resurrection cf Acts 1:2, 9; 7:55)
Paradise is the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:4)
Paradise will be on Earth (Rev. 2:7)
The entire purpose of the Gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-4) is summed up in Matthew 20:28 and 1 Peter 3:18. God the Son died to take us to God the Father in the third heaven (which we commonly just refer to as "Heaven").
Let's dive into the first book of the Bible, Genesis, and study Enoch. Studying Enoch is a great example of fulfilling 2 Timothy 2:15 and 2 Timothy 3:16.
"And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." - Genesis 5:22-24
When the Bible interprets the Bible, we know that:
1) Enoch did not die (Heb. 11:5)
2) Enoch was raptured (Genesis 5:24)
3) Enoch went to Abraham's Bosom (referred to as Paradise) and would eventually be taken to the third heaven (Eph. 4:8-11)
We should also look at the prophet Elijah's removal from Earth as well.
"And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." - 2 Kings 2:11
Again, Christ Himself stated that nobody went to God's throne (i.e. ascended) prior to His death, burial, and resurrection. This heaven that is mentioned is the first heaven. Elisha witnessed Elijah leaving. This has to be the first heaven (aka the sky) because none of us can see into outer space without the aid of a telescope or some other form of technology.
When a person went to Abraham's Bosom it was only temporary. It was temporary in the sense that it lasted until Jesus Christ emptied the area. There was also a temporary exit from Abraham's Bosom on many occasions. For example, the prophet Samuel:
"Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? And the Lord hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the Lord hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the Lord, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day. Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night." - 1 Samuel 28:11-20
Moses and Elijah also temporarily left Abraham's Bosom in Matthew 17:1–8, Mark 9:2–8, and Luke 9:28–36. Other examples can be found in 1 Kings 17:17-24, 2 Kings 4:18-37 and 13:20-21, Luke 7:11–17 and 8:49-56, and of course, Christ Himself.
Interestingly, there were some saints that left Paradise prior to the cross and then went to the third heaven upon death. Lazarus, in John 11:1-44, was resurrected and removed from Abraham's Bosom. Although the Bible does not record the second death of Lazarus, it is assumed that he died after Christ. There are also the saints that were resurrected after the crucifixion (Matt. 27:51-53).
After the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, believers go straight to Heaven (2 Cor. 5:8). However, as with Abraham's Bosom, dwelling in God's Throne Room is also temporary. Acts 9:36-40 records the story of Tabatha, a saint, that died post-crucifixion and was brought back to life. Acts 20:7–12 tells the story of Eutychus being resurrected post-cross as well.
The Apostle Paul may have also died and gone to the third heaven. In Acts 14:19, Paul was stoned. When you cross-reference this with his writing in 2 Corinthians 12, he admits to not knowing if it was a vision or if he had died and been resurrected.
Lastly, the saints will return to Earth and reign with Christ (Matt. 5:22, 1 Cor. 6:2, Jude 14, Rev. 19:14).
Hell, as with Abraham's Bosom and the third heaven, is also temporary. Hell can be likened to jail. A person goes to jail knowing what they've done, but they have not been tried by a court of law yet. They are then judged (the Great White Throne Judgement) and sentenced to their eternal punishment in prison (the Lake of Fire). The Apostle John wrote:
"And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and Hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works." - Revelation 20:11-13
Eventually, there will no longer be any death. Once evil and sin are permanently destroyed, the final dispensation begins: Eternity. This final period of time is found in Revelation 21 and 22. At this point, all believers will have glorified bodies and will live with God the Father where there is only His glorious righteousness (2 Peter 3:12-13).
At this point, there are no more judgments left for either the wicked or the righteous. All believers have received their rewards and everyone that rejected Christ will have been judged at the Great White Throne and cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:10-15). The final dispensation will be an eternity of peace that exceeds even the Millennial Kingdom! There will no longer be an afterlife - just life.