February 1, 2026 - Between Death & Eternity, What Actually Happens?

There is much speculation and controversy between the moment we die and the time when Jesus comes again, in which we will receive our eternal spiritual bodies. In writing earlier to the Corinthians, Paul laid out the teaching on the resurrection in detail in 1 Corinthians 15. He also describes the difference between our earthly bodies and spiritual ones.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 50-54

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

At first, the early church assumed that Jesus would return soon, but then days turned into weeks, months and years, and believers were dying. The question arose, so what happens to those who die before Jesus comes back?

Paul answers that question in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore, encourage one another with these words.”

Yet this triggered another question: So, what happens to those believers who physically die before Jesus’ return? This was a deep concern in the lives of first-century Christians and has created much confusion that persists to this day. Theologians call this the intermediate state.

There is a growing fascination with the afterlife. Let me begin by mentioning three false ideas, then move to our text today, and give us the biblical picture of the intermediate state.