The word “soul” can have different meanings in Scripture. One way it is used is to describe the part of us that exists in conjunction with our physical body. It is the part of us that will continue on for eternity.
If physical death comes before Christ’s return, our soul will go to Hades. This realm is described in Luke 16:19-31.
In Hades, there are some in “torments” (Luke 16:23,28). This is where the “rich man” of Luke 16 was. He was in so much pain that he asked for Lazarus to “dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool [his] tongue” (verse 24).
There are others, like Lazarus, who are in a part of Hades described as “Abraham’s bosom” (verse 22). This place is called “paradise” by Jesus in Luke 23:43. Paradise is a place where souls are “comforted” (Luke 16:25). What determines whether one’s soul is in paradise or torment is whether one obeys God while on earth (see verses 27-31). Like our physical bodies, Hades is a temporary home for the soul. On the Day of Judgment, “all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:28b-29).
This resurrection is the point at which our souls will be sent to an eternal home. All who have ever lived will stand before the Lord to be judged according to our deeds (2 Cor. 5:10). At this point, Christ will send the unrighteous “away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matt. 25:46).
Notice that Jesus stated that the unrighteous will face “everlasting punishment.” The Greek word for this place of eternal torment is “geenna” (Strong G1067). Eleven of the twelve times this word is used, it is used by Jesus. He described hell as a place of “everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). It is a place of “outer darkness” where “there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 8:12), and “the fire that never shall be quenched” (Mark 9:43).
We may wonder why our Lord spoke so much of hell. Perhaps the reason is that He loves us and wants us to be warned.
Instead of taking the path that leads to hell, Christ desires us to do the will of the Father, and thus be with Him in heaven for eternity (cf. Matt. 7:21). Heaven is a real place where God resides (cf. Matt. 6:9; 7:21b). It is where Jesus ascended back to (Luke 24:51).
Heaven is a place where souls will be in the eternal presence of God (cf. 1 Thess. 4:17). The “new Jerusalem” of Revelation 21 is a place where there is “no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof” (Rev. 21:23). It is a “holy city” (verse 2) where “there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain” (verse 4).
While nothing good is said about hell, nothing bad is said about heaven. Heaven is a place where the redeemed of all ages will be together forever.
Reflecting on these different possible “homes” of the soul causes one to understand that there is much more to our existence than our time on earth. Our life on earth is “even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (Jas. 4:14). We must therefore use the time we have on earth to prepare for what comes next.
Christ’s return could come at any moment (2 Pet. 3:10). We must be ready at all times (Matt. 24:42). During our brief time on earth, may we live in such a way that we will be comforted when our souls depart.
– Michael Hickox