Some say that the soul of a believer does not go “immediately” to heaven after death. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that all souls go to purgatory after death. They teach that purgatory is an in-between place every one goes after death, where one must suffer for his sins for a time before they can go to heaven. It is no different than hell, except there is an end to it.
Some teach soul-sleep. Soul-sleep is the idea that after death our souls enter into a state of unconsciousness. The soul stays with the body, goes to the grave, and it enters a state of nothingness. There is nothingness until Christ returns and raises our bodies.
God’s Word teaches that the soul of the believer will immediately be raised to heaven after death. In Luke 23:43, we read that Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “Today, shalt thou be with me in paradise.” TODAY, not in a thousand years, you will be with me in paradise.
That our souls are brought to heaven to live with God immediately after death is possible only through Christ. Without Christ’s work, we cannot live with the holy God because we are sinners. Being righteous before God in Christ, we go to live with Him in heaven.