They Bury the Body, But Not the Soul
When they came to His tomb, the angel asked them why they were looking for the living One among the dead, and then told them He was not there (1). He had moved on and forward in the plan of God.
When our appointed time comes, we will do the same. People may or may not also visit our burial site, but either way, we too, will not be there.
Jesus’ bodily remains had been taken down from the cross and placed in the tomb.
As we will see, “He” (that is His spirit) was never in the tomb; only His bodily remains were placed there. Jesus had committed His spirit into the hands (care/control) of God the Father (2).
His spirit descended to the Paradise of Hades, just as He said He would (3). This Paradise of Hades, a.k.a Abraham’s Bosom (4), was a place of comfort where Old Testament believers went prior to our Lord’s resurrection.
Note that there is also a Torments section of Hades. It is a place of extreme suffering where departed unbelievers go until the Rev 20:13, 15 event takes place.
According to Luke 16: 23, individuals suffering in the Torments of Hades could see the people and activity taking place in the Paradise of Hades.
It was NOT Jesus’ physical death that atoned for our sin debt. It was during His spiritual death (being forsaken and separated from God – Psalms 22) that He, in His humanity, paid our sin debt, while shedding His sacrificial blood, being physically alive, and nailed to the cross.
Jesus Himself, still being alive, evidenced by His ability to speak, declared His atoning work “finished – John 19: 30)” BEFORE He gave up His Spirit and died physically.
Humans tend to focus on the indisputable, physical pain and agony associated with the crucifixion, but in doing so, can fail to see where His greatest suffering was not physical, but spiritual in nature, having the crushing weight of the world’s sin debt being poured upon Him, in our place.
The reason for His physical death was to set the stage for His upcoming resurrection, enabling Him to move forward in the plan of God.
The departure of born-again believers will afford them the same opportunity. Their departure is not the end. It is the means of changing bodily form and location, enabling them to move on and forward in the plan that God has in mind for them.
After He consciously spent three days and three nights in the Paradise of Hades, fulfilling prophecy, Jesus was reunited with His bodily remains that was raised up in resurrection form.
After making numerous bodily appearances and commissioning His Church (5), He ascended bodily into Heaven (6).
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Just as Jesus was never in the tomb (only His bodily remains), our souls will never be in any casket, urn, or cemetery; only our bodily remains are there.
Official exhumations do not impact the departed soul. The soul is not there.
Desecrating gravesites is a horrible act of insensitive inconsideration and disrespect towards the departed soul and family members left behind, but no such activity impacts the departed soul. The soul is not there.
The unavailability (to us), or the destruction of the bodily remains, will not prevent God from raising them up in resurrection form when the Rapture (7) takes place.
There are many mass graves, cemeteries, burial grounds, burials at sea, and individual gravesites that have been destroyed or covered over by the sands of time, but again, this will not prevent God from carrying out His plans for each individual’s bodily remains when the time comes.
Being the last place of contact with the bodily remains, survivors often visit the gravesite, placing flowers or ornaments, in honor of the departed soul. It should be understood that the departed soul is not there, and such visitations are not for the purpose of opening the doors of communication.
Church Age believers are not “under The Law,” but it is interesting to note the differences between Old Testament practices and Church Age practices that have evolved, regarding activities that commonly takes place at cemeteries.
During the Old Testament dispensation, a person who made contact with a corpse or grave was considered “unclean” for seven days, preventing him from entering the Temple until he was “purified” (8). An “unclean” person who entered the Temple “defiled” the sanctuary of the Lord, and was subject to being “cut off” from the people of God.
During the Old Testament dispensation, attempting to communicate with departed human souls was forbidden (9). I find no evidence in New Testament Scripture that would indicate that divine viewpoint concerning this type of activity has changed.
Acknowledging the fact that the departed soul is no longer here with us is a critical part of the grieving process. This acknowledgement is what enables the survivors that are left behind to move on, just as the departed soul would want his or her survivors to do.
Contrary to what we may desire, it was not a part of the individual plan that God had in mind for any one of us to have been here to witness or to participate in any earthly activity that took place before our appointed date of birth, or that will take place after our appointed date of departure.
As of the moment of physical death, the souls of Church Age, born-again believers, find themselves indwelling interim bodies (10) in the presence of the Lord, in Heaven (11).
The bodily remains that departed Church Age believers leave behind are raised up in resurrection form and reunited with their soul when the Rapture (12) takes place.
The interim bodies are replaced with resurrected bodies when the Rapture takes place.
Believers who are physically alive on the Earth when the Rapture takes place, will not experience physical death. God will instantaneously transform their natural bodies into their resurrected bodies (13), and be taken up and away, joining the Lord Jesus Christ and all the departed Church Age believers in the air, ABOVE the Earth.
That group will go to and remain in Heaven while the remaining inhabitants on Earth go through what Matt. 24: 22 defines as being the worst period of time in human history. Details can be found in the End Time prophecies recorded in the New Testament book of Revelation.
The Rapture must be distinguished from the Second Advent that takes place seven (some teach 3 ½) years later, when the Lord Jesus Christ RETURNS with His raptured Church (and others) to establish the Millennial kingdom here on Earth.
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Even human viewpoint would agree that the traditional decomposing process (taking place in the buried casket) is not a pretty sight. It would hardly be an environment where a conscious soul, if it were to be confined to the dimensions of a casket or urn, could “rest in peace.” We can be thankful the departed soul is not there.
Until the future Rev. 20: 13, 15 event takes place, the souls of departed unbelievers will continue to fill and experience the Torments section of Hades.
Some of these explicit facts are not easy for some to take in, but must be taught if one is to have a clear understanding of what actually takes place with the body and the soul at the moment of physical death, and beyond.
It is only with such accurate information that one can make informed and appropriate decisions.
Which ONE of the TWO destinations spoken of here will not be determined AFTER we die. According to John 3: 16, 18, and Romans 8:1, our eternal destination will have already been self-determined during our time here on Earth.
 It is determined by our individually-chosen response to believe or to disbelieve in the unadulterated Gospel Message, encapsulated in John 3: 16, 18.
(1) Luke 24:1-6 (2) Luke 23: 46 (3) Luke 23: 43/Matt.12:40 (4) Luke 16: 22 (5) Matt. 28: 19. 20 (6) Luke 24: 51 (7) 1Thess 4:16 (8) Num. 19: 16 – 22 (9) Deut. 18: 11 (10) 2Cor. 5:1 (11) 2Cor. 5: 8 (12) 1Thess. 4: 16 (13) 1Cor. 15: 51, 52