David Is Not in Heaven
The apostle Peter declared, “For David did not ascend into the heavens” (). And he again stressed the same truth saying, “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day” (). Peter plainly stated that David did not ascend into the heavens yet.
After death a person: returns to dust (), knows nothing (), possesses no mental powers (), has nothing to do with anything on earth (), does not live (), waits in the grave (), and continues not (, ) till the resurrection. The dead cannot contact the living, nor do they know what the living are doing. They are dead. Their thoughts have perished.
When Will the Dead Rise?
At the Resurrection, the dead will be raised. The apostle Paul wrote, “The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout … and the dead in Christ shall rise … and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (, ). The “dead in Christ” are those who fell asleep in faith, including Old Testament believers (; ). They are included among those whom Jesus described as “the children of the resurrection” ().
Paul also added, “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” ().
The time when the great bodily transformation will take place at the second coming of Christ, for it is then that the “trump of God” will sound, and faithful believers who have died will be raised in bodies that are completely free from stains of sin (). Then, the believers who are alive and waiting for the coming of their Lord, will also experience a great change, whereby all stains of corruption will be removed from their bodies. They will have bodies like Christ’s glorious body (, ; ).
Rewards at the Second Coming of Christ
The Bible teaches that righteous people don’t receive their rewards at death but at the second coming of the Lord when dead will be raised. “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then, He will reward each according to his works” (). And in Revelation, the apostle John says, “Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” ().
The saints will receive the “crown of righteousness” at His appearing (). At that glorious event, the righteous dead will then be raised to eternal life (). The apostle Paul knows of no immediate entrance into heaven at death; the second advent is “that day” when the redeemed will be rewarded with eternal life.
For this reason, the Bible says that “David did not ascend into the heavens.” King David is sleeping in the grave awaiting the resurrection. Jesus called the unconscious state of the dead “sleep” in . The dead will sleep until the great day of the Lord at the end of the world ().
Question : Did Peter say David is dead and buried or did he say David is in heaven?
