Thank you, my dear friend, for your very good question. In Luke 16, we read the account of Lazarus and the rich man. In verses 22-23 we find: “And it came to pass that the poor man died, and that he was carried away by the angels into the bosom of Abraham. And the rich man also died and was buried. And in hades lifting up his eyes, being in torments, he sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.” The “Bosom of Abraham” refers to a place or condition of being comforted, or perhaps a place of bliss. I believe that most Bible commentators that I have read would find the term “Bosom of Abraham” to designate heaven. Abraham’s name is brought out as he is the father of Israel, and Lazarus was there in a place of bliss and comfort with him. In John 8:56, we read, “Your father Abraham exulted in that he should see My day, and he saw and rejoiced.” Here again, from this verse, I gather that Abraham’s spirit, though his earthly body was long dead and in the grave, was quite alive and in a place which I believe to be heaven, where he could be aware of Christ Jesus and what Christ came into the world to accomplish. Going back to the rich man in Luke 16, on the other hand, this man was also quite conscious of his miserable circumstances, and being separated from the Lord, was in torment. The word used for his place in the JNDV is “hades,” which merely indicates a state of the spirits being separated from the body, possibly more of a condition rather than a place, though where he was certainly in a place of torment.

Now, let’s turn to the OT account of Elijah in 2 Kings 2:11: “And it came to pass as they went on, and talked, that behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire; and they parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into the heavens.” In this account, we see the OT prophet Elijah not dying, but just being taken up to heaven by God. Moses did die, but his spirit too, I believe, was taken to heaven. To support this thought, we have the account of the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17:1-8, where Moses and Elijah appeared with the Lord Jesus, both of them alive and with the Lord Jesus as the glory of the Son of Man on earth shown round about. These men were clearly alive, though physically they had been dead for centuries, and both spoke to the Lord Jesus about His mission to be accomplished at Calvary (Luke 9:31). Clearly these two men, though their bodies were yet in the grave, were alive and in the glory, and both well aware of Christ. And finally, in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 we read that when our Lord Jesus returns to the clouds to gather up His own to be with Himself, that “and the dead in Christ shall rise first…” At this time, the living and also the dead who are saints of God, will be given new bodies, so that spirit and body will be united and taken to be with the Lord where He is.

Thus, I believe it is fair to say that the Scriptures support that the OT saints, though their bodies be in the grave, are alive and with the Lord in glory. Body and spirit will be united when Christ returns, and the saints, both OT and NT, will then have glorified bodies, suitable to be in heaven, clothed with bodies like unto His glorious body.  (SF)  (653.4)