Adventist Teaching: No
Biblical Teaching: Yes
In Adventist theology, it isn’t possible for someone to go to Heaven directly upon death to await the resurrection of your physical, glorified body, because of their view of judgment. They have a tripartite (threefold) view of judgment that spans the pre-advent investigative judgment, the Millennial Reign judgment, and the executive judgment where God’s final wrath will be poured out on the wicked leading to their annihilation. Because this timeline is crucial for their entire system of theology, they can’t have people going to be with the LORD upon death.
The Bible teaches that believers were already judged in Christ on the cross and won’t come into judgment because they have already passed from death to life (John 5:24-25). We will stand before God, not to determine our salvation, but to be rewarded for the works done in this life for the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 3:13; Romans 14:10-12). Because we have already been judged, it is possible for our souls to depart and join the “spirits of the righteous made perfect” in Heaven upon our death (Hebrews 12:22-24) as we have already “been seated in the Heavenlies” in Christ (Ephesians 2:6). There we will wait for the resurrection of our physical bodies that will receive glorification.
The Lost—who have already been judged (John 3:18)—will go to Hades (Luke 16:19-31) which would be the equivalent of a jail cell that one is held in until their sentencing at the Great White Throne judgment (Revelation 20:11-15) for their condemnation to then be thrown into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19:20; 20:10-15; 21:8) which Jesus referred to in the Gospels (Matthew 10:28; Mark 9:43; Luke 12:5), as well as with the term “outer darkness” (Matthew 8:12; 22:13).
According to the Bible, the lake of fire is the “second death.” (Revelation 2:11; 20:6; 21:8)
