If a man dies before he is completely transformed into precious stone, his spirit and soul will go to Hades. The spirits and souls of those who have not been saved go into the fire in Hades, while the spirits and souls of those who have been saved go to the Paradise in Hades and rest there, waiting for God.
Has God’s work in the apostle Paul been completed yet? Is Paul’s body today made of clay or of precious stone? His body is still made of clay. Our bodies are made of clay, and Paul’s body is exactly the same as ours. There is no difference. The only difference is that we are living and he is dead. The nature of Paul’s body is the same as the nature of our bodies—it is simply clay. Paul’s body is still buried in the earth, but his spirit and soul have gone to a resting place, the Paradise in Hades. God still has unfinished work to do in the believers throughout the ages and generations. Hence, God puts them in Paradise that they may be at rest and may be comforted while waiting for Him to complete His unfinished work in them.
In summary, the Bible clearly states that God has prepared three paradises for man. The first one is the garden of Eden, and the last one is the New Jerusalem. In between these two is the Paradise in Hades. The first paradise was the dwelling place of the man who had just been created by God. This was before the fall of man when there was no sin. The last Paradise is the eternal dwelling place for man after God’s work in man has been fully accomplished. In between these two paradises, Satan corrupted man during the process of God’s work. As a result, sin and death came in. This problem of death will not be solved until the day of resurrection and transfiguration. At that time death will be swallowed up. However, before that time comes, the problem of death brought in by Satan cannot be solved in man. When it becomes necessary for a man’s spirit and soul to leave his body, since God’s work in him has not been completed, he cannot enter into the last Paradise, the New Jerusalem. For this reason, God prepared a temporary place for people so that the spirits and souls of those in whom God has not finished His work would have a place to stay. These three places, which the Bible calls paradises, are the places God has prepared and is preparing for all the saved ones.
God is so gracious to man. Before man’s fall, the garden of Eden was the dwelling place for man. It was indeed a paradise, having the tree of life, the river of life, pure gold, and precious stones. The place man will enter into in the future is the New Jerusalem with the new heaven and new earth. This is also a Paradise, even a fuller Paradise. All the saved ones will be in glory there. Today we are somewhere between the beginning and the end. When the spirits and souls of the saved ones leave their bodies, they go to a Paradise of rest and enjoy happiness and comfort there. These three paradises are for the saved ones in three periods of time.
In summary, man lived in the garden of Eden before the fall. This was the first paradise. Then death was brought in after man’s fall. Today man has been saved, but death has not yet been swallowed up. Thus, today when believers die, their spirits and souls temporarily go to a place to enjoy rest. This is the Paradise in Hades. When the fullness of time comes and all the work is accomplished, all the saved ones will go to God’s eternal dwelling place. This will be the ultimate Paradise. Nevertheless, we must see that this New Jerusalem, the ultimate Paradise, is not for us to walk into or for us to be brought into by God. Rather, God has to work us into it. God will work continuously until the day we are matured and have been completely transformed by Him from glory to glory. Then we will be exactly the same as Christ, and we will be in the New Jerusalem.