Where does an unbeliever go immediately when he dies?
An unbeliever goes immediately at death to the place of torment—hell. The Old Testament describes that place of torment as enlarged, and after paradise was removed, that whole area became totally the place of torment. This immediate destination applies today.
Les explains that paradise is now present with the Lord, so believers go immediately up into His presence because that is where paradise is now located. But hell, the place of torment, was enlarged in the Old Testament; after paradise was removed, that whole area became totally the place of torment. Thus when a person dies today, the unbeliever still goes immediately to the place of torment. Later, at the great white throne after the thousand years, the unjust are brought bodily before Christ as judge, not Savior. He shows their record, and there are degrees of punishment, as Jesus taught that Capernaum would suffer more than Sodom and Gomorrah.