Yes — even believers can fear death because physical death is the separation of the body from the soul and spirit.
Les Feldick defines death as separation. In physical death, the soul and spirit leave the body and go into the Lord's presence for a believer, while the body remains in the grave. Since human beings were not designed to be separated from their bodies, this separation explains why death is not naturally welcomed.
2 Corinthians 5:8 — Paul directly connects physical death with being 'absent from the body' and 'present with the Lord,' the separation at the heart of the question.
Romans 5:12 — Scripture explains that death entered the human race through sin, setting up the separation that makes death a universal reality.
1 Thessalonians 4:14 — This verse promises that God will bring with Him those who have died in Jesus, pointing to the reunion that follows the separation of death.
Scripture traces death back to Adam's sin: 'Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned' (Romans 5:12). Paul also describes the believer's death as leaving the body: 'Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord' (2 Corinthians 5:6). He goes on to say, 'We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord' (2 Corinthians 5:8). For believers who have died, Paul writes: 'For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him' (1 Thessalonians 4:14). The resurrection is the answer to death's separation: 'For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first' (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
Les teaches that death is separation. Physical death is the separation of the body from the soul and spirit. When a believer dies, the soul and spirit immediately go into the presence of the Lord in heaven, but they are only there in soul and spirit; the body remains in the grave. Les stresses that nowhere in Scripture is there a valid operation of a human being while separated, soul and spirit, from the body. Les also connects physical death to the Fall. When Adam ate, his spirit died instantly and his body began to die. This is why physical death is not something people naturally want — it breaks apart the whole person. At the resurrection, the believer's soul and spirit will be reunited with the resurrected body, and the separation will be undone.
Les teaches that when a believer dies, the soul and spirit immediately leave the body and go into the presence of the Lord in heaven. He points to 2 Corinthians 5:8 — 'absent from the body, and present with the Lord.' The believer is not there in bodily form; the body stays in the grave. Les emphasizes that the soul and spirit are with Christ but are not operating as a complete human being until the resurrection.
Les defines death as separation. Physical death is the separation of the body from the soul and spirit. When the soul and spirit take flight from the body, death has occurred. Les also ties this to the Fall: when Adam ate, his spirit died instantly and his body began to die. Scripture says death passed upon all men because all sinned (Romans 5:12).
Yes. Les teaches that the believer's soul and spirit are already in glory, waiting for the resurrection day. At that day the soul and spirit will be reunited with the resurrected body. He points to 1 Thessalonians 4: the Lord Himself will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. The separation of death is not permanent.
Physical Death Defined as Separation
Les teaches that physical death is the separation of the body from the soul and spirit — the core reason death is an unsettling experience.
Believer Present with the Lord but Not in the Body
Les says the believer is with the Lord after death, but only in soul and spirit, while the body remains in the grave.
Absent from the Body, Present with the Lord
Les uses 2 Corinthians 5:6,8 to show that death means being absent from the body and present with the Lord.
What Does the Bible Say About Church Discipline and Sin?
We're a believer who will refuse to come away from his sinful lifestyle, and you can deal with them and deal with them, and then all of a sudden bingo, just a sudden heart attack or a sudden car accident, and they're gone. Well, God takes them home lest they keep on bringing reproach to His name, and that's exactly what John is dealing with, and so he says there is, verse 16 again, there is a sin …
Resurrection Reunion
Les explains that the resurrection body is still void of the soul and spirit until God reunites them.
Death Entered Through Adam
Les traces physical death back to Adam's fall, when his spirit died and his body began to die.
What Happens After Hell? The Great White Throne Explained
And that comprises then the second death, physical death, and now the spiritual. And death, remember, we put that on the board months and months ago. The definition of death is the separation. For the physical, it's the separation of the spirit from the body. In the spirit realm, death is the separation from God, for an eternal separation.
Waiting for the Resurrection Reunion
Les teaches that the believer's soul and spirit wait in Christ's presence for the day of resurrection, when they are reunited with the body.
2 Corinthians 5:8: We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Paul describes the moment of death for a believer as leaving the body and being with the Lord.
Romans 5:12: Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
This verse traces death's entrance to Adam's sin, the root of physical separation.
1 Thessalonians 4:14: For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
Paul promises that believers who have died will be brought with Christ.
1 Thessalonians 4:16: For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
This verse describes the resurrection that ends the separation of body and soul/spirit.
According to Les Feldick, physical death is the separation of the body from the soul and spirit. Even though a believer goes immediately into the Lord's presence at death, the body remains in the grave, and no valid operation of a human being exists while separated from the body. That separation is why death is not something people naturally want.
The body remains in the grave. The soul and spirit go into the presence of the Lord, but the body is not there. Les teaches that the resurrection is the day when the body and the soul/spirit are reunited.
Yes. Les teaches from 2 Corinthians 5 that a believer who dies is absent from the body and present with the Lord. The believer is in heaven in soul and spirit, waiting for the resurrection.
Yes. Les teaches that at the resurrection the soul and spirit of the believer will be reunited with the resurrected body. This is the hope set before believers in 1 Thessalonians 4.
Watch the Teaching: The Moment Death Entered the World: Genesis 3 & Romans 5 Explained