ECCLESIASTES 8:8 "There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit: neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it."

ECCLESIASTES 12:7 "At death, then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return to God Who gave it."

REVELATION 6:9-10 "And when He had opened the 5th seal, I saw under the Alter the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held. +And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long O Lord, holy and true, doth Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell upon the earth?"

REVELATION 7:14 "And He said unto me, these are those which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."

REVELATION 20:4 "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgement was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were killed for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast."

My hope and intent in this effort is to show where the dead are and erase some of the doubt and confusion that is often heard concerning their status after death. The chosen scriptures chosen for a text should document without doubt where the dead are. In general these scriptures show that no man can hold back his spirit at death. It will return to God Who gave it and the body will rot in corruption and return to the earth from which it was taken, and will never be used again. But the wicked will have no part to deliver themselves from any of this. Then in the Revelation scriptures, Jesus revealed to John that the souls of the saints were seen under the Alter of God. Some people believe in soul sleep and think the soul never leaves the body. They think both soul and body are in the grave in restful sleep until the day of their resurrection. That is folly and I hope they can believe what Jesus revealed to John. That being that the souls of the saved are already in heaven under the Alter of God and they can cry out and commune with God. I sincerely hope it will not escape your attention that those souls already with God are those who came out of great tribulation, but wee faithful witnesses for Christ. The rapture theory is not found in any Bible and cannot be documented with Holy scripture. I firmly believe Jesus had the false rapture theory in mind when He declared the whole world would be deceived by it, even God's elect, unless He shortens the time, which He promised to do. People who believe in the rapture theory are inclined to believe in soul sleep, but they cannot explain what happens to the bodies of people who were cremated, nor to the millions who were never buried in a grave for various reasons. Wild animals have eaten and completely digested entire bodies of some, and terrible explosions are leaving no trace of some bodies in our wars of today. It is the custom to never bury bodies in some nations; they are completely burned after death. I firmly believe some of my family are among those under the Alter of God right now, and I hope to join them at death. I will be glad to peacefully discuss any thing that is written above with any person who might have doubts, or a different opinion. Many false theories are being taught by some noted preachers and they are the ones who will pray for the mountains to fall on them. They will seek death and will not find it, because they will be so ashamed they mislead people with false theories that are not in the Bible, but came from the imaginations of men.