State of the soul at death?

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I need help. I was formerly a member of a certain Protestant denomination that taught, backed up by Scripture as they presented it, that at death, body, soul and spirit wait, or rest, in the grave pending resurrection and glorification. They do not go to heaven at the moment of death. I have never been able to entirely shake this belief for the common sense it made to me at the time. Can someone provide a comparison of the two beliefs?
 
I’ve often had the same problem. This is not from official teaching but I’ve thought about it in terms of in the hereafter you’re not experiencing time as during your life on earth so it could seem as if you’re straight to judgment/resurrection day as you’re not perceiving the passage of time as you do in this life.
 
At the moment of death is the particular judgement before God. Each person will know the good and evil actions done or omitted. In the Gospel of St. Matthew (12: 36-37 + footnote) Our Lord says:

But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it in the day of judgment. [37] For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. [38]

[36] “Every idle word”: This shews there must be a place of temporal punishment hereafter where these slighter faults shall be punished.

The soul goes immediately to either heaven, hell or purgatory depending on whether or not the soul is in the state of sanctifying grace. If the soul is in the state of sanctifying grace, it will go to either heaven or purgatory; if the soul is in the state of mortal sin it will go to hell.

At the last judgement, our bodies will be reunited with our souls. Everyone will know everything about everybody. We will know the virtues of the Saints and the sins of the sinners. The bodies and souls of the just will be glorious. The bodies and souls of sinners will be in everlasting torments for all eternity.

Matthew 25 has the parable of the ten virgins as well as the last judgement. Good food for thought.
 
Which is one of the common sense issues I’m grappling with. Exactly. There is no sense of the passage of time in the grave anymore than when we sleep. In fact, the expression sleep in the grave was used often.
 
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I have no answer, but I do know one of the things I look forward to in heaven is speaking with these two folks…

35 While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” 36 But ignoring what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” 37 And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, he saw a tumult, and people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a tumult and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 40 And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Tal′itha cu′mi”; which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 And immediately the girl got up and walked; for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were overcome with amazement. 43 And he strictly charged them that no one should know this and told them to give her something to eat.

And…

38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come out! 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

So just where were they? 🧐
 
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See Margaret_Ann’s reply and also this from the Catechism:
I. THE PARTICULAR JUDGMENT

1021 Death puts an end to human life as the time open to either accepting or rejecting the divine grace manifested in Christ. The New Testament speaks of judgment primarily in its aspect of the final encounter with Christ in his second coming, but also repeatedly affirms that each will be rewarded immediately after death in accordance with his works and faith. The parable of the poor man Lazarus and the words of Christ on the cross to the good thief, as well as other New Testament texts speak of a final destiny of the soul–a destiny which can be different for some and for others.

1022 Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven-through a purification or immediately, – or immediate and everlasting damnation.
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The above teaching is not up for questioning, it’s a solid tenet of the Faith. Pope Benedict XII also formally reiterated this as follows:
By virtue of our apostolic authority, we define the following: According to the general disposition of God, the souls of all the saints . . . and other faithful who died after receiving Christ’s holy Baptism (provided they were not in need of purification when they died, . . . or, if they then did need or will need some purification, when they have been purified after death, . . .) already before they take up their bodies again and before the general judgment - and this since the Ascension of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into heaven - have been, are and will be in heaven, in the heavenly Kingdom and celestial paradise with Christ, joined to the company of the holy angels. Since the Passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, these souls have seen and do see the divine essence with an intuitive vision, and even face to face, without the mediation of any creature.
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As for BlueMaxx’s quotes, let’s not forget that things were different before the Crucifixion. Then we had what we call limbus patrum. AND on top of that we have to understand the words of Christ in a comprehensive way, not out of context. This is the same Christ who said:
Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. […] But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.
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Can we expect Christ, then, to say of anyone: “he is dead”? Unless, of course, he speaks of a spiritual death (ex. Mt 23:27).
 
It’s a thinker for sure…but in my day to day life I just take the Lord at His word…

What happens when I take my final bow till the judgement?

The Lord knows, and I follow Him…good enough for me.
 
‘It is appointed to men to die once, and after that comes the judgment.’ - Hebrews 9:27
‘This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise.’ - Luke 23:43
Therefore the particular judgment is Biblical, do not let Protestants deceive you.
 
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Submission to the Lord is a tough nut to crack…to submit to not knowing is a humbling act.
To submit He alone knows is a submission of fact.
 
Thank you. Just for the sake of info, the church I belonged to taught both these truths.
 
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