2 Corinthians 5:8

We are of good courage, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord.

Wesley made this verse the basis of declaring that "The happiness of saints (upon their death) is not deferred until the resurrection";[11] because, as he said, "Paul evidently thinks of no alternative except to be either at home in the body or at home in the Lord."[12] Much as people desire to know about that interval between death and the resurrection, very little may be dogmatically affirmed. None of the dead whom Jesus raised to life ever spoke one word about their experience in death; and such statements as "they rest from their labors" (Revelation 14:13), "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep" (John 11:11), etc. - such words forbid the building of any "explanations" on such a passage as this.

[11] John Wesley, op. cit., in loco.

[12] Ibid.