Have you ever wondered after death, what next? What will happen to us after we die? Is death the end? What do you think? What do you believe? Some people believe that after death it is all over. In other words, you are done! Do you believe that? Well, what happens after death is widely argued among people generally. But it is vitally important for us to know and understand what the Bible says about what happens after death.
You see, people have differing views about what happens after death. Some people believe in reincarnation. They are of the belief that if you have lived a good life you come back as a higher life form. Some belief in annihilation. They are of the belief that people cease to exist when people die – they are simply annihilated. Death is the end of everything. It leads to utter nothingness. Others believe in universalism. They are of the belief that all people will be “universally restored” after they die. In other words, it teaches that all people, regardless of how they lived their lives on earth, will eventually end up redeemed in heaven. While others believe that when we die we will live again. They have credible hope that death is not the end. So what does the Bible say?
Though we may die, Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live” (John 11:25). We will receive immortality when Jesus comes again (1 Corinthians 15:51-54). The Bible says that all those who have died – both righteous and wicked – will be raised to life in one of two resurrections. The righteous will be raised to life at Jesus’ second coming. “For the Lord, Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). According to this verse, the righteous do not go to heaven when they die. They remain asleep in the grave until Jesus returns and raises them to immortal life (1 Corinthians 15:50-57).
The wicked are raised to life in a separate resurrection – the resurrection of condemnation. Jesus said, “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28, 29).
When Jesus was about to leave His disciples, He did not tell them they would soon come to Him. “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).
When He returns, our loved ones asleep in Christ will awake from their tombs. No matter how long the time has passed, be it long or short, will seem but a moment to them. By the voice of Jesus, they are called forth from their deep slumber – they will begin to think just where they ceased, awakening to a glorious immortality.
However, the simple truth is that when we die, we will continue to exist – and where we spend eternity depends on the choices we make in the here and now. So, we must prepare ourselves for death and what happens after we die.
The Bible tells us of a story found in St. Luke 16 – about two men. The RICH MAN, and LAZARUS the BEGGAR. It goes like this:
There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried in hell where he was in torment. He looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus at his side. So he called to him, “Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue because I am in agony in this fire.”
But Abraham replied, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.”
He answered, “Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them so that they will not also come to this place of torment.”
Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.”
“No, father Abraham, “he said, “but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.”
Abraham said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”
You see, when a person dies, his/her body goes into the grave. That is not the real person – that is the body. It is the house in which the real person lived. It is the shell in which the real person resided. So when the body goes to sleep and goes into the grave, what happens to the real person? The Bible gives us the answer:
Did the story give you an idea of what happens after death? Will it be all over when we die? You see, of all the religious teachers in history, Jesus was the only one qualified to speak authoritatively about death and the afterlife.
Remember: Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the detail of how he lives and how he dies that distinguishes one man from another. Death is the golden key that opens the palace of eternity.
About the Author: Mrs. Marilyn Hodge owns and operates the Wellness Centre in the Farrington, Anguilla. The Centre offers Counselling Services by Appointment Only and has now published Positive Living Volume 2. Contact information: 476-3517 or email: marilynb@anguillanet.com. www.facebook.com/axawellnesscentre
