Dear Roger,
My mother died this week. I’d like to know what the Bible teaches about what happens after death.
Love, Roger
Dear Roger,
Death and dying is a subject on the back burners of everyone’s minds from preschoolers to the oldest adult. Some 9-year-old children were asked what they thought of death and dying.
Brittney: “When you die, they bury you in the ground and your soul goes to heaven, but your body can’t go to heaven because it is too crowded up there already.”
Judy: “Only the good people go to heaven. The other people to where it is hot all the time like in Arizona.”
John: “Maybe I’ll die someday, but I hope I don’t die on my birthday because it is no fun to celebrate your birthday if you’re dead.”
Martha: “When you die, you don’t have to do homework in heaven, unless your teacher is there, too.”
Death is nothing to fear; in fact, we Christians can look forward to it with anxious anticipation. In Philippians 1:21-23, Paul declared: “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.” However, God still had work on earth for him to do. So, he stayed around a little while longer.
The Bible is quite clear about what happens after death.
To begin with, let’s put to death the idea of Reincarnation which is the idea that we come back to earth again and again for multiple lives. Reincarnation teaches that the present life forms—from insects to humans—is a direct reflection of how well we behaved in previous lives. The better we were, the farther up the food chain we return. When General Patton arrived on the Carthaginian battlefield he observed, “I have been to this battlefield before. I fought here with the Romans.” Unfortunately, Patton was deceived. We only get one life. Sylvester Stallone once related that in a previous life he was a monkey in Central America. That may be true!—no, probably not.
Reincarnation is foreign to the Bible. In fact the Bible teaches just the opposite. Hebrews 9:27 declares: “It is appointed unto men once to die and after that comes judgment.” The essence of reincarnation is that we come back for many lives. This allows us to avoid the reality of facing God in judgment for our behaviors.
Why might some believe in reincarnation? The Bible teaches that there are evil spirits (“familiar spirits”) who have been around for centuries. These spirits know intimately the lives of others down through the centuries and may influence present-day people with thoughts, emotions, and experiences of people who are long dead. These deceived people begin to believe that they have existed in previous lives and that the thoughts and emotions of others are really theirs.
Also, our brains are capable of connecting all sorts of our present and past events and then melting them together in ways that make us think we have lived certain situations and events before. Reincarnation is the ultimate déjà vous.
Let me weave together a number a verses which summarize succinctly what happens after death.
At death, the bodies of all believers and unbelievers go to the grave. At death, the spirits of Believers in Christ go to Heaven, in the presence of Christ. At death, the spirits of Unbelievers go to Hades, which is a waiting place of torment (Luke 16:22-31).
The second coming of Christ is in two parts. The first part is often called the “rapture” from the Latin word meaning “catching away”. At the rapture the Bible says that Christ comes in the air with the spirits of the Christians who previously died and gone to Heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). At that moment the Believers’ bodies will be resurrected from their graves and joined with their spirits. This is the called the “first resurrection”. They now have spiritual bodies which will one day be redesigned when God makes the permanent Heaven as described in (Revelation 21:1-5).
A twinkling of an eye later the Christians who are alive at that time will be instantaneously transformed into their spiritual bodies, and will ascend into Heaven to receive the rewards that they earned for Christ on earth. They will stand before the “Bema” or “reward stand” to receive crowns based on profitable ministry during their lives on earth (1 Corinthians 3:10-13). We will lay these crowns at the feet of Jesus (Revelation 4:9-11; 5:9-14). Only He is worthy to receive them. They will then sit down to enjoy a time of great fellowship at the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9).
Unbelievers are not raised at this time. Their bodies remain in their graves and their spirits remain imprisoned in Hades. Part two of the second coming occurs 1000 years later when Christ returns to establish His Kingdom on earth.
At the conclusion of the millennial reign of Christ on earth the Great White Throne Judgment occurs (Revelation 20:11-15). Jesus sits as the judge. The bodies of all Unbelievers in Christ (non-Christians) will be resurrected from their graves to stand at the Judgment. Simultaneously, their spirits, long entrapped in Hades, will come forth for the Judgment. No Christians will be in attendance here—only those who died without receiving Christ—thus having their sins unforgiven. All in attendance at the Great White will be judged according to how well they lived their lives on earth. Since not one of them is perfect and, they will be judged unworthy to enter into the Heavenly kingdom and will be thrown into the Lake of Fire—consigned to Hell forever. The Lake of Fire is referred to as the second death.
According to the Bible, we want the first resurrection and only one death. What we don’t want is the second resurrection (to the Great White Throne) and the second death (to the Lake of Fire) (Revelation 20:1-6).
By the way, Christians are not perfect either; however, their sins are forgiven and blotted out by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross to forgive all the sins of all time. So, none stand before the Great White Throne. This is why Jesus pleads with us to settle our cases out of court before we come to trial (Matthew 5:25-26). When we receive Christ and accept His work on the cross our sins are forgiven before we die and we never come to trial. This is grace and mercy. If we die unforgiven then we will receive justice from God. We don’t want justice. We want grace and mercy. So, avoid the second death at all costs (Revelation 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:4, 8). Receive Christ before you die and your destiny is determined forever!
My mother and father purchased cemetery plots side by side. However, my mother was a worrier and got to thinking about worms crawling into her casket so she traded their plots for two in the above ground mausoleum. Dad died first and mom said to me, “What if a tornado hits the mausoleum. Maybe we should change back?”
“Mom,” I said, “Your spirit will be with Christ and He can take care of your body whatever state it’s in when the time comes.”
So, now their bodies rest side-by side, awaiting the trumpet to sound announcing the Rapture, while in Heaven their real selves are enjoying the presence of God Himself.
Well, Roger, since your mom was a Christ follower, she is now in the presence of Jesus. I hope you find this answer helpful, informative, and comforting. Ask me another question some time.
Love, Roger