What happens when you die? - Part 2

Today we continue our investigation of what the Bible says about what happens to a person once they die. And many questions naturally arise when we consider life, death and immortality.

o What is death?
o Why must we die?
o Will we live again after we die?
o Does our consciousness cease forever when our physical body stops breathing?
o If we do live forever, what is the nature of our life?
o Will we retain our memories and our personal identities from this life?
o Is there a judgment and reward after this life is over?
o What happens to us immediately after we die?
o Will we be aware of those still left on earth?
o Is there really a Heaven to yearn for and a Hell to shun?

We will be answering most, if not all, these questions during this series of lessons.

It is significant that the oldest book in the Bible, the book of Job, addresses this question:

Job 14:14

If a man die, will he live again?

Every minute of each day we stand on a sharp precipice between life and death. Between mortality and immortality - between the known and the unknown. It is an obvious fact that every one of us at some point in time must face the crisis of our human mortality. Because of that, we need to carefully consider the question of whether that moment of death is final, and our consciousness ceases or is that moment only the beginning of a potentially glorious new experience that far surpasses the life we now know.

The writer Martineau wisely wrote:

"We do not believe in immortality because we have proved it, but we forever try to prove it because we believe it."

Let's review quickly some thoughts from our last lesson on this subject.

We took note of George Bernard Shaw, who, in his own straightforward way, pointed out:

"…..that, for all the medical statistics that show that fewer and fewer people die from this or that disease, the ultimate statistic still remains the same: one out of one dies."

SO, HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE DEATH? WHAT IS IT?

The word "death" does not merely mean "the cessation of life." The word "death" means separation.

HOW MANY KINDS OF DEATH ARE THERE?

There are at least two kinds of death:

o Physical death

o Spiritual death

Let's look at these two kinds of death.

PHYSICAL DEATH:

This is the separation of the inner, or spiritual, part of a person from their outer, or bodily, part. 2 Cor. 5:8 tells us that to be absent from our bodies, is to be immediately present with God. This certainly speaks of a form of separation. In other words, the spirit (soul) takes leave of the body.

James 2:26 NIV

26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Most of us are familiar with the last half of this verse. But notice how he illustrates that "faith without works is dead." He mentions that when the spirit is separated from the body…….death of the body occurs. So, physical death is the separation of one's spiritual nature from their physical.

SPIRITUAL DEATH

This kind of death is also depicted by separation. It is separation of a person from God. Ephesians 2:1 relates that those who are separated from God are dead in trespasses and sins.

1 Timothy 5:6 speaks about those who are alive physically but dead spiritually. "She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth." This is spiritual death……i.e., separation from God.

At the Great White Throne judgment, in Revelation 20, which we will study later, those judged are cast into the Lake of Fire, where they are forever separated from God. And verse 6 of that chapter calls this "the second DEATH." So, spiritual death is "separation from God."

For the remainder of our time today, we are going to primarily address the physical side of this issue.

WHY DO WE HAVE TO DIE?

Romans 5:12 NIV

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.

Man has to die because of the law of sowing and reaping. If he sows sinful acts, he will reap death.

Genesis 2:15-17 NIV

15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

Because man disobeyed their Creator, and sinned……..he dies. It's all part of the law of sowing & reaping. All of us have been given the free will to choose whatever path we want to take. But you and I do not have the ability to choose the consequences of our free choices. They are determined by God as part of the laws of sowing & reaping. If you sin, the consequence is death.

WHAT HAPPENS TO A PERSON WHEN THEY DIE?

1. Only the body dies

1 Peter 3:4 says the hidden man is incorruptible. The "hidden man" is that part we cannot see - your spirit and soul. They are incorruptible - that is, they will not die. That only leaves the body. Only the body dies.

Daniel 12:2 speaks of dying as "going back to dust." Only the body came from dust (Gen. 2:7). The soul, on the other hand, came from the breath of God. (same verse)

2. The spiritual part of a saved person returns to its Creator.

Once again, 2 Cor. 5:8 says "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord."

3. Unsaved spirits go into hell where there is great torment.

Luke 16:23 NIV

23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.

All of this indicates that death is not the end of it all. A person does not cease to exist when their body dies. So many people think we are in the land of the living, on our way to the land of the dying. But the reality is that we who belong to Christ are currently in the land of the dying on our way to the land of the living. Let me say it again this way: The Bible knows nothing of a concept of death that means the person ceases to exist.

Let's look at a diagram I have created to help us understand the time between when a person dies and their resurrection. Some of the things on this chart depicts some of the events we have already discussed today. Let me review those and continue through the chart.

First, let me say that I have put the "cross" on the chart to indicate, that this chart depicts how things are since the resurrection of Christ. Prior to His resurrection, Hades, (or Sheol in the Old Testament), had two compartments. Before Christ's own resurrection, all spirits, godly or ungodly, when to Sheol (Hades). The second place was not a place of torment, but was called "paradise." These are both mentioned in Luke 16.

On the chart, let's begin with the line called "LIFE". The first thing we need to know about death is that it is not a random event. The Bible says, "It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment." (Heb. 9:27). Unless Christ returns during your lifetime, this is one appointment you will keep.

Death is a 100% certainty for all of us - except those taken in the Rapture. The only uncertainty from our standpoint is when it is going to happen. This adds to some people's anxiety about death. People tend to have greater fear of the unknown. And, by the way, anyone who does not know Jesus Christ as their Savior, ought to be uncomfortable about facing death.

A few minutes ago, I asked you what happens to a person when they die. At that point, we said that the only part of a person that dies is the body. The body of all people, whether saved or unsaved, go to the grave. That grave can be in a formal cemetery, or out in the open desert, where vultures can pick at the bones, or at the bottom of the sea, surrounded by water and sand.

Unlike the body, the spirits of the saved and unsaved do not take the same road. According to Luke 16:23, the spiritual part of an unsaved person goes to a place of torment. But the spirits of those washed in the blood of Jesus, go immediately to heaven (2 Cor 5:8).

Eventually, the Rapture is going to happen. We do not know the day or the hour when it will happen, but our Heavenly Father does, and He has given us some indicators, which we will discuss in a future lesson.

When the Rapture occurs, we are told in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

1. The bodies of the saved person will be resurrected first and are reunited with their spirit.

2. Then the believers still living will be "caught up with them in the air" to meet Jesus.

Thereafter, these will forever be with our Lord.

This leaves us three areas for which to account.

1. Living people who are unbelievers at the time of the Rapture

2. The bodies of all unbelievers who have died.

3. The spirits of unbelievers, whose bodies have died.

All of these await the Great White Throne Judgment. If any unbeliever dies after the rapture, they will follow the same process as already depicted. Their bodies go to the grave. Their spirits go to the waiting place of torment.

According to Revelation 20, all of these will eventually be resurrected. This is called the second resurrection. And subsequent to their appointment with the Great White Throne Judgment, their destiny is the Lake of Fire.

There is a couple of other things that needs mentioning, since you will not see them on the chart I just showed you.

1. Purgatory

2. Baptism for the dead

Let's address them one at a time.

Purgatory

In my opinion, the Bible says nothing about an intermediate state of purgatory after death which allows for a person to have a "second chance" to be made perfectly cleansed. Those who adhere to the idea of purgatory, believe it is absolutely essential that there be a place or state of final cleansing, for certainly, no moral flaw can enter heaven.

This concept is contradicted by the words of Jesus to the thief on the cross, where Jesus said, "This day you will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23:43)

The idea for Roman Catholic purgatory comes from one of the apocryphal books. Those are books that were written between the Old and New Testaments. Protestants do not accept these books as part of the inspired Word of God. The Roman Catholics do.

The Apocryphal book in question for the subject of purgatory is the book of 2nd Macabees. I read this book this past week. There is only one phrase that alludes to something like a purgatory and praying for the dead. It is found in chapter 12, verses 42-45.

Two things trouble me about the idea of a purgatory.

For one, none of us can ever endure what our sins deserve.

For another, Jesus already has.

The Bible teaches that the wages of sin is death - not purgatory. When Jesus died on the cross, He said "It is finished" (John 19:30). Jesus completed the work of redemption at the cross. In His high priestly prayer to the Father, Jesus said: "I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do" (John 17:4).

Hebrews 10:14 emphatically declares,

"By one sacrifice he has made perfect for ever those who are being made holy."

Therefore, because those who believe in Christ are "made perfect" forever no further "purging" is necessary.

1 John 1:7 says,

"The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

Two verse later, the familiar 1 John 1:9 says we are not only forgiven, but He "cleanses us from all unrighteousness." No more cleansing in purgatory is necessary.

And in Romans 8:1, it says,

"There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

Let me emphasize once again, when a Christian dies, our fully conscious spirits are immediately ushered into the presence of Jesus by his holy angels. 2 Cor. 5:8 "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." There is an immediate change of location into the Lord's presence.

Once death occurs, our destiny - whether heaven or hell - is permanently fixed. There will be no other chance to have our sins dealt with so we can finally go to heaven. And no amount of donations to the church or prayers on behalf of the one who died, will ever change the state a person was in at the moment of death.

I believe the Bible is clear that at the moment of death, our souls pass immediately into a conscious existence in eternity either in heaven or in hell. There is no kind of "holding tank" in which we are punished for our sins, where, for an undetermined time, we receive what our sins deserve so that when they are finally purged, we can then rightly receive what God has prepared.

The Bible teaches that Jesus became our purgatory and took our punishment.

Hebrews 1:3 (NEB)

When he had brought about the purgation of sins, he took his seat at the right hand of Majesty on high

.

Again, I want to emphasize that the Bible says when a Christian dies, they are immediately ushered into the presence of his Lord. And when an unsaved person dies, they immediately arrive at a place of torment. And that place of torment is not purgatory, but hell.

These thoughts are expressed in a passage I mentioned earlier, but haven't read as yet. In Luke 16: 19-31, Jesus gave us probably the most detailed picture of what happens when we die. Here we find the story of a beggar named Lazarus and a rich man. Look at the wording in verses 22-23 NKJV

22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus by his side.

Did you notice as we read, one small word that follows each account of their deaths.

o "….the beggar died, and……"

o "The rich man also died and was buried. And……"

Notice the word "and."

WHAT GRAMMATICAL EXPRESSION IS THE WORD "AND"?

It is called a "conjunction." It is used to link two thought or ideas together. In the case of our Passage in Luke, the word "and" links each persons death, with what happens to them immediately following their death.

That is the way I view death. It is a conjunction. It is the passageway that links this life with the next.

Both the rich man and Lazarus died. Jesus said that Lazarus was carried to "Abraham's bosom." This is a term for heaven or paradise. On the other hand, the rich man found himself in "Hades," which, in the King James Version is usually translated "hell." We will have another lesson later on heaven and hell, so they will not be covered today.

Baptism for the dead

This topic came to my attention a couple of weeks ago, when a couple of young Mormon men came knocking on our door. At our front door, we had a very good discussion of various subjects. Among them was the subject of "baptism for the dead."

One of the distinctive doctrines of the Mormons is their view that deceased human beings can hear and receive the gospel of Jesus Christ in the spirit world. And through proxy baptism performed by people still living on behalf of the dead, they can attain eternal life in the presence of God.

By and large, the only passage they cite as corroborating this belief is found in 1 Cor. 15. This is the resurrection chapter of the Bible.

1 Cor 15:29 (NIV) reads:

29 Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?

What I am about to give you is what I said to them, after which one of them said, "Wow, that's an interesting thought. I've never heard it put that way before."

The first thing I mentioned was that I believe the Bible never contradicts itself. And if I make that assumption, then I should be able to corroborate the idea of baptism for the dead in other parts of the Word of God. I pressed on with the statement that what I actually find, is the corroboration of the exact opposite.

I said, "your doctrine of baptism for the salvation of the dead is actually contrary to biblical teaching that a person's eternal destiny is fixed at death. By that, I mean that a person cannot change his eternal state after they died. And I shared some of the passages we have mentioned in our lesson the past several weeks.

2 Cor. 5:8 tells us "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." This seems to imply the eternal destiny of a dead person occurs immediately following their death.

And then, in Luke 16:19-31, we find the rich man and Lazarus immediately going to their eternal abode directly after they died. And this passage tells us that it is not possible to go from one place to the other following death.

"It appears to me that with this knowledge, we have a problem. You have a doctrine that is contradicted by the rest of the Word of God." And then I added, these are but a few of the Scriptures that corroborate the idea of a person's eternal destiny being fixed at their death which excludes the possibility of repentance in the spirit world.

They still couldn't agree with me, so I set out to show them what Paul was saying in 1 Cor. 15:29.

The first thing I said to them was, "In this Passage, Paul only mentions the subject of baptism for the dead. He is not actually teaching it as something that should be practiced." They still couldn't agree with my statement. So I took them a little further.

I said, as with all biblical interpretation, it is important that we examine the context of a specific verse. Paul was writing this letter to the church in Corinth because he was made aware of erroneous teaching going on there. This caused some of the people at Corinth to write a letter to Paul, asking him to address several issues that had come up in their congregation. Paul mentions that in 1 Corinthians 7:1. And from that chapter on, Paul addresses these questions.

The entire 15th chapter was written to correct the teaching of some within the local body at Corinth. They were teaching that there was no resurrection. We see that mentioned in 1 Cor 15:12 NIV

12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

Here, Paul mentions that some were teaching there was no resurrection.

In the first 11 verses of this chapter Paul sets the stage for asking the question in verse 12. In the first 11 verse, Paul speak to the authenticity of the resurrection of Jesus. He say, in verse 4, that Christ was raised from the dead on the 3rd day, "according to the Scriptures."

The first thing Paul does is to show that the Scriptures themselves said Christ would be raised from the dead. Right up front, Paul says these naysayers were contradicting the Scriptures themselves. Then he report how Jesus, following his resurrection, was seen by many people.

o First, Jesus was seen by Peter,

o Then the 12

o Then by more than 500 at the same time.

o by James

o The apostles

o Paul

This is an overwhelming amount of evidence. Paul implies, by his comment concerning the 500, that since most of them were still alive, why don't you go ask them if it was really Jesus or not.

After putting forth this evidence of the resurrection of Christ, Paul says, "If there is no such thing as a resurrection, how is it that Christ was?" If there is no resurrection....

o then Christ hasn't really risen. (vv. 13,16)

o then our preaching is vain and we are still in our sins. (vv. 14, 17)

o that makes us false witnesses. (v. 15)

o those who have died in Christ have perished. (v. 18)

o Christians are of all people most miserable. (v. 19)

Then, in verse 20, Paul says that Jesus not only was resurrected, but that His resurrection is the "first fruit of all who will be raised." He adds that those who are resurrected after Christ, will have that happen in a predefined sequence and order.

From this point on, Paul switches from the resurrection of Christ to our resurrection. When he gets to verse 29, he makes his statement about baptism for the dead. Look at the wording of that verse once again.

1 Cor 15:29 (NIV) reads:

29 Now if there is no resurrection, what will they do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are they baptized for them?

Notice the word "they."

He did not say "you" (meaning the Christians at Corinth).
He did not say "we" (meaning all followers of Christ).
He did not say "I" (meaning Paul himself) baptized for the dead.

The word "they" here is referring back to the people he mentioned in verse 12 who do not believe in a resurrection. He is making this point in verse 29 to show the inconsistency of their own practice. Paul is asking, "if these people don't believe in the resurrection, why then are they practicing baptism for those who are dead." What's the purpose of baptizing for the dead, if in fact the dead are gone, and that all there is?

Paul's mention of baptism for the dead is not an endorsement for that practice. He is really chiding those who don't believe in the resurrection, mentioning some of their own practices which contradict their own belief.

There are a number of other Scriptures showing that a person cannot change their eternal status after they have died.

In Ezekiel 18:20 (NAS), the prophet argues that neither obedience nor disobedience is transferable from one generation to another.

Ezekiel 18:20 NAS

20 The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.

This Scripture is not speaking specifically of baptism for the dead, nor is it speaking about acquiring salvation once a person dies. But it does speak to the fact that the son cannot bear the punishment for the father and vise versa. The righteousness of the son makes no difference in the state of the father.

Notice that what is said about "righteousness" is equally applicable to "wickedness." If it were possible for a living person to submit to an act of righteousness (e.g. baptism) and having that blessing passed on to the deceased, why could not an act of evil of a living person also be passed to the deceased?

The Bible teaches that judgment will be meted to "each one according to what HE has done,…. whether it be good or bad." (2 Cor 5:10)

Again, in Romans 14:12, "each one of us will give account of HIMSELF to God." No one will be judged upon the basis of another's deeds.

Another passage that helps us here is found in Matthew 25. It is the story of the 10 virgins - five wise and five foolish. When the bridegroom came, the 5 foolish virgins tried to borrow oil from the wise virgins. They were refused.

In my mind, this story unquestionably teaches that obedience cannot be transferred. It is an individual and personal matter. If prayers or baptism of the living could bring about salvation of the dead, then it would be possible to transfer from the place of torment to paradise. Yet Jesus plainly taught that "there is a great gulf fixed" between the two states. He goes on to say that "none may cross over." (Luke 16:26)

Again, I believe the Bible says that God has decreed that once a person dies, his/her station in eternity is permanent.

CONCLUSION

Let me share with you one of the most comforting things about dying as a believer in Jesus Christ. You won't have time to get used to it. What I mean is that by the time the doctor pronounced you dead, by the time the line on the hospital monitor goes flat, you will have been ushered out of that dead body and into the Lord's presence.

If the Lord should tarry his return, and I die, and you who remain have my funeral, or more appropriately, a memorial at that moment, I will be more alive than the people who are "funeralizing" me.

To summarize this point, let me say that I believe the Bible is crystal clear that our spirit does not lose its consciousness at death. The only thing that "falls asleep" is our body - and that only in a symbolic sense.

In Philippians 1:21, Paul observes, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." He then adds in verse 23 that his desire to "to depart and be with Christ." Paul certainly did not expect to be in a coma, nor in a purgatory, after he died.

By now we should have a fairly good idea of what happens when a person dies. But we still haven't really answered the question raised by Job at the very beginning of this lesson. Let me raise it again.

If a person continues to exist - that is, their spirit retains consciousness after the death of their body, it follows that there must be a place for that existence.

WHERE IS IT?

Heaven or Hell.

The question is not whether we will die, but what awaits us on the other side of the grave. Everybody has an opinion, from the atheist who says there is nothing beyond death, to the universalist, who says God is waiting to receive all of His creatures with open arms.

Unlike those mentioned earlier when they were interviewed on the street, not only is there a heaven……but also a literal hell. We like to hear about heaven, but some feel less sure of hell. The Bible treats both of them as genuinely real locations, where people will spend eternity.

What will happen when you die? And in what resurrection will you have a part? That depends on what you have done with Jesus while you are still living.

If you already know Him as Savior, you don't have to wake up in the middle of the night wondering what will happen to you when you die. Death won't sing you at all, because the Bible says "the sting of death is SIN," and Jesus has already taken the sting in his own body.

One day a little boy was riding in the car with his father when a bee flew in through the window. It starts buzzing around the boy. He begins to scream, "It's going to sting me, the bee is going to sting me." The father reaches out quickly and grabs the bee. He hold it in his hand for a few seconds, and then released it. The bee begins to buzz around, and the boy started to cry again. But his father said, "Son, you don't have to be afraid. "All that bee can do now is make noise." Then the dad held out his hand, and there in the palm of his hand was the bee's stinger.

On the cross of Calvary, Jesus Christ took the stinger of sin, which is death. So all death can do now is make noise.

I hope none here today are like the rich man, because for him and any other who don't have Jesus, the stinger is still very real. If you miss Jesus, that will be a long time to have been wrong. For the non-Christian, the life they have now is the only heaven they will have. Compared to where they will be going, this truly is like heaven, by comparison.

Life is not a game. We cannot afford to gamble on eternity.

Last Updated: Wednesday September 07 2011
©2001 John's Notes