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What happens when we die?
WHERE ARE THE DEAD? Where are the dead? This question is probably one of the most sensitive topics ever, and there is also an enormous risk of deception if that which the Bible states in this regard is misunderstood. Remember, our Redeemer does not leave us in the dark regarding those things that are necessary to contribute to our salvation. Matt. 24:4 “And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. “ Hos. 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.†We need Biblical knowledge in order to recognise deception because Satan uses signs and wonders to deceive even the elect. Matt. 24:24 “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.†What happens to us when we die? Is there life after death? According to the point of view of contemporary religions on this topic, people will receive their reward at the time of their death; either in heaven or in hell. Does the Bible confirm this teaching and where do we find the teachings regarding the state of the dead in the Bible? In order to find the answers to these questions, the reader must first establish the nature of mankind, since this perspective can only be true if a human being has something outside of himself that can continue living, such as an immortal soul. If this is true, it would imply that when someone dies, he or she continues living merely in another form. This viewpoint by default creates the impression of immortality. The word “mortal†means “subject to death – or pertaining to human beings as subject to death; human; this mortal life.†The word “immortal†means the opposite: “not subject to death.†21 Is mankind subject to death (“mortalâ€)? Yes, we are. Therefore, man does not possess immortality. What does the Bible say further regarding this topic? 1 Tim. 6:15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.†The Bible states that only God is immortal. Also, note that we do not find the term “immortal soul†or any reference to the immortality of the soul in the Bible. The first and last sermon regarding the immortality of the soul was given by Satan in the Garden of Eden. It is also the first lie that was proclaimed on earth. Gen. 3:4 “ Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.†Job 14:10 “But man dies and is laid away; Indeed he breathes his last And where is he? 11 As water disappears from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dries up, 12 So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, They will not awake Nor be roused from their sleep.†According to Job, it sounds like a sleep that will only be lifted when the earth is destroyed. It is going to happen at the time of Christ’s coming, both before and after the 1 000 years, in other words, there are going to be two resurrections. John 5:28 â€Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.†1 Cor. 15:13 “But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.†1 Cor. 15:17 “-And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.†A time is coming when everyone who has died will be resurrected. If everyone has already reached their destination at the time they die, a resurrection is totally unnecessary! John 14:2 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. 3And 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 6:40 “ And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.†John 6:54 “ Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.†Christ has gone to prepare dwellings for us and after this preparation, He is coming to fetch His children. Everyone will be resurrected; some at the first resurrection and others, at the second. In the above verses, the Bible refers to only one type of resurrection, and that is at the time of Christ’s coming, the first resurrection. It does not here expand on the detail of the “how,†but refers merely to “raise … up.†You have to ask yourself if your beliefs in this regard coincide with the Biblical account of what happens to us when we die. 1 Thess. 4:16 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. 17Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.†Here now appears the concept of a “first†resurrection, which implies that there will also be a second. The verse speaks of those who died in Christ, in other words, this resurrection is the resurrection of the righteous dead and it takes place at the time of Jesus’ second coming. Secondly, those who are alive at that time will be taken up together with them (the righteous that Jesus resurrected) in the clouds. Phil. 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.†The faithful will receive their transformed bodies at the time of Christ’s second coming, and not before. The investment with immortality and perfection also takes place at the second coming. No one now possesses an immortal soul that can be loosened from the body at the time of death so that it can return to heaven. This idea had its origins in Greek anthropological dualism. The Greeks believed that man is dual, with a body and a soul that can continue living apart from the body after death. Let’s look at some of the arguments that are used to support the present-day understanding of immortality: Luke 23:43 “And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.†The supporters of the immortality of a soul that immediately goes to heaven at the time of death usually argue as follows: “Look, the thief on the cross was already with Jesus in Paradise on that Friday and so he must have gone directly to heaven when he died.†Firstly, we should keep in mind that punctuation only appeared in the Bible much later, even long after the canon was compiled. In addition, the theological background of the translator influenced the translation process. If the comma were to be moved, this would have an enormous influence on the content and this can result in totally opposite meaning. Look at what happens to the meaning of this verse when the comma is moved: ASSUREDLY, I SAY TO YOU TODAY, YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE. You may still be skeptical, but crucified persons frequently remained alive for days and their legs had to be broken before the Sabbath so that they could die sooner, and so it is unlikely that the thief was already dead on the Friday at sunset, the beginning of the Sabbath. The following fact, however, is far more enlightening regarding the question of whether Jesus suggested that He was going directly to heaven when He died. John 20:17 “Jesus said to her, Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.†Jesus Himself confirmed early on Sunday, the first day of the week that He had been in the grave, and therefore He could not have been in paradise or heaven on the previous Friday. The intention of the Biblical author in Luke 23:43 is, therefore, clear – the comma must be moved as indicated above. Matt. 16:27 “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.†Here Jesus states explicitly that the reward will only follow at the time of His second coming. Ps. 89:48 “What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave? Selah.†The Bible confirms that the soul will not escape the realm of death. It does not teach that there is an entity that continues to live apart from the body after death. This teaching is merely a consequence of Satan’s original lie. The Bible states: Gen. 2:7 “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.†Eccl. 12:7 “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.†The dust of the ground plus the breath of life makes a man a living soul. He does not obtain a living soul. The breath of life is “Ruach†(Hebrew) or “pneuma†(Greek) which is basically the life-giving oxygen that we breathe out when we die, it’s not something that slips out at death and remains alive. Note that the Bible even describes animals as living souls: Gen. 1:30 (LITV) “And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the heavens, and to every creeper on the earth which has in it a living soul, every green plant is for food. And it was so.†There is no support for the idea that someone who is dead can perform any basic intellectual functions such as communicating with the living. Eccl. 9:5 For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; Nevermore will they have a share In anything done under the sun.†Eccl. 9:10 “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.†This information in Ecclesiastes contradicts the philosophy of life after death. It leaves no room for so-called communication with persons on the “other side†about “unfinished business.†Unfortunately, it is a fact that there are people who are willing instruments in Satan’s hands through the practice of necromancy because Satan makes it sound a lot like the deceased. In addition, Satan also provides them with information that only the relevant person could have, and unfortunately, this makes this unscriptural phenomenon credible for the persons whose knowledge of the Bible in this regard is deficient and they are easily deceived. It is unbiblical and an abomination in the eyes of God. There are clear guidelines concerning this phenomenon in the Word and we must be careful that we are not deceived. Extra-Biblical phenomena must ALWAYS concur with the following: Is. 8:20 “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in themâ€. Satan is the master of counterfeiting and imitation! He has ± 6 000 years of experience of the human psyche and he could even convince a third of the angels of his lies. He makes it his business to know everything about the lives of people, and he has the assistance of a third of the angels who campaign for the destruction of as many persons as possible. Ps. 146:3 “ Do not put your trust in princes, Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. 4 His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish.†When a person dies, everything is over and done with as far as the survivors who remain behind are concerned. No more plans can be made, and no intellectual function at all can continue. Ps. 6:5 “For in death there is no remembrance of You; in the grave who will give You thanks?†These days there is even “theological guidance†that is given from the other side of the grave. An example of this is Retha McPherson’s ministry with her son who supposedly had gone to heaven for some time and saw many acquaintances there. It does not agree with the Bible’s interpretation and leads to the question: If the revelation did in fact take place, which angels were the source of it? Gen. 2:7 “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.†Eccl. 12:7 “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.†The spirit is the breath and thus the life-giving oxygen and not some other entity that continues living in another dimension somewhere in the atmosphere or in heaven. 1 Cor. 15:51 “ Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.†55“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?†56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.†This is further confirmation that we will receive immortality only at the time of Christ’s second coming. 1 Cor. 15:20 “ But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.†Christ is first, and then those who are deceased will arise at His second coming. ARE THERE ALREADY CREATED BEINGS IN HEAVEN? Yes, there are Enoch, Elijah, and Moses as well as those who were resurrected together with Jesus (Matt. 27:52). Gen. 5:24 “And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.†Heb. 11:5 “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, and was not found, because God had taken him; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.†Enoch, therefore, went directly to heaven. We know that Elijah went directly to heaven in a carriage of fire. 2 Kin. 2:11 “Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.†Matt. 17:3 “And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.†Jude 1:9 “ Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke you!†Satan wanted to prevent Michael (another name for Christ) from resurrecting Moses and taking him to heaven because Jesus had not yet been victorious on the cross. Jesus first had to defeat death by His resurrection and this He did. So He resurrected Moses with the understanding that His final victory would follow. In Matthew 17 we see a type of the second coming with Moses as the representative of all the believers who died prior to Christ’s return and Elijah, the representative of the saints who are living at the time of the second coming and who will never taste death. This forms a mini-second coming! There is still the parable of Lazarus and the rich man with different interpretations that do not agree at all with what is stated in the rest of the Bible. How do we negotiate our way through this? Should this narrative in Luke 16:19-31 be understood literally? If we take it literally, we find ourselves with quite a few potential theological nightmares, of which the greatest is probably the fact that it insinuates that persons in heaven and hell are able to communicate with one another. If I am in heaven and I have to spend an eternity listening to the constant lamentations of my loved ones in hell, then heaven itself will be a type of hell. Secondly, it looks as though righteous persons in the parable can move into hell, for example, Abraham whose name is mentioned here, and who is close enough to cool the tongue of the rich man with drops of water. Can this quench his thirst? Can the righteous in heaven provide relief to the person in hell? Millions of people will, according to the literal interpretation of this portion of Scripture, sit in the bosom of Abraham, because millions of people have throughout the ages died for Jesus. How large must Abraham’s bosom be? This narrative is clearly an allegory that is intended to convey certain truths. The message is that all (rich and poor) have had enough opportunity to accept the gospel. Secondly, the Christian must listen to the commission to proclaim the gospel to others and see to it that no one needs to be satisfied with merely the crumbs. Spread the gospel like autumn leaves, proclaim it clearly, ensure that you are not weighed and found wanting in this regard because you neglected your duty. Jesus says there are many who must currently be satisfied with the crumbs, while the gospel can be proclaimed liberally. It is Satan that wants to draw away the attention of believers from their duty and focus their attention on false teaching about the state of the dead. We will have to cast aside the whole tenet of Scripture if we want to make this parable the basis of our theology. The following account gives more complete information in connection with the Biblical truth. Decide for yourself whether you want to believe the Bible or Satan’s counterfeit. Interesting to note the name of the man who dies in the following narrative when one considers the abovementioned, and to realise that the story about Lazarus and the rich man is only an allegory. John 11:1 “ Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.†4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.†Here Jesus confirms that the sickness would not lead to death. Let’s continue: John 11:5 “ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. 7Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.†8The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?†9Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.†11These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.†12Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.†13However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. 14Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. " The disciples did not understand what Jesus meant when He referred to Lazarus’s death as asleep and so He simply answered them: “Lazarus is dead.†Here is clearly a confirmation by Jesus that the first death is not eternal death, but merely asleep – someone who sleeps wakes up again. Note also what Martha, the sister of Lazarus, said to Jesus when she saw Him. She said that Lazarus’s resurrection would take place “in the resurrection at the last day†(verse 24). What does this teach us regarding Martha’s understanding of Scripture? She believed that death was temporary and that Lazarus would be resurrected at the second coming. In fact, the Bible refers to death as being asleep more than 70 times. Only the second death or eternal separation from God is true death and this is also why He is the God of the living and not the God of the dead. The righteous dead sleep only until they hear His voice when He will resurrect them. John 11:15 15And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.†16Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.†17So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. 19And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. 20Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. 21Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.†23Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.†24Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.†Clearly Martha did not believe at all that Lazarus had already received his reward and she joins the ranks of those who believe that Jesus will bring each person’s reward with Him when He comes. John 11:25 “ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?†27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.†28 And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.†29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. 31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.†32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.†33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. 34And He said, “Where have you laid him?†They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.†35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!†37 And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?†38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.†Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.†40Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?†41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.†43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!†Note what Jesus says here. He says: “Lazarus, come forth!†He does not say: “Lazarus, come down†(from heaven). He also does not say: “Lazarus, come up†(from below the ground). Jesus knew what Martha knew, viz., that Lazarus slept in the grave, as He had also rightly said to His disciples earlier, and that is why He now says: “come FORTH†from the grave. John 11:44 “And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.†45 Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.†Jesus wept because of their lack of faith in Him as the Messiah. They saw only the external and said: “See how He loved him!†Others tried to sow a seed of doubt by saying: “Could He not have…?†Jesus wept in reality because Martha could not accept that the “I AM†could resurrect her brother on that day. Jesus also wept for us on that day, because we are still battling with this concept. We however hear no argument from the spectators at the scene that Lazarus had gone to heaven. In fact, the witnesses there said that he had already been dead for four days, not that he was in heaven. There is absolutely no proof whatsoever that he was called back to this earth out of heaven. The silence in this regard must surely mean that he was in a place where he was not conscious of anything. Acts 2:29 “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.†Acts 2:34 “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: The LORD said to my Lord, sit at my right hand.†Here Peter confirms in his submission that David had died, was buried, and had not ascended to heaven. The death of a person involves much more than the cessation of physical activities and physiological functions. It has emotional, intellectual, and spiritual implications, not only for the deceased but also for those who stay behind. It sometimes leaves you with more questions than answers, but thank God that His Word provides all the answers to these uncertainties. According to the Bible, the righteous can rest assured in the knowledge that the first death here on earth does not mean the end, but that it is actually only the beginning. There is so much to discover, so much to learn and so much to experience when Jesus comes to fetch us. I trust that the Holy Spirit who moved people to speak will also be the One who will clarify His Word in our hearts. Visit the following website regarding the subject of the state of the dead: www.truthaboutdeath.com 21. Dictionary, http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/immortal†immortal condition or quality; unending life.