Although it has been contested by those who simply do not want to believe it, the concept of the afterlife holds true in the Bible. This article presents the biblical position on the topic, and why it is very important.
Introduction
Text: John 5:28-29 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Although it has been contested by those who simply do not want to believe it, the concept of the afterlife holds true in the Bible. I was just thinking about this the other day, that how will the knowledge of this affect how we live our lives today? Obviously if you don’t believe in life after death, you’d think that the consequences of your deeds in this life do not go beyond your death. And that will be incorrect.
But for those who understand and accept this truth, it matters to them what they believe and how they live now. This is because they always remember the coming day of reckoning. The day when they will give account to God how they lived their lives.
All Die, but Continue to Live
Yes, the paradox holds true. Everyone will die someday (if the Rapture does not take place in your lifetime). But in reality, no one truly dies. Death for now is just a change of form or location. To better grasp this concept, you need to understand who you really are.
The Real You
Man is created in three parts: body, soul, and spirit. Consider your body as the physical part of you, while your soul and spirit are the invisible part of you. Think about the creation of man, if you believe in creation, the Bible says man was formed from the dust of the ground, sounds like sand or clay. At this point, the man was still lifeless!
Then something happened, the Bible tells us that God “breathed into his [Adam] nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” – Genesis 2:7. Life comes to the lifeless man through the breath of life produced by the Creator, God, and the non-living man becomes a living man. The real you is the “living soul” which never dies. More on this later.
What Happens at Death?
When a person dies today, it is the body that dies. Not the soul and the spirit which live on. Your soul is the real you which is covered by your visible body. Because it is the real you, everything that happens to you, all your deeds and experiences, success and failures, happen to your soul. Following death, the soul still continues your existence with the complete memory of all your life experiences. Have you ever thought about this? Do you even believe it?
When a person dies today, it is the body that dies. Not the soul and the spirit which live on.
The Soul Lives On
In case you’re yet to be convinced, I want to show or remind you of some things in the Bible. Jesus tells the story, not a parable, of a rich man (unnamed) who was cruel and unkind to a poor man named Lazarus. Both the rich and the poor man died, and we are told that the rich man was buried. Remember only the body goes to the grave when the dead is buried. Pay attention to some of the afterlife experiences of this nameless rich man:
Luke 16:23-24 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
Here’s a man who lived, died, and was buried. But he is still speaking on the other side! The verses that follow tell us that his request was declined. But not only was he able to make requests, he also had the memory of his life prior to his death. Listen to him again:
Luke 16:27-29 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: 28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
The above request was denied as well. At this point, I won’t go into the detail of his condition at that location or why he ended up there. We will get to that later. The reason for bringing up the story is to prove the point of life after death. Did you notice that he even remembered the number of brethren he had?
There is another compelling story, this one about Jesus Christ Himself. Following His death on the cross, Christ visited Paradise. Paradise is the name given to the location of the Old Testament believers after they died. Remember when Jesus was brought down from the cross, His body was prepared for burial in a tomb.
But He went to Paradise that same day. How possible? This is because only His body died. And how did I know that He visited Paradise? The Bible of course. One of the proofs of this is His statement to one of the thieves crucified with Him. Listen to the exchange:
Luke 23:39-43 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. 40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Got it? Christ died, He was buried. And before He rose again the third day, He already was going places. Do not believe the false teaching that death is the end of man.
Where Will You Go
This takes us back to our text for today.
John 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
This verse eludes to the resurrection of the dead. Notice there that not just some of the dead, but “all that are in the grave.” When the time is right, they will be called out to face judgment. And as the text makes clear, they will hear the voice of God, and will come out. But where are the dead now?
The Two Destinations
People will die, and still continue to live, but not in the same condition or at the same location. Where will you go when you die? Have you ever thought about it?
As pointed out earlier, the soul does not go to the grave when the body is buried. But it goes somewhere, and there are two potential destinations – heaven, to be with Christ, or hell, awaiting final judgment. The determinant of where you go is what you did with Jesus Christ. By that I mean whether you have received Him or not. Listen to the words of Jesus:
John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
See? Some will be justified, while others will be condemned on the last day. But it’s all determined by how you view Jesus today. Those have received and trusted in Christ are redeemed, they are washed, sanctified, and justified. When such people die, their souls go to be with Christ, while their bodies await glorification at Rapture. With the believers, “absent from the body” is “present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).
On the hand, when those who reject Christ now die, they go to hell where they await judgment. But to these people, the judgment will not be favorable since they will be standing alone before the righteous Judge with no Advocate on their side. Which is why this is one of the most important reasons why you need to accept and believe in Jesus Christ. More on this later.
The Two Resurrections
Our text states that all that are in the grave will be called out. Everyone will give account one day how they lived their lives, and the choices they made. It is foolish at this point to still believe that death in the body is the ultimate end of man.
There are many differences between those who died and will be resurrected later. Notice some contrasts in the verse below, especially that of the two resurrections:
John 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
They have done “good”, they that have done “evil”. The resurrection of life, and the resurrection of damnation. Look, although all will resurrect, we will not all do it at the same time, or have the same kind of resurrection. The good to be done to partake in the resurrection of life is to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord (John 6:29; 3:18). The evil done that leads to the resurrection of damnation is to reject Him (John 3:18,36).
The Resurrection of Life
The believers will be resurrected at Rapture when they will get their glorified bodies and continue to be with Christ. These shall have the permanent victory over death and will never be subject to the second death as we will see shortly.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
The above is only applicable to the believers in Christ, those who have been forgiven and justified freely through the redemption that is in the Christ Jesus.
Those who are saved before the Rapture will go with Christ, these are not appointed unto wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9). Yes, they will not go through the Tribulation period, that is, the Time of Jacob’s Trouble. But the Book of Revelation reveals that among the left behind, some will still believe during the Tribulation period. These will die, most likely beheaded by the antichrist, or tortured to death, but will still be with Christ (Revelation 20:4).
So the first resurrection (Revelation 20:5) includes all the believers in Christ before and after the Rapture. These include those who will be persecuted and killed for their faith in Christ during the Tribulation period (Revelation 20:4). Christ will return bodily at the end of the Tribulation period to establish His Millennial Reign. But wait, what happens to the unbelievers, or those who died without Christ?
The Resurrection of Damnation
Revelation 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished…
The “thousand years” in that verse refers to the Millennial Reign of Christ on Earth. “The rest of the dead” refers to all who lived and died without Christ. These people will remain dead through the thousand years. So we see the interval of time between the resurrection of life, and the resurrection of damnation, and that is the Millennial Reign of Christ.
And then something happens after the thousand years:
Revelation 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
I won’t go too deep into the judgment and the books referenced above because those are outside the scope of this article. But suffice it to say that those who will appear at this judgment will most likely not survive it. There is just no way a man can justify himself at the court of the holy and righteous Judge, God.
The Conclusion
Notice the fact that all who lived and died will rise again someday, either during the first, or the second resurrection. At this point, I will like to direct your attention to two things: where will you go when you die today, and what kind of life will you live there?
The Place of the Afterlife
It is important that you make a decision soon about Christ before you die or before it is too late to do so. This will determine where you go when you die. I’m not talking about being religious or just believing in God, though there is nothing wrong with either. But you need to trust in Christ alone for your salvation. It is only through Him that you can stand justified before God. And you cannot get to God without Christ (John 14:6).
If you believe that you have sinned, everyone has, then you need to repent and believe in what Jesus did for you: He suffered and died for your sins and mine. He was buried, and He rose again for our justification. Put your trust in Him and you will be saved. This guarantees that you will be with Christ after your life here on Earth. You will be partakers in the first resurrection and eternity with God.
On the other hand, if you reject Him now, He will reject you on the last day. The choice whether to be part of the resurrection of life, or the resurrection of damnation is yours to make today. Don’t forget:
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
The Reward in the Afterlife
This section is for the believers who understand and believe the biblical teaching of life after death. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are “created” and called to live for Him (Ephesians 2:10). This is not paying for or maintaining your salvation, but simply how we worship God with our lives. So how will the knowledge of spending eternity with God change the way we live today?
Remember there will be reward for all that we do for and in the name of Christ. So live right, put the flesh down, stand up and fight for the truth. Leave behind you the things and the distractions of this world.
2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Revelation 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Let your knowledge of the afterlife affect the decisions you make now and how you live your life today.
Thank you for reading!
