WHAT HAPPENS AFTER DEATH

Where does a Christian or unbeliever go when they die? Do we go directly to heaven or hell? The experience of death differs depending on whether a person is a saint or an unbeliever.

For all humanity, the Bible teaches that when a person dies, the body returns to dust. The human body grows old and dies because of the curse God pronounced on the earth following Adam's sin. The material God used to construct the human body came "from the ground," according to Genesis 2, therefore, the curse on the earth also condemned the human body to die, since the body is part of the earth.

Man is superior to all other forms of life. Plant life has a body; animals have a body and self-consciousness. Man has a spirit, soul, and body. The soul and spirit make up the person. The body is the physical house where the person dwells while on this earth. The soul is the self-consciousness that responds to the environment and thoughts and is the center of the senses: taste, touch, smell, hearing, sight. The soul exists forever and is always conscious. The soul is never "asleep" (as some teach incorrectly). When a believer dies, his body is buried to await the resurrection and his soul will exist somewhere in full consciousness yet without a body until a future day of resurrection, when God gives each soul a new, permanent body. For the Christian who dies today, his soul moves directly from the body at the moment of death into Christ's presence in heaven (II Corinthians 5:4-10, Phil. 1:21-23) “…to depart from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (II Cor. 5:8); “to be loosed (departed), and to be with Christ, which is far better” (Phil. 1:21-23). ​​They are in active bliss.

The spirit is the part capable of understanding spiritual things; the part that makes us conscious of God, the conscience (I Thes. 5:23; Heb. 4:12). At death the spirit returns to God (Ecclesiastes 12:7).

God created man in His own moral image, in contrast to animals and plants. When the first man and woman chose to disobey God, they lost their spiritual perfection and their communion with God, and their physical bodies were cursed with sorrow, affliction, pain, toil, fatigue, and death.

THE WORD “DEATH” MEANS SEPARATION

When a man dies, his person leaves the body, and the body is laid in the grave and returns to dust until the resurrection. The Word of God teaches that of two destinations there is only one for each person after death, heaven or hell.

HEAVEN

Heaven is a real destination, not simply a figment of the imagination, or a state to be attained here on earth. The earth will someday be destroyed and so will the universe beyond, but God's heaven is eternal, “a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Heb. 11:10). Christ said to those who loved Him, “In My Father's house are many mansions…” (John 14:2-3).

THERE ARE THREE HEAVENS

A. The first heaven is the atmosphere around us, where the clouds are.

B. The second heaven is the vast universe beyond our atmosphere, which           contains the galaxies and planets.

C. The heaven where God dwells is called the third heaven. This place is             also called Glory, paradise, the Holy City. God's heaven is for those who         have received Christ as their Savior.

THERE ARE TWO MAIN RESURRECTIONS

The first is for believers (Rev. 20:6). The first resurrection takes place when Christ returns to take believers with Him to glory. Until the resurrection of believers, those who die in the Lord enjoy only spiritual bliss in heaven, because their bodies are in the grave. At the time of the resurrection, they receive bodies that will be like Christ's body when He was resurrected.

Remember that when Christ rose from the dead, He could be recognized; He could eat and speak; He had flesh and bones. But He was different in that He could walk through closed doors; He could appear and disappear; He could ascend into the clouds (I John 3:2). We will never hunger, we will never suffer, we will never die (I Cor. 15:42-44). So for all eternity, believers will enjoy physical and spiritual bliss (I Thess. 4:13-16). The second resurrection will be for unbelievers (Rev. 20:12-15).

HELL

The Bible teaches more about hell than about heaven. Hell is a place. The earth is not hell, nor is hell a figment of the imagination. It is a place of spiritual torment today because the bodies of those who die in unbelief are in the grave. It is believed to be at the center of the earth (Prov. 15:24).

Unbelievers are not annihilated after death; they do not cease to exist. They exist in a state of ruin and conscious separation from God for all eternity (II Thess. 1:7-9). The word destruction does not mean annihilation. Even though it burns and scatters the ashes, the chemical formula is the same. There is no annihilation of anything, and this includes men. To destroy means “to render useless in its original capacity or function; to ruin.”

“The fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:43-44). Here the word worm refers to the “germ of life,” that is, the soul. Eternal destruction is eternal separation from God in torment.

It is sometimes asked, “Is it really fire that is mentioned in connection with hell?” The Bible frequently uses the word fire with the symbolic meaning of trial, suffering, etc. However, when the Word of God has a symbolic meaning, it usually also gives the corresponding explanation. In the case of hellfire, it is never explained to be anything other than literal fire (Matt. 18:8).

Others ask, “If God is a God of love, how could He create something so cruel as an eternal hell?” Hell was not made for man. It was made for Satan and his angels. But men who disobey God and follow Satan will one day go with him. God is a God of love, and for that reason, He provided a Savior for the sinner. Those who reject Jesus and trample on His blood cannot hope to escape eternal punishment, and they will certainly deserve it.

THE LAKE OF FIRE

There is a difference between hell today and the lake of fire throughout eternity. Those in hell today experience only spiritual torment because their bodies are in the grave. After the second resurrection, the bodies of unbelievers will be raised and become spiritual bodies that cannot die or be destroyed. Throughout eternity they will suffer physical and spiritual torment in the lake of fire. The Bible does not specify where the lake of fire will be, but we can be sure that it will not be in the center of the earth because God will make a new earth in which “righteousness dwells” (II Peter 3:13). But there is no doubt that there will be a lake of fire (Rev. 20:10, 14; 21:8).

Verses like the one mentioned above take all frivolity out of the subject of hell. How many are there who laugh and say, “I don’t mind going to hell; I won’t want for company there!” Surely there will be many others. But company, no! There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. What good will it be to have others, if everyone is gnashing their teeth?

There is no love in hell, no peace, no hope, no light, no mercy, no friendship; no words like mother, sweetheart. Not even a single drop of water! Hell is no laughing matter (Mark 8:36).

DESTINY OF THE DEAD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

In Old Testament times people did not go to heaven to be with God, Christ had not yet come to earth (Luke 16:19-31). They went to the “abode of the souls of the dead” called Sheol (Hebrew), Hades (Greek), or hell in the center of the earth. It had two compartments. The righteous went into paradise, and the wicked in torment or Tartarus. Paradise was also called “Abraham’s bosom” and was a place of spiritual bliss. The other compartment was equivalent to spiritual torment. Between the two compartments, there was a void or gulf that could not be crossed. This emptiness is not purgatory or limbo, or any intermediate state, but a vacuum or invisible barrier so that those in paradise cannot pass to the place of suffering and those in the place of torment cannot pass to the place of comfort. Both places were in hell, the abode of the souls of the dead.

Christ's account of the death of the rich man and Lazarus is not a mere parable, for Jesus gives the name of the beggar, and in other cases does not give names to fictitious characters. Both the rich man and the beggar died; one was taken to enjoy bliss and the other to suffer torment. Both are very much awake and conscious. Souls do not sleep. If their bodies were in the grave, how could they be in glory or in torment? Remember that the soul is the center of the senses, the self-consciousness. They were very much alert.

When the rich man wanted Lazarus to come to his aid, he was told that there was no passing back and forth. The great gulf is fixed. The dead do not change their destination after death; there is no second chance after death. Just as those in torment are never without their suffering and those in bliss never lose their joy, so it is also true that the souls of the dead do not return to the earth.

When Christ died, He went into Paradise. Remember that He said to the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:24). Paradise was in the center of the earth, in the place called Sheol, Hades, or hell. Christ went down into hell while His body was in the tomb (Acts 2:25-31). Christ died, really died. His body was placed in the tomb, and His spirit went down into the bowels of the earth (Eph. 4:9-10). While in paradise, Christ “proclaimed” the spirits in prison (I Peter 3:19-20), those who were in the torment section of hell.

When Christ rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, He took the godly souls with Him from paradise (Eph. 4:8). Now, paradise is in heaven, where Christ is. Hell, today is exclusively a place of torment. How do we know that paradise is in heaven now? In II Corinthians 12:1-4 the apostle Paul recounts his own experience when he was caught up to the third heaven. He calls this third heaven “paradise.” So paradise is currently in the third heaven where Christ is.

If in Old Testament times it was impossible to pass from paradise to torment and vice versa, even though both places were in the same location, how much greater is the impossibility of passing from hell to heaven today? Heaven and hell are more than countless universes apart! And yet the wonder of it all is that the moment we leave the body at death, we are present with the Lord.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO CONTACT THE SOULS OF THE DEAD?

Since the souls of the dead do not hover over their bodies after death, and since they depart immediately to either heaven or hell; and since they do not change their destiny or return to the earth, and since we have no scriptural assurance that they can communicate with us or we with them, therefore it is indeed impossible to contact the dead.

What about those who claim that they have contact with the dead? The rise of the cults known as spiritualists is a sign of the last days, and the practice of delving into the occult and the mysteries of the spirit world is becoming more and more popular every day. Is it all pure deception? By no means! But they do not communicate with the dead. Then with whom do they communicate?

It is evident that we are surrounded by a spirit world. God is Spirit and the Holy Spirit is here in the earth today. The angels of God are around those who fear Him. Satan is a spirit and is going to and fro through the earth. Satan's helpers, the demons, are around us with the intention of keeping men from God and tempting those who belong to God.

God warns against those who traffic in spiritualism (Deut. 18:10-12). God commanded spiritualists to be stoned to death. In Revelation 21:8 we are told that they shall have their part in the lake of fire. So certainly God is not cooperating with those who contact spirits. This is true too of God’s angels who serve Him. The souls of the dead do not return to the earth. In the process of elimination, only Satan and his demons remain. Spiritualism is really “demonism.”

The Bible speaks of “familiar spirits” or demons, who are assigned by Satan to become familiar with the habits, manner of life, voice, etc., of human beings, and to tempt them. When a medium lays her mind to be controlled by a spirit, the familiar spirit takes over (Isa. 8:19-20). This demon can answer questions about the life of the dead for he is familiar with them.

There are many false mediums that deceive the public with rigged-up tables and séance rooms, but there are also genuine mediums who do contact spirits; evil spirits.