Questions about dying
Every loved one, every parent, every child will go the way of the Earth. It’s heart breaking, loosing those who mean so much to us. Sometimes it’s a tragedy visited upon us, or more often its old age and a break down in one’s health. There is something so final, and we are left with an empty feeling. Death makes us insecure, and robs us of a life. It’s hard to attend funerals and not be drawn to think that one day it will be our turn. We stand at graves and we wonder, with many questions unanswered. Let Jesus give you the answers.
The sting of death
Everyone dies. Its certain, and yet, it’s something we think off only momentarily. We are caught up with our bills, our children, our parents, our plans for tomorrow, our well being, and death is not something we plan for. It appears far off. Sometimes we get freighted, get caught up with coronavirus news, alarmed when we are suddenly at risk, but it’s for a moment, and we quickly get back to living busy lives distracted in the affairs of living. Jesus spoke about the dangers of having our focus on the wrong things. He told a story about a man who had an exceedingly good crop, and decided to make his barns bigger to accommodate the grain. It was now time for the man to rest up with a harvest to satisfy him for many years! However that very day His soul was required of him, and He found himself leaving all his earthy possessions to another. (Lk 12:16-21). Jesus referred to this as being foolish. In 1 Cor 15, the apostle Paul talks about the sting of death. The sting of death is the destruction it brings to mankind, ending possibilities, destroying relationships, separating us from the ones we love. The reason so many are afraid of death, is because the other side is unknown to them. We need to bring together what God has revealed about death so our understanding is clearer.
What happens at the time of our death?
Every human being has wondered, what happens when we die. Will we cease to exist? Will we become ghosts? Thankfully we don’t have to speculate because the Bible tells us what will happen. The Bible in Ecc 12:7 speaks about death by saying “then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” That means our bodies will decay, but not our spirit. Our spirit is separated from the body, and it returns to God. 2 Cor 5:1 speaks of our body as a tent, a temporary dwelling place. So when the spirit leaves the body, death occurs; James 2:26 “the body without the spirit is dead”.
When we lose a loved one, while the flesh remains and decays, the soul of the loved one continues and is resident in another place. Luke 16:22 describes a poor man called Lazarus as being carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom.
So where do we go when we die?
Rather than speculate, let’s take Jesus at His Word. In the gospel of Luke chapter 16, Jesus tells the story of the death of a rich man and a poor man. He describes their deaths as follows in verses 22 and 23; “Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.” So the place we all go to is a place called Hades. Hades is the waiting place of the dead. Both the wicked and the righteous go into Hades. From the passage, we are told that there are two realms in Hades, one called “paradise” where the faithful go, the place where Jesus told the thief on the cross he would go (Lk 23:43). And the other is called “torment”, a place of suffering and punishment, the destination for all the wicked, to await judgement. Hades is also referred to a number of times in Matthew, in Acts and in Revelation. All souls go to Hades, either to paradise or torment. All souls are conscious there, and are recognisable, and all who have ever lived are waiting there for the day of the Lord.
What happens after?
Again, Jesus and the Apostles discuss what happens to our souls at length. In Heb 9:27 it says “It is appointed for man to die once and then comes judgement”. When the day of the Lord arrives, there will be a bodily resurrection, John 5:28-29 “an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” Hades will be emptied on that day, and all the souls will be reunited with their bodies. This time, the body is an incorruptible body, and eternal body (1 Cor 15:42). The righteous will inherit Heaven, and live in the presence of God for eternity, the unrepentant sinners will be sentence to Hell, a place where there is eternal fire (Matt 25:40-41). This is the second death, separation from God for eternity.
Getting your house in order
In 2 Kings 20:1-2, the King Hezekiah became mortally ill and Isaiah the prophet came to him and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’” That is a message true for each of us, as it was for Hezekiah. Death is final. Death ends our opportunity to be right with God. Luke 16:19-31 death is the door way to eternal joy or eternal torment, and we need to act now to secure the offer made to us by Jesus. It is because of unforgiven sin that a soul will be lost to Hell. There is no need to lose your soul. You must do what Jesus has asked us to do in order to avoid this. 1 Tim 2:4 speaks of Gods desire that all will be saved. Jesus pronounced in Mark 1:15 “repent and believe in the gospel”. This is so serious for us, eternity is a matter of choice. In which of the above alternatives will you choose to spend eternity?
Where you go when you die, depends on what you do while you live. If you are interested in a more in-depth study of what happens when you die, or want to know the steps Jesus laid down to secure eternity in Heaven, then click on our link here. We are ready and waiting to help you find the message Jesus came to pronounce, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news of salvation for every soul who wants it.
For those who are followers of Jesus, adhering to His terms and conditions, death does not pose the same issues as those who have no Hope in Jesus. God reveals comforting words to us in Psalm 116:15 “Precious in the sight of the Lord, Is the death of His godly ones.”