Life After Death

Have you ever thought about what happens when you die, or if there is life after death?  Is there a reward for the righteous, or punishment for the wicked?  Who are the righteous and what makes one wicked?  These are all good and important questions to ponder.

Most professing Christians will tell you that when you die, you, or a part of you, your soul, will go to heaven or hell.  Some believe in the in-between state known as purgatory.  Fortunately, the Bible tells us something very different.  But first we must ask ourselves if we are going to believe what traditions of men teach, or if we are going to believe what Jesus taught, and what the Bible tells us is true?

The Bible is quite clear as to what happens when we die.  We return back to the dust of the ground.  Science even tells us the same thing!  In other words, we are dead in the grave with no thought or consciousness.  If we are not resurrected, we will remain dead.

The Bible teaches us that all people will be resurrected in one of two resurrections.  The first resurrection is for those who are considered righteous, and that is at the time of Jesus’ return to the Earth.  We are told that he will return in the same way that he left, that is, visibly.  When he comes he will come with his angels, and then those who have died in faith will be resurrected and given immortality.  Those who are alive at his coming will be changed in the twinkling of an eye and be made immortal instantly.  This is God’s immortality plan!

Resurrection and immortality are the reward of the righteous.  They will be made immortal and will govern and manage the world with Jesus for 1000 years.  After that, the rest of the dead will be raised to be judged according to what they have done.  Some will be given immortality, and others will be destroyed forever in the lake of fire (Gehenna), what most people typically think of as hell.

This is all quite simple and makes a lot of sense to the minds that God has given us.  You have a life to live, on average let’s say 60 to 80 years.  We live in this present age from our conception and birth into this world, until we die.  Then we rest until we are resurrected either in the first or second resurrection. If God could create Adam out of the dust of the ground, He can certainly put us back together again, people who have already been created.

Jesus is God’s anointed king and ruler for that thousand years (1st Corinthians 15.)  Those of us who have been part of the first resurrection are rewarded, along with Jesus, to rule over the nations on this Earth.  What a fantastic reward for following Christ now!

Jesus will share his authority with the righteous, those who lived in faith during their mortal life. People who never heard, or rejected what they heard, will be raised at the second resurrection and Jesus, the righteous judge, well determine their fate at that time.  I trust that he will judge righteously and make the best judgment.  I do not need to worry about that now, nor do I need to make those decisions or judgments for those people at this time; Jesus will do that in the future.  I must only be concerned with what he told me to do, and that is to share this wonderful kingdom hope and immortality plan with as many people as I can so that they have the opportunity to be a part of the first resurrection.

So in short, death is compared to sleep and it is quite simple, we live, we die and we remain dead until we are resurrected either in the first or second resurrection where we will be granted either immortality in the age to come, or we will be destroyed in the lake of fire and will never live again.  This is a stark contrast to what many churches teach.  God is not some evil ogre wanting to see you suffer forever and burn all of eternity.  It is quite clear that the “wicked” people are destroyed, burned up, and will no longer exist.  Their memory is even forgotten.  Total destruction is enough punishment.

Please join us again as we talk more about this wonderful Kingdom hope that Jesus spent his entire ministry teaching people about and even spoke to his disciples about the forty days after his resurrection before going up into heaven.  If the kingdom message was that important to Jesus, it should be important to us as well!

Scripture to consider:

• Matthew 24
• 1 Thessalonians 4-5
• 1 Corinthians 15
• Revelation 2:25-29
• Revelation 5:10
• Revelation 19-21