What Happens When We Die?

By John Stallings

How great was it to get the news that Osama Bin Laden, one of history’s most repugnant butchers had tasted of American justice and that his body has already been buried at sea so that no shrine or memorial could ever be built by his followers in his “honor?”

This Sunday past was a bad day for Bin Laden but a great day for America.

I wept with joy while watching Fox News as spontaneous victory celebrations broke out all over the country. I watched the video, available on You Tube, of the people on New York subways late Sunday night rejoicing and singing patriotic songs.

We’ve seen so many rallies lately with people from all political persuasions carrying placards and shouting hate-filled rhetoric, it does our national soul good to finally get some news that would bring us together acting like we did in the days following 9/11.

Speaking of Bin Laden and the war he spawned, If Jesus tarries His coming, death will come-eventually for all of us, sooner than we think for some of us. Death is extremely democratic; all of us will get a shot at it. I’m told that every second that ticks 24/7, someone in the world dies.

I’m sure Bin Laden wasn’t expecting to split hell wide open so soon but I can assure you in less than a minute after he was shot by a crack team of U.S Navy Seals he was in hell along with other inhabitants of darkness such as Hitler, Pol pot, Judas Iscariot and Mussolini.

Our Navy Seals are trained not to shot an individuals’ face off, but to put one bullet in their forehead. Identification will probably be no problem.

THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENTS IN OUR LIVES

The most important moments in a person’s life are the first two minutes after death. It’s during these crucial moments that every person who ever lived will know whether what they believed was true or not.

There are very few people, if any, who can honestly say they are not interested in what awaits them just before and after death. Some are extremely uncomfortable with the topic and avoid talking about it at all costs.

A lot of people struggle with the loss of a loved one and need comfort and answers. To say there’s a lot of misinformation going around about death would be a classic understatement. Pop psychology abounds with stories of “bright tunnels” and lights and numerous books have been written by people telling of their own “near death” experiences.

Earnest Hemmingway, author of “Death in the afternoon” wrote, “Life is so full of problems, the only remedy for them is death.” Sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy for a man who would blow his brains out not long afterward.

A few years ago Raymond Moody wrote a best-seller called Life After Life, which purported to detail the near-death experiences of men and women who “died” and then came back to tell remarkably similar stories of weightlessness, with bright lights and reunions with loved ones.

• Hundreds of so-called “channelers” claim to be able to contact the spirits of the dead.

• The New Age Movement has popularized such Eastern concepts as the transmigration of souls, reincarnation (thanks especially to Shirley McClain), spiritualism, and communication with the dead.

• The Ouija Board remains a perpetual fascination for youngsters.

• Today, via the Internet, anyone with a computer and modem can connect with online psychics, spirit guides, and experts in reincarnation. I’m told that there are 16,000 Internet sites about witchcraft, 13,000 about reincarnation, 12,000 about psychics, 10,000 about sorcery, 5,000 about clairvoyance, and 1000 about necromancy. Nearly all these sites are free and easily accessible.

WHY THIS FASCINATION WITH THE WORLD BEYOND THE GRAVE?

Is it not because death is so final? Whatever one thinks about the reports of “near-death” visions, death -when it finally comes is irreversible. When you finally cross the line, there is no coming back from the other side. Death wins the battle every time. After the doctors have tried the latest wonder drug, after the best minds have pooled their wisdom, after the philosophers have done their best to explain that death is only a natural part of life, we come face to face with the ugly reality that some day we will all die. And that death-whether planned or accidental, whether comfortable or painful-will be the end of life as we have known it.

Three Questions

Nothing is certain-except death and taxes. But death is more certain than taxes. A clever man can find ways to evade taxes but no one evades the Grim Reaper. When your time is up, it’s up.

Death can be postponed, but never eliminated. Someday I will die, and those I love the most will die, and nothing can change this solemn fact. There’s a parting at the end of the way. We all have a rendezvous with death.

No wonder the human mind is drawn to the question, -“What happens when we die?” In many ways it’s the one remaining unanswered question. We know so much about so many things, but about life after death, we know so very little.

There are three great questions every person must answer:

1. Where did I come from?

2. Why am I here?

3. Where am I going?

It’s the third question that most grips the heart of man, for in one sense, the question “Where did I come from?” is yesterday’s news and the question “Why am I here?” is one that we answer every day. But the third question takes us into the unseen future-into the unfolding years and decades. What happens when we die? Is death the end of everything? Does man live for a few years and then simply vanish from the screen? Do we simply play our part and then shuffle off the stage into the misty obscurity of nothingness? Or is there something more, something beyond the great divide? Thousands of years ago Job spoke for the rest of us when he asked, “If a man dies, will he live again?” Job 14:14.

THE BIBLE IS FULL OF INFORMATION ABOUT DEATH.

In answering questions about life after death, we’re left with only two sources to consult. Either we turn to human experience or we turn to the Word of God. If we turn to human experience, we find many guesses, many ideas, many theories-but no sure answers. That’s because no human has a sure answer. The only people who have the answer are dead! That leaves us with the Word of God. In God’s Word we find ample, abundant answers. God who knows the future knows what happens when we die … and he hasn’t left us to wonder about it. The Bible is filled with information on this subject, so much in fact that I could never hope to cover it all here.

If you want the answer in one sentence, - what happens after you die depends on what you do before you die. Consider what the Bible says in Hebrews 9:27 (KJV),

“It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

This is an appointment no one will miss. The statistics on death are appalling. One hundred out of 100 people will eventually die. We are terminally ill with a disease called death; we just don’t know when the end will come.

Last week while watching the wedding of Prince William and his bride Kate, we were reminded of Princess Diana who died unexpectedly in 1997 in a tragic car accident in Paris. We were also stunned this week by the unexpected home going of one of God’s generals David Wilkerson in a tragic car accident in Texas.

A couple of years back I was shocked when Dottie Rambo was killed on her bus when spring storms collided with the path she and her entourage were traveling. She was knocked out of bed and killed in a situation where I’m sure she couldn’t have felt safer.

IS THERE A SECOND CHANCE AFTER DEATH?

This is the popular view of many people who hope that those who did not accept Christ in this life will somehow have a second chance after death-either in the afterlife or perhaps through reincarnation. The answer is quite simple. There is no biblical support whatsoever for the notion of a “second chance.”
Here’s the truth; the only opportunity you and I will ever have to get right with God is the opportunity God affords right now. If you dream of coming to God after you die, you are nursing an empty dream -a vain hope.

WHAT ABOUT NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES?

Such experiences are very popular today. Betty Eadie wrote a bestselling book called  "Embraced by the Light" which purports to tell of her “death” and her visit to heaven. Unfortunately, the book embraces unbiblical heresy and is in fact closer to Mormon theology than to the New Testament.

In thinking about this question, we need biblical balance. On one hand it’s undeniably true that some Bible characters did see the Lord before they died. Stephen saw Jesus just before he died in Acts 7. Paul was evidently given a vision of heaven-perhaps during his stoning at Lystra in Acts 14. He alludes to the event in 2 Corinthians 12. However, it’s important to say that such revelations did not often happen even in Bible times. Not every believer had or will have a revelation of heaven.

Could such a thing happen today? Yes, but we shouldn’t expect it or base our hope of heaven upon a last-second experience. Let’s also remember that Satan, the great deceiver, is at work. He can create scenes that seem to be scenes of heaven but are actually creations born in hell. Many near-death experiences are demonic in nature.

We should never base our hope of heaven-or the hope of seeing a loved one in heaven-on a supposed vision or revelation. The only reliable ground given to us is the eternal, unchanging Word of God.

WHAT HAPPENS TO CHILDREN WHO DIE?

This is obviously a very tender subject to many people. Parents want to know: Will I see my child again? The place to begin in answering this question is with the observation that the Bible doesn’t specifically address this question. However, we do know two things are true. First, children are not born innocent, but sinful. If children who die do go to heaven-and I believe they do-it’s not because they are morally innocent in the sight of God. No, all of us are born with an inclination to sin that leads us away from God. Ephesians 2:1 says that we are spiritually dead by nature. That applies as much to young children as it does to full-grown adults. Second, we know that God’s grace is always greater than human sin. Romans 5:20 reminds us that where sin abounded, grace super-abounded. God’s grace always goes far beyond sin’s disgrace.

I believe that God’s grace credits children with the merits of Jesus’ blood and righteousness so that those children-who die before they are old enough to believe-are covered by his blood and their entrance into heaven made sure and certain. Thus they are saved by grace just as we are.

I’ve written more than once about how my mother, who nursed a bitter, backslidden spirit for a year after her first daughter died unexpectedly at seven, was brought back to God by the reality that her daughter was with the Lord and she could never hope to see her again unless she was reunited with her in heaven.

CAN WE CONTACT THE DEAD AFTER THEY’RE GONE?

No. Any attempt to dabble in spirit contact is strictly forbidden in the Bible. It is sometimes called necromancy or sorcery or dealing with familiar spirits. Remember, demons can masquerade as the dead. They can even mimic the voices of our loved ones and give information that only the dead person would have known. For more on this subject, see Leviticus 19:26, 28, 31; Deuteronomy 18:9-14; Galatians 5:19-21.

Don’t attempt to contact the dead through any means at all-séances, Ouija Boards, crystal balls, psychic readers, channelers or mediums. You are involving yourself in that which God forbids. Leave the dead alone.

WHAT DO YOU SAY TO SOMEONE WHO HAS A LOST LOVED ONE?

Over the years I have discovered that it really doesn’t matter what you say-in terms of the precise words. Those who are grieving will not remember the words you say, but they will never forget that you cared enough to be there when they needed you. If you go with the love of God in your heart, he will give you any words you need to say.

What happens at the moment of death?

Now we come to the question of the hour. What happens at the very moment of death? We’ve already given the general answer: What happens when you die depends on what happens before you die. The Bible classifies the whole human race into two broad categories-the saved and the lost. What happens to the saved is radically different from what happens to the lost.

FOR THE SAVED

The Bible is abundantly clear on this point. When the saved die, they go directly into the presence of the Lord. Remember the words of Jesus to the thief on the cross,

“I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

This is a straightforward promise that at the moment of death the repentant thief would pass from his life of crime and his agonizing death into the realm called “paradise.” This contradicts the teaching called “soul-sleep” which implies that at death a believer “sleeps” in a kind of suspended animation until the day of the resurrection. How could the thief be that very day in paradise if his soul were to go to sleep when he died? At the moment of death the believer passes immediately into the presence of Jesus Christ. This is our hope and comfort as we stand at the graveside of a loved one. Paul said he had a desire to depart and to

…. “be with Christ, which is better by far” (Philippians 1:23).

He also said,

“We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body (that is, separated from the body by death) and at home with the Lord” II Corinthians 5:8. You’ll be blessed by re-reading the first ten verses of this chapter.

These are the words of a man who believed that heaven would begin at the moment of his death. Was Paul looking forward to an unconscious slumber after his death? No! He was looking forward to the presence of Jesus Christ.

But that’s not the whole story. The soul goes to be with the Lord in heaven and the body is buried until the day of resurrection when Jesus returns to the earth. I Thessalonians 4:14 says,

“We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”

Here you have both sides of the truth. Christians who die are said to be “with Jesus” -that’s the soul in the conscious presence of the Lord- and “have fallen asleep in him” -that’s the body which “sleeps” in the grave. Listen to Paul’s description of that great reunion of body and soul:

“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first” (I Thessalonians 4:16).

Here is a clear promise of future bodily resurrection for the believer. First Corinthians 15:51-55 adds the magnificent fact that our bodies will be “raised imperishable"-that is, with a body that is perfect in every way, free from the vestiges of death and decay. In this life our bodies wear out, like a clock continually running down, but when we are raised, it will be with bodies that can never decay, never wear out, never suffer injury, never grow old, never get sick, and thank God, never die.

Many Christians have a wrong view of death. We think we’re going from the land of the living to the land of the dying-No! If you know Jesus, you are going from the land of the dying to the land of the living.

Here are some of the images the Bible uses for the death of a Christian: going to sleep and waking up in heaven … moving from a tent to a mansion … walking from the darkness into a well-lit room … coming home to see your family and friends … being set free from prison … taking a long journey to a new land … riding a chariot to the New Jerusalem … moving into a brand-new home … opening a gate to a brand-new world.

Christians have always faced death with confidence. Over the years many people have asked me how God can raise the dead if the body has been burned or lost or vaporized in some terrible explosion. I don’t think that’s a difficult question at all. If you can raise the dead, you can raise the dead. Resurrection is God’s problem, not ours. We don’t need to know the how of the resurrection as long as we know the who.

As he lay dying, D. L. Moody proclaimed, “Earth recedes, heaven opens before me.” Catherine Booth, wife of the founder of the Salvation Army, cried out, “The waters are rising, but I am not sinking.” And George MacDonald, the English novelist, said, “I came from God, and I’m going back to God, and I won’t have any gaps of death in the middle of my life.” John Wesley summed up the faith of the early Methodists with four simple words: “Our people die well.”

Once our bodies are raised, we will be with the Lord forever. Wherever he is, there we will be, rejoicing, praising, singing and celebrating throughout the ages of eternity. First Thessalonians 4:17 says, “We will be with the Lord forever.” Speaking of his own return, Jesus said,

In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:2-3).

What is ahead for us when we die?

1. Our soul goes into the conscious presence of the Lord.

2. Our body is buried until the day of resurrection.

3. When Christ returns, we will be raised bodily from the grave.

4. Body and soul reunited, we will be with the Lord forever.

DEATH FOR THE LOST

Let's consider the fate of those who die without Jesus Christ. The lost fear death and with good reason. Job 18:14 calls death “the king of terrors.” Hebrews 2:14 reminds us that the devil holds people in bondage through the fear of death. And 1 Corinthians 15:26 calls death “the last enemy.”

Let’s note one similarity between the fate of the saved and the lost. At the moment of death, the soul enters a new realm while the body is buried in the grave. For the believer, the moment of death brings him into the personal presence of Christ. For the unbeliever, death begins an experience of unending conscious punishment.

We can summarize the fate of the lost in four short statements:

#- At the moment of death, the soul of the lost is sent to hell where it is in conscious torment. In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus told of a rich man, who upon his death, went to hell and suffered in the flames of torment. It matters not whether you think this passage is literal or figurative. If you say it is literal, then it must be a terrible punishment. If it is figurative, the figure itself is so awful to consider, that the reality must be much worse.

# -The punishment is eternal. Though this is debated in some circles today, Christians have united across the centuries in their belief that the Bible teaches an eternal punishment for those who do not know our Lord. Mark 9:43-48 speaks of the fire that is not quenched and the worm that does not die-a reference to the continuing existence of human personality in hell.

I noted-with chills up my spine-the words of the father of a 9/11 survivor when he assured people of a literal heaven and hell and spoke of his assurance that Bin Laden was in hell. Did that make hell more real to me? Not really, but I was blessed to hear a layman say something I haven’t heard a gospel preacher say in years.

# -The body is raised at the Great White Throne judgment. Revelation 20:11-15 describes the awesome scene as the unsaved dead are raised to stand before God and receive their final sentence of doom.

# -The unsaved are then cast into the lake of fire where they will reside forever, eternally separated from the presence of Almighty God. If this is unbearable to think about, if we shrink from such a thought, then let’s by all means do whatever is necessary to make sure that such a fate does not befall us or the ones we love the most.

This is the final destiny of those who do not know Jesus Christ. To make it more personal, it’s the final destiny of our friends, neighbors, loved ones, r parents, brothers, sisters, and children, if they die without Jesus Christ.

And, yes, it’s your destiny if you die without Jesus Christ. Let that thought linger in your mind. The reality of hell is more than just a theoretical doctrine. There is a place reserved for you in the lake of fire unless you, by a conscious choice, put your complete trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

IF YOU KNOW JESUS YOU HAVE NOTING TO FEAR WHEN DEATH CALLS.

Death comes to all of us-it will come for you one of these days. If we know Jesus we need not live in fear. Death may be quick or slow, painful or painless, but when the moment comes, you will find yourself ushered into heaven where you will see Jesus face to face.

Some people wonder if they will have enough faith when they die. When she was a young child in Holland Corrie Ten Boom worried about her own death and whether or not she would have enough courage when the moment finally came. Her father-Papa Ten Boom-knew of her fears and calmed her heart with these words. “Corrie, when I am going to take you on the train, when do I give you the ticket?” “Just before we get on board.” “That’s right. Dying is like taking a trip to see the Lord Jesus. He will give you whatever you need just when you need it. If you don’t have the courage now, it’s because you don’t need it now. When you need it, the Lord will give it to you, and you won’t be afraid.”

Jesus Has the Keys

Listen to the words of Jesus in Revelation 1:18, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore and have the keys of hell and of death.

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25, 26).

If you have put your trust in Jesus, you will never die. What an amazing promise. Believers die every day but for the believer, death is merely the passing from this life with all its sorrows into life eternal in the presence of our Lord.

The question is not: What happens when we die? But rather: What happened before we died?

DEATH ISN’T THE END OF THE ROAD -BUT RATHER A BEND IN THE ROAD.

For the believer, death is the doorway to heaven. For the unbeliever, it’s a passageway into unimaginable suffering. These things are true even if we do not fully understand. They are true even if we don’t believe them. While it gives me no personal gratification, let me quote what I heard an unbeliever say at the tire shop recently, and he said it several times; -“Sure as hell’” Even the devil’s crowd seems to be totally convinced.

Within a four day span one of God’s 5 Star Generals, David Wilkerson and Osama Bin Laden, one of Satan’s minions slipped through the phantom walls that separate us all from eternity. Both of them died which is what the Bible says will happen to us all.

One of these men had the blood of untold thousands of innocent people on his hands. The other man led millions to the foot of the blood soaked cross upon which the Prince of Glory died. While both men died violently, their eternal souls took different directions; one to heaven the other to hell.

What happens when you die depends on what happens before you die. Dear friend, make sure you’re ready so that when the time comes…

You won’t be surprised by what happens next.


Blessings,


John