Last Things #3: What Happens When You Die?

Encore Post: In a previous post, I explained that death is the violent separation of our souls from our bodies. The body itself decays and returns to the ground in one fashion or another. God’s sentence on all human beings is fulfilled: “to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:19) For the soul of Christians, it has become the gate to paradise. For souls of those without faith in Christ, it leads to hell.

Atheists and many pagan religions see death as the complete end of human life, They believe what our senses and the instruments people have created tell them. They cannot fathom a world without decay and death. “Change and decay in all around I see,” (Abide with me, stanza 2) seems to be reality. Eastern religions believe the universe is god and that souls are reborn until they work off their negative karma. At that point, they believe, the soul ceases to exist, merging into god. Mormons believe souls go to one level of heaven or another, ultimately growing into being gods themselves.

Yet God, who made the heavens and the earth, begs to differ. Souls continue to exist after death. Jesus declared of Christians, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:25–26), “Whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” (John 12:25–26) The same thing is true of those who do not trust in Christ. (Job 19:25-27, Luke 12:20, Matthew 25:12, 30, 46) So, the souls of Christians, children of God that they are, go to be with Jesus in Paradise, waiting for the day of the Resurrection of their bodies.

Even our bodies, which decay, will rise to life again. When Jesus returns in glory, the souls of the saints will be with him. He will call them from the grave, transform them into a transformed, immortal body. (Philippians 3:20-21, Colossians 3:4, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) There is a lot that is a mystery in the intermediate state, which is what theologians call the time when souls are separated from their bodies. We should expect this, since we are sinners and the saints in heaven are purged from sin. The saints in heaven have every tear dried from their eyes and we live in the valley of the shadow of death, filled with suffering and tears. Time no longer exists for them and time is our constant taskmaster. Mostly, they see Jesus and much about him is beyond our understanding. (see John 5:24, 1 John 3:2-3)

Because we love deeply our parents, spouses, friends and children, it is hard for us to be parted from them in death. It is also difficult to be satisfied with what we can understand about their current state. Many of the things we say about them, we cannot find in scripture. Most of the times these thoughts are harmless and comforting. We are better off, however, being content with what we do know. Our Christian dead are with Jesus. They left their sins in the grave, for they were baptized into Christ, who paid for them on the cross. Jesus greeted them home with joy, drying every tear from their eyes. Soon enough, we will join them. Unless Christ returns first, we will rise from the grave with them and be transformed to be like Jesus.

So, then, we are comforted as those who have a sure and certain hope. We grieve, but we eventually receive the peace of God. Their death teaches us to number our days and tighten our grip on his promise that those who believe in him will never die.

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

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