Question: What happens to a Christian Believer when they die?
No one knows what death is like, so with death being an unknown many people fear death! Many ask:
- Is death the end of a Believer or unbeliever?
- When a person dies is their soul transferred to another person or animal?
- Does one’s soul sleep in the grave?
- Will we ever exist again?
- Will we have disembodied spirits floating around in the sky?
With so many different religions in this world and so many myths about death, we will ultimately hear several answers or opinions about question #3. So, what does the Bible reveal about death! Let’s look to the Word of God, which has the answers of life to unravel this mystery.
The Bible records several examples with answers such as:
The Rich Man and Lazarus. In Luke 16:19-31, Holy Spirit reveals to the reader that we will have memory and that we will know each other. This real-life example gives the reader a very detailed explanation of one’s soul after death. In these verses of scripture, we read what happens to a Believer in Jesus vs. an unbeliever.
- The rich man, upon death, is escorted to a place of torment. Lazarus, upon death, is escorted to Abraham’s bosom.
- Although both are carried to the same location, there was a great gulf fixed between them. One side a place of torment; the other side a place of peace and comfort. The rich man, who rejected Jesus for salvation, is in a place of torment, which is eternal damnation (hell). Lazarus, who accepted Jesus for salvation, is in Abraham’s bosom (also known as Paradise, which is eternal life).
- Before Jesus’ atonement for sin on the Cross, all saints of old were held in Abraham’s Bosom. After His death, Jesus took all saints in Abraham’s Bosom or Paradise to Heaven, which is now called “the present or intermediate Heaven” (Ephesians 4:8-10). Since Jesus’ finished work at the Cross, Believers are taken immediately to Heaven upon death. 2 Corinthians 5:8 reads: “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” Our body goes to the grave, but our spirit goes to be with the Lord. So as stated upon the death of a Believer, they are immediately present before the Lord!
After Jesus’ death we read in Matthew 27:50-54 “And the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.” Jesus died to pay the penalty for sin and for the captives held in Abraham’s bosom or Paradise to be set free and to be taken to Heaven with Him! All saints before the Cross are now in Heaven and all saints after the Cross are in Heaven (Ephesians 4:8)!
The Thief on the cross. In Luke 23:42-43, Jesus has a conversation with one of those crucified with him, who asks, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answers him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” The thief on the cross gave his life to Jesus and Jesus promised him eternal life. The thief is now in heaven.
Transfiguration: Jesus took Peter, James and John with Him on a mountain and became transfigured before them. Verse 3 reads “just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah. These men were not a ghost, they were actual embodied people and the Disciples knew them immediately. Dead men don’t talk! (Matthew 17:1-4)
Jesus says God is the Father of the living: We read in Mark 12:24-27 when Jesus was asked about the resurrection of the dead, He stated that God told Moses, I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I am the God of the living, not the God of the dead. Meaning those that reject Jesus are dead in their sin and separated from Him, and whose who have accepted Jesus are alive in the presence of God. In other words, “life continues after the physical body dies, the spirit man never dies.”
Martyrs in Heaven. We read in Revelation 6:9-11 that the souls of those martyred on earth are now in Heaven crying to the Lord to avenge for their death. Once again, these people are not ghost, but real people who have died for believing in Christ. These martyred people are in Heaven!
The scriptures listed above are just a few of the many scriptures listed in the Bible. The scriptures listed however have enough detailed information that we can know assuredly that a Believer upon death will be escorted to Heaven to be with the Lord. Our souls will not sleep in a grave and we will not be reincarnated into some animal or another person.
Jesus’ death on the Cross took away the “sting” of death for Believers, we will exist again and live in eternity with Jesus. Friends, we need not fear death! Yes, we will miss our loved ones when they die, but if they are Believers, we will see them again.
“If you want to know Jesus as your Savior, ask Him into your heart by confessing you are a lost sinner in need of salvation. Ask Him to forgiveness your sins. Confess to Him that you believe that He died on the Cross for your sins and rose on the third day and He is now seated at the right hand of Father God in Heaven.”
S.N.A.C.K. on the Word
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