Yesterday I received a dreaded phone call. One of my students was in a car accident and is in a coma. We don’t know what his outcome will be yet. My heart goes out to to him and his family and I’ve been praying for them and the medical team.
Life is precious, yet fragile. None of us knows how many days God will grant us on this earth. It’s important to make the most of each one and help others to do the same. This tragic event and a conversation I had a couple of days ago with a different student who identifies himself as an atheist prompted me to share a few thoughts about what happens after you die. Although it can be unpleasant to think about, it’s vitally important. What you do now determines the quality of your life, your impact on others, and your destiny for eternity.
Like my atheist student whom I mentioned, you may not believe in God either. That’s okay for now, but I hope you continue to seek the truth, get your questions answered, and remain open to learning and possibly changing your mind. For me, I have found that following Jesus answers life’s key questions better than any other teaching, philosophy, or religion. People hold a variety of opinions on what happens after death–soul sleep, annihilation, reincarnation, universal salvation, or ascension to heaven are a few thoughts. Analyze your viewpoint and make sure it’s not based on just opinion or speculation. I encourage you to consider what the Bible, God’s Word, teaches about it. Almighty, eternal God who created and sustains the universe knows better than anyone what your future holds. He created you and loves you. Not only does he know your future, but he has given you proof in the message, the miracles, and the resurrection of Jesus, as well as, the transformed lives of those who follow Jesus. This proof along with hundreds of fulfilled prophecies confirm that what God promises will indeed take place.
So what does the Bible teach about life after death? The short version is that when God created humankind in his image he gave each person an immortal soul. After your physical body dies, you continue to live. The question is whether you will live eternally with God or without him. Those who want to be with God can do so by trusting and obeying Jesus, who is God the Son who became a man to save the world. He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to God except by Jesus who paid the ransom to free people from the stranglehold of sin. Jesus imparts his abundant, everlasting life to believers now and forever. Conversely, those who reject Jesus and want to continue to run their lives their way, live in rebellion and tragically choose to remain separate from God. After death, their separation from God continues forever with agonizing consequences.
Briefly here are a few key places and events mentioned in the Bible regarding life after death.
Heaven: Heaven is where God exists on a different plane than his creation. It is separate from sky or space. Yet the importance of it is not its location, but rather who inhabits it. God is there and he graciously invites anyone who trusts and obeys Jesus to join him. When Jesus died for the sin of the world 2,000 years ago he made it possible for people who place their faith in him to know God and be with God. Therefore ever since Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection, believers who die physically go to heaven. At the end of this age, the sky and space as we know them along with the earth will be replaced with a new heaven and earth where there will be no more suffering, sin, or death. God will dwell among believers there forever. It is Going to be awesome.(2 Corinthians 5:1-9; Philippians 1:18-26; Revelation 21:1-8)
Hell: Hell is the eternal place of torment for anyone who does evil. It is also called the lake of fire. Jesus used Gehenna, which was an actual garbage dump where refuse burned continually, as an illustration of this. The first to be banished to hell or the lake of fire will be the antichirst and the false prophet at the end of the Great Tribulation. After Jesus returns and reigns righteously on earth for 1,000 years he will judge unbelievers. Their judgment will not be based on whether their good deeds outweighed their evil deeds, for no one is good enough. It will be based on whether they believe in the righteousness of Jesus to save them. At this final judgment death, Hades, Satan, and all unbelievers will be banished to the lake of fire where they will suffer forever because tragically they did not want God to be their God.(Romans 6:23; John 3:16-21; Isaiah 53:4-6; Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 19:11-21; 20:7-15; 21:8)
Sheol: Sheol (in Hebrew) or Hades (in Greek) is the intermediate holding place for dead people awaiting redemption or judgment. It is divided into two sections by an uncrossable chasm. People who placed their faith in God, but died before Jesus’ death and resurrection waited for him to rescue them in the part called Abraham’s side. Once Jesus died and resurrected he released those believers from Sheol to enter into God’s presence in heaven. Ever since then that part of Sheol is empty. The other section holds all the dead people who rejected God. They wait to be judged at the end of this age. After judgment they will be banished to hell. One possible reason they don’t go to hell immediately upon their death is because all of creation needs to see the rippling effects of their sins over the years after their death. Then when God judges their transgression in its entirety it will be irrefutable to everyone how wise and just his sentencing is. (Luke 16:19-31)
Tarturus: Tarturus could be defined as a deep abyss lower than Sheol. Angels who turned against God were sent to Tarturus to await final judgment. (2 Peter 2:1-10; Jude 1:6)
Your relationship with Jesus determines your destiny. For those who love Jesus, God accepts Jesus’ atonement for their sin, forgives and justifies them, adopts them as his children, and allows them to joyfully live with him in heaven. Those who reject Jesus refuse the only possible way to be saved. As a result they must pay the price for their sin. At the day of judgment God gives them over to their desire to have nothing to do with God. They will spend eternity in torment separated from all that is good, right, true, and loving. Can you see how important this is? It’s a matter of life or death. Therefore, if you don’t know Jesus as your personal savior, I implore you to ask him to forgive your wrongdoing today. Then each day forward let him teach you, empower you, and transform you to live for him and others more than yourself. If you do that you will reign forever with Jesus when he returns to consummate his kingdom on earth. Along with that incredible future blessing, you are also blessed today. When you follow Jesus you enjoy his life amidst the tragedies and death around us, his truth amidst deception and skepticism, his grace amidst a begrudging cancel culture, his peace amidst stressful and uncertain events, his hope amidst despair and discouragement, and his joy amidst suffering and woe.
I don’t know what will happen with my student who is in a coma. I pray that he is healed and even more importantly that he and his family come to know God through all of this. What about you? How will you spend the days you have been given? Where will you go when those days end? You may not know what the future holds, but you can rest in the loving embrace of Jesus, who holds the future. I hope you choose Jesus today.
Note: If you want to learn more about choosing Jesus I’ve written a short booklet available to freely download titled, “Why I Choose Jesus.” In addition, I would be happy to try and answer any questions you have. You can contact me via the lightrunner.org website.