What Happens After Death

What happens after death? That is not just a curious question, it is the question Job asked long ago: “If a man die, shall he live again?” We do not learn the answer from human opinion or imagination. We learn it from the only One who sees beyond the grave—our eternal God speaking in His word.

In Luke 16:19–31 Jesus pulls back the curtain for us. He tells of a rich man who lived in luxury and a beggar named Lazarus who was laid at his gate, full of sores, just hoping for crumbs. Then the moment we all face comes. They both die.

Their bodies are buried on this earth, but their spirits go on. Lazarus is carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom—Paradise. The rich man lifts up his eyes in Hades, in torments. Lazarus is comforted. The rich man is in flame, in misery, begging for a single drop of water to cool his tongue.

Right away we learn something vital. Death does not end consciousness. The rich man remembers his life. He feels pain. He reasons. He pleads. Lazarus enjoys rest and comfort. Both men are fully aware of where they are.

Jesus also shows us that the unseen realm—the Hadean world—has two very different places. There is Paradise, Abraham’s bosom, a place of refreshment and care for the righteous dead. There is also a place of torment, described elsewhere as chains of darkness, a prison where the ungodly are reserved for judgment.

Second Peter 2 and Jude 6 speak of angels who sinned, cast down and kept in chains under darkness until the judgment of the great day. That is the same picture we see in the rich man’s condition. He is not yet in the final lake of fire, but he is already suffering, awaiting the day when all will stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

Revelation 20 says that death and Hades will one day give up the dead that are in them, and then death and Hades themselves will be cast into the lake of fire. That tells us Hades is temporary. It is the waiting place, not the final destination.

And Jesus makes something else very plain. Between Paradise and torment there is a great gulf fixed. No one crosses it. No soul moves from comfort to torment or from torment to comfort. There is no second chance, no changing sides, no purgatory where time or money or prayers can buy a better outcome. Our eternal state is fixed at death.

The rich man understands that. He knows he cannot leave torment, so he begs Abraham to send Lazarus back to warn his five brothers. Abraham says, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” When the rich man protests, Abraham declares that if they will not hear God’s word, even a miracle will not persuade them.

That is still true. Today we have not only Moses and the prophets, but the completed gospel of Christ. God has given us everything we need to know how to be saved and how to remain faithful.

So what does all of this mean for you and me? It means there really is something after death. It means every one of us will spend conscious existence either in comfort or in torment the moment we leave this body. It means that when the Lord returns, all who are in the graves will be raised, and we will stand before Him to give account, to receive according to the things done in the body, whether good or bad.

And it means the time to prepare is now. The rich man would give anything to have one more invitation, one more chance to obey. We still have that opportunity.

If you have never obeyed the gospel, the Bible teaches that you must believe in Jesus as the Son of God, repent of your sins, confess His name, and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. If you are a Christian who has drifted, you must repent and seek the prayers of your brethren.

What happens after death is not a mystery anymore. God has told us. The only question that remains is this: when your spirit leaves your body, where will you be? Paradise or torment? Today is the day to make that right with God.

https://www.granbychurchofchrist.org/...

   • Death