One of the last things people want to talk about is death. That’s true despite the fact that unless the Lord comes back first, we will all die. Death is inevitable. The subject tends to only come up when it has to – a loved one has been diagnosed with a terminal disease, or we hear or read in the obituaries that someone we know has died. One of the reasons that people don’t want to talk about death and are fearful of it is the uncertainty that many face about what happens when we die.
People have differing views of what comes after this life. Many today believe that this life is all there is and there is nothing beyond the grave. Christians tend to believe that there are two destinations past this life. You will either spend eternity in Heaven or Hell.
I never really thought about death when I was young. It wasn’t until my mom died unexpectedly at age 60 that I read several books about Heaven and what comes after death. But I am now older than my mom when she died, already retired for six years, have recently celebrated my 50th high school reunion, and my wife Tammy and I talk often about the aging process and whether we will still be here to attend family members’ high school graduations and marriages.Guy Prentiss Waters has written a helpful book Facing the Last Enemy: Death and the Christian. You can read my review of the book here. I would also commend to you a recent discussion Chris Larson and Burk Parsons had with Waters about the book.
Waters writes:
“God has appointed the exact day and time of a person’s death. We have no say or control over the length of our days—whether we will be alive tomorrow or not. The end of our days is set by the Lord’s will. We need to live mindful of that reality.”
So, what happens when we die? For believers (those who have trusted Christ for salvation), their souls will immediately enter the presence of the Lord where they will await the resurrection of their bodies, which will remain in the grave until Jesus’ return. Theologians call this the intermediate state. I know when my father died four years ago, we said that he was in Heaven dancing the polka with my mom, but I don’t think that is really biblically accurate, as their bodies have not yet been reunited with their souls.
For non-believers (those that have not trusted Christ for salvation), soul and body are separated at death as with the believer. Their bodies remain in the grave and they will appear before God where they will be sentenced to eternal judgment. Scripture tells us that there is no hope of a second chance of repentance for the unbeliever after death. Hebrews 9:27 states “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.”
We will often say at a funeral or visitation, especially if the one who has died suffered, that they are “in a better place”. That is certainly true if the person was a believer. Those who mourn the death of a believer do so with hope, as Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4:13:
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
Waters writes that every human being will spend eternity with God. In Heaven, God will be present to His people as Father in love and joy. On the other hand, in Hell, God will be present to sinners in righteous judgment and wrath. He tells us that preparation for death begins right now by drawing close to Jesus Christ and finding grace in Him to face death and to encourage others who will face death.
My prayer is that on the day that you die, you will immediately go into the presence of Jesus.
