What Happens After Death?

Intro:

Good evening.

We have another requested topic tonight — This time, the requested sermon is in the form of the question — “What Happens After Death?”

Obviously not the most pleasant of topics, but an extrememly important one nonetheless.

It’s appointment we all will have to keep, acccording to Hebrews 9:27 - “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”

So that really answers the greater part of the question for us tonight — “After this the judgment!”

But we want to take a little closer look tonight.

Common Misconceptions About Death:

Let me list some of the most common misconceptions about death, both from religious and nonreligious people alike:

Typical erroneous beliefs about death include: When you die you become an angel, when you die you become a ghost, when you die you are reincarnated, when you die you can go to heaven or hell and then come back to life, and when you die you can have another chance to be saved afterwards.

These ideas are not taught in the Bible.

Angels … are created beings, seperate from mankind, and while they sometimes take the form of men in the Bible, as the Bible describes them in heaven, they are FAR different than men.

Ghosts — as spooky as they might be to talk about around the campfire, they just aren’t what we will be when we depart this life.

Now there is a situation in the book of 1 Samuel where Saul seeks a lady called the witch of Endor (1 Sam. ch. 28) ...

She brings up the spirit of the prophet Samuel who had died, but Saul wanted to speak to …

Witchcraft, sorcery, mediums, seances, and divination were all strictly forbidden by the Law of Moses, and Saul had actually rightly given the death penalty to the mediums and spiritists in the land, the text tells us …

Evidentely this lady had escaped that, but Saul persuades her to bring up the spirit of Samuel.

The text says that she was terrified to see the spirit of Samuel, which some commentators say is evidence that she was a fake and was surprised she had actually called him up.

So anyways one might be tempted to call this a “ghost-like” situation, but this was an exeption — God allowed Samuel to be brought up under this special circumstance.

Another situation — The disciples thought Jesus was a ghost when He was walking on the water in Matt. 14:26, but that was just their erroneous impression — He wasn’t a ghost!

When Jesus died on the cross, the KJV says that He “gave up the ghost” (John 19:30), but most modern translations correctly say “He gave up His spirit” — So that’s not evidence for people becoming “ghosts” after death as people typically think of them.

What about reincarnation?

Reincarnation is the idea that when you die, you are reincarnated to become a different person, or perhaps even an animal.

This belief is from the false religions of Buddhism, Hindu, Sikhism, and Taosim, among others.

Unfortunately, there are some very popular animal movies that come out from time to time, that teach reincarnation — seems like it’s always dogs in the movies.

Reincarnation is taught nowhere in the Bible.

What about this idea of people having near death experiences where they “die” on the operating table, then supposedly glimpse heaven or hell and then come back?

Well, it makes for a lot of book sells and money to be made in movies …

But again …

Not what the Bible teaches.

Now, some would argue this idea is what happened to Paul when he was caught up to the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:2-4) …

But regardless of what happened to Paul there, it doesn’t say anything about US in that passage.

And then finally, what about having a chance to be saved AFTER death?

Obviously that would be desirable for those who have already departed …

And the Catholic idea of Purgatory basically teaches this.

But the Bible does not.

In fact, the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus teaches just the opposite — (Luke ch. 16) — In that story, the rich man lived a lavish life of luxury in this life, while Lazarus lived in abundant poverty, begging for scraps from the rich man’s table!

But in the NEXT life, Lazarus rested in the comfort of Abraham’s embrace in Paradise.

Meanwhile, the rich man was in a place of torment, begging for Lazarus to bring just a drop of water to cool his tongue!

Jesus then explains that the rich man had his chance in this life, and the rich man wanted to send Lazarus back to warn his brothers, but even that could not be done.

There was no going back once their lives on earth were done!

Well, let’s talk about …

The Departure of the Soul to the Place of Waiting:

This is what happened with the rich man and Lazarus both.

The rich man when to Hades (which is the Gk. word describing the realm of the dead), specifically the part of Hades called TORMENT. (Again, see Luke ch. 16).

And Lazarus was carried by angels to Abraham’s bosom, the place in Hades often called Paradise.

Verse 26 says that there was a great gulf fixated between the two places of Torment and Paradise, and that people could not pass between the two places.

Now let’s show some verses that show the specific moment that the soul departs.

Ecclesiastes 12:5–7 - (a description of old age, eventually leading to this moment) - “Also they are afraid of height, And of terrors in the way; When the almond tree blossoms, The grasshopper is a burden, And desire fails. For man goes to his eternal home, And the mourners go about the streets. Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the well. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.”

It is interesting to note briefly here that according to Heb. 4:12, there is a distinction between soul and spirit, albeit I don’t know how significant that is - “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Another verse that deals with the departure of the soul/spirit at death - Ecclesiastes 3:20–21 - “All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust. Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?”

(In other words) …

The spirit of man goes upward to GOD (to be judged) ...

While the “animating substance” of animals (what makes them alive) goes down to the ground never to be again … In other words, All Dogs Do NOT Go to Heaven!

Let’s briefly also mention the brevity of human life:

(Turn and read Psalm 90:1-12).

James 4:13–16 - “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”

Earlier in James, James 1:9–11 - “Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.”

Why does man die, by the way?

We know why — Because of sin!

Romans 6:23 - “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

And Romans 3:23 - “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

This goes all the way back to Genesis chapter 3, in the Garden of Eden when God WARNED that it would happen if Adam and Eve sinned!

Genesis 2:17 - “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.””

By the time we come to Genesis chapter 3, Adam and Eve give into temptation, partake of the fruit, thus sinning, and being given their punishments.

And in Genesis 3:17–19 we read - “Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.””

Finally, let’s talk about …

Judgment, Followed by Everlasting Life or Death:

For this, we go back to Hebrews 9:27 - “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”

Death is not the end! Our existence goes on.

2 Corinthians 5:10–11 says - “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body (judgment AFTER time in the body for things done while IN the body!), according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.”

John 5:24–29 makes things abundantly clear - ““Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”

We will be judged by the Words of Christ - John 12:48 - There Jesus says, “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.”

The last section we want to look at tonight might be the scariest, but to have a full look at what will happen after death, we have to look at it.

Turn with me and let’s read Rev. 20:10-15. (Read it).

Conclusion:

There are other verses we could have looked at, such as 1 Thes. 4:13-18, and Matt. 25:31-46, but I think what we have looked at tonight will suffice to answer the question: “What happens after death?”

At death, the body goes back to the dust, while the soul and spirit depart.

Intermediately between our death and judgment — We depart to the waiting place called the Hadean realm, which consists of two parts - Paradise, and Torment (depending on how we lived our lives).

And then after Jesus returns, we will be judged according to His Word, based on the things we did in the body, and will then be told to either enter into the joy of our Lord in heaven, or depart from Christ, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, which is the second death.

The real question is — Will we be prepared for that day?