Everyone asks that question at some time in life. Some believe we come back reincarnated in another form. Others say we go to heaven or hell, depending on the sort of life we have lived. Others says we go to purgatory where we spend countless ages of torment being purged of our sins before we can go to heaven. Still others believe that death is the end of everything, that when we die, there is nothing else.
What does the word of God tell us?
In Genesis 3:16-17, we learn that death was the punishment for disobeying God. Without sin, there would have been no death. Man would have lived forever. Revelation 21:4 tells us of a time when there will be no more death, when God has finally dealt with the sin problem.
What is it like to be dead?
Jesus described death like being asleep. John 11:11-14. The early Christians also looked on death as a sleep. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Peter 3:4; Acts 7:60)
What is it like to be asleep?
Are we aware of what is going on around us? No, until we rouse, we don't know anything. We just rest peacefully until morning. Jesus says death is like that.
Do the dead know anything?
No. Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10, "For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten... Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest."
Will the dead wake up again?
Yes, Jesus said the time will come when all who are asleep in death will hear His voice and awake. (John 5:28). For those who have done good, this will be the resurrection to eternal life. For those who have done evil, it will be a resurrection to condemnation. Revelation 20:12-14 tells us that this judgement will be followed by the second death which is eternal.
The Bible does not talk about Christians going to heaven when you die. But more than forty times it tells us about the Resurrection. This is why a Christian funeral contains the words of Jesus: "I am the resurrection and the Life. He that believeth on Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."
"But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope...For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." 1 Thessalonians 4:13, 16-18.
How can we be sure there will be a resurrection?
There has been one already, the resurrection of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 15:12-22
"Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive".
What does the word of God tell us?
In Genesis 3:16-17, we learn that death was the punishment for disobeying God. Without sin, there would have been no death. Man would have lived forever. Revelation 21:4 tells us of a time when there will be no more death, when God has finally dealt with the sin problem.
What is it like to be dead?
Jesus described death like being asleep. John 11:11-14. The early Christians also looked on death as a sleep. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Peter 3:4; Acts 7:60)
What is it like to be asleep?
Are we aware of what is going on around us? No, until we rouse, we don't know anything. We just rest peacefully until morning. Jesus says death is like that.
Do the dead know anything?
No. Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10, "For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten... Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest."
Will the dead wake up again?
Yes, Jesus said the time will come when all who are asleep in death will hear His voice and awake. (John 5:28). For those who have done good, this will be the resurrection to eternal life. For those who have done evil, it will be a resurrection to condemnation. Revelation 20:12-14 tells us that this judgement will be followed by the second death which is eternal.
The Bible does not talk about Christians going to heaven when you die. But more than forty times it tells us about the Resurrection. This is why a Christian funeral contains the words of Jesus: "I am the resurrection and the Life. He that believeth on Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."
"But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope...For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." 1 Thessalonians 4:13, 16-18.
How can we be sure there will be a resurrection?
There has been one already, the resurrection of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 15:12-22
"Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive".
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