By Sidharth Mohandas
What happens after death? Do we cease to exist? Is there life after death? These are some questions that cross every person’s mind. In this article I desire to lift a part of the veil that separates this world from eternity by giving you a glimpse of what comes after death.
There is one fact that you and I must be aware of: everyone who faces death will also face the resurrection of the dead, whether they are believers or unbelievers. Those who believe will be resurrected to eternal life, while those who do not believe will be resurrected to eternal contempt (Daniel 12:2, John 5:28-29).
Before we move further into the topic of Resurrection of the dead, it is vital that we realize what happens to each faculty of man. We know that man is a triune being, with a spirit, soul and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). The spirit and the soul constitute the immaterial part, while the body is the material part that holds the immaterial. The moment the body stops functioning, the immaterial part is released from it. The body goes to the dust where it came from, while the spirit and the soul return to God (Ecclesiastes 12:7, Ecclesiastes 3:21). The appearance of the spirit of man before God immediately after death is for one main purpose: to hear the divine sentence appointed to each spirit. In other words, to be given the state and place it must occupy from the time of death till the time of resurrection of the body.
The destiny of man’s immaterial faculty is based on one great choice they make on the earth: a “yes” or a “no” to Jesus.
What happens to those who say “no” to Jesus?
Scripture tells us that when they die, the material part (body) will return to dust where it came from, while the immaterial part (spirit and the soul) will be in a place that the Bible calls Hades in Greek, or Sheol in Hebrew (Psalm 9:17, Luke 16:22-23). The body is taken over by the enemy called Death, while the real person (the spirit and the soul) is tormented in Hades until the Day of Judgment. On the Day of Judgment, Death and Hades will give up that which is in them and the wicked will be judged according to the deeds done in their body (Revelation 20:13, II Corinthians 5:10) and they will be thrown into the Lake of Fire.
What about those who say “yes” to Jesus?
The body of those who believe in Jesus will return to dust as well. However, the Scripture clearly teaches that the immaterial part [spirit and soul] will be in Paradise, or in other words, in the presence of God (Luke 16:22, II Corinthians 5:8-9)
Further, when the Lord Jesus manifests Himself at His coming He will bring the immaterial part of those in Paradise along with Him so that they will re-unite with their sleeping bodies (1 Thessalonians 4:14,16 ). At the same time, those of us who are alive at His coming will be caught up into the air. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18, I Corinthians 15:51-52). This event is called “harpazo” in Greek generally referred to as the rapture.
In the upcoming articles Titto will discuss the essence of the resurrection of the dead.
Please feel free to ask any doubt. There are a lot of things I couldn’t explain in this article.
Sidharth
It takes huge courage to write on topics such as these, needless to say the effort involved in research from the Word. Done really well, cause you dealt with the core issue of salvation which revolves totally around life and death..I received new insights and blessed!
Encouraging and sobering! Do you believe in the rapture? I know there are many different opinions on it. David Pawson has written some great books on the Second Coming. A very interesting subject.
Certainly I believe in the rapture, though I prefer calling it by its Greek name “harpazo” in order to avoid confusion.
Sidharth
Very well written article.
It makes it clear to those that say yes or no to Jesus, where they will spend eternity.
Hi Sidd..
It explained a lot of things to me..
thanks
Thanks Sidharth! Though we come across words like Sheol, Hades, etc in the Bible, we would not really think about them in detail. A good one, presenting the facts clearly. Waiting for the next one on the topic. God bless you all.
Praise God for this Blessed Hope. I have a dear friend named Ulrike (perhaps you’ve seen her prayers in my blog)who lost her husband last night in a rollover accident. She is 68. He was 83. So thankful He knew the Lord. Imagine what he is seeing right now. Please pray for her to overcome the trauma of being in this accident and her complete recovery. Also for the family to be comforted and draw near to God.
Blessings to Sid & Imrah.
Keep preaching the Word.
PRAISE GOD FOR THIS ARTICLE!!!
Beautifully wriiten and simple to understand for everyone believers and non believers alike
Godbless Imrah Team
Dear Jacob,
The word Sheol in Hebrew is used in different ways depending on it’s context. In some cases it is used simply to refer to the grave, in other cases Sheol is linked with pain, agony, distress, the place where the wicked at turned into and so forth.
In many translations of the Bible all the different compartments of the dark world is simply referred to as “hell”. When in actuality there are three different Greek words that are wrongly translated as “hell”, and they are “Hades”, Tartaroo” and “Geheena”.
Hades as said above is the place where the wicked go when they die. Tartaroo is the place where the angels who sinned are chained (2 Peter 2:4), and Geheena is the actual Greek for “hell”. Geheena (Matt 5:22, Matt 5:29, Matt 10:28, Matt 23:33) finds its origin in the Jewish place called “Ge Hinnom” which means “Valley of Hinnom” (Jer 7:31, Jer 19:6, and Jer 32:35), which was a place in Jerusalem where refuse was burnt with unquenchable fire.
Sidharth
You need to come visit my blog, I have bestowed an award on you and your blog!!
http://myroadasitravelit.blogspot.com/2008/10/my-first-award.html
Sue
Sidarth – it is good that you clearly define the crux of life after death (and what to do in life). Many churches have become seeker friendly and do not preach on hell, or eternal separation from God. I found Watchman Nee’s book \The Spiritual Man\ very good at explaining man’s triune nature. Well done.