What happens when we die

If you have been directed here but are of another faith, or no faith at all, then I would urge you to read ‘ Reasons to Believe ’, for proof of credibility of the Bible, and in the Appendices section, ‘ Why Jesus is the only way to salvation .’ What follows is in two sections: For believers For believers whose departed loved one was an unbeliever For little children and those who are not able to discern right from wrong

For believers

As Christians, you may have heard of more than one explanation, or suggestion, of what happens at death, but there is only one. This isn’t something that is explicitly stated in one place, but can be confidently gleaned from just a few verses of scripture. At this point, let’s just clarify that we are not talking about cultural, or self-declared Christians who do not testify to their faith through witnessing, that is, their behaviour is not always as expected of Christians. This only applies to born again Christians, those who identify with Romans 10:9 - Because if you confess the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved . Such have had all their sins forgiven when they accepted Christ as their saviour, and through grace, have the promise of eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life [ John 3:16]. Four texts are given here: three are from the New Testament and one from the Old Testament. The first is from Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, 2 Cor 5:6-8: 6 Then being always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are away from home from the Lord; 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight; 8 then we are confident and we are pleased rather to go away from home out of the body, and to come home to the Lord. Verses 6 and 8 both tell us there are just two conditions of self relating to life and death: We are either at home in the body , or we go away from home out of the body to be at home to the Lord . Then, in his letter to the church at Philippi (Php 1:21-24): 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor. Yet I do not know what I shall choose. 23 For I am pressed together by the two: having a desire to depart (from the flesh) and to be with Christ, which is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. Again, the two conditions are being expressed: Either live in the flesh or we depart to be with Christ . Nothing in between. Paul is talking about our spirit, as confirmed in Ecclesiastes 12:1-8, where Solomon is encouraging his readers to remember God before there lives are over. In verse 7 he says: then the dust shall return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return to God who gave it. Making a clear statement that a person’s spirit departs from the body at death to be with God. James, Jesus’ half brother, when talking about works resulting from faith (James 2:14-26) says the same thing in verse 26: For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. If the body is dead then the spirit is no longer resident. For believers, the Bible, although briefly, tells us that after death our spirit is immediately taken to heaven until the rapture, with no intermittent state mentioned. Despite the tragedy and grief over the death of a loved one, the knowledge that the spirit departs from the body at the time of death and is now with the Lord should be a comfort; even a joy. But grief and joy do not sit comfortably together under such circumstances, with grief, initially for an unknown period of time, being the victor. However, if you can make time to meditate on the destination of your loved one’s spirit, perhaps during your prayer time, it will help. Joy will slowly trickle to the surface and, in a time only suited to the individual, will become an acceptable partner to grief in the healing process. You will still miss your loved one, occasional tears will still flow, but joy will eventually become the victor.

For believers whose departed loved one was an unbeliever

For unbelievers, those who have not received Jesus Christ as their Saviour, their spirit has a different eternal destination, separated from God, which is everlasting punishment and is called hell. Hell always feels to me an unfortunate and harsh word to use; but we can’t escape the reality. This is not immediate, but their spirit first goes to a temporary place, Hades, to await their final resurrection and judgement. If the unbeliever is a ‘bad’ person, this is an understandable destiny. However, if the deceased cannot be described as a ‘bad’ person, then this can be very distressing, making grief all the more painful in those days of mourning. At this juncture, it might be worth reading ‘Is Heaven or Hell just a simple binary option?’ It precedes this article and can be read here , loaded in a new window so you can more easily return here. The grief of losing a loved one must surely be greater if the loved one is an unbeliever. As a believer, you have the added pain of knowing you will never see that person again. You may also find yourself wondering how he or she will cope with being in Hades, waiting for the resurrection, final judgement and being condemned to hell. The question has to be asked is ‘are you certain beyond doubt that your loved one was an unbeliever’. It could be that, faced with the reality of death, there may have been a last minute change of heart that you are unaware of. Only God will know the answer to that. There is no penalty for a late conversion. We only have to remember the thief on the cross next to Christ to realise this is true (Luke 23:43). There is no less an outcome for late acceptance of Christ. The parable of the vineyard labourers confirms this to be the case (Matt. 20:1-16). When there is uncertainty we must rely on the holy perfect judgement of God. Nothing that God does will fail to gain our approval in eternity. As Abraham said when bartering with God over the fate of Sodom, Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just? [Genesis 18:25]. “Abraham’s clear understanding of God’s character being only able to do what is good and totally above reproach was affirmed with this rhetorical question” [John MacArthur Study Bible]. We are told in Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away [KJV]. We need to remember these words, knowing that when we come face to face with Jesus, all this will come to be, despite the fact that in this life we are unable to comprehend how this will come about without dishonouring the love and pain we have experienced. But it can. Anything that helps in honouring a loved one’s memory, anything that won’t offend God, whether private or shared, should be as you want it to be to bring you comfort and help in the grieving process. All this can be done while still remaining true to your faith.

For little children and those who are not able to discern right from wrong

When we speak of little children, we are really referring to those who are not yet of accountable age; who do not yet have enough understanding to accept Jesus as their Saviour; who are not yet able to mentally reject what is wrong and choose what is right. As in the case of adult believers, we don't have a convenient explicit statement on this, but we do have convincing scripture to consider. The first, and perhaps the most compelling, is when David was mourning the loss of his first son. This is recorded in 2 Samuel 12:23. The context is that David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and contrived to have her husband killed in battle. God judged David by causing their son to have a sickness from which he would die ( Note ). These are the verses following David having been told this judgement by the prophet Nathan: 2Sa 12:16 And David prayed to God for the child. And David fasted, and went in and lay all night upon the earth. 17 And the elders of his house rose up toward him, to raise him up from the earth. But he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. 18 And it happened on the seventh day, the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, Behold, while the child was still alive we spoke to him, and he would not listen to our voice. How then will he trouble himself if we tell him that the child is dead? 19 But David saw that his servants whispered. And David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, Is the boy dead? And they said, He is dead.  20 And David arose from the earth and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his clothing, and came into the house of Jehovah and worshiped. And he came to his house, and commanded, and they brought bread before him and he ate. 21 Then his servants said to him, What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the living boy, but when the child was dead you arose and ate bread! 22 And he said, While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, Who can tell if God will be gracious to me so that the child may live? 23 But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. In verse 23, David is saying that he when he dies he will be reunited with his son. Meaning David, having been forgiven by God for his sins, would be reunited with his son who will be with departed saints, having been a mere infant and therefore not of accountable age. David would not have said I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me if he did not have confidence in God's grace and know that to be true, perhaps inspired by the Holy Spirit. Although David grieved heavily for his son Absalom, he clearly had no thought that he would see him again after his own death, 2 Sam 18:31-33 31 And, behold, Cushi came. And Cushi said, Good news, my lord the king, for Jehovah has avenged you this day of all those who rose up against you. 32 And the king said to Cushi, Peace to the young man, to Absalom? And Cushi answered, May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise against you to do you hurt, be as the young man. 33 And the king was much moved, and went up to the room over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said this, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would God I had died for you, O Absalom, my son, my son! The second is the story of Jonah in which many people, including unbelievers, will remember Jonah being in the belly of a 'whale' for three days. In the book of Jonah, we are told that Jonah tries to evade God's call to him to preach to Nineveh, the capitol of Assyria. Jonah takes a boat to Tarshis, but the ship runs into a storm and he is thrown overboard and swallowed up by a great fish. Jonah calls out to God in prayer from the fish’s belly, to which God responds and Jonah is thrown up onto a beach. For a second time, God called Jonah to go and preach to Nineveh. This time Jonah obeyed and gave the city a simple message: Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown! Nineveh appeared to respond without question, and the king ordered everyone to fast and repent in sackcloth and ashes. God acknowledged their repentance and the city was saved. Jonah was angry that Nineveh was spared a deserved judgement and left the city to watch from a distance, in case their repeal was short lived. Here, God reproved Jonah. He used the withering of a plant (originally provided to give Jonah shade) and Jonah’s attitude towards it to show him just how important the souls of Nineveh were. The revealing verse is Jonah 4:11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; The natural question is: what is the age of accountability? This we aren’t told, but it must surely depend on a child’s individual circumstances. Whatever the views of the parents or guardians, God’s true judgement will be the deciding factor. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? [Genesis 18:25]. Lifted out of context, but a rhetorical question where Abraham was really saying that God is wholly just. Being wholly just is an attribute that we as Christians accept by faith. If we didn’t, then we would be faced with a ‘rabbit hole’ of serious theological questions.