What happens after we die? When we ask this question in prison ministry the answers vary widely and the misconceptions cover a wide spectrum. Very few inmates have a solid grasp of what it means to be made in God’s image and that humans consist of body, soul and spirit. Their views reflect society’s perspective as a whole. The Bible reveals that these three distinct attributes have specific roles in our makeup.
In Genesis 2:7 we read that God formed man from the dust of the earth and breathed the breath of life into him. This description reveals the physical connection we have with the earth and the spiritual life we share with God. Paul confirms this relationship in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, “May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Our physical bodies are not “who” we are but are simply the vehicle we inhabit that allows us to navigate in our physical world. Our soul can be understood as the component that allows us to understand. Our soul contains our intellect, will and emotions. Our spirit is what makes it possible for us to have a connection with our Creator. It is the deepest part of our being.
Scripture portrays death as the separation of our soul and spirit from our body. Ecclesiastes 12:7 teaches that when we die, “the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” When our body dies, we don’t die with it. We continue to exist.
Atheists tell us that humans are nothing more than evolved animals and that we cease to exist when we die. This mindset compels many people to focus on investing everything they have in building empires in the present because the material world is all they comprehend.
Other false views of the afterlife include:
REINCARNATION
Reincarnation means literally, “to be made flesh again.” It is a metaphysical belief that some essential part of a living being (in some variations only human beings) survives death to be reborn in a new body. This essential part is often referred to as the spirit or soul, the “higher” or “true” self, “divine spark,” or “I.” According to such beliefs, a new personality is developed during each life in the physical world, but some part of the self remains constant throughout successive lives.
SOUL SLEEP
The belief that the soul sleeps unconsciously between the body’s death and its resurrection on Judgment Day. Soul sleep is also known as psychopannychism (from Greek psyche (soul, mind) + pannuchizein (to last the night)).
CHERRUB-LIKE SPIRIT BEING
This is the notion that in Heaven, we will forever be “spirits” floating around as chubby angels rather than the biblical teaching that we will have resurrected bodies that are very like our present bodies – yet without any tainting of sin or death.
UNIVERSALISM
The theological doctrine that all persons will ultimately be “saved” and that there is no such thing as a literal hell or eternal punishment.
ANNIHILATIONISM
The doctrine that sinners are destroyed rather than tormented forever in “hell” or the lake of fire. It is directly related to the doctrine of conditional immortality, the idea that a human soul is not immortal unless given eternal life. Annihilationism asserts that God will eventually destroy or annihilate the wicked, leaving only the righteous to live on in immortality. Some annihilationists believe the wicked will be punished for their sins in the lake of fire before being annihilated; others believe that Hell is a false doctrine of pagan origin.
PURGATORY
The place where the souls of believers go to be further purified from sin until they are ready to be admitted into Heaven. According to this view, the sufferings of purgatory are given to God as a substitute for the punishment for sins that believers should have received in time but did not. The doctrine is derived from 2 Maccabees 12:45-46 in the Apocrypha, which is incongruent with the New Testament nor is it included in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible).
Scripture teaches that believers enter into eternal conscious fellowship with God at death while unbelievers enter into eternal conscious separation from God at death. It is important that we understand the biblical basis for these claims.
The apostle Paul writes in Philippians 1:21-23, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better;”. The words of Jesus to the criminal while He was being crucified, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43), intimate an immediate entrance into heaven.
Paul taught there is conscious fellowship with Christ after death for believers. In 2 Corinthians 5:8 he states, “We are confident I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” In contrast, unbelievers will experience conscious punishment “away from the presence of the Lord.” (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
Jesus declared that the wicked “will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matthew 25:46). And Hebrews 9:27-28 teaches, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”
PARABLES REFLECT TRUTH
Parables reflect truth. In the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), Jesus conveyed, “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’” (Luke 16:22-24).
Jesus also taught, “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. And He has given Him authority to judge because He is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out – those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.” (John 5:26-29).
In Revelation 20:12, we read, “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and the books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.” Verse fifteen goes on to say, “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
The writer of Acts reveals that God will judge humanity’s ignorance if they do not repent. “For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:31).
Paul testifies in 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 that the resurrection of Christ is a truth that is irreconcilable with the notion that people will not be raised on the last day. He declares, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” (1 Corinthians 15:14). In verse nineteen, Paul adds, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.”
Believers have the promise of paradise from the lips of Jesus offering hope beyond our physical realm, therefore there is no need to exhaust our resources pursuing as much paradise as we can afford in this life. For unbelievers, physical life represents the only goodness they will ever experience since goodness comes from God alone. Hell will be devoid of goodness because of the absence of God.
Humans were created as body, soul and spirit to live forever. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden a part of them died that very day. Jesus restored what they lost and offers it as the gift of life to all who believe. Those who choose to discard the gift cannot benefit from it. Those who choose to receive it and accept it as their own will reap blessings beyond all human comprehension.
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