Where Do We Go When We Die? Part 3 of 3

There are two principles I would like to mention.

1. Priorities. As Christians, the priority is to be with Jesus. Paradise, heaven, New Jerusalem - whatever stages we find in the Bible, the priority of being with our Lord is the important principle. Jesus said, in John 14:3: "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." It is better to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. Paul said he was hard pressed whether to stay here or go to heaven, because he was given a glimpse into heaven and knew the indescribable joy of being there, but he also realized that God had a job for him to do here on earth, first.

2. The Permanence of The Decision. There is no purgatory or 'holding place.' That idea came straight out of the pagan mystery religions. There is not a shred of evidence in Scripture to support such a fantasy, but it did serve the purpose of pagan religions. Your destiny cannot be changed. The Bible tells us that 'it is appointed unto to man once to die, and after that, the judgment.' There are no second chances. This is it. He requires that we live by faith. Today is the day of decision. We are not guaranteed one more moment of life on earth than the one we breathe this moment.

As in our example of the rich man, one of the tortures of hell is to look across the fixed gulf and view the comforts and blessings of those who have accepted Christ. I believe that throughout eternity the unbeliever will be constantly reminded of what he missed because he rejected God's call. I believe he will remember services where he heard the gospel message, or times when a Christian shared the gospel opportunity with him, and where the tug of the Holy Spirit was strong in his heart, but he walked away from it and rejected it. In eternity it will be an instant replay over and over again in his mind - that he had a chance that he could have accepted, but he did not

You may say, "I don't believe that," as if by not believing you could make it untrue. Whether you believe it or not, it's still true. The truth does not depend on belief in it. Eternity for those who reject Jesus Christ will be a place where, as you saw in the case of the rich man, you would never want to go, and you would never want anyone you love to go.

You may say, "I don't believe in electricity." The lights will still go on.

Truth is truth. That's why God has given us the Holy Scriptures, so that we can know the truth - and that truth will set us free.

Royal Heir

Where Do We Go When We Die? Part 2 of 3

Let's review where these two men are now. These are two men who lived on earth before Jesus died on the cross and ascended to heaven, so these are Old Testament individuals. Lazarus and the rich man, have changed places after death. The rich man is now in Hades, a place of torment and flames, where he remembers life in the flesh and mourns at his choices. Lazarus, a beggar in the flesh, was carried to Paradise by the angels when he died and is now comfort and companionship.

Each of them is now in a temporary place: Lazarus in Abraham's bosom (Paradise) and the rich man in Hades.

Hades is an intermediate place of hell. The unrighteous dead continue in Hades (those who died before the cross and Christ's ascension) until a particular time in the future, God's judgment of the Great White Throne. At this time Hades 'gives up the dead' and they are judged and passed into the lake of fire. This is in Revelation 20:

"Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." This is the permanent hell. For all eternity.

Now let's look at the case of Lazarus in the intermediate heaven, Abraham's bosom (or Paradise). Remember that we are talking in this story about the righteous believers who died before the cross and the ascension of Jesus Christ. There was no change in their abode until Jesus ascended to the Father.

Watch what happens now. When Lazarus (a believer before Christ's ascension) dies, his body went to the grave, and his soul and spirit went to Paradise...but when Jesus died on the cross, was buried and he rose again, on the day of his ascension something changed. (Note: Some believe that believers stay in Paradise until a later resurrection; the essential difference is timing. We will proceed on this first thesis in this blog, however.)

Look at Ephesians 4:8-10: "Therefore He says: 'When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.' (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)"

Here is what happened according to the Bible. When Jesus ascended after death he went into the earth and he led captivity captive. (Note: Both Hades and Paradise are considered to be located in separate places somewhere in the inner earth.)He went to Paradise, and he took all the people who were in Paradise, and he took them with him up to the third heaven. Paradise is no longer an intermediate place; Paradise is now with God in heaven. Jesus took all those who were in Paradise - all the Old Testament saints - all who had died and believed God before the ascension, and he took them to heaven. The New American Standard Bible frames it this way:

"Therefore it says, 'WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.' (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)"

He took them to the third heaven. How do we know? Jesus said to the thief on the cross, "Today you will be with me in Paradise." Also, Paul speaks of his own experience in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4: "I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." Paul, a New Testament saint, and after Christ's ascension, went to Paradise in the third heaven, in soul and spirit; he wasn't sure whether he was there in the flesh.

So if a New Testament Christian's body goes into the grave, but his soul and spirit go to Paradise, there's another problem...in what form is he in Paradise without his body? Well, let's look at 2 Corinthians 5:1-5: "For we know that if our earthly house, this tent [our body], is destroyed, we have a building from God [a heavenly body], a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee."

The spirit desires to be clothed. A body from heaven awaits us when we die. When we die as Christians God gives us a 'clothing' that's not our resurrection body yet, but an intermediate body. We recognize and fellowship with each other. When our fleshy body is resurrected from the grave we get our permanent heavenly body (I'll address that in another blog.)

To be continued in Part 3 tomorrow.

Royal Heir

Where Do We Go When We Die? Part 1 of 3

Where are our loved ones who have died? Do we go to heaven or to the grave?

Dr. David Jeremiah, a Christian minister, addressed this subject a while back and he told a story of a tombstone in Indiana which was over 100 years old and had this epitaph:

Pause, stranger, when you pass me by.

As you are now, so once was I.

As I am now, so you will be.

Prepare yourself to follow me.

Someone had come along and had written his own words beneath the poem:

To follow you I'm not content

Until I know which way you went.

Most people want to know two things about their deceased loved ones: Where are they, and how are they? Those are questions that have no doubt risen in the minds of people since the beginning of time. We know that New Testament Christians asked questions about this issue because Paul addressed it with some of them in 1 Thessalonians 4:13:

"But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope..." He was using the term 'fallen asleep' as it is often used in scripture, to refer to a believer's death. Jesus used it in John 11:11 referring to Lazarus when he had been in the grave for three days. The Book of Acts uses it about King David in the Old Testament: "After he had served his own generation by the will of God he fell asleep and was buried with his fathers..."

It's instructive that he used the same word that was used to describe someone who spent a night in an inn and got up the next day to continue his journey. That's exactly what happens to a believer's body when he dies. It goes to sleep and is put in the 'hotel,' awaiting the time when it's resurrection occurs. The body is the house in which the real person lives, the shell in which he resides. But, that's not the real issue. We know that the body isn't the real person. So what happens to the real person?

As with everything else, if we just study the Bible we can usually find the answer. It's the only authority on the subject. Depending on whether a person is a Christian or a non-Christian, Paul shows that the results are not the same. So, to see how this works we'll look at the story of the rich man and Lazarus. We'll track them in life, in the grave and after death, in eternity.

In their lifetimes, Luke 16:19-21: “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores." In life the rich man lived the 'good life,' had good things, was wealthy. The beggar, Lazarus, was sick and hungry and poor, so poor that his sores were licked by dogs, even though the rich man could easily have had his servants helped him.

In death, verse 22: "So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried." No mention is made of Lazarus, the beggar, being buried. Due to his poverty he was possibly not even buried, but perhaps was put in the potter's field, or perhaps they threw his body into Gehenna, the city dump. The real person, though, was carried by angel's to Abraham's bosom. The rich man was buried and no doubt had a lavish funeral and was honored by his friends and relatives, but there is no mention of being carried to Abraham's bosom by an angel.

After death, verses 23-24: "And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’" This is very important, because Jesus himself is telling this true story, and no one else but Jesus could know what happens after death. We know its a true story because Jesus uses Lazarus' name, which he never did when telling parables. This was not the same Lazarus that Jesus raised from the dead, but someone the Lord personally knew and witnessed in life, in death and after death.

This true story lays a foundation for us to understand exactly what happens. The Bible teaches that before the ascension of Jesus Christ there was an immediate place where the souls of men went at death. This place is composed of three areas: 1) Abraham's bosom 2) a great fixed gulf and 3) Hades, the place of torment.

Abraham's bosom is also called Paradise and is the place where the righteous dead went, a place of comfort and companionship. Verse 25 says: "But Abraham said, ‘Son (the rich man), remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.'" We find out here that the angel carried Lazarus' real person to Paradise (1 above), and the rich man's went to Hades (3 above), where the souls of the wicked go. Notice, also, that in verses 23-24 above, it says that the rich man was 'tormented in this flame.' The destiny of these two men is fixed.

Between Paradise and Hades we are told in Verse 26 that there is a great fixed gulf (2 above): "And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ " Jesus said there is a chasm between these two places which cannot be crossed under any circumstance. Keep in mind that this story applies to Old Testament people, before Christ's ascension to heaven. His death on the cross had not yet occurred when these two people died.

Do you notice how in death the rich man and Lazarus have changed places? The rich man is now the beggar, and Lazarus is now rich in eternity. The rich man is now not only a beggar, but he's in a place of MEMORY (verse 25) and THIRST. He is conscious of what he has missed; this is one of the torments he experiences. We see in verses 27-31 that it is also a place of MOURNING: “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’” He begs Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers, but Abraham refuses because they won't listen now any more than they have in the past. The word of God through Moses and the prophets is more powerful than someone coming back from the dead, according to Jesus' telling of the story. If they won't listen before, they won't listen, period.

To be continued in Part 2.

Royal Heir