What Happens at Death
Lesson 37
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King David believed
the dead were in their graves and not
in Heaven praising the Lord. He said,
“It is not the dead who praise
the Lord, those who go down to
silence; it is we [the living] who
extol the Lord.” (Psalm
115:17,18, insertion mine.) The
apostle Peter also confirmed this
point. On the day of Pentecost he
spoke about King David saying,
“Brothers, I can tell you
confidently that the patriarch David
died and was buried, and his tomb is
here to this day…For David did
not ascend to heaven…”
(Acts 2:29,34)
Solomon leaves no room
for doubt regarding this topic. He
explains the state of man in death
very clearly. He said that the dead
are unaware of anything that occurs
on Earth. He wrote, “For the
living know that they will die, but
the dead know nothing; they have no
further reward, and even the memory
of them is forgotten. Their love,
their hate and their jealousy have
long since vanished; never again will
they have a part in anything that
happens under the sun.”
(Ecclesiastes 9:5,6)
Jesus Called Death
“Sleep”
Many Christians do not
correctly understand man’s
condition in death. More than 50
times in the New Testament, death is
called sleep. There are two reasons
for this: First, death is actually
like a sleep. (See John 11:11-14.)
There is no awareness in death (or
during a good night’s sleep).
Second, the first death is temporary
(just as sleep is temporary), whereas
the second death lasts forever. When
Lazarus, the brother of Mary and
Martha died, Jesus referred to
Lazarus’ death as sleep. (John
11.) Why did Jesus refer to Lazarus
as being asleep? For an obvious
reason – the death that Lazarus
experienced was temporary, just like
sleep is temporary. When we sleep
deeply, we are unaware of our
surroundings. However, sleep does not
last forever. Think of the
“resurrection” as a
powerful awakening. Every person who
lives and dies will live again and
God will awaken from his or her sleep
everyone who dies in one of two
resurrections. The Bible indicates
there are two resurrections –
one for the saints and the other for
the wicked. The first resurrection
occurs at the Second Coming. This
means there will be a judgment of
human beings prior to the Second
Coming, because Jesus will decide who
is righteous and who is not before He
comes. Therefore, those judged to be
righteous would be resurrected at the
Second Coming. (1 Thessalonians 4:16)
The people judged to be wicked would
be resurrected at the end of the
millennium. (Revelation 20:5)
This is a critical
point: Natural death (the first
death) is not the penalty for sin.
Natural death comes as a consequence
of being separated from the Tree of
Life. The penalty for sin, however,
is death by execution and God will
implement the penalty for sin at the
end of the millennium. (Revelation
20:14,15) Once the distinction
between these two deaths is
understood, it becomes clear why no
one could be burning in hell right
now. The second death by execution
has not been implemented! The penalty
for sin has not been imposed on
anyone except Jesus and that happened
when He died on Calvary. When Jesus
died on the cross, He suffered the
penalty for our sins, namely, death
by execution.
Did Jesus
Preach to the Spirits in Hell?
The following text is
sometimes offered as a proof text
showing that Jesus preached to the
souls of dead people after He died on
the cross. 1 Peter 3:18-20 says,
“For Christ died for sins once
for all, the righteous for the
unrighteous, to bring you to God. He
was put to death in the body but made
alive by the Spirit, through whom
also he went and preached to the
spirits in prison who disobeyed long
ago when God waited patiently in the
days of Noah while the ark was being
built.” Did Jesus preach to the
spirits of the antediluvians after He
died on the cross? If Jesus did this,
what did He offer them? Did Jesus
grant them a pardon for their
rebellion or did He shake a divine
finger at them and say, “Eternal
hell is the reward you deserve –
you vile unbelievers?” Is it
possible to escape from hell after
being sent there? Did Jesus release
any hostages from hell? Id so, where
is the evidence? Since hell is
believed to be the worst possible
torture chamber ever devised, would
repentance come from a contrite heart
or would charbroiled sinner say
anything in order to get relief from
anguish? Although most Christians
believe the soul remains alive after
death, they generally reject the
second chance theory for salvation
after death, believing that matters
pertaining to our eternal reward are
determined during our present life on
Earth.
So, what does Peter
say in this text? Peter teaches that
the same Holy Spirit that attempted
to bring the antediluvians to their
senses before the flood brought Jesus
to life. Notice what the Lord told
Noah in Genesis 6:3, “My Spirit
will not contend with man
forever.” I think most people
would agree that if possible for a
person to be physically alive but
spiritually dead. (Romans 8:10) Peter
says that Jesus was physically put to
death in the body, but made alive by
the same Spirit that tried to save
the antediluvians. Because of
decadence and rebellion against God,
the antediluvians were dead in the
Spirit. Since they were not willing
to allow the Spirit to, lead them
onto the ark, they drowned when the
flood came.
The context of 1 Peter
3 and 4 shows that Peter is not
saying that Jesus preached to
imprisoned antediluvians during the
time He was dead. In fact, in the
verses that follow Peter flips the
topic 180 degrees by saying that
people who are “alive in the
Spirit” are dead to debauchery,
lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing
and idolatry – the very
conditions that caused the
antediluvian’s destruction.
Peter concludes by saying, “They
[those dead to the Holy Spirit] think
it strange that you do not plunge
with them into the same flood of
dissipation, and they heap abuse on
you. But they have to give an account
to him who is ready to judge the
living and those who are now dead [to
spiritual matters], so that they
might be judged according to men in
regard to the body, but [change their
ways and] live according to god in
regard to the spirit.” (1 Peter
4:4-6, insertion mine.)
Rich Man
– Poor Man
In Luke 16: 19-31,
Jesus told the story of a rich man
and a beggar named Lazarus. Many
people today use this story to
confirm the doctrine of an eternally
burning hell. Here is the story:
“Here was a rich
man who was dressed purple and fine
linen and lived in luxury every day.
At his gate was laid a beggar named
Lazarus, covered with sores and
longing to eat what fell from the
rich man’s table. Even the dogs
came and licked his sores. The time
came when the beggar died and the
angels carried him to Abraham’s
side. The rich man 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.’ But
Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember
that in your lifetime you received
your good things, while Lazarus
received bad things, but now he is
comforted here and you are in agony.
And besides all this, between us and
you a great chasm has been fixed, so
that those who want to go from here
to you cannot, nor can anyone cross
over from here to us.’ He
answered, ‘Then I beg you,
father, send Lazarus to my
father’s house, for I have five
brothers. Let them be warn them, so
that they will not also come to this
place of torment.’ Abraham
replied, ‘They have Moses and
the Prophets; let them listen to
them.’ No. Father Abraham,’
he said, ‘but if someone from
the dead goes to them, they will
repent.’ He said to him,
‘if they do not listen to Moses
and the Prophets, they will not be
convinced even if someone rises from
the dead.’”
When telling this
parable, Jesus addressed two
theological issues that the Sadducees
and Pharisees often debated. The
Sadducees did not believe in a
resurrection (they were “sad you
see”), but the Pharisees
believed in the resurrection and the
mention of this topic would start a
hotly contested debate. Paul used
this contentious subject to cleverly
distract his accusers so he could
escape with his life! (See Acts
23:8,9.) The doctrine of prosperity
was a second theological issue hotly
debated between these two sects of
Jews. The Sadducees believed that
wealth and prosperity were physical
signs of God’s approval and
poverty was a terrible curse for
wrongdoing. (People today still
debate this doctrine.) In other
words, poor people were gross sinners
because the absence of prosperity
proved they were under God’s
condemnation. (See Deuteronomy 28)
Jesus’ use of
this parable about a rich man and a
poor man allowed Him to cleverly
merge these two issues together.
Jesus’ purpose was to present a
larger truth that is found at the end
of the story. In the parable, the
rich man represents the
self-centered, richly blessed nation
of Israel God had given them every
blessing and instead of sharing
God’s blessings, they
appropriated the blessings of God to
themselves. The beggar, Lazarus,
represents the impoverished Gentiles,
who had received only a few spiritual
crumbs from the bountiful table of
the Jews. Notice how Jesus reversed
the rewards in the next life. The
beggar 9the Gentile) goes to Heaven,
but the rich man (the Jew) is sent to
hell. From the rich man cries out for
relief to Abraham, the exalted
grandfather of Israel who was
residing in Heaven. Abraham explains
the justice is being served and the
time has come for the poor to be
blessed and the rich to suffer. When
the rich man realizes his fate, he
wants to warn his brothers about
hell, but Abraham refuses to release
Lazarus (the Gentile) from Heaven to
help them. Abraham rebukes the rich
man (the Jew) in hell says,
“Your brothers have Moses and
the Prophets [the Scriptures]; let
them listen to them.” But, the
rich man pleads, “If someone
[like Lazarus is resurrected] from
the dead [and he] goes to them [the
Jews], they will repent.” (Luke
16:29,30)
Do Dead Souls
Talk Back?
The concept of dead
people living in Heaven or hell after
they die opens a door for
communications with the dead.
(Leviticus 19:31; 20:6; Deuteronomy
18:10,11; Isaiah 8:19) The reason is
simple. The state of man in death is
as a sleep; man knows nothing.
(Ecclesiastes 9:5,6) Therefore, God
forbids any communication with
spirits or with the spirits of the
deceased because demons can
masquerade as deceased people. When a
person communicates first hand with a
loved one that is deceased, the power
of deception is as good as it gets.
Demons know us well. Because they
observe and study our behavior,
demons can speak about personal
matters that are surprisingly
accurate and true. Their sole
objective is to lead us into
rebellion against God.
A few years ago, a
lady I know began communicating with
her deceased mother through a medium.
At first, she was skeptical that
communication with her deceased
mother was even possible. However,
depressed and lonely for her
mother’s company, she decided to
give it a try. During the séance she
asked a question that only her mother
could correctly answer. When the
voice speaking through the medium
gave the correct answer, she was
overwhelmed with the thought that she
was truly in her mother’s
presence. Do not be like Eve and
underestimate the power of demonic
deception. I have found that once a
person communicates with a deceased
loved one Scripture no longer seems
convincing. The delusion is that
powerful! People who communicate with
spirits or “channels” for
spirits have real encounters. The
experience is just as real as two
people speaking to each other. King
Saul visited the witch of Endor and
he had a real encounter with a demon
that pretended to be Samuel! So,
beware of demons. They can and do
talk back! (See 1 Samuel 28 and
Matthew 8: 28:34.)
Sometimes, the
following text is used as Bible proof
that communicating with the dead is
possible. At first glance, this text
seems to indicate that the souls of
martyrs talk with God and He
responds. “When he opened the
fifth seal, I saw under the alter the
souls of those who had been slain
because of the word of God and the
testimony they had maintained. They
called out in a loud voice, ‘How
long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true,
until you judge the inhabitants of
the earth and avenge our blood?’
Then each one of them were given a
white robe, and they were told to
wait a little longer, until the
number of their fellow servants and
brothers who were to be killed as
they had been was completed.”
(Revelation 6:9-11)
Bible writers
occasionally use a literary device
called personification to make a
point. Personification is a literary
technique for giving something
inanimate a lifelike quality, so that
the object speaks and acts as though
it were alive. For example, when Cain
killed Abel, God spoke to Cain
saying, “What have you done?
Listen! Your brother’s blood
cries out to me from the
ground.” (Genesis 4:10)
Abel’s blood did not literally
“cry out” to God for
justice. In stead, God used this form
of personification to emphasize that
Abel’s death required justice.
God demanded an answer from Cain for
what he had done. The shedding of
innocent blood always “cries
out” for justice and eventually,
God’s vengeance will be served
and restitution will be extracted for
every wrongful death. (Jeremiah 19)
John also uses
personification to convey the largest
possible story with the fewest words.
In Revelation 6:9-11 the blood of
innocent martyrs “cries
out” to God for justice, asking
Him to end the senseless martyrdom
occurring during the Great
Tribulation. God responds by telling
the martyrs to be patient. Jesus
knows what He is doing. He has a
larger purpose in mind and His plan
must be accomplished first. He
assures the martyrs of salvation and
tells them to wait for His plan to be
fulfilled. The martyrs are given
white robes that indicate they are
sealed with the righteousness of
Christ. (Compare Revelation 2:10,
3:5; John 6:39; Matthew 16:25;
Revelation 22:12.)
When the martyrdom of
the fifth seal actually begins, the
words of Revelation 6 will become
very comforting to the saints. Even
as the saints cry out to God for
help, He has already assured them
with the message written in
Revelation 6:9-11. This text also
reveals that there is a greater
purpose that needs to be accomplished
before martyrdom comes to an end. As
people witness the faithfulness of
the martyrs, there will be some who
will finally surrender their
rebellion against God. Christian
history proves that no argument is
more powerful or persuasive than the
blood of martyrs who willingly lay
down their lives for the cause of
Christ.
What About
Forever and Ever?
Here is another
difficult Bible text: “If anyone
worships the beast and his image and
receives his mark on the forehead or
on the hand, he too, will drink of
the wine of God’s fury, which
has been poured full strength into
the cup of his wrath. He will be
tormented with burning sulfur in the
presence of the holy angels and the
Lamb. And the smoke of their torment
rises for ever and ever. There is no
rest day or night for those who
worship the beast and his image, or
for anyone who receives the mark of
his name.” (Revelation 14:9-11)
This text does not mean the wicked
are burning forever and ever.
Revelation 20:9 states the wicked are
“devoured” at the end of
the millennium. The purpose of hell
fire is not eternal torment. I
believe God has chosen to use fire at
the end of the 1,000 years for three
reasons: restitution, penalty and
purification! The wicked will suffer
proportionately to the deeds they
refused to make right (restitution).
The wicked will be put to death by
fire (the penalty for sin is death by
execution). Sin and its horrible
consequences will be destroyed in the
lake of fire and the cancer of sin
will cease to exist (purification).
“Whatever they plot against the
Lord he will bring to an end; trouble
[sin] will not come a second
time.” (Nahum 1:9, insertion
mine.) After purifies the Earth with
fire, He will create a new Heaven and
a new Earth. John says, “Then I
saw a new heaven and a new earth, for
the first heaven and the first earth
had passed away, and there was no
longer any sea.” (Revelation
21:1) The smoke rising from the
destruction of the wicked and the
purification of the world ascends
upward forever and ever- just like
ordinary smoke does today.
What about
Night and Day?
Let us go back to
Revelation 14:10,11 and notice
something else. The wicked:
“will be tormented with burning
sulfur in the presence of the holy
angels and the Lamb. And the smoke of
their torment rises forever and ever.
There is no rest day or night for
those who worship the beast and his
image, or anyone who receives the
mark of his name.” The issue we
need to understand in this text
concerns the lack of rest-day or
night. Look again at the verse:
“There is no rest day or night
for those who worship the beast and
his image, or anyone who receives the
mark of his name.” (Revelation
14:11) Some people use these words to
indicate the wicked writhe in the
flames of hell day and night forever
and ever. These words, however, are
not describing the experience of the
wicked at the end of the 1,000 years.
These words are describing the
experience of the wicked during the
Great Tribulation! This verse reveals
the intensity of the work of the Holy
Spirit does during the Great
Tribulation. When the 144,000
powerfully present the gospel to
everyone, people who refuse the
gospel will ultimately have no choice
but to submit to the devil (the
Antichrist). Those who submit to the
demands of the devil will not only
violate their conscience; they will
emotionally wrestle with every effort
of the Holy Spirit puts forth. The
Holy Spirit will vigorously disturb
every soul who persists in rebellion
in an attempt to persuade them to
submit to God’s authority. (Joel
2:28-32) This is why Revelation 14:11
says, “There is no rest day or
night for those who worship the beast
and his image, or for anyone who
receives the mark of his mane.”
Guilt-ridden and stubborn in their
rebellion against God, they will not
have peace day or night because the
Holy Spirit will not give up on them
until God’s offer of salvation
is terminated at the seventh trumpet.
(See Revelation 10:7; 11:15-19; John
16:8-11.) Eventually, they will no
longer hear the Holy spirit prompting
their conscience and the wicked will
cooperate with the Antichrist’s
forces to kill and torture the
saints.
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