Is There Life Beyond the Grave?

What happens when we die? Even those of us who should know better believe all kinds of myths about death. That the dead become angels. That the ghosts of the dead hover around their graves. That souls sleep until the resurrection of the dead at the judgement day.

The fact, as revealed in the Bible, is that upon death the body begins to decay but the eternal soul lives on in the presence of either Christ or wakes up in hell. In this my last blog about redemption, I want to consider some of what is clear about what Scripture calls, the GLORIFICATION of redeemed sinners.

But first we need to remind ourselves that we are talking about a mystery. Most of our future, as believers, is unknown. Whatever is needful, God has revealed. Rather than spend time in conjecture, we should savour what has been revealed. As Paul wrote, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2:9). Think of the most wonderful aspects of life on earth—our future state as redeemed sinners will be infinitely beyond the best we have experienced on earth.  

Let’s clarify then, what Scripture reveals. Upon death, the soul of every redeemed sinner is immediately translated into the presence of Christ. Away from the body is “at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). Jesus said to the believing thief on the cross, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Unafraid of his impending death but concerned about staying in their midst to serve them, Paul said, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain…I am torn between the two; I desire to depart and be with Christ which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body” (Phil. 1:21, 23).

Death ushers believers immediately into a state of conscious bliss. While death is often described in Scripture as falling asleep, this a metaphor to take away the fear. Jesus did not tell the thief he would go to sleep upon death, but be with him instantly. Paul did not long to die just to go to sleep. No, he looked forward to waking up conscious of the glory of Christ. Upon death, the body decays waiting for the resurrection, but the soul begins a conscious period of exaltation with Christ. (See Luke 16:19-31, the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.)

Throughout the Bible, death is viewed with gladsome expectation because it is declared to be entrance into a state of joy. “God will redeem my life from the grave, he will surely take me to himself” (Psalm 49:15). “He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces” (Is. 25:8). “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling …while we are in this tent we groan and are burdened…that what is mortal may be swallowed up in life…know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:1-6, selections).

Upon death, the redeemed sinner is glorified, that is their holiness is perfected, their sinful nature is gone. All pain and tears and disappointment are wiped away. They celebrate redemption along with angels in the presence of Christ. Consider the description of gathered believers in heaven: “You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant,…” (Heb. 12:22-24).

But there is more! We will receive resurrection bodies like Christ’s. (See 1 Cor. 15:42, 51, 52.) This change will occur at the last trumpet when Christ returns to judge the earth. “The Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air., And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thess. 4:16,17). At this point, “the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God…” (2 Thess. 1:7,8). After this judgement God will create a new heaven and a new earth.

[Note that there are many differences of opinion among believers about the sequence of events to take place at the end. I’ve tried to state what seems clear to me.]

In conclusion let me quote Randy Alcorn. “God never changes, but Heaven will change. The Bible indicates that after our resurrection, God will relocate His central dwelling place to the New Earth:

‘Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. . . . I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. . . . I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.’ (Revelation 21:1–3)

‘Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. . . . I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. . . . I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.’ (Revelation 21:1–3)

We’re told “the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it [the New Earth], and his servants will worship him” (Revelation 22:3). Heaven is where God’s throne is, where He dwells with His people. Hence, the New Earth will be Heaven on earth. When Christians die, we go to live with God in His place. That’s the present Heaven. But after the resurrection, God will come down to live with us in our place. The future Heaven, onb the New Earth, will not be “us with god” but “God with us.” (Our Most Destructive Assumption about Heaven; Randy Alcorn, October 25, 2021)

This concludes my series of posts ab out redemption. Lord willing I will take up another subject in subsequent posts. I must say that due to personal issues regarding my wife’s health, these may be irregular. I hope these have been encouraging to believers and a loving challlenge to unbelievers to come to Christ for salvation.

(Let me know your thoughts on this subject. If you appreciate this blog, please pass it on. Further articles, books, and stories at: http://www.countrywindow.ca Facebook: Eric E Wright Twitter: @EricEWright1 LinkedIn: Eric Wright ––)

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