Our society is geared toward life in the here-and-now, and nothing more. And maybe that's OK, as far as it goes--but many people, thinking a little deeper, find themselves asking: "Is this really all there is?" They recognize the tragedy of an existence that goes no further than the few years this life has to offer; they understand that "this is not enough", and hope--and seek--for something more.
Perhaps you are one of those people. If you've ever asked yourself that question, read on--there is some good news for you ahead.
Today, as perhaps never before, because of our materialistic society and humanistic philosophies, the concept of a continued existence after death is being doubted. Even among religious people, this trend is growing. More than one religious group teaches that, at least under certain circumstances, the grave is the end. More and more people are coming to consider the belief in an "afterlife" as just so much "pie-in-the-sky" nonsense.
But what does God say about the matter? Surely, if the grave is the end of man, God could express that clearly to us in His Word, the Bible. And just as surely, if there in fact is something more after death, that too could be unmistakably taught in the Scriptures.
The Old Testament character, Job, asked the very question we're considering: He asked, "If a man die, shall he live again?" (Job 14:14). That question the Bible answers very confidently indeed! Jesus said, while on this Earth, "He that believeth on Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25). This was spoken at the tomb of His close friend Lazarus, as words of comfort to Lazarus' sister Martha. Concerning that statement and others like it, the apostle John said, "This is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life" (I John 2:25). And Martha expressed her own confidence in life after death with these words concerning her brother: "I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day" (John 11:24).
But by far the most graphic picture of existence beyond the grave, for both the good and the bad, is presented in the account of the evil rich man and another Lazarus, a righteous beggar. This account is commonly called a "parable" and dismissed as such, but wrongly so: There is much evidence that this is an account of an actual happening to two very real people that lived and died upon this Earth. Even so, a story in the Scriptures that is very obviously a parable, still doesn’t teach anything untrue. Although only hypothetical situations, each parable depicts an event that could easily have happened and contains only the truth. So the account of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16, be it parable or actual happening, nevertheless must be reckoned with by all honest students of the Bible.
The account begins in Luke 16:19 and records the condition of these two men in this life: the one evil; the other a good, righteous man. Verses 22-23 then inform us that "the beggar (Lazarus) died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; and in Hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom." Both of these men were obviously very much alive following their physical deaths, and reaping the results of their actions while living on Earth. Meanwhile, life on Earth was continuing on, as shown by the rich man’s request that his five brothers still on Earth be warned in order that they might avoid that place of torment after death (vv. 27-28).
It is a dangerous thing to miss the truth about life after death–for it takes preparation in this life, to ensure receiving that place of comfort in the next. The unpleasant truth is that lack of preparation here (not living by God’s will) results only in that place of torment there. Satan is thrilled by those insisting that the grave is the end, for he knows that such ones can only help him in his work of deceiving and capturing souls for an eternity of Hell.
Do you find the idea of an eternal existence after death an unlikely, fantastic thing? Then Jesus speaks to you when He says to doubters, "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:28-29).
Think on these things!
The concept of Heaven as a reward for faithful living here on Earth is one of the strongest motivations in the Bible for being a Christian. Perhaps it is no small wonder, then, that the forces of Satan leave no stone unturned in their attempts to deny the very existence of such a place. And so some say, "We just create our own Heaven or Hell in this life"; or, as one religious cult teaches, "Only 144,000 will enter Heaven itself", and that number is all filled up already! Everyone else, they say, will have to be satisfied with a "reconstituted Earth". Many others, while not going to this extreme, make similar efforts to convince some that "This life is all there is--you may as well enjoy it, for it’s all the reward you’ll have."
But is the Bible really clear on the subject? Does it truly teach the literal existence of a place called Heaven as an eternal home for the faithful? Let’s look into God’s word and see:
First, the existence of a reward of some kind for God’s faithful after this life is described in the Scriptures too often to deny or ignore: Let’s start with Revelation 14:13 "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord". Jesus explained why that is true when He promised not long before His death on the cross, "In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself: that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:2-3). He also assured His followers "There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, who shall not receive manifold more in the present time, and in the World to come life everlasting" (Luke 18:29-30). "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Revelation 2:10). Then we see the apostle Paul affirming his confidence in that promise when he said, speaking of his own imminent death, "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing" (II Timothy 4:6-8).
But, where are we to live out that reward? The Bible does not give a geographical location–you can’t find it on a map, because Heaven is a spiritual place, not physical. But we know it is not here on Earth, past, present, or future, "reconstituted" or otherwise: Peter said in that last day "The Heavens shall pass a way with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the Earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (II Peter 3:10).
We, if we are faithful Christians, will be where God is after we die–for in describing that place of reward, the Bible says among other things that we shall "see God’s face" (Revelation 22:4). Read chapters 21 and 22 of the book of Revelation for a complete description of that dwelling-place of God, and the dwelling-place of all faithful followers of His after this life.
Blessed indeed are all those that "die in the Lord" (Revelation 14:13). These promises are ours, and all the forces of Hell Satan can muster cannot take them away from us. Let the Bible’s promise of Heaven motivate you to live this life in harmony with the will of Christ revealed by the New Testament, so that you can, at your death, go home to be with God for an eternity of happiness. You have God’s word on it!
What about that place called "Hell"? Does it really exist, or is it just a story made up by preachers to scare people into church? In this age of "Positive Thinking" and warnings of the consequences of being too negative, the concept of "Hell" is unpopular indeed among virtually everyone.
Yet our Lord devoted much of His teaching time to discussing just such a place. Heaven and Hell are invariably mentioned together. The two ideas, that of reward on the one hand and punishment on the other, are so closely linked that they stand or fall together. If you accept the existence of Heaven, you must also accept that there is a Hell–for in the Bible the same expressions are used to describe both .
Jesus spoke of the last-day general resurrection as a resurrection into life for some, but a resurrection into damnation for others (John 5:28-29). In His picture of the Judgment scene in Matthew 25, He spoke in terms of "the sheep and the goats" (v. 32); those on His right hand and those on His left (v. 33); those who will "inherit the kingdom prepared for them (v. 34) and those who will "depart into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (v. 41). Plain language for what some consider to be an imaginary place! Again, Jesus spoke of the danger of going into a Hell described as "the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:43-48). And in the midst of that beautiful description of Heaven in Revelation 21, the apostle John interrupts himself to remind us that "the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8).
Perhaps most graphic is the remarkable account in Luke 16 of two men, one evil and one righteous, who both died about the same time. The same dualism, or contrast, is seen here: The one went to a place of comfort called "Abraham’s bosom" (Luke 16:22); while the other found himself "in Hell" (v. 23) in a condition which was described as "being in torments". This shows us, among other things, that Hell is not "just the grave" as some try to say, for there is consciousness there: The man himself said "I am in torment in this flame" (v. 24) and begged for relief and mercy–a request that was denied him, showing that Hell is also both permanent and eternal.
Why such a horrible description in God’s word? If you said "To scare you into Heaven", you’d not be far wrong! God said to the Israelites of old, long ago, "I have set before you life, and death; blessing, and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19). God presents a very similar choice to us today: That picture of Hell in the Scriptures is meant as a warning, that we may avoid going there--God "is not willing that any should perish" (II Peter 3:9), but He would "have all men to be saved" (I Timothy 2:4). God never prepared Hell for man; instead, it was prepared "for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41). But God won’t force Himself on anyone! He has given man the power of choice, and if a man chooses to follow Satan to that Hell of torment, God will allow him to do so. And so God has said, in effect, to us today: "I have set before thee Heaven, and Hell: therefore choose Heaven, that ye may live."
Don’t let your fear of Hell lead you to deny that it exists; rather, let it–as God intended–motivate you to seek out the road to Heaven. "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men" (II Corinthians 5:11).
Think about it!
