What exactly awaits mankind following the end of his physical life upon this earth? There is no subject wrapped in more mystery, no teaching more misunderstood in all of the bible, yet the bible itself could be no clearer regarding the answer. From Genesis to Revelation, we see the plan of God unfolding; a plan that takes mankind from his temporary, physical existence upon this earth to eternal life as spiritual beings in the kingdom of God.
However, there remains this mystery surrounding life after death. What does the source of all knowledge, the bible, teach us? We need to begin with death itself. What exactly is death? What actually happens when we cease to live? When we take our final breath of life upon this earth, where do we go, if anywhere?
We are told in Deut. 31:16a, “And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers”. The same thing is said concerning King David in II Sam. 7:12. Acts 2:29 records Peter's words concerning David, "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day". Job spoke of sleeping in the dust, Job 7:21 and Job 14:12. David spoke of the sleep of death in Psa. 13:3. In Dan 12:2 we read, “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” There are numerous biblical passages that refer to death as sleep.
We also see that death is spoken of as “rest” in the Bible. In Dan 12:13, the angel of the Lord told Daniel, “But go thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.” When Job was bemoaning the terrible state he found himself in he felt it would have been better had he not been born. He stated in Job 3:13, “For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest.” David wrote in Psa 16:9, “Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.”
Is there any knowledge or activity in the grave for those who have fallen asleep? God told Adam in Gen 3:19b, “for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Eccl. 3:20 explained, “All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.” And in Eccl. 9:10 we are told, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, wither thou goest.” Eccl 9:5 confirmed, “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.” Although Solomon was speaking strictly of man’s physical existence in Ecclesiastes, and not life after death, his words give us great insight into the subject of death. We can see from all of these examples that our physical bodies will die and return to the dust of the earth in sleep. There is no knowledge in the grave, no activity.
Job asked the question that we all ask in Job 14: 14-15. “If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.”
I Cor 15 is often referred to as the resurrection chapter in the Bible and provides us with an excellent understanding of the subject of life after death, including how and when it occurs. First, we need to understand that God alone possesses immortality, I Tim 6:16. Man, on the other hand, is mortal and subject to death. As such, he cannot inherit the kingdom of God, I Cor 15:50. He must be resurrected from the dead. In verse 53 Paul explained that the corruptible body must put on incorruption and the mortal must put on immortality. Our bodies must undergo a change in form. The bible teaches that all who have ever died are asleep in their graves awaiting a resurrection from the dead. Paul taught the Christians of his day in I Cor 15:51-52, “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep (in death), but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” In I Thes. 4:13-17, he told the church not to be ignorant concerning those who had previously died, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
Christ was the first to be resurrected from the dead as an immortal, spirit being. Although there are several instances in the Bible of people being brought back to life, these were awakened out of sleep and continued their physical lives for a time. Paul stated in I Cor 15:3-4, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” Continue with I Cor 15:20, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” I Cor 15:23-24 gives us the timing of our future resurrection, “But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then cometh the end when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.”
There are two resurrections for mankind spoken of in the Bible. As we have seen already, Christ is the firstfruits, or the first to be resurrected from mortal to immortal. At his coming the dead in Christ, along with the living who belong to him, will rise to meet him in the clouds. Rev 20:6 reads, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Verse 5 says, “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” These will all rise in the great white throne judgment according to Rev 20:11-12. John tells us in verse 12, “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened (God’s Torah or law): and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”
Christ came to earth the first time to die for our sins and become our Savior. When he returns the second time, it will be as King of Kings and Lord of Lords to set up the government of God upon this earth. At that time, he will resurrect all who have accepted his call during their lifetime; both those who died prior to his coming and those who are still alive. They will then be changed to spiritual beings and rule with him for one thousand years, teaching God's laws to the mortals who are alive at the end of the age. To the believers of his day, the apostle John wrote in I John 3:2,"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is". Again, the rest of the dead remain asleep until the thousand years are complete. They will then rise together to stand before Christ and receive judgment according to their deeds. Matt 12:36 quotes Jesus as saying, "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment". These masses will then be taught by the resurrected saints and granted an opportunity to accept Christ as their Lord and savior. Christ spoke of that day when chastising the Pharisees for their unbelief. He said in Matt 11:21-24 that it would be more tolerable for the cities of Sodom, Tyre and Sidon in the judgment then for them. He explained that, if those wicked cities had witnessed his mighty works in their day, they would have long ago repented in sackcloth and ashes. In Matt 12:41-42 he told them, "The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here".
Mankind's eternal fate is not sealed at the time of his death. All are not being called during their physical lifetime. John 6:44 recorded the words of Jesus, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day". In John 15:16 he reminded his disciples that they had not chosen him but he had chosen them and ordained that they bring forth much fruit. There are parallels in our democratic societies today. When a president is elected to office, his first order of business is to select his cabinet to rule with him. These individuals rule by the laws, statutes and judgments of the government that have been established for that nation. The citizens of the nation are expected to abide by those laws, and are judged according to those laws. Likewise, Christ is coming again to set up the government of God upon this earth. He has already proven himself worthy to become it's King and, throughout man's history, he has been selecting his cabinet. As we have seen, these are the saints that will rule with him when he returns to establish God's kingdom. The citizens of his kingdom are the remainder of mankind who were not called during their lifetime. These will be raised up at the last day and taught by the righteous saints who paved the way before them. Upon their acceptance of Christ as their eternal king, they will be granted access to the tree of life, whereby they too will be changed from mortal to immortal to partake of eternal life.
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