May 3 – What Happens When We Die?

       "We are confident, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord." - 2 Corinthians 5:8

       " After that, he [Christ] appeared to more than 500 of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep." - 1 Corinthians 15:6

       The New Testament writers and Jesus himself, weave a tapestry of the big picture of what happens when people die. To understand how the people of Jesus' time saw the state of post-death, let's first look at a few Old Covenant writings. David laments in Psalm 6:5 that "No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave?" Psalm 30:9; 115;17; and Ecclesiastes 9:10 basically states the same thing. At best, this lends credence to the idea of "soul sleep", in which we are in a state of limbo, sleeping/awaiting the next phase of existence. At worst, it lends credence to the belief that we do not have an eternal spirit that lives beyond death. The latter is basically what the Sadducees of Jesus' time believed (as they did not believe in a resurrection of the dead). This study is not interested in the resurrection of the body, which is a related, but completely separate, topic.

       At another point in time, David seems to contradict himself in Psalm 16:10-11, that "....you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your holy one see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." While this phrase is quoted by Peter in Acts 2 to reference the physical resurrection of Jesus, David must have had something in mind regarding all living humans.

       The ancients certainly had the concept of "Sheol", a Hebrew word that is often translated as "the grave". In modern times, we understand "the grave" as a hole in the ground, where a dead body is laid. But the ancients understood it as the "abode of the dead, of "good" people and "bad" people alike. We now understand it as something like a "holding place" where there were two separate areas for conscious spirits. One was a tormenting fiery place for the ungodly; the other was called Abraham's bosom, a place of bliss for the godly people who had died. None were sleeping, but were quite conscious. Reference the story of Lazarus, told by Jesus in Luke 16:19-31 to get the complete story . There are also two other references of dead persons being quite conscious before the resurrection of Jesus. I Samuel 28 recalls a story of Samuel being "summoned" from "the grave" to speak with King Saul. Matthew 17 tells the story of the transfiguration of Jesus on a high mountain, accompanied by Peter, James, and John. The spirits of Elijah and Moses showed up to talk with Jesus for a brief time. From these references, we get a glimpse that the dead were not "sleeping" but were definitely conscious.

       The story of Lazarus in Luke 16 also fits into the puzzle of what happens now when people die. I am obviously insinuating that there has been a change in the "locations" of some of the dead. 1 Peter 3:19 references Jesus preaching to the ungodly dead, at the time of his death. Psalm 68:18 and Ephesians 4:8 give us the picture of Jesus taking the godly dead from the "holding tank" of Abraham's bosom to heaven itself, the abode of the Father. The ungodly, however, are left in Hades, the Greek word that equals Sheol. There they are left in punishment, while still awaiting the final judgment.

In Paul's writings, we are also given clues to our state of being when we die. In 2 Corinthians 5:8,9 as referenced in the title verses, to be away from the body, is to be present with our Master. This clearly indicates that our spirits depart the body, and are conscious with Jesus in heaven. He basically states the same thing in Philippians 1:23. If Jesus led the Old Covenant godly persons to heaven as conscious beings, why would he leave us now to wait in "soul sleep"? No, he takes us as conscious beings into his heavenly presence as soon as we die. If David could envision eternal pleasures with his limited understanding of the revelation given to him, then how much greater those pleasures must be in the loving presence of our Savior.