What Happens After Death?
- Are the dead aware?
- Does Complete Knowledge of God Guarantee Saving Faith?
- What Happens to Those Who Reject Jesus?
I recently posted a meme that got more interaction than anything I’ve ever posted. Most of it was positive, but several people questioned the premise of the meme.
The simple response to the complaints is that a meme is a meme, and a quick picture/comment can’t compare to an in-depth description of reality according to the Bible. A meme makes a point. It can never fully explain reality.
I do, however, want to address the concerns of several people about what the Bible says happens after death. I’ll be thorough on the subject and not just address the meme.
The two concerns can be summarized as:
- Do the dead think and respond to God?
- Does 100% belief in God lead to salvation?
Are the dead aware?
Several people shared verses that seem to suggest that the dead are not aware of anything.
Annihilation?
“But a man dies and lies prostrate. A person passes away, and where is he? “As water evaporates from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dried up, So a man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens no longer exist He will not awake nor be woken from his sleep. “Oh that You would hide me in Sheol, That You would conceal me until Your wrath returns to You, That You would set a limit for me and remember me! “If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait Until my relief comes. (Job 14:10-14)
It is hard to take these words of Job’s as absolute truth because they are a narrative of what happened rather than a statement of truth. We would never take the narrative of David and Bathsheba as a recommendation for David’s behavior. The story describes what really happened, but does not say it was right.
In this passage, Job is suffering. His friends and he are speaking back and forth about why such awful things happened to Job. Once they finish speaking, God corrects their errors. Although God doesn’t specifically address Job’s talk about death, many of Job and his friends’ other statements are addressed as incorrect. Job also asks, “If a man dies, will he live again?” His assumption seems to be that the answer is “No!” In the New Testament, Jesus and the Apostles all talk about resurrection, so Job’s assumption is incorrect. Since that is a complex subject, I’ll go into more detail later.
Another verse that was quoted to me as to why the meme was wrong is:
For the living know that they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor do they have a reward any longer, for their memory is forgotten. Indeed their love, their hate, and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6) {emphasis mine}
At first this sounds like people don’t think after death, but we need to look at context again. What is Solomon talking about?
“Futility of futilities,” says the Preacher “Futility of futilities! All is futility. What advantage does a person have in all his work Which he does under the sun A generation goes and a generation comes But the earth remains forever. (Ecclesiastes 1:2-4)
Solomon is talking about our time “under the sun,” which is our time before death. He is discussing how most of our lives no longer matter after we die. The dead no longer know what is happening among the living.
Building our understanding of what happens after death on this verse seems to be a major stretch. Although it says, “the dead do not know anything,” it also says, “their memory is forgotten,” and “they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.” The passage seems to be more about how the dead have no effect on the living than about what the actual state of the dead is. There are many better passages to use to determine the state of the “dead.”
This next verse, when taken by itself, sounds like it clearly contradicts the meme about the dead.
The dead do not praise the Lord, Nor do any who go down into silence; (Psalm 115:17)
It sounds a little less so when taken in context.
The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, But the earth He has given to the sons of mankind. The dead do not praise the Lord, Nor do any who go down into silence; But as for us, we will bless the Lord From this time and forever. Praise the Lord! (Psalm 115:16-18) {emphasis mine}
How can we praise the Lord forever if we don’t live forever? It may seem like the dead no longer praise the Lord because the dead body does nothing, but that doesn’t mean that the soul doesn’t praise the Lord forever. It also doesn’t mean that we aren’t resurrected into new bodies where we praise God (as is clearly stated in Revelation and other places).
One of the clearest indications that believers go straight to be with Jesus and are not annihilated is Jesus’s statement to the thief on the cross.
And he [thief on the cross] was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” And He [Jesus] said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43) [clarifications mine] {emphasis mine}
Jesus basically said that the thief would go straight from the cross to His presence. The thief wouldn’t cease to exist. He wouldn’t go to sleep to wait for Jesus’s return. He would instantly be in the presence of Jesus. I’m pretty certain that thief showed up and immediately began praising God for his salvation and the awesomeness of God.
To clarify our situation, humans have three states of their life. They have their initial physical body on earth which is what we typically think of as our life. They have the intermediate state, which is the state between the death of their physical body and their resurrection or transformation into their eternal state with eternal, perfect bodies like Jesus’s resurrection body.
Our initial physical state is obvious. It doesn’t need any explanation. The intermediate state is more complicated. There are some things we can know for certain and others that are unclear, and people can have reasonable, biblical opinions that differ somewhat. Lastly, we have our eternal state. For believers, we receive an eternal, perfect, sinless body like Jesus’s. There is less detail on the body of the lost, but the Bible does clearly state that they live eternally in torment in hell.
The Intermediate State
When a person dies, they enter the intermediate state. Because of Jesus’s statement on the cross, we can know for certain that we do not cease to exist. Jesus told a story that tells us something about what happens to believers versus unbelievers. Many will call this story a parable, but it is more specific and uses a name in the story. Jesus does not use a name in any other parables. That tells us this story is different from a typical parable.
“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, enjoying himself in splendor every day. And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed from the scraps which fell from the rich man’s table; not only that, the dogs also were coming and licking his sores. Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s arms; and the rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades he raised his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his arms. And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set, so that those who want to go over from here to you will not be able, nor will any people cross over from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I request of you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not come to this place of torment as well.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’ ” (Luke 16:19-31)
Jesus tells us several things in this story. The godly believer, Lazarus, goes to one place of comfort, and the ungodly rich man goes to another place of torment. Both are aware of what happened, how they went to different places with different situations. The request for Lazarus to “dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue” suggests a body of some kind, but isn’t conclusive. It could be the thoughts of the soul that has recently separated from the body, but which still thinks in terms of the body.
Some may still consider this solely a parable and not authoritative about the intermediate state, so let’s consider some additional passages.
When Paul was considering his risk of dying, he wrote this:
For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes. (Philippians 1:21-24) {emphasis mine}
Paul desires to “depart and be with Christ.” He expects to be with Jesus immediately upon his death. Death is gain because he will be in the presence of Jesus at that moment. He won’t be annihilated nor will he be asleep. He will be enjoying the presence of Jesus.
Paul once again talks about the change from our current state to our future states.
For we know that if our earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed, in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, since in fact after putting it on, we will not be found naked. For indeed, we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a pledge.
Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight— but we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. (2 Corinthians 5:1-9) {emphasis mine}
His statement “to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord” clearly suggests entering God’s presence at the moment of death. He also talks about our “earthly tent,” which is our earthly, mortal bodies that will be “torn down,” or die.
He says, “we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed.” What a poetic way to say that we don’t want to die and lose our earthly body, but we don’t have to fear death because we will eventually be clothed, not in a tent, but in a “building from God” that is so much better than our earthly body.
The one thing, from this verse, that isn’t fully clear is whether we are “clothed” during the intermediate state or if we are “naked.” Is it only our soul and spirit that are alive and interacting with Jesus, or do we have a body in the intermediate state. It is clear that we will eventually get a perfect, immortal, eternal body that is so much better than our earthly bodies, just as a building is better than a tent. It is not perfectly clear if we have a body in the intermediate state.
In Revelation, there is a passage that talks about those who die during the seven-year tribulation period.
When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who live on the earth?” And a white robe was given to each of them; and they were told that they were to rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters who were to be killed even as they had been, was completed also. (Revelation 6:9-11) {emphasis mine}
These martyrs in the intermediate state speak to God and are aware of what is happening in heaven and on earth. They are referred to as “souls.” Does this mean they are only in spirit form at this time? It also says that “a white robe was given to each of them.” Does this mean that they do have some form of body? It isn’t clear, so I don’t feel comfortable saying for sure.
There are many Christians who believe that the intermediate state is a state of soul sleep, where the soul is alive, but asleep, knows nothing about what is happening, and can’t interact with anyone. I think the verses above prove this belief wrong, but this passage below is the only one that seems to suggest something like this. When the Bible talks about believers being asleep to describe physical death, (because other verses describe the dead communicating and doing other things), I believe the sleep described is not soul sleep, but body sleep.
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as indeed the rest of mankind do, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, so also God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) {emphasis mine}
This passage is important for another reason. It describes the rapture of the church. It describes people in the earthly state and the intermediate state being transformed, in an instant, into the eternal state. It describes the glorious moment when the church is rescued from this fallen world and from our fallen state into our sinless, glorious eternal state where we will be with Jesus forever.
The Eternal State
We know we will be raised to the eternal state because Jesus was raised from the earthly state to the eternal state.
But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man death came, by a Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:20-22) {emphasis mine}
When we are told that “in Christ all will be made alive,” we are being told that we will be made alive spiritually and physically.
Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. (1 John 3:2) {emphasis mine}
We will receive an eternal body like his resurrection body. Jesus ate and drank. He could be touched and could manipulate physical objects. Jesus also could come and go in manners that we cannot. He entered a room with a locked door and rose to heaven, flying up and not needing oxygen as he got higher and higher. I believe our eternal bodies will be the same. I think some of these “abilities” will relate to being extra-dimensional. Right now we move in three physical dimensions and one time dimension. I think the ability of Jesus and angels to seemingly appear out of nowhere is due to them being able to move in dimensions that we cannot in our earthly bodies.
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with His glorious body, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. (Philippians 3:20-21) {emphasis mine}
This is yet another description of us receiving our eternal bodies.
Our eternal state will be amazing, but it will not compare to the joy of living in the presence of God.
Does Complete Knowledge of God Guarantee Saving Faith?
The meme I shared does seem to assume that if people truly knew that God exists, that He created the universe, that Jesus lived a perfect life, died, and rose again, and that He is all powerful, perfectly holy, and good beyond belief, that everyone would trust in Jesus and follow Him. Is this true? Honestly, no. Does knowing all of that cause more people to trust and follow Jesus? Yes! Does it cause everyone to trust and follow Jesus? Definitely not. It is unfortunate that some people are so proud that they will not submit to the Creator of the universe, the Savior of the world, or to the almighty God. They would rather be independent than worship the one who gave them breath and life, even if that means an eternity of torment.
When some people were claiming to have great faith despite not having the works of a child of God, James said this:
You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. (James 2:19)
He pointed out that every demon believes God exists, created the universe, and made a way for people to be made right with God. They shudder at the presence of God. That knowledge and belief has not, however, led them to follow God. They have revolted against the Creator and actively work trying to thwart His plans despite knowing His power.
Lucifer, now known mostly as Satan or the Devil, lived in the presence of the Almighty, and yet his pride caused him to revolt.
“How you have fallen from heaven, You star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who defeated the nations! “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ “Nevertheless you will be brought down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit. “Those who see you will stare at you, They will closely examine you, saying, ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, Who made the world like a wilderness And overthrew its cities, Who did not allow his prisoners to go home?’ (Isaiah 14:12-17)
Despite knowing the glory and power of God, Satan’s pride led him to revolt and try to take God’s place. His knowledge of who God is did not stop him from believing he could stand up to God. Everything he knew showed that God was bigger, better, holier, more powerful, more glorious, and unstoppable, but Satan’s pride led him to act contrary to the clear evidence that he knew. Today we see people believing things that are 100% contrary to the facts that they know or should know. Sometimes pride blinds.
Revelation shows us the worst cases of mankind revolting against God, despite knowing God exists.
The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands so as not to worship demons and the idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders, nor of their witchcraft, nor of their sexual immorality, nor of their thefts. (Revelation 9:20-21)
By this point, it is clear to everyone alive that God is judging the world for rejecting Him and for all of the evil they have chosen to commit. Despite this, many (most?) choose to reject their Creator and their only source of salvation.
And the fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given power to scorch people with fire. And the people were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.
And the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pain and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds. (Revelation 16:8-11) {emphasis mine}
Everyone knew who was causing these plagues. They were no longer blaming climate change or anything else. They blamed God. They cursed God. They “did not repent of their deeds.”
At the end of the seven year tribulation, those who reject God are all killed. The only people left on earth are those who trusted Jesus as Savior. The church, in its eternal state, returns with Jesus to earth to reign with Him for 1,000 years. The world is renewed and there is 1,000 years of peace under the perfect rule of Jesus. People once more live long, healthy lives. People live as originally intended, but over time more people are born and some of them do not have saving faith in Jesus. They live knowing Jesus, who He is, and what He did for them, and yet they don’t submit to Him in their hearts. They may live as if they are following Jesus, but they don’t love their savior. This is made clear when Jesus releases Satan for one last rebellion that exposes those who have not truly trusted in Jesus as Savior.
When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:7-10)
It is hard to understand how someone can live seeing and knowing Jesus and still reject Him, but clearly many choose rejection of their God rather than admit that there is someone bigger, better, and stronger than themselves. They reject that anyone, even their Creator, may define right and wrong for them.
What Happens to Those Who Reject Jesus?
Although this post was inspired by feedback from the meme above, to be thorough about the subject of what happens after death, we need to directly address what happens to those who reject Jesus. Most of the above deals with what happens to believers.
Before I go into details about the punishment of unbelievers, I think it is important to make one thing clear. Where we go at death is not determined by a spreadsheet with our “good” deeds canceling out our evil deeds. We don’t get to go to heaven because we are better than the “really bad people.”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)
There is only one way to God and only one way to heaven—through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who paid the price for our sins. If we don’t have faith in Jesus, we won’t be going to heaven. We will be judged for rejecting our Creator who came to earth as a man, lived the perfect life that we could not, died to pay the penalty for our sins, and rose again to prove that He had conquered sin and death. There is no other way.
And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
We don’t get to choose how we will approach God. We approach through faith in Jesus, or we are rejected. Period!
What happens to unbelievers?
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, held for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example of what is coming for the ungodly; and if He rescued righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the perverted conduct of unscrupulous people (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from a trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, (2 Peter 2:4-9) {emphasis mine}
God rescues those who trust in Jesus from punishment and the hour of trial (tribulation), but he keeps “the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment.” This suggests that those who reject Jesus will, upon death, immediately receive punishment for their sins, but their ultimate judgment comes at the Great White Throne Judgment (we’ll address this later).
Jesus advised those around Him not to fear the evil around them, but to fear God.
“Now I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! (Luke 12:4-5) {emphasis mine}
They should fear God because He has the power to “throw that person into hell.” Does this mean that God can throw people into hell, but probably won’t throw most people into hell? Definitely not! The Bible makes it clear that ALL who reject Jesus will be cast into hell.
Hell is serious. It isn’t everyone who rejects Jesus hanging out with each other in a different location. It is eternal torment and loneliness. It is being without hope for all eternity. Jesus explains how serious hell is.
And if your foot is causing you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life without a foot, than, having your two feet, to be thrown into hell. And if your eye is causing you to sin, throw it away; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be thrown into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not extinguished. (Mark 9:45-48) {emphasis mine}
Ultimately, the Bible makes clear what happens to all who reject Jesus. The below passage describes what happens to those who reject Jesus:
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them; and they were judged, each one of them according to their deeds. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15) {emphasis mine}
Only those who trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior will be written in the book of life. All others will be thrown into the lake of fire to endure punishment for all eternity.
“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you accursed people, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; (Matthew 25:41)
I hope this post has been useful to you, whether you saw the meme or whether you were just interested in one of the most important questions in life, “What happens when people die?”
If you haven’t trusted in Jesus as Savior, I beg you to consider what He has done for you and to trust in Him, repent of your sins, and submit to Him as Lord. I’ve included some verses below to help you understand what salvation entails. I also encourage you to read your Bible, so you can know who the one true God is and know who Jesus really is.
Trust Jesus
If you do not yet know Jesus, I beg you to trust in Him. Below are some verses that will tell you what you need to know to be saved. If you have any questions, I’d love to answer them. Just message me on Substack.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23)
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For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
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But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
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that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; (Romans 10:9)
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If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:9-10)
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For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
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He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
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But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)
All verses are NASB unless otherwise noted. the meme.
