When a person dies where does he go?

LESSON 4

WHEN A PERSON DIES WHERE DOES HE GO?

You are welcome to another edition of Insights from God's Word, a Bible study programme that is committed to sharing God's Word by allowing the Bible to speak for itself.

In this edition, we continue with our series on The Truth About Death. In this study, I want us to consider the questions: When a person dies where does he go? Where are our dead friends and relatives? Are they in Paradise? Hell? Purgatory? Some spirit world? Reincarnated? Or asleep in their graves? What is the position of God's Holy Word, the Bible, on the abode of the dead? In this study, we are going to explore what the Bible teaches on this important subject.

Several doctrines abound in the religious world today in relation to where our dead friends and relatives are found. We are going to consider a few of these teachings and compare their basic tenets with God's authoritative Word, the Bible. Outlined below are some of the popular doctrines that have to do with the abode of man after death:

1. PURGATORY

"Purgatory, according to Catholic Church doctrine, is an intermediate state after physical death in which those destined for heaven "undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven". - Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1030; https://en.m.wikipedia.org › wiki › Purgatory

"Purgatory": "All the souls in Purgatory have died in the love of God, and are certain to enter heaven. But as yet they are not pure and holy enough to see God, and God’s mercy allots them a place and a time for cleansing and preparation." - W. E. Addis and Thomas Arnold, A Catholic Dictionary, p 766.

According to Catholic belief, the living can pray on behalf of the souls in purgatory to hasten their release into heaven. From the Jesuit Seminary News, Vol. 3, no. 9. (Nov. 15, 1928), p. 70: we read the following: "By prayer we temper the agonies of the souls in purgatory. We hasten their liberation by sacrifice."Beloved, a thorough study of Scripture reveals that the doctrine of purgatory is not based on the Word of God. The Bible clearly teaches that it is the blood of Christ that washes away our sins (1 John 1:7, 9) and not purgatorial fires in the afterlife. Moreover, once a person dies, his probation closes (Hebrews 9:27; 1 Corinthians 6:2) and whatever prayers are said for them by the living does not change their situation before God.

Friends, the doctrine of purgatory basically teaches consciousness of the soul after physical death which is opposite to the Bible's clear teaching on the condition of man after death (see Ecclesiastes 9:5-6; Psalm 146:3-4; Job 14:20-21). Just like many other Catholic doctrines (such as Sunday sacredness, Mary worship, prayers for the dead and penance), the doctrine of purgatory also has a pagan background.

2. LIMBO

"In the theology of the Catholic Church, Limbo (Latin limbus, edge or boundary, referring to the "edge" of Hell) is a speculative idea about the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbo

The theory of limbo is understood "as a state which includes souls of infants who die subject to original sin and without baptism, and who, therefore, neither merit the beatific vision, nor yet are subjected to any punishment, because they are not guilty of any personal sin." - THE HOPE OF SALVATION FOR INFANTS WHO DIE WITHOUT BAPTISM; INTERNATIONAL THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION. www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/cti_documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20070419_un-baptised-infants_en.html

Friends, the theory of limbo, even though just a theological hypotheses of the Catholic Church basically teaches consciousness of the soul after death which is opposite to the clear Scriptural teaching on the state of man after death (see Ecclesiastes 9:5-6; Psalm 146:3-4; Job 14:21). Thus friends, just like purgatory, the doctrine of limbo also has no Scriptural basis.

3. REINCARNATION

Other religions also believe that people are reincarnated after physical death. "Reincarnation is the religious or philosophical concept that the soul or spirit, after biological death, begins a new life in a new body that may be human, animal or spiritual depending on the moral quality of the previous life's actions. This doctrine is a central tenet of the Indian religions." https://en.m.wikiquote.org/wiki/Reincarnation

The religious concept of reincarnation is found in major Indian religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism. This doctrine also teaches consciousness of the human soul after death which is opposite to the biblical teaching of what happens to man after death (see Ecclesiastes 9:5-6; Psalm 146:3-4; Job 14:20-21).

4. THE SPIRIT WORLD

Within various African traditional religious settings, the people believe that their dead friends and relatives go to the spirit world after death. The belief that the dead go to the land of the spirits after death motivates such religious groups to perform several ceremonies for the dead. Some groups even go to the extent of burying their dead with certain items which they believe will be necessary for the dead person in the afterlife. During festivals and other important occasions, leaders of such religious communities pour libation to the spirits of their ancestors to claim from them blessings and goodwill for the living. This belief, even though widespread among many African communities and cultures is not based on Scripture. This religious belief also promotes the concept of consciousness of the human soul after death which is contrary to the Bible's position on the condition of man after death (see Ecclesiastes 9:5-6; Psalm 146:3-4; Job 14:20-21).

5. HELL

A large majority of Christians today believe hell is a temporary holding place for the spirits of people who have died in their sins. The quote below describes this teaching clearly:

"There has always been a separation of believers and unbelievers after death (Luke 16:19-31). The righteous have always gone to paradise; the wicked have always gone to hell. For right now, both paradise and hell are temporary holding places until the day when Jesus Christ comes back to judge the world based on whether or not individuals have believed in Him." - www.gotquestions.org

Friends, even though the doctrine that the wicked go straight to hell immediately after death has become very popular in Christendom, it is not based on the Bible. However, from several pulpits in Christendom today, the satanic lie goes forth that the spirits of the wicked dead go straight to hell where they burn forever and ever. Beloved, if there is any doctrine in Christendom which has produced more atheists than genuine disciples for Christ, it is none other than the false teaching that the spirits of the wicked dead burn forever and ever in hellfire after their death.

Beloved, the Bible's clear teaching is that the wicked do not receive their punishment soon after death but are actually reserved unto fire against the day of judgement. Let's check the biblical evidence:

i) "That the wicked is RESERVED to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath" (Job 21:30; Capital Emphasis Added).

ii) "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to RESERVE THE UNJUST unto the day of judgment to be punished" (2 Peter 2:9; Capital Emphasis Added).

iii) "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, RESERVED UNTO FIRE against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men" (2 Peter 3:7; Capital Emphasis Added).

The texts above are clear on the fact that the wicked dead are not burning in hell now. Rather, they are RESERVED for punishment on the day of judgement and perdition of ungodly men. Since the day of judgement is yet to come, it is clear that the wicked then are not burning anywhere now. In fact, the Bible teaches that hellfire is yet to come from God out of heaven (Revelation 20:9). This biblical fact challenges the popular teaching that the 'spirits' of the wicked dead are burning in hell now. Beloved, how can the wicked be burning in hell now when the fire that is supposed to burn them is yet to come from God out of heaven? (Revelation 20:9). How can the wicked dead be burning in hell now when the original beings (Satan and his angels) for which hellfire is meant to destroy walk about freely to carry out their evil plans? (see Matthew 25:41).

Friends, the Bible is clear. The wicked dead are not burning in hell now. Just like the righteous dead, they are also asleep in their graves (John 5:28-29). They do not feel or know anything. They sleep in their graves until the end of the millennium, when they are brought forth in the second resurrection to face the dreadful executive judgement of God (see Revelation 20:4-9).

6. PARADISE / HEAVEN

Majority of Christians today also believe that paradise is a temporary holding place for the spirits of people who have died in the Lord. The quote below describes this teaching clearly: "We could describe Paradise and hell or hades as temporary holding places until the New Jerusalem is established and the dead are joined back with their physical bodies. For those who have died in the faith, we know that they are present with the Lord right now because if a person is absent or deceased from their body, they are in the presence of the Lord (2 Cor 5:8)." - Jack Wellman is the pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane, Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want to Know.Beloved, many Christians believe that the souls of their departed brethren who died in the faith of Christ go straight to paradise or heaven after death. One particular passage in Scripture that has been grossly misinterpreted to forward this doctrine is the passage of Luke 23:39-43. This passage contains the popular promise of Christ to the thief on the cross. Many Christians quickly quote this passage as proof that the righteous go to paradise immediately after death. But does the Bible really teach that? Friends, I will want us to examine this passage carefully and ascertain for ourselves what Christ really told the thief on the cross on that fateful Friday afternoon. From Luke 23:39-43, we read the following story in relation to the death of our Saviour: "23:39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

23:40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?

23:41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

23:42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in PARADISE."

(Luke 23:39-43; Capital Emphasis Added)Beloved, many of God's children are taught from various pulpits to understand that Christ's promise to the thief: "Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43), means that the thief actually went to ‘paradise’ to be with Christ that very Friday. But beloved, when we compare this Scripture with other events in relation to the death and resurrection of Christ, we come away with a totally different understanding of the text.

For instance, here are two major reasons why I believe the thief on the cross did not go to paradise that very Friday, but rather rested in his grave to await the general resurrection of the saints at the second coming of Christ:

a) The Bible clearly teaches that Christ Himself did not go to paradise that Friday after his death. In fact, when Christ resurrected from the dead on the first day of the week, He clearly told Mary Magdalene the following: "..., Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God" (John 20:17).

In other words, Christ was saying to Mary; don't continue to hold on to me; for I am yet to ascend to my Father in heaven. Friends, Christ made it to heaven after His resurrection on the first day of the week to obtain the assurance from the Father that His supreme sacrifice for mankind was accepted. Thus, His words; "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father" (John 20:17) basically mean that between the hours of that fateful Friday when He died on the cross to the Sunday morning when He was resurrected, our Saviour rested in Joseph's new tomb.

Beloved, if this is what the Scripture teaches, then how can we believe that the thief made his way to paradise on that Friday when Christ Himself was asleep in Joseph's new tomb? How could the thief be with Christ in paradise when the Saviour Himself was not yet there?

b) Besides the above clear explanation from Scripture, many Bible scholars assert the apparent confusion in Luke 23:43 to a comma that was not well placed. This apparent problem, such scholars believe, has actually given a whole different meaning to the text. Now, someone may ask at this point in our study: But the Scriptures are inspired, so why do some scholars dare to assert that a comma was not well placed?

You see friends, as Bible students, one thing we must know as we study and interpret Scripture is the fact that the original scrolls of the Bible did not contain punctuation marks as we have now. Scholars inserted punctuation marks to make the Scripture to be easily read and understood. And so, even though the Bible is inspired, sometimes we may have such punctuation errors to grapple with.

For instance, we have this punctuation mistake in the King James Version which was later corrected in the New King James Version:

"11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: 12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them" (Acts 19:11-12 / KJV).

Now friends, if you consider the verse 12 critically, you will realize that there should be a comma after the word sick, otherwise the text there will mean that handkerchiefs and aprons that were sick were being healed. Of course, we have nothing like sick handkerchiefs or aprons. The point I want to make here is that there is a problem with the text because of a punctuation error. If a comma is placed after the word sick, the meaning of the text comes out clearly (see the correction of Acts 19:11-12 in the NKJV version).

According to some scholars, a similar case of punctuation error is what we find in Luke 23:43. If the comma is placed after the word ‘today’, the meaning of the text changes radically, and now synchronises with what the rest of Scripture teaches on the condition of man after death. Let's check out how the new text will look like after a comma is positioned after the word ‘today’: And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today, shalt thou be with me in paradise. Beloved, from the text we have now, the interpretation becomes very clear. We come to understand Christ's words to the thief as follows: Today or this day that I am dying on a cross, and the whole world seems to reject Me, if you can express such a faith in Me, then I want to promise you today, that you will be with Me in paradise.

This interpretation synchronizes with the biblical fact in John 20:17 that Christ Himself did not go to paradise that fateful Friday because He rested in Joseph's new tomb until Sunday morning. Friends, the thief on the cross, just like all the other righteous dead, do not go to paradise or heaven immediately after death. The righteous that die in Christ rather sleep in their graves to await the resurrection morning at the second coming of Christ (see 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

7. THE GRAVE

When people die, whether they were righteous or not, they sleep in their graves awaiting one of two resurrections (Ecclesiastes 3:20). Just below are some more proof from the Bible in regard to this position:

i) "28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which ALL THAT ARE IN THE GRAVES shall hear his voice, 29 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; Capital Emphasis Added).

ii) "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" (Daniel 12:2; Capital Emphasis Added).

Friends, the Bible's teaching on the abode of the dead is very clear. The dead rest in their graves awaiting one of two resurrections; either the resurrection of life or the resurrection of damnation. The patriarch Job rightly echoes this biblical truth with the following colourful words:

i) "13 If I wait, the GRAVE IS MINE HOUSE: I have made my bed in the darkness. 14 I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister. 15 And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it? 16 They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust" (Job 17:13-16; Capital Emphasis Added).

ii) "9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to THE GRAVE shall come up no more. 10 He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more" (Job 7:9-10; Capital Emphasis Added).

From the psalmist, we come away with the same truth:

i) "What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of THE GRAVE? Selah" (Psalm 89:48; Capital Emphasis Added).

ii) "O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from THE GRAVE: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit" (Psalm 30:3; Capital Emphasis Added).

The apostle Peter also made the following statement in relation to the death of king David: "29 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... 34 For David is not ascended into the heavens" (Acts 2:29, 34).

Friends, this is the biblical truth. David, that man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22) still rests in the grave today. Peter makes it clear that he has not ascended into the heavens as has become popular in relation to the righteous dead today. In fact, one wonderful thing I know about David in Scripture is his love for praising God. And I believe if David were in heaven as some teach contrary to the Bible, he will have filled all heaven with praise. But the Scripture is clear: "The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that GO DOWN INTO SILENCE" (Psalms 115:17; Capital Emphasis Added). Friends, the righteous dead go down into silence (the grave) not up into paradise. A Bible text similar to the one above reads: "For in death there is no remembrance of thee: IN THE GRAVE who shall give thee thanks?" (Psalm 6:5; Capital Emphasis Added).

Beloved, from the various scriptural passages we have gone through so far, it is very clear that the wicked dead as well as the righteous dead all go down into silence (Psalm 115:17). All dead people sleep in the grave, awaiting the resurrection of the just or the resurrection of damnation depending on their works here on the earth (see Ecclesiastes 3:20; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Revelation 22:12).

All the other doctrines we reviewed in the earlier part of this study concerning the abode of the dead (such as purgatory, limbo, reincarnation, the spirit world of the dead, the righteous going to paradise or heaven immediately after death, and the wicked going to hell immediately after death) are not based on Scripture. Each of these doctrines promote the concept of consciousness of the human soul after death which is opposite to the biblical doctrine that the dead do not know anything (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6; Psalm 146:3-4; Job 14:20-21).

Exhortation: "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, whither thou goest" (Ecclesiastes 9:10).

"And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:40).

In our next study, we will consider the topic: Don't the righteous rest in Abraham's bosom after death? The Bible Study reference for this study is Luke 16:19-31. Please do well to go through this passage before the next study is released.

Stay blessed and keep shining for King Jesus.

Maranatha!

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