Is There an Afterlife?预览

Death is an uncomfortable subject. That’s why most of us try to avoid thinking about it. But when we encounter death, perhaps by witnessing the death of a loved one, we’re suddenly confronted with death's reality. It is painful and it hurts.

If that’s something that you’ve been through, or are even going through now, know this: grief is a totally normal and healthy reaction to death. Jesus himself in the New Testament wept when his dear friend Lazarus died.

Despite our best efforts to ignore it, death is unavoidable. But what actually happens? Do we stop existing, or are our loved ones with God somehow?

The Bible gives us some perspective on what happens to us when our bodies die, but it’s still pretty mysterious. In the Old Testament, dead people aren’t described as going to heaven or hell but as going to the grave. The only people who go to be with God in heaven during the Old Testament are Enoch and Elijah, who’re both alive when they go!

But that doesn’t mean that the dead have temporarily stopped existing or experiencing consciousness. Some who teach this point to Ecclesiastes 9:5, which says, ‘the dead know nothing.’ However, the verse that follows this says the dead will never have a part in this world again. Since Ecclesiastes is an exercise in imagining how meaningless the world would be without God, it’s better to interpret those verses as another way in which our lives are hopeless without God.

In 1 Samuel 28, there’s an unusual story where the ghost of Samuel is sinfully summoned for the King of Israel by a witch. The story doesn’t really tell us anything about Samuel’s experience of death, but it does suggest to us that the dead are able to experience consciousness before resurrection.

On the cross, Jesus makes a promise to a dying criminal who expresses his trust in Jesus. Jesus promises him, "Today you will be with me in paradise."

Finally, in the book of Revelation, a scene is described where the souls of martyred Christians ask God for justice on earth and in response are told to wait and are given rest.

The peace and reconciliation with God that Jesus achieves for us on the cross surpass death and give us hope for eternal life with God even whilst our bodies lie in the ground. Our trust in Jesus can shape our death. In what ways can trusting in Jesus shape your life? How might Jesus give you hope when you’re confronted with death?