Is There Life after Death?

Yes! Emphatically, there is life after death for all people. How you will spend your life after death depends upon your relationship with God now. Jesus Christ said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die" (John 11:25-26CloseJohn 11:25-26 Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life.* Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?" OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ).

The whole message of Jesus Christ was that He broke the power of sin and death, because death was the consequence of sin. Jesus said, "Because I live, you will live also" (John 14:19CloseJohn 14:19 Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ). That is hope of the world--the resurrection. The apostle Paul said: "I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ ... That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection ... If, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead" (Philippians 3:8-11ClosePhilippians 3:8-11 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.* For God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ).

Not only is there life after death, but God is going to give us new bodies, better than the ones we have now. We are not going to be disembodied spirits. Those who believe in Jesus are going to have bodies just like the resurrection body of Jesus (see1 Corinthians 15:35-49Close1 Corinthians 15:35-49 But someone may ask, "How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?" What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn't grow into a plant unless it dies first. And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory. It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies. The Scriptures tell us, "The first man, Adam, became a living person."* But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like* the heavenly man. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ).

The Bible says that there will be a resurrection of the good and the resurrection of the evil. Some will arise to honor and some to shame (seeDaniel 12:2-3CloseDaniel 12:2-3 Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace. Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ,Matthew 25:46CloseMatthew 25:46 "And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life." OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ,Revelation 20:11-15CloseRevelation 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God's throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave* gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ).

Those who have lived for God are going to have a body such as Jesus has--a glorious, wonderful body--and they will be with Him forever in glory. Those who have not lived for Him will be in a place of torment and punishment. Yes, there is life after death, but the quality of that life depends upon how we spend our days in this "life before life."

Often, the question arises whether a loving God could really send anyone to hell. Remember that God is always calling people to Himself. He sends signs such as the sun, the moon, the seasons, and harvest to show us that His love is there. He also sends out preachers, teachers, and evangelists to warn those who are living contrary to God's will and to encourage such people to come to Him. Remember, too, that for heaven to be heaven, those in heaven should not be forced to live with the fear of a second satanic rebellion and another cycle of pain, suffering, and death. The only way to eliminate that fear is to see that those who absolutely refuse God and who want no part of His kingdom are given their wishes. Such people do not want to be apart of God's kingdom, and so God says, "your will is to be apart from Me and I am going to let you have it the way you want it."

Apart from God, there is everlasting darkness. It is a horrible thing to contemplate, but it is not God's choice to send anyone out into that darkness. Instead, He reluctantly allows people to have what they have shown Him they want. The Bible talks about everlasting fire and eternal darkness when it describes hell (seeMatthew 8:12CloseMatthew 8:12 But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ,Matthew 25:41CloseMatthew 25:41 "Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, `Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.* OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ). Whether these are literal descriptions or figures of speech describing the remorse and emotional pain the lost will suffer when they realize that they are separated from God forever, we don't know. We do know that hell is real and forever!

Over the last few years, we have had many cases of people returning to life after being "clinically dead" for short periods. Many of them have seen heaven and some have been allowed to see hell. They have seen a living being whom they presume to be God. They have communicated with Jesus. Some have asked to come back to this life, and He has let them; others have asked to stay, and He has told them that they still have a work to do here in this life. For all of them, the experience has been a life-changing one, and this is a uniform testimony to the existence of life after death. Such experiences, of course, are not proof that there is life after death, but they stand as support to the Bible's statement that life continues beyond the grave.

The Bible is also clear in its teaching that we should not attempt to communicate with the dead.Leviticus 19:31CloseLeviticus 19:31 "Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the LORD your God. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) says: "Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God."Isaiah 8:19CloseIsaiah 8:19 Someone may say to you, "Let's ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do." But shouldn't people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead? OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) adds this: "And when they say to you, 'Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,' should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?"

When his baby son died, King David said, "I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me" (2 Samuel 12:23Close2 Samuel 12:23 But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me." OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ). When we die we either go to heaven or hell. We will join those loved ones who have gone to heaven or hell. We will join those loved ones who have gone to the same place as we have. Until then, the living are forbidden to attempt contact with the dead. So-called ghosts, or spirits that speak through mediums, are really demons masquerading as the spirits of dead human beings.

If you let them, they will deceive you. They will try to lead you away from God, and--if they can gain a foothold in your life--they will do their very best to take control of you.

Excerpt taken from Answers to 200 of Life's Most Probing Questions, Copyright 1984 by Pat Robertson.