What happens when we die?

Peter says in Acts:  

Acts 2:29  Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.  For David is not ascended into the heavens  

DAVID NOT IN HEAVEN???  

If the popular idea, that the righteous go to Heaven at death, is accurate, then why would Peter say this of David, who we know was described as a man after God’s own heart?   

Let’s consider what happens to us when we die.    From the beginning God has given us a consistent message as to what we can expect at the end of our life, and yet from the beginning there has been contradictory teachings to God’s clear truth.    

Let’s step back to the beginning, and look at the first lie told by the serpent in the Garden:  

Gen 3:4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.”  

Consider: When God warned Adam and Eve that they would die, did he mean they would  

a) just pass from one existence to another, i.e. from an existence on earth, to an existence in heaven OR  

b) did he mean they would truly die and completely cease to exist?  

Part of God’s punishment on Adam is recorded in Gen 3:19 ….” for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”   

Solomon considered this and elaborated on it… Ecc 3:19 For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath (Hebrew ruach= spirit), and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.  All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.   

It’s not hard to see that when we die, our body dies, it decays and ceases to exist, but one might ask, how about our mind, our thoughts, our love?  Fortunately, God lets us know exactly what happens to these as well!  

Psalms 146:4 Man’s breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. 

David here clearly describes what happens to man at death:  his thoughts perish, he ceases to exist!   And Solomon makes this even more clear… 

Ecc 9:5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.  

Psalms 6:5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?

So if when we die, we simply cease to exist, what hope do we have??  If you find this interesting, and want to learn more, continue on to Section 2. 

In section 1 we established that from the beginning, God has been clear as to what happens to us at death, that is we cease to exist.  We saw that one of the most loved characters in the Bible, David, was said to still be waiting in the grave and had “not ascended to the heavens”  Acts 2:34.

One might say, “well sure, his body was placed there in the grave, but some other part of him must have gone to heaven?!?” Let’s explore this question further.  Did David or Abraham or any of the faithful of old receive any of the promises that God made, whether it be eternal life or land or eternal kingdom? Fortunately, we are told the answer in Hebrews 11.

If you aren’t familiar with this chapter, it is a beautiful one that lists 16 of the most notable characters in scriptures, such as Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Samson, and David. These were all commended for the faith that they exhibited in their lives, but yet the point was clear, that…  

Hebrews 11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them…  

The point the author is making, is that these faithful have yet to receive their reward. They are still in the graves, still waiting just as David! 

 Hebrews 11:39  And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.   

These faithful did not receive any of the promises at their death. God has been abundantly clear that when we die, we cease to exist and the only promise that comes with death is to decay back to the dust from which we are made.       

Recognition of this fact should make us keenly aware that “Life is the time to serve the Lord” for when we die, we wont have further opportunity!  

Ecc 9:10  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.   

Isa 38:18  For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.   

So then we go back to the question that we ended Section 1 with, if we cease to exist at death, what then is our hope?    What are all these faithful dead waiting for?   

Acts 24:15 … having a hope in God, …that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.   

Our hope, as well as these faithful of old, is that Christ will return and resurrect us from the grave, making us live again, and then we each will receive the reward or punishment we deserve.   Christ set the example, he was the “firstfruits” raised from the grave, and now sits on the right hand of God, but he will soon be coming back to the earth bringing his rewards with him.           

We invite you to continue reading on this subject by continuing on to Section 3, where we will explore a few verses that might initially be hard to understand.   

In section 1, we saw that in the very beginning God established the principle that when we die, we cease to exist.    Death then leads to the destruction not only of our body, but also of our thoughts, our love, and our memories. We saw notable examples, including David and Abraham who all died and are still in the grave awaiting the resurrection. It is this resurrection and judgment that we all hope for.     

So how could so many in the Christian world have this wrong?  We showed in section 1, that from the beginning, the serpent started telling a lie, one that has been continually repeated over the centuries, that “we don’t truly die”. Man doesn’t want to die, he wants to live forever, so this lie is an easy one for us to believe. But instead, God has given us a consistent message throughout the centuries, that when we die, we cease to exist and that our only hope is in Christ and the resurrection.   

Let’s consider some verses that some use to defend the idea of going to heaven at death.          

1. One of the most frequently quoted verses to defend heaven going at death, was the interaction between Christ and the thief on the cross. Recall that when Christ was being crucified, the soldiers also hung beside him a couple of thieves, one of which recognized Christ as the Messiah and said to him the following…

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

 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.   

Many assume that this means that both Christ and the thief went to heaven immediately at their death. However, we find this is not the case. We are told by Christ himself when he met with Mary Magdalene on the day of his resurrection, which was 3 days after his death…

John 20:17  “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father  

So here we see Christ dying and being placed in the grave for three days. Upon his resurrection on the 3rd day, the first person he sees is Mary, who tries to embrace him, but he says, “don’t touch me, for I have not ascended to my Father”.   Christ here clearly says he was not transported up to heaven at his death.                

Additionally, when we look at the context of the thief’s statement, it becomes apparent that the thief also knew he would not be going to heaven at death.   Notice what the thief says in verse 42… “remember me WHEN THOU COMEST into thy kingdom”.   He didn’t say, “when you go to heaven”, but instead he was saying when you COME BACK to establish the kingdom in the future.   Christ’s answer was one of surety, as he was saying “I am telling you right now!  Today!   You will be with me in paradise”.     When Christ returns to set up his Kingdom, the thief will then be raised and truly be with Christ in paradise.      

2. Another commonly used verse to defend heaven going is in 2 Corinthians.      

2Cor 5:8  We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, AND to be present with the Lord. 

We find that many people misquote this verse by reading it as follows:   “… to be absent from the body, IS to be present with the Lord.”, changing the word “And” for “is”.      This misquotation can make a significant difference in the meaning.      Let’s look at a similar example to see if it helps us understand the differences.  .   

Consider this statement:  “To fall asleep and to awake in the morning”.     We can all sympathize with that statement, as typically the next thing someone knows once they fall asleep is the awaking hours of the morning.   Although not addressed in the statement, it doesn’t eliminate the several hours of sleeping in between the two points in time.      Now let’s change the verse to the following:  “To fall asleep IS to awake in the morning”.  This wording makes it appear that when one falls asleep they are instantly transported to the morning.    In this example, it appears the person is bypassing several hours of sleep and instantly arriving in the morning.    This analogy falls closely in line to the misquotation of 2 Cor 5:8.    

That is how many use this verse to argue that when we die, we immediately leave our bodies and are then transported to be with Christ in heaven.   However, as we’ve seen thus far, this concept is not found in scriptures.   So what is he saying then?     

Consider a faithful man like Paul, who worked tirelessly all their life for Christ.   He understood that when he died, he would return to the ground.  His “thoughts would perish”.   However once Christ returns and resurrects him, his thoughts, and love, and memories would then all return.   It will seem to him as a mere moment in time since his death, even though it has been centuries since he breathed his last breath.    The very next thing any of us will know after death, is being resurrected and taken to meet with our savior face to face.     

Now back to our verse in Corinthians, doesn’t it make sense that Paul would rather end the daily struggles of this life, with his very next conscious moment being with Christ.    Paul knew well that he would have to await the judgment for this to actually happen and points this out in the next couple of verses….. 2Cor 5:10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.   

So at this juncture, do we repeat the serpents lie to ourself and say that we really don’t actually die, we just go onto another existence, or do we heed the scriptural message and take advantage of the remaining time and serve the Lord while we can, hoping for a future with him.