By Jim Mettenbrink
All of us will die. We have been considering what happens at death. Many think man becomes non-existent at death. However, in brief, God tells us that beginning at conception, we will exist forever. Where will we go when we die?
God candidly tells us either to heaven or hell. We can not see either of these places. All we see is what happens at death. The life force (soul) leaves and the body becomes 7-8 lbs of minerals and dirt. Is that the end of a person?
The apostle Paul reveals we continue to exist – “may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). The Bible hints at what happens to one’s spirit – the eternal part of man.
In the last article, we concluded – Stephen the evangelist was stoned to death for identifying Jesus as the prophesied Christ (Acts 6:8-15). Near the moment of death, “he was calling on God and saying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit’” (Acts 7:59). So just what happened to his spirit?
Many think at death we go directly to heaven or hell. Implicitly, that rules out the judgment when Jesus returns (1 Thess 4:16-17; 2 Thess 1:4-10). Jesus does not leave us in a lurch but gives us a glimpse of what happens at death. The spirit goes to Hades (an untranslated Greek word meaning “unseen”). One man was in torment and the other man is resting in comfort with Abraham. The tormented man pleaded to have someone tell his brothers to repent so as not to come to the place of torment (Luke 16:19-31). That Hades is not heaven and hell is evident in that they are two distinct and separate places, not co-located. That the tormented man could speak with Abraham indicates co-location so he is not in hell. They are in the same unseen place but in two separate parts. So Hades is the waiting place for dead people’s spirits waiting for the final judgment. What is evident though, is once a person dies, his destiny is sealed eternally. But Paul said we would be body, soul, and spirit in the resurrection. How?
The Bible reveals Hades is not our eternal destiny and it is not eternal, but temporary. Jesus said, “I have the keys of Hades and of Death” (Revelation 1:10-11, 18). The apostle John gives us the prophetic view of judgment day – “Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:11-15). This indicates the spirits who were in Hades will then be in either heaven or hell. Will a person’s spirit have a body? Next.