Is there an afterlife?

Answer

The book of Job poses a question about the afterlife quite simply: “If a man dies, will he live again?” «If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, Till my change come. », (Job 14:14). Asking the question is easy; more challenging is finding someone to respond to it with authority and experience.

Jesus Christ is the one individual who can speak with genuine authority (and experience) regarding the afterlife. What grants Him exclusive authority to discuss heaven is that He originated from there: “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man” «And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. », (John 3:13). The Lord Jesus, with His firsthand experience in heaven, presents us with three fundamental truths about life after death:

1. There is an afterlife.

2. When a person dies, there are two potential destinations to which he or she may go.

3. There is one way to guarantee a positive experience after death.

First, Christ confirms the existence of an afterlife on several occasions. For instance, in a confrontation with the Sadducees, who rejected the idea of the resurrection, Jesus stated, “About the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’ ? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!” (Mark 12:26-27), Jesus stated that those who had passed away centuries ago were indeed alive with God at that time.

In another instance, Jesus provided comfort to His disciples (and us) by assuring them of the afterlife. They can anticipate being in heaven with Him: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3).

Jesus also spoke decisively about the two distinct destinies that await in the afterlife. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus mentioned, “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side” (Luke 16:22-23). It is important to note that there is no Purgatory for the deceased; they proceed directly to their eternal fate. Jesus elaborated further on the contrasting destinies of the righteous and the wicked in Matthew 25:46 and John 5:25–29.

Jesus also stressed that a person’s eternal destination is determined by whether or not they have faith in God’s only begotten Son. The necessity of faith is evident: “Everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:15-18).

For those who repent of their sins and receive Jesus Christ as their Savior, the afterlife will consist of an eternity spent enjoying God. For those who reject Christ, however, the afterlife will be quite different. Jesus describes their destiny as “darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” «But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. », (Matthew 8:12). As the heaven-sent authority on the afterlife, Jesus warns us to choose wisely: “Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

Speaking about life after death, G. B. Hardy, a Canadian scientist, once said, “I have only two questions to ask. One, has anyone ever defeated death? Two, did he make a way for me to do it also?” The answer to both of Hardy’s questions is “yes.” One Person has both defeated death and provided a way for everyone who puts their trust in Him to overcome it as well. No one who trusts in Jesus Christ needs to fear death, and we can rejoice in the Lord’s salvation: “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’

‘Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?’” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55).