Many ideas about what happens when we die (the afterlife) are based on ideas rather than Scripture. These ideas are usually all wrong and based on what the people want to happen. No wonder that many people are confused about heaven. They have been fed false ideas about heaven.
Biblical Views
We are creatures of earth and many of our ideas come from earthly experience. Sadly we also desire to remain on earth and we want to escape the end of this world. It is probably the main reason for so many wrong ideas about heaven. Let us consider some of the biblical views:
We Must Die
While there are some verses that discuss a “rapture” and will not get into those in this article, we can make a statement that is based on what is written. All the living and the dead in Christ must die. There is no escaping death. The great tribulation will come and almost everyone dies.
In fact, only those who are “caught up in the clouds with Christ to meet the Lord in the air” will be alive at the end of the great tribulation.
The best argument I have heard for a “rapture” is from Jesus’ words about His coming and the end of the world, “Truly I tell you, there are some who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom” (Matt 16:28).
Taking this out of context, it sounds like Christians can escape death during the great tribulation. However, the context is important. Jesus is talking about His Transfiguration when Peter, James and John saw Him in His glory. They did not die until years later, just as Jesus said in His Transfiguration.
Dispensationalism
Most people who think they will escape death during the great tribulation, are so-called dispensational Christians. The concept of a rapture, rapture of the church, etc. are uniquely dispensational. The rest of us agree with Jesus that many will witness His coming before they die.
Desire to Escape the World
The only people who will escape the end of the world and death are those mentioned by Jesus in Matt 16:28.
Most other people want to live forever and escape the end of the world, but Jesus said that the world would end.
As for Christians, this life is not easy, but we must not lose sight of what happens at the end. The gospel proclaims that we can live forever without end and that the world will be destroyed (Revelation). But this is a future event that will happen at the end of the world. It takes time to get there and it involves a lot of sufering.
We must endure suffering for the name of Jesus so that we can share in the “life that is really life” (1 Tim 6:19).
The Beginning
The Bible begins with the “beginning” (Gen 1:1). We also look forward to a “new” beginning after the death of the old creation. We are, therefore, looking for “new heavens and a new earth” (2 Peter 3:13).
Moving to Heaven
The Bible teaches that the Spirit of God will move us to heaven. We should look forward to this, not escape to heaven before we are moved.
There will be no escape to heaven in the traditional sense. There is a place for the dead that is a shadow of the world (Isa 57:1; Heb 11:19; 12:22; Rev 14:13), but the wording in Revelation does not describe the earthly paradise. It is the New Jerusalem that comes down from heaven (Rev 21:2).
We can look forward to Jesus coming to the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:2). While we are on earth, we often look forward to escaping to heaven. But when heaven comes down to earth, we will escape death and the end of this world with the final destruction of the world.
The Earthly Paradise?
Some Christians view the earthly paradise as the final resting place of those who die in Christ. Some Christians believe that when we die we leave the earthly paradise. While Jesus and many other people believe it.
The earthly paradise in Isaiah 57:1 and Ezekiel 40-48 is the same as the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:2). We are looking for a New Jerusalem that comes down from heaven.
The Old Testament (and the New Testament) refers to a garden as an earthly paradise, but this is not the same as an earthly paradise that we are waiting for and most Christians think that this is what it means.
It would be nice if this was the New Jerusalem, but it is not. We have to wait for this New Jerusalem to come down from heaven.
Eternal Life
The New Testament refers to the “new” beginning of Christians and what they hope for. It is a new life that will endure forever, just as Jesus will endure forever (Heb 4:10).
We Will Be Shaped Like Jesus
What does this mean? We will be shaped like Jesus. It is the image of Jesus that we have in mind. As we read the New Testament, we are aware of the image of Jesus that we have in mind (Col 3:4). It is what Jesus has in mind when He says, “We are not alone in our suffering.”
Conclusion
Much of our faith, therefore, is based on what we think will happen in the future. It is a future event that is going to happen at the end of the world, but it will happen at the end of the world.
If we want to escape the future events of the world, then we should look forward to the New Jerusalem that will come down from heaven. We will leave this world (this life) and ascend into heaven. That is why we are called “born again” (John 3:3) because we are born again into heaven.
We will escape death, but we will also escape the end of the world. It is a future event that will end the world, but it will happen at the end of the world. The Bible is clear on this. We cannot escape the end of the world without death.
We are born again by the power of the Spirit of God. We are born again as we are born by the Spirit of God. The first event is death (Col 3:3), the second event is death. In between is the Kingdom of God and the life of the body. We are in heaven and we are in this world and we are in heaven.
That is the message of the Bible.
I hope you have enjoyed this brief introduction to the afterlife in Christianity. If you have any questions or comments, please share them with us!
Sources
- The Bible (multiple)
- Biblia Hebraica Quinta (OT)
- Nestle/Aland Greek New Testament (NT)