What happens when you die? Most Christians believe that people either go to heaven or to hell. Is that true? Is that belief found in the Bible? Or is it a myth that some churches have taught to deceive people, knowing that many do not read their Bibles? The Bible is the book you need to read and study to find out who God is and to know God.
Is there a Bible verse about life after death? The Bible does not teach that people go to heaven or hell right at death. In fact, the Bible says that when Jesus returns, He will raise the dead. Both the wicked and the righteous will be raised when Jesus returns. This means that if people were already in heaven, why would Jesus need to come back and bring them to heaven if they were already there? Let us look at five points on what happens when you die, according to the Bibl
- People Are Judged After Death
People, both on earth and in the spiritual realm, only receive rewards or punishments after they have been judged. When someone is brought to court, they only receive a punishment after the court case is finished. So people cannot be going to heaven or hell when they die, since they have not yet been judged. - The judgment, the Bible says, is going on now.
In Daniel 8, it says that the cleansing of the sanctuary — the time when people will be found guilty or worthy to go to heaven — happens at a specific time, when the heavenly judgment hall is put in session to examine the case of every human being. - There are two parts to this judgment. First, when Jesus went to heaven, He went into the holy place. This is the time of intercession.
Then, Daniel 8:14 tells us that Jesus went into the most holy place — this is where the judgment takes place. Revelation 14 says, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come.” Daniel 8:14 tells us that the cleansing of sins forever will happen at the end of the 2300 years after Jerusalem is rebuilt. Daniel 9 tells us that the beginning of those 2300 years starts when Jerusalem is rebuilt.
Daniel 8:14 — “And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”
We have already seen in other posts that one day is equal to one year in Bible prophecy.
Revelation 14:7 — “Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”
When does the 2300 years start?
Daniel 9:25 — “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.”
We need to understand the judgment first, as we are finding out the judgment is not finished. No one knows when Jesus will end the judgment, having examined the cases of all humans who have ever lived on earth. In fact, life will go on as usual, and people will not know that their cases have been finished and decided in heaven. God has a book next to your name, and when the judgment is finished, it will be found to contain either:
ETERNAL LIFE
OR
ETERNAL DESTRUCTION
We shall all be judged according to the law, the Ten Commandments. We are not saved by the Ten Commandments, but we choose every day which side we shall be on — the side of good or the side of evil. Then God does the works through us by faith. This is called righteousness by faith.
- No One Has Received Rewards Yet
Is there life after death? Yes, but people have to wait for all rewards to be given and for the judgment to end. As the judgment in the heavenly courts is not finished, those who have died need to wait in the tomb until Jesus finishes the work of examining all people and deciding their eternal destiny. So this means that when Jesus returns, the righteous will go with Him to heaven. Then Revelation 20 tells us there are 1,000 years in heaven, during which Jesus will lovingly explain to us why our family and friends are not there.
Then the heavenly city descends, and all the wicked are raised. Yes — all the wicked who ever lived will be raised and will try to take the city in which all the righteous dwell. Then fire comes down from God and destroys all the wicked.
At that time, all the wicked will have been judged and will receive the fire and be destroyed forever. All who had Jesus’ righteousness will have received their reward when Jesus returns. Revelation 20 explains:
Revelation 20:9 — “And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.”- Jesus Is in the Heavenly Sanctuary
Jesus is in the most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary. As we see judgments happening all over the earth, we know that the end is near and Jesus is about to finish His work. Also, humans are not immortal — the belief that people go to heaven or hell when they die is pagan. Humans do not possess immortality; humans are not gods.
1 Timothy 6:16 — “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.”
What happens when you die? You go to the grave, waiting for the resurrection of the wicked or the resurrection of the just. The story of Lazarus was a parable in which Jesus explained that evil people will be destroyed and good people will go to heaven.- It is not literal — it is a parable, just as Abraham’s bosom is a parable. Is it really a stomach millions of miles long? No.
Can a drop of water cool you down if you are in flames? No — it is a parable. Jesus said:
Matthew 10:28 — “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” - When Jesus Returns, People Will Receive Their Rewards
So the secret rapture is not biblical, as the “seven years” associated with the secret rapture belief are found in Daniel 9. Does it talk about a secret rapture? No — it has nothing to do with a secret rapture. Daniel 9 talks about Jesus being baptized and then crucified. The time frame is the time of Jesus. The secret rapture is a belief taken out of context; it is not biblical.
Those who are “taken” are taken to be killed. - Those who “remain” or are “left behind” are the ones who go with Jesus in the air.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 — “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
What happens when you die? You go to the grave, waiting for the resurrection, whether good or bad. When Jesus returns, the wicked are slain by the brightness of His coming.
2 Thessalonians 2:8 — “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.”
The disciples asked Jesus, “Where are they taken?” Jesus answered: they are taken where the birds are. When Jesus returns, the wicked are slain by His coming.
Revelation 19:17-18 —- “And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.”
- Death Is a Destruction, Not a Transition
When Noah was saved from the flood, it says that Noah only remained, or was left behind, and all the wicked were taken by the flood. At the time of Noah, Noah was left behind, and those who were taken were taken by the flood to be destroyed.
Genesis 7:23 — “And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.”
When Jesus returns, those left behind, or those who remain, are the ones who go to heaven with Jesus. Those who are taken are taken to be destroyed and eaten by the birds. What happens when you die? You sleep in the grave.
Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 — “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.”