What Happens after Death?

NOTE: All comments in brackets [ ] or in parentheses ( ) as well as highlighted text (bolded and/or in blue) are from the author of this study.
Bible quotations are in maroon.

This is a topic which is of interest to just about everyone who has ever lived but for which no clear answers are available from science which denies the existence of  an all-powerful Creator God who created the heavens and the earth and, man.

How is it that man has life and where does that life come from remains a great mystery to science which is limited to analyzing what can be perceived through man’s 5 physical senses. What happens after death? Is there an after-life in another dimension where life goes on? Is the soul an immaterial part of men’s physical bodies which at death leaves the body and goes on living after the death of the physical body and which retains the consciousness of the person while alive? Many of the popular religions of this world believe this to be the case but what is the truth of this matter?

In the following paragraphs, to a very large extent I will let the Holy Bible provide answers to these questions. I will cite the relevant passages and provide explanations in brackets [ ] in the body of the verses themselves, highlight with colors key parts of verses and otherwise let the Bible speak for itself.

Hopefully you will find this review of the pertinent Scriptures about what goes on after death interesting, informative and useful.

Letting the Bible Speak

Gen. 2 :7  And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man [the dust of the ground] became a living soul [an air-breathing animal as per the Hebrew word “nephesh” which was translated “soul”].[Man is made of lifeless inorganic matter, the dust of the ground or dirt, which God has made alive by giving it life, making it alive. At death, when the life that God has placed in the package of dead, inorganic matter that is man returns to God, the body returns to being the dust of the ground of which it is made.]

Ezekiel 18:4  Behold, all souls [physical bodies which are mortal] are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul [the “nephesh” or air breathing animal]  that sinneth, it shall die [the first death which is temporary; not the second death which is eternal.]

Ezekiel 18:20  The soul [physical person] that sinneth, it shall die [the first death which is temporary; not the second death which is eternal]. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. [We will bear the responsibility for our own sins; others will not  and cannot be held responsible for our sins.]

Lev. 17 :11  For the life of the flesh [the mortal life of our physical bodies which is temporary] is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood [substitutionary death of the animal which ceremonially cleanses you of sin; the true cleansing of sin can only occur by the death of Christ as the perfect sacrifice] that maketh an atonement for the soul. [their physical lives were saved during OT days when they sinned and an animal was sacrificed as a substitute rather than the sinner dying for his sin.]

James 4:14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your [present, physical, mortal] life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Psalms 146:4  His breath goeth forth, [when a person’s physical body or soul dies]  he returneth to his earth;  [the body becomes dust of the ground as it was at first when God first formed it from the dust of the ground] in that very day his thoughts perish. [The dead are in utter unconsciousness; their thoughts perish; they have no thoughts, are no longer conscious]

Ecclesiastes 3:19  For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. [the life that is in animals is the same as the life that is in human beings;  they both die the same kind of death again becoming part of the dust of the ground.]

Ecclesiastes 9:5  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. [the dead are totally unconscious]

Job 14:14  If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. [from physical mortal soul to eternal glorified spirit body; the resurrection]

Job 32:8  But there is a spirit in man: [gives the animal brain mind power; otherwise man would be like an animal functioning only by instinct] and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.

Zec 12:1  The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

Ecclesiates 12 :7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. [this is talking about the human spirit in man which gives the animal brain mind power which all other animals do not have; this is a spirit essence which is not a conscious being inside of man; it is something that is in man but which is not part of him like a marble that one would swallow. This spirit essence is a full record of all a man has been and will be used by God at the time of the resurrection of the dead.]

I Cor’ns 2 : 11  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. [in other words, how is it that man is a self-aware, feeling being who is able to acquire vast amounts of knowledge; it is because of the spirit in man or spirit essence placed by God in man which gives mind power to the animal brain and which allows him to gain similar knowledge to what other human beings have because they have the same human spirit in them. This is why man needs to have of God’s Spirit added to him to become able to acquire and understand the truth of God; as the human spirit gives the ability to acquire human level knowledge so does God’s Spirit when given to man, allows him to understand the things of God which are otherwise totally inaccessible to the human mind.]

No man has gone to heavens

John 3:13  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

Acts 2:34  For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, [David is dead and was a servant of God and if upon dying people go to heaven then David would be there, but the Bible says even David is not there; where is he? In the dust of the ground awaiting his change or resurrection to glorified spirit being at the time of the first resurrection]

Job 7:21  And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be. [Job is saying that if he should die, he would sleep in the dust of the ground not go up to heaven as is the popular notion.]

Daniel 12:2  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,  [in the resurrection] some to everlasting life, [first resurrection] and some to shame and everlasting contempt. [third resurrection] [The dead sleep and are to be awakened by God at the time of the resurrection of the dead. The first death is not permanent; the second death is.]

In Bible Language the Dead are Asleep

John 11:11  These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.

12  Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.

13  Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.

14  Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

Psalms 115:17  The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence. [The dead are in total unconsciousness; they are not alive somewhere, in a world existing in another dimension unknowable to physical men, praising God.]

The Resurrections

Hebr.9: 27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die,[the first death which is temporary] but after [having died the first death] this  [there will be a resurrection to flesh and blood for the purpose of] the judgment: [a period during which those resurrected will for the first time be taught the truth which they had never known, given the opportunity to follow it and then live out a new lifespan to demonstrate the sincerity of their expressed desire to obey God so that God may evaluate (judge) how well they are obeying Him; are they really sincere when they say they want to obey Him after having been given to know the truth.]

Matth. 22 :31  But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,

32  I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. [all will be resurrected one day but each in his own time order; the resurrection is sure, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who now sleep in unconsciousness in the dust of the ground will be resurrected and be with God for all eternity as will all true believers; God is not the God of the dead but of the living and those who have lived and died the first death common to all mankind will live again.]

Mark 12 :24  And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?

25  For when they shall rise from the dead, [all die the first death which is temporary and all will be resurrected] they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.

Luke 20 :34  And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:

35  But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:

36  Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God,[were begotten by Him through His Spirit but will not all have the same reward] being the children of the resurrection.

37  Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.[as proof that the dead are to be resurrected] 

38  For he is not a God of the dead, [God will rule over living beings not dead ones; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are dead but will be resurrected; God is the God of the living] but of the living: for all live unto him.

John 5 :24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

25  Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

26  For as the Father hath life in himself [is an immortal being] ; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; [Christ too was immortal after having been resurrected after His death on the stake as the Father is immortal.]

27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life (first resurrection); and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.(Third resurrection)

THE RESURRECTION CHAPTER

I Corinthians 15

12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you (Corinthians) that there is no resurrection of the dead?

13  But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: [if Christ was not resurrected from the dead by His Father, then there is no possibility of raising the dead to life]

14  And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. [As Christ was just a man and God had no power to raise Him back to life nor can none of you can be raised up back to life from the dead.]

15  Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; [if this be true then we, the apostles, are falsely saying that Christ is alive again after His death on the stake.] because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. [If God the Father did not raise up Christ from the dead then there is no resurrection from the dead for anyone as if God was not able to raise Christ up from the dead, He is unable to raise anyone up from the dead.]

16  For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:

17  And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. [There is then no perfect sacrifice for sin as required by God’s law and no redemption possible for anyone.]

18  Then they also which are fallen asleep [are dead in complete unconsciousness in the dust of the ground] in Christ [Those who have died believing what Christ taught] are perished. [Dead forever.]

19  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. [If it is only while we are now alive as flesh and blood beings that we can hope in Christ, and that once we are dead there is no resurrection, then we are of all men most miserable as our hope of the resurrection is a lie.]

20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits [Christ is the first of the firstfruits of God’s plan of salvation; or the first of those that are to be resurrected as part of God’s plan of salvation] of them that slept [are dead].

21  For since by man came death [because of Adam, sin entered into the world and through sin, death i.e., the first death which is temporary and affects all of mankind], by man [Christ, God in the flesh] came also the resurrection of the dead. [the means whereby after dying the first death which is temporary, men can be resurrected back to life.]

22  For as in Adam all die, [the first death which is temporary] even so in Christ shall all [who have died the first death] be made alive.

23  But every man [will be resurrected according to an order established by God] in his own order: Christ the [first of the] firstfruits [was resurrected]; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. [will be resurrected; the first resurrection]

24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

27  For he [God the Father] hath put all things under his [Christ’s] feet. [God the Father has made Christ the ruler over all things] But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. [But God the Father did not put Himself under Christ; He continues to be the Supreme ruler.]

28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. [When the time comes for Christ to assume all the powers given Him by God the Father, the Son or Christ, will still be under the rulership of God the Father.]

29  Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead? [Why are people baptized to effect the forgiveness of their sins for the purpose of having the possibility of being resurrected if the the dead rise not back to life?]

30  And why stand we in jeopardy every hour? [And why if it is not true that the dead are raised  back up to life, do we the apostles put our life in danger by preaching this very thing every hour as they are many seeking our lives because we preach the resurrection from the dead.]

31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

32  If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, [If I escaped being killed by the wild beasts I encountered in my travels simply because of my own strength] what advantageth it me, [how was that useful to me that I should expose myself to such perils] if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die. [If the dead are not resurrected; I’m wasting my time on preaching a lie. Let’s party on then as this life is the only life there is.]

33  Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. [Don’t be fooled, lies have a way of undoing the truth you have been given if you keep on listening to them. Others who were not apostles, had come to them and were preaching that there is no resurrection from the dead.]

34  Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame. [Some among them were not obeying the truth they had received and were not putting forth effort to reduce the amount of sin in their lives and as a result, they did not understand the truth they had received from the apostles.]

35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?

36  Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: [a seed must first be put into the ground before it comes alive; this is represents  symbolically men dying and being put in the ground]

37  And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: [the grain that is sown or put in the ground doesn’t look like the plant that will come from it; the flesh-and-blood physical bodies buried in the ground at death will be resurrected with a new and different body not resembling the one put in the ground as was the case with the seed put into the ground producing a plant that doesn’t look like the seed.]

38  But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

39  All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. [All bodies are not the same; our resurrected bodies will not be the same flesh-and-blood bodies that died and were put in the ground.]

40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. [flesh-and-blood bodies have certain properties and appearance specific to them; celestial bodies also have their own characteristics but they are different from those of flesh-and-blood bodies]

41  There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. [Different types of bodies have different characteristics.]

42  So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: [The flesh-and-blood bodies with which we were born are mortal and subject to corruption and decay at death becoming again a part of the dust of the ground from which it was formed; the body with which we will be raised will be immortal; no longer subject to decay.]

43  It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: [Our fleshly bodies go into the ground at death but will later be raised in glory i.e., immortal; when it is buried or sown, it is weak and mortal when it is resurrected, it is immortal.]

44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. [When put in the ground it is a mortal, corruptible body and when it is raised it is a glorified, immortal spirit body.]

45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; [a mortal, flesh-and-blood, air breathing animal] the last Adam [Christ] was made a quickening spirit. [the means whereby we can be quickened or resurrected with a glorified and immortal spirit body.]

46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. [But first we are to  have mortal, physical flesh-and-blood bodies and only afterwards, we are to have immortal, glorified spirit bodies.]

47  The first man [the first man Adam was formed of the dust of the ground] is of the earth, earthy: the second man [the second Adam] is the Lord from heaven. [Christ who came from heaven to make the salvation of mankind possible through a resurrection from the dead.]

48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. [The earthy and the heavenly have their own different and distinct characteristics specific to each of them.]

49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. [As we have had mortal, flesh-and-blood bodies so will we also have immortal, glorified, spirit bodies.]

50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. [We cannot become part of the kingdom of God while alive in our flesh-and-blood bodies; and the bodies with which we will be raised will be different from those we now have; they will not require the breathing of air, the drinking of water, etc. to maintain life.]

51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We [the Church of God that existed in Paul’s day] shall not all sleep, [shall not all die naturally] but we shall all be changed, [we shall all be resurrected] [Paul, at that time, thought Christ’s 2^nd Coming and the resurrection of the dead which occurs at that time, was to occur during his life time; later on, he came to understand that it would not. It would only occur far into the future, some 2,000 years after the founding of the Church of God.]

52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. [But, at the time of Christ’s 2^nd Coming, here is how the resurrection will occur; it will be an instantaneous death and resurrection to glorified spirit life.]

53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54  So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. [ After the resurrection, death will no longer have any power over those resurrected; they will be immortal beings.]

55  O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

56  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. [Death entered the world because of Adam’s sin and the penalty for sin is inevitable because the penalty for breaking God’s law is unavoidable.]

57  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. [Thank be to God, who has provided a way for us to escape the death penalty for sin i.e., the second death from which there is  no possible resurrection,  through Christ having become the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all mankind.]

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. [Therefore, speaking to the church members of his time and to us today, don’t believe the lies of those that deny the resurrection; know that your obedience is not in vain; there will be a resurrection of the dead.]

The First Resurrection

I Cor’ns 15:16  For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: [If there is no resurection of the dead, Christ is still dead.]

17  And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. [If Christ is still dead, you belief in Him as your saviour is in vain, your sins have not been forgiven.]

18  Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. [Also, those who died believing in Christ as their Saviour are lost; they will never be resurrected.]

19  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. [If it is only while alive as flesh-and-blood beings that we can have hope in Christ, then we are the most miserable of men as our faith is vain; there is no resurrection from the dead.]

20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and [has] become the firstfruits of them that slept.[are dead] [Christ is the first flesh-and-blood human being to have died and been resurrected to life and is our proof that the resurrection from the dead is possible for human beings.]

21  For since by man [Adam’s sin caused the first death to pass over all mankind; all became subject to the first death which is temporary] came death, by man [Christ was a man born of woman]  came also the resurrection of the dead. [Christ was God in the flesh whose death paid the penalty for all the sins of mankind and made possible the resurrection from the dead.]

22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.[All of mankind, each in their own time order will go through a resurrection from the dead; the first death is temporary; not all mankind will be resurrected at the same time as explained in the next verses.]

23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; [Christ was the first to be resurrected] afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. [Then, those who died in Christ will be resurrected at the time of Christ’s 2^nd Coming.]

24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

25  For he [Christ] must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. [Until the nations have been finally and completely subjugated and brought to obedience; this will occur during the first part of the Millennium after the 2^nd Coming of Christ.]

26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. [Christ will bring every power to submit to Him but Himself will not be subordinated to any power except that of God the Father.]

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead [those who will not be a part of the 1^st resurrection] lived not again [were not resurrected; remained dead in the dust of the ground.]  until the thousand years were finished. [Until the end of the Millennium which will last 1,000 years.] This is the first resurrection. [Which occurs at the beginning of the Millennium at the time of Christ’s 2^nd Coming.]

The Second Resurrection (Great White Throne Judgment) Last Great Day period

Rev. 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him [Christ] that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books [of the bible] were opened:[to their understanding; had never known the truth having been blinded by Satan, now they are given to know it.] and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead [who had been resurrected and taught the truth which they had never known] were judged out of those things which were written in the books,[the Bible] according to their works.[the extent to which they have put forth effort to apply the truth of God in their lives which in the 2^nd resurrection are to last 100 years, the lifespan given man. This is explained in the following verse.]

 Isaiah 65:20  There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. [This is the verse from Isaiah which shows that in the 2^nd resurrection, all will be given to live 100 years as an opportunity to live the truth they have received so they can be evaluated (judged) on how much they really want to obey God.]

The Third Resurrection (Resurrection to Judgment)

Rev 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. [This is the resurrection to condemnation of all those who were given to know the truth and turned against it; the books are not opened because they were opened to them in their first lives and after having committed themselves to obeying  God, turned away from Him and lost their salvation.]

Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. [All of mankind dies the first death which is temporary because of the sin of Adam and those refusing to obey God after having been given to know the truth, die the second death because of their own sins of disobedience; there is no resurrection possible from the 2^nd death. Salvation, among many other things,  is being saved from the 2nd death.]

The Second Death

Rev. 20: 19 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Psalms 115:17  The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.

The dead are in utter unconsciousness and know nothing, the same fate befalls both men and beast, man is a being with animal life in the shape of God. Man can have a relationship with His maker because of the human spirit which God has placed in him. It gives the animal brain mind power and this mind power gives man the capacity to choose.

Man was created incomplete spiritually but physically complete; man was made to receive another spirit, the Spirit of God that would enable the human mind to understand spiritual knowledge otherwise totally inaccessible to the human mind.

The second death is the death from which there is no possible resurrection and it is this second death that all those who have been given to know the truth and either refused to follow it or who for a time followed it and then turned away from it, will die.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this study will serve to make clearer in your mind what happens at the time of death and the different resurrections that are to occur in the future as God’s master plan of salvation for mankind progresses towards its ultimate end.