Q: Where do people go after death? —Hussein
A: What happens to a person after he dies depends on whether that person is a born-again Christian or not.
The Bible tells us that those who have not believed in Jesus Christ as Savior will suffer eternal condemnation and unending punishment and unspeakable torment in hell forever (2 Thessalonians 1:8-10; Hebrews 10:26-27). Jesus described hell as a place of “unquenchable fires, where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out” (Mark 9:43,48). Repeatedly Jesus warned of an “outer darkness” and a “fiery furnace” where there will be “weeping, and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12, 13:42,50, 22:13, 24:51, 25:30; Luke 13:28). Three times the Apostle John spoke of hell as “the fiery lake of burning sulfur” (Revelation 19:20, 20:10, 21:8), a “lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14-15). “And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).
On the other hand, a Christian who dies goes to heaven. When Jesus was crucified on the cross, there were two criminals who were crucified with him (Luke 23:39-43). One of the criminals, before he died, believed in Jesus, and Jesus told him that he would be with Him in heaven that very day he died (Luke 23:43). In John 14:1-3, Jesus taught about heaven, and affectionately called it “my Father’s home” (John 14:2). And Jesus assured us that He would come and bring us home to God, to where He (Jesus) is (John 14:3). The Apostle Paul was not afraid to die; and looked forward to his death, because he knew that he will “be with Christ” (Philippians 1:21-23), he “will be at home with the Lord” forever (2 Corinthians 5:6-8) the moment he dies.
Jesus gives us a glimpse of the afterlife in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-26). Lazarus “died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham” which is the equivalent of heaven (Luke 16:22). The rich man also died and went to “the place of the dead,” where he was “in torment,” “in anguish in these flames” (Luke 16:23-24).
Whether you go to heaven or hell is determined by whether you have trusted Jesus to save you when you are still alive (Luke 16:27-29). To go to heaven, you need to believe in Jesus (John 3:16-18, 36, 14:6, 1 John 5:11-12). For “there is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). —K.T. Sim
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mike wittmer on February 15, 2012 at 9:31 am
This answer is spot on and full of biblical truth and conviction. I would only add that the Christian’s final destiny isn’t heaven (some place else) but the new earth (Rev. 21:1-5). Praise God that when we die we go to heaven to be with Jesus, and praise God that when Jesus returns he will bring us back to earth, where we will live with him forever.