What Happens After You Die & Where Do You Go, According To The Bible
“For the living know that they will die.” -Ecclesiastes 9:5
Unsplash All good things must come to an end. But the knowledge that we will one day be no more doesn’t stop Christians from constantly experiencing the joys of life.
We spend years developing memories through every moment of life; these memories live on in the lives of the ones we leave behind when we pass.
Although we read about and experience death, it is still a concept unknown to the living.
After all, there is no way to know what happens when we die until we die. One of the most burning questions people share about death is: why? Why do we die?
Why must God take people away from our lives and to His kingdom? For the answer to this, we turn to the creation story.
God created the universe’s first couple, Adam and Eve. He gave specific instructions that they were to live one with the Earth.
They were welcome to experience nature and eat from the trees. The only condition was that they stay away from the tree in the middle of the garden.
The forbidden fruit was one of the greatest temptations of the origin of man.
Satan acted as a vessel of sin. He told Eve that eating the forbidden fruit would make her all-knowing, it would give her the ability to see good and bad, just as God. The key answer to the question of why we die lies in Adam and Eve’s next actions.
They were gifted free will by God. They chose to eat the fruit that God told them to avoid. They were not ignorant of their actions. It was a choice.
As a consequence of their actions, God told them, “By the sweat of your face will you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust, you shall return.” Genesis 3:19 shows us that God made man mortal as a punishment for sins.
However, God is forgiving. Although we, one day, must die, Christians are gifted with the promise of an afterlife. The Bible dictates this topic through scripture.
1. There is a rebirth.
“I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them.’” — Revelation 14:13
Death is eternal rest. The struggles and pain of life are released from the soul as they pass.
2. We are returned to the land of the Lord.
“But we don't want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who have fallen asleep, so that you don't grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him ...” — Thessalonians 4:13-14
Jesus died for our sins so that we may be absolved. As a reward for committing our lives to God, we spend eternity in His kingdom.
3. We will continue our service to God.
“Therefore are they before the throne of God, they serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.” — Revelation 7:15
Just as we spent our lives on Earth worshiping and serving God, we will continue that practice in the afterlife.
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Madison Kerth is a writer who covers astrology, pop culture and relationship topics.