In a recent article appearing in the Times-Republican, AI was used to research Christianity’s view of life after death. With Easter upon us, let’s look to the Word of God itself, for guidance on what happens when we die.

Genesis 2:7 tells us that God connected human beings with the rest of physical creation when He formed us, “from the dust of the ground.” In other words, we are very similar to animals both in our physiological and chemical make-up. But, when God “breathed into man the breath of life,” He was breathing a part of Himself into man. He was breathing spiritual life into a physical body. This is what the Bible refers to when it tells us that God made man “in His own image.” (Genesis 1:26-27) Our God-given ability to reason, to think and ultimately to choose sets us apart from animals. Created in God’s image also gives every one of us intrinsic and eternal value, regardless of our physical make-up, popularity, wealth, etc. We are all valuable because we are all made in God’s divine image, blessed with an eternal soul. What happens to our soul when we die?

The Bible actually speaks of two deaths. The first death is the separation of our soul from our body. It occurs the moment we take our last breath here on earth. God warned Adam and Eve that the consequence should they choose to disobey Him and eat from the tree of good and evil would be death. (Genesis 2:17) Their physical bodies would return to the “dust of the earth” (Gen.3:19). As a result of their sin, all mankind must physically die. (Romans 5:12) It is an inevitable part of the human experience (Hebrews 9:27). We can blame Adam and Eve all we want, but we have all sinned (Romans 3:23), even as our first ancestors did.

The second death is the separation of our soul from God. This second death is described as hell and it is eternal. (Revelation 21:8; 2:11; 20:6, 14) Contrary to what our humanistic world would have us believe, human beings are not born as good people. We are born with a nature to sin, so we all do sin. (Ephesians 2:1-3; Jeremiah 17:9; Ecclesiastes 9:3) God provided a remedy for this second death in the person of Jesus Christ. He is God in human flesh. (Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 7:14; Luke 2:8-19; John 1:1-5, 19-14, 18; I John 1:1-4) Jesus was tempted in every way that we have been tempted (Hebrews 4:15), but he never sinned. As a result, God accepted the physical life of Jesus as a sacrifice for all who have sinned IF we place our faith in him and follow him. Jesus told Nicodemus that we, “must be born again.” (John 3:5-8) Acceptance of Jesus into our lives, results in a spiritual birth that carries with it a gift of eternal life.

Jesus said that those who believe in him will never perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” (John 3:36)

“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24)

Jesus is emphasizing that for the believer, eternal life is not a distant and future experience, it is something he or she can begin enjoying right now. The apostle Paul supports what Jesus said. It was Paul’s desire that Jesus Christ would be exalted and uplifted in Paul’s life and even in Paul’s death.

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:20-21)

How can death be gain for anyone if we must wait to be with the Lord? “We live by faith (in the things God has revealed to us in His Word) and not by sight (in the things we can explain or understand). We prefer that our soul be absent from this body and at home with the Lord.” (II Corinthians 5:6-9)

Paul said that physical death, for the believer only, is far better than physical life because when the believer dies, our soul immediately goes to be in the presence of the Lord. This is not yet our final existence. As the rich man in Jesus’ parable found out, being in the presence of the Lord is far better than being eternally separated from the presence of the Lord. (Luke 16:18-31)

Jesus told Martha in John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die.”

The only way we can reconcile never dying even after dying, is realizing that Jesus is talking about two separate deaths. Our soul will continue to live in the presence of Jesus (eternal life), even after our soul has separated from our body (physical death). Jesus then asked Martha a very important question. “Do you believe this?”

Every one of us must also answer Jesus’ question. If we believe him and follow him, we will live eternally with him. If we don’t believe and follow him, we will eternally exist apart from Jesus.

We celebrate Easter not just because Jesus bodily rose from the dead, but also because Jesus is the firstfruits of others who will also bodily raise from the dead. (I Corinthians 15:12-25)

“Listen, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.” (I Cor.1:51-53)

And now, dear brothers and sisters – Christians who have placed their hope and trust in Jesus Christ – we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the souls of believers who have already physically died.

We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18)

Jesus reminded us, “Since I live, you also will live.” (John 14:19)

And the apostle John reminds us, “When Christ appears, we shall be like him.” (I John 3:2)

“God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.” (I John 5:11-13)

The Bible tells us that Jesus will someday meet his loved ones in the air, bringing with him the souls of those who were his followers at the time of their physical death. He will reunite their souls with brand new and transformed, physical bodies. Believers still alive at that time, will receive their resurrected bodies without physically dying and also meet the Lord in the air. In conclusion, when a believer in Christ takes his/her last breath here on earth, they immediately go to be in the presence of the Lord where they remain until the day Jesus Christ brings them back to receive their resurrected body. If you are not sure of your relationship with the Lord or where you will spend eternity, find a church and/or talk to someone you know who is a believer and ask them to introduce you to Jesus Christ! Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!