What Happens When We Die?

       Probably the most asked and most concerning question for most people is what happens when we die. This is a question that is by nature an uncomfortable one, but one that needs to be answered, for the one thing we are all guaranteed in life, is that one day it will end. As everything else that we might think of, the Bible is by far the best place to find the true answers for man. True, there are countless different beliefs on what happens after death, but all of these are based on man's beliefs or a misinterpretation of scriptures. Some believe that there is no afterlife, while others believe in a place called Purgatory, while others believe that the soul simply 'sleeps' until Christ returns on the day of judgment. All the answers to these questions can be found in one place, the Bible.
       Now naturally, being Christians, we believe that where we end up depends upon how we live our life and whether or not we are obedient to the commands of the Lord. If we have lived a good and righteous life, we will have our reward as promised by God, while if we choose to ignore God and His commands, and live our life by our own personal laws, will spend eternity in torment in hell. Of course that is to say our souls or spirit, for our fleshly bodies will return to the dust of the earth. But I'm getting ahead of myself here, let's see what the scriptures say.
       There is not a lot of passages in the Bible that go into great detail, so we must read and study all the passages on this subject. We do know that when we die, our bodies return to the earth, but our souls leave the body upon death (Gen. 35:18, James 2:26). Once our souls leave our fleshly vessels, they will enter into a depository of Spirits of sorts, as can be seen in the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. This story, which some believe to be a parable, while others believe this to be an actual story, perhaps gives us the best insight into this place. There appears to be two separate places where souls go after death, that is separated by a wide gulf between them. One area is where the evil and wicked go, an area where they are tormented in their punishment for turning their backs on God. The other are, called here as Abraham's bosom (Luke 16:23) is a place where the saved will be under protection of Abraham himself.
       The souls will be in either one of these two places until the 'Last Day', when all will be raised up and judged (John 6:44, 54). Then it will be raised up in a new form, an immortal body (Daniel 12:2, Matt. 10:28, 1 Cor. 15:54). This 'spirit' state that our souls will be in, is called Hades some 10 times in the New Testament. The word Hades is a letter for letter translation from the original Koine Greek that the New Testament was written. The King James version renders the Greek term Hades as Hell in Luke 16, but most Greek scholars believe this is a mistaken translation. Hell was always the final place of the damned, while Hades was the generic term for the spirit state, both the righteous and the wicked. Jesus' spirit was also in this place (Luke 16:22), which was also called Paradise (Luke 23:43), while His body lay in the tomb (Acts 2:27). The tormented rich man from the story in Luke, was in Hades (Luke 16:23), being the same state that is called 'hell' but is actually correctly given the term Tartarus, where rebellious angels who are "chained by darkness" (2 Pet. 2:4), and remain until their ultimate destination in hell, also called Gehenna. This is the final destination of the wicked (Matt. 25:41, Rev. 20:10). At the time of Christ's return, ALL will be raised for the final judgment (John 5:28-29, Acts 24:15).
       When the Lord descends from heaven, He will bring with Him the righteous of those whose bodies "fell asleep" as they died (1 Thess. 4:14, 16). The apostle Paul speaks of "the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints (3:13). Now to be very clear here, the word 'sleep' is never used in terms of the souls, but of the body (Dan. 12:2, John 11:11f). At this time, Hades will surrender its meaning (Rev. 1:18, 20:13-14), since both the righteous and the wicked will be assigned their final destinies; with their incorruptible bodies (1 Cor. 15: 53-54), and their immortal souls reunited (Dan. 12:2, Matt. 10:28, 2 Cor. 5:1ff). Since no single text contains all that is to be known, again we must study all of them to understand the full picture. This is what the Bible teaches us about what will happen to us.
       So to put it in perhaps more simple terms, when our bodies die, which they will, our souls enter a place called Hades. In this place are two areas, one for the righteous who have done what God commanded them (Paradise/Abraham's Bosom), and one for the wicked and evil who have chosen to ignore their Father (Tartarus), which will be a place of torment. Our souls will remain in either one of these two areas until Christ returns to judge all, and all will be placed in their final destination of either heaven or hell. All other beliefs and doctrines that men have arrived at, they did so without consulting the scriptures.
       The doctrines of Soul Sleeping, which is the belief that our souls sleep until the judgment and then are awakened, is not found in the scriptures nor does it fit in with the descriptions we have in the Bible. Lazarus and the rich man were obviously aware as was Jesus in this state. Another false doctrine that is very popular, is the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory. Not much can be said of this because it can be found nowhere in the Holy scriptures. Purgatory is place where the dead go to suffer punishment in order to be purified. This belief was not introduced until the sixth century, and wasn't made doctrine until 1439. The scriptures teach against this (Heb. 9:27), and Christ taught there is no second chance for the willful sinner (Luke 16:19-31). This is a false and very dangerous doctrine, allowing people to do as they wish, for even after death, they have a chance to make things right.
       Along with these false doctrines, something new has been on the rise which seems to be so ridiculous to even be believed. It is the belief found in many 'mega-churches' that there is not even a place called hell, but just different levels of heaven. Many people find this attractive, for they like to tell themselves how can a loving God condemn anyone to eternal damnation. Of course, this is for people who have no want to study the scriptures at all, or simply like to twist them to fit their lifestyles.
       Again, this is a subject that most do not like to talk or think about, but one that we will all one day face. As a Christian however, if you have done what God commanded and Christ taught, death is nothing to be feared, and even something that can be looked forward to. You will be in a place of eternal rest and great joy unlike anything you have ever witnessed here on earth (Phil. 1:23). A place of quiet rest with our God and savior for all eternity. This is what God has promised us, just as He promised that those who laugh or thumb their noses at His Word, will be punished in eternity. The truth here is shown to us for us to understand, all we have to do is follow what God has shown us.