The Eternal Quest

After Death

Like birth, death is another truth of life. A truth which one dreads of and seldom would like to accept. A journey into the unknown, man's ultimate end, or is it? A quest whose answer man has been seeking for ages. Will every thing end after death? or something inside us will live on? We will look into the matter as the Bible teaches us but first, there is an important question to which there is an answer, the question is should we be prepared for our death? and the answer is 'Yes'. There is a well known story about "The king and the Jester" to justify the answer, death is an important issue more important than birth and everyone should prepare for it as it may come anytime in our lives.

The Bible has clear descriptions about after death situation of man, it teaches us that physical death of a man is a curse of God and was not intended by God. The first man 'Adam' when tested by God was found wanting. His disobedience led God to limit his life span, God said "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." (Genesis 3:19). The Bible clearly indicates of life after death. We can see an instance where Jacob laments, "My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave(sheol)." (Genesis 42:38) An abode for the dead is referred here.

The most vivid scene in the old testament of life after death is presented where King Saul calls prophet Samuel back from the dead to speak to him. Saul asks the wizard, "I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee." The woman said, "Whom shall I bring up unto thee?" And he said, "Bring me up Samuel." When the woman saw Samuel, the king said unto her, "Be not afraid: for what sawest thou?" And the woman said unto Saul, "I saw gods ascending out of the earth." And he said unto her, "What form is he of?" And she said, "An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle." And Saul perceived that it was Samuel. (1Samuel 28:7-14) In the New Testament St Paul says "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" (Hebrews 9:27)

There are two types of deaths described in the Bible. One is physical death and the other is spiritual death. Man is composed of three things according to the Bible, body, soul and spirit. (1Thessalonians 5:23) Body - physical form, Soul - That which makes a difference between a dead and a living body, Spirit - immaterial nature. Physical death needs no description, in the chapter of Genesis we find that God said to 'Adam' "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Verse 2:17) But later on we find "And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died." (Verse 5:5) Now, had God lied to 'Adam' when he had said that 'Adam' would die the very day he ate the prohibited fruit? No, in fact 'Adam' died on the very day he broke the commandment, he died spiritually on that very day fulfilling what God had said.

Spiritual death means separation from God and his presence. Before his disobedience 'Adam' enjoyed the presence of God fulfilling the purpose of his very existance, As we find in the scripture "And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God." (Genesis 3:8) This was the situation when 'Adam' sinned againest God, due to his sin today man is also separated from God. (Isaiah 59:2) The Bible teaches us that our physical life is not of much importance, it merely serves the purpose of the spirit just as the shell of an egg is to its content, but our spirit has been created to serve a more important purpose of God. (John 6:63) As a man finds an equivalent partner in a woman so can a spirit find a suitable match with a spirit. (Ephesians 5:32)

Our physical self limits only to the five senses which are also common to animals, while it is the spirit which makes us different from them. The spirit is endowed with nine qualities, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23) Hence Saint Paul says, "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8:7-8) Accordingly physical death is justified and a necessity due to sin as the Bible teaches us that not a single person is righteous. (Ecclesiastes 7:20) It was Jesus who showed complete righteousness and obedience even unto death (Philippians 2:8) and achieved victory over the curse of death as was prophesied, "He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it." (Isaiah 25:8) As St Peter says "Jesus of Nazareth whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it." (Acts 2:24)

The Bible says that spiritual death is temporary and has a chance to be revived back again till one is alive on this earth through faith in Jesus Christ. Spiritual death has been amended for both in this world and the next, through Jesus now we can enter the most holy place of God which was before veiled, as we find in the scriptures "and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy." (Exodus 26:33) This veil was torn apart at the time of death of Jesus on the cross. (Matthew 27:51) As Saint Paul says "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;" (1Timothy 2:5) and "Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ" (Ephesians 2:5) we can come to God's presence anytime now in prayer and meditation through Jesus because of his promise "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:20).

In the world next we have a hope through his promise to dwell in his presence forever, as Saint John writes in the book of Revelation of his vision at patmos "And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it." (Verse 21:10-11,22-24)

While the Bible warns us of even a permanent spiritual death or second death for the ungodly "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 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. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:11-15)