What does the Bible say about death and life after death?
For the Bible, death is not the end: those who die in Christ go “to be with Christ”, and on the last day all the dead will be raised. It does not teach that the dead watch over or visit the living, but it does not treat grief as a lack of faith either: weeping, burying and going to the grave of someone you love all appear in its pages. Where Christians differ is on what happens between death and the resurrection.
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
Paul, in prison and unsure whether he would be executed, calls death gain because it means “to be with Christ; which is far better”. For those in Christ, dying is leaving to be with him, not falling into nothing.
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
To the repentant criminal crucified beside him, Jesus promises: “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise”. Most read this as being with Christ right after death; those who hold to soul sleep move the comma — I tell you today: you will be with me — since the Greek manuscripts had no punctuation.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
The final hope is not only the soul with God but the body raised: “the dead in Christ shall rise first”, and those still alive will join them, to be with the Lord for ever.
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
The resurrection is not only for Christians: all who are in the graves will hear Christ’s voice, some to life and others to condemnation. Death does not end anyone’s accountability before God.
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man asks for someone to go back from the dead to warn his brothers and is told no: the living already have the Word — “They have Moses and the prophets”. Parable or portrait of the afterlife, the text opens no channel between the dead and the living.
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
The dead “know not any thing” and have no more portion in anything done “under the sun”. Most Christians read the Preacher as describing death as seen from this life, not what the soul experiences before God; those who hold to soul sleep see it as proof that the dead are unconscious until the resurrection.
It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
Going to a funeral and weeping with those who weep is neither morbid nor faithless: “It is better to go to the house of mourning”, says the Preacher, because there the living remember that everyone comes to that day, and take it to heart.
All agree that death is not the end and that the final hope is the resurrection of the body; the difference lies in the time in between. Most — Catholics, Orthodox and most evangelicals — believe the person remains conscious after death, and those in Christ are in his presence (Philippians 1:23; Luke 23:43; Revelation 6:9-10). Adventists and some other groups hold to soul sleep: death is unconsciousness until the resurrection — which, they say, is why the Bible calls it sleep (John 11:11; 1 Corinthians 15:20). The Catholic Church also teaches purgatory, a purification of those who die in God’s grace before they enter heaven, which evangelical churches do not accept. Whether the story of the rich man and Lazarus describes the afterlife or is only a parable is also debated.
Frequently asked questions
What happens when someone dies?
The body returns to dust (Ecclesiastes 12:7), and Christian hope comes in two stages: for those in Christ, to die is to be with the Lord (Philippians 1:23; 2 Corinthians 5:8), and on the last day everyone will be raised, some to life and some to judgment (John 5:28-29). What the time between the two is like is where Christians differ.
Can the dead see us? Do those who have died communicate with the living?
The Bible does not teach that the dead follow the lives of those left behind. David, after losing his son, said: “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me” (2 Samuel 12:23); in the story of the rich man and Lazarus, no one goes back to warn the living (Luke 16:27-31); and the Law forbids consulting the dead (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). When Saul sought out a medium to speak with Samuel (1 Samuel 28), Scripture lists it among the reasons for his death (1 Chronicles 10:13-14). The cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 12:1 is usually read as the examples of faith in chapter 11, not as spectators, though some read it that way. Catholics and Orthodox believe the saints pray for the church, but they too reject seeking contact with the dead.
Is it wrong to visit a grave or go to a funeral?
No. Abraham wept for Sarah (Genesis 23:2), Joseph kept seven days of mourning for his father (Genesis 50:10), Jesus wept over the death of a friend (John 11:35) and Mary Magdalene wept at the tomb (John 20:11). The Bible forbids consulting the dead, not remembering them, missing them or honoring their memory.
