Craig Hawkins answers questions on Death and
the AfterLife
What happens to Christians after they die?
Do they "go to sleep" until the future resurrection?
The
apostle Paul tells us that "to die is gain," and that he personally
desired "to depart [die] and be with Christ, which is better by far"
(Phil. 1:21-23). Moreover, in 2 Corinthians 5:8 he affirms, "We are
confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at
home with the Lord." Paul clearly anticipated something far more glorious
and wonderful than mere "sleep" or unconsciousness. Those who die
in the Lord are immediately ushered into the very presence of God!
What happens to non-Christians after they
die?
Upon
death, the non-Christian goes to a place of punishment while awaiting
judgment by Christ. In 2 Peter 2:9, we are told that "the Lord knows
how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for
the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment." Revelation
20:11-15 describes this day of judgment - the Great White Throne Judgment
- and the final condition of the unsaved. Following this judgment,
the unsaved will suffer eternal separation from God. This sobering
reality should motivate Christians to daily share the gospel of salvation
to the lost.
How do you reconcile Luke 23:43, where Jesus
said to one of the thieves on the cross "today you will be with me in
paradise," with John 20:17, where we are told that on the third day
after His death "I have not yet returned to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God"? In the latter passage, it seems that Christ
has not yet gone to paradise.
Theologians have different views as to how this question should be
answered. The following is a well-accepted explanation. In Luke 16:22-26,
we see that hades (the equivalent of sheol in the Old Testament) is
divided into two separate realms: "hell," where the unrighteous go
after death; and "paradise" or "Abraham's Bosom," the place of rest
for the righteous.
The two realms together comprised hades
- though they were separated by a great chasm or gulf that could not
be bridged by inhabitants of either side. Christ descended into the
"paradise" compartment of hades when He died (I Pet. 3:18-20), and
when the thief on the cross died he went there too.
Thus, the thief was with Christ that day
in paradise, yet Christ had not yet ascended into heaven. When Christ
did ascend into heaven (John 20:17), He took the rest of the inhabitants
of paradise (i.e., all the Old Testament saints) with Him (Eph. 4:8-9)
- including the thief on the cross. So, there is no contradiction
between Luke 23:43 and John 20:17.
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