What is life after death?
I have been thinking a little about death lately. It may be because of an odd book I read that tried to offer comfort, but really gave a very disturbing scenario of life after death. It may be just the time of life that I’m in as I watch my much younger and more energetic coworkers, as I feel my knee begin to ache, and as I find myself winded after climbing a simply moderate hillside. It may be that I perceive myself approaching the “top of the food chain,” so to speak. Come to think of it, a song my husband played on the piano for the offertory last week may have contributed.
You know, the Bible says a good bit about life after death without really saying anything about life after death.
What do the Scriptures say about life after death?
Hebrews 9:27
Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 5:24
“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 11:25
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;
Matthew 10:28
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Revelation 1:18
I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
Philippians 3:20-21
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
John 14:2-3
My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
Luke 23:42-43
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. ”
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
John 5:29-31
“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Philippians 1:21-23
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;
Revelation 20:11-15
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
2 Corinthians 5:1-10
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
1 Corinthians 15:35-58
But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being” ; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 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. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain
What do we really know?
All this is very great and comforting, but it really doesn’t give us what we want–details, description, specifics! What is life after death?
When my grandmother neared death, she asked my brother, “What do you think happens when you die?”
His answer was wise, but vague: “I don’t know the details, but I think it will be so much more wonderful than anything we can imagine.”
“The Bench”
My mind keeps going back to that song that my husband played. It’s from the stage play All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulgum and adapted by Ernest Zulia. The tune was written by David Caldwell and plays behind a monologue titled “The Bench”:
“There is a bench in the city where I live. Its structure is simple—three slabs of smooth gray granite. And, having checked with a compass to be certain, I can tell you that bench has been carefully placed so that the long side faces east and the west and the short end points north and south. The sturdy seat has been placed with purpose on the highest ground of the highest hill in the city. So that when the sky is clear on a summer’s morning, you can see almost sixty miles in three directions.
“This bench is, in fact, a tombstone in a cemetery. And I would take you there to sit if I could. You wouldn’t feel uncomfortable sitting on it, I promise. You wouldn’t even notice what it was at first. It’s right on the edge of a paved line that curves through the burial grounds. It’s placed so that you are clearly invited to use it. The placement of the bench, the consciousness of the view—all say that someone went to a lot of trouble to be useful in death. A parting gesture of quiet generosity has been made.
“Funerals have a certain narcissism to them, a focus on self: what I want for MY funeral and what I want for MY epitaph—a very human holding on to identity as long as breath amd granite last. But to me, tombstones are markers of loneliness. But this bench is another story. Unique. First of all, there’s no name inscribed on it. No conventional epitaph. No dates. Just an open invitation to sit and think.
“What marks this grave is the gift of silent companionship that bridges loneliness. This bench has become a spiritual retreat for me over the years. And I know that I am not the only one to to use it, because once I found a note taped under the bench. Not for me: for a young woman from a young man who was in love with her and wrote her careless poetry with great passion. And no, I’m not sorry I snooped; and yes, I put it back as I found it; and no I didn’t hide in the bushes and wait and see who came for the note. Secret lovers have enough problems as it is.
“But it was on this bench, the summer morning after one of those “milestone” birthdays, that I came to that moment when one crosses over from abstract intellectual knowledge that all human beings die…to the active realization that I will die. Me. I will not be. Sooner or later. Not only did I realize that I will die but I walked away thinking…well…it’s OK. I connect that moment of enlightenment with the peculiar sanctuary of the bench and whoever provided it.
“This bench will last hundreds of years. Many people will sit on it and think not of the name of its owner but of the nameless joys of this sweet life… and the mystery of death… and how utterly amazing it all is. And that somehow… sometimes… things are just as they should be.”
One day …
This body that I inhabit is mortal. One day, it will be gone. The spirit that I am is eternal. One day it will move on to … what? … God knows. And He knows best. That is where I must find my peace.
God bless you, and give you peace.
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