What happens when you die? Is there really a heaven? If so, who goes there? Do our deceased loved ones become angels? Do angels have wings? If there is a heaven, do those who go to heaven have awareness of what is going on down here on earth? Do deceased loved ones pray for us?
When I was child, I once asked a family member, who was known to be a “spiritual leader” in our family, where do we go when we “pass on?” I had been told not to use the word “die” because no one really knows about the validity of the “death assumption;” that perhaps we don’t really die. I was told to say “pass on.” It was further suggested that the story of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a fictional book about reaching your heaven, which isn’t a time or place, but a state of mind within yourself. A realization that you, in your own being are perfect (So, who needs heaven?).
As a degreed Philosophy and Religion Major, I came to the conclusion that apart from some authoritative resource, all of the world’s philosophers throughout the ages (e.g., Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Descartes, Kant, Locke, etc.) and many others as theologians, were just supposing and guessing about life’s purpose and destiny. Philosophy taught me how to intellectually present and argue a subject even though I didn’t have authoritative resources upon which to base my suppositions or conclusions when they were about human life and purpose. Bottom line? Without an authoritative resource, we are all just supposing, pre-supposing, or just guessing as it relates to understanding the purpose and meaning of human life. Your guess is as good as mine.
Heaven Came Down – Hall Powell
I used to present myself as one who didn’t believe in absolutes until I was introduced to the One Who is the Truth. I was taught to believe that Jesus Christ was the greatest person who ever lived; that He was chosen to show the way to truth, and I should follow His teachings. I was later shown in the Bible that Jesus said of Himself that He was more than a way-shower, He is, in fact, The Way, The Truth, and The Life, and that only though believing in Him could there be a Way to be in the presence of a holy God. Why is this so important? The Bible is an authoritative resource.
I believed in the Bible as a great, historical story-telling book, full of good advice and principles; But I never considered it as an absolute source of truth. I had heard all the old complaints and accusations that the Bible had many contradictions, and was not always scientifically accurate.
My assumption is that most people who deny the authority of the Bible as a source of absolute truth have never read the Bible. Like me. I was taught as a child to read the Ten Commandments, The Lord’s Prayer, and many biblical stories about interesting people, especially in Exodus. The Psalms are beautiful, inspiring, and sometimes hard to understand. Proverbs have lots of practical suggestions and insights. Surely, no one reads Leviticus or Revelation!
In the Army I was given a New Testament that I carried with me at all times as sort of good-luck charm, but I sensed that it was really more than that. The time came when the Bible came alive for me as the source of absolute Truth. Why? At age 33 I was challenged to consider the following:
Many of the New Testament writings say that Jesus claimed to be God. And, as the well-known biblical apologist Frank Turek offers the following:
1. Jesus claimed to be God and His claim was miraculously confirmed by:
• His fulfillment of many prophesies about Himself;
• His sinless life and miraculous deeds;
• His prediction and accomplishment of His resurrection
2. Therefore, Jesus is God
3. Whatever Jesus (Who is God) teaches is true.
4. Jesus taught that the Bible is the Word of God.
5. Therefore, it is true that the Bible is the Word of God (and anything opposed to it is false)
Flavious Josephus was born 37 A.D. in Jerusalem. He was a Roman-Jewish historian and military leader. His works are the chief source, next to the Bible, for the history and antiquity of ancient Israel and provide insight into first-century Judaism and the background of early Christianity. He had this to say about the absolute truth of the resurrection of Jesus the Christ:
“Now there was about this time (during Herod’s reign) Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works – a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the Cross (A.D. 33, April 3) those who loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.”
Both 1st Century and 21st Century apologists document the authenticity of the Bible. My source of truth is the authority of the Bible. Having established that as the basis of my presentation about what is true about angels, heaven, afterlife, etc., permit me to offer the real-life story of two men who died and returned to earth to meet with Jesus before His crucifixion. We can learn a lot about some of our questions. The following describes absolute truths about truths for followers of Christ Jesus:
Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance changed so that His face shone like the sun, and His clothing became dazzling white. Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. This revelation was documented by Matthew, one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus. It can be found in the seventh chapter of Matthew in the Bible (also in Mark 9:2ff). These few verses reveal some absolute truths about the questions posed in the beginning of this article. Let’s look at them:
The biblical and historical situation that is discussed in the passages of Mathew and Mark is about Jesus talking with His disciples about His destiny of going to Jerusalem where He would be put to death and then would rise from the dead after three days. They didn’t want to hear about it, and went into denial. About six days later Jesus took Peter, James and John onto and up to a mountain top where He met with Moses and Elijah. Peter, James and John witnessed this supernatural meeting. Think about it. These verses in Mathew and Mark have much to say about the questions we all have had about the unknown life and death realities.
First, this supernatural meeting reveals that there is life after death. Moses and Elijah had both lived and died. But now, in this meeting with Jesus, the Bible documents the fact that there is life after death; not by just saying there is, but also by showing it with the reappearance of Moses and Elijah. Moses lived in the 13th century, and Elijah (Elias) in the 8th century.
Second, Moses and Elijah were alive as individuals. There is nothing like a concept of “nirvana,” as suggested by the Hindus; and they didn’t evolve as in the Buddhist concept of “karma.” Moses and Elijah were alive after passing from human death on this earth and being seen again, as separate individuals, meeting with Jesus.
Third, Moses and Elijah appeared and conversed with Jesus as the personalities they were hundreds of years prior. Moses was still Moses, and Elijah was still Elijah. Even Peter, James, and John knew who they were.
Fourth, Moses and Elijah were still human beings. They weren’t angels or cherubim; they didn’t have wings. Throughput the previous centuries they had remained human. Jesus Christ also remained in Human form after His resurrection from the dead. The Bible records several meetings with Jesus and other people during His forty days on earth before his ascension into Heaven. They (more than 500 people) saw Him, spoke with Him, ate meals with him, and touched him.
Fifth, both Moses and Elijah appeared in new bodies, just like Jesus did after His resurrection. They were in glorified bodies; bodies which could suddenly appear and disappear. The Bible speaks to the fact that there are natural, physical bodies, and there are also spiritual (glorified) bodies (1 Corinthians 15:44).
Sixth, Moses and Elijah evidently enjoyed fellowship. Prior to meeting with Him, they must have discussed His upcoming trial and execution. This would indicate that all of the departed followers of Christ, our departed loved ones, are in fellowship with each other.
Seventh, Moses and Elijah, in their life after death, were intelligently in touch with earth. They talked with Jesus about “His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem.”
“Heaven as well as earth awaited the Cross. And are not all the departed in Christ alive to concerns on earth, especially matters of salvation? Do they not pray for us. Is their ministry as priests in Christ aborted at death? Is there a thick cloud of ignorance flung between them and us? Moses and Elijah seem to imply the very opposite! Perhaps in the consummation yet to be, we shall be astonished at what we owe to the prayers of departed Christian loved ones.” (J. Sidlow Baxter).
Conclusion: What Happens When You Die
The mountaintop meeting of Jesus with Moses and Elijah is more than a moment in history. It is a glimpse into eternity. It tells us that those who die in faith are still themselves, still conscious, still caring—and yes, still connected to the unfolding work of God on earth. They speak. They rejoice. They remember. They worship. They wait. They may even pray.
And if they are praying, we are not alone. Not for a moment.
This is not wishful thinking or abstract theology. It is anchored in an authoritative truth—the living Word of God, confirmed by the risen Christ and testified by generations who have found peace not in speculation, but in revelation.
So what happens when you die?
If you know Jesus, you live.
You are ushered into the presence of the One who is Life itself. You are reunited with those who have gone before. You are clothed in a body that will never fail. You join a kingdom that will never fall. And you begin a forever that will never end.
That is not a guess.
That is a promise.
And it changes everything.
Heaven Came Down w Hall Powell was first posted at HallPowell.org
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