When good people die, do they go directly to heaven as so many believe? Many people assume so, but the whole argument about heaven being the reward of deceased Christians runs into a brick wall with these words from the apostle Peters first sermon: Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day . . . For David did not ascend to heaven . . . (Acts 2:29 , 34, New International Version, emphasis added throughout). God called this same King David a man after My own heart, one who would do all My will (Acts 13:22). Surely, if anyone had a right to heaven, wouldnt it be a person such as David? Yet Peter tells us God did not carry David off to heaven. The only one who had ascended to heaven, said Peter, was Jesus Christ (Acts 2:29-35). Was Peter mistaken? Did he simply misspeak?We might assume so, but noktice what the Gospel of John says: No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man [Jesus Christ] (John 3:13, NIV). Jesus never promised Christians heaven after they died. The New Testament plainly says that of the faithful men and women who had gone before—such spiritual giants as Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses, to name some of those listed in Hebrews 11—not one has ascended to heaven. In fact, says verse 39 of Hebrews 11, These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised (NIV). If they arent in heaven, where are they? And what was it they were promised, if it wasnt heaven? Many people are surprised to discover what the Bible really says about what happens to us when we die. Yet, when we remove our preconceived notions, the answer becomes quite clear from the Scriptures—and it is immensely encouraging to all. Notice what God inspired King Solomon to write about the state of the dead: For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten (Ecclesiastes 9:5). Scripture clearly tells us that at death we cease to know anything. The dead are unconscious and unaware. All our emotions, thoughts, knowledge and feelings go to the grave with us. No consciousness continues living in another place or state. We do not have an immortal soul that goes on living somewhere else. In Ezekiel 18, verses 4 and 20, God plainly tells us that the soul who sins shall die—not continue living apart from the body. The patriarch Job echoes Solomons words. He writes: . . . Man dies and is laid away; indeed he breathes his last and where is he? As water disappears from the sea, and a river becomes parched and dries up, so man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor be roused from their sleep (Job 14:10-12). Job goes on to ask the most crucial question about life after death: If a man dies, shall he live again? (verse 14). His answer is found in Jesus Christs own words.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 05:37:38 +0000
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