The Answer - Week 4: What Happens When I Die?

"If someone dies, will they live again?"

Three Basic Views

1.    Oblivion - there's nothing more after this life. But Near Death Experiences (NDE's) are challenging this view.

2.    Reincarnation - a view held mainly in the eastern world.

3.    Afterlife - there is something beyond the grave, that our lives do not end when our bodies die. This is also at the heart of the biblical message.

Will All People Die? The answer is "No!" The Bible teaches in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 that there will be one generation that does not, the one alive when Jesus returns. The Bible teaches a resurrection.

What happens when I die? A personal look using the Bible's Testimony:

1.    Life - God is the author of life. Genesis 2:7, Ecclesiastes 3:11

2.    Death - is a reality because of sin. Genesis 3:19, Romans 5:12

3.    Paradise - with Christ when we die. Luke 23:43, Philippians 1:23. But this is not our destiny.

4.    Raised - The dead will be raised. Our destiny and future is to be bodily raised with new bodies that are glorified.  1 Corinthians 15:22, 1 Thessalonians 4:16

5.    Judgement - For unbelievers it is a time of judgement, for believers their sins were judged at the Christ so that we do not need to suffer the punishment for our sins.  For believers the judgement is a time of reward. 2 Corinthians 5:10, Hebrew 9:27 A believer's life is to be lived as a thank you note to God.