If you are like me, you may cringe at what someone says. One of the things I cringe at are what people say when someone dies. I often wonder if they realize what they are saying.
“They are In a Better Place”
As an example, the mother of someone I know recently passed away and I felt led to send the family flowers. When reading the thank you note, I cringed at the familiar phrase “she’s gone to a better place”. What? Really?
I had a flashback to the first time I met her mother, we’ll call her Jean. We exchanged small talk but soon our conversation dove-tailed into the topic of heaven. She revealed she had attended a church once and did not like the behavior of some of the attendees, which subsequently set in motion a pure disgust for Christians. I knew this sentiment had trickled down her family tree. She openly laughed at Christianity, made ridiculous statements of what heaven would be like, and mocked my Christian faith. When I mentioned my involvement with the church, she laughed and said, “Oh, you are one of those”. I wasn’t altogether surprised by her comments, but I was saddened by her disdain for Jesus and His followers. I was saddened where her decision would lead. A few years passed and Jean died of cancer.
Where do you go when you die?
The truth is, when your body dies, your soul/spirit will be quickly transported to either heaven or hell. The “better place” that most people think of … is heaven. We don’t arrive in heaven by being a good person, hoping the good things you’ve said and done will outweigh the bad. It doesn’t work that way. Whether you go to heaven or hell, is purely a decision you make while you are alive. To put it bluntly, the “gig is up” when you die; there will be no time to change your mind.
Those who accept Christ as their savior and follow Him, are referred to as “believers”. Those who reject Christ are referred to as an “unbeliever” or the “unsaved”.
Where does an unbeliever go when they die?
Just as believers who die will arrive in a new destination (Heaven) and one day a future destination (the New Heaven and Earth), so there is a temporary and eternal destination for the unsaved. When an unbeliever dies, his soul is transported immediately to a terrible place called Hades. It is a place of agony that begins the moment an unbeliever dies. It is a real place full of loneliness, pain, sorrow, regret, and torment. It’s not really a place you want to land in, as there is no way to get out. Once you arrive, it is too late to change your mind about Jesus. Your grief will be great.
Where is Hades/Hell mentioned in the Bible? It is described in Luke 16:23-24. This passage may seem like just a made-up story, but its purpose is a parable with much truth. It says, “In Hades, the rich man, lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’”
Hades is where unbelievers go right now when they die; however, it’s not their final destination. Their final destination is the Lake of Fire.
John describes it in Revelation, “I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:12-15.
The Lake of Fire (the final Hell) is a place of eternal suffering. It is described as a place of burning sulfur, and those in it experience eternal, unspeakable agony forever.
For those who have died and have heard the gospel message but have stubbornly and willingly rejected Christ, their soul is in Hades awaiting their final judgment, the Great White Throne Judgment. And at that judgment Hades will be emptied and all the unsaved who have ever lived will stand before God. Because their names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, they will be judged by their deeds. On that day, every unbeliever will see that his works do not meet the standard of perfect righteousness that God requires. They will clearly recall all the opportunities they were given to believe and follow Jesus.
Where does a believer go when they die?
The Bible tells us that after death the believers’ soul/spirit is escorted by angels directly to heaven, because their sins are forgiven by having received Jesus Christ as Savior. Jesus came to earth, died on a cross, and rose from the grave for you. The shedding of Jesus’ blood covers all your sins, and you will stand as righteous before God. God intentionally planned it this way; His only Son, Jesus, is the only gateway to heaven.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. John 3:16-18
Your Choice: Blessing or Judgment?
The bottom line is when we die, we immediately begin experiencing God’s blessing or God’s judgment. In the future, believers will change location from Heaven to the New Heaven, and unbelievers will also change location from Hades into the Lake of Fire. Heaven and hell are real eternal places.
God has made it plain my friend, not everyone goes to a “better place” when they die. Although we cannot know someone’s heart, we certainly can guess where they are spending eternity by their words, actions, and the fruit of their works on earth.
“Heaven Has Another Angel”
One more thing. I’ve also seen on social media posts trite comments like: “heaven has another angel” and “they got their heavenly wings”. This is nonsense. Angels are beautiful powerful creatures created by God. Throughout history angels have aided mankind to tell us good news, warn us, protect us, and escort believers to heaven. They have acted as armed guards, have formed a heavenly choir, and fight Satan and his minions each and every day. We cannot become angels any more than we can become a butterfly, a tree, or the stars above. We are the human race and will remain so after this present life. God did not make a mistake when he made us human. If humans were to become angels, it would be a horrible letdown. No longer could we say, “Christ died for me.”
Your Time Could Be Up Soon
According to https://www.worldometers.info/, there were about 105,000 deaths today: 23 million deaths so far this year worldwide, approx. 4,400 deaths each hour. Life expectancy in the U.S. is 78.9 years old; other parts of the world are much less. However, you never know when your time is up. But God knows.
Because of the uncertainly of life, I would urge you my friend, to surrender your life to Christ and follow Him today – don’t wait. Your life on earth is brief compared to your eternal destination, it hinges entirely on whether you have trusted Jesus Christ alone for salvation.
As CS Lewis once put it, you cannot put God off with speculations about your friends think or of what you have read in books and articles. What will all that chatter and hearsay count (will you even be able to remember it?) when the anesthetic fog which we call “the real world” fades away and the Presence of God in which you have always stood becomes palpable, immediate, and unavoidable?
Please consider all this my friend and one day I hope to see you, in a better place.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me”. John 14:6