Question on Life After Death
Personal Questions - VBVM Staff - January 20, 2012
What happens when we die? Do we go to heaven (or hell) immediately? What about people who say they have visited Heaven and come back? Is there any benefit in praying for someone who has already died in unbelief?
In response to your first question, the Bible teaches death comes to the body but our spirit is eternal. After the body dies, angels will escort our spirit to either Hades, the holding place of the sinner (i.e., unbeliever) or to Jesus' presence in the Throne Room. Unbelievers are held in Hades (Hell) in torment until a day of judgment at the Great White Throne Judgment described in Revelation 20. Believers on the other hand will remain with Jesus forever, initially in spirit form and later in new bodies give to us on the day of Resurrection, also called the Rapture.
Regarding the stories of people who have visited heaven, we believe these stories are something other than a true vision of Heaven. These visions are likely the result of demonic deception, hallucinations or even outright lies. Most of the stories are sensationalized by the media, but as Christians we don't gain out knowledge of the spiritual realm from such experiences.
In fact, it is dangerous to incorporate worldly experience into our theology, since our world and even our sense lie to us. The Bible was given to us so that we might have all we need to understand God and His plan fully. As Peter explains:
2Pet. 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;
2Pet. 1:3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
Consequently, we encourage you to seek for the truth of God through His word and not to rely on these supposed experiences to form your understanding of spiritual things. Our experiences and emotions easily manipulated by the enemy to fool us. As Paul said:
2Cor. 11:14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
Finally, there is no second chance for those who have already died. If they died without faith in Jesus Christ, then they have already entered Hades and will receive their eternal judgment at the Great White Throne Judgment. Praying on behalf of these souls is a prayer spoken contrary to God's word, and therefore He will not honor it. As Hebrews teaches:
Heb. 9:27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
Heb. 9:28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
For more information on this area of study, we recommend you follow our Revelation Bible study.