“. . . It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.”
Hebrews 9:27 

Indeed, we all die.  Death – “the last enemy that will be abolished”[1] – remains for us the saddest fact of human life.  And the thought of impending judgment may fill us with apprehension.  Or we, like many, may mistakenly assume that we will be with Christ in His Kingdom.

Lazarus and the Rich Man

Jesus gives just such a warning for all of us, in the famous parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man.  Let’s notice first the setting in which the parable is delivered:

These folks were well-respected citizens of the religious community – financially successful and highly esteemed.  But were they actually on the narrow path which leads to the Kingdom of God?

The rich man was content to ignore the poor man’s plight, contrary to God’s clear command: 

“Now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his means with regard to you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you.” (Leviticus 25:35) 

It is intriguing to wonder – did any of those Pharisees perhaps know of just such a man as Jesus describes?  Was the man’s name perhaps even Lazarus? 

“Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades he 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, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame.' 

“But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.  And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to come over from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.' 

“And he said, 'Then I beg you, Father, that you send him to my father's house--for I have five brothers-- that he may warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment.'  But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' 

“But he said, 'No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!'  But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.'"  (Luke 16:22-31, paragraphing added for ease of reading.) 

Clearly, we are held accountable for our actions in this life!  To be sure, salvation is a gift, but it will not be conveyed upon those who disregard the commands of the Almighty Loving God. 

What about many of the details we find within the parable – descriptions perhaps of death and the afterlife?  Are we to understand these as literal, or allegorical? 

From other of Jesus’ parables, it becomes quite clear that parables do include many allegorical details.  For example, just within the parables of Matthew 13, we find God’s Kingdom pictured variously as: 

·        a landowner with a field
·        a mustard seed
·        leaven
·        a treasure hidden in a field
·        a pearl of great price
·        a fishing dragnet. 

Obviously, the intended lesson is the literal reality. In a parable, many details simply cannot be taken literally; they function merely to support the lesson. 

However, other details may indeed support spiritual concepts explained elsewhere in the Bible.  What then, does the Bible reveal about death and the afterlife?

What is Death Like? 

Men have all sorts of ideas about death.  Many think death is just the end -- that there is nothing else.  No heaven.  No hell.  No afterlife.  That this life is all there is.  Others believe that this life is just one more in many “lives” – that their “soul” inhabits one kind of body or another (animal, insect, or man) for eternity – that when they die, they will be “reincarnated” (put in another body).  Then, of course, there are the common views of Western religion – ideas that include heaven, hell, purgatory, limbo, in many combinations and variations. 

What does God teach us about the state of human beings who die?  What is death like? Is there, as many claim, any sort of immediate conscious existence? 

Several Biblical passages help us understand the facts about death and the state of the dead: 

“The dead do not praise the LORD, Nor do any who go down into silence;” (Psalm 115:17) 

“For there is no mention of You in death; In Sheol who will give You thanks?” (Psalm 6:5) 

“For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten.  Indeed their love, their hate, and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6) 

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do [it] with [all] your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10) 

“Sheol” is a transliteration of a Hebrew word for “grave” or “pit,” and is a word which, according to the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, “obviously refers in some way to the place of the dead.”[2]  Yet the Bible’s usage of this word contradicts both Protestant and Catholic theology.  Even while attempting to defend such theology, TWOT is forced to concede, “one problem with sheol is that both good men … and bad men … go there”[3] (as is already clear from Ecclesiastes 9:10 above). 

“Remember Him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit [as in Acts 7:59 below] will return to God who gave it.”  (Ecclesiastes 12:6-7) 

Thus we see from God’s Word that death has no consciousness, no awareness.  In accordance with this fact, the Bible likens death to “sleep”: 

 “For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished [Greek apollumi – “been destroyed”].  If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.  But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.”  (1 Corinthians 15:16-20) 

“And they went on stoning Stephen as he called upon the Lord and said, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!’  And falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them!’ And having said this, he fell asleep.  And Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death…”  (Acts 7:59-8:1) 

At the instant of our death, the spirit component of each person returns to God (as also in Ecclesiastes 12:7 above).  This spirit component is what distinguishes us as human beings from mere animals: 

"I thought age should speak, And increased years should teach wisdom.  But it is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding. (Job 32:7-8) 

Perhaps this spirit component also serves to maintain a record of each individual’s uniqueness for awakening upon resurrection, as spoken of by God’s prophet Daniel: 

"Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:1-2) 

Job further contributes: 

"If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait, Until my change comes. "You will call, and I will answer You; You will long for the work of Your hands.”  (Job 14:14-15) 

Echoing Daniel, Jesus more personally proclaimed: 

"Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live.  For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.  Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”  (John 5:25-29) 

What we have seen thus far, is that when we die, no part of us goes immediately to live in another place.  First, we “sleep.”  We don’t think, plan, do, or dream.  Until God calls out to resurrect us, we remain lifeless.  And we wait – all of us – those who know God, and those who know nothing at all of Him – whether good or evil, whether faithful servants of God or mutineers who utterly reject Him. 

In the passages quoted above, Jesus and Daniel have given us a very vivid synopsis, not only of the “sleep” of death, but what will follow upon being resurrected.  For the righteous, it will be life everlasting; yet for others, there will be judgment – certainly for some, with disgrace and unending contempt.  Let’s take a closer look. 

Reward for the Righteous 

How long do we wait in the sleep of death?  Are the righteous who have died still waiting lifeless, or have many already received their eternal reward?  What does the Bible actually teach? 

"No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.” (John 3:13) 

So we know that through the time of Jesus’ ministry, no man other than Jesus had yet been in heaven.  Not even Enoch or Elijah!  Here, of course, Jesus is speaking of the heaven beyond the earth’s atmosphere, called the “third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:2), where God has His throne. 

But is it possible that since that time, the righteous dead bypass the “sleep” of death, receiving their reward immediately? Or do the righteous all wait to receive their reward at the return of Jesus Christ to earth? 

“Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become [the kingdom] of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever." And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, "We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. "And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth." And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.” (Revelation 11:15-19) 

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of [the] archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) 

“Wait just a minute!” we might say. What about the thief on the cross?  Didn’t Jesus promise him that he would receive his reward on that very day of his death? 

“And He said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.’" (Luke 23:43) 

To be sure, the placement of the comma before the word “today” in most modern English versions leaves us with that impression.  However, The Companion Bible alerts us: 

(1)  “I say unto thee this day” was “a common Hebrew idiom,” “constantly used for very solemn emphasis.” [Hebrew/Aramaic was the language of Jesus.]
(2) The Greek New Testament manuscripts had “no punctuation of any kind till the ninth century.”
(3)  Given the construction of the Greek in Luke 23:43, “the relation of the word ‘to-day’ must be determined by the context.”[4] 

Hence, The Companion Bible places the comma differently: 

“And Jesus said to him, ‘Verily I say unto thee to-day, thou shalt be, with Me, in Paradise.’" (Luke 23:43 CB, Appendix 173) 

Likewise, the Concordant Literal Version[5] reads: 

“And Jesus said to him, ‘Verily, to you am I saying today, with Me shall you be in paradise.’"  (Luke 23:43 CLV) 

Thus, we see that while Jesus certainly promised the repentant thief salvation in His Kingdom, the timing of that reward was not specified in the original Greek. 

Where are the dead in Christ when the 7^th trumpet sounds?  Still dead!  They aren’t already in heaven. 

“And just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.  Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.  Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.  For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.”  (1 Corinthians 15:49-53) 

"And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.  And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” (Matthew 24:30-31) 

God’s elect who have died prior to Christ’s return, are resurrected at the 7^th trumpet.  Like “the rest of the dead,” they are dead and buried until that time, knowing nothing while they are dead (as we have already seen from the Bible).  This includes Abraham, David and all others who have died in faith. 

The angels will gather the elect for Jesus when He returns.  Just as Daniel prophesied, the righteous who sleep in the dust of the ground will be awakened to everlasting life.  Next, those of the elect who are alive at Jesus’ return are instantly changed and rise to meet the Lord and the newly resurrected saints in the air.  Clearly, none of these awesome and dramatic events have yet happened.  These are wonderful future events. 

Yet, what then?  What will the righteous resurrected saints actually do?  Again, Daniel sums it up nicely for us: 

“’Then the sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.'”  (Daniel 7:27) 

The apostle John, in the book of Revelation adds detail: 

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”  (Revelation 20:4) 

Thus, we see that the resurrected righteous begin by reigning on the earth with Christ during His joyous millennial rule.  However, as Revelation subsequently confirms, their reign doesn’t end then.  In the context of the wonderful New Jerusalem which follows somewhat after the coming Millennium, John recounts: 

“And there shall no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His bond-servants shall serve Him; and they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.  And there shall no longer be any night; and they shall not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall illumine them; and they shall reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 22:3-5) 

Will We Ever “Go to Heaven” – or Be Taken Up in “the Rapture”? 

Paul affirms in his letter to the Thessalonians: 

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the [seventh] trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) 

This presents an intriguing conundrum. At the sounding of the seventh trumpet, Jesus descends from heaven to the earth’s atmosphere, where the saints ascend to meet Him. 

Do these verses depict “the rapture”?   Where do Jesus and the resurrected righteous go next – up to heaven, or down to earth? 

Actually, we find that the resurrected righteous are indeed taken to heaven to be with our Lord Jesus Christ; however, Biblical chronology demonstrates that this is not until after the Great Tribulation, and then only for a brief period of time – perhaps a year or so – while the seven bowl plagues complete the wrath of God on earth below: 

“And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.  And I saw, as it were, a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had come off victorious from the beast and from his image and from the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God.  And they sang the song of Moses the bond-servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and marvelous are Thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the nations.  "Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou alone art holy; For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE THEE, For Thy righteous acts have been revealed."  (Revelation 15:1-4) 

Yes, here are the famous harps, so traditionally associated with the Protestant concept of “going to heaven,” yet this duration that the resurrected righteous spend in heaven is not at all in the Protestant context.  It is not an immediate reward; it is not a permanent abode. 

Striking, too, in the above scenario is what the saints are singing!  They sing, not just a “song of the Lamb,” but “the song of Moses the bond-servant of God and the song of the Lamb.”  Moses is by no means “past history” for true Christians.  He is highly honored alongside Jesus Christ – very much a part of the picture!  Moreover, “the song of Moses” alludes to 7^th day Sabbath keeping, as it was traditionally “sung on Sabbath evenings in the synagogue.”[6] 

What other glorious event will highlight the resurrected saints’ brief residence in heaven? 

“And a voice came from the throne, saying, "Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great."  And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude and as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.  Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready."  And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.  And he said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'" And he said to me, "These are true words of God."  (Revelation 19:5-9) 

What an absolutely awesome aspect of our heavenly reward – we can be participants in a wedding festival grander and more joyous than any ever celebrated – our marriage to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! 

Soon after the wedding festivities of the Jesus and the bride, the bride (made up of the resurrected saints – the called, chosen and faithful) returns to earth with Jesus Christ (then as His army) to establish His earthly rule: 

"These [ten kings along with their “beast” leader] will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful."  (Revelation 17:14) 

“And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war.  And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself.  And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God.  And the armies [the resurrected saints, see Revelation 17:14 above] which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.  And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.  And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."  And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, "Come, assemble for the great supper of God; in order that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great."  And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat upon the horse, and against His army.  And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.”  And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat upon the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.”  (Revelation 19:11-21) 

Tragically, the nations’ stubborn refusal to repent requires this terrible carnage in order to establish the beneficent reign of Jesus Christ and the resurrected saints. 

Immortality for Everyone? 

As we have already seen, the resurrected righteous will continue to reign as immortal spirit beings – “imperishable,” as Paul said. Yet, do all men have some form of immortal existence? 

Most who call themselves Christian today accept (perhaps in ignorance) the essence of the ancient pagan Greek beliefs of immortality.  What did the Greeks of Jesus’ time believe? 

“The Greeks believed that after death, the soul went to one of three places in Hades, the kingdom of the dead. Very virtuous souls went to the Elysian Fields [a section of the Erebus upper region of Hades], a happy place full of sunshine, warmth and laughter.  Most people, who had been neither very good nor very bad, went to a drab, misty place called the Asphodel Fields [another section of the Erebus upper region of Hades].  People who had lived wicked lives were flung into Tartarus [the lowest region of Hades], a place of eternal torture, torment and misery [of various types].”[7] 

Do these descriptions sound strangely familiar – perhaps much like modern perceptions of “heaven,” “purgatory,” and/or “hell”? 

Even many of the Jews of Jesus’ time, with little regard for the Word of God which had been entrusted to them, were heavily influenced by various pagan beliefs of the afterlife and immortality: 

“Nowhere in the OT is the abode of the dead regarded as a place of punishment or torment. The concept of [ongoing torment in] an infernal “hell” developed in Israel only during the Hellenistic period, probably under the influence of Iranian ideas.”[8] 

“… he [Josephus] describes the position of the Pharisees by saying that the wicked ‘are to be detained in an everlasting prison.’ In the time just prior to the NT period, the rabbinical school of Shammai divided all men into three groups: the righteous, the wicked who are ‘immediately written and sealed to Gehenna,’ and a third group of people who ‘go down to Gehinnom and moan and come up again.’  The school of Hillel thought that the ungodly were punished in Gehenna for a year and then annihilated, although certain especially wicked men ‘go down to Gehinnom and are punished there ages to ages.’“[9] 

Yet what does the Bible actually tell us about eternal life?  Are we all eternal?  If not, then who will be? 

Part of our answer lies hidden in plain sight in one of the most famous New Testament writings of all time: 

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”  (John 3:16) 

What then of those who, after receiving the knowledge of the Truth, still refuse to obey? 

"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."  (John 3:36) 

“And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”   (1 John 5:11-12) 

Notice, too, how God strikingly contrasts the “Book of Life” against the “second death”: 

“And 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 20:14-15) 

The apostle Paul corroborates: 

“Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.  But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  (Romans 6:21-23) 

The Rest of the Dead 

One of the wondrous truths of Scripture that is extremely hopeful and encouraging is that God gives every person a chance for salvation, in His time and according to His purpose: 

“The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed.”  (Revelation 20:5) 

Carefully notice:  “The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed” – one thousand years after the first resurrection.  But they do come to life!  Another resurrection!  The famous “dry bones” prophecy of Ezekiel 37 also speaks of this resurrection, as it pertains to the tribes of Israel: 

“The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones.  And He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry.  And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, You know."  Again He said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.'  "Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, 'Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life.  'I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the LORD.'"  So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone.  And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew, and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them.  Then He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life."'"  So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life, and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.  Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.'  Therefore prophesy, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.  Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people.  And I will put My Spirit within you, and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken and done it," declares the LORD.'"  (Ezekiel 37:1-14) 

Why are the rest of the dead – people of every nation and tribe – resurrected? 

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And 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 [the grave] 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 20:11-15) 

There is clearly another resurrection – of all of those who were not part of the faithful saints who are resurrected when Jesus returns.  These others are resurrected for judgment. 

Not that the faithful saints escape judgment – they will have already been judged during their lives in God’s service.  Thus we find in 1 Peter 4:17: “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” 

Judged By What? 

How then, are “the rest of the dead” judged?  The implication of the verses below, as we have already seen evidenced in Ezekiel 37 above, is that there will be a period of time (after the 1000 years) when men, women, and children whom God did not call in this present life, are resurrected and then called by God and instructed in His way of life.  In Revelation, we read earlier: 

“…the dead, the great and the small, [were] 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.”  (Revelation 20:12-13) 

We find a parallel in the prophecies of Daniel: 

"I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow, And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire.  A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the books were opened.” (Daniel 7:9-10) 

What are these “books” which are so very instrumental in God’s judgment of mankind? 

Mentioned by name in Revelation 20 is the “Book of Life,” wherein our names must be written if we are to share in God’s Kingdom.  But how do our names come to be in the Book of Life?  Malachi the prophet contributes to our understanding: 

“Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name.  And they will be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him."  So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.” (Malachi 3:16-18) 

God also warns: 

“And the LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.”  (Exodus 32:33) 

Yet He extends mercy to those who repent in a timely manner: 

“'Remember therefore what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent . . . He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'”  (Revelation 3:3, 5-6) 

Now that we have a basic understanding of the Book of Life, what are the other “books” from which God judges man? 

We begin to understand as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ cautions: 

"He who rejects Me, and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.  For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me commandment, what to say, and what to speak.  And I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me." (John 12:48-50) 

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” (John 5:24) 

"Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?" (John 5:45-47) 

The apostle Paul warns: 

But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who WILL RENDER TO EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. . . . For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law; and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.  (Romans 2:5-8, 12-13) 

We will be judged according to our deeds – not just how we feel in our hearts; but by our actions, what we do. 

Concurring, James exhorts us: 

“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.  For He who said, "DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY," also said, "DO NOT COMMIT MURDER." Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.  So speak and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.”  (James 2:10-12) 

 “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience.  For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  (Hebrews 4:11-12) 

 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.  (2 Timothy 3:16-17) 

Indeed, the “books” from which the resurrected remainder of humanity will be judged are the things which are written in the very books which we have come to call the Holy Bible! 

Those who are resurrected will have the opportunity to be thoroughly educated in the commandments of our Heavenly Father, and then given the choice to respond or to not – thus to be “judged, every one of them according to their deeds.” 

Punishment for Unrepentant Sinners 

Even toward the unremorseful, God is a God of compassion. In His perfect wisdom, God knows that permanent existence for those who reject His way of truth and love would only increase misery for themselves and for others. 

“But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together, And those who forsake the LORD shall come to an end.  Surely, you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, And you will be embarrassed at the gardens which you have chosen.  For you will be like an oak whose leaf fades away, Or as a garden that has no water.  And the strong man will become tinder, His work also a spark. Thus they shall both burn together, And there will be none to quench them. (Isaiah 1:28-31) 

"For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze," says the LORD of hosts, "so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.  But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings [rays]; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing," says the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 4:1-3) 

"As for me [John the Baptist], I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."  (Matthew 3:11-12; the same quote is also in Luke 3:16-17) 

"And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, <where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.>  And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than having your two feet, to be cast into hell, <where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.>  And if your eye causes you to stumble, cast it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into hell, where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.” (Mark 9:43-48) 

Most people don’t realize that Jesus was quoting from the Old Testament book of Isaiah when He said “their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.”  What then, does Jesus mean when He says this?  The NASB Study Note relates: “Worms were always present in the rubbish dump (see note on Matt 5:22).”[10]  NASB’s note on Matthew 5:22 “hell.” summarizes as follows: 

“The Greek word is ge(h)enna, which derives its name from a deep ravine south of Jerusalem, the ‘Valley of (the Sons of) Hinnom’ (Hebrew ge hinnom).  During the reigns of the wicked Ahaz and Manasseh, human sacrifices to the Ammonite God Molech were offered there (2 Kin 23:10; see Jer 7:31-32; 19:6).  It became a sort of perpetually burning city dump and later a figure for the place of final punishment.”[11] 

The dump fires were not quenched.  They continued burning as new rubbish was constantly added; however, the garbage did not just accumulate unconsumed. The dump remained a valley; it didn’t become a mountain of trash!  The rubbish was regularly being burned up. 

Let’s turn back now to the concluding verses of Isaiah, the Kingdom prophecies from which Jesus was quoting.  What will we discover? Will we find the worm-eaten wicked writhing in the flames?  Or will the unrepentant be dead? 

            "And it shall be from new moon to new moon
            And from sabbath to sabbath,
            All mankind will come to bow down before Me," says the LORD.
            Then they shall go forth and look
            On the corpses of the men
            Who have transgressed against Me.
            For their worm shall not die,
            And their fire shall not be quenched;
            And they shall be an abhorrence to all mankind."  (Isaiah 66:23-24) 

Yes, just as Jesus described, the wicked die.  They, like useless chaff or like noxious weeds, are burned up. 

"Therefore just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.  The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  (Matthew 13:40-42) 

The above and several other passages speak of those who are unrepentant weeping and gnashing their teeth as they approach their ultimate fate.  Weeping, of course, reflects despair; on the other hand, gnashing the teeth demonstrates anger (compare Acts 7:54).  Even to the very end, many will still refuse to accept responsibility for their actions.  Some will be actively furious at Almighty God! 

However, another passage in Matthew refers to “eternal fire,” to “eternal punishment”: 

"Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’  Then they themselves also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?'  Then He will answer them, saying, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."  (Matthew 25:41-46) 

How do we understand Christ’s use of “eternal fire” and “eternal punishment,” given His other very clear statements that we have seen elsewhere, such as His earlier allusion to “burn[ing] up the chaff”?  What does He mean here?  A separate New Testament use of similar terminology pertaining to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah clarifies these expressions for us.  On the one hand, Jude reiterates: 

“Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day.  Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example, in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.” (Jude 1:5-7) 

Yet for any who might be uncertain as to the meaning of Jude’s terminology, the apostle Peter leaves us with no doubt as to what happened: 

“He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly thereafter”  (2 Peter 2:6; see also Genesis 18:16-19:29) 

Returning now to the words of Jesus Christ: 

"And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell [transliterated Hebrew, gehenna – the Lake of Fire].”  (Matthew 10:28) 

Indeed: 

“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME [Greek, esthiw, eat] THE ADVERSARIES.”  (Hebrews 10:26-27) 

Thus, we confirm that after each individual receives (1) the understanding needed to make a decision, and (2) the opportunity to repent; if a human being still rejects God and His way of life, God will put the person out of his/her misery.  Our Loving Father takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (See Ezekiel 33:11).  God mercifully incinerates those who persist in refusing to repent. 

A Special Case? 

Two verses within the book of Revelation, Revelation 14:11 and 20:10 – one more difficult than the other, but strikingly similar to each other in phraseology – raise questions for some about the final destruction of the wicked.  We must ask: “Can a brief statement unsay what is clear throughout the rest of the Bible, including elsewhere in Revelation?” 

Certainly not. 

What then is the answer?  How do we explain the seeming incongruity? Let’s examine the two verses, each with some preceding material included for context: 

“And another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.  [verse 11 begins]  And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."  (Revelation 14:9-11) 

Verse 11, while it may appear confusing at first glance, can definitely be explained within the context of other Biblical passages. 

For example, the wicked having “no rest day and night” easily refers to the lives of the wicked prior to the judgment, just as it does in the words of Isaiah, who speaks of their situation during their human lives: 

“But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot rest, and its waters toss up mire and dirt.  There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked."  (Isaiah 57:20-21 RSV; compare also Isaiah 48:22) 

Moreover, “the smoke of their torment go[ing] up forever and ever” can be legitimately understood in the same sense as the “eternal fire” which reduced Sodom and Gomorrah and its citizens to ashes.  This is especially so, given that the English “forever and ever” and “eternal” both originate from the same Greek word – aiōn and its adjective form, aiōnios. 

Revelation 20:10 is more difficult: 

“And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.  And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. [verse 10 begins]  And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”  (Revelation 20:7-10) 

“They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”  Important here is the fact that the tense of the Greek verb basanizō, “tormented,” is used in a plural form, indicating that more than one individual is tormented.  We start then with the three individuals: Satan, the beast, and the false prophet. 

However, Chapter 28 of Ezekiel, in a passage certainly appearing to allude to Satan (verses 11-19), suggests that he, at least, is destined to be reduced to ashes: 

"By the multitude of your iniquities, In the unrighteousness of your trade, You profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought fire from the midst of you; It has consumed you, And I have turned you to ashes on the earth In the eyes of all who see you.  All who know you among the peoples Are appalled at you; You have become terrified, And you will be no more."  (Ezekiel 28:18-19) 

That said, we are still left with the infamous beast and the false prophet.  From Chapter 19 of Revelation, we do know that they were still alive when they were thrown into the lake of fire: 

“And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.  (Revelation 19:20) 

This is much like what is recorded of those who participated in Korah’s rebellion during the days of Moses: 

“Moses said, "By this you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these deeds; for this is not my doing.  If these men die the death of all men or if they suffer the fate of all men, [then] the LORD has not sent me.  But if the LORD brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the LORD."  As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with [their] possessions.  So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.” (Numbers 16:28-33) 

“They perished.”  Hence, being thrown alive into the lake of fire does not by itself suggest that any individual remains alive there for any period of time.  Yet Revelation 20:10, as we have it today, does indicate that the beast and the false prophet “will be tormented day and night forever and ever” in the lake of fire. 

What is the explanation? 

Two possibilities come to mind: 

(1)   Are the beast and the false prophet, because of the gravity of their iniquity, a special case – a special exception – the only two people who will be tortured indefinitely in the lake of fire?

(2)   Has an early copyist, influenced by pagan Greek religious conceptions (mentioned earlier), taken some unwarranted liberty with the text of Revelation 20:10, spuriously adding the phrase “and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever”? 

We simply do not know.  There is just not enough information available at this time to be certain.  However, we can be grateful to God that this is a minor point of Scripture, having no impact on how we are to conduct our lives as Christians. 

Getting Personal 

Speaking of conducting our lives as Christians, what will eternal judgment mean for you, for me?  Will we be blessed to be in the first resurrection, participants in the glorious wedding supper with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?  Or will we be among the many in the judgment who are shocked to discover that they have been operating on false assumptions? 

Jesus warns: 

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'  And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'  (Matthew 7:21-23) 

Just as in the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man, these folks are well-respected religious people.  They call themselves Christians!  They may even perform wonderful miracles in Jesus’ name!  Yet they do not practice the law of God.  (“Lawlessness” here in the Greek is anomia – literally, “not law.”)  These people are shocked, stunned, perhaps even indignant, to discover that contrary to their tragic misconceptions, Jesus Christ has never known them! 

We, on the other hand, have been warned by Jesus’ words.  We have easy access to the entire Bible, the inspired word of God.  We have the knowledge of God’s expectations available to us. There is no reason that we should be caught off guard. 

“See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. 

“For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less shall we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. 

“And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, ‘YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN.’ 

“And this expression, ‘Yet once more,’ denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, in order that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 

“Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.”

(Hebrews 12:25-29, paragraphing added.)

Amen.