Life After Death; What Does the Bible Say About It?
The afterlife has been a subject of interest for all people since time immemorial. Scientists have experimented on near-death experiences. Movies of varied genres were filmed based on this theme. There has been a lot of speculation made on what happens to people after passing on.
Theories on the afterlife vary for each culture and belief system. For instance, both Hinduism and Buddhism believe in reincarnation, wherein a soul dwells on the body of either a human or animal depending on how he lived his former life. He could be a cockroach or rat on the next life if he did awful things, or he could become a king if he lived a life of charity and kindness.
But what does the Bible say? Hebrews 9:27 states that after death comes judgment. But while waiting for this stage, the soul sleeps in its grave as described in Luke 8:52 and 1 Cor. 15:6. This is far from the general belief that departed souls are in heaven, watching down lovingly on their loved ones.
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The Bible continues that the souls awaken on judgment day (John 5:28). It describes the event in which every soul stands before God to be judged based on the Book of Life (Rev. 20:12). Those whose names are in the Book will spend eternal life with the Lord while those who are not listed will suffer everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46).
What does the Bible prescribe to attain salvation? One must realize first that everyone is a sinner (Romans 3:10) and irredeemable due to man's awful nature. It had to take God the Father to send His Son, Jesus, to take the form of man and die in order to redeem mankind from their sins (John 3:16).
What's left to do is to confess before God and accept Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior (Romans 10:13). Man also needs to repent, turn from their transgressions and manifest their newfound faith through good works. Only then can they be assured entry to God's Kingdom (Matthew 25:21; 1 Cor. 2:9).
