A few days ago a friend asked me: How does Christianity view death? She is a Buddhist and she believes in reincarnation. In fact, not only Buddhists believe in reincarnation, many religious beliefs believe in "reincarnation"! The Bible really doesn’t say much about what happens after death! (John 3:12) If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?～ I have never understood: Why didn’t Jesus tell his disciples what happened after death? The most important thing about the Bible is: What does it teach us about how we should behave in this life? What glory can our eternal life receive! Jesus said this very well: He told his disciples about things on earth, but they didn’t believe it! So how could the disciples believe it when Jesus told them about things in heaven? "Earthly things" are things that we will actually experience and have actually happened. We don’t believe what Jesus said! So how many people will believe what Jesus tells us about heaven? "Heavenly things" can be made up at will, but people just like to hear "made-up lies"! Why are there so many false gods? Because the human mentality is "blind worship"!
Today I want to talk to you about what happens after death! It’s not that I want to talk to you! But I dreamed about my brother last night, and my brother came to tell me what happened after death! He was gave the message to me: What is to come after death! I must spread this "message" too! We know that everyone has a "soul", and the "soul" will not disappear due to the destruction of the body! So where does our soul go after our body disappears? People who believe in "soul reincarnation" also believe that the soul will enter reincarnation and become a new life. "Reincarnation" means that our souls will enter the wombs of animals and humans, transform into another "new life form", and then continue to live in this world. When we read the Bible, the person who talks most about the "afterlife" in the Bible is Jesus! In the Old Testament, almost everyone died when they died! In fact, I have been thinking: Where do people go after death? Many Christians believe in "last day judgment"! We believe there will be a "second judgment," but this second judgment seems to be contradictory to what Jesus said! It also conflicts with what Paul said! Jesus said: He will definitely come and take us to His place! Therefore, the greatest hope of Christians is to be taken back to heaven by Jesus! Paul also said: We Christians will ultimately receive glory and reward! This is completely different from the “last judgment” in Revelation! Revelation is the last book of the Bible! Old John lived very old. When Old John completed the Book of Revelation, Jesus and Paul had been dead for a long time! So does God change the "rules of the game"? Even those who die after Revelation need to enter the "last day judgment", and Jesus will not come to pick us up again! Of course not! God never changes the "rules" casually! God’s word is “law” and God is not a man! He is God! He must certainly fulfill every word!
There are four places people can go to after death: 1. Heaven - We all know that glorified people can go to heaven! And John the Elder also wrote in the Book of Revelation: I saw many elders and martyrs! 2. Paradise - Paradise is a place where good people go, but they do not receive glory and reward! My brother is in "Paradise"! The souls in paradise are more like "elves". They are very busy and have many things to do. I dreamed last night that my brother's face was actually glowing. The place I went to last night was so beautiful! "Paradise" also has all things growing, but elves do not have physical bodies. They are in the form of spiritual bodies. Spiritual bodies can do many different things! Whether it is "heaven" or "paradise", we must be picked up by the Lord Jesus before we can go there! Spirits in heaven can enter paradise, but elves in paradise cannot enter heaven!
Two other places: 3. Hades - Hades is a dark, damp and cold place! There seems to be little hope for souls in the underworld! The souls in the underworld may be souls waiting for "reincarnation"! Living in the underworld is actually very painful, and those souls are just waiting for that slight chance of change! 4. Lake of Fire – This is where the Bible mentions the rich man in purple went! People in the lake of fire have absolutely no hope! People in the lake of fire are being roasted in the lake of fire all the time. This is what Jesus said: Die again and again! Souls in "Hades" and "Lake of Fire" cannot go to heaven and paradise! Here it is: Why the rich man in purple couldn’t go to the place of Abraham and Lazarus! Why are there so many devils in our world? They are all souls who have escaped from the underworld! The souls in "Hades" will not go to the Lake of Fire, because once they enter the Lake of Fire, they cannot come out! In fact, I have been to heaven, paradise and hades, but I will never go to the lake of fire! The thought of the Lake of Fire is terrifying. Who would be stupid enough to go there and burn it again and again? I remember that in ancient times, the hell we knew was: A mountain of knives and a pan of oil! Hades seems that any religion says: Hell! Jesus also went down to "Hades"! Why did Jesus go to "Sheol"? Jesus went to hades to preach! The souls in Hades and the Lake of Fire are different! After death, we no longer have a physical body and we enter a "spiritual state"! When we understand what happens after death, we won’t be afraid of death at all! The "last day judgment" is for those souls who have not been taken away by Jesus, because entering the "lake of fire" is "eternal death"! There is a kind of people who are so evil that they are caught in the lake of fire as soon as they die. They are the "rich men in purple robes" in Jesus' metaphor! A very evil person who doesn’t even have a “second chance of the judgment”!
