The Gospel Way Catechismنموونە

QUESTION 27: What Happens When We Die?

ANSWER

When we die, we do not cease to exist; neither do we become stars or angels. Our spirits soar to Christ, our hope in life and death, and our bodies rest until the resurrection.

There’s a common misconception about Christianity that says our future hope consists of disembodied souls occupying an ethereal heaven when we die. A lot of ideas commonly associated with Christianity and the afterlife are wrongheaded. The goal of the afterlife, for the Christian, is not to escape this earth and get to heaven. The goal is actually for heaven to come to earth and for the two to be reunited at last. The idea of leaving this world and enjoying forever a nonbodily existence does not have a place in Christianity. It more closely resembles ancient Gnostic teachings the church rightly rejected!

The New Testament does not describe heaven—where our spirits go when we die—as our ultimate hope or the long-term future. The heavenly afterlife is more like a hotel, a place for our souls to rejoice in God while our bodies rest, before the round-trip journey back to a renewed earth in resurrected splendor. Rightly understood, salvation is not a rescue from creation; it’s the rescue of creation.

The Christian vision of death counters popular understandings in at least two ways. First, the Christian vision counters the widespread belief that death is the end, and that nonexistence is all that follows. Secular narratives are closed off to the possibility of God or an unseen realm and simply conclude that death means we cease to exist. The Christian perspective is that death is not annihilation. There is life after death. “I am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus said. “The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26 CSB).

Second, Christianity counters the idea that we turn into stars or angels after death. We will not be transformed into celestial entities when we die or morph into ethereal beings. The ultimate future for the Christian is the resurrection of the body and the restoration of this world. All who trust in Jesus Christ will receive a new body when he returns.

The God who made the world is sovereign over death and beyond; death can’t challenge what God will bring. When Christians die, our spirits ascend to be with Jesus. Christ is our source of hope both in life and death. After death, we will experience a two-stage postmortem reality. First, our souls will rest with Jesus Christ and experience refreshment. Second, we will be bodily resurrected, soul and body will be united, and we will live with God on a new earth.

According to the Bible, God’s work of redemption was concerned with healing and restoring the world, “For God so loved the world” (John 3:16 CSB). Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (18:36 CSB), meaning that his kingdom doesn’t come from this world, but his kingdom is very much for this world. Salvation is about God rescuing his people and his world from the ravages of sin and death. Paul tells us the last enemy—death—will be swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:20-22).

Reflection Questions

Why is it significant for Christians to acknowledge death does not lead to nonexistence? Explore this belief’s theological and existential implications and how it impacts how Christians view death.

In what ways does the Christian vision of death provide hope and comfort in the face of mortality and grief? Reflect on how the promise of being with Christ immediately after death and the future resurrection offers a unique perspective on dealing with the loss of loved ones and the reality of our mortality.