Where Will YOU Go When YOU Die?
Questions About Death: Part 5.
It is truly a sobering thought to know that all of us will die.
The Bible speaks of Enoch and Elijah who were “taken,” but every other human being throughout the sands of time has tasted death. Unless the Lord comes back first, all of us will experience it.
Moses said this:
“The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away…So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:10,12).
Notice it (life) is soon cut off and then we (the souls of men and women) “fly away.” Moses then said that we are to “number our days” and “gain a heart of wisdom” so we can live in such a way that we are preparing for eternity.
In this series finale, we want to “look in the mirror” and ask, “Where will YOU go when YOU die?”
Reviewing our Study of Death.
To review what we have studied, we learned that death takes place when the soul departs from the body (Jas. 2:26).
We noticed that the soul continues into eternity while the body returns to the dust (Eccl. 12:7).
When the soul leaves the body, it enters into the Hadean Realm (the unseen realm of the dead). The ungodly and unrighteous souls are ushered to Torments while the godly and righteous souls are ushered to Paradise.
If today was your last day, where would your soul be?
You Have a Choice.
You get to decide where you spend eternity!
All three members of the Godhead have done Their part.
God the Father designed the plan: “and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places” (Eph. 3:9-10; cf. Gen. 3:15; 12:3).
God the Son executed the plan: “according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Eph. 3:11; cf. John 3:16-17; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 2:9; Rev. 13:8; ).
God the Holy Spirit revealed the plan: “But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Cor. 2:9-13; cf. John 16:13; 2 Pet. 1:19-21).
Friends, God wants you to be with Him forever and He has gone to great lengths to demonstrate and prove that:
“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation” (Rom. 5:6-11; cf. 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9).
Jesus will come back and judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:30-31). Those who do not know God and those who do not obey the Gospel of Jesus Christ will be punished with everlasting destruction (2 Thess. 1:7-9).
The Standard of Judgment will be the Words of the King (John 12:48) and God’s judgment will be right (Rom. 2:2).
Will you obey God and go to Heaven or will you disobey God and go to Hell?
YOU DECIDE (Matt. 7:13-14, 21; cf. Rom. 10:17; Heb. 11:6; John 3:16; 8:24; Acts 17:30; Rom. 10:9-10; Acts 2:38; 22:16).
I close this article and this series with the words of Jesus Who clarifies the only two destinations available. May we all choose to obey God and be with Him throughout eternity!
“And these (the unrighteous) will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matt. 25:46)!
Drew Suttles is a minister for the Quitman church of Christ in Quitman, Georgia. They live-stream all their Bible classes and sermons on their YouTube channel.
Drew also hosts the “Weathering the Storm” podcast on the Scattered Abroad Network. Drew talks about facing life’s challenges as a child of God. His podcast will be a blessing to your life.
 | A guest post by
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The only answer given to the questions posed in the article is in the one comment and I will use that sound answer given by 2FollowHim (2FH) as a reference standard to delineated differences between text, scriptures, explanations given in the article by Jameson Steward (JS).
The JS question 'Will you obey God and go to heaven or disobey and go to hell?' - makes God sound harsh in giving a binary choice. In or out.
Yet the Bible illustrates a merciful, long-suffering, loving, forgiving God.
This alone speaks to the popular misconception of God as a demanding, intolerant, indifferent, condemning Spirit.
Therefore the greatness and goodness of God becomes an actual reality for the beholder only when God's great good mercy, unfailing loving kindness, is acknowledged in all understandings and testimonies regarding Him.
Therefore disobedience is a vast, gray area of many levels and complexities that are humanly impossible to ascertain.
Thus, humans are never to condemn or even assume. The only safe criticism is that which is leveled only upon self, as 2FH explains.
So then there is mercy given to the disobedient, under circumstances such as being mixed with good works, mercy, kindness, good heart, doing good in the land, etc.
The Lord loses nothing good. God is in the salvaging operation.
To go to Heaven requires being in Christ through a new spirit from Him.
As 2FH states, once one is living, moving, and having their being in Him, they will be with Him in Heaven, minus the filth of the flesh, which dies.
This closeness is only possible through obedience.
But the disobedient are not necessarily relegated to hell, and especially not everlastingly.
The Lord preached in hell. This account is mentioned in Peter's letter. The Lord only preaches when there is opportunity for repentance.
This indicates that hell is not some place where the disobedient are tormented forever.
There are holding places described in the Bible. "Sheoul" is a study to look into.
In the Book of Revelation, the Lord speaks of those in Him having to be hot. Lukewarm is spit outside of His body. Is this a sentence to be punished eternally in hell?
The Lord is far too merciful to ever invent eternal torture of a person.
Lukewarm is a terrible condition to be in, but does not condemn one to a terminal hell.
There are word studies that offer up scriptures that go deeply into this.
Not simple. Not harsh.
To abide in Christ and be with Him in heaven requires one to remain hot. Or to become hot.
No one chooses to follow Christ. "You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you."
The Lord chooses those with Godly sorrow which leads to repentance not to be repented of.
These epic precepts are part of a major process involving the operation of God.
Without being drawn by the Father or chosen by the Lord through Godly sorrow and the subsequent gift of repentance, one does not get to choose to obey the Lord.
Or to choose heaven or even hell.
And the Lord does not punish ad infinitum.
The Greek rendering of the word everlasting refers to a limited timespan.
The destruction itself is permanent, but not ongoing. Look it up.
So the everlasting punishment or destruction is done and finished quickly, but the faculty is present for a span of time.
For example, hell and death are cast into the lake of fire. Over, ended once their purpose is served.
The disobedient are not punished over and over. They are either salvaged in some difficult and possibly painful way, or their end is quick and merciful.
This attests to the mercy of the Lord.
So very many scriptures for believers to know that once IN the Lord Yehoshua (Hebrew), and once they
'live and move and have their BEING in Christ', then they've 'arrived....spiriually.
We never die. Never. Because 'in Him was Life' and believers are 'in Him'. We are part 'of His body', and
this is eternal, now and forever. Praise the Lord.
What 'doesn't 'GO' is all the dross, the sinful body with its problems, the carnal FINALLY does DIE.
We Praise the Lord.
It's like removing old, dirty, greasy, smelly clothes, and actually not needing ANY, any more.
We read in Revelation 3: 15-16, thereabouts about what happens, the PROCESS by which we
become part of the body of Christ. Very much like the digestion system.
Sins must GO. And sometimes WE get to 'break ourselves upon the Rock', which only breaks off flaws,
sins, and well worth doing.
Aren't we just too quick to 'accept ourselves' yet we can be quite strict with others?
Hypocrits. I want to be strict with myself, and expunge what impedes, the carnal spirit.
So, at the death of the sinful, corrupt body which is finally laid down, we, in Christ, remain in Christ,
in the spirit, wherever the Lord is, and His home is in the Heavens, so we would be there with Him.
It's like 'justification' and 'sanctification'. and like having the names put in the Book of Life.
We then SERVE LIFE and oppose the devil.
Some of our favourite activities, which often almost kill us, are to 'destroy the works of the devil', and
to resist the devil who certainly does then FLEE, about to be exposed.
This takes much prayer, sometimes what I don't do enough.
What makes me sad? Later, after the death of this body, I'll see what COULD perhaps have been done,
where I just didn't do it right. This grieves me.