Death is a horrid reality. It breaks the closest bonds in this life — a father and son, a mother and daughter, bosom friends and even a husband and wife. The first human relationship was that between Adam and Eve. God saw that it was not good for man to be alone. He formed a wife for him and performed the first marriage. Their love was deep, their marriage was made in heaven, but it was only ‘till death us do part’.

There is no escape from death. Sooner or later it catches up with all of us. Some put up a valiant fight against heart disease, cancer or whatever. They take all the medicines prescribed, they submit to all the treatments, they remain positive, hoping and expecting to get better, yet eventually the inevitable happens. When fighting death there can only be one winner. The ‘grim reaper’ cuts down young and old. Many tears are shed but the body of our loved one, and eventually of ourselves, has to be laid in the grave. We are all sinners and the wages of sin is death. The best of food, the best of exercise, the best of climate and the best of medical care will not save us. Death triumphs.

Yet for the Christian that is not the end of the story. There is a Saviour. Christ has triumphed over death and so shall we through Him. His death was ‘the death of death’. Actually the Christian doesn’t really die. He just falls asleep in Jesus. The sting and curse has been removed from death. They close their eyes on this world and open them in paradise, looking into the face of their beloved Saviour. The former things are passed away. Paul looked forward to death for he could say that it was simply, ‘to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better’ (Phil. 1:23). Heaven is wonderful.

What is Heaven Like?⤒🔗

‘No more death’ (Rev. 21:4) will be a great part of the blessing of heaven. Sin has turned this world often into a kind of hell — a foretaste and a warning. When our first parents broke God’s covenant which He made with them death entered the world in all-conquering power. The first child born into the world became an instrument in death’s hand. He murdered his godly young brother Abel. One by one everyone dies. Some die in the womb, some in childhood, some in youth, some in middle age and some in old age. It is not just human beings, the original sinners, who die. The curse of a holy God upon man’s sin reached to all creation. Animals, birds, fish, insects and even plants all die. Death reigns supreme. Even while we are alive it is already at work in the human body. From the moment Adam ate the forbidden fruit the cells in his body began to die and the ageing process started. We are constantly fighting against decay — in food, clothes, cars and homes. But heaven is different. It is bursting with life because there shall be ‘no more death’. There will be the river of the water of life and the tree of life on either side of the river and ‘the leaves of the tree ... for the healing of the nations’ (Rev. 22:2). There will be no sickness nor old age in heaven. It is the place of eternal life. The inhabitant will not say ‘I am weary’ and there is no night there. Death will be banished to hell forever. Here we live in the land of the dying but the Christian is journeying to the land of the living. Will you be there?

What is Death?←⤒🔗

Death could be defined as the heart stopping beating and the lungs stopping breathing. Medically it is defined as the absence of life and that, in modern times, is concluded to have taken place when all activity of the brain ceases. Sometimes mistakes are made and people are thought to have died when they have not. The Biblical definition of death is the separation of the body and the soul. This is truly the end of a person’s life here. The body may stop breathing and yet the breathing can be started again. Similarly the heart can stop beating and paramedics are able to start it again, but when the soul departs it will not return again till the resurrection. A body may appear to live on a life-support machine which pumps the blood through the body and oxygen into the lungs but actually the person is dead. Death is before us all and is inevitable yet most cope by ignoring it. They consider death to be so far into the future as not to require any serious thought or attention at this juncture. Are you in denial about the fact that you are dying? Actually we are all terminally ill. Is God saying, though you cannot hear Him, ‘Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee’ (Lk. 12:20)?

Where did Death come from?←⤒🔗

We have already touched briefly on where death came from. It was not created by God in the beginning. In the garden of Eden there was no death. In fact in the middle of the garden there was the Tree of Life. God made a wonderful, gracious covenant with our first parents, promising them life and fellowship with Him, but also warning them that if they ate of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil they would surely die. Satan entered the garden, they believed his lies and ate the forbidden fruit. Just as God said, that moment death entered human experience and the world in which man lived. What happened? Immediately man died spiritually. He died to God and the loving relationship he had with his Maker ended. Man is now born into this world dead in trespasses and sins. But also physical death began. Disease, pain, accidents, ageing, decay, weariness and weakness entered the lives of mankind. Death like a lion stalks his prey, or like an eagle hovers overhead waiting for his moment to pounce.

How could God get Rid of Death?←⤒🔗

God in His great love and mercy made a new covenant with man. 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.Jn. 3:16

He looked for a substitute who could take the sinner’s place and the only one who could be found suitable was His own Son. Willingly the Second Person of the Holy Trinity agreed to come to save sinners. He took our nature, body and soul, lived a perfect life though tempted in all points like us and then offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. He suffered the punishment we ought to have suffered. He satisfied all that divine justice demanded. This is a glorious doctrine. Liberals hate it. Modern so called ‘evangelicals’ also despise it. Steve Chalke of the Evangelical Alliance calls it ‘cosmic cruelty’ because he has no understanding of the holiness of God, and the wickedness of sin, and the necessity that God be just while justifying the sinner. God is infinitely just and the cross wonderfully glorifies God’s justice as well as His grace, love and mercy. One has to be truly blind not to see the vicarious atonement which is to be found on every page of Scripture. ‘For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him’ (2 Cor. 5:21). The sinless One who does not deserve to die, dies the death we deserve for our sins so that we will have everlasting life. His purpose was that ‘through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil’ (Heb. 2:14). His death was in fact ‘the death of death’ for His people.

Why do Christians Still Die?←⤒🔗

If the price for our sins has been paid and Jesus has fully suffered the punishment which we deserved, why do we still die? It cannot be as a punishment otherwise there would be injustice in God — demanding punishment twice for the same sin. Death for the child of God is discipline and training which shows us the seriousness of sin. It is also a trial which He has designed for our purification. For the wicked it is punishment but for the child of God it is but the doorway to glory. So radically has the nature of death been affected in the experience of the Christian that the Apostle can say:

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Cor 15:55-57

We have victory through Christ over death. He has for us disarmed the serpent of death by sucking out all the venom into himself. Hallelujah what a Saviour!

Who are to get to Heaven?←⤒🔗

Many people assume when loved ones die that they have gone to heaven. The attitude seems to be that if a person didn’t do anything too bad, were respectable and kind, that God will receive them into heaven. Is He not a loving God? How could He possibly send John or Mary to hell? But rather than arguing, ‘How could he possibly...’ let us consider what He Himself says in His Word which is our only sure guide to God’s mind. The Scriptures record that Jesus said ‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’ (John 3:3). Surely that is plain. The new birth is essential and those who have not been born again are told in no uncertain terms that they will not enter heaven nor even see it. In another place the Bible states that Jesus said, in response to a disaster in which many lives were lost, ‘Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish’ (Lk 13:3). Unless people repent and are converted they will not get to heaven. Who gets to heaven?

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. Jn. 3:36

What happens to the unbelievers?←⤒🔗

God has given us His Son to be our Saviour. Those who refuse to repent and believe in him will be lost. It is sad but completely just on God’s part. He need not have saved any. For the devils there is no gospel nor salvation. But God in His great mercy, and at immense cost to Himself, has provided us with a Saviour. If we despise Him and refuse to believe in Him we deserve to perish. Those who are without the Saviour, immediately they die their soul enters the prison of hell. There they will suffer till the end of the world when their soul will return to their body again. It will be resurrected and they will have to stand before the Judge. From Him they will receive their final sentence which will be, ‘Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels’ (Mt. 25:41). Individuals think they can escape from pain or suffering or trouble in this life by committing suicide but there is no escape from the bottomless pit. The worst pain in this world is temporary but hell is where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:48). The smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever (Rev. 14:10-11). We have an awful picture of hell in the words:

his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.Rev.16:10-11

There they ‘shall be tormented day and night forever and ever’ (Rev. 20:10). Make sure you do not end up there. Repent and believe the gospel.

What is Our Response to Heaven?←⤒🔗

We have comfort with regard to those who have died believing in Jesus. We know that they are now in a better place where there is no more death. They are dead to us yet they are more alive than they ever were, and far more alive than we. Also we have encouragement with regard to ourselves. We may have heard from a doctor that we are terminally ill. To many people this is awful news. However we can rejoice because we know that the best is yet to be. We are going to heaven and death is simply falling asleep in the arms of Jesus. Whatever trials we have here it is light affliction in comparison to the weight of glory which awaits us (2 Cor. 4:17). There is a rest that remains for the people of God (Heb. 4). Rejoice, we have a great future. We leave this world where death reigns and go where there is no more death.