Five Minutes After You Die: An Intermediate State

by David Chadwick

The Christian faith is full of both certainty and mystery. Because of Jesus, we can be certain of our eternal salvation if we put our faith in him. Because of grace, we can be certain that his Holy Spirit resides in us and empowers us in this life of faith.

However, there are also mysteries that we must embrace. While the reality of heaven is a certainty, apparently there is somewhat of a mystery.

So, we die. We are now in Jesus’s presence. Then what? Evidently, there is an intermediate state. A place before Jesus’s Second Coming where we are with him. John 14:2 says he has prepared a mansion for us. Other translations call it a “dwelling place.” It is a place that Jesus has prepared for us. In this state, we will evidently have some kind of recognizable body, and we will be with our loved ones and others who have gone to be with the Lord.

Next? We await the Rapture in heaven with Jesus, where we will finally receive our eternal resurrection body. According to 1 Thessalonians 4, Jesus will call forth from everywhere the DNA of our earthly bodies. First for those who have died, then for those left on earth, he reassembles our earthly bodies into eternal ones. Our intermediate bodies are replaced with these resurrection bodies.

What will this be like? Someone once explained it like a promised trip to Hawaii, where we first must stop off at a glorious resort in California, where we will stay for a while en route to Hawaii. It’s not quite as glorious as Hawaii, but it will be beautiful, fun, and meaningful. A resting place while waiting for Jesus to finish the battle.

I really don’t know much more than this. Except to say that both the intermediate state and the eternal resurrection body WILL be glorious, beautiful, and exciting. I choose to lean into the mystery and get excited to fully realize the beauty of heaven one day.

As Christians, we should all be looking forward to this day! Like a perfectly planned trip for each one of us by our Lord. With him meeting our every need, supplying our every meal, overseeing every sightseeing adventure, and us being with those we love most in the world for this extraordinary trip.

Should Jesus tarry in his return before we die, we can all eagerly look forward to this intermediate state with endless excitement and anticipation!

Five Minutes After You Die: Present in Paradise

by David Chadwick

Five minutes after you die, there are two very different realities that will take place depending on whether or not you are a believer in Jesus or an unbeliever. For believers, you will find yourself immediately present in paradise.

As mentioned previously, just like for unbelievers, there will be immediate awareness and consciousness. Said another way, we will be fully aware! Our souls live forever, either in heaven or hell. For believers, death holds no power.

This is clearly taught in 2 Corinthians 5:8, which says, “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” Said differently, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. As sons and daughters of God, this world is not our home. It’s a temporary stop on our journey home. These bodies of ours are simple tents in which we reside while serving as ambassadors of a different kingdom.

In Luke 23:43, Jesus looked at the thief on the cross and said to him, “TODAY you will be with me in paradise.” The moment the thief died, Jesus promised that he’d be with him forever simply because he believed in Jesus. I can’t wait to reach heaven one day and talk with this unnamed thief to hear his entire story!

But unlike unbelievers, our souls will never face the judgment seat of Jesus! Why? Because the moment we received Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we were judged by the Father as “not guilty” because we received the gift of eternal salvation from Jesus.

Today’s reality should allow every follower of Jesus to walk in perfect peace. Soon and very soon will come a day when we die. And we will be clothed in righteousness and perfect in paradise! Nothing can ever separate us from God’s love demonstrated to us through Jesus (Romans 8:38-39). Our souls are secure. And no matter what may happen to us, we can confidently say, “It is well with my soul!”

Five Minutes After You Die: How Then Should You Live?

by David Chadwick

If hell exists, and if Jesus’s teachings about hell are true, then unbelievers who live apart from Jesus will spend eternity there. If this is true, how then should these truths impact how we live as followers of Jesus today? This is the most important question that every single believer should ask.

The reality of hell should make evangelism to the lost the urgent and primary task of the church. Is it for you? How should you be ready to share the gospel? Does the thought of people spending an eternity away from the Father grip your heart?

Today, I want to exhort you to consider the importance of evangelism. What should your life look like toward a lost and hurting world? How then should you live in light of the Gospel message?

First, pray regularly for your lost friends and for this lost world. Ask God to bring people into your life who don’t know Jesus.

Secondly, learn how to share the gospel. Know the Ten Commandments as they show our sin and brokenness before a pure, perfect, and holy God. Share the gospel in light of this reality. All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). The consequence for sin is death (Romans 6:23). Because of God’s love, Jesus absorbed all of our sin on the cross as perfect God and man and offered us eternal life (John 3:16). As a man, he lived a perfect and sinless life, and he took our place on the cross. As God, he forgave us, because only God can forgive our sins.

Third, be willing to JUST GO. Wherever God may send you, say “yes.” Be willing to live on mission to serve a dying world. Be ready to give your life away practically and spiritually. Be willing to forgive others just as Christ has forgiven you. Be excited to give your resources to places around the world that are reaching other people for Jesus, especially in what is called the 10/40 window. These are the specific places around the globe that are most resistant to the Christian faith.

If you do this, you will hear Christ’s, “Well done!” one day when you die. If you’re a follower of Jesus, the judgment seat is not a place to fear; it’s a place of victory where you will meet your Savior face-to-face and finally spend an eternity with him.