Five Minutes After You Die: Most Often Asked Questions

by David Chadwick

What happens five minutes after you die? What are some of the most often asked questions about heaven and hell? Today, let’s try to answer some of them.

What happens to miscarried babies? Babies who die? Children who die before they reach the age where they could make a decision to follow Jesus? Jesus clearly said, “Let the little children come to me” (Matthew 19:14). He loves the little children. When they die, I believe they are rushed straight into the presence of Jesus.

What about the topic of annihilationism? Some do not believe in eternal torment, but rather they believe that a soul that is eternally separated from God will eventually cease to exist and permanently perish. Some people find this belief comforting, as they believe eternal punishment is too gruesome for a loving God. The problem here is that Jesus taught that hell was “eternal,” just like heaven is. If Jesus is God, and he says one thing, then I believe we can go no farther than he goes with our conclusions.

What about universalism? This is the belief that all people are one day saved. People in this category believe that God is love and that he would never be able to let anyone be separated from him. This conclusion would mean that Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, Pol Pot, and every wicked leader will all be in heaven. All because God is love? That doesn’t make sense. True love must exist in the presence of truth. Universalists believe hell is an eternal purgatory that will eventually burn off everyone’s sin. The problem? Again, this is not what Jesus himself taught. Jesus taught a literal, eternal hell. Is Jesus God? If so, we can go no farther than he goes.

Will we have conscious memories of loved ones who are in hell? The Bible says that in heaven, believers will not cry. No more sadness, no more shed tears. Scholars and others have speculated that perhaps our memories of those we love who are not there will be in our minds. That could be, but we have no biblical evidence for that. It could also be that we all love Jesus so much and are so fully aware of his perfect and pure judgments that we embrace all of his decisions without question.

As believers, we must live knowing that hell exists eternally. Join us tomorrow to learn more specifically what this reality means.

Five Minutes After You Die: Sentencing for the Unbeliever

by David Chadwick

Today, we look at not just five minutes after death, but immediately after death, and specifically in the life of an unbeliever. After judgment comes sentencing.

When an unbeliever meets the Creator of the Universe face to face, without the grace and mercy of Jesus, he or she is declared guilty. The unbeliever is cast into hell, a place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:42). Hell is continual rebellion against God, marked by eternal sadness and regret.

If the beauty of Jesus’s grace could not win you over during your time on earth, why would you think that a terrible thing would all of the sudden cause you to repent and accept grace? Beauty invites us into true and lasting transformation, whereas fear of punishment only creates momentary change. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a beautiful message, meant to set captives free.

Hell is permanent separation from God. I know this sounds harsh to our world that loves nice, kumbaya messaging, but it’s true. It’s what Jesus said himself. The same word in the Greek that Jesus used to describe eternal (ainos) is the same word he used to describe eternal death (ainos). In Revelation 20:11-15, it’s called the lake of fire.

Jesus spoke more about the subject of hell than he did heaven. If it was true for him, it must be true for us, especially those of us who are pastors and teachers today. Warning unbelievers about the reality of hell must be a part of gospel preaching. Sin. Judgment. Hell. Repentance. Missing in action words from too many preachers’ vocabulary.

The bad news for the unbeliever needs to be shared as often, if not more so, than the good news of the forgiveness of sins by Jesus. Both messages are important to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

But the story doesn’t end with the bad news. God loves the world. He sent his son Jesus to die the death we deserved and to cover the penalty for our sins. Anyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). He is the resurrection and the life and if we believe in him we will never die (John 11:25) and we will live forever with Jesus.

It’s the best words the world can hear. Let’s all preach it until Jesus returns.

Five Minutes After You Die: Judgment for the Unbeliever

by David Chadwick

Many wonder what happens five minutes after we die. But more specifically today, as we look at the sobering reality of death for unbelievers, this question must be asked: what happens immediately after death?

Yesterday, I asked you to consider which group you find yourself in: lost or saved? Selfish or surrendered? Saved by works or saved by grace? A son or daughter of God or a slave to sin?

This question of which group you find yourself in has significant implications. Biblically speaking, there is an eternal judgment facing everyone, and eternal consciousness exists for all. This is why Jesus said in Matthew 16:26 that the most valuable possession anyone has on earth is their eternal soul. To gain the world and forfeit a soul is tragic.

Though our bodies die, our souls live forever. This is clearly biblical. If you remember, Luke 16 talks about the rich man and the poor man, Lazarus, both of whom had eternal consciousness, one in Hades, the place of the dead, and one in the bosom of Abraham in paradise.

Without Jesus Christ, that judgment seat bears eternal consequences of a life separated from God and spent in eternal damnation. Man dies once and then comes the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). It is a one-time event. No purgatory for purification before heaven. There is no reincarnation. No second chances.

A soul that is unforgiven before a holy God is declared guilty of treason and rebellion. The penalty is separation forever in hell. Evidently, they will never repent. Hell is not remedial. It honors people’s choice not to want to follow Jesus.

This begs the most important question today: how is your eternal soul? It’s your most valuable possession. Is it forgiven by Jesus? Or overseen by your own selfishness? Where will you spend eternity? With the Lord or separated from him forever?

If the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, which it is, I beg you to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Now. Today. Confess your sins. Accept Jesus’s free gift of forgiveness. Be confident of the eternal security to live with him forever.

And now live Jesus’s abundant life to the full.