What happens when we die?

I read the article by Pastor Erasmus Makarimayi entitled Where do we go after death? published in your March 25 2011 online paper edition and I felt compelled to respond. The pastor dealt with the parable of Lazarus and the rich man found in Luke 16:19-31.

While dealing with eschatological issues, it is important to get biblical hermeneutics right. The parable of Lazarus and the rich man has been a source and indeed the foundation of erroneous doctrines about hell mainly because people do not care to follow the hermeneutical principles laid down in the Bible itself.

The prophet Isaiah in chapter 28:9-10 says “Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little . . . ”

This important principle shows that you cannot come up with a doctrine from one parable or passage in the Bible, the Bible should be understood holistically and should you come up with a doctrine, it should be supported by different authors of the Bible and most importantly should be in harmony with the character of God.

In this article, I will briefly deal with the parable and then address the question of what happens when we die.

• Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
• Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
• Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
• Councils defy govt fire tender directive

Pastor Erasmus and indeed many other Christians believe the parable of Lazarus and the rich man is not a parable but a true, literal story which Jesus told to explain what happens when we die.

This conclusion however is made without much consideration to the details of this parable.

If this parable were literal, then heaven and hell are juxtaposed and the righteous in heaven can see the wicked burning in hell and furthermore, can communicate with them.

And this, we should believe will remain this way eternally, thus while enjoying heaven, you will do so watching your close relatives and friends who were lost, being tormented in hell.

It would also mean that once you die, as suggested by Pastor Erasmus, you either go straight to heaven or hell and start enjoying yourself or start serving your everlasting punishment respectively.

But is this in line with the Bible doctrine?

Furthermore, it would mean our African traditional beliefs which pastor Erasmus alluded to in his article (that there is no death but a transition from this life to another, that is, we are immortal) are in line with biblical teachings about death and by extension, it would mean the devil was actually telling the truth (and God lied) when he deceived Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit: for the devil said you shall surely not die.

When we deal with eschatology, another important question is: What is the purpose of hell fire? Is it to eradicate sin or to torture the lost eternally?

If the wicked are to be tortured from the day they die right into eternity, then is God really what the Bible teaches He is ie love?

If we who are sinners, with the little love we have compared to God’s cannot go on torturing our victims without feeling guilt, how can God who is described as Love (not having love) torture the wicked from day one of death right into eternity?

This definitely makes him a sadist who derives pleasure in seeing tormented people in hell. But we know that that is not the God we worship. The God we worship is a loving God who does not enjoy seeing people suffer.

So what happens when we die? The simple and biblically correct answer is that when we die, we actually really die! There is no talking to Abraham in death, there is no torture, there is no thirst and hunger and neither is there any enjoyment and praising God in heaven.

In short, there is no consciousness in death. Death is the opposite of creation and if you did not exist as a conscious being before you were created, so shall you be when you die.

Here are some Bible references that you can read KJV. Dust plus breath of life equals living soul, Genesis 2:7; Death is the reversal of creation, Ecclesiastes 12:7; No difference in death, Ecclesiastes 3:19-20; The dead know absolutely nothing, Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 9; There is no knowledge in death Ecclesiastes 9:10; There is no thought in death, Psalms 146:3-4; The dead cannot praise God (but if they are in heaven then they praise him, right?) Psalms 115:17, Psalms 6:5; Isaiah 38:18-19; David is both dead and buried, did not ascend into heaven Acts 2:29, 34. The Bible is consistent in describing death as an unconscious sleep.

When you die, you are absolutely unaware of things either here on earth, heaven or the supposed hell underneath.

This fact is also indirectly but undeniably shown in the Bible by the complete absence of any testimonies of being in heaven or hell by those resurrected by the prophets, disciples and Jesus both in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

If these people went to heaven or hell, surely we would have had a testimony or two. Imagine what Lazarus would have said to Jesus after being brought back to earth after spending four days in heaven!

Today, there are many people who claim to have come back from the dead and they give suspicious testimonies of being in heaven or hell.

Their testimonies are suspicious because of a complete absence of such accounts in the Bible from those who were truly resurrected and most importantly they contradict the Bible.

The devil lied to our first parent that if she ate of the fruit, she would not die; we see this satanic doctrine being perpetuated today in pulpits where worshippers are told that when they die, they do not die, they continue living either in hell or heaven.

This would mean every person has eternal life (immortality), the difference being where they will spend eternity, but the verse that Pastor Erasmus quoted disputes this notion. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

These words are very simple to comprehend. Man is not inherently immortal, man is mortal and only God is immortal. Refer to 1 Timothy 1:17 and 6:16. Think about this, if everyone is immortal as suggested by Pastor Erasmus’ article, then John 3:16 and Romans 6:23 are lies!

The wages of sin then is not death but eternal life too, only that it is eternal life under punishment in hell and the gift of God through our Lord Jesus Christ is not eternal life (since we already have it) but spending it in heaven.

This however is not what the Bible teaches; it teaches exactly what the sighted verses say. Let me end by agreeing with Pastor Erasmus that indeed death is not the end and that all of us have a choice to make.

The Bible clearly describes two distinct resurrections, the first resurrection will be of the righteous and the second resurrection will be of the wicked a thousand years later.

The Bible clearly tell us that those who take part in the first resurrection are blessed as the second death, which is eternal death after judgment, has no power over them. In the end, the devil, sin and death itself will be totally destroyed and done away with and the righteous will live happily ever after.

A genuine and acceptable decision to accept Jesus Christ cannot be made on the basis of fear of the purported everlasting torment in hell, it should be made on the basis of Love and understanding God’s Love for us and what He has done for humanity.

This article is a response by an anonymous reader.

Do you have a burning issue on any topic? Write to kmudzingwa@newsday.co.zw and we will publish your article. Articles should be between 600-800 words.