What Happens When We Die?
Observation Noticing
what the author wrote |
Interpretation The
author’s intended meaning (AIM) in
the context |
Application Using the
author’s intention today |
Now it came
about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels ( Luke |
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Who is involved? What is happening? Where is it taking place? Why is it included? How is it carried out? Anything repeated, contrasted, compared? Any commands, principles? Any solutions, directions? Categorize Observations: Summarize categories: Subject (What is author talking about? Predicate (What is author saying about what he is
talking about? |
For believers, at the point
of death, they see angels who escort them to the heavenlies.
So angels are given the assigned responsibility from God of escorting us to
heaven. |
This would seem to be something
that angels have done and continue to do as long as believers die. APP—We can
expect to have an angel/s ready to meet us and take us to heaven when we die.
So not only is our place in heaven being prepared but so is our entrance into
it. |
Now there was a certain rich man…also died and was
buried. And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment…he cried out and
said, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me…dip the tip of your finger in water
and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame…I beg you, that you
send him to my father’s house—for I have four brothers—that he may warn them
lest they also come to this place of torment
( Luke 16:19-31) |
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So when the unbeliever dies,
he or she is conscious in a place of torment called Hades. There is no
evidence that anyone works their way out of this place. This is not hell but
the place where all unbelievers are until their final judgment at the end of
the world called the Great White Throne judgment |
There is life after death
for the unbeliever and that life will forever be characterized by judgment
seen in torment, physical pain, thirst, regret, fear, accountability and
separation from God. APP—When an
unbeliever jokes about death we should warn them about the torment and
judgment that they will experienced forever after death. |
In my father’s house are many dwelling places; if it
were not so I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you (John
14:2) But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart
and be with Christ, for that is very much better (Philippians 1:23) …they
desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not
ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them (Hebrews |
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So there is a departure from
this life to go to a better place. Believers have this to look forward to.
Believers will be with other believers who have died before them. We will
live in a real place, with real people, with real living to be enjoyed. This
will include places to live and a life to live which will be much better than
anything we have known this side of the grave. This place is described with
dwelling places, like a country and a city. It seems to be a place where
nations, regions, and localities will also exist similar to those governmental
and political distinctions we have now but under a different order—one that
has eternal and heavenly priorities in it. |
Life on the other side of
the grave is to be preferred since it is a place God is preparing for us to
live in and enjoy forever. God has taken care of everything. APP—Our hope
is on the other side of the grave so that is what we should focus on and
prioritize in all of our decision-making while we live on this side. For
instance, I love my enemies instead of seeking revenge. |
…flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of
God…for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and
we shall be changed and this moral must put on immortality (1 Corinthians 15:50-55) For we know that
if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from
God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (2 Corinthians 5:1) |
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Death is necessary for us to
enter the |
So death will shed us of our
current body and resurrection will provide us with a new eternal one. We will
not be disembodied spirits, ghosts, or angels. We will have a bodily form. APP—We
should take care of our bodies and use them, as we do anything else, to bring
glory to God but not pamper our bodies by trying to make ourselves look
younger, or attractive since these bodies are temporary and destined to
deteriorate and die. |
To be absent from the body is to be present with the
Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8) |
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The moment we leave this
body at death, we will go to be immediately with Jesus. There is no
purgatory, or unconscious condition we will be in or face right after we die.
So death is not light at the end of a tunnel. Death is when the soul departs
from the body. |
This was not the case for
Old testament believers who went to Abraham’s bosom after death and until
Christ died. Today, for our church age, whenever a believer dies he or she is
with the Lord. APP—Whenever
and wherever we breathe our last breath here, our next breath will be heaven
with the Lord, good angels, and all believers preceding us there. |
Each man’s (God’s fellow worker’s) work will become
evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire; and
the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work
which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s
work is burned up, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved yet as
through fire (1 Corinthians |
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Believer’s receive or lose rewards at the judgment seat of Christ. After
death all believers appear before Christ in judgment, not for sin (Hebrews |
The intention here is for us
to take seriously our devotion and commitment to take up our cross daily
because we will be judged by Christ for this and it makes a tangible
difference in how we will serve and participate in God’s program for
eternity. APP—Live for
the profit I will gain on the other side of the grave. That will mean changing
my attitudes, rearranging my priorities, evaluating my ambitions and
repenting when they conflict with God’s expectations revealed to me in His
Word. |
Summarize your applications |