Last year I started doing short podcasts (under 5 minutes) about “what God has to say about topics you might be interested in – not my words, but His Word.”  According to the stats, the most  popular, the one that continues to  have the most downloads is actually the very first one: “What Happens When You Die?”

So I decided to take some of the notes I used to record that podcast, and add more content to it here in this article. I hope it provides a little more understanding of what happens when you die, according to the Bible, His Word.

                            What Happens When You Die? #01

There are lots of opinions about what happens when a person dies: one goes to heaven, or goes to hell, or goes to purgatory, or comes back to live again as a butterfly, or…  

In His Word, God oftentimes uses a euphemism to describe death. The Scriptures many times refer to death with the word, “sleep.” So, what do you do when you are asleep? How much do you accomplish? How many projects do you get done?   Nothing, absolutely, nothing; you’re asleep!

Blunt And To The Point!

In the book of Ecclesiastes, a discussion about death is pretty blunt; no, wait!  It’s very blunt. In Chapter 9, it talks about the one event everyone will experience – the righteous and the wicked alike.  And that event is death.

Ecclesiastes 9:3
This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that      there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of   evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to   the dead.

The very next verse is also very blunt.

Ecclesiastes 9:4
For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

After those very startling statements, His Word goes on to say we ought to live our lives now, and live it with all our might, because we will do absolutely nothing when we go to the grave.  Nothing!  We will be asleep.

Ecclesiastes 9:5-10 (Bold type added for emphasis)
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.

Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.

Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.

Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.

Why?  Look at the next verse.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 (Bold type added for emphasis)
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

That’s It?  Forever asleep?

What? That’s it? It’s over?  Yes, at that moment it is over for us, for now.  But His Word also talks about what’s coming in the future – a time when those who are asleep will awaken.  Wow! Talk about being woke!

You may have thought that at death the good folks go to heaven and the bad folks go to hell. Hell, that place that burns and burns. (What  exactly is “hell,” according to the Bible?  That’s coming up in the next podcast so don’t miss it.)  

Spoiler Alert!

In the meantime, spoiler alert!  It would be very advantageous to confess or acknowledge the Lord Jesus – that he is lord of all people and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead. Why?  In doing so, at that moment, His Word says you are saved, born again! 

And for all those who are born again, both those living and those who have died, God has promised to send His Son from heaven to gather us together.  His Word says we will meet the Lord Jesus Christ in the clouds, and “so shall we ever be with the lord.”  And as it says in I Corinthians 15:  “Death is swallowed up in victory.”  

My oh my,  what a fabulous future awaits those who are born again.  On the other hand, for those who decide to decline this simple offer of salvation, for them, there is a day coming when there will be a very rude awakening.  Accept the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart God raised from the dead!

Mike Verdicchio 2023
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There are other “His Word” podcasts related to this topic, as well as articles and audio teachings on this site. Links to some of those are below.

His Word Podcasts (all under 5 minutes)

What Is Hell?

Are You Saved?

What is the Rapture?

Who Is In Heaven?

He Is Coming back

Is He Really Coming Back?

Audio Teaching
2/28/2022 Your Future (41:39)

Article
What Happens When You Die?

Access all His Word podcasts  at this link, they’re all under 5 minutes and you’ll find a separate link for each one, making it easy for you to copy/paste and share God’s Word with someone!