One Minute After You Die 2021 12 12
Hebrews 9:24 – 28
Where will you be one minute after you die? Have you thought about that? Because you are going to be somewhere after you die. It is a question of where. The Bible tells us that we are not simply going to cease to exist, because “…God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Genesis 1:26. What is the image of God? The Bible says that “God is a spirit…” John 4:24. Furthermore, the Bible says that God is immortal (1 Timothy 1:17). You will not simply cease to exist when you die. So, what is going to happen to you?
Hebrews 9:24 – 28
Everyone dies. The Bibles says, “…as in Adam, all die…” 1 Corinthians 15:22. So where will you be one minute after you die? That day is coming, and you need to be prepared. Not everyone is going to have a good eternity!
“…the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments…” Luke 16:23. Judgement day is coming. Where will you be one minute after you die?
- What You Believe Matters
- I don’t know how many times I’ve asked someone what they believe happens after they die to which they’ve told me, “That’s it. Lights out. End of story.”
- Then I ask them if they are 100% sure. No one ever is. Instead, I get answers like “99% sure.” Or less.
- You had better be 100% sure, because just 1% of eternity is a very long time to be wrong! What you believe matters! Believing the wrong thing, no matter how sincerely, can get you in a heap of trouble! “…the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments…”
- Where will you be one minute after you die?
- One Minute After You Die
- There is no question in the entire universe more important for you to answer than, “Where will you be one minute after you die?”
- Will you simply be dead, conscious of nothing, finished forever, and soon forgotten?
- Deep down everyone knows that is not the case, or at least has a terrible suspicion it’s not the case. It takes willful, conscious denial to ignore the questions of eternity!
- You are going to be somewhere! Skepticism does not change reality. Much as humans want to and try to convince themselves, you cannot create your own reality. The day is coming when you will have to stand before your Creator! Will you be ready?
III. The Reality of Death
- The Bible clearly states that all die (1 Corinthians 15:22). History proves this true. Our own experience proves this true. If the Bible is right about this, what about everything else? You can’t simply deny it.
- Everybody dies. Everybody goes one place or another, but be certain, everyone goes somewhere! “And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.” Luke 16:22,23
- Here we have two men. One died after giving his life to luxury. One died having suffered in this life but trusting in God for the next. Each one woke up somewhere.
- One Minute After You Die
- When Jesus Christ our Creator became a man and died in our place on the cross, he paid for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2).
- When Jesus cried out from the cross, “It is finished!” the sins of the whole world for all time were paid for. No one needs to wake up in hell as the rich man did. Yet a day of judgement is coming! “…it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment.” Hebrews 9:27
- All have sinned, but the sins of all have been paid for. All who reject this great gift of God, like the rich man, face “…a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.” Hebrews 10:27
- Whoever rejects Christ, refusing to believe God, refusing to accept his great gift of salvation, will face the fiery indignation and judgement of God, alone.
- What About Believers?
- But what happens to you if you have put your faith in Jesus Christ? If a non-believer who has not accepted God’s gift of salvation faces a certain fearful and fiery future, what kind of certainty is there for the you? Here is what the Bible teaches:
- One minute after you die…
- Angels take you to heaven “…the beggar died, and was carried by the angels…” Luke 16:22
- You are conscious, in command of your thinking, feeling, speech, and memories as we recall from the record of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19 – 31).
- You enter God’s presence “We are confident, [I say], and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 5:8.
- No matter what you were in life, if you have put your faith in Jesus Christ, you immediately enter into his presence after you die. The thief repented as he hung dying on a cross, “And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:42, 43
Conclusion
Where will you be one minute after you die? You’re going to be somewhere. We are created in the image of God our Creator. We are unique among all creatures in that God has made us spiritual beings like himself. Spiritual beings do not cease to exist when the physical body dies. Spiritual beings, like God, exist forever. It’s not a question of what happens when you die – it’s a question of where you will be after you die. Where will you be, one minute after you die? Death is not the end of existence, but it is separation. We are separated from our physical bodies at death. But eternal death is conscious separation forever from the presence of God in a place created for the devil and his angels. It is a horrible place called hell where there will be no light and no awareness of anyone but yourself and what you could have had. Forever.
No one needs to go there! God says, “Why will ye die?” There is no need, no reason, to spend eternity in hell. The wages of sin is this eternal death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. He paid the full price for all our sins, and not only ours, but the sins of the whole world. Nobody needs to spend one minute in hell! Accept God’s gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Simply trust him for what he has done for you, believing that he died in your place, and one minute after death, you will be in his presence, forever! “…as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9