Date

8-29-2024

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Master of Arts in Biblical Studies (MA)

Chair

Jordan P. Ballard

Keywords

afterlife, life after death, Jesus Christ, heaven, paradise

Disciplines

Religion | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

Abstract

This paper examines Old Testament, New Testament, ancient Jewish, Near Eastern, and Christian documents to determine what the Word of God says about life immediately after death (afterlife). I will not examine references to the resurrection or to end times. The research for this paper from primary, secondary, and tertiary sources will be examined and explained, and the conclusions drawn will identify the passages in Scripture and other scholarly sources that explain life immediately after death for believers of Jesus Christ. Theological documents, cultural interpretations, societal perspectives, as well as biblical teachings will be examined to establish understanding, reassurance, and guidance to those struggling to understand the immediate afterlife. Analyzing Christian thought and expectations of the afterlife leads to greater understanding of a Christian’s eternal destiny.

The Old Testament prophets wrote of Sheol as the place of the dead, and their understanding progressed, from Sheol being a place for the deceased, to a place of judgment for the wicked and a place of reward for the righteous. Ecclesiastes 12:7 NKJV reads, “the spirit will return to God who gave it.” In the New Testament Jesus described the afterlife as Paradise and Abraham’s Bosom. Paradise was Jesus’ term for the immediate afterlife, as that was the common Jewish and Greek term for a place of transcendent, blissful, and peaceful life with God, and He offered that hope of salvation to the dying man on the cross. Paradise and Abraham’s Bosom are terms Jesus used to describe the transcendent afterlife for true disciples of Christ.

Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, described heaven as the residence of God and humble and devout persons that have confidence only in God (Matt. 5). Heaven identifies the abode of God and pseudepigrapha writings speak of multiple heavens. Pseudepigrapha writings are studied by theologians, are not canonical, but support Paul’s narrative of the third heaven. The idea of multiple heavens is recorded by Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:2–4.

The transcendent afterlife has its source as the love of God, which is best expressed in John 3:16 NKJV, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The love of God is infinite and embraces all people. Our afterlife is dependent on the choices we make in this life. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes the virtues that lead to eternal life in the kingdom of God (Matt. 5:3-12).

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