It is essential to understand that death is not the end. In fact, the reality is that there is no end to life. Our lives will go on for all eternity. But where will we spend eternity? What is waiting for us after death? What will life be like on the other side of death?
In Luke, chapter 16, we are given a rare peek into life beyond the grave. Jesus related the experience of a rich man who had died after rejecting God in his life and living for short-term pleasures. The man ended up in eternal torment.
“and he went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
“The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’
“But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’
“Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’
“But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’
“The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’
*“But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”— Luke 16:23-31 (NLT) *
The man begged Abraham to send someone back from the dead to warn his brothers not to make the same mistake that had sent him to this place of eternal torment. But Abraham assured the man, sadly, that if people won’t believe God’s messages to us in the Bible, they won’t believe an extraordinary sign like a man coming back from the dead.
We know that this is true because Jesus did come back from the dead, and still, people refuse to believe and to prepare themselves for the reality of what waits for them after death.