Q. What does The Bible say about post-death consciousness?
A. Thank you for this very deep and pertinent question. The Bible has quite a LOT to say on this topic. I will endeavor to summarize what I perceive and understand, with relevant references. Please be patient as I unfold many of its insights.
The Bible attests, and is abundantly clear there are two stages of our post-death consciousness:
1. A temporary, post-death, pre-resurrection consciousness
2. An eternal, post-death, post-resurrection consciousness
Let’s dig in…
1. Post-death, Pre-resurrection Consciousness
In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus tells this story. The introduction is proof enough that it was not a parable, but an historical event that only He alone was equipped to share with us.
There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ (NKJV)
In this dialog, the twins spirit and soul of the three deceased men were conscious, fully aware of their environment, and also very sentient. Moreover, Father Abraham was aware of the pre-death lifestyles of both the rich man and of Lazarus. The three men were experiencing significantly different post-death, pre-resurrection conditions – the rich man in hellish torment, while Abraham and Lazarus were in the protected, non-tormented region of hades. This requires some background…
Since the creation of man, The Lord’s highest strategic objective has been and remains …to harvest, from six ages of human history on this current version of Earth, a remnant of humans, called faithful saints, to whom He will show everlasting Grace and Mercy on a new, eternal Earth. (See: Human History Ages (Series)) Before He was born as a man to pay the price for our sins, every person who died was destined for one of two regions of hell (hades): the lower tormented region or the protected upper region. Once He paid our sin price, via His crucifixion, The Lord’s twins spirit and soul descended into hades (Ephesians 4:9-10), and preached His Gospel to deceased saints, people from the first two ages of human history who had died in faith toward God. (1 Peter 3:18-22) They were all resurrected with Him, and were very likely raptured to the new, eternal Earth that The Lord had long promised to Isaiah. (Isaiah 65:17 and 66:22)
Apparently, Matthew 27:51-53 is the only known record of a tiny slice of this global event, as Matthew could only recount what he either experienced and/or heard about. This resurrection and rapture event was predicted in Psalm 68:18, and was affirmed in Ephesians 4:8. This event signals that Christ’s death and resurrection not only opened the gateway to Heaven for all saints who would die during the remaining ages of history. It also signals that the upper region of hell has been shut down, no longer needed! HALLELUJAH to Jesus!!! As a result, Apostle Paul was commission to write 2 Corinthians 5:6-8, affirming the location of the twins spirit and soul of every saint who dies in the remaining (3rd to 6th) ages of history. The Revelation of Jesus Christ even confirms this point in Heaven. (Revelation 6:9-11 and 7:9-17)
Here are some further Bible proofs of a post-death, pre-resurrection consciousness:
--Though The Lord had long warned ancient Israel not to engage in séances with mediums to access the spirit world, they disobeyed. 1 Samuel 28 is an historical account of one such séance that ‘called up’ the spirit of Samuel, a deceased prophet. See what he was clearly aware of!
--Job is reportedly the oldest Book of The Bible. I discuss the considerable significance of this in Cornerstone: Cause=>Effect (Series). Much like the first chapter in a well-written book, it literally ‘sets the stage’ for every strategic point The Lord God desires mankind to understand. Then, every subsequent book of The Bible strategically unfolds and elaborates the details of these points, with an incredible array of promises to both the good and wicked people, and wraps it all up with an amazing array of good and bad examples pertaining to each promise! Ever imagined that?? In light of that, ponder this: In Job 14:22 (read in context), does he seem to infer a type of post-death consciousness?? This question has been debated at length. What insights do you intuit The Lord wants us to derive from this curious verse, insights that are strategically unfolded and elaborated throughout …the rest of The Bible??
2. Post-death, Post-resurrection Consciousness
Christ’s resurrection from the grave is demonstrated proof of life after death. Apostle Paul declared Christ was ‘the first-fruits’ of humans who will die. We all shall live again, eternally, to experience one of only two pre-determined, conscious, sentient, full-bodied lives (spirit, soul, body): either in a glorious region on The Lord’s promised new, eternal Earth, or in His lake of fire, likely on the same Earth, in the company of every devil and demon, plus death and (get this) hell, itself. Yep, hell itself will be cast into the lake of fire, insinuating that the lake of fire must be much bigger and possibly much hotter than hell. Imagine that! (See: Earth’s Next Versions (Series), and The Lake of Fire, A Preview (Series). See also: Revelation 20 – 22.)
For the coming ages of history on this current Earth (post-Christ’s resurrection), He has emphatically given us His criteria for joining Him in the glorious region on the new, eternal Earth. It is summarized in His pre-death discourse with Nicodemus, in John 3:1-21. Since then, we have found many creative ways to challenge and deny The Lord’s assertion that, we must be born-again to enter into The Kingdom of Heaven. Similarly, we have found ever creative ways to challenge and deny His personal revelation about the final four ages of human history, although on His version, He has sealed an exceptionally strong ‘copyright’. (See: Is Jesus God (Series))
Revelation includes 12 references to ‘elders’ who surround The Throne of God upon which Jesus sits -- one Throne, per Revelation 22:1-3. These elders wear a crown and white robes. They might possibly be either some of the people who were led out of hell and raptured into Heaven when Jesus was resurrected, or people who had been raptured directly into Heaven before His crucifixion, e.g., Enoch, Elijah, etc.
My conclusion: The Bible is admirably internally consistent in its core, strategic messages to humans!
What's yours?
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FYI, here’s why I refer to the spirit and soul as ‘twins’:
--Per Hebrews 4:12, they can be separated, thus they must not be identical.
--The Bible reveals they both (1) have the same key attributes of imagination, emotions, and the abilities to see, hear, perceive, understand; and (2) are receptive to, ‘seeds sown’ that will produce good and evil fruits. All that we experience in this life is the result of such seeds sown… good, bad and ugly!
Jesus, The Lord God, created mankind in His own, personal, tripartite image: eternal spirit, soul and body. Thus, Adam and Eve were created as immortal, tripartite beings. Sin made only their (and our) bodies mortal, able to die physically. Our spirit and soul never lost their immortality. Sin only changed the eternal destination of our resurrected, immortal, tripartite being. Folks who deny this are in for …the SHOCK of their eternal lives!!!
