If you were to do a survey and ask people what they think about life after we die, you would be amazed at the variety of answers. Some believe everyone goes to Heaven when they die. Many believe there is nothing after we die; they think we’re like any other animal. We decay and go back to the earth. While those two are opposites, another group believes in some sort of afterlife. They believe there is a place where we live forever. Within this last group are multitudes of different beliefs, but a belief is only as good as the evidence that backs it up. For instance, I can believe I am a size two. I may be able to convince myself I am a size two, but when I try to put on a size two pair of pants that won’t fit over my big toe, the evidence says my belief was false. It is vital that we base our beliefs on evidence that supports them. Your belief in life after death is the most essential belief you will ever determine. It is one that you can only make while you are alive, and if it is wrong, you will have eternity to regret it.
Have you come to grips with your belief in life after death based on true evidence? Is your belief based on hearsay, or have you studied to ensure the evidence is solid? You must not believe something just because it makes you feel good or because someone told you. You need to look at the evidence yourself.
The Bible has been confirmed as truth through historical evidence. Just when archeologists think there is no evidence to prove that the Bible is true, when they think they have found something that shows the scriptures to be in error, God lets them find a nugget that proves them wrong. For a more significant study on historical evidence, there are many organizations, such as Answers In Genesis, where scientific evidence proves the age of the earth and the accounts of events recorded in the Bible. The Bible is also a book that has fulfilled its own prophecies. The most important prophecies are those about Jesus. Everything in the Bible rests on who He is. Jesus is the foundation of the Bible from the beginning to the end.
He was with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit always. He is God the Son, the creator in Genesis and John 1:1-3, where John calls Him the Word. Jesus was in the beginning, and He made everything.
John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.”
The most compelling evidence of the Bible being authentic is the resurrection of Jesus. His resurrection proved He was God in the flesh. He had power over death and the grave. Some may say it never happened, that Jesus wasn’t dead, or that it was a lie. In Luke chapter 24, we see the account of Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, the mother of James, and other women going to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body. When they arrived, He was not there. Two angels appeared to them to announce Jesus’ resurrection. They quickly ran to tell the disciples. Immediately, Peter and John ran to the tomb to see for themselves.
Later, Jesus came to His disciples on the seashore. They could hardly believe it, but he showed them His scars from the crucifixion and ate with them.
Luke 24:39-43 “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish and of a honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them.”
In I Corinthians 15:6, Paul gives us examples of those who saw Him after the resurrection. He mentions the disciples, apostles, and Peter and James by name. He also gives an account of over 500 followers who saw Him. He then mentions Jesus’ appearance to Him on the road to Damascus. In a court of law, it takes two witnesses to confirm a story. In our world, if 500 people told the same story, everyone would believe, yet the central proof about life after death is doubted even though there were multitudes of witnesses. Jesus was who He said He was. He proved that with His victory over death.
I Corinthians 15:6 “After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep”
The Bible is valid from the beginning to the end. It is historically correct and authenticated by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. One day, each of us will taste a physical death unless Jesus returns first. Just like Jesus, we will each live forever somewhere. The case for life after death is solid, and if you read through the Bible, you will see that there are only two options for our eternal home. One is Heaven, and the other is Hell. God never intended for anyone to go to Hell. He gives each of us a choice. We can repent of our sins, accept Jesus as our Savior, live for Him, and spend eternity with Him in Heaven, or we can live for ourselves, reject Him, and spend eternity in Hell, where we will never cease to suffer. There is life after this life, but it is our choice where we spend it.
