Death and Afterwards For the Believer and the Unbeliever: and an Examination of the Eschatological Judgments

By Carol Berubee

For thousands of years, death has reigned on earth. What has happened to all those who have come before us who have succumbed to the inevitable cessation of a brief life? And what will happen to us? And what will happen to our children? Our pets?

This book traces the destinations of the dead (and the living) from Adam to the eternal state. We presuppose the veracity of the Bible, Heaven, and Hell. As such, we learn that believers who lived and died prior to the Cross had a somewhat different afterlife experience than what believers this side of Cross experience. We also can look to passages such as 1 Corinthians 15 to get an outline of the future history of believers (vv. 20-28) and glean much information about the glorified body (vv. 35-54). As well, we turn to 2 Corinthians 5:1-4 to learn about the longing of Christians to not die but to receive a glorified body.

There is also provided a lengthy Question and Answer chapter tackling subjects such as soul sleep, the Rapture, the nature of those living in the Millennial Kingdom and the eternal state, the New Jerusalem, the judgments of all people, rewards for believers, animals and marriage in Heaven, and more.

Includes four charts to help consolidate the material.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9798350911442

Book preview

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Death and Afterwards for the Believer and the Unbeliever, and an Examination of the Eschatological Judgments

Copyright 2023 by Carol Berubee

Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc.  LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.

Print ISBN: 979-8-35091-143-5

eBook ISBN: 979-8-35091-144-2

In memory of

my parents,

and my brother, Pete

Contents

Preface

Introduction

1: Body, Soul, and Spirit

2: The Dichotomous Perspective

3: The Dispensational Perspective

4: The 1 Corinthians 15 Perspective

5: The Eschatological Judgments

6: The Nature of Heaven and Hell

7: Questions and Answers

Preface

Some of my readers may recognize the title of this book as similar to that of a booklet by Ironside. Dr. Ironside’s use of 2 Corinthians 5 as a template for an exposition of life after death for the Christian is appropriate and sufficient for a basic understanding of the subject; however, it was my purpose to expand on his apt work by presenting other Scripture passages as complementary templates. In addition, I felt it useful to include an overview of the eschatological judgments revealed in Scripture.

After years of fielding questions from both concerned and confused Christians in regard to life after death, I believed it was necessary to compile the relevant Scriptures and present them in a simple and concise book for easy reference. More than a reference book, though, it is my prayer that this small presentation of God’s Word would furnish a clear reason for the hope we have and that it will edify the Body of Christ.

Introduction

An explanation of the events surrounding death and resurrection may take on many forms and be presented in various ways. In this book, information will be presented, or re-presented, in three iterations, each chapter concluding with a chart or figure depicting the respective doctrine.

While the same foundational facts will be enumerated in each outline, the goal is to present these facts from varying angles for two reasons: first, so that the reader who tends to process information in a particular fashion may glean from the relevant Scriptures in a way that makes the most sense to him or her; and, second, to demonstrate that the Word of God is cohesive, perspicuous, and non-contradictory.

Prior to the three outlines being presented, it is necessary to briefly discuss the nature of man as body, soul, and spirit. Following the three outlines, a brief overview of the eschatological judgments is unfolded, accompanied by a chart. Then, brief descriptions of Heaven and Hell are presented. And, finally, a question and answer section should prove helpful.

1

Body, Soul, and Spirit

The subject of the nature of man in regard to soul and spirit is vast. Entire books have been written covering the Hebraic and Greek conceptions of these terms. Only a brief treatment of the Biblical information is presented here.

God formed Adam from the earth and Adam became a living soul when God gave him the breath of life. The living soul is not visible but resides in a physical body. The Bible explains, however, that man is more than a soul in a body. Man is body, soul, and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23, Hebrews 4:12). Man is a spirit living in a body possessed of a soul; or, we may say man is a living soul, animated by a spirit, dwelling in a body. Though we recognize these components of body, soul, and spirit as distinct, it is important to remember three things: first, soul and spirit are sometimes used interchangeably in the Bible and, therefore, we must be careful not to artificially bifurcate soul and spirit; second, soul and spirit may be better rendered soul/spirit in most cases as we remember that the nature of man is soul and spirit, and man can never be a spiritless soul or a soulless spirit; and, third, that a bodiless soul/spirit is abnormal, for God created man as body, soul, and spirit.

The body is the tabernacle, or temporary dwelling, of the soul/spirit. The body will die, but the soul/spirit will never die (Ecclesiastes 12:7). At death, the body dies while the soul/spirit goes on into the realm of the invisible. Thus, death is the separation of the soul/spirit from the body (James 2:26, Luke 23:46). Some speak of the immortal soul, though this is a misnomer. In fact, the soul of man is not immortal because mortality has to do with decay, loss of function, and death; thus, the body is mortal, whereas the soul/spirit never dies. And, though we may speak of the soul/spirit as eternal, as opposed to immortal, it may be best to use the term, everlasting. Eternality refers to eternity past as well as future; however, the individual soul/spirit unique to each person did not exist in eternity past, but will go on into eternity future: it is everlasting. While the NT most often uses the term, eternal, we should have firm in our minds that the soul/spirit of a person is not pre-existent (pre-existence being a common belief in Greek philosophy and affirmed in the heretical sect of Mormonism). And, finally, the body, though it dies, will be resurrected unto either eternal life or eternal death. In the resurrection of the body, we see God’s design of man as body/soul/spirit, not body plus soul/spirit as if the soul/spirit would live forever absent a personal body.

The soul is the mind, will, and emotions through which we experience the world around us. The soul is the personality - the personhood - that is expressed through the personal body. In Genesis 1:23 and elsewhere, we learn that even the higher animals have a soul (Heb. nephesh chayyah, meaning, living creature or living soul). This tells us that animals are more than a mere collection of cells. Animal suffering is a part of the curse due to Adam’s sin (Genesis 3:17-19, Romans 8:19-22). While vegetation is also under that curse, because it is soulless it does not suffer in the same way as do the higher animals. For example, many higher animals display grief upon the loss of life within the group which cannot be said of vegetation.

Adam and Eve had been given dominion over the earthly creation, so their Fall affected this