What Happens After Death Part 2

Dr Victor Pearce

'Arise, shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See darkness is on the land and deep darkness on the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.' We live in days when this scripture is beginning to be fulfilled. But the time of darkness and light together, will bring about a greater time of 'spiritual warfare' and will necessitate a deeper call to prayer. To help us get a sense of the power of prayer and the revealing of God during warfare we need look no further than WWI and WWII. These were extraordinary days in our nation to live through. Dr Victor Pearce (now 94) lived in both wars and chronicled the amazing stories of the revealing of the power of prayer and the intervention of the Lord during warfare. This is the fifth in a series of articles revealing these stories. I think you will be moved and inspired, and I pray the Spirit of God will speak into your spirit through what you read - Jonathan Bellamy, Cross Rhythms CEO.

Sleeping Seed

A lady wrote to ask, 'What does the Bible mean when it refers to death as falling asleep?' She asked if this means that a dead person ceases to be conscious.

It was the Lord Jesus who first referred to death as sleeping. Do you remember that when he went to the little girl aged twelve who had died, he said, 'She is asleep!'

Yes, and they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.

He also said Lazarus was asleep, when he had been dead four days. From then onwards, the disciples always referred to death of a believer as being asleep in Jesus. But this must refer only to the body, not to the soul. For example, Paul says that to depart this life is to be with Christ, which is far better. If his soul was also asleep and not conscious, he could not know that it was bliss to be with Jesus.

Concerning the death of the body, Paul says it is like sowing a seed. The plant dies, but the seed is left to bring a new plant of the same characteristics. In 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul says that those who are asleep are with Jesus in heaven and God will bring them with Jesus when he returns at the second coming. So here again the sleeping part must refer to their body, because their soul is in happy fellowship with the Lord Jesus. But, as regards earthly troubles, Revelation 14:13 says, 'Blessed are they who die in the Lord, for they rest from their labours'.

The Lord Jesus promises you that, 'He who believes on me will never die'. Because the body does die and fall asleep in Christ, that promise must refer to the saved soul.

Someone who was sadly bereaved of her husband in middle life said: 'His body was just a cloak which he had cast off. My real beloved husband is with Jesus, rejoicing in his presence. I know, because he took Jesus as his Saviour years ago and trusted the precious promise.'

'He who believes on me will never die.'

Ghost in a Machine?

Wasn't it Immanuel Kant who said that to think of a soul in the body was like saying there is a ghost in the machine! That was an ironic description. There are a lot around today who say there is no separate soul and body, they say when the body dies you cease to exist - until the resurrection. They say that the word soul only means 'life' - the life of the body.

Are there scriptures to show this idea is wrong? Yes, definitely, and we are looking at some. It's sad that people can overlook them if they don't want to see them.

It is also interesting to look at scientific tests on the difference between the brain and personality.