WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A PERSON DIES?

When we have recognized Jesus as our only Savior and Lord, as God's means of righteousness, we are sure that we will go with Him, and we know that our names are written in the book of life.

But whoever has not made his decision for Christ is separated from God and his name is not written in the book of life.

According to the Bible, there are three types of death:

What is Natural Death or Physical Death?

Pallis defines human death as "the state in which there is irreversible loss of consciousness, combined with irreversible loss of the ability to breathe spontaneously."

Terminology. End of life. A death from natural causes is the result of a disease or internal malfunction of the body not directly caused by external forces, other than infectious diseases. (Source: Wikipedia)

According to the Bible:

The Bible presents death as a separation: physical death is the separation of the soul from the body, and spiritual death is the separation of the soul from God.

Death is the result of sin. "For the wages of sin is death," Romans 6:23a. Everyone is subject to death, because everyone has sinned. "Therefore, as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin, so death passed on to all men, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12). In Genesis 2:17, the Lord warned Adam that the penalty for disobedience would be death—"you will surely die." When Adam disobeyed, he experienced immediate spiritual death, which caused him to hide "from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden" (Genesis 3:8). Later, Adam experienced physical death (Genesis 5:5).

On the cross, Jesus also experienced physical death (Matthew 27:50). The difference is that Adam died because he was a sinner, and Jesus, who had never sinned, chose to die as a substitute for sinners (Hebrews 2:9). Jesus then demonstrated His power over death and sin, rising from the dead on the third day (Matthew 28; Revelation 1:18). Because of Christ, death is a defeated enemy. "Where, O death, is thy sting? Where, O grave, is your victory?" (1 Corinthians 15:55; Hosea 13:14).

For the unconverted, death puts an end to the possibility of accepting God's merciful offer of salvation. "And just as it is appointed unto men that they should die once, and after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). For the saved, death brings us into the presence of Christ: "to be absent from the body, and present to the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23). So real is the promise of the resurrection of believers, that the physical death of a Christian is called "sleeping" (1 Corinthians 15:51; 1 Thessalonians 5:10). We look forward to that moment when "there shall be no death" (Revelation 21:4).

What is spiritual death?

Everyone should want to know what it means to be spiritually dead because we are all born spiritually dead. Because of Adam's fall, sin and death entered a previously perfect and pristine world (Romans 5:12). This death was not merely physical, but also spiritual. All mankind born after the fall inherited a sinful nature and is therefore spiritually stillborn (Psalm 51:5). To be spiritually dead does not mean to be without the faculties of intellect, affection, or will. Our minds, emotions, and wills still function, but they are isolated from God's life. In fact, they are crooked and alienated from God (Isaiah 53:6).

Spiritual death is best understood as alienation or separation of our souls from God. Sin separates us from God, the source of spiritual life and light (Ephesians 2:12). The spiritually dead exist in darkness and in the shadow of death (Luke 1:79).

Because God is holy and sin is offensive to God, our spiritual death is not an amicable separation, but a hostile one (Romans 8:7–8). Scripture describes the spiritually dead as enemies of God (Romans 5:10). The penalty for sin is death (Romans 3:23), and therefore the spiritually dead are cursed and condemned for not fulfilling God's law (Galatians 3:10), and God's wrath awaits them (Romans 2:5). In fact, they are dead men walking.

To be spiritually dead means to be insensitive to the things of God and to be ignorant of spiritual realities (1 Corinthians 2:14).

A spiritually dead person does not love God and cannot please God (Romans 8:8). In fact, they want to please themselves, not God (Philippians 2:21). They may appear to be doing good deeds from an outside perspective, in the sense that their actions conform to the letter of the law. However, these facts do not conform to the spirit of the law because they are not motivated by a desire to please and glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31). The spiritually dead can look beautiful on the outside and inside they are filled with death, like whitewashed tombs (Matthew 23:27–28).

Thankfully, God has not left us in this state of spiritual death. Because of His great love for us, God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who is the resurrection and the life, into this dark and mortal world to die for us (Romans 5:8; John 11:25). Ephesians 2:1–7 says, "Once upon a time you were DEAD in your transgressions and sins, in which you walked according to the powers of this world. They conducted themselves according to the one who rules the darkness, according to the spirit that now exercises its power in those who live in disobedience. At that time we also all lived like them, driven by our sinful desires, following our own will and our purposes. Like everyone else, we were by nature the object of God's wrath. But GOD, who is rich in mercy, out of His great LOVE for us, GAVE US LIFE with Christ, even when we were dead in sins. By grace you have been saved! And in union with Christ Jesus, God raised us up and made us sit with him in the heavenly places, to show in the ages to come the incomparable riches of his grace, which in his goodness he poured out upon us in Christ Jesus."

Jesus reversed the effects of sin and death. He broke down the wall of separation between us and God and killed the hostility that existed by offering Himself as a peace offering (Ephesians 2:13-19). Jesus healed the curse of the law and death by taking the condemnation we deserved upon Himself on the cross of Calvary (Galatians 3:13). In Him we can be "born again" and revived (John 3). There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ, those who have received Him by faith (Romans 8:1; John 1:12).

He has removed the sting of death through His own death and resurrection and has promised eternal life to all who believe in Him (1 Corinthians 15:21; 54–57; John 3:16). Those of us who are separated from God can draw near to Him. Those of us who were hostile to God can now love Him. Those of us who live under the condemnation of the law have been set free and empowered to walk in joyful obedience to God. Those of us who were under the curse of death have been given the gift of eternal life to enjoy with Christ, who is our life (Colossians 3:4). "Praise be to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that we may have a living hope" (1 Peter 1:3).

What is Second Death or Second Death?

The Bible describes the second death as eternal damnation.

In the book of Revelation:

Comment: When a person dies whose faith has been with Jesus until the last day, a Christian person, his soul, his spirit goes into the presence of God (The immaterial part. 2 Corinthians 5:7-8) and his body which is the material part remains on earth (John 5:28-29). Example:

When Jesus was transfigured, Elijah and Moses were on a par with him.

Here it is clearly seen that the immaterial part of the person goes into the presence of God.

In the event of the rapture (rapture) of the Church, those who have died in Christ will rise first, and those who are alive will follow later. Christ is the firstborn among many brethren who has risen up and he will give us glorified bodies like his.

Verse 23, "And not only she, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body."

Verse 29

"For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren."

Now since we know that Christ was the firstborn, the dead in Christ will rise first. And they will rise up with a glorified body, now is when the material rises but glorified and unites with the immaterial part (this is what John 5:28-29 was referring to) and then we in the clouds to receive the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.