Chapter 5 Death and the Ages to Come

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21 

We die. It’s inevitable. None of us live on this planet forever!

Is there a way to understand death in the logic of love?

If Earth is the place where living creatures are born, how do we fly this nest? If, as the Bible promises, eons lie ahead of us, there must be a way of advancing to the next age. Perhaps death should be seen merely as the door by which we exit our current life and enter into the future that God has designed for us?

As we have seen in the previous chapter, life in this current age involves suffering. Some forms of suffering stem from human moral failure, immaturity and ignorance, whereby we allow the natural desires that God has given us to become twisted and distorted. Others are the result of natural disasters, which we believe are an essential part of the way this planet functions but can be exacerbated by our lack of care and understanding of the natural world.

Despite our experience of hardship and suffering, death often appears to us as a tragedy. But could death actually be a mercy – one that takes us out of this brief existence where we have made our start as beings? Might it in fact be a vital part of the future that God has planned for us? Maybe death is just the end of one sentence in a very long paragraph?

Not that we should seek death. We should live to do all we can to assist in the multiplication and improvement of the human race. Life is a precious gift.  Many who have recorded their near-death experiences say that they were told to return to complete their mission. It may be better to be with Jesus, but we have a God-given desire to be here for as long as possible (Philippians 1:22-24).

Many Christians believe that death is a curse and the consequence of ‘the fall’ when Adam and Eve first sinned, bringing death, pain and suffering into this previously ‘deathless’ world. However, this raises huge challenges to how we understand natural history. From crustaceans to dinosaurs and the myriad of mammals that have been discovered in fossils, it is clear that death was already part of life on Earth long before humans arrived on the scene.

Death brings much grief and suffering for those left behind. We mourn and miss our loved ones when they die. Death is a great uncertainty, as we don’t know for sure what, if anything, might lie on the other side. Both non-existence and eternal punishment are terrifying concepts for many. No wonder humankind has pondered death and what might await us since time immemorial.

Personally, we are no different. However, we route all our thoughts back through the prism of the good news that Jesus has showed us. He told us that there is an age to come (Matthew 12:32), and his death and resurrection offer us a new way to see death. They are a clear sign that death is not the end and that God is intent on raising his children to new life.

Sooner or later we will die, but Jesus has convinced us that this will not be the end of our story. We believe that God will hold us through death and continue to lead us into maturity in unfailing love. Our temporary bodies must die so that our spirit can be re-housed in a body fit for the process that lies ahead (1 Corinthians 15:35-50).

What might the ages to come look like and how will they be different from our current life? We are absolutely convinced that no one will experience eternity in conscious torment or will spend eternity sitting on a cloud playing a harp. Why would a loving Father design either of these futures for his children? Many reports written by those who have had near-death experiences present an overall impression of being loved and sometimes of meeting those who have previously passed away. Those who describe a ‘hellish’ experience often report being saved from that place by Jesus. Our vision of the afterlife agrees with many of the near-death-experience reports that we have read, including the few that describe their physical environment.

We believe that the environment on the new earth will be similar in some ways to the current Earth. We envisage it will have mountains (Rev 21:10), rivers and trees (Rev 22:1-2). Each person will have an abode (John 14:2) and we will continue to eat and drink (Acts 10:41).

The words of Jesus suggest that there will be no procreation in the ages to come (Matthew 22:30). Without the urge for sex and the desire to procreate many of the problems created by these inbuilt desires becoming twisted and distorted would be removed. This change on its own would make a huge difference and help many to mature more quickly. Does this mean no sex at all on the new earth? We cannot be certain either way. We have removed the possibility of sex in Hope for Everyone, but it’s possible that physical intimacy may manifest itself in new ways – although this would be a highly contentious idea to many!

There will be other changes. Our new bodies will be immortal, and so we will not need to fear that anyone or anything can permanently injure, disfigure or kill us. There will be no hunger or thirst, as our bodies will not require food to survive (although we believe that eating and drinking for enjoyment will still be part of our experience).

There will be no sickness or disease. Viruses and bacteria will no longer mutate, so our bodies will never need to fight off a previously unknown attack.

There will still be physical dangers. We might fall off a cliff, but our bodies will heal from any injury.

However, it will still be possible to suffer. A physical injury will hurt, and the recovery process may be painful. More importantly, emotional hurts will still be possible. We will still have the ability to feel offended, slighted and angry. Learning how to control our emotions and showing forgiveness and mercy to others will be a necessary component of the process towards maturity. Emotions are natural and not wrong; how we manage them is what matters.

We believe that God will exert more influence during the ages to come. Whereas in the current age God rarely interferes, partly because he needs to ensure that the widest possible diversity of people is created, on the new earth he will not be so constrained as no new souls will be created. Only existing souls will be resurrected, each with their core character already determined.

We explore the ways in which the different environment and the increased influence of God in the ages to come cause people to progress towards full maturity in our book Hope for Everyone and the key concepts are described in the later chapters of this booklet.