Eternity to Ponder

Week of 3-7-2010

by Dr. Dennis Prutow

Death does not end human existence.  We are creatures with bodies and immortal souls.  Animals are not like us. They have bodies but do not have eternal souls.  Angels are beings that do not have bodies.  They are pure spirits.  Humans are beings that have both bodies and everlasting souls.

Death is separation of body and soul. Rachel died during childbirth. “It came about as her soul was departing (for she died)....” (Genesis 35:18).  In like manner, Jesus Christ also died on the cross. “Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, Into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ Having said this, He breathed His last” (Luke 23:46).

What happens to the soul after death, after separation from the body?  The souls of believers, like that of Jesus, pass immediately into glory. To be “absent from the body” is to be “at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).

On the other hand, there is the alternative. Jesus spoke of a rich man who died and was buried. “In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment” (Luke 16:23).

One of the most popular verses in the Bible gives us the lay of this eternal landscape. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

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