If the doctrines of hell and purgatory do not properly reflect God's character, what is the truth about the afterlife?

This difficult issue has confused many over the centuries. Paganism has influenced Jewish scholars such as Josephus, who believed that the dead went either to heaven or to hell while they waited for the resurrection. He believed that the righteous were assigned to safety in "Abraham's bosom" while the wicked were confined to a place where they could hear and see the fires of hell. These views are inconsistent with the clear teachings of Scriptures that the "dead know not any thing" (Ecclesiastes 9:5).

Likewise, today's Christian scholars also cling to the doctrine of an immediate afterlife in heaven or in hell. They cite Jesus' promise to the thief on the cross, as well as the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, as evidence that we go to heaven or hell as soon as we die. However, we must study the whole Bible in order to properly understand the context of these two passages.

Nothing written in the Bible will contradict itself. If a concept seems out of line with God's character or with other passages of Scripture, then we are probably not understanding the concept properly in the first place. Read more about how to study the Bible wisely

Scripture simply does not teach an immediate afterlife. The Lazarus that Jesus raised from the dead certainly did not go to heaven or "Abraham's bosom" when he died. In fact, the whole concept of "Abraham's bosom" was a myth circulating in Jesus' time. He used that myth to illustrate a point about the snobbery of some Israelites towards the poor, the outcast, and the Gentiles. in Jesus' time. Read the story

At Pentecost, Peter said, "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us until this day...For David is not ascended into the heavens" (Acts 2:29, 34). If David, who was a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), is not yet in heaven, why would others be?

The Thief on the Cross

One piece of history that has many people confused about the afterlife is the moment that Jesus and the thief spoke to each other before their deaths. Did the thief on the cross pass into heaven the day he died?

The thief said to Christ, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom" (Luke 23:42). He was looking at a future event, asking to be remembered on the day of final rewards. He was looking forward to the Second Coming. Matthew 16:28 refers to Christ "coming in His Kingdom" and in John 14:3 Christ Himself said, "I will come again."

Most modern Bibles translate Jesus' reply to the thief this way: "Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43).

With the comma placed where it is, this verse seems to say that the thief and Jesus would both ascend to heaven that same day. However, Christ said Himself on the Sunday of His resurrection that He had yet not ascended into heaven (John 20:17). If Christ had not ascended to heaven by Sunday, neither had the thief.

The original New Testament was written in Greek unicals, where each word runs into the next without the spacing, stops, or verse breaks we now have. It was only after 1557 AD that verse divisions were introduced to the Biblical writings. Bible translators had to discern the correct placing of verse breaks and commas.

The correct placing of this particular comma in Luke 23:43 is vital to our understanding of the text. If the translators were to place the comma after the "today," the text would be rendered as follows: Verily, I say unto thee today, thou shalt be with me in paradise.

This small change allows harmony between this text and the rest of Scripture's teachings on death. It brings validity instead of confusion to Jesus' post-resurrection statement in that He had not yet ascended to heaven (John 20:17). The thief merely received the promise on the day of his crucifixion that he would be in heaven when the Lord set up His Kingdom.

Several translations do place the comma in this position to give the correct sense. These are the Lamson Version, the Emphasized Bible (by Joseph B. Rotheram of the disciples of Christ), and the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures (Jehovah's Witnesses).

Another difficult text is Luke 16:19-31. Learn more about the controversial parable of Lazarus and the rich man