Most of the world does not believe there is life after death or that Christ died and was resurrected.   Yet He met with hundreds of people as witnesses. In fact the Apostle Paul wrote to Christians in Corinth and told them.  If you doubt it, there are over 500 people, many still alive, who will testify to His death and resurrection.  How easy it is for so many to deny history.  Why?

I Corinthians 15:5 – 8 – “He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve.  After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.  Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.  Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.”  NLT

Everyone knew that Christ was crucified and that the tomb in which they buried Him was empty.  History tells us that they paid money to those guarding the tomb to say that His disciples came and stole the body.  That time in history if a guard let a prisoner escape it was his life.  The guards were told that they would be protected only if they lied about how the tomb became empty.  Matthew 28:6 – “He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.” There will always be people who do not believe Jesus was resurrected.  Even Jesus’ own brother James and family did not believe.  This is why Jesus went to His brother James after the resurrection.  James then became a follower and headed the Christian Church in Jerusalem.  He told His disciples that He would be resurrected after three days and three nights.   This was further proof that He was the Son of God.

Paul, in his letter to the Corinth church, pointed out how essential the resurrection of Jesus was. If we did not believe there was life after death, then the world would have no need for any morality.  Imagine what the world would be like.

To emphasize the importance of the resurrection, ten of the remaining eleven Apostles and Paul we believe died violet deaths. John the author of the book of John, the three epistles of John and Revelations was exiled to the mines on a small prison island called Patmos and lived in a cave. John was boiled in oil and lived. Later he was release and died a peaceful death in today’s Turkey.  One of the Apostles, Judas Iscariot, did not believe Jesus was the Son of God, committed suicide and ended up in hell according to history and Scripture.

As for the others the Bible records only the death of James found in Acts 12.2.  He was put to death by the sword.  We believe Peter was crucified upside down on an “X” shaped cross according to Jesus’ prophecy in John 21:18 & 19.  Matthew suffered martyrdom and was killed by a sword in Ethiopia.  Nathanael was beaten to death by whipping.  The apostle Thomas was stabbed to death.  James, not the brother of Jesus but John’s brother, was thrown from the upper part of the temple because he refused to deny his belief that Christ was who He said He was.  Matthew was stoned to death. Andrew was crucified.  Philip was martyred in Turkey. Bartholomew was skinned alive. Jude was martyred.  The apostle Paul was beheaded by Nero.  When we take what we believe are facts that those closest to Jesus were willing to die a martyr’s death it leads us to believe there was no doubt in their mind that Jesus was the Son of God. Would these apostles be willing to die for a lie?

Dr. Raymond Moody who has interviewed many who have had a near death experience stated the following:  “They say they become aware of what’s described as a tunnel, a passageway, a portal, and they go into this tunnel, and when they come out, they come out into a very brilliant, warm, loving and accepting light. People at this point describe such amazing feelings of peace and comfort. In this light they say that relatives or friends of theirs who have already died seem to be there to meet them and to greet them and to help them through this transition. Another thing they’ll often tell us is that at this point they are met by some religious figure — Christians say Christ, Jews say God or an angel. They say in this setting that this being, in effect, asks them a question, and they all say that words can’t convey it — that communication in this position does not take place through words as you and I are now using, but rather in the form of an immediate awareness. The way they summarize this question, or try to put it into words, is they say that he asks, in effect, “What have you done with your life? How have you learned to love?” At this point, they say, they undergo a detailed review of everything they have ever done in their lives. This is displayed around them, they tell us, in the form of a full-color, three-dimensional panorama, and it involves every detail of their life, they say, from the point of their birth right up to the point of this close call with death”.  Eight million Americans have had this experience.

So what do we know happens after death?  Prior to the resurrection of Christ, when a person died under the Old Covenant, both believers and non-believers went to Sheol (Hell or Hades).  It was a temporary dwelling place for the soul.  Luke describes a story that Jesus told in Luke 16:19 -26.  The story concerned a rich man and Lazarus a beggar.  They both died and went to Sheol.  However, one went to Abraham’s bosom or Paradise and the other went to a “place of torment”.  The rich man who was in agony saw Lazarus standing beside Abraham.  He called out to Abraham and asked that he have pity on him and have Lazarus dip the tip of his finger in water and cool the rich man’s tongue.  Abraham stated there was a great chasm between them and that he could not get to the place of torment from Paradise.  Meaning once you are in the place of torment you could not cross over.  Many believe the chasm between them was the Abyss or the Bottomless Pit where the most evil spirits are housed until the end of the thousand year reign Christ has upon this earth.

You have a choice.  Either there is life after death or there is not.  How willing are you to gamble on there not being another life after death?  Or, would you bet there is no hell or place of torment?  There are some so arrogant that they just don’t care.  Instant gratification for them is more beneficial than what happens later.  They feel they can deal with anything that happens in the future.  There are others that Satan has made their hearts harder than shoe leather through constant deception and they are unwilling to accept the truth that there is life after death.

Because the world is full of doubters, I suppose God knew that it would take at least 500 witnesses seeing a person dieing and then three days later coming back to life and then telling others that there is life after death.  How else could you ever convince these many unbelievers?  A miracle of this magnitude could only be accomplished by God to prove that Jesus was the Son of God and He did authenticate, to those with faith, that there is life after death.

After death and when you are shown every detail that happened from your birth until death, will you be pleased or disappointed?  Wouldn’t you want to know that all of your sins have been forgiven as you watch your life pass by?