What Happens When We Die?
We Know the Answer to the Question Everyone Is Asking
Editor’s Note: Just before our culture has its Halloween celebrations (is that what they are called?), and before the church observes All Saints/Souls Day, it is time to think about the only thing that is certain in life (besides taxes).
Death.
Your death.
Mine too.
Christians have THE answer to THE most asked question EVER and yet, do not engage the topic with much conviction or confidence.
In the edition of The Anglican, let’s look at the question that is on everyone’s mind—or will be sooner or later. What Happens When We Die?
Death Talk
Christians should talk about death.
Preachers should preach about death.
If you think about it, we’re the only ones who really can—or should.
Our Lord and Savior died—and then lived to tell about it!
Every person, sooner or later, faces the same question: What happens after we die? The question may come in a hospital room, or at a graveside, or in the quiet hours of the night when sleep won’t come. The concern rises like a tide, and no amount of denial holds it back.
What becomes of me?
Where do I go?
Will I go on?
Where? How?
It is not a new question. The early Christians asked it too. They were so young in the faith, and the church so new in formation, that it was on everyone’s mind. The topic was raised in Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians. But most explicitly, we find it of grave concern (!) to the Christians in Corinth.
Paul had planted the Corinth church and lived among its members for eighteen months, teaching them the gospel, breaking bread, sharing life. But after he left, doubt began to creep in. Some wondered if death was the end. Others weren’t sure what “resurrection” even meant.
The question haunted them, and Paul, the consummate pastor, answered it with confidence and clarity in his first letter: We will be raised because Christ has been raised.
If Jesus hadn’t been raised, Paul said, then we are fools—chasing smoke, clinging to air. Vapor talk.
But He did. And that changes everything.
Go Here to Read 1 Corinthians 15. Most of the chapter deal with this question. Read it slowly and imaginatively. Consider my comments below on how to read Scripture with a metaphor mindset.
The World That Wasn’t Meant to Die
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul takes us all the way back to Adam to remind us that death wasn’t part of God’s original design. It came through sin—a single act of disobedience that fractured creation. We’ve all inherited that fracture, every one of us.
But then came another man, the “second Adam”—Christ Himself. He absorbed death, destroyed it from the inside out, and opened a new way to life. Those who belong to Him will share His destiny.
What happened to Jesus is the pattern for what will happen to us.
The Seed and the Splendor
Paul says dying is like planting a seed. You bury something small, hard, and lifeless—but what grows from it is beyond imagination. “What is sown perishable,” Paul says, “is raised imperishable. What is sown in weakness is raised in power.”
Our future selves will not just be improved versions of who we are now. They’ll be glorified—transformed. As different from this life as an oak tree is from the acorn that fell into the soil. What goes into the ground is frail and failing; what comes out is radiant and strong.
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The Only Man Who Knows
Most religions talk about life after death. Only Christianity points to evidence. We are the ones who have a leader/teacher who died and then lived to tell us about it!
Jesus Christ actually died.
He was buried.
And on the third day, He rose again.
He was seen by eyewitnesses.
He was heard, touched, and worshiped.
If we want to know what happens when we die, we should look at what happened to Him.
The New Testament records twelve distinct post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. Each one is like a window—showing us not only that He is alive, but what life itself will look like when we are raised with Him.
Each of the twelve appearances tell us something about what awaits the faithful beyond the veil.
Before we look at these twelve resurrection appearances, it’s important to understand how biblical truth comes to us.
Read Scripture with a Metaphor Mindset
If your English teacher did a good job, you might remember that a metaphor isn’t just fancy language—it’s a bridge. It carries meaning from something we know to something we need to understand. (That’s what the word means: to carry across.)
The Bible is full of these bridges. The Lord is my shepherd. You are the light of the world. Each one takes us from what’s familiar to what’s eternal.
Paul does the same thing when he talks about death. He compares it to planting a seed. What goes into the ground looks small and lifeless, but what comes out is beyond imagination. You bury an acorn, and what rises is an oak tree—strong, rooted, magnificent.
He’s showing us that death is not destruction; it’s transformation. What’s sown perishable is raised imperishable. What’s sown in weakness is raised in power. What’s sown as a natural body is raised a spiritual body.
Paul is painting a picture, not writing a formula. The seed and the oak aren’t the same, but they’re connected. The acorn has to fall and die before it can become what it was always meant to be.
That’s what death is for those in Christ—not an ending, but a beginning. Not a loss, but a change. The seed dies, and the tree lives.
With that in mind, please consider the twelve resurrection appearances in the Gospels and the Book of Acts.
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Twelve Encounters with the Risen Lord:
What the appearances of Jesus teach us about life after death
1. Mary Magdalene in the Garden
(John 20:11–18)
Mary mistakes Jesus for the gardener—until He says her name.
Meaning: Eternal life begins with recognition. We will know and be known.
Therefore, we can be confident that the believing people we know in this world will be recognizable in the next, as will we. Resurrection does not dissolve relationships; it restores them in their purest form. Love survives the grave.
2. The Women on the Road
(Matthew 28:8–10)
They fall at His feet and worship.
Meaning: He still bears the marks of humanity. Resurrection does not erase identity; it glorifies it.
The body we are given will still be us—redeemed, radiant, and whole. Our scars may become signs of grace rather than shame.
3. Peter is Restored
(Luke 24:34)
Private restoration after public failure.
Meaning: Heaven begins with mercy. The first word of the risen Christ to a fallen disciple is forgiveness.
That’s what eternity will sound like for all of us—grace whispered over our regret. No failure on earth can outlast His compassion.
4. The Two on the Road to Emmaus|
(Luke 24:13–35)
They walk and talk with Him, but only recognize Him when He breaks bread.
Meaning: Resurrection life is centered on communion. Fellowship, conversation, and the shared table remain holy in the next world.
The Lord still delights to reveal Himself where hearts are burning with hope and desire to know and bread is broken. Heaven will feel like home because He will make Himself known at the table.
5. The Ten Disciples in the Upper Room (John 20:19–23)
He passes through locked doors but still eats fish with them.
Meaning: The risen body is physical yet free. It is real, tangible, and whole—but unbound by the limits of this fallen world. We won’t become ghosts; we’ll become glorified. Heaven is not escape from the material but its perfection.
6. The Doubting Thomas (John 20:24–29)
“Put your hand here.”
Meaning: Faith and evidence meet. The life to come is not vague or mystical—it is concrete and embodied. Thomas teaches us that doubt can become worship when touched by truth. Even the slowest believer will one day fall to his knees and say, “My Lord and my God.”
7. Seven by the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1–14)
A charcoal fire, breakfast, conversation.
Meaning: Heaven will not abolish creation—it will fulfill it. Work, food, friendship, and joy will all be redeemed. In the new creation, ordinary moments—like cooking breakfast—will shine with the glory of God.
8. The Disciples on the Mountain (Matthew 28:16–20)
He gives them the Great Commission.
Meaning: Eternity begins with purpose, not passivity.
The risen Christ sends His followers into history. Even now, we live between His resurrection and ours, called to make disciples and extend His kingdom. Heaven’s citizens already have work to do.
9. More Than 500 Believers at Once (1 Corinthians 15:6)
Public proof. Resurrection is not a rumor.
Meaning: The future kingdom will be communal. A multitude, not solitude. Heaven is not isolation—it’s reunion. We will join the great congregation of the redeemed, the communion of saints, worshiping together forever.
10. James (1 Corinthians 15:7)
His skeptical brother becomes a believer.
Meaning: In glory, doubts turn to devotion.
Even the hardest hearts can change when they encounter the living Christ. For every skeptic we love, this is our hope: one sight of the risen Lord can undo a lifetime of disbelief. (And remember also that at the moment of the Great Commission, there were some who worshipped Jesus when they saw Jesus. But we are also told “some doubted”. (Matthew 28)
11. The Ascension (Luke 24:50–53; Acts 1:9–11)
He blesses them as He rises.
Meaning: Heaven is not “up there,” but “with Him.”
Where He is, we shall be also. He ascended not to abandon us but to prepare a place for us. The blessing He gave as He departed is the same one that greets us when we arrive.
12. Saul on the Road to Damascus (Acts 9:1–9)
Even an enemy can meet the risen Lord.
Meaning: Resurrection power can reach into rebellion and turn it into mission.
No one is beyond redemption. If Christ can raise up a persecutor and make him an apostle, He can raise up any of us to new life and new purpose.
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Every resurrection appearance tells us something eternal. Together they give us a portrait of heaven—personal, embodied, relational, radiant, and real.
What These Encounters Tell Us
Do you see what the New Testament is telling us about our death in the Lord? From these appearances we learn that in the life to come there will be:
Continuity: The risen Jesus was still Himself. So will we be.
Fellowship: We will join with others
Recognition: Relationships endure; love is not erased.
Transformation: Our bodies will be real but radiant, mortal turned immortal.
Purpose: Life in eternity is not static bliss but worship, fellowship, and service.
Presence: The center of it all is Jesus Himself. Heaven is not primarily a place—it’s His presence.
So What Happens When We Die?
So what really happens when we die?
We don’t fall into darkness. We don’t vanish. We walk through a doorway. And on the other side are the saints of God, the light of the Father, and the joy of the Son who conquered the grave.
As All Saints’ Day approaches, we stop to remember those who have gone before us in faith. They are not shadows fading from view. They are citizens of a kingdom already breaking into this world.
They are not lost. They are alive. Alive in Christ.
And one day, we’ll join them. Our mortal bodies will be raised in glory. Every tear wiped away. Every wound healed. Faith will become sight.
That’s not wishful thinking. That’s the promise.
The Final Word
Paul said it best, and one day we’ll say it with him:
“Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?”
Until that trumpet sounds, we live without fear.
Because we already know the answer to the question everyone is asking.
We live because He lives.
Grace and peace,
The Anglican is the Substack newsletter for LeaderWorks, where I share insights, encouragement, and practical tools for clergy and lay Christians. I’m also an author of over a dozen books available on Amazon.
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Your summary of the twelve appearances is really helpful. I was recently listening to a couple of podcasts where the author and sociologist Charles Murray was interviewed regarding a book he has written describing his personal journey from intellectual agnosticism to Christianity, somewhat of a CS Lewis like journey which apparently is still unfolding. He even admits that the writings of Lewis were influential in his own journey. However, at the end of an interview with political columnist Jonah Goldberg, he admitted that he has difficulty with the Nicene and Apostles' Creeds because of difficulty with the idea of bodily resurrection of Christ. I thought at the time of the writing of the Apostle Paul who said, "If Christ is not raised, your faith is futile...If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied."(1 Cor. 15:17, 19) If Christ is not raised pointing the way to the new creation, our hope as Christians, then our faith is not better than faith in any other great spiritual teacher. I think your excellent summary would give him a lot to ponder. Thanks for an excellent exposition!
Agreed! An enumerated list of how Christ met with others, others saw him, experienced Him, and witnessed Him in His resurrection glory! How wonderful to have that information under my belt — and it’s not even Easter yet;). And such a hopeful sign of what’s to come even in our physical death—it took heavy arthritis pain for me to stop & read this..😂. Now my heart is joyful! Thanks David🙏