When You Die, Where Will You Spend Eternity?

Chuck Northrop

The importance of this question should not be underestimated. There are questions which are obviously unimportant, but this is not one of them. When you die, where will you spend eternity?

Notice within this question, death is assumed. It is not a matter of if we will die. It is a matter of when we will die. Hebrews 9:27 says, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” God has given each one of us an assignment of death, and no matter how we try to avoid it, it will ultimately come upon us. So, when you die, where will you spend eternity?

Also assumed within this question is the belief that there is life after death. To some people, this is a contradiction. They think death is the end of life, and therefore how could there be life after death? However by far, most people believe our existence does not end with death. In actuality, death is not the end of life. Death is separation. Physical death is the separation of the spirit and body of man. James wrote, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26). Likewise, spiritual death is being separated from God (Isaiah 59:2). When we pass through physical death, we go from the physical/material world into the spiritual realm of life. With these thoughts in mind, the importance of our question once again comes to light. When you die, where will you spend eternity?

Furthermore, our important question encompasses thoughts about the temporal. This physical/material realm in which we are currently living is a temporal existence. God did not design it to be eternal. It was created to be destroyed. This is true with reference to our bodies as well as the material universe. At the second coming of Jesus, all who are in the grave shall come forth either unto the resurrection of life or the resurrection of damnation (John 5:28-29). During this great resurrection, a great change will take place. “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:53). The corruptible and mortal is our physical existence in which the body decays and is death-bound. Thus, our physical bodies were never intended to be eternal, and at the second coming of Christ, they will be changed to an incorruptible and immortal body. Also, concerning the material universe, Peter wrote, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10). In this passage, the earth is the planet on which we live, and heavens is our atmosphere. Thus, our universe will pass away, melt, and be burned up. In the very next verse, Peter makes some direct application of this concept with a most penetrating question. He asked, “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness” (2 Peter 3:11)? In consideration of these thoughts, we again ask, when you die, where will you spend eternity?

Finally, our important question encompasses thoughts about eternity. As we have previously noted, this physical/material realm in which we are currently living is temporal, but the spiritual realm is eternal. Once a person enters into eternity, he or she will ever be in that realm. There is no returning to this physical/material realm. In the account of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), the rich man was in torments and wanted Lazarus to return to this realm in order to warn his five brothers of the place of torment. However, “Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them” (Luke 16:29). The time of warning is in this life, and God’s inspired word serves that purpose. Abraham goes on to explain, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (Luke 16:31). In other words, if a person will not listen to God’s word which He delivered through His prophets, he or she will not be persuaded by someone who has been raised from the dead. Are you listening? When you die, where will you spend eternity?

Which is more important: the temporal or the eternal? If you are reading this, then you probably know the right answer, but is the right answer your answer, and is it your real answer? The real answer is not necessarily in your words. It is in your actions. Where do you spend most of your efforts, your wealth, and your time? Do you use these in various earthly pursuits or do you use them in preparation for the spiritual realm? Look at your life! Are you honestly preparing for eternity? When you die, where will you spend eternity?

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