--What does the Bible say about what happens after death?
--New Heavens, New Earth, VS. Lake of Fire~

It would be great if all followers of Jesus Christ had the exact same beliefs in regards to what happens after death. As with many other issues, though, there is some disagreement about what happens after death, and when it happens.

Roman Catholics believe in heaven and hell, but also believe in purgatory, sort of a temporary realm of cleansing for some before they are granted entrance into heaven.

Protestant Christians are pretty universal in their rejection of purgatory, but have other disagreements amongst themselves, such as soul sleep, the intermediate state, levels of heaven and hell, etc. These issues have been debated for pretty much all of the 2000 years of Christian church history, and I am not going to settle the debate with a blog post. Let’s save that futile effort for a future blog post.

For now, let’s cut straight to the heart of the matter. What does the Bible say about what happens after death? Simply, if you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, by grace alone, through faith alone, you will spend eternity in heaven. If you do not receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, you will spend eternity in hell (Matthew 25:46).

The side issues of when we arrive at our final and eternal destination and in what form / what location we exist until that time can be debated, with apparent biblical support for varying interpretations. But, the core message of what the Bible says happens after death cannot, or at least should not, be debated. Believers in Jesus Christ will spend eternity in the New Heavens and New Earth described in Revelation chapters 21-22. Unbelievers will spend eternity in the lake of fire described in Revelation 20:14-15. ‘Nuff said!

--GotQuestions.org