Originally Posted by
Raven
After death it will have already been too late. We have several Bible passages that clearly state that everyone who dies will face judgment once they depart from the physical world e.g. Heb.9:27: “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment”. Death is final, and there are only two destinies, heaven and hell, reward or condemnation, based on premortem conditions (Matt.7:21–23;13:36–43; John5:28–29). Revelation 20:11–15 describes the Great White Throne judgment:
"Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and qbooks were opened. Then another book was opened, which is rthe book of life. And sthe dead were judged by what was written in the books, taccording to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is wthe second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
This indicates that our eternal destiny is based on our earthly life. Or take the parable of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke16:19–31 as another example. "The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side." (v. 22–23).
Luke 16:26 notes, "And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us."
Catholics have the purgatory, a transitional place where souls can dwell to pay for their sins and later reach heaven, however this has no biblical basis, it is rather a Catholic tradition, and one that has been unfortunately abused for materialistic and corrupt purposes, such as the selling of indulgences to the family members of those "trapped" in purgatory.
Finally, salvation is not only linked to our eternal faith but it is also a life-altering decision, so not something to put off for later in life or for the deathbed. Christians should seek to obtain it sooner than later. (2 Corinthians 6:2 "For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation). We only have one lifetime, which is short as it is, but as long as we are alive, we have unlimited occasions to be receive justification, we only have to accept Jesus's sacrifice on the cross (John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 16:31). God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4). Once we die though, that's it. (Physical) death seals our eternal destiny.
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