No One Can Know What Happens After Death

I recall witnessing to three young men on the Boardwalk at Ocean City, MD.

The Boardwalk is a great place to share the gospel for several reasons, mainly because it is crowded most of the summer.

One evangelist said, "Let others gather the lost, we'll witness to them."

The beach, the sun, the sand... God's creation helps gather so many people, but so do the bars, the prospect of meeting people of the opposite sex, late nights out, and other not-so wholesome activities.

This particular night was clear and warm. I began the conversation by handing these teenagers a tract and asking if I could ask them an interesting question. When they said, "Sure." I asked, "What do you think happens when you die?"

This is a great way to share the gospel, originally taught to me by Mark Cahill (markcahill.org). Mark's book, "One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven" is filled with stories and tips for sharing the gospel.

One of these teens, clearly a skeptic, replied sarcastically, "No one can know what happens when you die. No one has ever come back to tell us."

Really?

The Bible says that after placing Christ's body in a tomb and sealing it with a rock that could only be moved with significant effort, two Roman guards were placed at the entrance. This was a time when guards knew that any prisoner who escaped meant they would be punished in the same way the prisoner was scheduled to be punished. In this case, the guards would be put to death. These guys were motivated to do their best to ensure no one moved the stone and disturbed this grave site!

But what happened three days later? The tomb was empty. Christ was gone!

This was astounding enough. But the Bible also tells us that Jesus appeared several times after this, including once when Peter looked closely at His wounds, and once when Christ stood in front of more than 500 people.

These facts were written down and disseminated at a time when these witnesses were still alive, meaning they could be interviewed for verification, or they could dispute the reports. None ever did. No doubter at the time challenged these facts either.

So, the next time someone says to you, "No one can know what happens after death..." just give them the facts.

One did!

See Matthew 28:9-10; Mark 16:12; John 20:11-18, 20:24-29, 23:1-23; Luke 24:13-32, and especially Matthew 28:16-20 and I Corinthians 15:6