Perhaps you have had a grandparent, parent or somebody else you love die. It makes you really, really sad, doesn’t it? What happens to a person when they die? Do they go to heaven or hell? Have you ever wondered what it is like to die? Is it anything to be afraid of? Let’s let the Bible give us the answer.

We don’t need to be afraid of death if God is with us. Look in the Bible in Psalm 23:4, TLB. "Even when walking through the dark valley of death I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me, guarding, guiding all the way."

Do good people go to heaven when they die? No, you’ll find from the Bible that people do not go either to heaven or hell at death. They go to their graves to await the resurrection day. Look in John 5:28, 29. “All that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth.” Even King David, the author of Psalms isn’t in heaven. You’ll find it in Acts 2:29, 34 “David. . .is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day.” “For David is not ascended into the heavens.”

What is death like? You’ll find that it is like falling asleep, so look in the Bible in, I Thessalonians 4:13, NIV. "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope." and in John 11:11-14, NIV. "After He had said this, He went on to tell them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.’ His disciples replied, ‘Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.’ Jesus had been speaking of his death, but His disciples thought He meant natural sleep. So then He told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead’."

Where are the dead sleeping? You’ll find the answer in, Daniel 12:2, NIV. "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake."

So if the dead are sleeping, do they know anything? For the fascinating answer see Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10, NIV. "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun... Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom."

What does Jesus promise those who die? It’s in the Bible, Hosea 13:14, NIV. "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death."

Is death the end of life forever? If you’ll look in Isaiah 26:19 you’ll find the answer, NIV. "But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy."

What happens to the good people when Jesus comes again? The good news is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17. “The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, …and the dead in Christ shall rise…and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

Will my grandpa, who died from cancer, be raised with the same cancer? You’ll discover the answer to that good question in 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, TLB. “But I am telling you this strange and wonderful secret: we shall not all die, but we shall all be given new bodies! It will all happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For there will be a trumpet blast from the sky, and all the Christians who have died will suddenly become alive, with new bodies that will never, never die; and then we who are still alive shall suddenly have new bodies too. For our earthly bodies, the ones we have now that can die, must be transformed into heavenly bodies that cannot perish but will live forever.”

What will our resurrected bodies be like? Discover the answer in Philippians 3:20-21, NIV. "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body."

Will the people who are resurrected have to die again? The good news about the friends of God is found in Luke 20:36, NIV. "And they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection."

So is everyone who is resurrected going to go to heaven? The Bible tells us that both good and evil people are resurrected. Discover this truth in John 5:28-29, NIV. "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out--those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned."

How long do the wicked wait after the first resurrection before they are raised? This Bible truth is found in Revelation 20:4-5, NIV. "They [the righteous] came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.)"

What happens to the wicked people who are resurrected? You’ll find their fate in Revelation 20:9, NIV. "Fire came down from heaven and devoured them."

Who are the wicked? Anyone who doesn’t give their sins to Jesus is called “wicked” in the Bible. You’ll find it in Revelation 21:8, NIV. "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

Is there any hope for the wicked? The Bible tells us that the time to choose God is while we are still alive. Look in 2 Corinthians 6:1, 2, TLB. “As God's partners, we beg you not to toss aside this marvelous message of God's great kindness. For God says, "Your cry came to me at a favorable time, when the doors of welcome were wide open. I helped you on a day when salvation was being offered." Right now God is ready to welcome you. Today he is ready to save you.”

How is anybody saved from the death of the wicked? John 3:16-18, TLB. “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. There is no eternal doom awaiting those who trust him to save them. But those who don't trust him have already been tried and condemned for not believing in the only Son of God.”