There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in
purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which
was laid at his gate, full of sores,
And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell
from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and
licked his sores.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was
carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich
man also died, and was buried;
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and
seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy
on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his
finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented
in this flame.
But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy
lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise
Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou
art tormented.
And beside all this, between us and you there is a great
gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to
you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come
from thence.
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou
wouldest send him to my father’s house:
For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest
they also come into this place of torment.
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the
prophets; let them hear them.
And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto
them from the dead, they will repent.
And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the
prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose
from the dead.

Luke 16:19-31

One of the most important questions to ask yourself is: “What
will happen to me when I die?” This is a question that cannot be
easily answered by university lecturers or schoolteachers. There
are no textbooks that boldly and adequately answer the question
of what happens to a man when he dies. The Bible is the only
book that confidently answers this controversial and difficult
question.
Both the rich and the poor will die. The Bible declares that
after death there will be judgment. Rich men are likely to live
longer than the poor. However, both will eventually die. Death
is the leveller that will level out things for both the rich and the
poor.

Fifteen Things That Will Happen When You Die

1. When you die you will either go to heaven or hell.
The rich man went to hell and Lazarus went to heaven. You
will not just stop existing! You are not just converted into a piece
of meat! You will head for a permanent destination away from
this earth – heaven or hell.

And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried
by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also
died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being
in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in
his bosom.

Luke 16:22-23

2. For those going to heaven, you will be escorted by
angels from this earth into the presence of God and
into heaven.

This is what happened to Lazarus and I expect nothing less
than a similar angelic escort for all of us who know the Lord.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was
CARRIED BY THE ANGELS INTO ABRAHAM’S
BOSOM: …
Luke 16:22

3. For those going to hell; you will not be escorted by
angels. You will be met on arrival by evil spirits and
other dead people.

This will be one of the most unpleasant experiences of your
life. Your arrival into the permanent abode of darkness, demons
and wicked fallen beings will not be noticed. Hell will be moved
to meet you at your coming.

HELL FROM BENEATH IS MOVED FOR THEE TO
MEET THEE at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for
thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up
from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
Isaiah 14:9

4. For those going to hell, you will descend and go
downwards. Hell is below. Hell is beneath us.
The scripture says, “Hell from beneath is moved for thee”.
That is why the rich man had to lift us his eyes to see Abraham
afar off. The rich man was down below and Lazarus was up
above him.

And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried
by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also
died, and was buried; And in hell he LIFT UP HIS EYES,
being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus
in his bosom.
Luke 16:22-23

5. When you die you will discover that you have a
spiritual body, which is what the Bible refers to as the
inward man.

When Jesus told the story of Lazarus, he referred to different
body parts such as the tongue, the finger and the eyes. It is
evident that there is another man within. This inward man will
live forever; either in heaven or in hell.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me,
and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his FINGER
in water, and cool my TONGUE; for I am tormented in
this flame.
Luke 16:24

6. If you go to hell when you die, you will find yourself in
a prison where there is endless unimaginable distress
and torment with intolerable agony.

The endless nature of the agonies of hell is depicted by the
worm that does not die and the fire that is not quenched.
And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for
thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to
go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Where their WORM DIETH NOT, and the FIRE IS NOT
QUENCHED.
Mark 9:43-44

7. If you go to hell when you die you will discover a place
where people scream and cry for a drop of water.

Nobody asks for a bottle of water in hell. No one asks whether
the water is cold or not. No one asks for ice. No one even asks
for a small glass of water. Just a drop of water would make all
the difference in hell. I honestly cannot imagine what kind of
place hell is.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on
me, and send Lazarus, that he may DIP THE TIP OF HIS
FINGER IN WATER, AND COOL MY TONGUE; for I
am tormented in this flame.
Luke 16:24

8. If you go to hell when you die you will discover a
place of unbelievable and indescribable anguish and
torment.

And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on
me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger
in water, and cool my tongue; for I AM TORMENTED in
this flame.
Luke 16:24

9. When you die you will discover that many people who
received good things on earth will receive evil things
in hell and many people who received evil things on
earth will receive good things in heaven.

Many who suffered on earth will be happy and many who
received evil things on earth will receive good things in heaven.
But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime
receivedst thy GOOD THINGS, and likewise Lazarus
EVIL THINGS: but now he is comforted, and thou art
tormented.
Luke 16:25

10. When you die you will discover that the first shall be
last and the last shall be first.

In hell, the poor man was in a better place than the rich man.
There was a complete reversal of status. The rich man was down,
down, down! The rich man was powerless! The rich man was
suffering! The rich man needed water! The rich man needed
help! The rich man was crying out of his pain and his need!
Do you remember that all these things were happening to the
poor man on earth? On earth, the poor man was down, down,
down, needing help, and needing water. On earth, the poor man
was powerless as he suffered and cried out in pain from his sores.
The words of Jesus will come to pass with such frightening
accuracy, making nonsense of all the things we valued whilst on
earth.
But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy
lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise
Lazarus evil things: but NOW HE IS COMFORTED,
AND THOU ART TORMENTED.
Luke 16:25

11. When you die, your circumstances will change
radically.

If you were a rich man who used to send people on errands,
you will no longer be able to do that. In the story that Jesus told,
the rich man tried to send the poor man Lazarus on an errand, but
he was blocked. Things had changed and the rich man was no
longer allowed to have his own way. What a drastic change of
circumstances.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, HAVE MERCY
ON ME, AND SEND LAZARUS, that he may dip the
tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am
tormented in this flame.
Luke 16:24

12. When you die you will remember everything that
happened on earth.

You will remember the opportunities you had. You will
remember the messages you heard. You will remember your
sins, and you will remember the altar calls you did not respond
to. You will wish you had lived your life with the reality of
heaven and hell always on your heart.
But Abraham said, SON, REMEMBER that thou in
thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise
Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art
tormented.
Luke 16:25

13. When you die you will discover that there is a big gap
between heaven and hell.

People cannot cross over from hell to heaven no matter who
they are and no matter how much money they had on earth. If
you want to cross into heaven, you must cross now because you
cannot transfer when you die. This reality will be difficult for
people who are used to taking advantage of their connections and
friends in high places to get what they want. There will be no one
in any high place to contact.
One of my children was privileged to gain admission into a
prestigious school in Ghana. This school originally only had
the capacity for two hundred and fifty children but it has been
expanded to house one thousand, five hundred children. After
the school had admitted the new entrants who really qualified,
other students were mysteriously added to the school population
everyday. My child told me how a new student arrived in the
school every single day. Every one in the school knew that these
were children who were connected to the rich and powerful in the
Ghanaian society.

People who live in the African world are so used to getting
things done through “whom you know”. The reality of heaven
and hell will be a great shock to this African culture. People
cannot be transferred from hell to heaven every week because of
whom they know. Salvation will be through the blood of Jesus
and not through “whom you know”.

And beside all this, between us and you there is a GREAT
GULF FIXED: so that they which would pass from hence
to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come
from thence.
Luke 16:26

14. When you die you will discover the importance of
evangelists who go all over the world preaching the
gospel.

You will appreciate the value of gospel crusades, evangelistic
breakfast meetings, gospel concerts, Christian literature and
tracts, and Christian television outreach programs. You will wish
there had been more of these highly criticized preachers. You
will wish you could swallow any words of criticism you have
ever uttered against pastors and evangelists.
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou
wouldest SEND HIM TO MY FATHER’S HOUSE: For

I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest
they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith
unto him, they have Moses and the prophets; let them hear
them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went
unto them from the dead, they will repent.
Luke 16:27-30

15. When you die you will only be concerned about people
not going to hell.

One day, you will not care about your money or your property.
Today, most ministers of the gospel do not have the drive for soul
winning that the rich man had when he was in hell. One day, you
will be glad that Jesus Christ came to die on the cross to shed His
Blood for you. You will be glad that God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life.
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou
wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five
brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come
into THIS PLACE OF TORMENT.
Luke 16:27-28