THE BIBLE ON PRAYING FOR THE DEAD

“God tried them and found them worthy of Himself.”—Wisdom 3:5

According to the Bible, what happens to us when we die? The Bible seems to imply that some people immediately go to heaven after death. Jesus told the good thief: “This day you will be with Me in paradise” (Lk 23:43). It seems logical that some people also immediately go to hell, although nowhere in the Bible is this stated explicitly. The Bible does say: “It is appointed that men die once, and after death be judged” (Heb 9:27).

The Bible does indicate that some of the dead do not go immediately to heaven or hell. Judas Maccabeus provided “an expiatory sacrifice” for the soldiers who had died for the Jewish faith (2 Mc 12:43). It would be useless to make offerings for people in heaven or hell (see Lk 16:26), so these people must be on the way to heaven. We should pray for the dead as the Spirit leads.

Prayer: Father, may I pray for the dead as did the Christians of the New Testament.

Promise: Father, may I pray for the dead as did the Christians of the New Testament.

Praise: “For if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death” (2 Mc 12:44).