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Bible Verses About Death and Heaven

The below Bible verses are a set that were helpful to my family and my mother as she passed away from cancer.  I was reminded of them recently by the deaths and dying of others I know and care for...

If you know a Christian who is in the process of dying, consider sharing these verses with them.  If someone you know is dying, and you are unsure of their salvation, ask them about their beliefs and don't hesitate to share the Gospel of Christ!
  • Philippians 3:20-21 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.
  • John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
  • Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
  • Philippians 4:6-8 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. 
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
  • Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
  • Matthew 6:20-21 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
  • Matthew 6:27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ?
  • Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
  • John 14:2-3 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
  • 2 Corinthians 5:1-9 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
  • Revelation 7:9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
  • Revelation 7:13-17 Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes--who are they, and where did they come from?" I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
  • Revelation 21:3-4 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
  • Luke 20:36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection.
  • Isaiah 25:8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.
  • Romans 8:17-18 Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
  • 2 Timothy 2:10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
  • Luke 23:43 Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
  • John 14:2-3 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
  • 2 Timothy 2:10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
  • Luke 23:43 Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
  • John 17:24 "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
  • Philippians 1:23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;
  • 1 Thessalonians 4:17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
  • Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
  • Hebrews 10:34 You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
  • Daniel 12:13 "As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance."
  • Revelation 14:13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."
  • 1 Corinthians 9:25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
  • 2 Timothy 4:6-8 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
  • Revelation 2:10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
  • Revelation 3:11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
  • 1 Chronicles 29:15 We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.
  • Philippians 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
  • Job 7:6 My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and they come to an end without hope.
  • Job 8:9 for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow.
  • Job 9:25 My days are swifter than a runner; they fly away without a glimpse of joy.
  • Job 14:2 He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.
  • Job 14:5 Man's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.
  • Psalm 39:5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath. Selah
  • Psalm 89:47-48 Remember how fleeting is my life. For what futility you have created all men! What man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of the grave ? Selah
  • Psalm 90:9 All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan.
  • Psalm 102:3 For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers.
  • Psalm 102:11 My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
  • Psalm 102:23-24 In the course of my life he broke my strength; he cut short my days. So I said: "Do not take me away, O my God, in the midst of my days; your years go on through all generations.
  • Ecclesiastes 6:12 For who knows what is good for a man in life, during the few and meaningless days he passes through like a shadow? Who can tell him what will happen under the sun after he is gone?
  • Isaiah 38:12 Like a shepherd's tent my house has been pulled down and taken from me. Like a weaver I have rolled up my life, and he has cut me off from the loom; day and night you made an end of me.
  • James 4:14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."
  • 1 John 5:12-13 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
  • 1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
  • Romans 8:10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
  • Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
  • John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
  • Ecclesiastes 8:8a No man has power over the wind to contain it ; so no one has power over the day of his death.
  • Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die
  • Psalm 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
  • Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--
  • Hebrews 9:27-28 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
  • Proverbs 14:32 When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous have a refuge.
  • Romans 14:8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
  • Deuteronomy 32:39 See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand.
  • 1 Samuel 2:6 The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up.
  • 2 Samuel 22:5-6 The waves of death swirled about me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
  • 2 Chronicles 32:24 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the LORD, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign.
  • Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
  • Psalm 44:22 Yet for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
  • Psalm 68:20 Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death.
  • Psalm 89:48 What man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of the grave ? Selah
  • Ecclesiastes 7:1-2 A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.
  • Isaiah 25:8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.
  • Isaiah 38:1 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, "This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover."
  • Isaiah 38:10 I said, "In the prime of my life must I go through the gates of death and be robbed of the rest of my years?"
  • Isaiah 57:2 Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.
  • John 5:24 I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
  • John 8:51 I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." (speaking of Spiritual death…i.e. eternal life in heaven)
  • Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
  • Romans 8:6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;
  • Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
  • 2 Corinthians 4:12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
  • Philippians 1:20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
  • Hebrews 2:15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death
  • Revelation 21:4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Missionary Churches - Active Workers vs. Idlers - John Nevius (1886)

"There is a great army of active workers at home, as well as idlers. ...In the early history of the Church, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, Christianity spread chiefly through the voluntary zeal of ordinary church members, and the work of the Apostles consisted mainly in superintending and organizing the companies of Christians thus gathered.  Their zeal was so great that persecution could not repress, but only intensified it.  If there is not that zeal and effort in the Church at home, it is much to be deplored.  Perhaps the want of it is due in a great measure to growing habit of leaving work for Christ to be done by those who are paid for it.  Where such an idea prevails, whether at home or on missionary ground, it tends to paralyze the power of the Church for good." - John Nevius, life-long missionary to China, 1886 - in The Planting and Development of Missionary Churches (p.35)

Change - Human Instruments vs. the Holy Spirit

"Human instruments, apart from the Holy Spirit, cannot change dead hearts, obstinate wills, evil imaginations, perverted understandings, and biased judgments." - J.B. Lawrence, The Holy Spirit In Missions (64). 

Quoted in J.D. Payne's Discovering Church Planting (68)

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