The authors of the bible did not believe in an immortal soul that persists after death. Rather, they hoped and longed for the day when God would resurrect all life and return the world back to paradise. Death, as a result, was often seen as “sleeping” because the next waking moment would be with God. The only question was whether one died in faith or not.

Revelation 20 is one of the most famous chapters in the entire bible, known for its vivid imagery of a thousand year kingdom, of people coming to life and reigning with Christ for 1,000 years and of Satan being bound so as to not deceive the nations any longer — only to be released after the 1,000 years are ended. Many have debated what these things mean, and one’s conclusions on this chapter alone determine one’s end times position. Today we will use scripture and history as our guide to discover the mysteries in this illusive chapter.

What happens after we die? This is perhaps one of the greatest questions of history, and today we will learn what the ancient Hebrews, the people who wrote the bible, believed was the answer. Contrary to what most believe today, these ancient authors did not subscribe to the notion that the soul was immortal and persisted after death. Rather, they knew the truth: that all life is dependent on God and those with faith alone will receive immortality at the resurrection.