Our sense organs
 – in this world and the next

The quality of our lives is determined to a great extent by our senses. We take them for granted, only thinking about them when they stop working in the way we’re used to. Just having a clogged nose makes a big difference to the flavour of our favourite dish. Permanent impairments of one sort or another may force us to wear glasses or use a hearing aid. If a sense we have been used to all our life is lost completely, it can be terrible and frightening, because our senses, with all their possibilities and limitations, are so closely interwoven with the central ’I’, with our innermost being.

The sense organs of our present body cease to function at death. But is it the end; the real and final end? The Bible answers this question with a resounding NO! God created us as eternal beings whose existence will never end. In Luke 16 Jesus tells of two people whose earthly existence ended with their death, but both of them had all their senses in the next world ¹.

One of them was a rich man with only one purpose, namely to gather riches and fine clothes and to enjoy the pleasantries of life. He ignored God completely. His name is not even mentioned, although many people looked up to him and envied him his possessions and his influence. His idea of life is similar to that of many of our contemporaries, who also strive towards riches, power and honour and accept these as their due.

The name of the other person, Lazarus, is mentioned by Jesus. He was poor, undernourished, and not esteemed by his fellows, but he knew that God cared for him, because he had a living relationship with God.

Jesus describes their situations after their death: “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 ...” (Luke 16:22-23). Both of them died and have left this earth; now they find themselves in completely different places. Although they lived in the same city, their present abodes are fundamentally different. One person lives in glory, and the other in torment.

Life does not end with biological death. On the contrary, our existence with all our faculties never ends, since we are eternal creatures. This is a true fact, whether we believe it or not. We were born without our permission. We will all die without our permission. And we will exist for ever whether we believe it or not; nobody will ask what our preferences are in this regard. We experience the certainty of eternity in our innermost being, since God has placed this knowledge in our hearts (Eccl 3:11).

On the day of resurrection our earthly body will be changed into an everlasting one: “It (the body) is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption... It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” (1 Cor 15:42-44). The spiritual body is imperishable, it is eternal, and it has all the sensory inputs and experiences of consciousness. The Bible mentions two completely different locations for our eternal residence, namely heaven and hell. The former is a glorious life with God, and in the other we will be estranged for ever from God in the place of damnation.

Both heaven and hell are places where our senses function, places of conscious experience. This is now discussed in terms of biblical affirmations:

Heaven:

a) Heaven is a place where we will see and hear: In the first place we will see God the Father and Jesus in person: “we shall be like him, for we shall see him (Jesus) as he is” (1 John 3:2). Furthermore: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor 2:9). Here on earth we are astounded by God’s providence and wisdom; how much more will we be astonished when we see Him face-to-face in heaven, and enjoy his presence eternally!

b) Heaven is a place where we will taste and smell: The essence of heaven is described in the New Testament as a great banquet where there will be feasting. At the last supper Jesus told his disciples “I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matt 26:29). Also in the parable of the royal banquet where the essence of heaven with God as Host is described, we read: “I have prepared my dinner” (Matt 22:4). In Luke 12:37 we find another equally important statement in this regard: “He will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table, and will come and wait on them.” If the Son of God invites us to dinner, we may presume that the spread will be exceedingly rich and excellent.

c) Heaven is a place full of wonderful experiences: When the prodigal son returned to his father, he prepared a feast for him. After everything was ready, we read in Luke 15:24: “So they began to celebrate.” Another very important aspect of heaven has now been expressed, namely that it is a place of indescribable and everlasting joy. Everything which pleases us will be richly available in heaven – love, peace, friendship, and well-being.

It is noteworthy that Jesus addresses all five senses during His last supper. In this way He reminds us of our salvation which He effected, and consequently also of heaven: When the Lord’s supper is celebrated, the words for its institution (1 Cor 11:23 ff) are usually read. This involves the sense of hearing.

The bread and the wine are firstly observed visually, then we see them as signs of the Lord’s presence.
We accept the bread, using our sense of touch.
“Taste and see that the Lord is good“ (Ps 34:8).
When we eat and drink, our senses of tasting and smelling are also involved.

Hell:

a) Hell is a place of thirst and torment: The rich man in Luke 16 calls to 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). In contrast, Jesus says: “...: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35).

b) Hell is a place for remembering: The knowledge of this life does not vanish when we die. In the place of damnation the rich man thinks of his brothers who lived just as godlessly as he did. He realises that he could do nothing for them, and thus requests Abraham to send Lazarus to them: “Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:  (28)  For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.” Abraham replied: “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” (Luke 16:27-29). It is a fact that nobody returns from death to warn his relatives. Our only guide to salvation is the Word of God – the Bible! c) Hell is a place of darkness: In this life we enjoy very many wonderful sensations through our eyes and our ears. 83,000 people were present at the colourful opening ceremony of the centennial Olympics in Atlanta on the 19th of July 1996, and 3,500 million people all over the world watched the four hour show on TV. About 5,500 technicians and others cooperated to produce this magnificent opera-like sound-and-light presentation.

Why were the spectators prepared to travel so far and to pay hundreds of dollars for an admission ticket? They wanted to see, hear and experience something special. In the same way heaven can be regarded as an immeasurably superior “presentation” of beautiful and glorious experiences, with the added and indescribable bonus of having no time limits. By contrast, hell is a place of darkness, offering no positive experiences for eye and ear. In the parable of the talents Jesus says: “And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt 25:30).

When reading the Bible, it is noteworthy that nobody preached so incisively, so fully, and so often about hell, as Jesus. Why did He do that, seeing that nobody else has ever loved people so much as He? It is precisely because of His love that He warned against this real place: “And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” (Matt 5:29). With these words of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus warns us with the utmost urgency to make sure that we do not end up in that place. We perceive the same extreme urgency in Matthew 18:8: “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.”

These words of warning from the mouth of Christ have essentially helped to determine the purpose of this book. It is our wish that as many people as possible will be saved from hell and won for heaven. The practical details for achieving this are explained in the second part of this book.