In this daily Bible reading Jesus is questioned about life after death by one of the Sadducees. The Sadducees did not believe in life after death. The Sadducee questioning Jesus referred to a Jewish law which said that if a man is married with no children and dies, then his brother is obliged to marry his widow and have children in his name.
The Sadducee asked Jesus whose wife would she be in Heaven if she had married more than one brother on Earth. Jesus answered that when people rise from the dead, they will not marry but will be like angels. By this answer, Jesus affirmed that we will be raised from the dead after we die.
The Bible says that there will be two resurrections of the dead. Those who have believed in Jesus will be raised from the dead when Jesus returns to the Earth to be King. They will be with Jesus during his 1000-year reign as King of the Earth. Those who did not believe in Jesus will be raised from the dead after Jesus’ 1000-year rule as King. They will be raised from the dead to stand before God and to be judged. These people will be punished eternally for their transgressions against God. God will justly judge them and assign them varying degrees of punishment.
While we are alive, we can choose to believe in Jesus or not. However, if we want to be among those in the first resurrection we must believe in Jesus. There is no other way.
