Why hope in any afterlife?

3,000 years ago, the wisest and richest man in the world was king of Israel. He built an empire with a strong military and key foreign alliances. He wrote 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. He was known for having a kingdom of peace and built the greatest temple ever to the Lord God of Israel.

The king became great and his wisdom and fame spread to peoples far away. Kings and queens travelled vast distances to see if the amazing news they had heard about him could be true. The king enjoyed life and personally had 1,000 wives and concubines to keep him happy. Whatever he wanted he got, and he didn’t hold back from any pleasure. He also worked hard and built incredible buildings and fortified cities. He designed innovative water systems and planted all kinds of fruit trees and gardens. Indeed, life was very good for the king we know as Solomon.

Yet despite having everything imaginable, Solomon grew old and unsatisfied. He wrote in his latter days:

“Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them; I kept my heart from no pleasure...Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and again, all was vanity and a chasing after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11).

Solomon recorded his final thoughts and advice for his subjects in a book in the Bible called Ecclesiastes. That’s where he reveals how his entire outlook on life, and eternal life, changed when he grew old.

You may not be old in the chronological sense, but everyone can relate to Solomon and learn from his wisdom and unique experiences. He probably didn’t have the same kinds of problems that you have, but he did have one big problem we all have in common. Solomon was mortal and knew he would die. Here are some of the wise lessons he left to his people regarding his mortality:

But whoever is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. The living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing....even the memory of them is lost (Ecc 9:4-5).

Just as you do not know how the breath comes to the bones in the mother’s womb, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything (Ecc 11:5).

Follow the inclination of your heart and the desire of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment (Ecc 11:9).

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil (Ecc 12:13-14).