Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of China. Among his many achievements was building large sections of the Great Wall of China. However, the emperor lived in fear. To ensure his power and authority, he banned and burned many books and buried scholars alive. But his greatest fear was death.

The emperor constructed a great army to protect him in the afterlife. His protectors were made of a clay-based ceramic called terracotta. This man-made army consists of 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots, 520 horses, and 150 cavalry![1] But Qin Shi Huang is not the only person who has lived with the fear of death. History has a long line of men and women who dreaded the day of their last breath.

In his journal, Solomon stated that death is the destiny for all of us (Ecclesiastes 7:2). The writer to the Hebrews is even more detailed. He says it is “appointed for man to die, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). It is the uncertainty of death itself and the judgment part we fear the most. But confidence is found in Jesus.

When we are absent from our body, we will be present with the Lord. Here’s how Paul explained it.

2 Corinthians 5:6-8
So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

While no one looks forward to the experience, a true Christian knows that death is simply a passage from this life on earth to life in heaven. Jesus promised this to be so. He said that he was going to prepare a place for us. He said he “will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3).

We are not for certain what heaven will be like, but one thing is for sure—Jesus will be there. J. I. Packer said that a friend once described heaven as “an unknown country with a well-known inhabitant.”[2] The well-known inhabitant made heaven possible in the first place. He will welcome us home, and we will be with him forever!

Father,
Thank you for the promise of life eternal with you. Calm my heart for the passage from life on earth to eternal life with you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

[1] The Terracotta Army is located just outside of Xi’an, China. It was discovered in 1974. The excavation process continues.
[2] J. I. Packer, Finishing the Course with Joy (Wheaton, Ill: Crossway, 2014), 26