What happens to the souls of people who have committed suicide?

This is a common question when someone we know and care for has committed suicide. We may have been told hard, judgmental things regarding suicide, and often we don't question these statements until the issue hits "close to home." Then we find some of those ideas hard to swallow. Our inner feelings tell us that a loving and kind God would certainly be aware of the despair our friend was feeling, that God would surely forgive. Yet the words we hear from others don't always agree. We look for comfort. Where can we look? The Bible -- God's word.

How does God view suicide?

• Does God send the soul to be tormented in a burning hell?
• Does God turn his back and "write off" the soul as "lost" forever?
• Does God overlook the suicide and receive the soul into heaven?

Each soul is very precious to God. Job said, "In whose (God's) hand is the soul of every living thing..." (Job 12:10). God creates each human soul to give us an opportunity to learn of God, keep his commandments, and put on immortality.

What happens to the souls of people who commit suicide?

As with any other soul, it all depends on the choices he/she has made during his/her life. We must all remember that we cannot judge another person's choices, nor can we judge what is going on in someone else's mind (Mat.7:1).

A person who has never sought for God in any way (e.g. has not even tried to do things righteously, to be honest or kind) will perish (Psa.l:6). A person who has come to a full knowledge of God's truth, but then rejects it and chooses evil, will also perish (Joh.3:16). This is the same as a tomato -- if removed from the vine and not preserved, it will perish. It will not burn forever or be tormented in a fiery hell, it will perish. This is not conditioned on the method by which a person dies. A person who has had the opportunity but does not choose God in some way during their life will perish, regardless of whether they die in an accident. of old age, or by suicide. Only God can judge the spiritual condition of a soul and know his/her final decisions (Pro.29:26, Psa.75:7).

On the other hand, there are many people to whom God can show mercy (Psa.18:25). A person who has sought God during his/her life -- (e.g. by trying to do things righteously or to love others) may still be very troubled by thoughts or feelings of failure, hopelessness, or unloved. These thoughts can be likened to a train ö first comes the engine, then several cars, then the caboose. Suicide is the caboose of a train of thought. It comes after many other "cars" which carry messages such as, "I can never do anything right," "I might as well give up," - or - "They would be better off without me," - or - "Nobody ever pays me any attention," and "I'll show them." These ultimately lad to the thought which says "Suicide is the way out."

God is well aware that people are subject to harmful thoughts. God also knows that if we are not taught how to have power over a thought, the thought may overpower us. We may get tricked and agree with a thought that convinces us that ending our life is the best solution to the problem at hand.

God's judgment of man is always based on the knowledge a person has to work with (Rom.2:2). If a person has not been given the tools of discernment of the power of grace to overpower an evil thought, God can show the person mercy. God is more merciful toward our mistakes than mankind is toward one another (Psa.103:6-18). God can seal or preserve a should who dies as a result of suicide, just the same way he can preserve any soul who has sought him, but who does not yet have access to God's discernment and grace. In Mal.3:16, God refers to this as a "book of remembrance" for those souls who chose God, but who lived prior to the power of grace being made available to mankind (Joh.1:17).

Mat.7:1 "Judge not, that ye be not judged."
Pro.29:26 "...every man's judgment cometh from the LORD."
Rom.2:2 "But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth..."
Psa.103:8 "The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger..."
Psa.136:2 "O give thatnks unto the God of gods; for his mercy endureth for ever."

How God handled different suicide attempts in the Bible

The boy with the dumb spirit

A man brought his son to Jesus because an evil spirit (which had entered into the boy when he was a child) would make him jump into the fire and into the waters to destroy him (Mar.9:17-27).

A 20^th century observer might conclude the boy was trying to commit suicide. To Jesus and the Jews of his day, it was obviously an evil spirit controlling the boy. Jesus was the first one ever recorded to have the power to cast out evil spirits. Jesus did not condemn the boy. He had compassion on him and his family and cast out the spirit.

Scriptures teach us that thoughts and feelings are "spirit" (Joh.6:63; Gal.5:22; Eph.2:2; Jam.4:5). The boy in this account was plagued with evil thoughts which Jesus discerned and cast out by grace. Many children today are plagued with similar evil thoughts and feelings which get them to do things that are self-destructive. [God wants to make the same discernment and power available to people today so that suicide thoughts can again be cast out.]

Judas Iscariot

Judas was chosen by Jesus to be one of the twelve apostles. Jesus taught all the apostles to use the power of grace to stop sin (Mat.9:6, 10:1). Toward the end of Jesus' earthly ministry, we read, "And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him" (Joh.13:2). Judas decided to yield his mind to this betrayal thought from the devil. Again, we see Satan, the devil, having a hand in messing up a person's mind so that he/she will make wrong choices.

"Then Judas... when he saw that he [Jesus] was condemned, repented himself... Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood... And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself" (Mat.27:2-5).

Judas repented of of his deed, but could not live with what he knew he had done. Betraying Jesus was a willing sin, built on greed. Christ could have cast out this betrayal spirit, but Judas forsook him. He then sought repentance too late and his soul was lost eternally.

The Prophet Jonah

Jonah was a prophet of God and God told him to speak to the people of Nineveh. Jonah was disobedient to God, choosing instead to get on a ship and travel in the opposite direction. Disobedience is caused by an evil spirit (Eph.2:2). This spirit caused a condition of hell in Jonah's mind (he knew what God wanted him to do and did not do it, Jam.4:17). God sent a great storm and Jonah confessed he was the cause of the trouble. Jonah said, "Cast me into the sea," knowing that if he died, this condition of hell in his mind would cease.

Did god turn his back on Jonah or write him off as "lost" forever? After all, Jonah was attempting to commit suicide. No. god showed mercy and sent a great fish to prevent Jonah from drowning.

While Jonah was in the belly of the fish, he had time to think things over. He repented of his disobedience. Later, the fish deposited Jonah on the shore and Jonah went to preach to Nineveh.

Job

God told Satan, "Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand" (Job 1:12). Satan did his dirty work and Job began to despair, wanting to die, even wishing that he had never even been born! (Job 3:3-13). Job expressed his evil thoughts and feelings, but he did not follow through on them, even when his wife suggested suicide as a way to get out of his misery (Job 2:9).

God knew Job had spoken "without knowledge" Job 38:2) so God didn't turn his back on Job. God was longsuffering with Job's evil thoughts, and when Job finally repented of his self-righteousness, God was able to bless him abundantly (Job 42:3,6,10,12).

What lessons do we get from these Bible examples?

1. Self-destructive thoughts are evil spirits that enter into children as they are growing up (Mar.9:21). Children are not born with these thoughts already in them.
2. Jesus could discern between the soul and the evil spirit that enters into a person's mind (Luk.9:55). He had grace power to cast out evil spirits and gave this power to his disciples (Mat.9:6; 10:1, 12:28).
3. Once we have the knowledge of the truth and access to the power of grace to overcome evil, we must then make a choice. We can use this truth and power and thus put on immortality or we can reject it and perish, go out of existence, like Judas Iscariot.
4. People who attempt suicide are often thinking along the same lines as Jonah - "This is hell, and the only way out I can see is to kill myself." Jonah was in hell while he was alive (read Jon.2:2) and wanted to die to get out of hell. Hell is not a place evil people go to after they die. It is a condition of torment in our mind while we are alive.
5. Some people will tell us that suicide condemns a soul to be lost forever, because God can't forgive you until you repent and you can't repent of suicide after you are dead. The story of Jonah shows God being merciful to him even before he repented. Jonah did not repent until after the fish had swallowed him, and he had time to think about his choices.
6. Not long after the fish deposits Jonah on the shore, Jonah is unhappy again and says, "It is better for me to die, than to live." Why? God had him prophesy that Nineveh would be destroyed. The people believed God and repented, so God had mercy on them and did not destroy the city. Jonah decided he looked like a fool for prophesying something that didn't come to pass. God's answer to Jonah shows that God is indeed aware and forgiving of our inability to discern good from bad: "Should not I spare Nineveh ... wherein are... persons that cannot discern between their right and their left hand? God taught Jonah a lesson by being more merciful to him (even when Jonah thought he wanted to die) than Jonah was showing the people (who were honestly repenting).
7. When Satan is "giving us hell", God is very longsuffering with us, as long as we do not turn our back on God and curse him. Relief starts with an honest look inside and sincere repentance.

How does God view suicide?

• God does not automatically turn his back and "write off" the soul as "lost" forever just because he or she dies by way of suicide. Only God knows how much control the person had over the evil thoughts in his/her mind. If a soul commits suicide before coming to the full knowledge of the truth, God can have mercy on that soul and remember that soul (Ma1.3:16).
• God does not condemn anyone to an eternal existence in a physical hell because there is no such place. God only gives his eternal life to those that believe in his son (Joh.3:16).
• In order for anyone to live in heaven eternally, we must overcome sin (including thoughts of suicide) and learn God's eternal words (Jam.l:21; Joh.5:24).