You Don’t Need a 210 IQ to Know What Happens When You Die

Chris Langan is an American horse rancher who allegedly has an IQ between 190 and 210 (significantly higher than the estimated scores of past geniuses like Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer).

While the reliability of IQ in determining one’s overall genius may be up for debate, there is no question but that there is something special about Langan’s mind. His high IQ has earned him the title of “the smartest man in America” and a devoted following over his years as a public figure. Many of his theories regarding various subjects have gone viral.

Now, he has added his voice to the never-ending cacophony of those trying to answer the question of what happens after death.

Langan’s theory of death

In his book The Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe: A New Kind of Reality Theory, Langan details what he believes happens to human beings after they die.

Although many academics claim that death is the ultimate end, Langan doesn’t quite agree. He also doesn’t subscribe to the view of most Christian denominations that people go to heaven or hell when they die.

Instead, Langan offers a new theory. He suggests that a person’s consciousness is severed from his or her physical body at death. However, as the body dies, one’s consciousness continues and moves on to a different plane of existence.

His theory may make you feel a certain kind of way.

Does it fill you with hope? Fear? A general sense of peace?

Or does it strike you as unremarkable, just another unproven theory attempting to answer the mystery of life after death?

The truth is, even an IQ of 210 isn’t enough to “think” through the biggest question mankind ever faced. The answer to this question can’t be found through human brainpower alone.

But the answer is available.

And the best part is that you don’t have to be the most intelligent man in America to find it.

A 210 IQ not required to know what happens after death

An IQ of 210 may be impressive, but a high IQ doesn’t necessarily equate to spiritual knowledge. Regarding spiritual matters, natural intelligence can take a person only so far.

In the Gospels, Jesus Christ reveals the key to understanding the things of God—and it isn’t raw intelligence.

Humans don’t need to rack their brains to figure out what happens after death, because God has already told us. In His prayer to the Father, He said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes” (Matthew 11:25).

Jesus makes an important point: Spiritual knowledge does not come through physical intelligence but through revelation from God Himself.

The truth about life after death cannot be discovered by crunching numbers, using logic or exploring the vast cosmos above. It can be revealed only by the One who created us.

This knowledge is not exclusive to the most intelligent people in the world. In fact, 1 Corinthians 1:27 tells us that it’s often given to those considered weak and foolish by the world. 

Humans don’t need to rack their brains to figure out what happens after death, because God has already told us. He reveals the truth in the Bible, which is His divinely inspired Word.

So, what does the Bible reveal about life after death?

What does the Bible say about life after death?

When exploring the answers to this age-old question, it is best to put aside any preconceived notions and take the Bible at its word.

Most churches teach that every human being has an immortal soul, which passes into heaven or hell when he or she dies. However, Ecclesiastes 9:5 states that “the dead know nothing.” In John 3:13, Jesus declared that “no one has ascended to heaven” (except Himself).

The doctrines of heaven, hell and the immortal soul, embraced by nearly all denominations, can be traced back to ancient pagan beliefs. If you want to know the biblical teachings about whether you have an immortal soul that goes to heaven or hell when you die, check out one of these articles:

• “Do Humans Have an Immortal Soul?”
• “Is Heaven Real? What Is Heaven?”
• “What Christianity Gets Wrong About Hell”
• “Do We Go to Heaven When We Die?”

The Bible never teaches that human beings have an immortal soul or that they go to heaven or an ever-burning hell when they die. Instead, God reveals to us a much more encouraging truth—one that even the smartest people in the world still miss!

If we strip away all the preconceived notions of heaven, hell and the immortal soul, the truth that we find in Scripture is that the dead are unconscious—asleep in their graves as they await their resurrection.

On multiple occasions, Jesus compares death to sleep (Matthew 9:24; John 11:11). Paul uses the same analogy in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14.

The biblical description of death doesn’t include references to the popular concepts of heaven or hell. It likens death to sleep. The biblical description of death doesn’t include references to the popular concepts of heaven or hell. It likens death to sleep. When we sleep, we are unconscious, waiting for the morning. When we die, we are likewise unconscious, waiting for a resurrection.

The Bible also doesn’t teach an immortal soul that continues after its body dies. Instead, it describes a “spirit in man” that gives humans understanding and helps formulate the thinking, creative, advanced human mind (Job 32:8; 1 Corinthians 2:11).

Every human has this “spirit in man,” but it is not an immortal soul, and it isn’t conscious after death. When a human dies, his or her spirit returns to God, who keeps it stored in a safe place (Ecclesiastes 12:7).

But God isn’t completely done with us after we die! 

He promises that everyone who has ever lived will be resurrected, each at the right time (1 Corinthians 15:22-23).

When the proper time comes, God will restore each person’s “spirit in man,” installing it in his or her new body like a hard drive in a new computer. Like a hard drive, all that person’s memories, personality traits and characteristics will be “downloaded” into a new body and restored to life.

For more information on the encouraging doctrine of the spirit in man, check out these resources:

• “What Is the Spirit in Man?”
• “The Role of the Spirit in Man”

Several chapters in the Bible speak of resurrections that will restore life to everyone who ever lived, including those who never knew God during their lifetimes (1 Corinthians 15; 1 Thessalonians 4; Revelation 20).

At last, God will give everyone a chance to know Him and attain eternal life in His Kingdom! This is a far more encouraging truth than the false doctrine of heaven and hell. All humanity will be given an opportunity to understand God’s truth and accept His way of life.

After all have been resurrected and have made their choice, there will be no more death, pain or suffering (Revelation 21:4). All the world will be united under the rule of God.

The subject of resurrection is a big one, but you can learn more in the articles listed below:

• “What Are the Resurrections?”
• “Are Most People Eternally Lost?”
• “Is the Second Resurrection a Second Chance?”

The answers aren’t far-off

Humans have spent millennia wondering what happens to them after they die. This question has plagued scholars, philosophers and the religious. It has stumped even history’s greatest thinkers.

Everyone has a theory, but only God has the answers. He reveals them to us in the Bible.

You don’t have to be the smartest person in the world to understand the truth about life after death. You need to be open to what God has revealed to us in His Word.

You may want to check out our video series “Is There Life After Death?”

Photo credit: iStock.com/Brazzo

Date Posted: February 10, 2025