Read Genesis 25:8, 2 Samuel 7:12, 1 Kings 2:10, and 1 Kings 22:40. What do these texts add to your understanding of death?

The Old Testament expresses in different ways the ideas of death and burial. One is the notion of being gathered to one’s own people. For example, about Abraham, we are told that he “breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people” (Genesis 25:8, NKJV). Aaron and Moses were also gathered to their respective people (Deuteronomy 32:50).

What does the fact that both good and bad kings went to the same place at death teach us about the nature of death? (2 Kings 24:6, 2 Chronicles 32:33).

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Another way of describing death is by stating that someone rested with the forbearers. About King David’s death, the Bible says that he “rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David” (1 Kings 2:10, NKJV). The same expression is used also about several other Hebrew kings, both faithful kings and unfaithful kings.

We can identify at least three meaningful aspects of resting with the forbearers. One is the idea that sooner or later the time will come when we need to rest from our own tiring labors and sufferings. Another idea is that we are not the first and only ones to follow that undesirable trail, because our forbears already went ahead of us. A third idea is that, by being buried close to them, we are not alone but remain together even during the unconsciousness of death. This might not make much sense to some modern individualist cultures, but it was very meaningful in ancient times.

Those who die in Christ can be buried close to their loved ones, but even so there is no communication between them. They will remain unconscious until that glorious day when they will be awakened from their deep sleep to rejoin their loved ones who died in Christ.

<–Wednesday Friday–>

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I was listening to a popular Christian music artist a while back, who said, “A baby is not a toy, but an immortal soul.” Another time, I was with a church group one evening taking a tour of a live nativity scene, graciously presented by a local Protestant church in my community. At the end of the tour our guide made an appeal and told us we would be spending all eternity either in heaven or in hell.

Over and over, even in Christian circles, the serpent’s lie, “You will not surely die” has been repeated so many times that many people just accept it as fact. Many are being deceived because they simply do not question the serpent’s lie. In Genesis 3:17 Eve says, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Why was Even deceived? In Genesis 2:17 God’s Word clearly said if they ate of the forbidden tree they would die. What was there not to understand? All Eve had to do to keep from being deceived was simply believe God’s Word. It wasn’t complicated then or now.

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Communicating With the Dead

While we hear over and over the serpent’s lie that the soul is immortal what does God’s Word say?

He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality…. 1 Timothy 6:15-16 NKJV

While much of the world today is saying the soul is immortal, God’s Word clearly says, only God currently has immortality. 

in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 NKJV

God’s Word says we receive immortality after the resurrection at the second coming. No one has immortality right now. The dead are sleeping in their graves and know nothing. God’s Word says the saved will be given immortality at the second coming. This is why the second coming and resurrection are the blessed hope of the New Testament. In John 14:3, Jesus comforted His disciples, by telling them, “I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” Did you notice that Jesus never comforted them by telling them they would be with Him as soon as they died? He clearly told them He would have to come again in order for them to be together again. The popular theory of the immortality of the soul, and going straight to heaven when you die makes the Second Coming and Resurrection meaningless and unnecessary. Paul makes it clear in 1 Corinthians 15 that without the resurrection there would be no life after death. The popular theory of the immortality of the soul and going straight to heaven when you die, is not in God’s Word, it is a teaching from spiritualism. 

Spiritualism also teaches that sinners will be tortured throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. When I was a child a lady once told me that  even if the body is destroyed in hell that the soul will be tormented for all eternity. Again there is no reason to be deceived. What does God’s Word say about the punishment of the wicked? 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 NKJV

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 NKJV

Paul is in agreement with Jesus the the believer has eternal life while the sinner perishes and dies. 

The soul who sins shall die. Ezekiel 18:4 NKJV

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in]hell. Matthew 10:28 NKJV

While the lady told me that the soul of the sinner will be tortured throughout all eternity, there was no reason for me to be deceived. God’s Word clearly says the soul of the sinner will be destroyed and die. Again all Eve had to do to keep from being deceived when the serpent said, “You will not surely die” was to believe God’s Word when He said “You will die.” Genesis 2:17. All we have to do today in order to keep from being deceived is to simply believe God’s Word. 

God’s Word is not as hard to understand as some make it appear. Paul tells us in 2 Thessalonians 2:10-11 that the reason people are deceived is not because God’s Word is unclear, but rather because people do not love the clear teachings of God’s Truth, and prefer lies instead. 

Many prefer the lie of the immortal soul and going straight to heaven when you die, thinking it sounds good. But does it really?

Years ago I was at the funeral of a little girl who was hit and killed by a car. The mother sat on the front pew crying uncontrollably while the pastor spoke about how happy the little girl and Jesus were up in heaven right now. I could not help but think how cruel the preacher made Jesus look to that poor mother. Making the mother to believe that Jesus tore her world apart so He could have fun with her daughter in heaven.

The theory of the immortal soul, like every other false doctrine skews our understanding of God’s love. Satan knows we are not saved by doctrine. We are saved by grace alone. So why does Satan bother skewing our understanding of doctrine? So he can skew our understanding of God’s love and grace by which we are saved. By the way that pastor also used an illustration of David dying and going straight to heaven to be with his son who died. Again no reason to be deceived. God’s Word clearly says in Acts 2:29 and Acts 2:34 that David has not gone to heaven yet, but is still resting in his tomb. As always in order to keep from being deceived all we have to do is believe God’s Word whenever the serpent lies and says we surely will not die. 

A while back I was reading the book, To Sleep with the Angels, about a horrific fire in a Catholic school, killing over 90 people. The author of the book challenged the priests who tried to comfort the parents who lost children. The priests told the parents that God needed their children. The parents said, “No! We needed our children!” The priests told the parents that God only takes the very best, thinking that would comfort them, but the parents replied, “What does that make us who are left? Chopped liver?” Some lies may sound smooth on the surface, but in reality they are not comforting nor do they help us understand God’s love. In 1 Thessalonians 4:18, Paul tells us to comfort each other “with these words” about the resurrection described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17. God’s truth is so much more comforting than the serpent’s lies. God’s Word is Truth and it can be trusted and His Word of Truth is good news indeed that we can believe. 

Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. John 17:17 NKJV

When the serpent lied about the immortality of the disobedient, all Eve had to do was believe God’s Word and she would not have been deceived. All we have to do in order to keep from being deceived is simply believe God’s Word. The serpent’s lies cannot be trusted and are not really good news, even if made to appear so. God’s Word can be trusted and is really good news! 

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Join us for a great discussion on Understanding Human Nature. This week’s keyword was intimated in the first conversation between man and God. 

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Read Job 3:11-13; Psalm 115:17; Psalm 146:4; and Ecclesiastes 9:5, Ecclesiastes 9:10. What can we learn from these passages about the condition of human beings at death?

Some Bible commentators argue that these passages (Job 3:11-13; Psalm 115:17; Psalm 146:4; Ecclesiastes 9:5, Ecclesiastes 9:10), written in poetic language, cannot be used to define the condition of human beings at death. It is true that sometimes poetry can be ambiguous and easily misunderstood, but this is not the case with these verses. Their language is clear, and their concepts are in full harmony with the overall Old Testament teachings on the subject.

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First, in Job chapter 3, the patriarch deplores his own birth, due to all the suffering. (In the more dire moments, who hasn’t wished that he or she had never been born?) He recognizes that if he had died at his birth, he would remain asleep and at rest (Job 3:11, Job 3:13).

Psalm chapter 115 defines the location where the dead are kept as a place of silence, because “the dead do not praise the LORD” (Psalm 115:17, NKJV). This hardly sounds as if the dead, the faithful (and thankful) dead, are in heaven worshiping God.

According to Psalm chapter 146, the mental activities of the individual cease with death: “His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish” (Psalm 146:4, NASB). This is a perfect biblical depiction of what happens at death.

And Ecclesiastes chapter 9 adds that “the dead know nothing” and in the grave “there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, Ecclesiastes 9:10, NKJV). These statements confirm the biblical teaching that the dead are unconscious.

The biblical teaching of unconsciousness in death should not generate any panic in Christians. First of all, there is no everlasting burning hell or temporary purgatory waiting for those who die unsaved. Second, there is an amazing reward waiting for those who die in Christ. No wonder that “to the believer, death is but a small matter. … To the Christian, death is but a sleep, a moment of silence and darkness. The life is hid with Christ in God, and ’when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.’ John 8:51-52; Colossians 3:4.” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 787.

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

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Read Genesis 2:7 and Ecclesiastes 12:1-7. What contrast can you see between these two biblical passages? How can they help us to understand better the human condition in death? See also Genesis 7:22.

As already seen, the Bible teaches that the human being is a soul (Genesis 2:7), and the soul ceases to exist when the body dies (Ezekiel 18:4, Ezekiel 18:20).

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But what about the “spirit”? Does it not remain conscious even after the death of the body? Many Christians believe so, and they even try to justify their view by quoting Ecclesiastes 12:7, which says, “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it” (NKJV). But this statement does not suggest that the spirit of the dead remains conscious in God’s presence.

Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 in quite dramatic terms describes the aging process, culminating with death. Verse 7 refers to death as the reversal of the creation process mentioned in Genesis 2:7. As already stated, on the sixth day of the Creation week “the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7, NKJV). But now, Ecclesiastes 12:7 tells us that “the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it” (NKJV). So, the breath of life that God breathed into the nostrils of Adam, and that He has also provided to all other human beings, returns to God or, in other words, simply stops flowing into and through them.

We should keep in mind that Ecclesiastes 12:7 describes the dying process of all human beings and does so without distinguishing between the righteous and the wicked. If the alleged spirits of all who die survive as conscious entities in the presence of God, then are the spirits of the wicked with God? This idea is not in harmony with the overall teaching of the Scriptures. Because the same dying process happens both to human beings and to animals (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20), death is nothing else than ceasing to exist as living beings. As stated by the psalmist, “You hide Your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust” (Psalm 104:29, NKJV).

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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