A subject that most people don't even want to think about but which surprisingly carries with it great fascination is death. Death happens everyday. It is a fact of life. "Death and taxes", as the saying goes, "are the two sure things in life."
The truth is, many are scared to die. Almost all people will go to great lengths to try and avoid death. If there were only a pill that would give eternal life, most people would exert great effort to earn enough money to buy such a pill.
There are so many questions about death that people seek answers to. Our Creator, the Almighty God, has the answers to these questions. Since it is He who gave us our life, He knows what will become of us. If we want to know the way to life, then God in the One to teach us through the words written in the Bible.
So, let us set aside any preconceived notions and let the words of God be our guide.
The uncertainty
One of the truly fearful things regarding death is how it makes life so uncertain. Even if we made plans for the future, all can end in a moment:
Whereas, you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. James. 4:14, New King James Version
Life is a like a vapor that appears for a little while and then it vanishes away. It is uncertain as is the morning fog - now you see it, soon it is gone.
What truly strikes fear in the hearts of man is not so much that death will come, but the uncertainty of it all. Do you really know what will happen tomorrow? We have made so many plans for our life. We plan to take a vacation or to buy a new car. We have decided to go to school we have always dreamed or to see the world. Then death comes - and what has become of all those things which we have planned for? All these will end. This truth is iterated in the following biblical passage:
For every man must die. His breathing stops, life ends, and in a moment and all he planned for himself is ended. Psalm 146:4, Living Bible
Where are the dead?
Catholicism upholds the belief that a person who dies immediately goes to heaven, hell or purgatory. Many believe that we are guarded or threatened by the dead. Stemming also from this view in the belief in haunted houses and ghosts which continue to be the subject of books, movies, TV shows and everyday conversation.
What happens to a person when he dies? Where do the dead go? Can they help us? Can they harm us? The Bible makes it very clear that the dead are in the grave:
Adrift among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, and who are cut off from your hand. Psalm 88:5, New King James Version
So, when a person dies, he does not go immediately to heaven or hell but to the grave.
While the aforementioned verse does not specify the soul, could it be possible that only the body is in the grave and not the soul? God Himself declared:
Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins shall die. Ezekiel 18:4, Ibid.
The Bible makes it clear that the soul dies. Not only does it die, but it also goes to the grave with the body:
For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground. Psalm 44:25
So, when a person dies, both body and soul go to the grave and stay there not just for a short period of time. I other words, not just for three days as some superstitiously believe. When a person dies, he will stay in the grave until Judgement Day:
But man dies and is laid away; indeed he breathes his last and where is he? So man lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, they will not awake or be roused from their sleep. Job 14:10, 12
Notice the question, "...and where is he?"...The answer we seek is right in the passage: "...man lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more," There is a definite time given by the Bible and that time is when "the heavens are no more." The Scriptures clarifies the time is when the heavens are no more or when the "heavens shall pass away":
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. But the heavens and earth which now exist are kept in store by the same word, reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. II Peter 3:10, 7
The time when the dead will come out of the grave or be resurrected is on Judgement Day. This is not only biblical but also logical. Imagine for a moment, for the sake of argument, if it were true that all the dead are in heaven, hell or somewhere else - then why would there still be a need for Judgement Day? All the dead would have already been judged and gone to their destination. But since all the dead are in the grave after they die, there is still a need for Judgement Day. Then and only then will the dead come out of the grave. This was taught by Christ Himself:
Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come forth - those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation. John 5:28-29
Christ, referring to the dead or those in the grave, said "for the hour is coming," which tells us that this is not in the present but rather the future. Judgement Day is what Christ is referring to here when the dead will come out of the grave - not from heaven, not from hell, not from an alleged purgatory, but from the grave.
Thus, the Bible clearly teaches that when a person dies, he will go to the grave and remain there until Judgement Day. Let us not be deceived by those who would say or teach that our loved ones are somewhere else besides the grave or the place they have been buried.
The aforementioned verses of the Bible should make us realize that the two basic beliefs of the Catholic Church regarding purgatory and their so-called saints are unbiblical. By Catholic definition, a saint is someone who had died and is in heaven and can mediate or intercede in behalf of the living. What we would like to point out is that the belief that there are people who had died and are now in heaven, aside from our Lord Jesus, is unbiblical. Remember, that all the dead, whether evil or good, are in the grave and will remain there until the Day of Judgement except for our Lord Jesus. In like manner, not only is purgatory never mentioned in the Bible, but even the belief that there are dead people in so-called middle state being "purged" from their sins goes against biblical teachings.
Ghosts?
As we mentioned in the first part of our discussion, there are so many superstitious beliefs concerning the dead. Foremost is the belief that the dead come back to visit the living. Many people believe in ghosts and haunt houses. But what does the Bible say about this? Will the dead still go back to their house?
As the clouds disappear and vanishes away, so he who goes down to the grave does not come up. He shall never return to his house, nor shall his place know him anymore. Job 7:9-10
Here we can see very clearly that the dead will not return to their houses. Some may argue that they have had so-called experiences of the dead returning to their house. But, remember that the word of God in the Holy Scriptures makes a very definite statement - "He shall never return to his house."
Others might say that it is not the physical body of the dead that returns but the spirit. The Bible testifies about what happens to the spirit.
Then the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:7
Remember that the dead cannot do anything to us; neither can they do anything for us.
On the other hand, can the living do anything for the dead for which they can benefit? We know that there are many who believe that by saying prayers, lighting candles, and performing certain rituals the living can help the dead. In some cases, they even believe that actions or works done by the living can help the dead reach heaven. But this is not true. According to the Bible, the living can do nothing to help the dead.
For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun. Ecclesiastes 9:5-6
Notice the last part of the verse that states, "Nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun." What does this mean? Exactly what it says. The dead will never have a share in anything done under the sun. This includes lighting candles, saying prayers, saying Mass, doing rituals, and all others.
Of course, we remember the dead. There are friends and loved ones who have passed away but whom we can never forget. But, we must remember that once a person dies, there is nothing more we can do to help him go to heaven. Biblically speaking, when the reward is to be given, it will be based on what each individual has done and not on what the living have done for the dead:
And behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. Revelation 22:12
So, it is the living that should prepare himself for the life to come. We should not wait until it is too late or until death claims our life.
Great food for thought. Thanks.
I think many Christians do not fear death because they know where they are going and by that I mean their spirit - that is the essence of a person. The body are just the carrier of the spirit and the soul defines the character of a person. There is a ongoing "war' between one's soul which represents our flesh and desires and common behaviour and the spirit which is the connection with God.
Luke 16:19-31. The story of the rich young man and Lazarus (KJV) When Lazarus died the angels came and took his spirit to Abraham. The rich man dies and was buried (Verse 22, 23). He found himself in hell. He could see Lazarus and Abraham.And there was agreat gorge between them which no one can cross. This to me says that the spirit of saved and unsaved people do go to different places while they await judgement day. According to the Bible judgement dau should only be feared by the unsaved because when you are in paradise like Jesus told the man on the cross next to him, "today you will be in paradise with me", you cannot cross over to the other side. I believe that the moment you die and your spirit is released you know what your destination will be, whether it be paradise or hell. I have heard and seen unsaved people at the moment of death crying out to God and Jesus for mercy, and I have witnessed saved people die and all of their deaths were peaceful and many of them went while praising God. Also read Rev 6:9-10 which shows that there are souls in heaven, the souls of those who were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.
From what I read in the Bible my understanding of it is that When Jesus returns His purpose is to take the saved with him. As the Bible say those who go with Him will receive heavenly body whether you are dead or alive. Then they will be taken with Him to heaven and there will be a thousand years of peace. Then the Bible speaks of the White Trone Judgement which will be announced with the sounds of the trumpets.
This is where the Bible says the dead, young and old will stand before God and litteraly give inventory of their life (Rev20:12-15). This is also where if you stand before God and your name is not written in the book of Life you will be sent to spend eternity in hell. This means to me that the dead who is spoken of here are not saved because of the scripture in 1Thess 4:13-18 where it tells of the return of Jesus and who He will take with him and that includes the dead in Christ and the living who are saved.
Chill. It was just a joke. Does The Bible forbid you from having a sense of humour. (Actually it probably does)
I could take offence at the "kid-mind" remark if I wanted, in that you're trying to undermine my intelligence and/or maturity. Now perhaps my 20 year old "kid-mind" is too feeble to comprehend, but I don't believe that name-calling is all that courteous now is it? What's that old saying about throwing stones in glass houses? My "kid-mind" lacks the cognitive faculties to recall such things of course. Yes I did become completely oblivious to the fact that this is a religion forum, thank you so much for reminding me. Perhaps I should have realised the same people taking fiction literally, would also take jest seriously, but my "kid-mind" was temporarily distracted by a shiny object.
You want to talk about death. Let's talk about death.
Death has no effect on those who die. It only profoundly affects those they've left behind. An after-life - a life after death - is oxymoronic. Humanity's egoist nature is the drive behind a necessity to believe that when one dies, some incorporeal element lives on. One believes that one's death is not one's end in a ploy to lull oneself into a false sense of importance. One wants to believe in a special cosmic purpose for one's existence. The truth, though it's unlikely those of religious persuasion will accept it, is that on a universal scale they are no more significant and just as insignificant as any other mass of atoms and energy.
You're right....It's beyond our comprehension....though through many near death experience, which many seem to be different from each other, It's seems clear that there is no set place kind of thing.
Registered: Jun 2005
Location: Southern Oregon,
Looking at you.
Near death experiences are dependent on the religion of the person. Christians have Christian like images, Muslims have Muslim like images, Buddhists have Buddhist like images and so fourth. Here in the west we only hear about the Christian near death experiences, I don't know why this is.
Religious belief in and information about an afterlife is a consolation in connection with the death of a beloved one or the prospect of one' s own death. On the other hand, fear of hell or other negative consequences may make death worse. Human contemplation about death is an important motivation for the development of organized religion.
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I am not driven by people’ s praise and I am not slowed down by people’ s criticism.
You only live once. But if you live it right, once is enough. Wrong. We only die once, we live every day!
Make poverty history.
Aug 9th, 2005 08:53 AM
I appreciate your view regarding death, sonnet.
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Nice name svnthdaysthhsbbth: seventh day is the holy sabbath 
