Five Facts About Death

15-08-2015 - Posted by Andre Piet

Fact #1: DEATH IS THE OPPOSITE OF LIFE Death, in the Bible, is not another form of life, whether higher or lower, but the opposite of life. Very simply: someone who is dead is not alive (see e.g. Rev.20:5). It was precisely the lie of the serpent in the Garden of Eden that claimed that man would not die, when he should eat the fruit forbidden by God. The snake reasons death away. Indeed, according to the serpent, the eyes of man would just open…

And saying is the serpent to the woman, “Not to die shall you be dying, for the Elohim knows that, in the day you eat of it, unclosed shall be your eyes… Gen.2:4,5

Until today, this is the lie of the serpent. Almost all religions (including the Christian) denies death by teaching that death is another, possibly higher form of life (> immortal soul, reincarnation). It is a fatal lie, because it opens the door for demon deception or spiritualism and because it is a devaluation or even denial of the significance of the resurrection. In a blissful afterlife (the so-called intermediate state), the resurrection would be no more than ‘sugar on the honey’. FACT #2: DEATH IS A RETURN. So is death defined by God Himself. The first time an explanation is given to the term “die” we read:

In the sweat of your face shall you eat your bread, till your return to the ground, for from it are you taken, for soil you are, and to soil are you returning. Genesis 3:19

And the wise man Solomon wrote:

… And the dust returns to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:7

The material body returns to the earth from which it was taken. And the (spirit of) life returns to God, Who gave it. Death is not a new experience, but it brings people right back to where man  began. As a human being has no awareness before his birth, so even after his death. Hence: FACT #3: DEATH IS AS NOT-BEING (= Not Existing) Death is not another way of ‘being’ but is a condition of  ‘not-being” (=”non-existing”)

…For now I shall lie in the soil, And You would seek me early, but I will not be there. Job 7:21

Then why did You bring me forth from the womb? I would have expired, and no eye would have seen me. I would have been just as if I had not come into being… Job 10:18,19

Take Your probing heed from me that I may smile, Ere I shall go away and be no more Psalm 39:13

FACT #4: DEATH IS LIKE A SLEEP. Someone who is asleep is in a state of rest and is not aware of anything. Because this is also characteristic of death, this is why in Scripture death is often compared to sleep.

As waters depart from the sea, And a stream is drained and dries up, So a man lies down and shall not rise; Until the heavens fail, they shall not awake, Nor shall they rouse from their sleep. Job 14:11,12

“Retire, for the maiden did not die, but is drowsing.” And they ridiculed Him. Matthew 9:24

Lazarus, our friend, has found repose, but I am going that I should be awakening him out of sleep. 12 The disciples, then, said to Him, “Lord, if he has repose, he shall be saved.”

13 Now Jesus had made a declaration concerning his death, yet they suppose that He is saying it concerning the repose of sleep. John 11:11-13

Imagine that all kinds of experiences were encountered in death, then we might expect that the few people who have come back from this condition (e.g. the daughter of Jairus, and Lazarus) would have had very much to report about their experiences. They were, after all, ‘experts’ with respect to experiences. But the silence of Scripture on this subject is ‘deafening’! A silence that is explained by the saying that the dead sleep and are therefore not conscious of anything. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15 that the only hope for the departed is the resurrection.

Now, if Christ has not been roused, vain is your faith — you are still in your sins! Consequently those also, who are put to repose in Christ, perished. 1Corinthians 15:17,18

Apart from the resurrection there is no hope for the dead. Those who have fallen asleep in Christ would, apart from a resurrection, be lost. This is proof that the dead, in the meantime, are not in a location of bliss or something similar. In many ways, Scripture reports that the dead have no consciousness.

The dead cannot praise Yah, Nor all those descending into stillness. Ps.115:17

What gain is there in my blood poured out, In my descending to the grave? Does soil acclaim You? Does it tell Your faithfulness? Ps 30:9

For in death there is no remembrance of You; In the unseen, who shall acclaim You? Ps. 6:5

For the living know that they shall die, But the dead know nothing whatsoever; There is no further hire for them; Indeed remembrance of them is forgotten. Eccl.9:5

All that your hand finds to do, do with your vigor, For there is no doing or devising or knowledge or wisdom In the unseen where you are going. Eccl.9:10

For the unseen is not acclaiming You, nor is death praising You, and those descending into a crypt are not looking forward to Your truth. Isa.38:18

FACT #5: DEATH WILL BE ABOLISHED. The essence of the Good News Message in the Bible is that Jesus Christ abolishes death.

… our Saviour, Christ Jesus, Who, indeed, abolishes death, yet illuminates life and incorruption through the evangel. Timothy 1:10

Paul tells us in the masterly chapter of the triumph of Life, 1Corinthians 15 (22-28), as all the people in Adam are dying, even so in Christ all the people will be made alive beyond the reach of death. Although each in his own order, but, nevertheless, all. As long as not all the people are made alive (as is the firstfruits, Christ), so long is death not abolished. One of the biggest lies in Christianity is the idea of “eternal death”, in which a (large) part of humanity is supposed to end up. It contradicts the unconditional good news of the Bible, which states plainly that death is the last enemy that will be destroyed. Because only then can God become all in all, that is all in all who, in Adam, are mortals. As now all of life is swallowed by death, even so will death, someday, be swallowed up by Life! Read also: Frequently Asked Questions about the condition of the dead.

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