Are the Dead Really Dead?
It started with a lie in the Garden of Eden, and it’s still being told today. Will you be fooled?
How did Jesus describe sleep?
These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
Will there be a resurrection?
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Jesus uses the state of sleep as a metaphor for death because He knows there will be a resurrection at the second coming. This will be a resurrection of those who died in Christ because He was the only One who conquered death.
Will there be a second resurrection?
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
John makes it clear there will be two resurrections for two different groups of people: those who, through the grace of Christ, reflected goodness in their life will be part of the resurrection of life, which takes place at the second coming of Jesus, while those who lived unrighteous lives will be part of the resurrection of damnation.
How did God form the first human?
And 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 soul.
God made man by forming him from the dust of the ground and breathing into him the breath of life. In other words, dust (the body) plus breath of God equals a living soul.
What happens when a person dies?
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
When a person dies, the body returns to dust, and the spirit returns to God.
What is the spirit that returns to God?
All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils.
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
The spirit that returns to God is simply the breath of life, without which the body dies. In other words, the process described in Ecclesiastes 12:7 is the opposite of what happened in Genesis 2:7. If a soul is a combination of two things—the body and the breath of life (spirit)—then the soul ceases to exist when the body returns to dust and the breath returns to God. The soul does not go anywhere; it simply ceases to exist. As an illustration, consider what is needed for light: there needs to be an electrical current and a bulb. As soon as the electrical current is turned off, the light simply ceases to exist. It is the same with the soul.
What else does the Bible about the soul?
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
A person’s soul or spirit cannot go to heaven or hell after death because the Bible is clear that the soul that sins shall die. Why is this the case? Because the wages of sin are death, and all have sinned.
Where is King David now?
Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. ... For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand.
Is conscious thought possible after death?
Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
Since the spirit is simply the breath then it is not possible for the spirit to exist after death. Here the psalmist describes the same process of death that was described in the previous verses: the breath leaving the body and returning to God who gave it, the body returning to dust (the earth), and when these two things happen all conscious thought ceases to exist.
Can the dead praise God?
The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
Do dead people remember anything?
For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
Who has immortality?
That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting.
Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?
Man is fully mortal; only God is immortal. This idea that the soul is immortal stems from the Garden of Eden where Satan told Eve she would surely not die (Genesis 3:4), even though God clearly said that sin brings death (Genesis 2:17).
Who else will inherit immortality?
To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall 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 shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1 Corinthians 15 says that not all the righteous will experience death, but all the righteous will be changed when the trumpet of God sounds at the second coming. In other words, the righteous who are live to see the second coming, as well as those who died in Christ, who will at that moment be resurrected, will receive new, immortal bodies. From that point on death will never have power over them because Jesus defeated it, and by accepting His sacrifice on their behalf, they will inherit His victory over it!
What hope did Job have about the resurrection?
For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.
Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Because Jesus, His Redeemer, conquered death, Job will one day be able to see Him in a glorious, new, physical body.
What about Luke 23:43?
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
Jesus could not have gone to heaven after His death because on Sunday morning He told Mary He hadn’t yet ascended to His Father. It’s a little know fact, but the original Bible text did not have any punctuation. It was added centuries later by translators who could have placed the comma before the word “today” due to their own beliefs about death. The better place for the comma would be after the word “today” because then it would be in harmony with all the other Bible texts regarding death. Jesus was promising the thief on the cross that day—when it did not look like He could save anyone—that he would be with Him in Paradise one day when He returns to take all of His children home to heaven.
Who did Saul see in Endor then?
And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.
As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.
And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
It could not have been Samuel that Saul saw because the Bible is clear that the dead remain dead until the resurrection. In Revelation we learn that the devil has fallen angels whom he was able to persuade to join his rebellion in heaven, and after he was cast to earth, they were cast down with him (Revelation 12:4). In other places, they are called “lying spirits” and “spirits of devils” who have the power to work miracles, including masquerading as human beings. In fact, Satan Himself is able to appear as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). Saul saw one of these spirits masquerading as Samuel.
What does the Bible say about communication with spirits?
Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.
There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.
And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
Communication with spirits is forbidden in the Bible because it’s an abomination to God. Paul also warns that this practice is one of the signs of the last days, and it will lead to deception and a departure from the faith, meaning it will be practiced by those who claim to be believers. Isaiah says that the only way to identify whether a spirit is from God or not is to compare what it says with the Word of God because every lying spirit will speak contrary to His Word.
What did Paul write at the end of his life?
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
May the grace of Jesus help us to live a life of unwavering commitment and faithfulness to Him.