Lesson № 12 If dead people are alive?
What is death?
The Bible says:
- death is the reverse of creation: when God ceases to support the “breath of life”, a man dies and his ashes returned to the earth (Genesis 3:19; Ecclesiastes 3:20) and the spirit that cannot exist separately from the body and returns to God (Ecclesiastes 12:7; Psalm 103:29).
- Jesus on the cross of Calvary conquered death (2 Timothy 1:10; 1 Corinthians 15:16-26).
- after the Second coming of the righteous will live forever in a new incorruptible bodies (John 6:40; 10:27, 28; 1 Corinthians 15:52-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17; Philippians 3:20, 21; Ezekiel 37:12, 14; Revelation 21:3-5).
- at the end of the day of judgment the wicked will die the final death (Revelation 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8).
Why did God create death?
- Humans were originally created by God for eternal life, but this was possible as long as humans lived in a covenant with the Lord (Genesis 3: 22).
- Creator warned that when people break the Covenant with Him, the symbol being the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they become mortals (Genesis 2:17).
- Satan has managed to deceive our first parents, suggesting to them that they will not die if you betray God (Genesis 3:4).
- However, the Creator was right, and after the fall, as was prophesied, sickness and death came to earth (Genesis 3:16-19; Romans 5:12; 6:23)
What do the dead do?
- The Bible says that the soul is mortal (Ezekiel 18: 20; Numbers 23:10; James 5:20; Deuteronomy 27: 25).
- There is no mention of an immortal soul anywhere in the Bible. The disembodied mind of man does not ascend to heaven after death, nor does it descend to hell. The spirit (the memory of man) goes to God (Luke 23: 46; Acts 7: 59).
- The state after death is compared by the Holy Scriptures to sleep (Psalm 12: 4; Daniel 12: 1,2; Job 3:11-13; 14:12; Matthew 9:24, 25; John 11:11-14; Ephesians 5: 14). The word "to rest", which many times in the Bible is called death, is translated from the original "to sleep, to rest" (3 Samuel 2:10; 11:43; 16:6, 4 Kings 4: 31; 20: 21; Acts 7:60; 1 Corinthians 15: 6).
- Death is different from ordinary sleep — it is a complete cessation of vital activity. After death there is neither joy, nor sorrow, nor reflection (Ecclesiastes 9:5,6,10; Psalm 145:4).
- So the dead do not participate in the affairs of the living (Job 14:21; Psalm 29:10) and can not praise God (Psalm 6:6; 87:11-13; 113:25; Isaiah 38:18, 19).
Lesson № 12 If dead people are alive? - What is death?
The Bible says:
- death is the reverse of creation: when God ceases to support the “breath of life”, a man dies and his ashes returned to the earth (Genesis 3:19; Ecclesiastes 3:20) and the spirit that cannot exist separately from the body and returns to God (Ecclesiastes 12:7; Psalm 103:29).
- Jesus on the cross of Calvary conquered death (2 Timothy 1:10; 1 Corinthians 15:16-26).
- after the Second coming of the righteous will live forever in a new incorruptible bodies (John 6:40; 10:27, 28; 1 Corinthians 15:52-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17; Philippians 3:20, 21; Ezekiel 37:12, 14; Revelation 21:3-5).
- at the end of the day of judgment the wicked will die the final death (Revelation 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8).
Why did God create death?
- Humans were originally created by God for eternal life, but this was possible as long as humans lived in a covenant with the Lord (Genesis 3: 22).
- Creator warned that when people break the Covenant with Him, the symbol being the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they become mortals (Genesis 2:17).
- Satan has managed to deceive our first parents, suggesting to them that they will not die if you betray God (Genesis 3:4).
- However, the Creator was right, and after the fall, as was prophesied, sickness and death came to earth (Genesis 3:16-19; Romans 5:12; 6:23)
What do the dead do?
- The Bible says that the soul is mortal (Ezekiel 18: 20; Numbers 23:10; James 5:20; Deuteronomy 27: 25).
- There is no mention of an immortal soul anywhere in the Bible. The disembodied mind of man does not ascend to heaven after death, nor does it descend to hell. The spirit (the memory of man) goes to God (Luke 23: 46; Acts 7: 59).
- The state after death is compared by the Holy Scriptures to sleep (Psalm 12: 4; Daniel 12: 1,2; Job 3:11-13; 14:12; Matthew 9:24, 25; John 11:11-14; Ephesians 5: 14). The word "to rest", which many times in the Bible is called death, is translated from the original "to sleep, to rest" (3 Samuel 2:10; 11:43; 16:6, 4 Kings 4: 31; 20: 21; Acts 7:60; 1 Corinthians 15: 6).
- Death is different from ordinary sleep — it is a complete cessation of vital activity. After death there is neither joy, nor sorrow, nor reflection (Ecclesiastes 9:5,6,10; Psalm 145:4).
- So the dead do not participate in the affairs of the living (Job 14:21; Psalm 29:10) and can not praise God (Psalm 6:6; 87:11-13; 113:25; Isaiah 38:18, 19).
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