An older saint recently asked me what the Bible has to say about death. He was anxious to know like never before in light of the fact that he realized death could be imminent—he considered himself old, near the age of dying. And he wanted God’s perspective on the matter. That was very wise on his part because the best way to deal with death is to prepare for death. Many people become emotionally paralyzed when death occurs, even Christians, because they did not prepare for death properly. The proper way to prepare for death is to ask the right questions and to look for the answers in the Bible. Scripture is the authority on death and dying. Preparing for death begins by properly thinking about death.
The Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes says, “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living takes it to heart” (7:2). This verse is God’s reminder to us all that we need to stop and purposefully reflect on the brevity of life and the inevitability of death. For many, the topic of death is avoided at all costs, as is attending memorial services and funerals. This verse says the believer should have the exact opposite attitude. We should embrace times of death as formal, necessary interruptions in the daily routine of life to recalibrate and get our priorities right. Seriously meditating about death should keep us humble, dependent, thankful, hopeful, and prayerful. That is God’s desire for us. But again, this reflection on death needs to be from God’s perspective, not a human perspective.
Seriously meditating about death should keep us humble, dependent, thankful, hopeful, and prayerful.
People die every day, so we hear about death regularly. It’s in the news constantly. The problem is that even though we routinely hear about death from all quarters, rarely do we stop, pause, and deliberately expose the many lies that undermine the biblical worldview about death. The news headlines feature the deaths of famous people all the time and usually ignore the most important considerations about the deceased or they give completely false information to the reading public about what happens to someone upon death. Consider some of the more popular myths, untruths, and wrong views about death and dying that are propagated by the world on a regular basis:
- “He’s in a better place” — When some famous politician, actor, musician, or athlete dies this is one of the first and main things you’ll hear as they are eulogized by their family, friends or fans. Many times, based on what that famous person believed and how they lived life, the true story may actually be the opposite. It could be said of many at their death, “Now that they have died, they are NOT in a better place. In fact, they are in eternal, conscious, physical, deserved torment.” Jesus reminded us of this reality frequently. He routinely taught on the fact of heaven and hell. He soberly taught that “many” people go to hell, the way of destruction, instead of heaven. He also said “few” are those who go to “a better place” called heaven (Matt 7:13-14). Only those who bow the knee to Jesus as Lord in this lifetime go to “a better place” (John 3:36; 5:24). The rest go immediately to the worst place (Luke 16:23).
- “She’ll get another chance” — Some people believe that after you die you get a second chance to make things right with the Creator if you blew it while in this life. This second chance takes many forms. The Catholics call it Purgatory. The Hindus and others call it reincarnation or transmigration of the soul. Mormons call it “baptism for the dead.” None of these views are true. The Bible is clear. As soon as you breathe your last in this life and you die, your spirit immediately goes into the presence of God for judgment. If you knew Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in this life, you enter the glories of Paradise in Heaven (Luke 23:42-43). Or, if you rejected Christ as Lord during your life then you are immediately consigned to the fires of Hell which is irreversible. Hebrews 9:27 is clear on this: “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.”
- “Upon death you cease to exist” — This view says this life is all there is. When a person dies, they go into non-existence or “annihilation.” Therefore, all that matters is this life, and so you don’t need to worry or have guilt and fear about the next life. You won’t be judged. You won’t go to Hell, they tell us. You won’t be conscious of or remember anything from this life. This view is held in various forms by atheists as well as religious people. Evolutionists hold to this view since they believe that all that exists is matter. Many religious people falsely hold this view like Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Christian heretics. But Jesus taught specifically in Luke 16:19-31 that when believers die, they go immediately to Paradise in heaven and unbelievers go to a real, conscious place called Hell where all of their senses will be fully intact, forever. There is no soul sleep or annihilation…for anyone.
- “He died and came back to life” — Countless best-selling books have been written by those claiming that they died and then went either to Heaven, Hell, or the netherworld, and then came back to tell us all about it in their best-selling book. None of these stories are true. The Bible defines death as being “the body without the spirit” (James 2:26). A person is not dead when their heart stops beating or when they stop breathing. They are dead only when the spirit leaves the body, and only God determines when that happens. And when that happens it is not irreversible unless you are Jesus or Lazarus (John 11). The norm is that when your spirit leaves your body you go immediately to judgment before God (Heb 9:27), and then you are a permanent citizen of Paradise in Heaven or you are irrevocably consigned to Hell. You are not sent back to earth by God. The Bible says all we need to know about what Heaven is like. The Bible is the authority on all the details of Heaven. Additional information that people offer about the afterlife will either contradict Scripture or be superfluous.
- “He became an angel” — Many hold to all kinds of wrong views about what happens to people when they die. Some say good people become angels in the next life. Catholics say babies who die before being baptized go to a quasi-peaceful place of bliss called Limbo. Others say people who die turn into stars. Some say when you die you are first met by Peter the Apostle who will scrutinize your worthiness. Some say your individual spirit is absorbed into a greater World-Spirit at death. Others tout that upon death you float on a cloud forever. Rebels like to imagine that they get to join their friends in Hell where they will party forever. Many claim that they continue to have ongoing, personal communication with loved ones who have died, either in dreams, through seances, or other occult practices. Others say we can’t know why we die or what happens to us after we die. All the above views are wrong and misleading for they contradict the clear teaching of the Bible.
Having looked at the popular myths about death and the afterlife, now consider some of the real truths about death revealed in the Bible:
(1) Death is Punishment
People die for only one ultimate reason—sin. Scripture says, “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23), which means death is the penalty and consequence of committing sin against a holy God. As such, death is always deserved. God is offended by our sin and must punish every sin with death. God laid out this universal, inviolable spiritual law in the beginning when He created Adam and warned him “in the day” that you disobey God “you will surely die” (Gen 2:17). Death entered the world through the sin of Adam (Rom 5:12). God said in Ezekiel, “The person who sins will die” (18:20). Death is not neutral or natural, but unnatural. And as a punishment decreed by a holy God, death is a moral and spiritual reality. Death is always the by-product of sin.
(2) Death is an Enemy
In Corinthians 15:26 Paul calls death an “enemy” of God. Death is an enemy of Christ and believers too. Paul further says death is the last and greatest enemy of God. Death should never be glamorized or downplayed, for death is horrific and an utter distortion, dissolution, and reversal of being made in the image of God. Death is ugly and the exact opposite of God’s perfect beauty.
(3) Death is to be Mourned
Because death is the result of sin and rebellion and is an unnatural enemy, it should be mourned. God mourns over death. He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek 33:11). The Psalmist shows the heart of God by revealing that “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His godly ones” (Ps 116:15). Abraham mourned the death of Sarah (Gen 23:2). Joseph and his friends mourned over Israel’s death for 70 days (Gen 50:3). Jesus, the Author of life, wept over Lazarus’s death (John 11:35).
(4) Death is Separation
This is the simple, biblical definition of death. And death as separation occurs in three different ways in the Bible. First, there is spiritual death, being separated from God on a personal level due to unforgiven sin. This is the status of all unbelievers. They are spiritually dead even though they may be physically alive (Eph 2:1). Second, there is physical death which happens when we breath our last in this life as our spirit leaves our body and departs into the realm of the afterlife (Gen 35:18; James 2:26). And third, there is eternal death, where those who have rejected God and His truth will be consigned for all eternity after physical death. Scripture calls this eternal death other names such as Hades, Hell, outer darkness, the second death, the eternal fire, eternal punishment, the lake of fire, among other terms.
(5) Death is a Tool of Satan
Hebrews 2:14 says Satan, the devil, had “the power of death” which he utilized to create fear in people and to lead them away from God and His truth. Satan loves death. God loves life. Satan is called the “destroyer,” or the one who kills (Rev 9:11). Satan orchestrated the death of Job’s children (Job 2). Satan prompted Judas and the Scribes, Pharisees, and Priests to murder Jesus (John 5:18; 8:44; 13:27).
(6) Death Brings the Greatest Fear
Hebrews 2:15 declares that the fear of death enslaves every human, especially unbelievers. All sinners know death is inevitable and deserved, and they cannot relieve their consciences from guilt. As such, all they do in life is driven by a desire to smother the guilt of their sin that deserves death. Their greatest fear is death because they have no solution of how to avoid it. Any unbeliever who says they do not fear death is either lying or is self-deceived.
(7) Death is Used by God
Even though death is an enemy of God and life, God uses death for His purposes and His glory. God works all things, the good and the bad, for good toward those He loves (Rom 8:28). While tragic, God used the greatest evil, death, to accomplish the greatest good ever, salvation, by the death of Jesus, the sinless Savior. Jesus’ death enabled our eternal life.
(8) Death is Controlled by God
Even though Satan seeks to use death as a tool, he is not in charge of death. God is. Jesus said God is the one “who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt 10:28). In fact, eternal death was created by God as a specific punishment for Satan and his demons (Matt 25:41). Death happens only when God allows it. God did not allow Satan to kill Job. God granted fifteen extra years of life to Hezekiah after he prayed to God for mercy (Isa 38:1-5). In 1400 BC God ordained that human life would average about 75 years (Ps 90). 3,400 years later that is still true. On a personal level, God ordains how many days we will live before we are even born (Ps 139:16). God is sovereign over death. “The LORD kills and makes alive” (1 Sam 2:6).
(9) Death is Overcome only through Christ
Evil separates sinners from a holy God. Death is separation. Before salvation, all people are separated from God. Jesus died to pay the penalty of sin that God demanded. Jesus’ death and resurrection bridged the infinite chasm that death brings between sinners and God. Jesus rose from the grave, showing that He had power over death. As the God-Man, Jesus is sovereign over death just as the Father is. Death is the greatest enemy of humanity, and the Bible says Jesus has conquered death (2 Tim 1:10). Only those who repent of sin and embrace Christ’s gospel can escape death by receiving eternal life through Him (John 5:24).
Conclusion
In light of the foregoing, and especially in view of Ecclesiastes’ call for us to reflect on the true meaning of death for our good, be sure to incorporate the above divine truths about death into your worldview to ensure that you think as God thinks about all things, including the reality of death. If you do, God’s promise is that you will be prepared for death when it comes within the sphere of your life, and at that time, even if it is unexpected, the God of all comfort will be your sufficiency in the greatest time of need (2 Cor 1:3-11).