A LOOK AT LIFE AFTER DEATH.

Read the two following passages:

"So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.  For we walk by faith, not by sight.  We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord."  (2 Corinthians 5:6‑8)

and

"I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; (Philippians 1:23)

Compare those passages with the following:

 

But man dies and is laid away;

Indeed, he breathes his last

And where is he?

 

As water disappears from the seas

And a river becomes parched and dries up,

So man lies down and does not rise.

 

Till the heavens are no more,

They will not awake

Nor be roused from their sleep.

 

"Oh, that You would hide me in the grave,

That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,

That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!

If a man dies, shall he live again?

 

All the days of my hard service I will wait,

Till my change comes.

You shall call, and I will answer You;

You shall desire the work of Your hands.  (Job 14:10‑15)

Job, the writer of the second passage, was lamenting his life and basically wishing that God would let him die.  Job knew that in death he would be unconscious and would not feel any of the pain he was feeling in his present life.  This passage is interesting because it doesn't say anything about Job going to heaven or to the hell.

 

Job, through the inspiration of God, was talking about what happens when a person dies.  In fact, the passage tells us that Job knew about a future resurrection.  Job clearly says that a ". . . man dies and is laid away . . . he breathes his last . . . As the water disappears from the sea, And the river becomes parched and dries up, so man lies down and does not rise."  Job goes on to tell us that it will be at the resurrection when he, along with others ". . . would be roused from their sleep."  Job asks God to ". . . hide [him] in the grave, That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past . . .".  Job wanted God to hide him in the grave or, "sheol" as the ancient Hebrews called it.  Job is simply asking God to let him die and that God ". . . would appoint . . . [him] . . . a set time . . ." when Job would be resurrected from his grave.   ". . . You shall call, and I will answer you . . .".  


Job knew that his resurrection would be sometime in the future.  Job knew that when he died, "As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, so he who goes down to the grave does not come up."  [Job 7:9].  He likens his death to a cloud that ". . . disappears and vanishes away . . .", just as man does when he dies and goes to the grave, he is no more.  When man dies he is not off someplace else, he very simply just ". . .. disappears and vanishes away. . .". 

Job likens death to sleep.  He says “. . .  man dies and is laid away . . . (t)hey will not awake(n) or be roused from their sleep.”  When a person is asleep they are not aware of anything around them. 

 

This passage is an indication of man’s state of being after he dies.

 

 



WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT LIFE AFTER DEATH?

 

The Bible does not contradict itself and the word of God does not lie.  The scriptures all have to support each other in what they mean.

King Solomon wrote:

“So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them.  All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.

“As it is with the good, so with the sinful; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them.  This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun:

“The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead.  Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

“For the living know that they will die but the dead know nothing.  They have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 9:1-6).

After we die, we do not either go to heaven, hell or somewhere else to continue to live on as a conscious being until the time when Jesus passes judgment.  When we die, we no longer exist in any conscious form, we simply "...return to dust".

Daniel 12:2 says “…those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awaken.” Explaining the present condition of the dead, they are asleep, not aware of what is going on.  Solomon explains “For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them:  as one dies, so does the other…All go to one place:  all are from dust, and all return to dust.”  (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20).

Job wrote, “man comes forth like a flower and fades away; he flees like a shadow and does not continue” (Job 14:2).  “Since his days are determined, the number of his months are with you; you have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass” (Job 14:5).  

Job goes on to note the stark reality of death when he wrote, “So man lies down and does not rise.  Till the heavens and earths are no more, they will not awake or be aroused from their sleep” (Job 14:12).  Job wrote about the complete absence of consciousness in death.

I do believe that there is both eternal and immortal life, just not the way most Christians define it.

CAN YOU CAN TALK TO THE DEAD.

The Christian Bible well documents the idea in many scriptures that there are angels who God directs to minister to humans. These angels do not contact humans on their own and humans cannot contact them. That is not without God's express permission. This is talking about God's angels, not all angels. There are angels that were created by God, that chose to rebel against God.

Satan is one of them. When he rebelled, he took one third of all angels that were created by God with him. These are what most Christians refer to as Fallen angels or demons. These angels, along with Satan, can and will communicate with you. 

They will do this for one reason and one reason only. The reason is to deceive you. These angels that communicate with humans are not dead people. They are a creation of God, created as an angel that dwells in the spiritual realm.

The Bible does not teach nor will you find any scripture that supports the idea that the dead come back to help human beings in any way. In order to teach this doctrine, scripture must teach on the immortality of the human soul or spirit and it does not.

The immortality of the human soul or spirit is strictly a pagan idea not found anywhere in the Bible. Early in Christianity, during the early third and fourth centuries, it was incorporated into Christian doctrine, through the Roman Christian Church. Bible scripture plainly teaches that "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" (Ecclesiastes 9:5).

The "ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs for salvation" (Hebrews 1:14) are not dead people but are God's heavenly angels. The doctrine that man is concious after he dies is based today on modern spiritualism. Modern spiritualism and most of its beliefs are not rooted in Biblical scripture. 

If there was any truth in the conciousness of man going on after death, why would not a loving God allow these spirits free will to contact those they love and warn them against the evils of this world? On that alone, the idea that people can talk to the dead makes no logical sense.

Bible scripture teaches that God's eternal plan is the salvation of man.  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, who was then allowed by God to be cruelly tortured and executed. As a Christian, if you believe John 3:16, how could you logically believe that God would not allow the spirits of dead humans actively participate in man's salvation, and talk to their dead relatives and loved ones freely and without being conjured up by someone who claims they can talk to the dead, while taking your money.  That makes no sense what so ever.

RELATED ARTICLES:

False Biblical Doctrine Is Taught By Christian Churches Today.

The Bible Describes The Dead As Being Unconsciousness.

Contemporary Christian doctrine teaches that we are born, we live our lives, and we die.

HOW DOES THE BIBLE DESCRIBE DEATH?

THE BIBLE SAYS THAT OUR SPIRIT RETURNS TO GOD WHEN WE DIE.