WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TELL US ABOUT LIFE AFTER DEATH?
The Bible has a definite view about life after death and it may be contrary to the popular belief of most Christians. The Bible does not tell us that when we die we go to heaven. It is very true that this is a popular Christian doctrines preached by most Christian denominations today, but just because it is a Christian doctrine does not make it true.
Their are many varied doctrines in the Christian religion today. Each church professing a particular doctrine will swear on the Bible that what they are preaching is the truth and that if you do not believe them you will go to hell. The question is, how can all these different doctrines be true? The short answer is that they can't. There can only be one truth.
If this is the case, then there are a lot of Christians out there who believe that they were going to go to heaven when thy die who aren't. The Bible actually tells us that no one goes to heaven right after they die. This is a fabrication thought up by Satan and instituted by the early Roman Church in order to deceive new found Christian believers and give them false hope which, because of the uncertainty of a belief that cannot really be proven by the scriptures evokes dread, fear and hopelessness, which is exactly what Satan wants to do. He is a master at this.
The Bible makes it pretty simple to understand exactly what happens when we die. It says, "Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it" (Ecclesiastes 12:7). Most Christians at this point will say, "see, the Bible says that the spirit goes back to God, who gave it!"
That is true, it does say that. But, the Bible also says, "The spirit of God is in my nostrils" (Job 27:3). God's Spirit that he gave to man is the "breath of God" The "breath of life". It is God's power. The Bible never says anywhere that the spirit has any intellect, life, wisdom, or feeling. it is the breath "of" life, not life itself.
To understand exactly what the scripture means, you must understand what the human spirit is. Exactly how is the word for spirit used in the Bible. Let’s take a look at the Old Testament since this is what Jesus Christ taught from.
The English word “spirit” is interpreted from the Hebrew noun, “ruwach”. The Hebrew word “ruwach” is related to the verb meaning, "to breathe", or "to blow", The primitive Hebrew root of the word “ruwach” means breath as in “the breath of life”, or to blow as in blowing air from the nostrils.
Ruwach can refer to wind, breath or to the mind such as in a state of agitation. It could describe a person as physically being in a fast motion, such as a horse breathing quickly or being vivacious or animated with vigor. It can also describe a psychological state of being such as being mad or angry. It could describe your temperament as being courageous or describe your disposition as impatient, angry, bitter. All of these descriptions can describe the spirit of a man.
The spirit of a man is an abstract description. It is not a physical entity. The spirit doesn't think or have any thought process. It cannot speak, see or talk.
Biblically it is defined as breath, to blow, or wind. It is a force that has energy. Job 19:17 interprets “ruwach” as breath.
The Bible also tells us that the soul is a living being. "And the lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, (ruwach); and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7). The soul is a combination of two things, the body plus the breath of God, the spirit or the power of God.
There is no scripture in the Bible that tells us that the body and soul, exists without, the spirit. The Bible tells us that the spirit, which simply is the power of God that kept the body alive making it a "living soul", goes back to God. There is no scripture that tells us that the soul goes anywhere after death except that it "...will return to the earth as it was..." (Ecclesiastes 12:7).
