If you’re able to read this, you already have an idea of what death is. So the purpose of this post is to take a look at the topic of death from a biblical perspective. Hopefully, death will either scare the stuffing out of you, or it will be as comforting as a warm blanket in a cold, dark place.
And that’s the message: death is the scariest thing about life (for some), or it’s the most comforting thing (for others). It’s all a matter of having the right facts before you and making an intelligent decision about it (not an emotional one).
For me, personally, it’s comforting to know that I don’t have to continue in this state of imperfection for ever and ever. I like the idea that I can become more than I am now with the help of the One Who made me in the first place.
Definition
First, death is the permanent separation of our soul from our material body. One minute we are animate; the next minute we are inanimate and our physical body will never be animated again. The physical body then loses its teleonomy, its purpose for existence, which is to house the soul (our actual life force, which will never cease to exist). Immediately after the separation of soul and body, the body begins to decay back to the dust from which it came (Genesis 3:19). Therefore, it is of little consequence what happens to the body upon death—we already know about this—as we have seen this with our own eyes before. The thing to consider is what happens to the soul upon death, and that’s the mystery.
One Life to Live
…each person is destined to die once…
Hebrews 9:27 (NLT)
Unlike many eastern systems of thought, the Bible teaches that we are not going to be caught up in a continual loop of various “lives” on earth. Reincarnation, feared and yet embraced by Buddha, is contrary to what our Creator has said to expect upon our death. Not only does a single life on earth make the most sense, but it also brings the most peace (potentially). Yet, in keeping with the theme of looking at both sides of this issue, the thought of a single life (followed by judgment) is also a source of much anxiety and fear.
So what’s the difference? Why is it comforting for some to be destined to recycling through “life” (meaning, taking on different bodies at different times) and discomforting for others? Similarly, why is it comforting for some to expect total annihilation (nothingness) upon death, and for others such a thought is anything but comforting? Well, the difference is faith. But is it blind faith, or is there something to bolster our faith? And what is the construct, or narrative of our faith? In other words, what’s the rest of the story surrounding our faith?
Obviously, this could be written as a collection of books with many volumes. But since this is just a little blog with limited space, I’ll try to cut to the chase. I’ll leave off all of the other theories of death and stick to what the Bible teaches about it (for the most part).
Biblical Explanation of Death
Because Adam and Eve (the first two people created) had the capacity to disobey the Creator (because not having the capacity to disobey means that obedience is meaningless), mankind has always had the ability to ignore God. This concept gives us a broader context in which to view death. It lends meaning to the purpose of death. For in understanding death, we can more easily understand life.
In Genesis, chapter 3, we learn that because of mankind’s disobedience God had to introduce death into the world. When He did this it was both a curse and a blessing upon mankind. It was a curse, because it is not what God wanted for us (not to mention the pain and suffering associated with it). It is a blessing, because through death God can reconcile us back to Him.
14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who has the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.
Hebrews 2:14-15 (NLT)
In this short passage above, we see that God uses death as a means to satisfy His requirement for justice, in order to restore our relationship with Him. At the same time, it satisfies His desire to pardon us (set us free) from the consequences of our rebellion (which is separation from God). So in this way, death is a tool in God’s hands to separate our soul (our life essence) from our own sinful nature (which is carried in our bodies).
18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
Romans 7:18-20 (NLT)
This quote from Paul shows that our bodies carry the evil nature that we wish to rid ourselves of. When I say “ourselves”, I mean our soul. So then, God introduced death so that our soul may be saved, while the body dies.
The Afterlife
Now that we know our body dies so that our soul can live, we need to see what life is without a physical body (the sinful one you are wearing right now). And this is the most important thing to understand in this life now: What will the afterlife be like?
One of Paul’s central themes is what he calls, “resurrection”. Resurrection goes a little farther than entering into the afterlife upon death. It opposes the other ideas concerning death, such as: Annihilation (ceasing to exist completely); Reincarnation (entering into another body and doing it all over again); or Pantheism (being absorbed into a cosmic consciousness, thereby losing your own identity). Resurrection speaks to coming back into the Physical Realm after spending a time in the Spirit Realm.
The Temporary State
When your soul leaves your body, you suddenly become aware of a realm of life that was previously invisible to you. I call this the Spirit Realm. (See my post, The Three Realms of Existence for more on that.) Initially, the destination of your soul will be a place where you will remain temporarily. The official doctrine for this is called the “temporary state”. It says that your soul will be transported to one place or another, away from this world. One place is called “hell”; the other place is called “heaven”. Now, you need to understand that these two terms have been handled very poorly over the millennia. So I’d like to take just a few moments and cover them very briefly.
While in the temporary state, your soul has no body. Paul puts it like this, “6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. 7 For we live by believing and not by seeing. 8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:6-8, NLT) That’s the good news, for those who have believed in Christ and His manner of making us right with God. That’s what Paul refers to as the “third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:2). But this bodiless existence does not last forever.
As I discuss in my post, Humanity 2.0 – God’s Own Super Humans, when Jesus returns to this earth, He will bring back with Him those souls who entrusted Him with their salvation. That is when our disembodied soul will be given a new, immortal body: A body that will no longer be plagued with the corruption that our current, earthly bodies contain. A body that is indestructible. A body that will be capable of things that we can barely even contemplate today (like teleportation, telekinesis, and telepathy).
Unfortunately, that happy picture is not going to be the fate of everyone (although everyone will have the opportunity to accept it). But just as the “heavenly” temporary state comes to an end, so also the “hellish” temporary state will come to an end. However, those who are relegated to hell will be resurrected also, but at a different time and for a different reason. While the believers in Christ are resurrected when He returns to earth, the others who rejected His cross will be resurrected one thousand years later. And while the believers are given a new purpose and a meaningful “career”, the others will be resurrected for the purpose of judgment. That is where Jesus will sit in judgment of their lives and hear them give an account of their lives to Him. The result will be eternal. Either they will enter into a new relationship with Him or they will be banished from Him and suffer in an existence of pain and suffering.
Competing Worldviews
The Bible makes no mention of any other alternatives. In fact it is rather emphatic that what it portrays is the truth and that any other explanation is false. Now, when you try to determine which narrative you will listen to, I would like to suggest that you take the totality of the positions into account. Consider everything about the message and the messengers. I have chosen to believe the Bible because it fits what I know about the world and the cosmos in every detail. The competing views have fallen short in many ways and not one of them has the veracity of the Bible, which I consider to be the Word of God.
A complete worldview should incorporate many areas of study, such as (in no particular order):
- Cosmology – the beginning of the universe and life
- Eschatology – the end of the universe
- Biology – living organisms
- Astrology – the cosmos
- Mineralogy – rocks and soil
- Oceanology – oceans and ocean life
- Meteorology – weather
- Philosophy – the meaning under it all
- Spirituality – the unseen essence of life
- Anthropology – mankind
- Ethics
- Morality
- History
- Theology
- Bibliology
- Doctrine
Some worldviews that I have looked at and rejected are:
- Evolutionism
- Big Bang Theory
- Pantheism
- Panentheism
- Polytheism
- Atheism
- Agnosticism
- Buddhism
- Confucianism
- Annihilationism
- Religion in general
And while I embrace science, as the study of God’s creation, I reject many of the theories, hypotheses, theses, conjectures, suppositions, speculations, postulations, propositions, premises, assumptions, presumptions, presuppositions, notions, guesses, hunches, feelings, suspicions, opinions, views, beliefs, thinking, thoughts, judgments, contentions, principles, ideas, concepts, principles, explanations, philosophies, and ideologies of scientists and academicians themselves.
Man is fallible and does not know everything. God is infallible and does know everything. Therefore, their respective books should reflect that. After careful analysis of the Bible’s message, I believe that it is the Word of God and is sound in all that it presents. As for you, I recommend that you fully understand WHAT you believe and WHY you believe it. And if you are inclined to discredit the Bible, I only ask that you do a fully comprehensive, objective study of it first.
The physical sciences cannot observe and study the unseen realm of the spirit. Therefore, each is only a part of any comprehensive worldview. If any of the incomplete or limited conclusions of science or philosophy contradict the complete worldview of the Bible, I personally will reject it (with thorough consideration).
Conclusion
When studying death, there is not a lot of information to go off of. Oh, there’s plenty of speculation and opinion out there, but sources of any kind of authority on the issue are nearly nonexistent. As far as I know, the Bible is the only source of reliable information on this gravely profound topic. Therefore, it is a source worth considering while forming your own complete worldview (which ought to include death).
Without solid, trustworthy information on death, life becomes very precarious. But when one has a solid understanding of death, the afterlife, and how to enter into a happy eternal existence, death is little more than a door through which (nearly) everyone will pass.
If you would like to learn more about the return of Jesus, please check out my short book, End Times Made Easy, available at Amazon.
Be at peace in the Lord. If you are not in the Lord, please seek His peace (which surpasses all understanding).
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7, NLT
Gary
