After
Death...
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We invite you to pray with us:
O Lord, our God,
Today, we have a very important question to ask You: what happens after death?
There are so many theories about this subject, but we now want to turn to You to obtain at
last an answer which will be trustworthy.
Please guide us in our study of Your Holy Word, by the power of Your Holy Spirit.
This is our prayer, in Jesus Christ.
Amen.
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Job 14:10
Man dies and is laid away; indeed he breathes his last
and where is he?
----------------------------------------------------
Just like Job, we have all wondered what happens after death.
Do we go straight to heaven? To hell? To purgatory? Do we disappear?
Let us see what the Word of God teaches on this subject.
(It is very important to review the previous lesson, entitled «Body, Soul and Spirit», in order to have a proper
understanding of this lesson.)
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Genesis 2:17
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you
shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
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Romans 5:12
Just as through one man sin entered the world, and death
through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned (...).
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We have already seen that immortality of man was conditional to his constant
communion with God, the Source of life.
By disobeying God, that is, by sinning, man became a mortal creature, therefore doomed to
die.
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Ecclesiastes 12:7
Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the
spirit will return to God who gave it.
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We have also seen that man is made of a body taken from the earth, and the
breath of life, or spirit, coming from God.
This combination of body and spirit gives a living soul (please review the lesson «Body,
Soul and Spirit» for more details).
Conversely, the soul ceases to exist when this combination is broken: the spirit (breath
of life) then returns to God, and the body returns to the earth. It is death, the subject
of this lesson.
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Job 3:11,13
Why did I not die at birth? (...)
For now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; then I would
have been at rest.
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Psalm 13:3
Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.
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First surprise: the Word of God compares death to a sleep!
We will see that the Bible uses this comparison many times, in a very clear way.
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The Word of God describes death as a sleep:
«They have sunk into their sleep (...). At Your rebuke,
O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse were cast into a dead sleep.» (PSALM 76:5,6)
«[Stephen] cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this
sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Now Saul was consenting to his
death.» (ACTS 7:60 to 8:1)
«"They shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not awake," says the King, whose name
is the Lord of hosts.» (JEREMIAH 51:57)
«I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep,
lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.» (1 THESSALONIANS 4:13)
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John 11:11-14
Jesus said to [the disciples], «Our friend Lazarus
sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.»
Then His disciples said, «Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.»
However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest
in sleep.
Then Jesus said to them plainly, «Lazarus is dead.»
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The words of Jesus are in complete agreement with the teachings of the Old
Testament: when a man dies, he falls into a state of sleep, waiting for the day of his
resurrection.
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Psalm 94:17
Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul would soon have
settled in silence.
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Psalm 115:17
The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into
silence.
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The dead therefore end up in a state of complete sleep: they stay in the grave
in silence.
The Word of God is straightforward on this point: when we die, we fall into a state of
total unconsciousness.
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Ecclesiastes 9:5,6,10
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.
Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have
a share in anything done under the sun. (...)
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or
knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.
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This passage is so obvious that some people, wishing to deny the
unconsciousness of the dead, declare that the book of Ecclesiastes is not inspired...
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Ecclesiastes 12:10
What was written was upright - words of truth.
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2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
----------------------------------------------------
Unfortunately for the detractors of the book of Ecclesiastes, God anticipated
their trick! He made sure that the Bible confirms the truthfulness of this very book.
Having said this, let us note that many other books of the Word of God clearly teach the
total unconsciousness of the dead.
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The Bible teaches that the dead are in a state of total unconsciousness:
«So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens
are no more, they will not awake nor be roused from their sleep. (...) His sons come to
honor, and he does not know it; they are brought low, and he does not perceive it.» (JOB
14:12,21)
«You shall be gathered to your grave in peace; your eyes shall not see all the calamity
which I will bring on this place.» (2 KINGS 22:20)
«For in death there is no remembrance of You; in the grave who will give You thanks?»
(PSALM 6:5)
«His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish.» (PSALM
146:4)
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Still other verses showing that the dead are totally unconscious:
«Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead
arise and praise You? Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or Your
faithfulness in the place of destruction? Shall Your wonders be known in the dark? And
Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?» (PSALM 88:10-12)
«The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into silence.» (PSALM 115:17)
«For Sheol cannot thank You, death cannot praise You; those who go down to the pit cannot
hope for Your truth. The living, the living man, he shall praise You, as I do this day.»
(ISAIAH 38:18,19)
[Note: The Hebrew word «Sheol» (in Greek, «Hades») is simply the grave.]
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John 3:13
[Jesus said,]
«No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man
who is in heaven.»
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Acts 2:29,34
Let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that
he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. (...)
For David did not ascend into the heavens.
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The belief that the righteous ascend to heaven at the moment of death has no
biblical foundation.
The dead rest in the grave, completely unconscious.
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Job 17:13,15,16
If I wait for the grave as my house, if I make my bed in
the darkness, (...) where then is my hope? As for my hope, who can see it?
Will they go down to the gates of Sheol? Shall we have rest together in the dust?
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Genesis 37:35
For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.
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Job and Jacob knew that at their death, they would not ascend to heaven but
would go into the grave, the abode of the dead (in Hebrew, «Sheol»; in Greek,
«Hades»).
Indeed, the Sheol-Hades never means «Paradise», «Purgatory», or «Hell with eternal
sufferings».
It rather means «grave», «tomb».
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John 14:2,3
[Jesus said,]
«I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that
where I am, there you may be also.»
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Now that we understand that the dead do not ascend to heaven, but rest quietly
in the grave, Jesus' words make more sense.
Indeed, how could He come again to take His children with Him if they were already in
heaven since the day of their death?
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2 Samuel 12:22,23
While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I
said,
«Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?»
But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again?
I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
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Let us note the verse above: when we pray, we must do it only on behalf of the
living.
It is totally useless to pray for the dead: their eternal destiny is already fixed,
according to their own choice made during their life.
Our prayers cannot change this choice, however hard we pray.
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Deuteronomy 18:10-12
There shall not be found among you (...) a medium, or a
spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord.
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We have already studied that we must pray to God and God alone (see the lesson «Using God's Hot Line»).
Since the dead are unconscious, we can understand that praying to them is completely
useless.
However, God goes even further, and warns us severely against invoking the dead.
Why is it so dangerous?
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Isaiah 8:19,20
And when they say to you, «Seek those who are mediums
and wizards, who whisper and mutter,» should not a people seek their God? Should they
seek the dead on behalf of the living?
To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is
because there is no light in them.
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2 Corinthians 11:14
No wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an
angel of light.
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By trying to call up a dead person, we give Satan the opportunity to
impersonate this dead, and thus to deceive us, making us believe his lies.
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Job 7:9,10
He who goes down to the grave does not come up.
He shall never return to his house, nor shall his place know him anymore.
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Thus, the haunted house phenomenon cannot be explained by the return of the
dead, but rather by the power of Satan.
Indeed Satan wants to make us believe that we are able to communicate with the world of
the hereafter, so as to deceive us.
We will talk about this in detail, in our lesson about spiritism.
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Malachi 4:5
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet.
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Matthew 11:7,14
Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John:
(...)
«And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.»
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Now, a few words about reincarnation.
Some people try to prove the truth of this belief with the Bible, quoting these words from
Jesus, and claiming that they confirm that John the Baptist was the reincarnation of
Elijah.
But is it really what Jesus meant by these words?
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Luke 1:17
[John] will also go before [God] in the spirit and power
of Elijah.
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John 1:21
And they asked [John], «What then? Are you Elijah?»
He said, «I am not.»
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Jesus called John the Baptist «Elijah who is to come», because John had the
spirit and the power that characterized the prophet Elijah's ministry.
Furthermore, John the Baptist himself denied being Elijah.
Having said this, what does the Word of God teach about the doctrine of reincarnation?
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Genesis 3:4
And the serpent said to the woman,
«You will not surely die.»
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Hebrews 9:27
It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the
judgment.
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Satan's first lie to man was to make him believe that he is immortal, whether
he obeys God or not. The idea of reincarnation originates from that very first lie.
However the Bible is clear: man dies only once, and after his death his judgment awaits
him, not another life on earth in another body.
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Luke 23:43
And Jesus said to [the criminal],
«Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.»
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Let us now see three classic objections to the unconsciousness of the dead:
first of all, Jesus' famous reply to the repentant thief.
We must note that in the original text there was no punctuation: the translator chose
where to place commas, to make the reading easier.
Thus, this sentence could be read: «Assuredly, I say to you today,
you will be with Me in Paradise.»
Now, you will ask, which version is right?
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John 20:17
[Jesus said:]
«Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father.»
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After His resurrection, Jesus said that He had not yet ascended to Paradise,
neither had He brought the repentant thief with Him to heaven.
The right version is therefore: «Assuredly, I say to you today, you
will be with Me in Paradise.»
This version respects both the declaration of Jesus and the general teaching of the Bible,
according to which the dead rest in the grave, awaiting their reward which will be given
to them at the end of the world, not immediately after their death.
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Revelation 6:9,10
I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been
slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.
And they cried with a loud voice (...).
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Second classic objection: the souls crying under the altar.
It is important to note that we are here in the book of Revelation, a book with a very
vivid and symbolic language, especially in the seven seals from which this verse is taken.
Could this image mean something different from the belief of the consciousness of the
dead?
Let us see the next two verses...
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Genesis 4:10
What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood
cries out to Me from the ground.
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Hebrews 12:24
(...) the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things
than that of Abel.
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Just as Abel's blood cried to God to testify to the crime of his brother Cain,
the blood of the martyrs cries to God to testify to the crimes done against them.
Therefore the martyrs themselves do not cry, as the verses above show it, but rather their
blood, a symbolic cry testifying to the harm that has been done them.
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Luke 16:19-24
There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple
and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named
Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate. (...)
So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich
man also died and was buried.
And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and
Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, «Father Abraham, have mercy on me!»
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Third and last classic objection: the parable of the beggar Lazarus and the
evil rich man.
A parable is a story used to illustrate a lesson: it must not necessarily be interpreted
literally.
A proof of that? See...
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Judges 9:7-9
Listen to me! (...)
The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them.
And they said to the olive tree, «Reign over us!»
But the olive tree said to them, «Should I cease giving my oil?»
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A literal interpretation of this parable would bring us to teach that the trees
speak. Of course, this was not the author's intention!
Likewise, with the parable of Lazarus and the evil rich man, Jesus wasn't explaining what
happens after death, but rather demonstrating the selfishness of the Pharisees.
We have already seen what Jesus was teaching about death: He compared it to a sleep.
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Acts 24:15
There will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the
just and the unjust.
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John 5:28,29
All who are in the graves will hear His voice and come
forth - those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done
evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
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Now, how this sleep of death come to an end?
The Bible teaches us that there will be two resurrections:
- first that of the righteous, at the second coming of Jesus;
- then that of the wicked, after the millennium (subject of a future lesson).
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Daniel 12:2
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth
shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.
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Revelation 20:4-6
[The just] lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand
years.
But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished.
This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first
resurrection.
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There will be two resurrections: first that of the righteous, and 1000 years
later, that of the wicked.
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1 Corinthians 15:53
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this
mortal must put on immortality.
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Revelation 2:11
He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.
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At the first resurrection, God will make the righteous immortal. They will thus
inherit eternal life.
The second resurrection will bring the wicked before God's throne for their judgment, and
then they will suffer the «second death».
But what, exactly, is the second death? This will be the subject of our next lesson.
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A little summary about death and resurrection:
|_From
God_| Conversion #
At Jesus Christ's
second coming,
| A spirit
|
(accepts ###
the just inherit
eternal life.
+----------+ Jesus as #
==============+=================
| +------+ Savior) # +-----+
|
+----------------+
+->|Living|---------------->|Death|---+
| |After
1000 years|
+->|
soul |---------------->| for |-+ | Just and un- | | For
unjust, |
| +------+ No conversion | all | | | just
sleep | | judgment and |
+----------+ (rejects Jesus +-----+ | |
in the grave | | second death |
|_ A body__| and dies in
|
+--------------+ +-------|--------+
|From
earth|
one's sins) +--------------------------+
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Revelation 21:4
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there
shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the
former things have passed away.
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1 Corinthians 15:26
The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
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May these wonderful promises from God be an inexhaustible source of
encouragement for each one of us!
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Let us pray:
Our Father,
How can we thank You for having revealed us so clearly what happens after death? We now
want to renew our covenant with You, in Jesus Christ.
Please forgive our sins, guide us at all times by Your Holy Spirit, and if we die before
the return of Your Son, we ask You, as the repentant thief on the cross: «Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.» (Luke
23:42).
Awake us for the first resurrection, that we may inherit everlasting life. In Jesus Christ
we pray.
Amen.
The test of Lesson 15 is waiting for you!