What happens to man after death?

LESSON 3

WHAT HAPPENS TO MAN AFTER DEATH?

You are welcome to another edition of Insights from God's Word, a Bible Study Programme that is committed to sharing God's Word by allowing the Bible to speak for itself.

In this edition, we continue with our series on The Truth About Death. In this study, I want us to consider the question: What happens to man after death? We will actually be considering in detail the biblical doctrine of the state of the dead.

There are several belief systems about what happens to man after death. Many religions and cultures believe in the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. That is, the belief that people are conscious in death because their souls actually live on after death. In this study, I want us to consider what the Bible has to say on what happens when someone dies.

In the book of Genesis, God clearly instructed Adam and Eve: "16 ... of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat. 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17).

Friends, this passage in Genesis 2:16-17 is the first place we read about death in the Bible. The million dollar question that I believe you and I need to ask in relation to this text is this: What did God really mean when He said to our first parents; "...for in the day that thou eatest thereof THOU SHALT SURELY DIE."? What is on the other side of death? What happens to a person when he or she dies?

Well friends, none of us alive have experienced death and so we cannot give any authoritative answer to the questions above. But the good news is that, despite the several opposing theories that are making rounds in regard to the subject of death, God’s Holy Word, the Bible, gives us clear insights on this crucial subject. The Bible does not leave us in doubt or confusion concerning the condition or state of the dead. At this point, I will want us to consider some texts of Scripture that will lead us to have a clearer understanding of the state of the dead. The scriptural texts have been grouped under various segments as follows:

1. THE COMPOSITION OF MAN

Before we can understand what happens to man at death, we need to first understand the composition or make up of man. From Genesis 2:7, we read the following about the composition of man: "And the LORD God formed man of the DUST OF THE GROUND, and breathed into his nostrils the BREATH OF LIFE; and man became a LIVING SOUL" (Capital Emphasis Added).

From the text above, it is clear that God used two elements to bring mankind into being. These elements are the dust of the ground and the breath of life. Thus from Genesis 2:7, the composition or make up of man can be summarised with this simple mathematical equation: Dust of the ground + Breath of life = a living Soul (or a living person).

2. EXPLANATION OF THE KEY TERMS IN THE COMPOSITION OF MAN

a) Dust of the ground: This is basically the elements of the earth that God used to form the human body (Genesis 2:7). From the sad account of Genesis 3, we learn something about the make-up of man: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, TILL THOU RETURN UNTO THE GROUND; FOR OUT OF IT WAST THOU TAKEN: FOR DUST THOU ART, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Genesis 3:19; Capital Emphasis Added). Friends, the Bible is clear. The human body is made up of the dust of the ground. Sometimes, the Bible even uses the terms dust of the ground and body interchangeably (Ecclesiastes 12:7).

b) The breath of life: This is the vital life force that emanates from God. This life force is what combines with the body to keep man alive (Genesis 2:7). After God had formed Adam, he had a nose but couldn’t breathe, he had an eye but couldn’t see, and he had ears but couldn’t hear. All the organs of the body were in place but were not functioning. It was only after God had breathed into Adam the breath of life that he became a living person (Genesis 2:7). Immediately after God’s breath entered Adam, you could imagine his eye opening up to behold his Creator for the first time; you could imagine a smile on his face, you could imagine the father of our race rising from the ground, so to speak, and beholding the wonderful creation of God. Friends, it was the breath of life from God; the spark of life, that made man a living being.

In some portions of Scripture, the word ‘spirit’ is also used to refer to the breath of life. From Job 27:3, we come across such a comparison: "All the while my BREATH is in me, and the SPIRIT OF GOD is in my nostrils" (Job 27:3; Capital Emphasis Added). Beloved, from this Scripture in the book of Job, it is clear that the terms "breath of life" and ‘spirit’ are one and the same thing. In other words, the human being does not have a third component called spirit. The spirit, as we have noted from Scripture is the same as the breath of life. And this breath or spirit from God that keeps us alive basically comes from the moving air (wind) that we breathe (see Ezekiel 37:1-14; with a particular focus on verses 9 and 10). In fact, the patriarch Job actually described the breath or spirit of God as what was in his nostrils (Job 27:3). And friends, what do you and I find in our nostrils? The answer is simple: it’s basically the air we breathe. It is interesting to note that the Hebrew word for spirit (that is, ruach) can be interpreted spirit, breath, wind or air. As we advance in this study, we will notice in different portions of Scripture how the terms breath of life and spirit are used interchangeably.

c) The Soul: This is the living person or living creature, the final product of dust of the ground and breath of life (Genesis 2:7). It is interesting to note that the Hebrew word for soul (that is, nephesh) is used to denote a living being, person, or creature. In fact, in several passages of Scripture, the word ‘soul’ is used to refer to living people. Here are some few examples:

i) "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls" (Acts 2:41).

ii) "who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water" (1 Peter 3:20; NKJV).

iii) "And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls (Acts 27:37; KJV). The NKJV records the same text with the following words: "And in all we were two hundred and seventy-six persons on the ship" (Acts 27:37).

Friends, these texts of Scripture make it clear that the soul is the living person; the product of the dust of the ground (body) and breath of life (spirit) as Genesis 2:7 stipulates. Thus, it is important to note that the soul is not another separate part or component of man. Rather, the soul is the complete product of God's creation. And so I can refer to you as a soul. Another person might refer to you as a person. The two terms are one and the same thing. When a person is alive, the Bible refers to him as a living soul (Genesis 2:7). Thus, a dead person can be referred to as a dead soul. Contrary to this clear teaching of Scripture, many of God’s children have been taught the pagan concept that the soul is another component of man that lives on after the physical death of a person. But beloved, as we have noted above, the Bible’s clear teaching is that the soul is the complete living person, the product of dust and breath. And that the soul or person who sins shall die (see Genesis 2:16-17; Ezekiel 18:4; Ezekiel 18:20).

3) WHAT HAPPENS TO MAN AFTER DEATH?

When death occurs, the reverse of the composition of man takes place. From James 2:26, we read the straightforward words: "... the body without the spirit is dead..." In other words, when the spirit or breath separates from the body, the result is death. This point can also be summarised in a simple mathematical equation: the dust of the ground (body) - the breath of life (spirit) = a dead person or corpse. James 2:26 is not the only text that put forward this clear teaching. From several other texts of Scripture, we obtain the same understanding. Let us consider a few of such similar texts that describe what happens when a person dies:

a) "Then shall the DUST return to the earth as it was: and the SPIRIT shall return unto God who gave it" (Ecclesiastes 12:7; Capital Emphasis Added).

b) "Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their BREATH, they die, and return to their DUST" (Psalm 104:29; Capital Emphasis Added).

Friends, these texts make it clear that when a person dies, the body returns to the earth while the spirit or breath returns to God, the Author of life. I realize that many people struggle with this biblical statement, and so I want to take a moment to explain. When a person dies, the body which is made up of the dust of the ground quickly decomposes and becomes dust as it was (Genesis 3:19). I think this part is clear to many people. The part that many find confusing is the breath or spirit returning to God. As I stated earlier with scriptural support, the breath (or spirit of God) that keeps us alive comes from the moving air (wind) that we breathe (Ezekiel 37:9-10; Job 27:3). When something happens to our ability to breath from the fountain of God’s air, we die. Our last breath or spirit that we breathe out just adds up to the air of God. In other words, it goes back to God, the Creator of all things (John 1:1-3). From this Scriptural interpretation above, it is very clear that the human breath or spirit when separated from the body does not have life in itself. Some people imagine that the spirit of man going to God after death means that the spirit of the person is going to live on in the presence of God. But as we have noted from Scripture, the spirit is the same as the breath of life which does not live on after the physical death of a person. To enable us to understand this concept clearly, the Bible actually compares the state of the breath or spirit of man in death to that of animals. From Ecclesiastes 3:19-21, we read the following from the wise king Solomon: "19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, THEY HAVE ALL ONE BREATH; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. 20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 21 Who knoweth THE SPIRIT OF MAN that goeth upward, and the SPIRIT OF THE BEAST that goeth downward to the earth?" (Ecclesiastes 3:19-21; Capital Emphasis Added).

Beloved, I hope you can notice from the passage above how the words BREATH and SPIRIT are used interchangeably. In other words, the Bible utilizes these two words in the same way. We also learn from this passage in Ecclesiastes, a key comparison that King Solomon makes in relation to the breath of man and that of animals. He states categorically that both man and beast have got one breath or spirit. He then concludes through a rhetorical question at the end of the passage that the breath or spirit of these two beings (that is, man and animals) go to the same place after death. In other words, the spirit or breath of one does not go up while the other goes down after death. I’m convinced that even people who promote the idea that man has an eternal spirit that survives mortal death do not think of the spirit of animals in the same way. But the biblical teaching is that the breath or spirit of the two beings (that is, man and animals) goes to the same place after death. Thus friends, it is clear from the biblical passages we have reviewed so far that the breath or spirit of man, just like that of the beast does not live on after death but rather adds up to the fountain of God’s air.

As I bring this segment to a close, I want to reiterate the biblical fact that death occurs when the breath or spirit separates from the body (James 2:26). Thus, it is important for us to note that the two elements that combine to make up a living person (that is, body and breath) are all very important. Without any of them, the living person or soul will cease to exist. At this point in our study, an important question that begs for an answer is this: What about Paul's statement in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 which seems to suggest that the human being is made up of three separate parts labelled spirit, soul and body? Doesn't this text provide evidence that a human being has an independent spirit or soul which can survive bodily death?

Friends, from the scriptural passages we have considered earlier in this study, it is clear that a human being (soul) is an indivisible unit of body and spirit (breath). We noted that without any of these two elements, a person would cease to exist. Now, for us to obtain a clear understanding of 1 Thessalonians 5:23, we need to understand the key original words that are translated as spirit and soul in the text. The Greek words translated as spirit and soul in this text are ‘pneuma’ and ‘psyche’ respectively. Now, besides their usual translation into spirit (pneuma) and living being (psyche), these two Greek words are usually also utilised in Scripture to express "man's mind or the seat of emotions, including feeling, thinking, and reasoning" * (see Hebrews 4:12, KJV). Thus, Paul's prayer that the God of peace would sanctify the believer's spirit, soul and body is a prayer for God to sanctify the mind, affections and body of the believer. In other words, Paul’s prayer was a plea for God to sanctity the entire person. In the subsequent sections, we will consider more Bible texts that make it clear that the human being is not made up of separate entities whereby a particular entity can survive after bodily death.

4) IS A PERSON CONSCIOUS IN DEATH?

Contrary to the popular teaching of spiritism, the Bible clearly teaches that a dead person is not conscious of anything. Let us consider some few texts of Scripture in relation to the condition or state of the dead:

a) "For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6).

b) "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish" (Psalm 146:3-4).

c) "His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them" (Job 14:21).

Clear facts from the biblical texts above:

i) The dead knows nothing. The dead do not know what happens to people on earth. Thus, they cannot be grieved or ecstatic about incidents or circumstances on earth.

ii) The dead cannot express any feeling or affection. For instance, they cannot love, hate, envy or empathize with the living.

iii) The thoughts of the dead person perish. He cannot remember anything from the past. He cannot think or plan anything for the future. He is not even aware of the passing of time.

5. DEATH IS LIKENED TO A DEEP SLEEP

Beloved, death is basically the cessation of life. From the scriptural texts we have gone through so far, it is clear that once a person dies, he has no consciousness. He cannot express any affection or feeling; neither can he make use of his mind. In fact, the Bible teaches that death is like a dreamless sleep. The Bible actually compares death to sleep more than 50 times. Let us consider a few of these clear texts of Scripture:

a) "13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are ASLEEP, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which SLEEP in Jesus will God bring with him" (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14; Capital Emphasis Added).

b) "51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all SLEEP, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:51-52; Capital Emphasis Added).

c) "So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their SLEEP" (Job 14:12; Capital Emphasis Added).

d) "And many of them that SLEEP in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:2; Capital Emphasis Added).

e) "Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, LEST I SLEEP THE SLEEP OF DEATH" (Psalm 13:3; Capital Emphasis Added). f) "11:1 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

11:2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)

11:3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

11:4 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

11:5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.

11:6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.

11:7 Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.

11:8 His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?

11:9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.

11:10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.

11:11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus SLEEPETH; but I go, that I may awake him out of SLEEP.

11:12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he SLEEP, he shall do well.

11:13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his DEATH: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in SLEEP.

11:14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is DEAD."

(John 11:1-14; Capital Emphasis Added) Friends, the passages of Scripture we have reviewed so far are very clear. They assert that there is no consciousness in death because death is basically a dreamless sleep. In other words, people who are dead do not know or feel anything. I have come to learn from Scripture that it is not death in particular that should make us to shudder but rather the account we have to give to our God after death. From Hebrews 9:27, we read the following sobering words from the apostle Paul: "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."

Exhortation: Beloved, even though death is with us because of sin, the comforting assurance we obtain from Scripture is that we do not have to fear death and the judgement that follows if we open the door of our hearts to Jesus Christ. For the Son of God encourages us with the following bold claims concerning Himself:

a) "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death" (Revelation 1:18).

b) "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25).

* Reference: Emphasizing the Wholeness of Man by Jonathan Oey Kuntaraf & Kathleen Liwidjaja-Kuntaraf (General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists).

In our next study, we will consider the questions: When a person dies where does he go? Where are our dead friends and relatives? Are they in Paradise? Hell? Purgatory? Some spirit world? Reincarnated? Or asleep in their graves? The Bible Study references for this study are Job 17:13-16, John 5:28-29, Psalm 6:5 and Job 7:9-10. Please do well to go through these passages before the next study is released.

[Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture passages are from the King James Version.]

Stay blessed and keep shining for King Jesus.

Maranatha!

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