14) State of the Dead
What happens when we die? The biblical answer
What happens when we die? There are many theories, but the Bible has a clear answer. In this lesson, we will discover the biblical truth about death.
The Nature of Man
How was man created?
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Answer: Dust of the earth + breath of life = living soul
Genesis 2:7: "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."
Does man possess an immortal soul?
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Answer: Only God possesses immortality
1 Timothy 6:16: "Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen."
“The theory of the immortality of the soul was one of those false doctrines that Rome, borrowing from paganism, incorporated into the religion of Christendom.” — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, GC 549.2
What Happens in Death
What happens when a person dies?
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Answer: The dust returns to the earth and the breath (spirit) returns to God who gave it
Ecclesiastes 12:7: "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."
Do the dead know anything?
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Answer: The dead know nothing at all
Ecclesiastes 9:5: "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."
To what does the Bible compare death?
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Answer: To a sleep
John 11:11-14: "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. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead."
The Hope of Resurrection
When will the dead receive life again?
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Answer: At the resurrection, when Christ returns
1 Thessalonians 4:16: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:"
When will we receive immortality?
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Answer: At the last trumpet, when the dead are raised incorruptible
1 Corinthians 15:52-53: "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. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."
“The Bible clearly teaches that the dead do not go immediately to heaven. They are represented as sleeping until the resurrection.” — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, GC 549.3
Warning About Spiritualism
Why does the Bible prohibit consulting the dead?
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Answer: Because the dead cannot communicate — it is demonic deception
Deuteronomy 18:10-12: "There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee."
What was Satan's first lie about death?
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Answer: 'You will surely not die'
Genesis 3:4: "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:"
Where is our hope in the face of death?
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Answer: In Jesus: 'I am the resurrection and the life'
John 11:25-26: "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"
Now What?
The truth about death brings peace:
- Death is a sleep: There is no consciousness or suffering
- We do not have an immortal soul: Only God is immortal
- Resurrection is our hope: Jesus will return and give us life
- Spiritualism is deception: The dead do not communicate
My Decision
I accept the biblical teaching that death is an unconscious sleep until the resurrection. My hope is in Jesus, who is the resurrection and the life. I reject any attempt to communicate with the dead as deception from the enemy.