Death is man’s greatest enemy; and the Bible alone, of all the sources of information available to man, furnishes us with definite information concerning the future of those who are struck down by this dread monster. God’s Word promises that a time is coming when there “shall be no more death”; and, furthermore, that those who have died shall live again. (Rev. 21:4; John 5:28,29) A knowledge of the Creator’s provision for a dying race should be a real solace to those who mourn for their beloved dead.

Added to the ghastly spectre of death itself, is the almost universal uncertainty of what lies beyond the grave. What happens to an individual the next moment after death? Is that individual still alive in some mysterious way, actually hovering around the funeral parlors while his friends are gathered to mourn his passing? Or, has he departed to some unknown and “beautiful isle of somewhere”? Or, in the event that the deceased was not a Christian, is he now in the traditional regions of the damned, where he is doomed to suffer an eternity of torture in a hell of fire and brimstone?

Try as we will, we cannot entirely dismiss these questions from our minds. And while many of us may partially console ourselves in the thought that at least many of our close friends and relatives who have died were good people, and faithful believers in Christianity as they understood it, and hence, according to our accepted beliefs should now be happy in heaven; yet, all of us have had some dear friends, and probably relatives, who have died outside the pale of orthodox belief and practice, and we cannot help wondering what has become of these. Are they now suffering, or are they happy?

SCIENCE HOLDS NO HOPE

Science tells us that there is no evidence of the continuance of human life when death occurs. This being an age of materialism, many are inclined to accept this view. The claim is that so far as the life principle is concerned, man is no different than the lower animals; that the higher intelligence of the human species is not due to the traditional theory that man has hidden within him a separate intelligence called a “soul,” or a “spirit,” but to the fact that he possesses a superior, a more refined, organism than does the brute creation.

Let us now note a few of the scriptural passages which show clearly that science is right as far as the present condition of the dead is concerned. Ecclesiastes 9:5 reads, “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything.” Psalm 49:10-12 is also to the point: “For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations: they call their lands after their own names. Nevertheless, man being in honor abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.”

In Genesis 2:7 we are told that “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.” Later, after the transgression of this originally perfect pair, God said, “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.” (Gen. 3:19) In Psalm 146:4 David makes an emphatic declaration as to the condition of those who return to the dust. We quote, “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” If language means anything at all then there is no mistaking the fact that these words describe a dead person as being absolutely unconscious, with all thoughts having perished.

Note again the statement of the psalmist—“His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth.” If a man, as a conscious, living being, was brought into existence by the union of the material body with the breath of life, it would seem reasonable that when these two elements are separated, life would cease; and this is exactly what the text states—“In that very day his thoughts perish.” Some may wonder about the “breath of life,” thinking perhaps this may be something that continues to live on after the body dies. We will leave the subject of the “soul” for subsequent consideration, but let us now examine a passage which describes the process of dying, showing exactly what becomes of the two principal elements which divine, creative wisdom has combined to produce human life. It reads: “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.”—Eccles. 12:7

The key to a proper understanding of this text is found in the word “return,” used with respect to both the body and the spirit. The body is said to return to the earth. This is because its elements originally came from the earth. It follows, therefore, that if the spirit returns to God, it must have been with God before it entered the human organism. If to be with God in this sense means to be in heaven, then it follows that if the “spirit” here referred to is a conscious entity, capable of enjoying life in a spiritual heaven, it means that every one of us must have been in that spiritual heaven before we were born; else it could not be said that we “return” when we die.

WHAT THE “SPIRIT” REALLY IS

The Hebrew word here translated “spirit,” is ruach. Prof. Strong, noted authority on the Hebrew and Greek languages, tells us that this Hebrew word ruach means “wind,” or “breath.” It is the same Hebrew word that is translated “breath” in Genesis 7:15, where it is said to be possessed by the lower animals. We quote: “They went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath [ruach] of life.” If the use of the word ruach to describe the breath or spirit of life in human beings means that we have within us an intelligent entity of some sort that continues to live after the body dies, it also means that the lower animals inherently possess a similar intangible something which can never die.

But when we reason in harmony with the Word of God, all is clear. Genesis 2:7 declares that God created man out of the dust of the ground and “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” The result of the uniting of the body with the breath of life is said to be that “man became a living soul.” Obviously, when the body returns to the earth, and the breath or spirit of life returns to its original source—to God who gave it—it leaves the individual in exactly the same condition as he was before birth, which was a condition of nonexistence.

To settle this question even more definitely we need only to turn to Ecclesiastes 3:19-21, where the Hebrew word ruach is again used, and there it is said that the breath [ruach] of both man and beast goes to the same place at death. We quote: “For that which befalleth the sons of men, befalleth the beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath [ruach]; so that man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place: all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth [that] the spirit of man goeth upward [to heaven] and [that] the spirit of the beast goeth downward to the earth?”

The records of the New Testament on the subject of death agree fully with those of the Old Testament. Jesus indicates that the dead are in a condition of unconsciousness, which he likens to sleep. In John 11:1-46 we have a wonderfully revealing account of the sickness, death, and awakening of Lazarus, a dear friend of Jesus. Martha and Mary, sisters of Lazarus, were also friends of the Master, and when their brother was taken sick they sent word to Jesus supposing that he would come at once to their aid.

Instead of going immediately to the bedside of his friend Lazarus, Jesus tarried. After some time had elapsed he said to his disciples, “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.” The disciples misunderstood this, supposing that Jesus referred to natural sleep. Then he said plainly, “Lazarus is dead.” Later, at the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus addressed this dead one in a loud voice saying, “Lazarus, come forth,” and we are told that “he that was dead came forth.” There is no hint here that Lazarus’ “soul” was either in a heaven of bliss or a hell of torment. According to the record, he was asleep in death. Yes, Jesus believed in the “sleep of death.”

In the account of the awakening of Lazarus from the sleep of death we have emphasized the fact that the scriptural hope for life beyond the grave is in the assurance that there is to be a resurrection of the dead, rather than in the supposition that man possesses inherent immortality. The Apostle Paul fully agrees with this. In I Corinthians 15:12-18 he concludes that if there be no resurrection of the dead, then, “they … which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.”

In the book of Revelation also, we find the same uniformity of thought as to the unconscious condition of the dead. For example, the Revelator says, “The sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them.” (Rev. 20:13) We will leave the subject of hell for later consideration. Suffice it now to note the fact that according to the text just quoted, those that are in the scriptural “hell” are declared to be dead. This means that they are not alive and being tormented. The text also reveals that the hope of the dead is that they shall be brought out of hell—raised to life.

In brief then, the answer to the question, Where are the dead? is that they are now in a state of unconsciousness; that all hope for life beyond the grave is centered in the scriptural assurance that through the mighty power of the great Creator, exercised by the divine Christ during the coming kingdom period, there is to be a “resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust.”—Acts 24:15

SATAN’S LIE

Before leaving this phase of the subject it is well that we pause long enough to call attention to the origin of the false theory so generally accepted in both Christian and non-Christian religions, that “there is no death.” If the Bible so clearly teaches that death is a grim reality and man’s worst enemy, whence came the idea that it is a friend in the sense of being but the gateway into another life?

The answer to this question is found in the Genesis account of the fall of man into sin and death. Satan, operating through the serpent, in discussing the matter with mother Eve prior to the transgression that brought death, said, “Ye shall not surely die.” (Gen. 3:4) God said that the penalty for disobedience would be death— ”thou shalt surely die.” (Gen. 2:17) The testimony of the entire Bible is consistent with this original statement of what would constitute the penalty for sin. “The wages of sin is death,” declares Paul. (Rom. 6:23) “The soul that sinneth, it shall die,” says Ezekiel. (chap. 18:4) In Revelation 20:2,3 we get the thought that the “old serpent” that deceived mother Eve has continued to be a deceiver ever since; and history reveals that this is indeed true. Every deceptive effort possible has been made down through the ages to bolster up Satan’s lie, “Ye shall not surely die.” As a result, nearly everyone today who attempts to believe in a future existence at all, bases their faith on the supposition that man possesses inherent immortality. But, what say the Scriptures about immortality? The next chapter discusses this point.