Death then, is simply the process of creation in reverse. God removes this breath of life from the body He has put it in. Ecclesiastes 12:7 describes this process “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.” Here the word used is ‘spirit’. Another important word to connect with death is the word ‘sleep’ as the concept of sleep is used a metaphor for death almost 70 times in the Bible. Here are just a few references:
Psalm 133:3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God; Enlighten my eyes, Lest I sleep the sleep of death;
Job 14:10-12 But man dies and is laid away; Indeed he breathes his last And where is he? As water disappears from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dries up, So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, They will not awake Nor be roused from their sleep.
Acts 7:58-60 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
1 Kings 11:43 Then Solomon rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
Psalm 146:3,4 elaborates on this by saying “Do not put your trust in princes, Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish.” The King James English says “his THOUGHTS perish” (emphasis supplied). Death is a state of complete unconsciousness. This is confirmed by Ecclesiastes 9:5,6 “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.”
Should we then give up hope? No! That’s why Jesus came to earth and died on the cross, to make a way out of death for us. He will return again to the earth at the end of the world and rescue all His friends from the graves they went into. He said it Himself in John 5:28, 29 “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which 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.”
The Resurrection is the day when the Lord makes the dead come back to life. There will also be two of resurrections. The first will be for Jesus’ friends and then another resurrection will take place later where Jesus’ enemies will be punished for their sins. Notice He said the difference would be made clear by those who’ve ‘done’ good or bad. A lot of Christians like to go on and on quoting certain verses in the New Testament that we can’t buy our way into Heaven with our own good deeds. Man has sinned and cut himself off from God that is true. Man is also not capable of obeying God in his own strength as well and must accept Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins. However, it is possible to use the words and not really live up to them. Salvation is a practical thing. You see the only way anyone can be truly good is when God is working in that person’s life. Real faith is shown in works, see James 2:17-22.
1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17 describe the first resurrection in a little more detail. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” Jesus Himself will call His friends out of their graves. The last generation, the one that faced death in the form of the mark of the beast, does not have to die. Both sets of true believers go to Jesus to be with Him forever.
This is the truth about death. On the practical side, this truth completely destroys all the devil’s lies on the subject. When anyone claims to have received a message from beyond the grave, they didn’t get that message from God. Dealing with dead spirits in séances, channeling, and many other forms is really dealing with evil angels in disguise. It is the same with appearances of Mary, the Saints, dead relatives, and ghosts. In the final section in this chapter I will have a little more to say on the practicalities of this truth once the other secret keys are all combined.
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