According to the conventional wisdom, there are only two things that are certain in life – death and taxes. Most of us have a fairly good idea of what taxes are, but the same can’t be said about death. Death, for most people, is a great mystery, made even more mysterious because it is often shrouded in fear.
One of the reasons death is feared by so many is because they know so little about it. They know that death means the end of a life, but they have no clue what happens next. Will they ever see the person again? Is it possible that there is life after death? What if the person is not dead forever? Is it possible that the person is conscious somewhere? Is the person in Heaven? Is the person in Hell?
Those are just some of the questions that go through the minds of some who have lost loved ones, friends or relatives. What are the answers? Can we find the answers?
The answer to the last question above is yes. We can find answers. Those answers cannot come from doctors or scientists or wise men, however, because none of them have ever experienced death and lived to write or speak about it. The answers can only come from God … and they can only be found in the Bible.
We are able to get answers about death from the Bible because the Bible is not like any other book. The Bible is unique because it is the only book that contains revelation from God (as recorded by men who were inspired by God). We can get answers about death in the Bible because God has revealed truth about death in the Bible.
So what does the Bible tell us about death? There is a lot of information about death in the Bible. For now, however, let us look at some of what the Bible says in response to some of the more common questions. The Bible tells us that …
- Death is natural (Ecclesiastes 9:5)
- Death is to be expected (Hebrews 9:27)
- Death is something Man was created subject to (Genesis 2:17; Genesis 5:5,8, 11, 14, 17)
- Death was caused by sin (Genesis 2:17; Ezekiel 18:4; James 1:15; Romans 5:12)
- Death is the payment for sin (Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:6,14; Revelation 21:7-8)
- Death, as caused by sin, separates a person from God (Isaiah 59:1-2)
- Death is not final because there will be a resurrection of all who die (John 5:28-29)
- Death will be eliminated eventually (1 Corinthians 15:26)
Death is what we earned/deserve, but it is important to note, at this point, that the “death” that is the payment for sin is NOT the first death – that it is appointed unto men to experience (Hebrews 9:27) — BUT the second death that the judgement is mentioned in verse 27 can lead to. Not everyone will experience the second death. The second death will not affect those in the first resurrection. Consignment to the Lake of Fire is the second death.
According to the Bible, death is a great enemy. It is an enemy because it takes away our relatives and our friends and those we love. Death is an enemy because it can destroy our plans, our hopes and our dreams.
The Bible also tells, however, that death will soon be no more. As we have seen above (1 Corinthians 15:26), death will eventually be destroyed because, as we shall see in a later post, Jesus Christ has already triumphed over death, by virtue of His resurrection.
In the final analysis, death may be shrouded in mystery, but death can be understood. We just need to know what the Bible says about it … and believe. Unfortunately, that is oftentimes easier said than done.