The one thing most of us dread is death. Interestingly, the Bible talks a lot about death. Apart from God’s breath, we are dead beings, dead souls. As a dead soul, one would not be conscious of what is happening. But what about the “spirit”? Does it remain conscious after the body dies?

Sin, Evil, Death, Dying, and What Happens After We Die

This series addresses an age-old concern that we all have: the concern for sin, evil, death, and what happens after we die. Is there hope after death? When God created us, humans, he intended for us to live forever in a loving relationship with him. But this relationship has been broken by sin.

Here, we address the origin of sin and look more closely at death and dying.  

But, instead of looking at death negatively, we look at it in the context of hope, the promised hope based on what Jesus did for us when he died and came back to life again. (Split)

From the Sabbath School Adult Bible Study Guide 2022 Quarter 4: Sabbath.School

(See also Hope Sabbath School and 3ABN Sabbath School)

Visit SabbathSchoolDaily.com for more videos like this one.

Inviting God’s Presence

All Mighty God, we ask for your divine guidance. Open our hearts and mind to receive your true word. In Jesus Name Amen  (Split)

Previously, we established that it was not until Adam received breath that he became a living soul.

The Bible teaches that a human is a living being, a living person. Another name for a person is soul as in Genesis 2:7.

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. (Genesis 2:7)

A person or soul has two parts: (1) a body and (2) a spirit.

The Bible also teaches that a person or soul stops living when the body dies, according to Ezekiel 18:4, 20.

Ezekiel 18:4

4 “Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die. (Ezekiel 18:4)

Ezekiel 18:20

20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. (Ezekiel 18:20)

Therefore, when a living person or a living soul dies, they cease to exist.

But what about the “spirit”? Does it remain conscious even after the body dies? Ecclesiastes 12:7 says:

7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. (Ecclesiastes 12:7)

Does not this statement suggest that the spirit remains conscious or stays alive after the body dies? That is a good question.

Many Christians using Ecclesiastes 12:7 assume this to be so. But is it?

Ecclesiastes 12:7

7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it. (Ecclesiastes 12:7)

This verse does not say that the spirit remains conscious when it returns to God.

What Ecclesiastes 12:1–7 reveal is just the opposite about death. It describes the aging process, ending with death. In simple terms, it tells us we grow old and die.

Ecclesiastes 12:1-7

1 Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them”:

2 While the sun and the light, The moon and the stars, Are not darkened, And the clouds do not return after the rain;

3 In the day when the keepers of the house tremble, And the strong men bow down; When the grinders cease because they are few, And those that look through the windows grow dim;

4 When the doors are shut in the streets, And the sound of grinding is low; When one rises up at the sound of a bird, And all the daughters of music are brought low.

5 Also they are afraid of height, And of terrors in the way; When the almond tree blossoms, The grasshopper is a burden, And desire fails. For man goes to his eternal home, And the mourners go about the streets.

6 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the well.

7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it. (Ecclesiastes 12:1-7)

Ecclesiastes 12:7 shows us that death is the reverse of what happened in Genesis 2:7.

Genesis 2:7

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 being. (Genesis 2:7) (Split)

As we have seen, on the sixth day of the Creation week, “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” (Genesis 2:7) (split)

In contrast, Ecclesiastes 12:7 tells us that “the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7 NKJV).

What does this verse show us?

This verse lets us know that the breath of life, or spirit, that God breathed into the nose of Adam goes back to God. In other words, when we die, the breath of life that came from God stops flowing into and through our bodies.

Keep in mind that Ecclesiastes 12:7 talks about how all humans grow old and die; it does not make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked. It doesn’t say that evil people grow old and die differently than righteous people. (Split)

If the spirit of all who die live as conscious beings in the presence of God, then that would say that the wicked are conscious beings living in heaven with God. It would mean that when evil people die, their spirits stay alive and remain in heaven with God. (Split(

Neither does the idea that when we die, we go directly to heaven and remain consciously aware match with what the Bible says about what happens when humans and animals grow old and die.

Ecclesiastes 3:19, 20 reveals that the dying process is the same for both humans and animals. (Split)

Ecclesiastes 3:19-20

19 For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity.

20 All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust. (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20)

Death is the end of life. At death, we cease to exist as living beings. It is as the psalmist says in Psalms 104:29

29 You hide Your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. (Psalm 104:29).

We often say that death is a part of living, but in this sense, death is not a part of life. Death is the opposite of life. It is life’s enemy. Death does not support life; it is the end of life. The last enemy to be destroyed, according to 1 Corinthians 15:26, is death.

For those who died in Jesus and those alive waiting with anticipation for his return, there is hope even at the end of life. Hope that the day will come when death shall be no more.

While the dead rest in the grave, are they aware of what is happening in our lives?

Find out in Day 5: The Dead Know Nothing

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