To many, death is a mystery. Yet, we all must deal with it at some time or the other. We must deal with this issue of death personally when a close friend or family member dies. But once dead, do our loved ones remain aware of what is happening in this world? Can they come back to visit us?  What really happens when we die?

 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. 

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

See also Hope Sabbath School and 3ABN Sabbath School

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Inviting God’s Presence

Holy Father, give us comfort and peace as we seek understanding of what happens when those we love so dear pass away. In Jesus Name Amen 

Just what does happen to humans when they die? The following Bible passages give us clues:

Job 3:11-13

11 “Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb?

12 Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?

13 For now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; Then I would have been at rest (Job 3:11-13)

Psalms 115:17

17 The dead do not praise the Lord, Nor any who go down into silence. (Psalms 115:17) (Split)

Psalms 146:4

4 His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish. (Psalms 146:4)

Ecclesiastes 9:5

5 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. (Ecclesiastes 9:5) (Split)

Ecclesiastes 9:10

10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going. (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

Although these passages are written in poetic language, they can help us answer the question of what happens to humans at death. For their language is clear and easy to understand, and they match the overall Bible teaching about death.

First, in Job 3, because of his suffering, Job says he hates the day he was born.  (We all have felt this way at one time or another.) But the main thing here is that Job

understands that if he died when he was born, he would be at rest sleeping in his grave (Job 3:11, 13).

Psalm 115 tells us the condition of the place where the dead are kept. We find in Psalms 115:17 that this place is silent because it says, “The dead do not praise the Lord.”  This suggests that even those who died as faithful and thankful believers are not in heaven worshiping God. So, as much as we would like our loved ones who have passed to be there, no, they are not singing in the heavenly choir, as the saying goes. (Split)

How can they? If they can’t praise God after they die, according to Psalms 115:17

What’s more, according to Psalm 146, the mental activity of the dead ceases. The brain functions end at death. They stop thinking and can no longer make plans or carry out any previous projects they made before death. For according to Psalms 146:4, when a person dies, they are buried. Their spirit departs, he returns to his earth; and on that very day, his plans perish (Psalms 146:4).

Remember that regarding their spirit departing, in our previous lesson, it was determined that this does not mean some disembodied spirit, but their spirit is the breath of life that God breathed into them. At death, that breath returns to God.

In Ecclesiastes 9:5, Solomon adds, “the dead know nothing”. Moreover, Solomon tells us, “There is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10, NKJV).

What do these verses teach us?

They let us know that the dead are unconscious and unaware of their surroundings or the activities on earth. So, no, not as we have been taught, our loved ones are not looking down on us from heaven.

I know this is unsettling, but do not allow it to generate alarm.

First, these teachings are evidence that there is no everlasting burning hell or purgatory where people are waiting between earth and heaven. There is no resting place for spirits to meet after

they die. We do not get a second chance to be saved after death. 

Second, the Bible teaches that there is a wonderful reward waiting for those who die in Christ. All the dead, the righteous, and the wicket are in an unconscious state of sleep. The followers of Jesus will awake

to receive their reward at His Second Coming. Until that day, the dead must sleep.

It stands to reason that the author of Desire of Ages would say: “to the believer, death is but a small matter. . . . To the Christian, death is but a sleep, a moment of silence and darkness. The life is hidden with Christ in God, and ‘when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.’ John 8:51, 52; Col. 3:4.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 787.

Now from this standpoint, think about the dead in Christ. They close their eyes in death and, whether, in the grave 1,500 years or five months, it’s all the same to them. The next thing they know is the return of Christ. Now, how comforting and precious is that!

Does this mean that those resting in the grave, perhaps even buried near each other, are not conscious of it, nor can they communicate with one another?

Find out on Day 6: Resting with the Fathers

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