Where Are the Dead? ‘If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come."—Job 14:14 Robert Davis The nature of life after death is of primary interest to all mankind. A loving God has given us such a beautiful life, even with the shortcomings of its fallen condition, that most of his creation would like it to continue forever. But the plain fact is that all people die and the condition beyond death is not perceptible. Near death experiences of a peaceful feeling and a bright light at the end of a tunnel are the same sensation experienced by test subjects facing high gravitational loads. It appears that blood draining from the brain creates euphoria and the light/tunnel visual effect. Although this may be a wonderful part of our nature to lessen the pain of death, it cannot be trusted as an indicator of experiences beyond death. Philosophies and religions have tried to fill the gap in understanding. Four alternative views have prevailed in an attempt to define what happens after death:
Since this discussion assumes the authenticity of the Bible and faith in its message, we can exclude the first two views which have no basis in Scripture. The third view is held by those who believe in an inherent immortal soul and eternal torment. Though some suppose an argument can be made from Scripture regarding this thought, the overwhelming evidence of Scripture favors the fourth view--the resurrection of the dead. Therefore we will discuss the scriptural validity of only the last two views. What Is the Soul? The key to understanding the state of the dead is to understand the nature of the soul. Does the soul live on after death or does it cease to exist? Is there any sense or comprehension after the body dies? The answer to these questions starts with the creation of man as described in Genesis 2:7. Note carefully these three elements: (1) "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, (2) and breathed into his nostrils the breath [or spirit] of life, and (3) man became a living soul." Body + spirit = soul. The opposite of this process is described in Psalm 104:29: "Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust." Body – spirit = death, annihilation. (See also Job 34:14,15.) A good analogy is the combination of electricity with a filament within a light bulb to produce light. If the electricity is withdrawn or the bulb breaks, the light vanishes. In like manner it is necessary for the animating energy from God (his spirit) to act in a bodily mechanism for sentient life (a soul) to exist. When the Bible speaks of a soul, it refers to life. The Hebrew word for soul is nephesh (Strongs 5315), meaning a vital, breathing creature. All animals are souls: "And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life (Hebrew: nephesh—soul), I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so" (Genesis 1:30). Therefore, contrary to the common misconception that man HAS a soul, a living man IS a soul, as are all animals. Conversely, when the Bible speaks of death, it refers to soul death. The Scriptures speak clearly and often about death and destruction of the soul. Here are some examples:
For additional Scriptures see Psalm 30:19; 40:14; 78:50; 63:9; 89:48; 116:8. The wisdom of Solomon declares that men and animals die in similar fashion, that (in a natural sense) man has no preeminence over beasts when it comes to death (Ecclesiastes 3:19). They all are animal souls that cease to be souls upon death. The Wages of Sin Romans 6:23 states that "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life." Note how Paul contrasts death with eternal life. A sinner after death could not suffer eternal torment without some form of eternal life--yet eternal life is only a reward for the righteous. Critics of this straight forward interpretation of Paul’s statement prefer to define death abstractly as a separation from God. They use the curse upon Adam and Eve "in the day that thou shalt eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" as proof that death means separation from God (being expelled from the garden) and not actual dying since they did not die within 24 hours of eating the fruit. However, Adam having lived 930 years did die within a 1,000 year day (Psalm 90:4). This illustrates how many who claim to hold the fundamental truths of Scripture tend to allegorize the broad and basic principles of the Bible, and conversely take literally Scriptures that are obviously symbolic in nature, such as are found in parables and prophecies. Having established that cessation of life in any form is the natural consequence of death, it is wonderful to behold a loving God who does not intend to let his intelligent creation perish forever. In fact his instrument of salvation, Jesus Christ, is the most important evidence we have of life existing after death. Over 500 people witnessed the resurrection of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). This information was then conveyed directly from them to many others during the rapid expansion of the early church; written accounts in very early documents from these second hand accounts attest to this. We have direct knowledge from eye witnesses who gained no material benefits for their efforts, but rather suffered in many ways for saying this. Well-documented first and second hand accounts verify that a resurrection can indeed happen through God’s power. As recorded in Acts 1:3, the resurrection of Jesus was attested by "many infallible proofs." The bleak, naturally-occurring condition of no life after death is overridden by the miraculous intervention of God’s power in the resurrection of the dead. The Scriptures aptly call the period between death and resurrection a sleep. The nature of the word reinforces the concept of the unconscious or insentient condition of the dead with the hope of a future awakening. Sleep describes the condition of the dead in the following Scriptures. Note how they apply to both bad and good individuals:
See also 2 Peter 3:4; Acts 13:36. The psalmist argues for an unconscious state of the dead such as:
That men have the prospect of a resurrection which animals do not, may be implied by the contrast in Ecclesiastes 3:21. "Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?" The identity of each individual will be preserved in the resurrection, recreated from the memory of God, just as the identity of our Lord was preserved when his life was transferred from above, as the Logos, into the womb of Mary, later to be born and named Jesus. An analogy would be of a computer file, which can be inserted into another computer, to exactly reproduce the file. As plain as the Scriptures are concerning the state of the dead, a few Scriptures are used to prove that life continues on eternally, either in heaven or in a burning abode of torment. The parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is most notable, with Revelation 14:11 and 20:10 also linking punishment with fire and eternal torment. Other Scriptures link punishment with fire, but in the sense of its destructive aspect: "For our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:29). (See also Deuteronomy 4:24.) "Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff" (Isaiah 5:24). "For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns" (Isaiah 9:18). The Fire of Gehenna The old English word hell is translated 12 times in the New Testament from the Greek word Gehenna (Strong’s 1067). The word literally means the valley of Himmon, located on the southern outskirts of ancient Jerusalem. It is here where bodies of criminals and animals were placed in a perpetually burning fire dump. Josephus records that the dead were deposited here after the siege of Jerusalem. It was originally the location where children were passed through the fires of Molech. It became such a reproach that it was first turned into a cesspool and apparently later a dump. Brimstone (sulfur) was added to the fire to increase its temperature and thus consume less combustible items like corpses. Therefore, Gehenna becomes a fitting picture for a place with continual, effective means of destruction for the wrong doer. The worm that dieth not in Mark 9:44,45 is a companion thought to the destructive fire, and carries with it the idea of a slow but steady and thorough consumption of dead bodies not destroyed by fire. Gehenna is called the lake of fire in Revelation 19 and 20. This illustrates even further the fire-like destructive elements of perdition. In Revelation 20:14 the definition is still further refined by calling it the second death. This is the reality of what Gehenna, and the lake of fire as well as all the fire imagery, represents: death that is final since it is second to the first or Adamic death from which Jesus ransomed everyone. This concept is illustrated in Hebrews 6:4-8; 10:29-31. "And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed" (Isaiah 1:28). Even hell (Greek: hades—the grave) and death will be thrown into the lake of fire signifying the ending of the "grave" condition. All then will have been resurrected from the death condition and death will cease (Revelation 20:14). The Rich Man and Lazarus * The account of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 is the seventh in a series of parables starting in Luke 14:4. Jesus spoke all seven parables in the house of one of the chief Pharisees and to a number of lawyers and Pharisees. The first six parables criticize the Pharisees. In Luke 16:14 they began to deride Jesus. It was after this that the "Rich man and Lazarus" parable was given. The rich man represented the Jews, specifically the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, who were rich in the blessings of God and possessed his oracles. Lazarus represents the Gentiles who were poor because they did not have these blessings. Abraham’s bosom represents the Abrahamic covenant which the Gentile Christian converts attain and the Jews lose. The five brothers of the rich man are the ten other tribes of Israel (because the rich man represented two tribes, all the brothers represent the other ten). The one that rose from the dead was Jesus, whose resurrection was sufficient for the development of faith in any Jew. Substituting these symbolic representations into the parable reveals the harsh lesson Jesus was conveying to the Pharisees: Israel was soon to lose its favored position as the recipient of the Abrahamic covenant to Gentile Christian converts. The word parable means "to cast beside." A parable is a lesson drawn from a story. The lesson is cast beside the story to make the point intended. The story is never meant to be the point, rather it is the lesson that is the reason for the whole exercise. Those who wish to prove eternal torment by this parable make use of the story and give little notice to the lesson much like eating the husks of an ear and throwing away the corn! Parables are not always drawn from real life. The parable of the wise and foolish virgins, for example, tells of the wedding arrangements of one groom to ten virgins which is highly unlikely. Strong defines parable (Strong number 3850) as "a fictitious narrative." The biblical tenets of death and resurrection discussed above have always been held by Judaism. Maimonides made the resurrection of the dead one of his Thirteen Articles of Jewish Faith and states that "Concerning this [the resurrection], there has never been heard any disagreement in our nation, nor does it have any [allegorical] interpretation [other than its literal meaning]. Nor is it permissible to rely upon any individual who believes otherwise." Furthermore, the early church fathers held this belief to a large degree. The Bible tells us clearly where the dead are located. The vast majority are in their graves, silently awaiting the call to come forth. Praise God for his love.
INTERESTING FACTS
* On the Other Hand Suggesting that the parable of the rich man and Lazarus predicts a future change in status of the Jews (rich because they had the oracles of God) and the Gentiles (poor because they did not have God's blessing) can be supported by pointing to what happened eventually. However, those who heard this parable would certainly not understand it that way. How would they understand it? One clue is the name Lazarus. This is the only parable where one of the characters has a name. That name is found only in this parable and in John 11 and 12 where Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. In the parable "Abraham" says, "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead" (Luke 16:31). The actual raising of Lazarus from the dead probably took place only a few weeks after Jesus gave this parable. Perhaps it was then that some of the Pharisees and most of the disciples remembered the parable and realized that the rich man referred to those who were literally "clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day." Would such people be convinced by someone who came back from the dead? No! After Lazarus came back from the dead and more people began to believe on Jesus, we read, "The chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death" (John 12:10). The brothers of the rich man "have Moses and the prophets" (Luke 16:29). Those who claimed to have Moses and the prophets were the scribes, lawyers, doctors of the law, Sadducees, and the like. They not only would not believe Jesus was the son of God after he performed miracles, they tried to discredit him because of the day when he performed them (John 5:16). They boastfully said, "We are Moses' disciples" (John 9:28). The Pharisees understood enough about the meaning of the parables to know Jesus was criticizing them. Luke 16:14 reads, "The Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him." If they did not understand the parables at least superficially, they would not have derided him. They would have shaken their heads and walked away muttering, "Who can understand this man's cryptic sayings." |