What is Death Like?

  1. What happens to us when we die?

“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Genesis 3:19)

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

Answer: When we die, we return the earth as dust and the breath God gave us returns back to Him.
Further reading: Genesis 2:7; Psalms 104:29, 146:4

  1. What is death like?

“So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.” (1 Kings 2:10)

“These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep… [the disciples] thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.” (John 11:11, 13-14)

Answer: The Bible describes death as a state of sleep.
Further Reading: Deuteronomy 31:16; 2 Samuel 7:12; Acts 7:59-60

  1. Do people know what’s going on when they are dead?

Answer: No. When people are dead,

  1. They are unconscious, completely unaware of what’s happening.

    “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5)

  2. They are not thinking about anything.

    “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” (Psalms 146:4)

  3. They are not working on anything. All conscious activity ceases.

    “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

  4. They are not happy, sad, or angry. They do not feel anything.

    “Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 9:6)

  5. They are not praising the Lord in the grave.

    “The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.” (Psalms 115:17)

  6. They cannot be awakened or be raised out of their sleep.

    “So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.” (Job 14:12)

  1. But didn’t the thief on the cross go to Heaven when he died?

“And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

Answer: No. When Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene after His resurrection, He told her, “…I am not yet ascended to my Father.” (John 20:17) Jesus did not enter paradise when He died. He was in the tomb for three days and three nights, just as He promised.

“For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:40)

So why does Jesus say that the thief on the cross will go to Heaven “To day” when He Himself did not go until later?

Commas were added to the Biblical texts at a later time by those who believed the soul was immortal, resulting in the discrepancy of Luke 23:43. The comma should actually be placed after the word “To day”, not before it. By doing that, Jesus’ statement becomes more clear.

“And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee Today, shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

Source: Paroschi, Wilson. The Significance of a Comma: An Analysis of Luke 23:43.
Further reading: Matthew 24:29-31; John 14:1-3; Acts 2:29,34

  1. What about the people who have near-death experiences? Some of them talk about having an out-of-body experience and seeing evidence of an afterlife.

Answer: Someone having a near-death experience (NDE) is likely under some form of stress, likely some form of physical trauma. Effects similar to an NDE can also be triggered by the ingestion of hallucinogenic substances.

It is during this time that the brain is operating under intense stress. A particular part of the brain, the angular gyrus, has been shown to cause a perception of floating outside of the body when it misfires.

While the experience seems real, the Bible tells us plainly that death is like a sleep and that when people die, they know nothing.

Sources:
Koch, Cristof. What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about the Brain.
Verrengia, Joseph. Misfiring brain may cause `out-of-body experiences’ among patients.
Further Reading: Isaiah 8:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; 2 Timothy 3:15-17

  1. So if death is like a sleep, when are people going to wake up?

“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” (John 5:28-29)

Answer: The Scriptures tell us that all the dead will wake up when Jesus resurrects them. Until then, no one can wake them. Our study on the resurrection will explain this more.
Further reading: Job 14:12; Acts 24:15