Article 7
What happens to us
when we die?
Why do we die?
Would it be
comforting to know the truth about death?
THESE are questions that people have thought
about for thousands of years. They are important questions. No matter who we
are or where we live, the answers concern each one of us.
In the preceding article, we discussed how
the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ opened the way to everlasting life. We
also learned that the Bible foretells a time when “death will be no more.” (Revelation 21:4) Meanwhile, we all
die. “The living are conscious that they will die,” said wise King Solomon. (Ecclesiastes 9:5) We try to live as
long as possible. Still, we wonder what will happen to us when we die.
When our loved ones die, we mourn. And we may
ask: ‘What has happened to them? Are they suffering? Are they watching over us?
Can we help them? Will we ever see them again?’ The world’s religions offer
differing answers to these questions. Some teach that if you live a good life,
you will go to heaven but if you live a bad life, you will burn in a place of
torment. Other religions teach that at death, people pass on to the spirit
realm to be with their ancestors. Still other religions teach that the dead go
to an underworld to be judged and are then reincarnated, or reborn in another
body.
Such
religious teachings all share one basic idea—that some part of us survives the
death of the physical body. According to almost every religion, past and
present, we somehow live on forever with the ability to see, hear, and think.
Yet, how can that be? Our senses, along with our thoughts, are all linked to
the workings of our brain. At death, the brain stops working. Our memories,
feelings, and senses do not continue to function independently in some
mysterious way. They do not survive the destruction of our brain.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENS
AT DEATH?
What happens at death is no mystery to
Jehovah, the Creator of the brain. He knows the truth, and in his Word, the
Bible, he explains the condition of the dead. Its clear teaching is this: When
a person dies, he ceases to exist.
Death is the opposite of life. The dead do not see or hear or think. Not even
one part of us survives the death of the body. We do not possess an immortal
soul or spirit.
After
Solomon observed that the living know that they will die, he wrote: “As for the
dead, they are conscious of nothing at all.” He then
enlarged on that basic truth by saying that the dead can neither love nor hate
and that “there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in [the
grave].” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 10)
Similarly, Psalm 146:4 says that
when a man dies, “his thoughts do perish.” We are mortal and do not survive the
death of our body. The life we enjoy is like the flame of a candle. When the
flame is put out, it does not go anywhere. It is simply gone.
WHAT JESUS SAID
ABOUT DEATH
Jesus
Christ spoke about the condition of the dead. He did so with regard to Lazarus,
a man whom he knew well and who had died. Jesus told his disciples: “Lazarus
our friend has gone to rest.” The disciples thought that Jesus meant that
Lazarus was resting in sleep, recovering from an illness. They were wrong.
Jesus explained: “Lazarus has died.” (John
11:11-14) Notice that Jesus compared death to rest and sleep. Lazarus was
neither in heaven nor in a burning hell. He was not meeting angels or
ancestors. Lazarus was not being reborn as another human. He was at rest in
death, as though in a deep sleep without dreams. Other scriptures also compare
death to sleep. For example, when the disciple Stephen was stoned to death, the
Bible says that he “fell asleep.” (Acts
7:60) Similarly, the apostle Paul wrote about some in his day who had “fallen
asleep” in death.—1 Corinthians
15:6.
Was it
God’s original purpose for people to die? Not at all! Jehovah made man to live
forever on earth. As we learned earlier in this book, God placed the first
human couple in a delightful paradise. He blessed them with perfect health.
Jehovah wanted only good for them. Does any loving parent want his children to
suffer the pain of old age and death? Of course not! Jehovah loved his children
and wanted them to enjoy endless happiness on earth. Concerning humans, the
Bible says: “Time indefinite [Jehovah] has put in their heart.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) God created us
with the desire to live forever. And he has opened the way for that desire to
be fulfilled.
WHY HUMANS DIE
Why, then, do humans die? To find the answer,
we must consider what happened when there was only one man and one woman on
earth. The Bible explains: “Jehovah God made to grow out of the ground every
tree desirable to one’s sight and good for food.” (Genesis 2:9) However, there was one restriction. Jehovah told
Adam: “From every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction. But as for
the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the
day you eat from it you will positively die.” (Genesis 2:16, 17) This command was not difficult to obey.
There were many other trees from which Adam and Eve could eat. But they now
received a special opportunity to show their gratitude to the One who had given
them everything, including perfect life. Their obedience would also show that
they respected the authority of their heavenly Father and that they wanted his
loving direction.
Sadly, the first human couple chose to
disobey Jehovah. Speaking through a serpent, Satan asked Eve: “Is it really so
that God said you must not eat from every tree of the garden?” Eve replied: “Of
the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat. But as for eating of the fruit
of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not
eat from it, no, you must not touch it that you do not die.’”—Genesis 3:1-3.
“You positively will not die,” said Satan. “God
knows that in the very day of your eating from it your eyes are bound to be
opened and you are bound to be like God, knowing good and bad.” (Genesis 3:4, 5) Satan wanted Eve
to believe that she would benefit by eating the forbidden fruit. According to
him, she could decide for herself what was right and what was wrong; she could
do what she wanted. Satan also charged that Jehovah had lied about the
consequences of eating the fruit. Eve believed Satan. So she picked some of the
fruit and ate it. She then gave some to her husband, and he too ate some of it.
They did not act in ignorance. They knew that they were doing exactly what God
had told them not to do. By eating the fruit, they deliberately
disobeyed a simple and reasonable command. They showed contempt for their
heavenly Father and his authority. Such disrespect for their loving Creator was
inexcusable!
To
illustrate: How would you feel if you raised and cared for a son or a daughter
who then disobeyed you in a way that showed that he or she had no respect or
love for you? That would cause you much heartache. Imagine, then, how hurt
Jehovah must have felt when both Adam and Eve took a course of opposition to
him.
Jehovah had no reason to sustain disobedient
Adam and Eve forever. They died, just as he had said they would. Adam and Eve
ceased to exist. They did not pass on to the spirit realm. We know this because
of what Jehovah said to Adam after confronting him with his disobedience. God
said: “You [will] return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust
you are and to dust you will return.”
(Genesis 3:19) God had made Adam from the dust of the ground. (Genesis 2:7) Before that, Adam did not
exist. Therefore, when Jehovah said that Adam would return to the dust, He
meant that Adam would return to a state of nonexistence. Adam would be as
lifeless as the dust from which he was made.
Adam and Eve could have been alive today, but
they died because they chose to disobey God and thus sinned. The reason we die
is that Adam’s sinful condition as well as death was passed on to all of his
descendants. (Romans 5:12) That sin
is like a terrible inherited disease from which no one can escape. Its
consequence, death, is a curse. Death is an enemy, not a friend. (1 Corinthians 15:26) How grateful
we can be that Jehovah provided the ransom to rescue us from this dreadful
enemy!
KNOWING THE TRUTH
ABOUT DEATH IS BENEFICIAL
What the Bible teaches about the condition of
the dead is comforting. As we have seen, the dead do not suffer pain or
heartache. There is no reason to be afraid of them, for they cannot harm us.
They do not need our help, and they cannot help us. We cannot speak with them,
and they cannot speak with us. Many religious leaders falsely claim that they
can help those who have died, and people who believe such leaders give them
money. But knowing the truth protects us from being deceived by those who teach
such lies.
Does
your religion agree with what the Bible teaches about the dead? Most do not.
Why? Because their teachings have been influenced by Satan. He uses false
religion to get people to believe that after their body dies, they will
continue to live in the spirit realm. This is a lie that Satan combines with
other lies to turn people away from Jehovah God. How so?
As
noted earlier, some religions teach that if a person lives a bad life, after
death he will go to a place of fiery torment to suffer forever. This teaching
dishonors God. Jehovah is a God of love and would never make people suffer in
this way. (1 John 4:8) How
would you feel about a man who punished a disobedient child by holding his
hands in a fire? Would you respect such a man? In fact, would you even want to
get to know him? Definitely not! You would likely think that he was very cruel.
Yet, Satan wants us to believe that Jehovah tortures people in fire forever—for
countless billions of years!
Satan
also uses some religions to teach that after death people become spirits who
must be respected and honored by the living. According to this teaching, the
spirits of the dead can become powerful friends or terrible enemies. Many
people believe this lie. They fear the dead and give them honor and worship. In
contrast, the Bible teaches that the dead are sleeping and that we should
worship only the true God, Jehovah, our Creator and Provider.—Revelation 4:11.
Knowing the truth about the dead protects you
from being misled by religious lies. It also helps you to understand other
Bible teachings. For example, when you realize that people do not pass on to
the spirit realm at death, the promise of everlasting life on a paradise earth
takes on real meaning for you.
Long
ago, the righteous man Job raised this question: “If an able-bodied man dies
can he live again?” (Job 14:14) Can
a lifeless person who is sleeping in death be brought back to life? What the
Bible teaches about this is deeply comforting, as the next article will show.
WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES
▪ The dead do not see or hear or think.—Ecclesiastes 9:5.
▪ The dead are at rest; they do not suffer.—John 11:11.
▪ We die because we inherited sin from Adam.—Romans 5:12.
For more information please see the book 'What Does The Bible Really Teach' at www.jw.org
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