Every second, 2 people die somewhere in the world. Every hour, more than 7,000 people lose a sibling, parent, spouse, or close friend. Every single day, 170,463 people close their eyes and stop breathing forever. Death is everywhere, and no one is immune to it. The vast majority of people today live their lives trying to avoid death for as long as they can, fearing the uncharted waters of the unknown.
Have you ever wondered what happens when you die? Many people have looked for answers to this question throughout time, and yet death is by definition unknowable. After all, once you’re dead, you can’t exactly come back to tell people what it’s like. Despite the inherent uncertainty of this topic, though, many theories about it exist today. For example, Naturalism teaches that death is the end: that once you are dead, you cease to exist forever. Various world religions teach the idea of reincarnation, where the spirit cycles endlessly through different bodies. Many Christian denominations teach that at death you go either to Heaven or Hell, living there for eternity. These are just a few of the many ideas people have about death, and while some of them may seem more plausible than others, only one of these views can actually be true. The question is, how can we know which is true?
Well, in Revelation 1:18 Jesus introduces Himself as the one “who lives, and was dead… [having] the keys of Hades and of Death.” Jesus is the only one who has power over death, and also is one of the few people that has experienced death and resurrection. That uniquely qualifies Him to reveal to us what the truth about death really is. So then, what does Jesus say about death?
Well, John 11 tells us about an important lesson Jesus taught His followers about death. While Jesus while teaching and healing people in the region of Peraea, He received word that His dear friend Lazarus was terribly sick in Bethany, a city a short journey away (Jn. 11:3). The sick man’s two sisters urged Jesus to come at once and heal Lazarus. However, even though it is clear that Jesus deeply cared about Lazarus and his sisters (Jn. 11:5), for some reason, Jesus did not immediately rush to His friend’s side. Instead, He delayed two days in Peraea, continuing to heal and to teach. After three days had passed since the news of Lazarus’ sickness, Jesus finally began to make His way to Bethany. As He traveled with His disciples, Jesus told them “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.” (Jn. 11:11) Jesus, knowing all things, knew that His friend had already died while they’d waited those two days. However, His disciples did not know that yet. They responded gladly “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well,” (Jn. 11:12) no doubt thinking that the man’s fever had broken and that he was out of danger. They did not understand that Jesus was telling them that their friend was dead, so Jesus finally had to say to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead” (Jn. 11:14).
Did you catch what Jesus just said? Even though He could have just said that Lazarus was dead, Jesus chose to refer to Lazarus’ death as being like a sleep, comparing it to the unconscious and temporary state of rest everyone experiences nightly. Jesus just told His disciples the truth about what happens to someone when they die: they lose consciousness and cease to think and be aware of their surroundings. And even though Jesus’ wording might seem a little strange to some, over and over again the Bible refers to death as a sleep—more than 50 times, in fact!
All throughout Scripture we see the idea that “the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing” (Ec. 9:5). Still, many Christians believe that death sends people straight to heaven or hell. Here’s what the Bible says: “As water disappears from the sea, and a river becomes parched and dries up, so man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor be roused from their sleep.” (Job 14:11–12) There is no consciousness in death, no immediate translation to heaven. If people did go to heaven at death, why does Scripture say that “the dead do not praise the Lord,” but instead “…go down into silence.” (Ps. 115:17) Wouldn’t praising the Lord be the top priority of the saved in heaven? Yet instead of being filled with praises and shouts of joy, death is described as a silent place. Far from being able to look down on their loved ones, the Bible tells us that when a person is dead, “his sons come to honour, and he does not know it; they are brought low, and he does not perceive it.” (Job 14:21) According to Scripture death is a sleep.
Much of the confusion about death among Christians comes from a misunderstanding of what the Bible calls a soul. While many would think that the soul is some immortal spirit present in all of us, the book of Genesis tells us a very different story. Genesis 2:7 gives us God’s formula for life: “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.” (Gen. 2:7) According to the Bible, a soul consists of two ingredients: dust and the breath of life. Without those two components being together, there is no life.
The Bible is clear, we don’t have souls, we are souls. And it’s plain to see that, according to that definition, souls aren’t immortal. Ezekiel 18:4 says, “The soul who sins shall die.” Jesus Himself says that souls can be destroyed in Matthew 10:28. In fact, the Bible never uses the term “immortal soul.” Instead, it teaches that man is mortal, subject to death. Only God is immortal (1 Tim. 6:15–16), and to believe that souls are immortal apart from God is to accept a teaching that contradicts Scripture.
We do not have life in and of ourselves, and yet that doesn’t mean that death is the end for us. If we go back to the story of Lazarus in John 11, we get to see the lesson that Jesus wanted to teach us all along. In John 11:25 Jesus said to one of Lazarus’ sisters, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” (Jn. 11:25) Jesus has the keys of Hades and of death: He conquered the grave to save us (Rev. 1:18). Even though we all are vulnerable to death, death is not permanent for those who believe in Jesus (Jn. 3:16). Christians have the blessing of being able to see beyond the grave to eternal life lived with God.
Paul picks up on this idea in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, where he says, “I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.” There’s something in the truth about death that can give Christians a kind of hope that no one else can have. He continues, “If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus…. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
The truth about death is good news, not bad. We do not have to sorrow like people that have no hope, because at the second coming, we can see our loved ones again if they have trusted in and been saved by God. Just like in the story of Lazarus, we can have the hope that even though Jesus may delay His coming, those who die believing in Jesus can have the hope of resurrection at the second coming.
Friend, God loved you so much that He sent Jesus to die the death we deserve to die so that we can live with Him eternally. He wants you to have the hope of life beyond the grave. Do you choose to believe in His word and give your life to Him?