Wednesday: Dealing With Death
Daily Lesson for Wednesday 9th of April 2025
Perhaps the cruelest aspect of living in a world detached from its Creator is the way that death lurks in the background of every life, ready to strike at any moment. It is the “wages of sin,” the penalty that we pay for having been disconnected from the only Source of life in the universe: the Creator. As such, it plays a major role in Bible prophecy, both its reality and, even more important, its solution, which is found only in Jesus and His death and resurrection.
Both the first mention of death in the Bible and its first occurrence shed much light on this major theme in prophecy, helping us to understand the gravity of the sin problem and giving us important tools to understand God’s solution to the problem.
Read Genesis 2:15-17, Genesis 4:8-15, 1 Corinthians 15:15-19, and Revelation 1:18. What do these passages—which include the first mention and occurrence of death—tell us about why people die, how God views death, and what His solution is for our problem?
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We often say that “death is just part of life.” That is a lie. Death is the opposite of life, the undoing of life; it is an alien intruder that was never meant to be part of our experience here. Even though we have become accustomed to death, our hearts still protest strongly when we encounter it, as if the human race still collectively realizes that there is something fundamentally wrong with it. As painful as death is, there are some instances of death that seem even more tragic than others, such as the death of a child. For the most part, we expect that parents will precede their children in death, and we have come to accept that as the normal order of things.
The first death recorded in Scripture, however, goes against the expected norm. Before Adam and Eve went through death themselves, they experienced the tragedy of death when their righteous son was murdered by his unrighteous brother. It was a particularly unjust death.
Think about Jesus, the righteous murdered by the unrighteous, as was Abel. What death could have been more unjust than Christ’s? What other parallels might one find between the death of Abel and of Christ on the cross? How might the nature of Abel’s death help us to understand why Jesus has “the keys of Hades [the grave] and death” and what God is offering us in Him?
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Without the problem of death being solved, why are our lives ultimately useless, meaningless, and futile? What does this fact teach us about how thankful we should be for what Jesus has done for us? |
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Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death. Wages are something we have earned. When I was in third grade, I saw that I had an "A" in a certain subject, and I thanked my teacher. She said, "Don't thank me! I did not give it to you. You earned it." God does not give us death because we have sinned. We have earned death by our sin. The wages of sin is death. However, Romans 6:23 tells us the gift of God is eternal life. Of course, a gift is something we have not earned.
Jesus paid the wages for our sins so that we can have eternal life.
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21
"Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. "With His stripes we are healed." -Ellen White, Desire of Ages, Page 25.
If someone were to ask you how they can have eternal life, what would you tell them?
How does the subject of dealing with death interface with our lessons on prophecy?
This lesson is reviewing the beginnings of sin in the world as mentioned in Sabbath's lesson. Death is part of the foundation of prophecy.
H'mm ... maybe you mean that prophecy points to the resolution of the problem of death?
It is ironic that with all the assurances given in the Bible that death will not have a final say; many people are fearful of death. This fear is not unfounded because we were created for life and not for death. “God has set eternity in the hearts of men” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Death is not a natural human experience. Death is a wicked intruder. Death is the greatest human enemy whose final defeat is waiting Jesus’s return. No matter how much pain, sorrow and heartache death is causing for now, the Word of God is explicitly emphatic that it will be completely annihilated from the face of the universe (1 Corinthians 15:26). In the earth made new death will never torment mankind again. This is the hope we have in Christ Jesus.
“Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” (John 11:25-26, NLT).
Hi Inge, that thought races through my mind too, how is it that we are studying Prophesy and death just jumped in the discussion. The quickest answer would be, in the first place it is in prophecy our eyes were opened on the reality of death, therefore, it is in prophesy a solution was offered. Jesus' death and resurrection.
Good point: Before the cross, prophecy pointed to Christ's death and resurrection as a resolution to the problem of death.
We could add that, in our day, prophecy points to the final resolution of death and eternal life in heaven's atmosphere of self-renouncing love.
The climax of the ministry of Jesus — and indeed of His life — was that He died. This was, and remains, an achievement, for by His death our salvation was actualized.
Jesus resurrected absolutely and completely, defeating death once and for all. As 1 Corinthians 15:3 says: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died.” The critical word in this gospel is Jesus, and another crucial word is he died. The reason we should talk about His death is that, in Christ’s death, we won the ultimate victory. Death is right at the center of our salvation story.
As Christians, we deal with death not by avoiding it, but by facing life’s fragility — as Psalm 39:4 reminds us. Death is a reality we cannot ignore. It confronts us all, and yet, we do not face it hopelessly.
Let us remember that we have spectacular and unique good news about death — news no other religion offers. Muslims do not have good news about death; they’re crossing their fingers. Hindus don’t have good news either — perhaps the fear of returning as a cat is unsettling. Jews have a conflicted message regarding death. Atheists offer no good news at all, for in their worldview, death means the end — nothingness.
For centuries, the world has tried to make us run from the subject of death because no one else has good news. But we, as Christians, do. The good news is that we have been equipped to face death — not with fear, but with hope — because death will be finally defeated 1 Corinthians 15:54 proclaims: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” This is our anchor. This is our hope. And this is our message to the world.
Without the problem of death being solved, our lives would be ultimately useless, meaningless, and futile because everything we do would come to an end. No matter how much we achieve, love, or build, it would all be lost in the grave. As Ecclesiastes 9:5 says, “the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing.” If death were the final chapter, there would be no real hope or lasting purpose.
But because of what Jesus has done—His death and resurrection—death has been defeated. 2 Timothy 1:10 says He “abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” He gave us the promise of eternal life and showed us that the grave is not the end. 1 Corinthians 15:54-55 reminds us that “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
This should make us deeply thankful. Jesus didn’t just save us from sin—He gave our lives eternal value and hope. Because of Him, we know that our lives matter now and forever.
As I have mentioned before, I’m a fourth generation Seventh-day Adventist, but my understanding of God‘s grace and mercy came later in life. His grace gives us that thing we do not deserve, eternal life, his mercy keeps us from getting that thing we do deserve, eternal death…
Without the problem of death being solved, our lives are ultimately useless, meaningless, and futile because we know that a death sentence hangs over our head and we never know when it will be executed. It's worse than being a criminal on death row, at least they know when it's coming. However, if death is nothing more than a cold, dark hole in the ground from which there is no return, we live, we die, end of story, then life on this earth is a cruel joke and waste of time, if there is no resurrection of the dead. 1 Cor. 15:12-26
As one who has more time alive behind me than before me, I try not to think about it, but focus on living my best life for God’s glory now. Knowing that because Jesus is my Savior and Lord, His resurrection will be my resurrection. I'm seriously hoping to avoid the undertaker. I want to see the "upper taker," and meet my Lord in the skies when he returns without having tasted death. But, if not, I know that death is but a sleep, a "pause" in the video of life. If the grim reaper gets me before Jesus comes, at least I know that I don't have to taste the second death, because my Lord and Savior has tasted it for me. He has canceled my ticket for hell, and He is my ticket for heaven. (Hebrews 2:9; John 11:25-26; 1 John 5:12-13)
If we have to sleep the sleep of death, at least we can know that the first face we will see is that of Jesus coming in the clouds of glory, coming to take us home. "Let not your heart be troubled..." John 14:1-3
The topic of ‘dealing with death’ also encompasses the question of ‘how to live’. For the Christian, life and death are inseparably connected — present in every moment, woven into every decision, thought, and intention. Every thought we entertain, every action we take, and every desire we nurture leads us either toward life or toward death.
As we live in the present we prepare for eternity. Our focus is on storing up treasures in heaven, shaping our hearts and minds to align with eternal values. For those who love God, a deep desire to do what is right in His eyes becomes essential, as His lovingkindness is expressed through their actions and interactions with others – Matt.6:19-21; Matt.5:3-12.
Are we truly grateful for this awareness? Does it elevate our living soul to humbly seek to meet our heavenly Father in His Spirit of Love in the garden of Grace and Mercy when and in whatever aspect of life we encounter? The spiritual treasures laid up in heaven await those who faithfully choose life - both now and in the life to come. This is how we 'deal with death'.
Our first parents were deceived by "the serpent" that they could eat the fruit and live forever: first, of many lies, they started to believe. The truth is that we were not created to die originally, so when it happens, it's a shock. Jesus died so we could regain life.
My first reaction to the final question about our lives being useless, meaningless, and futile was to disagree, because to me living has value - we all touch various lives. But I guess the word "ultimately" is the key there.
Our lives really don't live on very long. There are the famous and the great authors that are remembered for generations, but most are not remembered long.
My mother passed away when I was a young child and that's now almost 40 years ago. Once I was thinking and I realized there might be a dozen people in my church who ever knew her. The number of people in the world who remember her now is probably only a few hundred if that. And that's not so long. So though she lived only a few years with me and had a significant influence in those few years, life in this world really does have limits.
One other comment about death - it certainly is perceived as the enemy in a lot of circumstances. But people relate to it differently as they age. I have seen plenty of older people who know their years are limited who seem very at peace with death and don't seem afraid of it at all. Of course there are those who are not this way.
But I do wonder if there are times when we should accept death and not fight it? I know that the lesson says death is not part of life and it isn't in the big picture, but in our world it is. I'm not sure being one of those people who does everything to fight death is really the best in every circumstance. I'm not saying we shouldn't try to live but it's still something I have mixed feelings about.
Christina, I believe you are thinking of the sleep that intervenes between our earthly life and the resurrection. I believe that the death the Bible calls an enemy is the eternal death that is the wages of sin. While the Bible refers to both states as "death," as we do today, more often the temporal death is called a sleep, as in "David slept with his fathers."
I think we can agree that there comes a time for people when they welcome this rest. I remember my father in his 90's, when he was too frail to go outdoors by himself and his eyes were failing so he could no longer enjoy his beloved pastime of reading. He just wanted to go to sleep, which he did at 95.
I agree with you - there's a big difference, though I was reacting to how the lesson said it's a lie to say "death is a part of life". When people say that, they are certainly not talking about the second death.
Even the first death is not "good" in the sense that it was never meant to be, but I think in a world of sin, it is a good thing in some respects. Who would want to live forever in a sinful world? Not me. There's a tension between what should be and what is, for now.
The author of this weeks lesson includes "Murder" in the subject of "Death." However, to me, the death that came via Adam and Eves transgression is not the same as "Murder," at all. The Apostle Paul says that God appointed humans to die once because of Adam and Eves' imposing to humanity that very "Curse," and after that humans would have to face God's "Final Judgment." But Paul, in this context does not mention "Murder," at all. And I still do not see the author of this weeks' lesson's purpose for including "Murder," with the subject of humanity's "Curse of Death because of Adam and Eves' imposing that curse on all humanity." I guess that even King David's murdering Uriah and God forgiving David for it, and I am sure that God forgave David because of Jesus' dying for his sin of "Murder" gives any human hope if he or she is guilty of this sin too. But I did not see this idea at all in these weeks lesson about King David's murdering Uriah etc. at all.
Hello Pete! The following is a direct quote from Wednesdays lesson: Dealing with Death;
The first death recorded in Scripture, however, goes against the expected norm. Before Adam and Eve went through death themselves, they experienced the tragedy of death when their righteous son was murdered by his unrighteous brother. It was a particularly unjust death.
Think about Jesus, the righteous murdered by the unrighteous, as was Abel. What death could have been more unjust than Christ’s? What other parallels might one find between the death of Abel and of Christ on the cross? How might the nature of Abel’s death help us to understand why Jesus has “the keys of Hades [the grave] and death” and what God is offering us in Him?
The author merely mentioned the first recorded murder in the Bible and compared the calamity of it to the calamity of Jesus' murder. No mention is made of David's muder of Uriah.
Yes you are correct that even murder, if confessed and repented of is forgivable. Truth be told we are all murderers or accessories to murder, because our sin caused Jesus to die for our sin.
You can also look on Christ’s death as just. Killed during Passover, showing He was calling the shots; An act of His own will Matt. 27:50; By His death we are justified Rom. 4:25; Frees us from condemnation Col. 2:14,15; God planned it Acts 2:23; it was God’s will Isaiah 53:10. I could go on but need to leave for Sabbath School class.
Death, the temporal death, is a good thing for humanity although it causes much sorrow and heartache. God thought it better that fallen humanity not live forever (Gen 3:22-24). To me it’s more an effect or result of sin than a penalty. Jesus demonstrated power and authority over the effects of sin, Satan’s instruments of tyranny, in healing diseases, casting out demons, resurrecting the dead even from the grave. This death is overcome by God’s ability to resurrect to life.
Spiritual death on the other hand involves a resurrection to life also, spiritual though (Jn 5:24,25). Through Adam’s sin we all enter life spiritually dead, dead in trespasses and sins. By the grace mercy of God we undergo conversion passing from death to life. Since this involves forgiveness of sins Christ’s sufferings form the ground of this regeneration to life. Is this the first resurrection that secures us against the second death?
Eternal death, the just penalty for rebellion against eternal God, is solved for believers by the cross of Christ. This is the death that all must suffer because all have sinned. This was God’s righteous judgment against sin. Not all suffer the temporal death, a sleep. Enoch and Elijah never died and at Christ’s coming there will be many who will never suffer temporal death. And all the dead will be resurrected some to eternal life and others to eternal condemnation.
Again, all without exception must suffer eternal death and there’s no resurrection from this death. Praise God that Christ “bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin AND live to righteousness; for by His wounds we/you are healed.”(1 Pt 2:24,25). This death, I think, we should be more concerned to overcome.
The death foundation mentioned in Genesis not only prepares the biblical prophecy reader to other death scenarios in the bible but also to the solution to that death. Death is the result of being overtaken in the devil's snares during the great controversy. Jesu's death paid the penalty and his resurrection is an assurance if victory. He shall come again the second time; establish his prophetic kingdom where we shall reign with him forever.