Death and the Resurrection in Both the Old and New Testaments
The Bible has the answer to the question of where the dead are now. In the Old Testament, Daniel was not told that he would be in heaven the moment he died. Instead he was told,
“But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.” Daniel 12:13 NKJV
In the New Testament Jesus did not tell His disciples they would be with Him in heaven the moment they died. He told them He would have to come again so they could be with Him again.
“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:3 NKJV
Both the Old and New Testaments agree about what happens when we die, and the hope we have in the resurrection. Let’s take a look at Death and then the resurrection in both the Old and New Testaments.
Death
Overview:
Death is a state of unconscious sleep. The dead do not know anything at this time and are not awakened until the last trump at Christ’s second coming. See Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, Job 14:12, 1 Corinthians 15:51-55, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
Why is it important to know the truth about death:
The teaching that you don’t really die is a lie Satan started in the Garden of Eden when he told Eve, “Ye shall not surely die.” By telling this lie Satan hoped to get Eve and all mankind to believe that there is really no consequence for disobeying God. He also wants us to believe that we are all immortal even if we have no relationship with God. This opens the door for spiritualism in which people may actually communicate with the devil and his angels, thinking they are speaking with their loved ones.
Our salvation does not come from knowing what happens when we die. Our salvation is found alone in God’s love. However, no lie is ever harmless, and when Satan told the lie, “Ye shall not surely die,” not only was he lying, but he was also calling God a liar.
Why understanding death in the light of the cross is important:
If you don’t really die, then Jesus did not really die for us, and we still need a Savior. The lie that we don’t really die destroys the cross and everything Jesus endured and accomplished on it. If Jesus was not really tasting death like Hebrews 2:9 says He did, then we have just minimized the cross to a six-hour pain endurance marathon.
I remember sitting in a funeral for a little girl who was hit and killed by a car. Her mother sat on the front pew, sobbing uncontrollably. Meanwhile the pastor talked about how happy the little girl and Jesus were right now up in heaven. Do you know how cruel that made Jesus look to the poor mother? Would Jesus tear a mother’s heart apart just to go have fun with her daughter? I think not! The little girl is resting in her grave and will be united with Jesus in heaven when the mother is reunited with her at the second coming.
For Further study on Death:
What did Adam become?
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. Genesis 2:7
What returns to God?
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:7
What is the spirit?
All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; Job 27:3
Note that this is an example of poetic parallelism, which is used a lot in Scripture. In this case, both parallel passages are synonymous. In other words, “my breath is in me” means the same as “the spirit of God is in my nostrils.” This “spirit” is the same as the “breath of life” God breathes into Adam’s nostrils. It is not the same as the Holy Spirit.
What does God take that turns the body to dust?
Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Psalm 104:29
What age-old question did Job ask?
But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where [is] he? Job 14:10
What is the Bible answer?
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
Do the dead know what happens to the living?
His sons come to honour, and he knoweth [it] not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth [it] not of them. Job 14:21
How much do the dead know?
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. 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 9:5–6
What did Jesus call death?
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. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. John 11:11-14
How long had Lazarus been dead?
Then when Jesus came, he found that he had [lain] in the grave four days already. John 11:17
Did Martha believe Lazarus was in heaven?
Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. John 11:24
What did Mary say?
Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. John 11:32
Was Lazarus called from heaven, hell or the grave?
And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. John 11: 43-44
The Resurrection
When does the book of Daniel tell us that the dead will awaken?
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. Daniel 12:2
“But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.” Daniel 12:3
When are the dead raised?
For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. 1 Corinthians 15:16-23
When do we receive immortality?
Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 1 Corinthians 15:51-54
Our hope and comfort:
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. for this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Hello William Earnhardt.
I have a question regarding I Thess 4: 14 and 16. Verse 14 says that God will bring the believers who died with Him and Jesus when he returns (NLT). Then verse 16 goes on to say that the dead in Christ will rise first…
What does verse 14 mean when Paul says that God, when He returns, will bring with Jesus the believers who had died?
Hi Gary, according to some commentaries it means bring with Him from the grave. In other words bring them from the grave to be with him.
I have also heard other people explain it as he will bring them with him back to heaven from the earth.
And I have heard other commentators say that it means he is bringing his breath of life to give back to them.
Hello again, Thanks for your response.
Gen 2:7 speaks of Adam’s (humanity’s) creation…”and man became a living soul (KJV), being (NIV), creature (ESV), person (NLT). Is it possible that a “living being” has not only a body (from dust/ground) and energy (breath of life), but a “spirit/soul” that is the culmination of our life experiences, knowledge, decisions and their consequences that form/produce a character? And is this character, the “essence” of who we are, something that GOD keeps and protects after we die and then brings with Him on resurrection day to unite with our immortal and incorruptible bodies? Kind of like taking a software backup (character) and downloading it into a new computer (body)? Body/mind/spirit…hardware/software/energy source.
I’m not implying that this essence is cognitive/self-aware while in GOD’s care, (it is sleeping), but is a part of the new resurrected being.
Hi, Gary. I'd love to respond to this, as you have invited me to do. To my mind, your idea seems to be spot on with what the Bible teaches. God preserves the essence of who we are, along with the character that we have formed, and in the resurrection gives all of this a new and far better -- but clearly recogizable -- body.
Here is where I think the terminology of soul and spirit fits into this. The Hebrew word for soul is "nephesh." This is the word so variously translated in Genesis 2:7, and it is the essence of the individual. This word is also used in connection with Elijah praying for the resurrection of the widow's son.
The NIV translates this as the boy's "life."
So, when we talk about the preservation of the soul -- in Matthew 10:28, for instance -- this refers to God's ability to bring back the selfsame sleeping saint, with a continuity of consciousness.
Someone may correct me, but I understand that the breath and the spirit are the same thing -- "ruach" in Hebrew. This is more than mere energy, or the "spark of life."
Interestingly, Ellen White equates our character with our spirit that goes back to God when we die.
That last sentence appears to be an allusion to 1 Corinthians 15:35-49.
Like you said, all of these questions, and this analysis, come in the context of death being a sleep -- a soul sleep.
Thank you RG and William! To me this is not a salvation issue but a discovery that shows GOD’s care and love for us, AND how real and meaningful scripture is…
Good question, Gary. May I weigh in on the answer? I think the key to understanding this verse is a very similar passage in Isaiah 26:19.
Who is speaking here? To my mind, it has to be Jesus. This verse predicts a general resurrection which, as Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 15:12-19, is contingent upon the resurrection of Christ.
At first glance, to our modern minds at least, the word "together" may seem to imply that the general resurrection will happen at the same time as the resurrection of Christ, but we know that this is not the case.
Now we come to 1 Thessalonians 4:14.
The words "with Him" are an exact equivalent to the "together with My dead body" in the Isaiah verse, and the topic -- the general resurrection -- is the same. To my mind, this settles the question. God will bring those who sleep in Jesus back with Him from the grave, as verse 16 goes on to describe.
Thanks for your response R.G. White. Would you mind reading and responding to my reply to William Earnhardt?
Thank you for your question Gary and your response R.G.! I am enjoying this discussion.