Wednesday: “The Dead Know Nothing”
Read Job 3:11-13; Psalm 115:17; Psalm 146:4; and Ecclesiastes 9:5, Ecclesiastes 9:10. What can we learn from these passages about the condition of human beings at death?
Some Bible commentators argue that these passages (Job 3:11-13; Psalm 115:17; Psalm 146:4; Ecclesiastes 9:5, Ecclesiastes 9:10), written in poetic language, cannot be used to define the condition of human beings at death. It is true that sometimes poetry can be ambiguous and easily misunderstood, but this is not the case with these verses. Their language is clear, and their concepts are in full harmony with the overall Old Testament teachings on the subject.
Image © Kevin Carden at Goodsalt.com
First, in Job chapter 3, the patriarch deplores his own birth, due to all the suffering. (In the more dire moments, who hasn’t wished that he or she had never been born?) He recognizes that if he had died at his birth, he would remain asleep and at rest (Job 3:11, Job 3:13).
Psalm chapter 115 defines the location where the dead are kept as a place of silence, because “the dead do not praise the LORD” (Psalm 115:17, NKJV). This hardly sounds as if the dead, the faithful (and thankful) dead, are in heaven worshiping God.
According to Psalm chapter 146, the mental activities of the individual cease with death: “His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish” (Psalm 146:4, NASB). This is a perfect biblical depiction of what happens at death.
And Ecclesiastes chapter 9 adds that “the dead know nothing” and in the grave “there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, Ecclesiastes 9:10, NKJV). These statements confirm the biblical teaching that the dead are unconscious.
The biblical teaching of unconsciousness in death should not generate any panic in Christians. First of all, there is no everlasting burning hell or temporary purgatory waiting for those who die unsaved. Second, there is an amazing reward waiting for those who die in Christ. No wonder that “to the believer, death is but a small matter. … To the Christian, death is but a sleep, a moment of silence and darkness. The life is hid with Christ in God, and ’when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.’ John 8:51-52; Colossians 3:4.” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 787.
| Think about the dead in Christ. They close their eyes in death and, whether in the grave 1500 years or 5 months, it’s all the same to them. The next thing they know is the return of Christ. How, then, might one argue that, in one sense, the dead have it better than we the living do? |
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It is interesting to know that when we die in the Lord, we REST and also to understand that if we get and keep rooted in God's word we will never face death(eternal death). I am hidden in Christ.
How amazing to know that to a Christian, death is but a sleep, a moment of silence and darkness.
Then the question Why are we afraid of death? Why does man want not to hear the word death including we Christians?
I believe it's the way some people die that makes it fearful. Sleeping away/dying in our sleep is what we would all love, not the violent/horrific end some people meet.
If our life is hid with Christ in God, shouldn't we be able to trust Him, come what may, in life or in death?
We are busy, and satisfied with earthly things that bring joy for a short period of time.
The biggest fear is dying alone. That can happen even when surrounded by family and friends because of the fear of hurting the dying person with the fact of dying. My experience is that when a person (who is in their right mind) is close to death, they know it whether or not we want to admit it or talk about it with them.
The dying process is a time to acknowledge death and to speak and hug each other—to shed tears, laugh and to tell of shared times that reassure the dying of their value of their love in your life. It is also very much a time to forgive and heal. Once a person dies, this opportunity is gone for eternity.
The state of the dead may not be very relevant to this process.
We fear death because it is an enemy. Life not death is written and celebrated in our DNA.
Well said, Marcia. The only thing is, Christians need not fear their enemies. See Psalm 3:6 for instance.
I think It is important that we in no way underestimate the blessing of understanding that the lost are not tormented in eternally burning hell forever and ever. I believe satan uses this deception to give many people a false conception of God's character that keeps many from coming to Jesus or causes others to turn away. And yet most Christian churches hold to this deception. I was one who was introduced to the Christian faith at a young age but the fear of burning in hell forever soon drove me away. I wandered for many years before praise The Lord He was able to introduce me to the precious truths given to this church. I pray that we will never esteem them lightly.
Hi Sarah,
Those are good questions. I think, my opinion only, that there is something within all of us that knows that "death" was not originally supposed to happen; it was only after sin that death became a reality. This is also why we continue to be surprised when someone dies, even when they were very sick. My sister-in-law recently died, who had been sick for a little over a year; however, she was make good progress in recovering from her illness. So, when she died, we were all taken by surprised; it just did not feel right, because we thought she was getting better.
Also death, and the process of dying can be very painful. My sister-in-law was not in pain very long; her arm started hurting and a few minutes later, she was gone. They first thought she had a heart attack; but the death certificate says that it was a loss of oxygen, or complications, due to her lung disease. I'm just glad her pain was very brief. My mother, who died over 30 years ago, was in pain, or in the dying process for over a day and a half, about 30 hours. I think that she wanted to hold on to life for a little while longer, but her body was too weak to support her. But God was there with her to comfort her, as He is with all those that passed on into death; He is still with them
Recently, when Queen Elizabeth passed on into death, God showed up; He showed "His presence" was there by creating a double-rainbow in the skies of England at that very moment that she died. In my opinion, He did that to show that He was with her during her dying process. However, many people, that show the rainbow, said that it was Elizabeth ascending into Heaven; but the truth is that Elizabeth is in her death sleep, resting in the grave waiting for the Second Advent of Christ.
We know that death will be our reality, if we are not one of the "blessed" ones who will be "alive and remain" at Jesus' second advent; but it is still hard to face the reality of death without some kind of fear. But we Christians did not mourn as others fear and mourn because we have the sure promise that Jesus "will come again" and raise the faithful out of their death sleep. He did it for Lazarus, and He will do it for all the other people that died believing in Him.
I agree with Mr. Maurice, we, especially SDAs, need to stop trying to "correct" people's notions about the state of the dead. We can praise God that we have the correct understanding of it, and "IF" the Holy Spirit gives us the opportunity, with the "correct words", then we may share our knowledge of the state of the dead. But otherwise, please remember that 1) death is painful enough and it doesn't make the mourning process any easier for us to try to "correct" their understanding at that time, and 2) we Christians are not charge by God to save people, only Jesus can save them; we are only vessels to share the promises of God (or the Word of God) with them. Stop trying to save the world, but instead ask the Holy Spirit daily to lead you to people that are searching for answers because they are seeking to start a relationship with Jesus.
God bless. (Sorry for the long reply)
Thanks for sharing… especially your final thoughts that we are not here to make things more painful for people because we want to correct their concepts of death.
Quoting Ellen White’s comment referring to Col.3:4: “The life is hid with Christ in God, and ‘when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.’ “
This is such a profound statement reflecting the core principle of our Faith. Our true life/being is hid with Christ in God; Christ is therefore our Life! We who believe, who are alive in Him, and those who have come to the end of their life welcome their ‘Rest’ in Christ.
It is the 'body with its proclivity to temptations' which we leave behind in both instances – in life and in death. We who believe when still living have died and have been born again, and when we die at the end of life, we will be born to life everlasting.
The subject death may still gives christians some chills because none were made originally to die. This is something that our first parents chose and we are inserted in this context today. But to those who die in faith, there can be peace after all. I've been to 2 funerals the past 2-3 weeks, coincidentally. One of a 40+ year old wife/mother, and the other of an 80+ husband/father. Both from different religions, but christians. Sadness yes, both had that. But no dispair or great commotion. They all had HOPE, a hope founded in Christ! That's what we need to, to be sure of Jesus' promises of return and reward. subject death may still give christians some chills, because none were made originally to die. This is something that our first parents chose and unfortunately we are inserted in this context today. But to those who die in faith, there can be peace after all. I've been to 2 funerals the past 2-3 weeks, coincidentally. One of a 40+ year old wife/mother, and the other of an 80+ husband/father. Both from different religions, but christians. Sadness yes, both had that. But no dispair or great commotion. They all had HOPE, a hope founded in Christ! That's what we need to, to be sure of Jesus' promises of return and reward.
I think, sadly, a lot of us are afraid of death because we aren't sure if we will be saved. I think the perspective in the church is changing, but the focus has often been on our works. Many of us subscribe to a "light-switch on/light switch off salvation".
My dear, loving grandmother who spent her life in loving service, both to her family and to the community through Dorcas, often said "I hope I make it to Heaven." My dad said she was just being humble, but I don't think so. It's sad that she didn't really have strong assurance, though I hope she felt it when she died.
I love Jesus' words recorded in John 10:10. Jesus says here that He came to give us "life" and also "More abundant life," too. In Jesus, we can start to experience a type of "Living" in this life that cannot be done any other way by any one. All the Promises in God's Word are very "Real" and very much like what Jesus said about "Treasure" that one goes to and takes out to enjoy as "New" and as "Old" but definitely as very much as being blessed each and every time until He calls us to leave this behind just for a moment and for a "Twinkling of an eye."
“Think about the dead in Christ. They close their eyes in death and, whether in the grave 1500 years or 5 months, it’s all the same to them. The next thing they know is the return of Christ. How, then, might one argue that, in one sense, the dead have it better than we the living do?”
As a Christian who once believed our disembodied souls go immediately to heaven when we die, and as an Adventist Christian who believes the dead sleep in the grave until resurrection….this type of comment/question has always bothered me.
My hope IS in the resurrection, not because this life is so horrible, but because Jesus is there. But guess what? The Kingdom of God is HERE, right NOW. This life certainly has sadness and hardship, but whether here or in the resurrection, the Good News is “God with us”.
Yes, the righteous dead have it better than the living because their next conscious thought is seeing their Redeemer (hallelujah). I’ve experienced funeral services in my life and there were a few where I know the Lord will resurrect. Certainly, I’m jealous of this person because the next time this person awake is meeting the Lord in the air. So, there are 3 arguments of why the dead in Christ have it better than the living. (1) They have no consciousness of time, (2) the hardship of life no longer burdens them, and (3) their salvation is secured. Argument 1 helps us understand the word sleep when Jesus uses the word to describe death. Death is a dreamless sleep with no consciousness of awareness because you’re simply dead. It doesn't matter if you were dead back in 4000 B.C., 14th century, or this 21st century, because we will all wake up at the same time as if it was the next morning since the time of death. Last August, I had a gastroscopy and I was put under to sleep through general anaesthetic. When I woke up, I thought nothing happened, but the procedure was all done. I was unconscious of time. Argument 2, we no longer have to carry the hardship of being alive in a sinful world. And, experiencing various crucibles in this lifetime. We fought the good fight (2 Timothy 4:7) and now we are finally resting in Jesus. Argument 3 helps us not fear death, and much more the second death because our salvation is assured by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior through the fruits of our works. In James 2:26 (KJV), “For as the body without the spirit (God’s breath, the gift of life) is dead, so faith without works is dead also”. So, in a way, the dead in Christ have it better than the living.
This version is sharp and sweet, but it is incomplete. It does not harmonize with the rest of the passages in (Daniel 12:2), (Matthew 10:28), (Luke 23:42-23), (2 Corinthians 12:2-4), (Revelation 20:4), In fact, Luke 16:19–31 offers an example of human capabilities in the afterlife. Lazarus is in paradise in eternal joy, while the rich man is in torment in hell (called “Hades”). The rich man has feelings, can talk, and has the ability to remember, think, and reason.