What happens when we die? Many traditions teach that the dead go straight to heaven or hell, or join the ancestors. The Bible gives a different and comforting answer. “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing” (Ecclesiastes 9:5). When a person dies, “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish” (Psalm 146:4).
Jesus called death a sleep. When His friend Lazarus died, He said, “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep” (John 11:11). The dead are resting, unaware of time, until Jesus calls them. They are not watching us, and they cannot harm or help the living. This truth sets us free from fear of the dead and from every practice that tries to speak with them.
Our hope is the resurrection. When Jesus returns, “the dead in Christ shall rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16), and in a moment “the dead shall be raised incorruptible” (1 Corinthians 15:52). Only God “hath immortality” (1 Timothy 6:16), and He gives eternal life as a gift through Jesus (Romans 6:23). So when we lose someone we love, we grieve, but not “even as others which have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
Key Bible verses
- Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10The dead know not any thing.
- Psalm 146:3-4In that very day his thoughts perish.
- John 11:11-14Our friend Lazarus sleepeth.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17The dead in Christ shall rise first.
- 1 Corinthians 15:51-55The dead shall be raised incorruptible.
- 1 Timothy 6:16God only hath immortality.
- Romans 6:23The gift of God is eternal life.
Tap a reference to read it in the Bible.
Think about it
- How does the Bible’s teaching on death bring comfort when someone you love dies?
- How does this truth protect us from fear of the dead and of ancestral spirits?
- Who are you longing to see again on the morning of the resurrection?
