What does the Bible teach happens to say happens to a person when they die? Can the dead really communicate with the living?
For answers to these and many other question we have summarized relevant text below in a concise manner.
Only God is immortal. The following verse makes it clear:
1Timothy 6:16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto;
whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
After Adam and Eve sinned, they were denied eternal life:
Genesis 3:22, 23 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us,
to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat,
and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
To further drive home the point that man is mortal, God tells us further: Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
When God made man, he took dust and breathed into his nostrils:
Genesis 2:7 And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
When Man dies, this process is reversed:
Ecclesiastes 12:7 then the dust shall return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return to God who gave it.
Job 12:10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all flesh, even of man?
Job 27:3 As long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,
Job 33:4 The Spirit of God made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
At death, man returns to the dust. Having the breath of God is essential to all life forms.
Psalm 104:29 You hide Your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
Psalm 146:4 His breath goes forth; he returns to the earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
Ecclesiastes 3:19 For that which happens to the sons of men also happens to beasts, even one thing happens to them. As this one dies, so that one dies; yea, they all have one breath; so that a man has no advantage over a beast; for all is vanity.
Ezekiel 37:5 So says the Lord Jehovah to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.
The opposite of Life is Death. God promises life to those who access Jesus and death to those who do not. Death is the absence of life not eternal life in hell.
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
1 John 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
The Word of God described Death as a Sleep, both Old and New Testament:
John 11:11 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.
John 11:12-14 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.
Job 14:12 so man lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, men will not awake or be roused from their sleep.
James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Daniel 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Matthew 9:24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
Mark 5:39 And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.
Psalm 13:3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
Matthew 9:24 He said to them, Go back, for the little girl is not dead, but sleeps. And they laughed Him to scorn.
Daniel 12:2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Job 7:21 And why do You not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity? For now I shall sleep in the dust, and You shall seek me in the morning, but I shall not be
There is a clear principal of interpretation that is taught in the bible. We must compare scripture with other scripture to arrive at a proper interpretation of God's word.
Isaiah 28:10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
Jesus also taught this same principle.
Matthew 18:16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
In order to establish any truth, we must have two are three witnesses from God's word. If your interpretation cannot be supported by this, you may have to evaluate any teaching in order to know what biblical truth is.
ABSENT FROM THE BODY - PRESENT WITH THE LORD?
2 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
A proper interpretation of the above verse in light of all the other witnesses is critical to avoid any errors in these days of spiritualism and headenism. Jesus promised that He could come again and not that we would go independently upon death.
John 14:1-3 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
John 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Death is the absence of life and not the continuation of life in a different form:
Isaiah 38:1 In those days Hezekiah was sick to death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him and said to him, So says Jehovah, Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.
1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all will be made alive.
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment,
Psalm 88:10 For will You do wonders to the dead? Shall the dead rise and praise You? Selah.
Matthew 11:5 the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear; the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel proclaimed to them.
John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and makes alive, even so the Son of Man makes alive whomever He wills.
Romans 4:17 (as it has been written, "I have made you a father of many nations") --before God, whom he believed, who makes the dead live, and calls the things which do not exist as though they do exist.
Romans 14:9 For this Christ both died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and living.
1 Corinthians 15:35 But someone will say, How are the dead raised up, and with what body do they come?
Hebrews 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again, and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.
THE DEAD KNOW NOTHING.
Ecclesiastes 9:3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event to all. Yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
Ecclesiastes 9:5 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.
Ecclesiastes 9:6 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.
Psalm 6:5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
Psalm 146:4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
Daniel 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
1 Corinthians 15:12-22 But if Christ is proclaimed, that He was raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised.
And if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is worthless, and your faith is also worthless. And we are also found to be false witnesses of God,
because we testified of God that He raised Christ; whom He did not raise if the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ is not raised.
And if Christ is not raised, your faith is foolish; you are yet in your sins. Then also those that fell asleep in Christ were lost.
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.
Isaiah 38:18 For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
Psalm 115:17 The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
Isaiah 26:14 Dead ones do not live; departed spirits do not rise. Therefore You have visited and destroyed them, and made all memory of them to perish.
RESURECTION.
1Corinthians 15:51-54 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in a glance of an eye, at the last trumpet.
For a trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall all 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.
Ezekiel 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye,
turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
Job 10:21 Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death;
1Thessalonians 4:13-18 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 trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall 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 so we shall ever be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words
John 5:25 Truly, truly, I say to you, The hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they who hear shall live.
KING DAVID IS NOT IN HEAVEN.
Acts 2:29-35 Men, brothers, it is permitted to say to you with plainness as to the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit upon his throne, seeing this beforehand, he spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor would His flesh see corruption, God raised up this Jesus, of which we all are witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which you now see and hear. For David has not ascended into the heavens, but he says himself, "The LORD said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand until I place Your enemies as a footstool to Your feet."
Act 24:15 And I have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust
GOD'S PROMISES.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Dear friend, a proper interpretation of the state of the dead is necessary to stand in these last days against the delusions of the devil.
God's word says in Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
