Death and Resurrection
Dearly beloved of God, only the Word of God can provide the answers we need coming our deliverance from death and the grave.
Unfortunately, many Christians today do not get an understanding concerning death from the Word of God, but from religious traditions and philosophy and denominational doctrines.
What is “death?” The Greek lexicons define death, “thanatos,” as “the natural end of earthly human existence.”
The Bible reveals that death is an enemy, and that it is the last enemy that will be destroyed [I Corinthians 15:26]. Death is not a welcomed friend.
The Word of God reveals that when a person dies they enter the grave, which is the Greek word “hades,” and “sheol” in the Hebrew. “Sheol,” or “hades” is the continuing state of the dead.
“Sheol” or “hades” is not the place of burial whether in the earth or in the sea. The place of burial is the word, “qeber.”
E.W. Bullinger in his lexicon states that the grave [sheol or hades] is the continuing state of the dead, or “gravedom.” Death is not just a one-time event, it is a continuing state.
Death does not lead to life in any realm. It leads to corruption. Genesis 3:19; I Corinthians 15:50.
What is the mental state of the dead? Psalm 6:5; 146:4; and Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, and 10, reveal that "the dead know nothing at all."
At death, people cease to function mentally. They do not have memory, nor conscious awareness of any kind.
For this reason, a dead person has no awareness of time. When a person dies, the next thing they will be aware of will be their resurrection from the dead when Christ returns. A thousand years could pass from the time of their death to the time of their resurrection, but the dead person would not know it.
When will the dead be resurrected to die no more? There are five times mentioned in the Bible that the dead will be resurrected.
The first was the Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection. See Romans 1:4; I Corinthians 15:3-,4, 12, 20. Each of the four gospels records his resurrection.
When Jesus died, he descended into the state of death. He was dead for three days and three nights according to the Scriptures [See Matthew 12:40] before he was resurrected from the dead.
The second will take place when the dead in Christ are resurrected at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for the Church. See I Corinthians 15:20-23, 51-54; I Thessalonians 4:15-18.
The third will take place when the two faithful witnesses during the great tribulation will be resurrected. See Revelation 11:11, 12.
The fourth is the first of two resurrections mentioned in Revelation 20. In the first resurrection, the martyred saints of the great tribulation will be resurrected. There may be others, but Revelation 20:4,5 only speaks about the martyred saints.
The fifth resurrection is recorded in Revelation 20: 12-15. The dead will be resurrected, and will be judged according to their works.
There will be a separation of the just from the unjust. Those not found written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire, and die the second death. They will perish. For those who have done good, it will be the resurrection unto life. See John 5:23-30; Revelation 20:11-15.
Many Christians are taught that when they die they will automatically go to heaven. Is this the teaching of the Word of God?
The Church in this age of Grace will receive the hope of their salvation when Christ returns for the Church and gathers them together unto him in the air. All Christians will be gathered together at the same time; both the living and the dead in Christ,
Until the Lord Jesus Christ returns to raise Christians from the dead, the dead in Christ will remain in the state of death.
Their soul life expired when they breathed their last breath. Their body corrupts in the grave. The gift of holy spirit they received in the new birth returns to God who gave it to them.
The living do not have immortality today, nor do the dead have incorruptibility today.
The mortal will put on immortality and those corrupting in the grave will be raised incorruptible when the Lord Jesus Christ returns and delivers them from the state of death according to I Corinthians 15:51-54. Verse 23 reveals that the Christian’s deliverance from death will take place “at his coming.”
“Thanks be to God, Which giveth us the victory [over sin and death] through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Read I Corinthians 15: 50-57, and I Thessalonians 4:15-18 for the details.