What does the Bible say about death? Throughout this article, we will answer this question, which covers such an enigmatic and transcendental topic for humankind.
Physical or spiritual death, we can find all this in the Bible
What does the Bible say about death?
The Bible as sacred writing that attests to the relationship that the world has maintained with God since its creation, is today the most influential book in the entire history of mankind.
The writings in this book represent a period of nearly 1000 years, spanning from long before the arrival of Christ to the period after his death and resurrection.
In this text we are presented with the way in which God has worked for us and the way in which he expects us to act under his message of love and mercy.
The scriptures show the existence of the possibility of living an eternal life next to God, this once you reach heaven. He speaks of this fact as the separation of soul and body, a process that is nothing more than the act of dying.
The moment when death comes to each person is determined by God, it is he who decides to give life and also to take it away. Although it may be a difficult subject to deal with, death is as present in the Bible as it is in life itself.
death and sin
Throughout the Bible, we can find writings that establish a direct relationship between sin and death. For example, Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."
To interpret this verse, the first thing to keep in mind is that true life is not somewhere else but in God, in this way when sin is incurred, man moves away from life and therefore from the Lord.
So, inevitably when sinning, death is experienced. A death that is not necessarily physical, but can be purely spiritual and does not have a specific time.
Not only non-believers sin, the faithful are not oblivious to these events. Even when Christ has rescued us from the ultimate punishment for the sins committed, when we carry out acts that go against God's designs, we experience a break in the relationship we have with him.
This does not mean that God forgets us or that the relationship we have with him is totally suppressed; however, it gives rise to a spiritual death in which there is a barrier that hinders said relationship.
Imagine the relationship between a father and his son, when this son disobeys the father, the relationship is affected and before being restored various feelings such as distrust or pain arise.
But the father will always watch over the well-being of his son, whom he will never stop loving because he will always be united with him. Just as the example is God with his children.
death like a dream
In the Gospel of John 11:11-14, we witness how Jesus, through the awakening of Lazarus, shows his disciples that death has a lot to do with resting from sleep.
Before coming to the aid of Lazarus, Christ mentions to his disciples that this man's condition was nothing more than a rest, a dream. Lazarus was lying asleep and Jesus was going to wake him up.
The disciples were initially relieved to believe that Jesus was really talking about the sleep they themselves experienced each night or when they took naps. However, the son of God made it clear to men that Lazarus was dead.
Lazarus did not die, therefore he did not go to hell or heaven, he was asleep all the time he remained in the tomb, until the call of Christ resurrected him.
There are more references that raise this relationship and that respond to what the Bible says about death, in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, it is clearly interpreted that "dead" people are simply asleep because they have not yet received the call of Jesus.
Death, resurrection and immortality
Let us analyze what is written in Genesis 2:7, “Then the Lord God formed the man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
If we start from that equation that God used to give life to man, it becomes evident that the spark that ignites life is that breath that he blows into the nostrils of his children. For its part, the body belongs to the earth, to dust.
Upon death, these elements separate, the body returns to dust and the breath, also considered spirit or soul, returns to the side of God, until the moment of resurrection.
In other words, it is thanks to the resurrection that God puts back together all the life-giving elements that make a person a living soul.
It should be noted that there are two types of resurrection mentioned in John 5:28-29, the resurrection of life for those who did good and the resurrection of damnation for those who did evil.
Immortality
Man is not an immortal being, only God has this characteristic just as only he has the gift of life. Under these precepts, no one but him decides who to grant these gifts to.
In 1st Corinthians 15:51-54, there is talk of receiving immortality after the return of Christ; On the other hand, in Ezekiel 18:4, we can show how after physical death, existence itself has no end.
The soul of saved and sinners will continue its course in eternity, the first in eternal life with God and the second fulfilling his designs, as a response to their earthly behavior.
However, the immortality described in the scriptures is not limited only to the soul, but takes man as a whole, a whole created in the image and likeness of the Father.
When a person is born, he does so with the promise of eternal life, once he dies, he begins to enjoy and enjoy the company of the Lord. Lastly, by resurrecting he obtains the promised immortality or eternal life.
Finally, we invite you to continue consulting and analyzing the sacred scriptures by choosing the most appropriate text, through the following link that we will leave at your disposal: Study Bibles.