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WHAT IS DEATH FOR MANKIND?

 

It has been difficult to understand the Biblical definition of “life” and “death” for mankind. The purpose of this study is to examine how the Bible uses the words “life” and “death” for mankind. God defines words by how He uses them in the Bible. By seeing how God uses the words “life” and “death” for mankind in the Bible, we can determine the Biblical definition of these words.

 

The material in this study is also covered in the two studies below:

 

Please see the study on the Biblical definition of life and death for more information

 

Please see the study on A BODY “SLEEPING IN THE DUST” VERSUS “DEATH”

 

 

The reason for this study is that this subject has been difficult to understand and the hope is that study will make this subject easier to understand.

 

 

To begin to understand the Biblical definition of “life” and “death” for mankind we first have to recognize an important truth:

 

 

In our minds, we have firmly established the definitions that “life = consciousness or existence” and “death = cessation of existence or a corpse”. This is how we use these words in our everyday speech.

 

 

These definitions are pretty well set in our minds. They seem pretty obvious and they agree with what we see with our eyes.

 

That is why people say “you must be resurrected to some kind of life in order to suffer”.

 

What they are saying is “you must be resurrected to some kind of consciousness in order to suffer.”, because in our minds “life = consciousness”.

 

 

However, as we study the Bible, we run into verses that are do not agree with these definitions.

 

 

We read in Genesis 2:17 that Adam really did die in the day he sinned. We read there:

 

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

 

 

God uses the Hebrew word for “die” two times in Genesis 2:17. The phrase “thou shalt surely die” is literally in the Hebrew “dying thou shalt die”.

 

When God doubles up on something, God is placing extra emphasis so that we would know that God means that Adam really did die the day that he sinned (Genesis 41:32).

 

 

However, Adam did not cease to exist the day he sinned.

 

 

So, to fit our definition of death, we say that Adam “died spiritually”, even though the Bible never uses this language. God simply says that Adam died.

 

The term “spiritually dead” means that man’s spirit is dead. However, the Bible teaches that unsaved man still has a spirit. Unsaved man’s spirit has not ceased to exist. There are many verses that show that unsaved man still has a spirit-essence. Here we will look at just three verses that teach this truth:

 

We read in Psalms 78:8:

 

And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.

 

In Psalms 78:8 God is talking about the rebellious and stubborn people of ancient Israel. Sadly, most of them never became saved. Yet, God says regarding them that their spirit “was not stedfast with God”. Those people did not trust God. However, because God talks about their spirit, we know that those unsaved people did have a spirit as well as a body.

 

 

We read in Daniel 2:1-3:

 

1 ¶ And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.

2  Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.

3  And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.

 

Daniel 2 is talking about a dream that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had. In next chapter, in Daniel 3, King Nebuchadnezzar built a big idol and required that everyone worship it. Based upon his actions, we can be certain that he was not a saved man in Daniel 2.

 

Yet, in Daniel 2:1 & 3, God talks about his “spirit”. Therefore, we know that King Nebuchadnezzar had a spirit even though he was not a saved man.

 

 

We read in 1 Peter 3:19:

 

By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

 

In 1 Peter 3:19, God talks about the unsaved people in the days of Noah and refers to them as “spirits in prison”. The unsaved are in “prison” because they are in bondage to sin and subject to the judgment of God. In 1 Peter 3:19, God refers to them as “spirits in prison”. Therefore, we know that these and all unsaved people have a spirit.

 

 

These 3 verses teach that the unsaved have a spirit, just like they have a body. According to the Bible, unsaved man is already dead, yet he has not ceased to exist in anyway.

 

 

So, even the term “spiritually dead” does not agree with the definition that death is a cessation of existence because unsaved man still has a spirit.

 

As a result, we change Genesis 2:17 to say other things, like “dead to life in Christ”, “lost his eternal life”, “became subject to death”, etc. But, God did not say any of those things. With double emphasis, God says that Adam really did die the day that he sinned.

 

 

With double emphasis, God says that Adam really did die the day he sinned, which does not agree with our definition of death because Adam did not cease to exist in anyway. The unsaved still have a spirit and a body essence.

 

 

We find other verses that indicate that unsaved man is already dead. Here are some example verses:

 

Proverbs 21:16  The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.

 

Matthew 8:22  But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

 

Luke 9:60  Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

 

John 5:25  Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

 

Romans 7:9-11:

9  For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

10  And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.

11  For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.

 

Ephesians 2:1,5:

1 ¶ And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

 

Colossians 2:13  And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

 

1 Peter 4:6  For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

 

Revelation 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

 

 

There are quite a few verses that teach that unsaved man is already dead. Yet, unsaved man still has a spirit and a body. He has not ceased to exist in any way. We notice that none of these verses say that the unsaved are “spiritually dead”. They simply say that unsaved man is “dead”. These verses do not fit our definition that “death = cessation of existence or a corpse”.

 

 

In addition, the Bible teaches that mankind is not only “spiritually dead” but he is also “physically dead”.

 

 

We want to keep in mind that the word “spiritually” has to do with the spirit of man and the word “physically” has to do with the body of man. We read two relevant verses:

 

Romans 8:10  And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

 

1 Corinthians 15:29  Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

 

 

Romans 8:10 and 1 Corinthians 15:29 are talking about true believers. Romans 8:10 says clearly that the believer’s body is “dead”.

 

1 Corinthians 15 is talking about resurrection of the believer’s body. Verse 29 talks about present state of the believer’s body, which is “dead”.

 

If the believer’s body is “dead”, then the unbeliever’s body is also “dead”.

 

 

So, when Genesis 2:17 says that Adam died the day he sinned, and other verses say that the unsaved are already “dead”, God is talking about the body as well as the spirit of man. Both are death according to the Bible.

 

 

 

 

To help us understand the Biblical definition of “death” for mankind, let us change subjects for a moment and look at how God uses the word “life” in connection with mankind.

 

 

In our minds “life = conscious existence”.

 

However, God calls Himself “life”. We read two significant verses:

 

John 11:25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

 

John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

 

 

In these verses, Jesus who is God, says “I am life”.

 

We read another statement where the Bible says that “God is life” in 1 John 1:1-2:

 

1 ¶ That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

2  (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

 

When verse 2 says the “life was manifested”, the Bible is saying that “God was manifested”. The Bible is saying that “God is life”.

 

Maybe these verses do not really register in our minds. Perhaps we think that God is saying that He is the giver of life. But, these verses actually say that God is life.

 

 

We normally think of life as existence, however, God says that He is “life”.

 

 

We read a follow on verse in 1 John 5:12:

 

He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

 

In 1 John 5:12, God takes the next step.

 

In John 11:25, 14:6 and 1 John 1:2, God said that He is “life”. Then, in 1 John 5:12, God says that for mankind “life” has to do with man’s relationship to God, who is “life”.

 

Notice how God says it twice in 1 John 5:12. God says it in a positive way, then God repeats Himself by saying the same truth in a negative way.

 

God places extra emphasis by doubling-up (Genesis 41:32).

 

 

1 John 5:12 does not agree with how we think about life, namely, we think that “life = conscious existence”. Rather, it is teaching that “life” for mankind has to do with his relationship to God, who is “life”.

 

 

 

With this learning, we can begin to understand other verses.

 

We read in John 6:53:

 

Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

 

John 6:53 tells us that until we become saved, “ye have no life in you”.

 

If “life = conscious existence” then John 6:53 says concerning the unsaved, “ye have no conscious existence in you”

 

How can that be?  We have no existence in us?

 

 

Before salvation, we do not have God, who is “life”, in us. In John 6:53, God is affirming that “life” for mankind has to do with his relationship with God.

 

 

When we learn that the Bible defines that God is life, then we can begin to understand some of these difficult verses.

 

John 6:53 says that before salvation, “ye have no life in you”. This statement does not fit our traditional thinking that “life is conscious existence”. If that is so, then John 6:53 would be saying about the unsaved, “ye have no conscious existence in you”. But, that is not true, the unsaved exist just as much as do the true believers.

 

But, when we realize that God is life, then we know that in John 6:53 is teaching that before salvation, “ye have no God in you”. The unsaved do not have the God of the Bible, the true God, indwelling them.

 

This agrees with Romans 8:9 which says:

 

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

 

The “Spirit of Christ” or “Spirit of God” is God Himself. Romans 8:9 says that the true believers have God, The Holy Spirit, indwelling them. That is, they have God in them. However, before salvation, we do not have God indwelling us. We do not have God in us.

 

This is what John 6:53 is teaching about the unsaved by the phrase “ye have no life in you”. Concerning the unsaved, John 6:53 teaches, “ye have no God in you”. God does not indwell the unsaved as indicated in Romans 8:9.

 

 

Some people have difficulty understanding this teaching from the Bible and they will sometimes say that we have to change a verse to say “life in Christ” or “eternal life” or “spiritual life” or something else. However, we cannot come to truth by changing verses. People change “faith of Christ” into “faith in Christ”. We cannot do that. We must read the Bible the way God has given it.

 

 

We cannot changes verses. If God put the word “life” in a verse, we cannot change it to “eternal life” or “spiritual life” or “life in Christ”, etc.

 

 

 

WE ENTER INTO GOD, WHO IS “LIFE”, UPON SALVATION

 

We read several verses that talk about how we are to “enter into life”:

 

Matthew 18:8  Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.

 

Matthew 18:9  And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

 

Matthew 19:17  And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

 

Mark 9:43  And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

 

Mark 9:45  And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

 

 

These verses teach that when we become saved we “enter into life”.

 

 

If life is conscious existence, then how do we “enter into existence” upon salvation? We already exist, both in spirit and body.

 

 

But, we do “enter into God” in the sense that He now indwells us and has provided many blessings and promises for us. We enter into God and His wonderful kingdom upon salvation. Also, Romans 8:9 teaches that upon salvation, God indwells the true believer.

 

 

We read a similar idea in Acts 11:18:

 

When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

 

Acts 11:18 is saying that concerning the gentiles, as well as the Jews, that have become saved that God has “granted (or given) repentance unto (or into) life”.

 

When we become saved, we have not been “granted repentance unto existence”. Rather, we have been “granted repentance unto (or into) God”. God gives us repentance and we come into God Himself, into His Kingdom and into all His blessings and God indwells us.

 

 

When we read these kinds of verses we may be tempted to change the word “life” to “eternal life”. However, we cannot do that and have truth. In order to learn truth in the Bible, we must read the Bible as God has given it without changes.

 

 

We read a number of verses that teach that when God saves us, He gives us “life”:

 

John 5:40  And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

 

John 6:33  For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

 

John 20:31  But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

 

Galatians 3:21  Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

 

1 John 5:16  If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.

 

 

In the above verses God says that upon salvation, He gives us “life”. In these verses, God did not say “eternal life”. Rather, God says that he gives us “life” upon salvation.

 

Does God give us “existence” upon salvation? No. Rather, God gives us God Himself, who is “life”. God gives us Himself in that He is indwells us and gives us all of the blessings of the Kingdom of God.

 

This agrees with what we read in Genesis 15:1:

 

After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

 

God Himself is the “exceeding great reward” that the believers receive.

 

 

 

When God saves us, God “makes us alive” or “quickens” us. The Old English word “quicken” is the word “to make alive”.

 

We read this language in the following verses:

 

Psalms 80:18  So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.

 

Psalms 119:25  DALETH. My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.

 

Psalms 119:37  Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.

 

Psalms 119:40  Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.

 

Psalms 119:50  This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.

 

Psalms 119:88  Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth.

 

Psalms 119:93  I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.

 

Psalms 119:107  I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD, according unto thy word.

 

Psalms 119:149  Hear my voice according unto thy lovingkindness: O LORD, quicken me according to thy judgment.

 

Psalms 119:154  Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me according to thy word.

 

Psalms 119:156  Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD: quicken me according to thy judgments.

 

Psalms 119:159  Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O LORD, according to thy lovingkindness.

 

Psalms 143:11  Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.

 

Ephesians 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

 

Ephesians 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

 

Colossians 2:13  And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

 

 

There are many verses above that teach that when God saves us, He “quickens us” or “makes us alive”.

 

The reason many verses are given in this study is because sometimes people say that there are “only a few verses” that support the definitions of “life” and “death” in these studies. However, if we examine the Bible carefully, there are many verses in the Bible that support these definitions of “life” and “death” for mankind. These verses do not agree with our traditional thinking that “death = cessation of existence or a corpse” and “life = existence”, but they agree with how God uses the words “life” and “death” for mankind in the Bible.

 

 

Going back to the verses above, does God “make us exist” upon salvation?

 

 

No. The unsaved already exist, both in body and spirit.

 

Rather, God gives us God Himself, who is “life”. God, who is “life”, comes to indwell. The true believer has been “made alive” because he now has God, who is “life”, indwelling him and energizing him.

 

 

 

THE TRUE BELIEVER FINDS THE PATH THAT “LEADETH UNTO GOD”, WHO IS “LIFE”

 

We read in Matthew 7:13-14:

 

13  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

 

14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

 

God is talking about two different paths that people are on.

 

The path of salvation is a path that “leadeth unto life”.

 

How does salvation “leadeth unto conscious existence”?

 

 

The unsaved already exist, both in body and spirit. How do they find the path that leads to conscious existence?

 

 

Maybe in our minds we change this verse to say “leadeth unto eternal life”. But, we cannot do that. God did not say “eternal life”.

 

However, when we learn that God is “life”, then this verse makes complete sense. Salvation is the path that “leadeth unto God”. Salvation leads us unto God and all of His blessings.

 

 

As we go through this study, it may seem that an excessive number of verses are given. However, the purpose for the large number of verses is to show that God gives many proofs that God Himself is “life” and that “life” for mankind has to do with his relationship to God and “death” is separation.

 

Through these verses, God is also teaching that the traditional definitions “death = cessation of existence or a corpse” and “life = conscious existence” do not agree with the Bible.

 

 

 

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS “OUR LIFE”

 

We read an important statement in Colossians 3:4:

 

When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

 

Notice that God is saying that the Lord Jesus is “our life”.

 

Colossians 3:4 agrees with John 11:25 and 14:6 that teach that God is “life”. When we become saved, God becomes “our life”.

 

God is the “life” that indwells the true believer and energizes him. Colossians 3:4 agrees that “life” for mankind has to do with his relationship to God.

 

We read a verse in the Old Testament that is similar to Colossians 3:4. We read in Deuteronomy 30:19-20:

 

19  I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

 

20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

 

 

 

“ETERNAL LIFE” IS ANOTHER NAME FOR THE LORD JESUS

 

We read two verses in which the term “eternal life” is another name for the Lord Jesus:

 

1 John 1:1-2:

 

1 ¶ That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

 

2  (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

 

1 John 5:20:

 

And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

 

We see in both these passages that the phrase “eternal life” is actually another name of the Lord Jesus. This fits because God is “life” and when God saves someone and enters him, then that person will have God, who is “life”. Even more than that, the Bible indicates that the true believer has “eternal life”, who is God Himself indwelling him and that will be forevermore.

 

So, when we read verses like John 3:16 that say that the true believer receives “everlasting life” or “eternal life”, it is true that these verses teach that the true believer has God, who is “life”, forevermore more. However, it is also true that the true believer has God, who is “eternal life”. The word “eternal” emphasizes the promise that the true believer will have God forevermore.

 

 

 

THE LORD JESUS, WHO IS “ETERNAL LIFE”, DOES NOT ABIDE IN THE UNSAVED

 

This understanding helps to explain an interesting verse. We read in 1 John 3:15:

 

>Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

 

The last phrase is interesting. God is saying that the unsaved person does not have “eternal life abiding in him”.

 

If “life = existence”, then how can someone have “eternal existence abiding in him”? The word “abiding” has to do with something dwelling in someone.

 

When we understand that “eternal life” is another name for the Lord Jesus, then 1 John 3:15 is saying that the unsaved person does not have “eternal life (the Lord Jesus Christ) abiding in him”.

 

 

These verses confirm that “life” or “eternal life” for mankind has to do with his relationship to God, and not with existence.

 

 

 

GOD GIVES VERSES THAT IDENTIFY “LIFE” WITH GOD’S BLESSINGS TO MAN

 

God gives additional verses that identify “life” for mankind as not just existence, but with the many blessings that God gives. That is because the Bible defines that God is life and that life for mankind has to do with his relationship with God. God, who is “life”, comes to mankind with all of His blessings and this truth comes forth in these verses:

 

Psalms 16:11  Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

 

Psalms 23:6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

 

Psalms 27:4  One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

 

Psalms 34:12  What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?

 

Psalms 133:3  As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

 

In these verses, the focus of “life” is not on existence, but in God and His blessings.

 

 

 

Let’s now consider “life” specifically for the unsaved.

 

Let’s now talk more specifically about the unsaved and the fact that they have “life” also. We ask an important question:

 

 

The Bible teaches that the unsaved are alive, that is, they have “life” also. If “life” for mankind has to do with his relationship with God, how does that agree with the fact that the unsaved are “alive”, that is, they have “life” also?

 

 

God provides an answer to this question in Acts 17:24-28.

 

We read in Acts 17:24-28:

 

24  God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

25  Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

26  And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

27  That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

28  For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

 

The Apostle Paul is speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to the intellectuals in Athens Greece. The context of this passage is that God is speaking about all mankind.

 

We read in verse 25 that God “giveth to all life, and breath, and all things”. This is speaking about all mankind. All mankind in this world have received “life, and breath, and all things” from God.

 

When we read the word “life” here we normally think that “life = conscious existence”. Therefore, when we read Acts 17:25, we think that it is teaching that God is giving mankind conscious existence and “breath, and all things”.

 

However, in verse 28, God gives more information about what He is giving to mankind. God says that “in him we live, and move, and have our being”. The “in him” is God Himself.

 

 

God is saying in Acts 17:28, that He has given God Himself to all mankind.

 

 

The unsaved have God in that they are “in him”. They also “move” in God and “have their being” in God.

 

This agrees with many verses that speak of the blessings that God gives to the unsaved in this world.

 

 

According to the Bible, the unsaved are “alive” because they also have “life”, which is God Himself. They are “in God”, they “move” in God and “have their being” in God.

 

 

The point is that God gives many verses that teach that God Himself is “life” and that “life” for mankind has to do with his relationship with God, who is “life”.

 

 

 

NOW, LET’S RETURN TO OUR EXAMINATION OF THE QUESTION: “WHAT IS DEATH FOR MANKIND?”

 

 

The above verses that we have been studying agree with the definition that “death = separation”, specifically from God, who is “life”.

 

 

One thing that can help us is to remember that “death” is the opposite of “life”. They are used in opposite ways. We have seen many verses in which God defines Himself as “life” and for mankind that “life” has to do with man’s relationship with God. The opposite would be that for mankind, “death is separation, especially from God”.

 

 

When Adam sinned, he died according to the Bible. Adam did not cease to exist at all. Rather, Adam became separated from God, who is “life”. Adam was no longer indwelt by God nor energized by God, to use the language of Philippians 2:12-13. The word “worketh” in Philippians 2:13 is the Greek word “energeo” from which we get the word “energy”.

 

 

 

The understanding that for mankind “death = separation” helps to UNDERSTAND other difficult verses.

 

 

We read in 1 John 3:14:

 

We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

 

God says that the unsaved “abideth in death”.

 

 

How do the unsaved “abide in non-existence”?

 

 

The unsaved exist just like the believers exist. However, the unsaved “abideth in separation from God”. They are not indwelt by God nor are they energized by God. The unsaved are abide in separation from God, who is “life”. 1 John 3:14 agrees with the definition that “death = separation”.

 

 

 

Let’s consider two verses with the phrase “passed from death unto life”

 

We read:

 

John 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

 

1 John 3:14  We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

 

 

When we become saved we have “passed from death unto life” (John 5:24, 1 John 3:14).

 

 

How has the true believer “passed from non-existence to existence” upon salvation?

 

 

He has not. The unsaved exist, both in body and spirit, just like the true believers exist.

 

But, we have “passed from separation from God to indwelling by God” upon salvation. That is true.

 

 

An important Biblical rule taught by 1 Corinthians 2:13 is that God defines words by how He uses them in the Bible. We are seeing many verses in which God defines that for mankind, “death = separation”.

 

 

We are not used to thinking in this way. However, we have to remember to let the Bible define words and phrases for us.

 

 

 

IN JOHN 5:25 GOD SAYS TO THOSE THAT HE SAVES, YOU “SHALL LIVE”

We read in John 5:24-25:

 

24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

25  Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

 

This passage is talking about salvation. We already looked at the phrase “passed from death unto life” in verse 24 and saw how it helps to teach the Biblical definition of “life” and “death” for mankind.

 

In verse 25, God says that before salvation, we were “dead”. That is, we were separated from God, who is “life”.

 

But, when God saves us, He causes us to “hear the voice of the Son of God”.

 

For those that God saves, God says “they that hear shall live”.

 

In John 5:25, the word “live” cannot mean “exist”. God is not saying “they that hear shall exist”. The unsaved already exist. Those that God plans to save already exist before salvation. We do not come to exist when we become saved.

 

 

Rather, when we understand that God is “life”, then John 5:25 fits in perfectly.

 

 

As we saw above, when we become saved, God gives us “life” which is God Himself (John 5:40, 6:33, 20:31, Galatians 3:21, 1 John 5:16).

 

That is why God says that when He saves us, He “makes us alive” (Psalm 80:18). Or, to use the language of John 5:25, the true believer “shall live” upon salvation.

 

Upon salvation, God “makes us alive”. That is, God gives us God Himself, who is “life”, to indwell and energize us. Then we have “life”, which is God, indwelling us. We have been “made alive”.

 

When God saves us, we “shall live” because we have God indwelling.

 

If we change John 5:25 to say, “they that hear shall live eternally”, then we would have no trouble understanding this verse with our traditional thinking. However, if we want truth, we cannot change verses. We have to read the Bible the way God has given it.

 

 

 

ROMANS 11:15 TEACHES THAT UPON SALVATION, THERE IS “LIFE FROM THE DEAD”

 

We read in Romans 11:15:

 

For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

 

Here, God is talking about Jews who do become saved. When a Jew becomes saved, it is the same as when a gentile becomes saved.

 

In both cases, there is “life from the dead”.

 

If “death = cessation of existence” and “life = existence” for mankind, then this verse is saying that upon salvation, there is “existence from non-existence”. With the traditional definitions of life and death, this is what Romans 11:15 would have to be saying.

 

However, when we understand that God is “life” and that “life” for mankind has to do with his relationship to God and that “death” is separation from God, then Romans 11:15 makes sense.

 

Romans 11:15 is saying that upon salvation, we have God, who is “life”. Upon salvation, God now indwells us and energizes us. Before salvation we were separated from God. That is, we were “dead”.

 

 

 

ROMANS 8:10 AND 1 CORINTHIANS 15:29 TEACH THAT THE BELIEVER’S BODY IS STILL DEAD

 

Even after salvation, our body is still “dead” as we read in these two verses:

 

Romans 8:10:

 

And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

 

1 Corinthians 15:29:

 

Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

 

1 Corinthians 15 is talking about resurrection of the believer’s body. Verse 29 talks about present state of the believer’s body, which is “dead”. 1 Corinthians 15:29 is not talking about the future state of the believer’s body. It is describing the current state of the bodies of believers in this world. Three times, God says that the believer’s body is already “dead”.

 

Our body has not ceased to exist in anyway. Rather, it is still separated from God. We will develop this point in more detail shortly.

 

Before salvation, we are “dead” in both body and spirit. That is, according to the Bible, we are both “spiritually dead” and “physically dead”. We were separated from God, who is “life”. We were not indwelt by God nor were we energized by God.

 

 

We want to keep in mind that the word “spiritually” identifies with the spirit of man, and the word “physically” identifies with the body of man.

 

 

Upon salvation, our spirit has “passed from death unto life” (John 5:24, 1 John 3:14). It was no longer separated from God.

 

However, our body remains “dead”. It is still separated from God, who is “life”. At the Rapture, our body will “pass from death unto life”. That is called the “resurrection of life” in John 5:29. This point will be developed more later in this study.

 

 

 

James Chapter 2 provides help in understanding the Biblical definition of “death” for mankind

 

Sometimes God provides help in understanding a difficult concept in the Bible in an unexpected passage.

 

We read 3 relevant verses in James 2:

 

James 2:17  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

 

James 2:20  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

 

James 2:26  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

 

In these verses, God is providing a definition for “death”. God is defining that “death = separation”.

 

In verse 17, God talks about a “dead” faith. God defines a “dead” faith as a faith that does not have works. Notice that God says that it is “alone”. That is, a “dead” faith is a faith that is separated from works. The word “alone” signifies “separation”. A dead faith is one that is without works. It is alone. It is separated from works.

 

God puts two points in verse 17 that agree that “death = separation”. God says a “dead” faith is one that does not have works. It is separated from works. Also, a “dead” faith is one that is “being alone”. Both of these points agree with the definition that “death = separation”.

 

 

In verse 20, God describes a “dead” faith as a faith “without” works. The word “without” teaches the principle of “separation”.

 

Again, in verse 26, God uses the word “without” twice to define the word “dead”. The word “without” conveys the idea of “separation”. A “dead” faith is a faith that is separated from works. It is without works. It does not have works.

 

 

In James 2, God has given 3 verses that talk about faith and works. These verses help to define that “death = separation” for mankind.

 

 

 

EPHESIANS 2:1-5 USES THE WORD “DEAD” TWICE TO DEFINE THAT UNSAVED MAN IS “DEAD” BECAUSE HE IS SEPARATED FROM THE ENERGIZING OF GOD

 

We read in Ephesians 2:1-5:

 

1 ¶ And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

4 ¶ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

 

 

This passage is significant because in two verses (1 & 5), God says that before salvation we were “dead”.

 

In Genesis 41:32 God establishes the principle that when He doubles something, He is placing special emphasis upon it. Therefore, the fact that two times God says that before salvation, we are “dead” is important. God has doubled-up on the word “dead”. Therefore, God is placing special focus upon that fact in Ephesians 2:1-5.

 

 

In Ephesians 2:1-5, God is really defining what it means that the unsaved are “dead”.

 

 

In Ephesians 2:1-5 God is not describing someone who has ceased to exist. Rather, God is describing someone who is separated from God and from His energizing.

 

In verse 2, God is talking about how the unsaved were walking according to the world and according to the devil who is “the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience”.

 

The Greek word translated “worketh” in verse 2 is the same Greek word that we find two times in Philippians 2:13:

 

For it is God which worketh <1754> in you both to will and to do <1754> of his good pleasure.

 

The Greek word translated “worketh” in Ephesians 2:2 is the same word that is translated “worketh” and “to do” in Philippians 2:13.

 

This is Greek word is the word “energeo”, from which we get the word “energy”.

 

Philippians 2:13 teaches that God “works in” the true believer or “energizes” the true believer.

 

In the same way, Ephesians 2:2 is teaching that the devil “energizes” the unsaved.

 

These facts agree with the teaching that the unsaved are separated from God. They are separated from the energizing and working of God. Verse 3 says that the unsaved are fulfilling their own will. They are not walking with the Lord, but rather walking according to their own will. The are separated from God.

 

In Ephesians 2:1-5, God uses the word “dead” two times to describe the nature of unsaved man. This passage is describing people who are “separated” from God and from His energizing. By using the word “dead” two times in this passage, God is defining that “death” for mankind is separation, specifically from God.

 

 

Ephesians 2:1-5 describes the unsaved as being separated from God and from His energizing. By using the word “dead” two times in this passage, God is defining that “death” for mankind has to do with separation from God. Ephesians 2:1-5 is not describing someone who has ceased to exist.

 

 

 

Romans 7:18 helps to explain Romans 8:10 and teachES that “death = SEPARATION” for mankind.

 

Concerning the true believer, we read in Romans 8:10:

 

And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

 

Romans 8:10 is teaching that for the true believer, his body is still “dead”. His body is dead because it is still separated from God who is “life”.

 

The Bible teaches that when we have become saved, our spirit has “passed from death unto life” (John 5:24, 1 John 3:14). But, our body is still “dead”, because it is separated from God, who is “life”.

 

Romans 7:18 helps us to understand this truth. We read there:

 

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

 

The Apostle Paul is speaking here under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God is using the Apostle Paul as an example to teach us truth about the true believer.

 

In this verse, God is talking about the body of the true believer. God says that in the true believer’s body “dwelleth no good thing”.

 

The word Greek word translated “good thing” in this verse is actually just the word “good”. God is saying that “dwelleth no good” in the true believer’s body.

 

The “good” that does not dwell in the believer’s body is God Himself. The fact that no “good” dwells in the believer’s body means that God, who is the chief “good”, cannot be dwelling in the believer’s body in this present world.

 

However, we read in Romans 8:9:

 

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

 

Romans 8:9 teaches that when we become saved, the God dwells in us. For the true believer, we read that “the Spirit of God dwell in you”.

 

The Greek word translated “dwell” in Romans 8:9 is the same Greek word “dwelleth” that we find in Romans 7:18. Let’s look at the two verses together:

 

Romans 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth <3611> no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

 

Romans 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell <3611> in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

 

In Romans 8:9, the Bible says that God dwells in the true believer. Then, in Romans 7:18 God gives more information, indicating that God does not dwell in the body of the true believer. No “good” dwells in the body of the true believer. God is good. Therefore, God does not dwell in the body of the true believer.

 

 

When we put the two verses together, we learn that God dwells in the true believer in his spirit only. God does not dwell in the true believer’s body in this present world.

 

 

Romans 7:18 & 8:9 confirm that the Biblical definition of “life” for mankind has to do with his relationship to God, who is “life”. Also, that, “death” for mankind is separation from God.

 

The spirit of the true believer has “passed from death unto life” because God now indwells his spirit (John 5:24, 1 John 3:14, Romans 8:9). However, the body of the believer is still dead because it is still separated from God. God does not indwell his body (Romans 7:18, 8:10, 1 Corinthians 15:29).

 

How God can indwell the spirit of the true believer, but not his body may be difficult to picture in our minds. However, this is what the Bible teaches.

 

 

Romans 7:18 & 8:9 provide a confirmation that “life” for mankind has to do with his relationship to God and “death” for mankind is separation from God.

 

 

 

We read in Romans 7:9-11 that God killed or slew the Apostle Paul along with Adam and the whole human race the day that Adam sinned.

 

We read there:

 

9  For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

10  And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.

11  For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.

 

The Apostle Paul is speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God is describing the condition of the Apostle Paul and the whole human race.

 

This is a difficult passage to understand but it is also a very important passage.

 

The “commandment” refers to the commandment given in Genesis 2:17 to Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

 

According to Romans 7:9, the Apostle Paul, Adam and the whole human race was “alive without the law once”. That was back before Adam sinned. The human race was in the loins of Adam so in that sense, God says that the Apostle Paul and the whole human race were “alive without the law once”.

 

Adam had God, who is “life”, indwelling. There was a perfect relationship between Adam and God before he sinned. That perfection is restored upon salvation because God comes to indwell and work-in the true believer (Romans 8:9, Philippians 2:12-13).

 

In that sense Adam was “alive without the law once”, because he had God, who is “life”. However, the day that Adam sinned, he died, both in body and spirit, he became separated from God, who is “life”.

 

Because the whole human race was in the loins of Adam, God says regarding the Apostle Paul, and all mankind, that they were “alive without the law once”. In that sense, the whole human race was in the loins of Adam and had God, who is “life”.

 

In Romans 7:9, we see that when Adam sinned, the Apostle Paul, Adam and the whole human race “died”. This is another proof text that for mankind death is not a cessation of existence. As we have seen earlier unsaved man still has both a body and a spirit. He has not ceased to exist in anyway.

 

Moreover, we learned that unsaved man is already both “spiritually dead” and “physically dead”. That is, both his spirit and his body are dead (Romans 8:10, 1 Corinthians 15:29).

 

Romans 7:9 says that the Apostle Paul, Adam and the whole human race “died” the day Adam sinned. The Biblical definition of “death” for mankind is separation, specifically from God. Romans 7:9 is teaching that the day that Adam sinned whole human race became separated from God who is “life”.

 

Then, we read in verse 11, that sin “slew me”. Finally, it was God that “slew” the Apostle Paul, Adam and the whole human race. This happened the day Adam sinned.

 

 

The word “slew” is the standard Greek word translated “to kill”. Romans 7:11 teaches that God “killed” Adam, the Apostle Paul and the whole human race the day that Adam sinned.

 

 

Romans 7:11 agrees with Ezekiel 37:9. We read there:

 

Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

 

A careful study of Ezekiel 37:1-14 shows that it is talking about the salvation of unsaved elect people. Before salvation, God says in verse 9 that we are already “slain”.

 

The Hebrew word translated “slain” in Ezekiel 37:9 is the standard Hebrew word for “killing” or “slaying”.

 

 

God “killed” or “slew” Adam, the Apostle Paul and the whole human race the day that Adam sinned. Romans 7:11 helps us to understand that the Biblical definition of “killing” for mankind is like that of “death” which is separation from God, who is “life”.

 

 

The “killing” of mankind already applies to both his body and his spirit because the Bible teaches that unsaved man is already “dead” both in body and spirit.

 

 

 

Let us consider how God uses the term “second death”.

 

If “death = a cessation of existence” then we should see that in how God uses the term “second death”.

 

 

We want to remember that the Bible defines its own terms. We may say that “the second death simply means the total annihilation of the unsaved”. If that is true, then we will see it in how the Bible defines the “second death”.

 

 

We read 3 verses in Revelation 20 that help with the Biblical definition of the “second death”:

 

10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

 

14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

 

15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

 

 

In Revelation 20:14 God defines what the “second death” is. The “second death” is to be “cast into the lake of fire”. Verse 15 indicates that all of the unsaved throughout time must be cast into the lake of fire. All of the unsaved throughout time, including Cain, are “not found written in the book of life”. They all must be cast into the lake of fire.

 

Revelation 20:10 defines what happens to those cast into the lake of fire. They are “tormented day and night … ”

 

This Greek word translated “tormented” is always used to signify conscious affliction. We remember from 1 Corinthians 2:13 that God defines words by how He uses them in the Bible. God has defined this Greek word translated “tormented” as meaning conscious affliction.

 

Therefore unconscious corpses or bones cannot fulfill the statement that all of the unsaved, including Cain, will be “tormented day and night …”. The unsaved must awake to consciousness to fulfill the Biblical definition of the “second death” which is to be “tormented (consciously afflicted) day and night …”

 

 

We ask another important question:

 

 

Could the lake of fire be a literal fire?

 

 

The answer is no. The lake of fire cannot be a literal fire. Those cast into a literal fire go unconscious in a few seconds or minutes. Someone cannot be “tormented day and night …” in a literal fire.

 

Also, this Greek word translated “tormented” is never used to describe the affliction of a literal fire. This word is used to describe various types of conscious afflictions, but never the affliction of being burned in a literal fire.

 

 

For the above two reasons, God is assuring us that the lake of fire cannot be a literal fire.

 

 

The lake of fire is the pouring out of the wrath of God which includes conscious affliction that all of the unsaved must endure.

 

Let’s go back to the question of how the Bible defines the “second death”.

 

We see from the above verses that God is defining that the “second death” is to be “tormented day and night …”.

 

 

The traditional definition that “death = a cessation of existence” does not agree with how God defines the phrase “second death”. God defines the “second death” as conscious affliction that cannot be produced by a literal fire.  Those being “consciously afflicted” have not ceased to exist.

 

 

However, the Biblical definition that “death = separation” does agree with how the Bible defines the “second death”.

 

The impact of man being separated from God is a conscious affliction. In this present world, mankind is not completely separated from God. He receives many blessings from God. However, once man is cast into the lake of fire, he will be completely separated from God. All of the blessings from God will be gone. That will be a great conscious affliction for him. Deuteronomy 28:15-68 gives a description of this kind of conscious affliction.

 

If we assume that “death = cessation of existence” and then can say that the second death is the complete annihilation of everything. However, the Bible defines the “second death” as on-going conscious affliction and not annihilation.

 

 

For more information on the lake of fire, please see the following studies:

 

 

COULD THE LAKE OF FIRE BE A VOLCANO OR SOMETHING SIMILAR?

 

 

DOES THE PHRASE “FOR EVER AND EVER” REALLY MEAN FOREVERMORE?

 

 

A STUDY OF 10 BIBLICAL PROOFS OF CONSCIOUS RESURRECTION OF THE UNSAVED

 

 

 

 

THE PARABLE OF PRODIGAL SON IN LUKE 15:11-32 HELPS CONFIRM BIBLICAL DEFINITION OF “LIFE” AND “DEATH” FOR MANKIND

 

Let’s consider how the parable of the prodigal son can help us understand the Biblical definition of life and death for mankind.

 

In Luke 15:11-32 God gives the story of the prodigal son. It is about two sons in which the younger, the prodigal, leaves home with his portion of his father’s wealth and wastes it all. Then, he comes back to his father and his father receives him, forgives him and restores him back into the family.

 

This is a parable. Yet, we can learn about the Biblical definition of life and death for mankind by carefully examining the language of this passage.

 

 

We read two verses:

 

24  For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

 

32  It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

 

In these two verses, God uses the words “alive” and “dead” in a parallel way to “lost” and “found”.

 

It is true that this passage is a parable, however, we should take note of how God uses words in this passage. Even though this is a parable, God still defines words by how He uses them, even in this parable.

 

This prodigal son leaves his father. This is a picture of all mankind who has sinned and left God. The prodigal son left his father and was “lost”. He became separated from his father. In the same way, all mankind have sinned against God and have become separated from God.

 

Before salvation we are not energized by God nor are we indwelt by God (Romans 8:9, Philippians 2:12-13). We are separated from God.

 

That identifies with the prodigal being “lost” and then later “found”. Unsaved man is “lost” because he has become separated from God. Upon salvation, we are “found” by God. We are no longer separated from God. God indwells us and energizes us.

 

In these verses, God calls this “lost” state or state of separation from God as being “dead”. This supports the Biblical definition of “death” as separation, especially from God.

 

The prodigal is “found”. That is, he is made “alive”. This parallel language agrees with the Biblical definition that God is “life” and that “life” for mankind has to do with his relationship to God.

 

 

 

A “DEAD” CHURCH IS A CHURCH WITHOUT GOD, WHO IS “LIFE”

 

We read in Revelation 3:1-5:

 

1 ¶ And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

2  Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.

3  Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

4  Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.

5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

 

In verse 1, God tells that church in Sardis that they were already “dead”.

 

We want to remember when God talks about a church, God is talking to the people of the church. God is not talking to a church building or institution. Finally, God is talking to people, both individually and collectively.

 

So, when God says that the church of Sardis was already “dead”, God is talking to the people themselves.

 

How were they dead?

 

When we understand that God is “life” (John 11:25, 14:6), then we can see why God would tell the church that it was “dead”.

 

From the language of Revelation 3:1-5 we can see that this church was in trouble with God. In verse 2, God is warning them by saying “I have not found thy works perfect before God”. In verse 3, God is telling them to “repent”. They were in trouble with God.

 

In verse 3, God warns them that “If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief”. God is warning that most of the people in that church were under the wrath of God. In verse 4, God talks about only “a few” of them that were saved.

 

To understand more about the situation in the church at Sardis, let us look at two verses that talk about the church at Ephesus.

 

We read in Revelation 2:1, 5:

 

1  Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

 

5  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

 

 

The church at Ephesus was also in trouble with God. According to verse 5, they had “fallen”. God tells them to “repent”. This is the same command that God gave to the church at Sardis.

 

Revelation 2:5 describes what will happen if they do not repent. Christ will come quickly and “remove thy candlestick out of his place”. The “candlestick” refers to the light of the Gospel. If they do not repent, the Lord Jesus will remove their candlestick “out of his place”.

 

Where was “his place”?

 

We read in Revelation 2:1 that the Lord Jesus walks “in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks”. The seven golden candlesticks identifies with the seven churches discussed in Revelation 2 & 3. The fact that the Lord Jesus walks “in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks” means that God was in those churches. God was working in those churches.

 

But, if a church did not repent, then the Lord Jesus would remove its candlestick out of his place. He would no longer being walking in the midst of that church’s candlestick.

 

 

Effectively, to remove the candlestick was to remove God’s presence and blessing upon the Gospel in a church. That would make the church a “dead” church because it would no longer have God, who is “life”, blessing it.

 

 

 

A body “sleeping in the dust” versus “death”

 

These are some of the verses that teach that God Himself is “life” and that “life” for mankind has to do with his relationship with God and “death” is separation. We have seen so far that there are many verses, more than 50, that teach these Biblical definitions of “life” and “death” for mankind.

 

 

So far, more than 50 verses have been given that teach that God is “life” and that for mankind “life” has to do with man’s relationship to God and “death” is separation, especially from God. 

 

 

The above verses will not agree with our traditional thinking that “death = cessation of existence or a corpse” and “life = existence”.

 

 

 

The next big question is: What about the corpse?

 

This is a very important question.

 

The corpse is actually a body sleeping in the dust.

 

There are many verses in which God talks about both the saved and the unsaved “sleeping with their fathers”. They lose consciousness in their bodies and it returns to the dust.

 

We have said that a body “sleeping in the dust” is a synonym for death, but that does not agree with the Bible.

 

For example, we read in Romans 8:10 that for the true believer, the “body is dead”. His body is already dead, that is, separated from God, who is “life”, but it is not yet sleeping in the dust.

 

 

A big thing that confuses the issue is that when man leaves this world, two distinct things happen. We normally do not see the distinction but combine these two things together in our minds.

 

 

The two things are:

 

1. His body fails and there is no consciousness in his body. The Bible talks about that as a body sleeping in the dust.

 

2. He is separated from God who is “life”. That is, he dies.

 

In Acts 17:28 God gives us important information about how all mankind, including the unsaved, are related to God. We read:

 

For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

 

This verse is talking about all mankind; both saved and unsaved. The “him” is God.

 

Acts 17:28 teaches that in this world, all mankind, including the unsaved, have God to some degree. They are “in him”. They “move” in Him and they “have their being” in Him.

 

 

Unsaved man in this world is not completely separated from God. He still has God to some degree according to Acts 17:28 and other verses.

 

 

However, when unsaved man’s body fails, it sleeps in the dust. There is no consciousness in his body. At that point, unsaved man no longer “moves” in God. Corpses do not move.

 

Acts 17:28 no longer applies to him. He is separated from God. He no longer “moves” in God and no longer has “his being” in God and is no longer “in him”.

 

 

When his body fails and sleeps in the dust, man is separated from God, who is “life”. That is, he dies.

 

 

These are two different things that happen to man when he leaves this world, but normally we blend them together. We do not see the distinction.

 

 

Part of the reason that we do not see these two distinct events is because man focuses upon what he sees with his eyes, which is the corpse, a body sleeping in the dust. But, God focuses upon what is important, which is man’s relationship to God. That is, God focuses upon man’s separation from God, which is death.

 

That is why we read so much about death in the Bible. God focuses upon what is important, which is man’s relationship to God, who is “life”.

 

However, man focuses upon what he sees with his eyes. Man focuses upon the corpse, which is a body sleeping in the dust.

 

 

We confuse these two things. The corpse is a body sleeping in the dust. Death is the separation from God who is “life”.

 

 

Unsaved man that is sleeping in the dust will awake to consciousness (Daniel 12:2, 2 Kings 4:31). That is, there will be consciousness again in his body. But, he will not have God, who is “life”. He will remain completely separated from God who is “life”. That is why the word “life” is not used in connection with the unsaved in eternity future.

 

 

The lack of the presence of the word “life” in connection with the unsaved in eternity future means that they will not have God, who is “life”, in any sense. The return to consciousness in the body has to do with the awaking from sleep and that happens at Judgment Day.

 

 

This material is covered in more detail in these studies:

 

 

Please see the study on the Biblical definition of life and death for more information

 

 

Please see the study on A BODY “SLEEPING IN THE DUST” VERSUS “DEATH”

 

 

A STUDY OF 10 BIBLICAL PROOFS OF CONSCIOUS RESURRECTION OF THE UNSAVED

 

 

 

 

Let’s look at some more verses that confirm that the Biblical definition of “death” for mankind is “separation”. These verses show that God uses the word “death” to refer to “separation” but not necessarily a complete separation.

 

 

Let’s consider two verses in Romans 6. We read:

 

Romans 6:2  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

 

Romans 6:11  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

In Romans 6:2 & 11, we read that the true believer is “dead to sin” or “dead indeed unto sin”.

 

If “death = cessation of existence”, how has the true believer ceased to exist in anyway?

 

 

However, when we understand that for mankind, “death = separation”, then Romans 6:2 & 11 are understandable and agree with the rest of the Bible.

 

 

The true believer is “separated from sin” in that God is indwelling him and energizing him to walk in God’s law. The believer will not sin nearly as much as he did before God saved him. He is separated from sin to a very great degree. He will not be walking in sinful ways. He will walk in the ways of the Lord. This is possible because God is working in him to cause him to do the will of God.

 

 

The true believer is separated from sin to a high degree. He is able to put down the sinful desires of his body. However, it is not a complete separation because the true believer still struggles with sin to some degree.

 

 

We read in Colossians 2:20:

 

Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,

 

In Colossians 2:20, we read that the true believer is “dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world”.

 

 

If death is a cessation of existence, how has the true believer “ceased to exist with Christ”?

 

 

Colossians 2:20 is not written in the past tense. This verse is not looking back to the payment of sins. It is present tense.

 

The true believer has not ceased to exist in anyway.

 

 

Rather, the true believer is “with Christ” and being “with Christ”, he is separated “from the rudiments of the world”.

 

 

The “rudiments of the world” have to do with the doctrines of men according to Colossians 2:22. We read in Colossians 2:20-22:

 

20  Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,

21  (Touch not; taste not; handle not;

22  Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?

 

 

In verse 22 God talks about “commandments and doctrines of men”. These are identified with the “rudiments of the world”.

 

When God saves us we are “with Christ” and being with Him, we are “dead from the rudiments of the world” that is we are “separated from the rudiments of the world”

 

 

If “death = a cessation of existence” then Romans 6:2, 11 and Colossians 2:20 are teaching that the true believer has ceased to exist in some way. However, when we understand that “death = separation” then these verses make complete sense.

 

 

Now that we are saved, we are free from those. We are “separated” from those.

 

 

 

We can understand why Colossians 3:3 says “ye are dead”.

 

Colossians 3:3 is not describing the past condition of the true believer. Concerning the true believer, Colossians 3:3 is saying that presently, “ye are dead”.

 

 

The true believers have not ceased to exist in anyway, but as we learned in Romans 6:2 & 11 and Colossians 2:20, the true believer is separated from sin and from the “rudiments of the world”.

 

The statement “ye are dead” means that “ye are separated”. The true believer is separated from sin in that he does not sin like he used to sin. He is separated from the rudiments of the world or the commandments of men.

 

 

Romans 6:2, 11, Colossians 2:20, 3:3 use the word “dead” to mean “separation” from sin. But, we see that the separation is not a complete separation. The true believer still struggles with sin. So, God uses the word “death” to indicate “separation” but not necessarily a complete separation.

 

 

 

THE DEATH OF THE TWO WITNESSES IN REVELATION 11 CONFIRMS THE BIBLICAL DEFINITION OF “DEATH” FOR MANKIND

 

We read in Revelation 11:7-11:

 

7  And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

9  And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.

10  And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

11  And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.

 

Revelation 11:7-11 is talking about the two witnesses being killed. The two witnesses represent the true believers throughout the New Testament era. After 3 ½ days, they are raised to life. The killing of the two witnesses has to do with the first part of the Great Tribulation, a period of 2,300 days in which the true believers were not “filled” by the Holy Spirit. The true believers were originally “filled” with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was “poured out” upon the true believers (Acts 2:4, 17-18).

 

Revelation 11:7-11 is parabolic in nature, however, the fact that God talks about the two witnesses being “killed” gives us more confirmation of the Biblical definition of “life” and “death” for mankind.

 

Verse 7 talks about the two witnesses, which represent the true believers, being overcome the beast which is satan. They are “killed”. They died.

 

Verse 11 talks the two witnesses being made alive, which is the opposite of dying. God says “the Spirit of life from God entered into them”.

 

God Himself is “life” (John 11:25, 14:6). So, the “Spirit of life” is the Spirit of God, which is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God and He is sent from God.

 

Verse 11 says that God “entered into them”. This verse is talking about the Holy Spirit being “poured out” upon the true believers a second time during the second part of the Great Tribulation.

 

Verse 7 talks about the beginning of the Great Tribulation in which the Holy Spirit was withdrawn in the sense that it was no longer “poured out” upon the true believers. For the first part of the Great Tribulation, the true believers were not “filled” with the Holy Spirit like that which occurred in Acts 2 at Pentecost in 33AD.

 

We read about God, the Holy Spirit being “poured out” upon the true believers in Joel 2:28-29 and Acts 2:17-18. God uses the figure that the believers are “filled” with the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:4.

 

During the first part of the Great Tribulation, the true believers were still indwelt by the Holy Spirit as true believers always have been. But, the action of Acts 2:17-18 of the Holy Spirit being “poured out” upon the true believers was withdrawn. In that sense only, the true believers were separated from God.

 

The true believers were separated from God only in the sense that the Holy Spirit was not “poured out” upon the true believers for the first part of the Great Tribulation. The Holy Spirit was withdrawn for the first part of the Great Tribulation.

 

That is why verse 7 says that the true believers were “killed”. According to the Bible, to be “killed” is like the word “to die” which is to be separated from God, who is “life”. We saw this in Romans 7:11. The true believers were separated from God during the first part of the Great Tribulation. This was only in the sense that the Holy Spirit was not “poured out” upon the true believers to enable them to bring the Gospel.

 

Verse 11 describes the opposite of being “killed”, which is “the Spirit of life from God entered into them”.

 

God entered the true believers in the sense that the Holy Spirit was again “poured out” in the second part of the Great Tribulation to enable the true believers to bring the Gospel.

 

 

In Revelation 11:7-11, God defines the “death” of the two witnesses (true believers) as separation from God in the sense that the true believers were not “filled” with the Holy Spirit during the first part of the Great Tribulation. Revelation 11:7-11 further supports that for mankind the Bible defines death as separation from God, who is “life”.

 

 

Romans 6:2, 11, Colossians 2:20, 3:3 and Revelation 11:7-11 provide additional understanding regarding the Biblical definition that “death = separation”. The separation can be partial and not total.

 

 

 

Death for mankind is separation. However, death for man does not necessarily mean a complete separation from God.

 

 

When Adam sinned, he died both in body and spirit. That is, he became separated from God, who is “life”. Adam was no longer indwelt by God nor was he energized by God like a believer is (Romans 8:9, Philippians 2:12-13). Adam became separated from God, who is “life”.

 

However, Adam was not completely separated from God. Unsaved man is still “in God” and “moves in God” and has “his being” in God. While unsaved man is in this world, he is not completely separated from God. We read this in Acts 17:28.

 

Acts 17:25 says that God gave man “life”. God actually gave all mankind God Himself, who is “life”. God gave mankind God in the sense that man is “in God” and “moves in God” and has “his being” in God.

 

However, when man’s body fails, his body sleeps in the dust. There is no more consciousness in his body. It returns to the dust.

 

At that point man is no longer in God at all. A corpse does not “move in God”. Acts 17:28 no longer applies to him. Man is separated from God again. That is, he dies. The Biblical definition of “death” for mankind is separation, especially from God.

 

 

 

1 TIMOTHY 5:6 CONFIRMS THAT “DEATH” FOR MANKIND IS SEPARATION FROM GOD, BUT NOT A COMPLETE SEPARATION

 

We read in 1 Timothy 5:6:

 

But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.

 

The phrase “liveth in pleasure” is one Greek word that has nothing to do with the Greek word for “life”. This Greek word is translated “wanton” in James 5:5. This word has to do with desiring the pleasures of this world. This is an indication of one not being saved.

 

However, the second word “liveth” is the Greek verb “to live” and it is in the participle form which should be translated “living” and the verb “dead” is in the perfect tense, so a very precise translation of the second part of the verse is that this unsaved person “has died, living”.

 

This phrase is confusing to us with the traditional thinking about death and life for mankind. However, when we understand the Biblical definition of death and life for mankind, the verse is understandable.

 

The unsaved have “died”, both in body and spirit. That is, they are separated from God, who is “life”. The unsaved are not indwelt by God, nor are they energized by God.

 

But, God says that the unsaved are still “living” because they are not completely separated from God. The unsaved still have God, who is “life”, to some degree. According to Acts 17:28, the unsaved are “in God” and “move” in God and “have their being” in God.

 

When we understand that God Himself is “life” and the Biblical definition of “life” and “death” for mankind, 1 Timothy 5:6 is very understandable.

 

If life is existence and death is a cessation of existence, then 1Timothy 5:6 is really saying that the unsaved person “has ceased to exist, existing”. But that phrase is a contradiction in terms.

 

Someone might say that we must read 1 Timothy 5:6 to say that the unsaved are “spiritually dead, but physically alive”.

 

However, the phrase “spiritually dead, but physically alive” is not faithful to the Bible.  This phrase agrees with what we see with our eyes, but it does not agree with the Bible.

 

If we have not studied the Bible carefully, we may think that “death = a corpse”.

 

However, we have already learned that the body of the true believer is “dead” (Romans 8:10, 1 Corinthians 15:29). That is, he is “physically dead” according to the Bible. This is also must be true for the unsaved. Therefore, unsaved mankind is “spiritually dead and physically dead” according to the Bible.

 

Also, when God declares that unsaved mankind is “alive”, He does not say that only his body is alive. In Acts 17:28 God says that unsaved man is alive because He has God who is “life”. Unsaved man is “in God”, “moves in God” and has “his being in God”. That is in his whole personality.

 

 

1 Timothy 5:6 helps us understand that for mankind “death is separation”. Unsaved mankind “has died”. He is separated from God. He is not indwelt by God nor is he energized by God.

 

At the same time, unsaved man is “living” because he has God who is “life”. Unsaved man is not completely separated from God. Acts 17:28 teaches that he is still in God, who is “life” to some degree.

 

 

 

There are various statements made asserting reasons why the unsaved are annihilated. We will examine some of those now.

 

 

ARGUMENT #1: SOMEONE HAS TO BE ALIVE TO BE ABLE TO SUFFER

 

ARGUMENT #2: There are no Scriptures that describe a "resurrection" of the UNSAVED to life

 

These are similar statements so we will look at them together.

 

When people say “someone has to be alive to be able to suffer” they are thinking, “you have to have conscious existence to be able to suffer”.

 

Regarding argument #2, people are thinking that “there are no Scriptures that describe a ‘resurrection’ of the damned to conscious existence”

 

We think “life = conscious existence”, so we say that the unsaved will not be resurrected to any kind of consciousness.

 

However, many verses have been given that teach that “life” for mankind is not conscious existence, but rather “life” for mankind has to do with his relationship with God.

 

When the believer’s body is “resurrected to life”, it means that he will now have God, who is “life”, indwelling his body. It is parallel to when he was saved, his spirit “passed from death unto life”, that is “passed from separation from God to indwelling by God”.

 

At the resurrection of the last day, the believer’s body will finally “pass from death unto life”. There will be no more separation from God in either his body or spirit.

 

The fact that the unsaved will awake to consciousness is given by Daniel 12:2 and other verses. The Hebrew word translated “awake” is always used to indicate some kind of conscious activity. It is never used to refer to something that does not require conscious activity. In addition, God says that an unconscious corpse is not “awake” using this same Hebrew word (2 Kings 4:31).

 

We are going to examine Daniel 12:2 in more detail later in this study.

 

There are many other proofs of the conscious awaking of the unsaved at Judgment Day.

 

Some of the proofs are given at these links:

 

 

A STUDY OF 10 BIBLICAL PROOFS OF CONSCIOUS RESURRECTION OF THE UNSAVED

 

 

MORE BIBLICAL PROOFS OF THE CONSCIOUS AWAKING OF THE UNSAVED AT JUDGMENT DAY

 

 

Let’s go back to the statement, “There are no Scriptures that describe a ‘resurrection’ of the unsaved to life”.

 

Yes, when the unsaved awake to consciousness, they will be completely separated from God, who is “life”. They will not have any “life”, that is, they will not have any connection to God. But, they will be conscious.

 

 

 

ARGUMENT #3: I now see that the punishment for sin is not ‘torture’ but death

 

When we say “death”, we think that “death = cessation of existence”.

 

However, that definition will not agree with many verses in the Bible. Rather, the definition that will agree with all verses is that “death = separation” from God.

 

Yes. The “wages of sin is death”. That is the unsaved will be eternally and completely separated from God. They will awake to consciousness, but will still be dead, that is separated from God who is “life”.

 

 

 

ARGUMENT #4: THE BIBLE PLAINLY TEACHES THAT “WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH”. THE UNSAVED SIMPLY DIE AND THAT’S THE END OF THEM.

 

We read in Romans 6:23:

 

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

We also read in Ezekiel 18:20:

 

The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

 

These verses were fulfilled for Adam the day he sinned. Adam died the day he sinned. The “soul that sinneth, it shall die”. This happened to Adam the day he sinned. Also, the whole human race has sinned and has died. The consequences of Romans 6:23 and Ezekiel 18:20 have already happened to all of the unsaved. The unsaved are already dead.

 

According to the Bible, unsaved man is already dead, both in body and spirit (Romans 8:10, 1 Corinthians 15:29).

 

As many verses teach, death for mankind is separation from God who is “life”.

 

We have to read everything that the Bible says about “life” and “death” for mankind.

 

A big problem is that when unsaved man leaves this world, two distinct things happen to him. We can only see one of them with our eyes, so we do not recognize that two things happen to man upon departure from this world.

 

The two things are:

 

1. Man’s body fails and there is no more consciousness in it. The Bible refers to this as a “body sleeping in the dust”.

 

This is what we see with our eyes. This is what we think about when we read the word “death”.

 

 

2. Mankind is separated from God. The Bible defines this as “death”

 

While man is in this world, Acts 17:28 teaches that he is not completely separated from God. Man is “in God” and “moves in God” and has “his being in God”.

 

But, when man’s body fails and sleeps in the dust, Acts 17:28 no longer applies to him. Corpses do not “move”. At that point, unsaved man is no longer “in God” neither does not “move in God” nor has “his being in God” anymore. Acts 17:28 no longer applies to him. He is separated from God, which the Bible defines as “to die”.

 

 

God focuses upon man’s relationship with God. Therefore the Bible talks repeatedly about “death” which is separation from God. Whereas man focuses upon what he sees with his eyes, the corpse, which is a body sleeping in the dust.

 

 

As a result, we have incorrectly concluded that “death = a corpse or cessation of existence”.

 

 

 

ARGUMENT #5: THE UNSAVED IN THIS WORLD ARE STILL ALIVE. THEY ARE THE ONLY ONES TO EXPERIENCE CONSCIOUS AFFLICTION IN JUDGMENT DAY

 

When we say that the “unsaved in this world are alive” we think in our minds that the “unsaved in this world have conscious existence”.

 

However, according to the Bible, the unsaved in this world are “alive” not because they have conscious existence.

 

The unsaved are “alive” because they have life. God says that He is “life” (John 11:25, 14:6). God also says that “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” in 1 John 5:12.

 

The unsaved in this world have “life” because they have God, who is “life”. They have God as explained in Acts 17:28. While they are in this world, the unsaved are “in God”, they “move in God” and they “have their being in God”.

 

We read about someone being “alive” and we think that means he has conscious existence. However, according to the Bible, someone  is “alive” because he has God, who is “life”.

 

As explained above, a big problem is that when man leaves this world, two different things happen to him. We only see one of them with our eyes and yet God focuses upon the other one because it is the most important.

 

When man leaves this world, we see the corpse, which according to the Bible is a body sleeping in the dust, but we think of that as “death”. However, the other thing that happens is that man is separated from God who is “life”. Separation from God is the Biblical definition of “death”.

 

 

 

A BODY “SLEEPING IN THE DUST” IS DIFFERENT THAN “PHYSICAL DEATH”

 

We read many verses that describe the failing of man’s body and the loss of consciousness in his body as a body sleeping in the dust. God uses this language to talk about the saved as well as the unsaved.

 

Here are some example verses:

 

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.

 

 

Regarding the saved:

 

Deuteronomy 31:16  And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.

 

2 Samuel 7:12  And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

 

1 Corinthians 15:51  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

 

1 Thessalonians 4:14  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

 

 

Regarding the unsaved:

 

1 Kings 14:20  And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.

 

1 Kings 16:6  So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah: and Elah his son reigned in his stead.

 

1 Kings 16:28  So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead.

 

1 Kings 22:40  So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.

 

2 Kings 10:35  And Jehu slept with his fathers: and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead.

 

2 Kings 13:9  And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his stead.

 

2 Kings 13:13  And Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne: and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

 

2 Kings 14:16  And Jehoash slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; and Jeroboam his son reigned in his stead.

 

 

These are some example verses. Many of these verses use the language that someone “slept with his fathers”. Notice that he was “buried”. The language to “sleep with his fathers” or to “sleep in the dust” refers to the failure and loss of consciousness in the body. The body is then a corpse which is buried.

 

We see that there are many verses that speak about the failure of the body of both the saved and the unsaved as a body “sleeping in the dust” or “sleeping with their fathers”.

 

 

 

It is said that a body “sleeping in the dust” is a synonym for “physical death” but according to the Bible this is not true.

 

 

The term “physical death” means the death of the body. The word “physical” has to do with the body.

 

There are many verses that show that “physical death” is different than a body sleeping in the dust. In the above study, we have seen many verses that show that for mankind the Bible defines “death” as separation, especially from God. Whereas a body sleeping in the dust refers to the loss of consciousness in the body and the body returning to the dust.

 

However, here we will consider two proofs that show that these are two different things.

 

 

First, the believer in this world is already “physically dead” according to the Bible. That is, the believer’s body is already dead. However, his body is not sleeping in the dust yet.

 

 

We read two relevant verses:

 

Romans 8:10:

 

And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

 

1 Corinthians 15:29:

 

Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

 

Romans 8:10 gives a very straight forward statement that the body of the true believer is still dead. His body is still separated from God, who is “life”.

 

1 Corinthians 15 talks about the resurrection of the believer’s body. Verse 29 refers to the believer’s body three times as “dead”.

 

If the true believer’s body is still “dead”, separated from God, then the body of the unsaved is also “dead”.

 

 

The true believer’s body is already “dead” but it is not yet sleeping in the dust. That is one proof that a body “sleeping in the dust” is different from “physical death”.

 

 

We read in 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.

 

This passage is talking about the bodies of both the saved and the unsaved. Both the bodies of the saved and the unsaved are sleeping in the dust.

 

We read that the bodies of both the saved and the unsaved will “awake”. Both the bodies of the saved and the unsaved will not longer be “sleeping in the dust”.

 

However, only the bodies of the saved will awake to “life”, which is God indwelling. The bodies of the unsaved will remain “dead” like they were in this world.

 

So, there is a distinction between “awaking” and “life”. Both the bodies of the saved and the unsaved will “awake”, but only the saved will have “life”, which is God, indwelling. Likewise, there is also a distinction between “sleeping in the dust” and “death” of the body.

 

 

Sleeping in the dust has to do with the unconscious corpse. Physical death has to do with separation of the body from God, who is “life”.

 

 

 

IS THERE A RESURRECTION OR AWAKING TO CONSCIOUSNESS FOR THE UNSAVED?

 

 

We will now examine the question of if the unsaved who have previously died from this world, whose bodies are sleeping in the dust, will awake to consciousness at Judgment Day.

 

The material in the following section is covered in much greater detail in the following studies. This section is here simply to provide an overview.

 

 

A STUDY OF 10 BIBLICAL PROOFS OF CONSCIOUS RESURRECTION OF THE UNSAVED

 

 

MORE BIBLICAL PROOFS OF THE CONSCIOUS AWAKING OF THE UNSAVED AT JUDGMENT DAY

 

 

EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL CONFESS AT THE JUDGMENT THRONE

 

 

Let’s examine the question as to whether the unsaved whose bodies are presently sleeping in the dust will awake to consciousness at Judgment Day.

 

To help us get started we read in 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.

 

When we understand that the Bible defines that God Himself is “life” and that for mankind “life” has to do with his relationship with God, then we can get a proper Biblical understanding of Daniel 12:2.

 

This verse is talking about the bodies of the saved and the unsaved.

 

The fact that the true believers awake to “everlasting life” means that their bodies will awake with Christ, who is “everlasting life” indwelling (1 John 1:1-2, 5:20). The true believers will have the Lord Jesus indwelling their new bodies forevermore.

 

While the true believers were in this world, their bodies were still “dead” (Romans 8:10, 1 Corinthians 15:29). Their bodies were separated from God who is “life”. God did not indwell their bodies, only their spirits (Romans 7:18, 8:9).

 

However, at the resurrection of the last day, the true believers will receive a new glorified spiritual body that will have God, who is “life”, indwelling. Just like when they were saved, God came to indwell their spirit, in the same way, God will indwell the true believer’s body at the resurrection of the last day. We examined these truths in detail earlier.

 

 

Now we must examine the Hebrew word translated “awake” in Daniel 12:2. Does this word require a conscious awaking or could unconscious bones or an unconscious corpse fulfill how God defines this word?

 

 

An important principle that we must keep in mind is that God defines words by how He uses them in the Bible.

 

This Hebrew word translated “awake” is always used to indicate some kind of conscious activity. It is never used in a way that could be fulfilled by an unconscious corpse or unconscious bones.

 

Below are some example verses with this Hebrew word:

 

Psalms 3:5  I laid me down and slept; I awaked <06974>; for the LORD sustained me.

 

Psalms 35:23  Stir up thyself, and awake <06974> to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and my Lord.

 

Psalms 59:5  Thou therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake <06974> to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah.

 

Proverbs 6:22  When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest <06974>, it shall talk with thee.

 

Isaiah 29:8  It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh <06974>, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh <06974>, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.

 

Joel 1:5  Awake <06974>, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.

 

We can see in each of the above verses, that the one “awaking” must be awaking to some kind of increased consciousness. An unconscious corpse or bones could not fulfill any of these verses. This is true for every usage of this Hebrew word.

 

In Joel 1:5, God is commanding His unsaved corporate people to awake or become conscious of their standing before God. These people are “drunkards” on their wrong gospels. They should wake up or become conscious of their standing before God and “weep” and “howl” for God’s mercy.

 

The idea of to “awake” in Joel 1:5 is similar to what we read in Ephesians 5:14:

 

Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

 

In Ephesians 5:14 and Joel 1:5, God is commanding the unsaved to “awake”, that is, be conscious of their standing before God.

 

In each of the above verses and in every verse with this Hebrew word “awake” that we read in Daniel 12:2, the context requires that the one “awaking” must have increased consciousness. Unconscious bones or corpses cannot fulfill these verses.

 

 

In Habakkuk 2:19, God warns us not to command an inanimate object like wood or stone, to “awake” using this same word. We read there:

 

Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake <06974>; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.

 

The context of Habakkuk 2:19 is concerning those praying to idols of wood or stone.

 

However, the principle of Habakkuk 2:19 stands. Namely, that we are not to think that inanimate objects can “awake” because God defines this word “awake” to signify consciousness. This would include literal bones or corpses.

 

 

In addition, God gives a very important verse in 2 Kings 4:31 using this same Hebrew word. We read there:

 

And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked <06974>.

 

2 Kings 4:31 is a very important verse that God has given for defining this Hebrew word translated “awake”.

 

2 Kings 4 has the account of a son born to an older couple. The son gets sick and dies and his corpse is put in the house. Then the mother goes to Elisha concerning her son and Elisha sends his servant Gehazi to see the condition of the son and report back to him.

 

In verse 31 the boy is still an unconscious corpse. Gehazi, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says concerning this unconscious corpse “The child is not awake” using this same Hebrew word.

 

God carefully designed this account to define that an unconscious corpse is “not awake”.

 

However, in Daniel 12:2 it says that the unsaved that are sleeping in the dust of the earth will “awake”. With the help of 2 Kings 4:31, God is telling us that the unsaved cannot remain as unconscious corpses because an unconscious corpse is “not awake”. But, God says that the unsaved will “awake”.

 

 

Therefore, we know from Daniel 12:2 and 2 Kings 4:31, and the other verses that use this same Hebrew word, that the unsaved will not remain as unconscious corpses. They will awake to consciousness at Judgment Day.

 

 

 

God gives another proof that the unsaved will awake and will consciously hear the voice of God in John 5:28-29.

 

We read there:

 

28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

 

This is talking about Judgment Day. The believers experience a “resurrection of life” and the unbelievers experience a “resurrection of damnation”.

 

Because it has been commonly assumed that “life = conscious existence”, people in their minds read John 5:29 to say that the believers will experience a “resurrection of conscious existence” in their bodies, and that the unconscious corpses of the unbelievers will be cast out of their graves.

 

This is believed because people do not understand the Biblical definition of “life” and “death” for mankind. When the Biblical definition of “life” is understood, then we can find a Biblical answer to the phrase “resurrection of life”. The Bible teaches by that phrase that the believers will receive a “resurrection” of their bodies with Christ, who is “life”, indwelling them.

 

In this world, the believer’s body was still “dead” (Romans 8:10, 1 Corinthians 15:29). It was not indwelt by God, who is “life”. There was no “good”, which includes God, in the true believer’s body (Romans 7:18).

 

 

However, upon salvation, the believer’s spirit has “passed from death unto life” (John 5:24, 1 John 3:14). So, that God now indwells his spirit (Romans 8:9). In the same way, at the resurrection of the last day, the believer’s body will have “passed from death unto life”. God will then indwell his body. That is called the “resurrection of life”.

 

The fact that the unsaved will experience a conscious resurrection or awaking is shown by John 5:28. God says concerning both the saved and the unsaved that “all that are in the graves shall hear his voice”.

 

The unsaved will awake to consciousness and “shall hear his voice”.

 

Ezekiel 37:4 is used as a proof text that literal bones call hear without consciousness. We read there:

 

Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.

 

However, we have to read everything that God says about those “bones” in Ezekiel 37. We cannot isolate one verse from it’s context.

 

Concerning those same “bones” we read in verse Ezekiel 37:11:

 

Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.

 

In verse 11 God is talking about those same “bones” that He was talking about in verse 4.

 

In verse 11 God gives more information about those dry bones. These bones can talk. Notice these bones say “Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.”.

 

These bones of Ezekiel 37 talk. They can also experience affliction. In verse 11 they are complaining about the awful condition.

 

 

Therefore, the bones of Ezekiel 37 cannot be literal dry bones. They are unsaved people that hear, talk and experience affliction. They have consciousness.

 

 

However, if someone wants to insist that the unsaved are resurrected as literal dry bones that can hear. Then, they will also be able to speak and to experience the afflictions of the lake of fire. That is, they will have consciousness.

 

 

We have to admit that the dry bones in Ezekiel 37:1-11 can hear, speak and experience affliction. That is, those dry bones have consciousness.

 

 

God uses “dry bones” to represent the unsaved with consciousness. This passage is talking about salvation of people with consciousness. It is a parable.

 

 

Not every parabolic statement in the Bible also has a literal application.

 

 

For example, we read in John 6:53:

 

Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

 

The Lord Jesus says that we must “eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood”.

 

We understand that this is parabolic language having to do with reading the Bible.

 

There is no literal application of eating the flesh of Christ and drinking His blood. This verse only has a parabolic application. Otherwise, we would have to say there would have been value for the disciples to literally eat the body of Christ and drink his blood.

 

The language of to “eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood” is only a parable. There is no historical or literal application.

 

 

John 6:53 shows that there are passages that only have a parabolic application without any literal application. Ezekiel 37:1-11 is another such passage.

 

Therefore, Ezekiel 37:4 does not teach in any way that literal “bones” can “hear” without consciousness.

 

 

God has given us a passage that indicates that an unconscious corpse cannot hear.

 

We read again in 2 Kings 4:31:

 

And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.

 

This is the same verse that we looked at earlier concerning the Hebrew word translated “awake” in Daniel 12:2.

 

In 2 Kings 4:31 through Gehazi, God is giving information about an unconscious corpse. We saw that an unconscious corpse is “not awaked”.

 

Also notice that an unconscious corpse has “neither voice, nor hearing”. We want to keep in mind that God has put this language into this verse to teach us about an unconscious corpse.

 

We can readily understand that there is no “voice”. Unconscious corpses do not talk. However, God is also saying that there is no “hearing” with an unconscious corpse. They cannot hear.

 

There have been no verses given that indicate a person can “hear” without consciousness. But, God has given 2 Kings 4:31 that says that an unconscious corpse cannot hear. Therefore, we can know that for mankind, “hearing” requires consciousness according to the Bible.

 

 

2 Kings 4:31 teaches that an unconscious corpse cannot “hear”. Therefore, when we read in John 5:28 that the unsaved will “hear” the voice of God, we can know that the unsaved will “hear” with consciousness at Judgment Day.

 

 

Two proofs have been given above that the unsaved whose bodies are sleeping in the dust will awake to consciousness and will hear with consciousness at Judgment Day. These are just two proofs that the unsaved will awake to consciousness at Judgment Day. Many more proofs are given at the links:

 

 

A STUDY OF 10 BIBLICAL PROOFS OF CONSCIOUS RESURRECTION OF THE UNSAVED

 

 

MORE BIBLICAL PROOFS OF THE CONSCIOUS AWAKING OF THE UNSAVED AT JUDGMENT DAY

 

 

EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL CONFESS AT THE JUDGMENT THRONE

 

 

 

We have seen many verses that teach that the Bible defines that God Himself is “life” and that “life” for mankind has to do with his relationship with God and that “death” is separation, especially from God.

 

As long as we hold to the definitions that “life = existence” and “death = cessation of existence or a corpse” we can teach annihilation.

 

However, these definitions do not agree with the Bible. The Biblical definitions are that God is “life” and that for mankind, “life” has to do with his relationship with God and “death” is separation from God.

 

With the Biblical definitions of “life” and “death” for mankind, we can learn that the Biblical judgment program for the unsaved includes a conscious awaking on Judgment Day.

 

 

 

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