What Happens After Death?

“I thought there were three places a person could go at death: heaven, hell, or purgatory. I knew I wasn’t good enough for heaven or bad enough for hell. It was not clear to me exactly what was in purgatory. I never saw any of that in the Bible. It was just what people said.”—Lionel.

“I was taught that all people go to heaven at death, but I was not convinced. I thought that death ends everything—that no future exists for the dead.”—Fernando.

Have you wondered: ‘What really happens at death? Are our dead loved ones suffering somewhere? Will we ever see them again? How can we be sure?’ Please consider what the Scriptures actually teach. First, let us examine what the Bible says death is like. Then we will discuss the hope that God’s Word, the Bible, offers.
What is the condition of the dead?

THE BIBLE’S ANSWER: “The living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing at all, nor do they have any more reward, because all memory of them is forgotten. Whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your might, for there is no work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the Grave, where you are going.” *—Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10.

The Grave, simply put, is where humans go when they die; it is a symbolic place or condition where any consciousness or activity ceases. How did the faithful man Job view the Grave? He had lost all his possessions and children in one day, and then he was struck with agonizing boils all over his body. He pleaded with God: “O that in the Grave [“in hell,” Catholic Douay Version] you would conceal me, that you would hide me.” (Job 1:13-19; 2:7; 14:13) Clearly, Job did not understand the Grave to be a fiery hell, a place where his suffering would be even worse. Rather, he thought of it as a place of relief.

There is another way to learn about the condition of the dead. We can examine the inspired Scriptural records concerning eight people who returned from the dead.—See “ Eight Resurrections Described in the Bible.”

Not one of those eight spoke about being in a place of bliss or torment. If the people who were resurrected had gone to such a place when they died, would they not have told people about it? And would this not be included in the inspired Bible record for all to see? In the Scriptures, nothing of the kind is recorded. Those eight people evidently had nothing to say on the subject. Why not? Because they had been unconscious, as if in a deep sleep. In fact, the Bible sometimes uses sleep as an illustration to explain death. For example, faithful David and Stephen both “fell asleep in death.”—Acts 7:60; 13:36.

What hope, then, is there for the dead? Can they awaken from this sleep?

EIGHT RESURRECTIONS DESCRIBED IN THE BIBLE *

A widow’s son The prophet Elijah resurrected the young son of a widow who lived in Zarephath, north of Israel.—1 Kings 17:17-24.

A Shunammite boy Elijah’s successor, the prophet Elisha, resurrected a boy in the town of Shunem and restored him to his parents.—2 Kings 4:32-37.

A man in a burial place The corpse of a man who had recently died was hastily left in the same burial place where Elisha’s bones lay. When the man’s body touched the prophet’s bones, the man was resurrected.—2 Kings 13:20, 21.

The son of the widow of Nain Jesus interrupted a burial procession outside Nain to resurrect a young man and restore him to his grieving mother.—Luke 7:11-15.

Jairus’ daughter Jairus, an officer of the synagogue, implored Jesus to help his sick daughter. Jesus resurrected her shortly after she died.—Luke 8:41, 42, 49-56.

Lazarus, Jesus’ dear friend Lazarus was dead for four days when Jesus resurrected him before a number of onlookers.—John 11:38-44.

Dorcas The apostle Peter resurrected this beloved woman, who was known for her many acts of kindness.—Acts 9:36-42.

Eutychus The young man Eutychus died when he fell from a high window; the apostle Paul raised him back to life.—Acts 20:7-12.

When one disposes of dirty water it goes back into the water cycle not into a separate place just for dirty waters.

So Death is part of the cycle of life.

menxer:
When one disposes of dirty water it goes back into the water cycle not into a separate place just for dirty waters.

So Death is part of the cycle of life.

Death according to God is not a cycle of life as you view it to be.
Romans 6:23 says 'the wages of sin is death'

In ezekiel 18:4 there God himself says " Look! All the souls—to me they belong. As the soul of the father so also the soul of the son—to me they belong. The soul who sins is the one who will die."

Also in same ezekiel 33:11 God also said " Tell them, ‘“As surely as I am alive,” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked"
So death is not God's true purpose for mankind but man through sin brought death upon themselves as Romans 5:12 explains : "That is why, just as through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because they had all sinned"
In conclusion one can say if there was no sin in the world, there would be no death.

menxer:
When one disposes of dirty water it goes back into the water cycle not into a separate place just for dirty waters.

So Death is part of the cycle of life.

Death according to God is not a cycle of life as you view it to be.
Romans 6:23 says 'the wages of sin is death'

In ezekiel 18:4 there God himself says " Look! All the souls—to me they belong. As the soul of the father so also the soul of the son—to me they belong. The soul who sins is the one who will die."

Also in same ezekiel 33:11 God also said " Tell them, ‘“As surely as I am alive,” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked"
So death is not God's true purpose for mankind but man through sin brought death upon themselves as Romans 5:12 explains : "That is why, just as through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because they had all sinned"
In conclusion one can say if there was no sin in the world, there would be no death.

Lavenda26:

Death according to God is not a cycle of life as you view it to be.
Romans 6:23 says 'the wages of sin is death'

In ezekiel 18:4 there God himself says " Look! All the souls—to me they belong. As the soul of the father so also the soul of the son—to me they belong. The soul who sins is the one who will die."

Also in same ezekiel 33:11 God also said " Tell them, ‘“As surely as I am alive,” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked"
So death is not God's true purpose for mankind but man through sin brought death upon themselves as Romans 5:12 explains : "That is why, just as through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because they had all sinned"
In conclusion one can say if there was no sin in the world, there would be no death.
Death according to God is not a cycle of life as you view it to be.
Romans 6:23 says 'the wages of sin is death'

In ezekiel 18:4 there God himself says " Look! All the souls—to me they belong. As the soul of the father so also the soul of the son—to me they belong. The soul who sins is the one who will die."

Also in same ezekiel 33:11 God also said " Tell them, ‘“As surely as I am alive,” declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked"
So death is not God's true purpose for mankind but man through sin brought death upon themselves as Romans 5:12 explains : "That is why, just as through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because they had all sinned"
In conclusion one can say if there was no sin in the world, there would be no death.

So all those scriptures you quoted, do they define death?

What do you do to waste water in your house? You store it in your refrigerator, right?

How can one define 4th dimensional recycling system in 3rd dimensional terms?

I bet there is nothing pleasurable about disposing dirty water, but there is pleasure drinking ice chilled purified water on a hot dusty day.

The simple definition of death is the absence of life, my previous post explains better if you read carefully. Those scriptures simply explains the reason why people die not because death serves a recycling purpose but rather it is the consequence of sin. If you take your mind back to when God made Adam and Eve, God did not include death when he said "be fruitful and become many" rather death was mentioned as the consequence of disobedience to his order I.e eating from the tree of knowledge of good and bad. That my friend is the origin of death, that is why I quote again Romans 5:12 says " through one man (Adam) sin entered the world and death through sin and death spread to all men because they have all sinned."