What Happens at Death?

How did God create man?
Answer: Notice that man became, or was made, a living soul. There is no mention of a living soul being put into the body of man by God. (Genesis 2:7, Zechariah 12:1, 1 Corinthians 15:45, Job 27:3; 33:4, Psalm 8:5; 104:30; 139:14, Ezekiel 37:1-14, Isaiah 42:5). Genesis 2:7 says the dust of the earth plus the breath of God made man a living soul. For example, if the nails are taken out of a wood crate, the crate ceases to exist, only a stack of boards and a pile of nails remain. If the boards are nailed back together, the crate exists again. The same with man, if the breath of life (nails) is separated from man's (boards), then there is no longer a living soul (crate).

Does man automatically have eternal life?
Answer: In Genesis 3:22-24, God made Adam and Eve leave the Garden and guarded the "tree of life" so they could not have eternal life. It is here very clear that man does not automatically have eternal life (Genesis 5:5, Romans 5:12, 1 Corinthians 15:21-22).

Who said man would not die?
Answer: It is that old serpent who said men will not die (Genesis 3:4-5, Revelation 12:9). As you prayerfully study the Scripture on this subject ask yourself, "who's side am I on?" God says, "disobedience leads to death." The adversary says, "God is wrong and that you won't die." To say, "man has a soul that can't die" is the same as saying, "ye shall not surely die."

Is death the reverse of creation?
Answer: Yes (Genesis 3:19, Ecclesiastes 3:20; Psalm 22:29; 104:29; 146:4). At our death, creation is reversed: our bodies go back to dust, and our breath (spirit) goes back to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7).

Does the Scripture say that Man, and the Soul, can Die?

Is man mortal?
Answer: Yes (Job 4:17, 1 Corinthians 15:53-54, 2 Corinthians 4:11, Romans 6:12; 8:11).

Can man perish?
Answer: Yes (Psalm 37:20; 68:2; 73:27; 146:4, Proverbs 19:9, Job 4:9; 34:15, Isaiah 41:11, Luke 13:3, John 3:16, Acts 8:20, Romans 2:12, 2 Thessalonians 2:10, 2 Peter 2:12).

Can man die?
Answer: Yes (Job 14:10; 30:23, Ecclesiastes 3:19; 9:5, Ezekiel 3:19-20; 18:20,21,24,31-32; 33:11).

Can man be destroyed?
Answer: Yes (Isaiah 1:28, Philippians 3:18-19, 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, Psalm 21:10; 37:38; 92:7; 101:8; 145:20, Job 21:30, Proverbs 10:29; 13:13, Luke 17:29, 2 Thessalonians 2:8).

To what does the scripture compare man's life?
Answer: "a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again" (Psalm 78:39), "they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth." (Psalm 90:5-6), "my life is wind... As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more" (Job 7:7,9), "He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not" (Job 14:2); "All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field" (Isaiah 40:6), "For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away" (James 4:14).

Can the soul die?
Answer: Yes (Job 7:15; Ezekiel 3:19; 18:4,20, Matthew 10:28, Psalm 22:20,29, Jeremiah 38:17, Isaiah 55:3, Joshua 10:28, Revelation 16:3).

What does the Scripture say about Eternal Life?

The body (dust) + breath (breath of life) = a living soul. The words soul and spirit occur in the Scripture approximately 900 times, and not once are they referred to as being immortal or undying. The inspired writers of the Scripture had at least 900 opportunities to inform us that the soul is immortal, but never did so. Surely this is a significant fact that must not be overlooked. The fact that man is mortal is affirmed throughout the Scripture. The word "immortality" is used only five times ("immortal" only once) and never coupled with the words "soul" or "spirit."
Eternal life is not something that we just naturally have, but something for which we "seek for" (Romans 2:7), "hope" for (Titus 1:2; 3:7), "lay hold on" (1 Timothy 6:12,19), "put on" (1 Corinthians 15:53-54), and be willing to give up all for. Eternal life is not something we naturally possess but is something that we must qualify for by choosing Christ and living according to His will. If man had been created with a soul that couldn't die; would it have done God any good to keep man from the "tree of life" (Genesis 3:22-24) and would God need to "give eternal life" to us (John 17:2)? God sending His Son was a condition to eternal life. If Christ had not come, died, and risen again, we would all perish in sin.

Is eternal life a gift?
Answer: Yes (Romans 6:23, John 10:28; 17:2, 1 John 5:11).

Is eternal life conditional?
Answer: Yes (1 John 3:14; 5:11-13, John 3:15,16,36; 5:24,40; 6:47,51,54,57; 10:10; 11:25-26; 14:19, Romans 2:6,7; 8:6, 1 Corinthians 15:3,17,18,21,22, Hebrews 5:9, Matthew 19:16-21, Mark 10:17-21, Luke 10:25-28; 18:18-22, Revelation 22:14, Titus 1:2; 3:7, 1 Timothy 6:12,19, Jude 1:21).

Man at Death

Do all men go to the grave?
Answer: Yes (Job 5:26; 7:9; 10:19; 14:10,13; 17:13; 30:23; 31:32; 33:22, Ecclesiastes 9:10, Isaiah 38:18, Psalm 88:11-12, John 5:28).

Does the scripture say that death is like a sleep?
Answer: Yes (Matthew 9:24, Mark 5:39, Job 3:11,13,17; 7:21; 14:12; 17:13, 1 Corinthians 11:30; 15:6,18,20,51, 1 Kings 11:43; 14:20,31; 15:8, 2 Chronicles 21:1; 26:23, Psalm 17:15; 90:5; 13:3, Ephesians 5:14, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15; 5:10, Daniel 12:2,13, Jeremiah 51:39,57, 2 Peter 3:4, Acts 13:36, Luke 8:52). Jesus gives us His understanding of death. Jesus compares the condition of man at death to that of a sleep (John 11:11-14). It is always safe to follow Jesus. In Acts 7:59-60, the Greek word interpreted "spirit" in verse 59 is (4151 pneuma) which means: "a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze". This is the equivalent to the Hebrew word for "spirit" (7307 ruwach). This is the "breath of life," mentioned in Genesis 2:7, which God receives back at our death.

What else does the scripture call death?
Answer: "the grave...the pit" (Psalm 30:3), "the grave...the dark...the land of forgetfulness" (Psalm 88:11-12), "silence" Psalm 115:17), "rest" (Daniel 12:13), "cease from troubling...be at rest" (Job 3:17), "the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness" (Job 17:13), "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours" (Revelation 14:13).

Does the intelligent, thinking part of man live somewhere else after death? Are those who die aware of anything on the earth, in heaven, in hell or the grave?
Answer: No (Psalm 6:5; 78:39; 88:10:12; 103:14-16; 115:17; 146:4, Job 7:9-10; 10:18; 14:12,21, Ecclesiastes 3:22; 9:5-10, Isaiah 26:14; 38:18).
Most of us have been taught that if a man takes a blow to the head hard enough to knock him out, then he knows nothing. However, if he is hit hard enough to kill him, then he knows everything! Strange. Does a dead man really know more than a living one? Not according to David; "In that very day his thoughts perish" (Psalms 146:4), and the other passages listed in the previous question and answer.

Spirit and Soul

What is the spirit?
Answer: Genesis 2:7 tells us what God gave at Creation, "the breath of life." Ecclesiastes 12:7 says, what God gave is the "spirit." You will see that "breath" and "spirit" are used interchangeably in the Scripture. In the poetry of the Old Testament, they often repeat the same thought, but in different words. Job 27:3 makes it very clear that our breath and the spirit of God is the same thing. The word "breath" (7307) in Psalm 104:29 and 146:4 is the same word interpreted "spirit" (word# 7307) in Ecclesiastes 12:7 and Job 27:3 above. Compare Job 33:4 and James 2:26.

What is the soul?
Answer: Notice, the Scripture says, man became, or was made, a living soul. The Scripture does not say, God placed a soul into man (Genesis 2:7, Ecclesiastes 12:7, Isaiah 57:16, 1 Corinthians 15:45). The Hebrew word translated "life" in Genesis 1:20,30 is the same word translated as "soul" in Genesis 2:7 (word #5315). So is the Hebrew word translated "living creature" in Genesis 1:21,24; 9:16. Any creature on the earth that walks, runs, hops, flies, crawls, slithers; in other words, anything that is alive, is a "soul." The Scripture is very clear, in Numbers 31:28 and Revelation 16:3 that both man, animals, and the fish in the sea are souls. Every living creature has the "breath of life" (Genesis 7:21-23). The word "soul" is used to refer to a person or people in James 5:20, Exodus 1:5, Genesis 12:5, Numbers 9:13 and Proverbs 25:25.

Where is the "soul" located?
Answer: In the blood (Leviticus 17:11-14). "Life" and "soul" here is word #5315. This explains Acts 17:26.

What is the word "soul" translated from in the Old Testament?
Answer: The Hebrew word commonly rendered "soul" in the Old Testament is "nephesh" (word #5315). With two exceptions (Job 30:15, Isaiah 57:16), the word "soul" in the Old Testament is always translated from "nephesh". The word "nephesh" occurs 428 times. "nephesh" is also translated as "life" 118 times, "person" 29 times, "mind" 15 times, and "heart" 15 times. The word "nephesh" is never translated as "spirit."

What is the word "soul" translated from in the New Testament?
Answer: "Soul" is rendered from the Greek word "psuche" 58 times. "Psuche" is also translated as "life" 40 times. The word "psuche" is never translated as "spirit."

What are the three scriptural meanings of the word "soul?"
Answer: The word "soul" means a "person" as in Exodus 16:16. "Mind" (affections, desires) as in Psalm 103:1; 139:14. And "Life" as in Matthew 16:25-26.

Can a "soul" die?
Answer: Yes (Psalm 22:29; 49:15, Job 7:15). The Hebrew word translated "soul" in Ezekiel 18:4,20 is the same as "soul" in Genesis 2:7 (word #5315). If a soul couldn't die, then there would be no need to "save a soul from death" (James 5:20).

Where is the "soul" at death?
Answer: The grave (Job 33:18,22,28,30, Psalm 30:3; 89:48).

What is the word "spirit" translated from in the Old Testament?
Answer: The Hebrew word commonly rendered "spirit" in the Old Testament is "Ruwach" (word# 7307). With two exceptions (Job 26:4, Proverbs 20:27), the word "spirit" in the Old Testament is always translated from "Ruwach". The word Ruwach occurs 378 times, and is never rendered as “soul.”

What is the word "spirit" translated from in the New Testament?
Answer: The Greek word commonly rendered "spirit" in the New Testament is "Pneuma" (word# 4151). With two exceptions (Matthew 14:26, Mark 6:49), the word "spirit" in the New Testament is always translated from "Pneuma". Pneuma occurs 385 times, and is never rendered as "soul."

What are some examples of the "spirit" in scripture?
Answer: There's an evil spirit (Judges 9:23), the spirit of the dead (Leviticus 20:27), spirit of jealously (Numbers 5:14), a sorrowful spirit (1 Samuel 1:15), a contrite spirit (Psalm 34:18), a broken spirit (Psalm 51:17), a haughty spirit (Proverbs 16:18), a spirit of judgment and burning (Isaiah 4:4), a perverse spirit (Isaiah 19:14), the spirit of deep sleep (Isaiah 29:10), a troubled spirit (Daniel 2:1), the spirit of whoredoms (Hosea 4:12), an unclean spirit (Matthew 12:43), a dumb spirit (Mark 9:17), a foul spirit (Mark 9:25), a spirit of infirmity (Luke 13:11), a spirit of divination (Acts 16:16), a spirit of bondage (Romans 8:15), the spirit of the world (1 Corinthians 2:12), seducing spirits (1 Timothy 4:1), the spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7), a foul spirit (Revelation 18:2), a spirit of error (1 John 4:13), the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2), the Spirit of God (Romans 15:19), and the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13).
Now, if a "broken spirit, a "haughty spirit," and the "spirit of jealousy" are not descriptions of actual beings who roam the earth, but are just descriptions of someone's mood, why is it that people believe an "evil spirit" is a separate being and not a description of someone's mood?

Does man's "spirit" (breath) return to God who gave it?
Answer: Yes (Ecclesiastes 3:21; 12:7). Using the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance we see that the word "breath" (7307 ruwach) in Psalms 104:29 and Psalms 146:4 is the same word interpreted "spirit" (7307 ruwach) in Job 34:14 and Ecclesiastes 12:7. The word "breath" (5397 nshamah) in Job 34:14 is the same as used in Genesis 2:7 "...breathed into his nostrils the breath of life..." (5397 nshamah). Even the spirit of the wicked person goes back to God. The spirit (breath of life; the power that gives life) is neither righteous nor sinful.

Are the "soul" and "spirit" immortal?
Answer: The words "Ruwach" and "Pneuma" rendered "spirit," like "Nephesh" and "Psuche" rendered "soul," have no qualifying words like immortal, everlasting, undying, endless, or any other word having a similar meaning.

Communication with the Spirit World

Can the dead communicate with the living?
Answer: No (Ecclesiastes 3:22; 9:5-6, Job 7:9-10; 14:21; 16:22, 2 Samuel 12:18,23).

Where does the communication come from?
Answer: The adversary (2 Thessalonians 2:9, 1 Timothy 4:1, Revelation 16:14, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15). In Genesis 3:1 is recorded the adversary's first communications with humans. This is the record of the first Spirit Medium, speaking through the snake or serpent in the garden of Eden. In Genesis 3:3 is recorded the serpent's first lie to man, "Ye shall not surely die." His goal to perpetuate this lie has been a great success (2 Corinthians 11:3).

What does the scripture say about spiritualism?
Answer: It's an abomination to God (Exodus 22:18, Leviticus 19:26,31; 20:6,27, Deuteronomy 18:10-12, Numbers 24:1, Malachi 3:5, Galatians 5:21, Matthew 24:24, Jeremiah 27:9-10, Micah 5:12, 2 Kings 17:17; 21:6; 23:24, Daniel 1:20, 1 Samuel 15:23; 28:3, 2 Chronicles 33:6, Isaiah 2:6; 47:12-15, Acts 8:9-11; 13:8-10; 16:16-18; 19:19, Revelation 21:8; 22:14-15). Saul died because of his transgressions against the Lord and because he asked counsel of the spiritualist at Endor (1 Chronicles 10:13). Notice in the story of Saul trying to contact the late Samuel (1 Samuel 28:6-17), it always refers to Samuel as being brought up. If Samuel was up in Heaven, wouldn't it say, Samuel came down?
It is very important to know exactly what the Scripture says about death so we won't be deceived when the adversary tries to communicate a lie to us by masquerading as a dead loved one or as a Saint.
The deception that when men die, they do not really die, began at Genesis 3:4, and found acceptance in ancient times by pagan religions. Those who practiced these religions claimed to have communication with the dead. Very early in Bible times this concept was condemned by God (Isaiah 8:19,20, Deuteronomy 18:9-12).
This practice of communing with the dead was abhorrent to God, and He commanded Israel that any who participated in this heathen practice were to be killed (Exodus 22:18). In 1 Samuel 28 is the record of Saul, the first king of Israel, who, the night before his final battle, repaired to the witch at En-dor. While to his human perception he was able to talk with Samuel, who was dead, 1 Chronicles 10:13, 14 states that this was not the case. This appearance of a being who appeared to be Samuel was not just some human imposture, but the king was actually in communion with a demon.
At death, our bodies return to the dust and our spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7). Christ referred to death as a sleep (John 11:11-14; Luke 8:52). If, rather than accept the simple statements of Scripture, we believe that the dead continue to exist as a conscious entity, we are left without a defense against the possibility of their returning to communicate with us. This, in turn, makes us susceptible to the possibility of the adversary and his angels communicating with us while purporting to be a departed loved one. We must be aware of this deceptive doctrine and practice of the adversary; for he will use it to mislead many (Ephesians 6:12; 2 Corinthians 11:14, Revelation 16:14).

The Thief on the Cross
A passage of Scripture that leads many to conclude that there is a transition at death and that death is not the end of life but rather the beginning of a new existence is Luke 23:43. Jesus, speaking to the thief on the cross just before His death, said,

Luke 23:43, "...Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with Me in paradise."

However, the comma was placed in the wrong place by the translators. The correct reading of this verse should read:

Luke 23:43, "...Verily I say unto thee To day, thou shalt be with me in paradise."
If Christ went to Paradise that very day, He would surely have gone into the very presence of God. But Jesus did not go to his Father that day, for he said to Mary three days later, after he had been raised from the dead, "…I am not yet ascended to My Father…" (John 20:17). Christ was resurrected for 40 days (Acts 1:3) and ascended to the father only after his 40 days were fulfilled (Acts 1:9-11). Therefore, they were not together anywhere that day, except on the cross.
Christ did not contradict Himself. Notice the punctuation of Luke 23:43. The whole meaning of this verse hinges on the placement of the comma. With this in mind, remember that the punctuation in the Bible is a relatively new addition. The early manuscripts of the scripture did not use the comma. There was no punctuation in the Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. The comma was introduced by Manutius, a learned printer, who lived in Venice in the fifteenth century. The translators of the bible, in using their best judgment, placed the punctuation marks we now have in our Bibles. Words are inspired by God, punctuation is not.
The change of a comma can make a great difference in the meaning of a sentence. If you write, "The teacher says my boy is no good," you mean one thing. You mean something very different, however, if you add two commas. "The teacher, says my boy, is no good." The words are the same, but the meaning is not at all the same.
Christ did not promise that the thief would be with Him in Paradise that day. Jesus Himself did not go to Paradise that day but slept in the tomb. But on the day of the crucifixion, the day of apparent defeat and darkness, the promise was given. "Today" while dying upon the cross as a malefactor, Christ assures the poor sinner, "Thou shalt be with Me in Paradise." Instead of losing any meaning, the word today takes on a real significance. The comma belongs after the word "Today."
A similar sentence construction may be found in the writings of the prophet Zechariah. "Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee" (Zechariah 9:12). The context shows that the rendering "double" was not to take place on that very "today" but was a future event. It is evident that "today" qualifies "declare." Even so, if the "today" of Luke 23:43, which is a parallel to the language of Zechariah, is allowed to modify "say," there is no contradiction between the message to the thief and the words of Jesus to Mary.
When Jesus made this statement to the thief, it was in a reply to what the thief said to Jesus:

Luke 23:42-43, "And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee To day, thou shalt be with me in paradise. "
Notice, the thief said "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom." He did not say "when thou goest." He didn't go anywhere except the grave to go to sleep. It is quite evident that the thief understood that Christ had taught that He would come again.