What Happens After Death? ( 4)

The Mystery of Death

Death is one of life's greatest mysteries. Do we really die, or do we have a soul that lives on apart from the body?

Many are confused about this, and this has led to great misunderstandings about death. Does the Bible provide answers?

Death is a fearful, often traumatic event. Sometimes it is preceded by suffering, the result of the infirmities of age, disease or injury. Often death is shocking and unexpected. Family and friends suffer the pain of loss. The Scriptures refer to death as "the last enemy" to be conquered (1 Corinthians:15:26) and point out mankind's innate fear of death (Hebrews:2:15). Death remains one of life's greatest mysteries.

Religions offer a variety of answers, some seemingly credible and some beyond belief. Their explanations often contradict one another, adding to the confusion and uncertainty about what happens after death. A very common idea is that people are born with immortal souls. Many believe that after death the soul is conscious and proceeds to a literal place or condition of bliss or torment. Others teach that at death the soul is absorbed into a "greater consciousness." Some expect to be reincarnated, coming back to earth as another person or as an animal.

Can we pinpoint just what death is? Do we have immortal souls? Are we conscious after we die? Are we destined to go somewhere to experience some form of reward or punishment? What is really going to happen when we die?

To understand, let's continue with the biblical account of the first human beings.

God personally instructed Adam and Eve, but they chose to disobey Him. They let Satan influence them into choosing their own will rather than obeying God's instructions. God informed them that, because they had disobeyed Him, their lives would grow difficult and, as He had warned, they would die. "In the sweat of your face," God said to Adam, "you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis:3:19).

Our lives are physical; we age and eventually die. Like Adam and Eve, we eventually return to dust. Solomon made a simple but profound observation when he wrote that there is "a time to be born, and a time to die" (Ecclesiastes:3:2). Look around the world at the example of nature. All living processes eventually break down and cease, then the physical remains begin to decay.

Solomon, after observing the cycles of life, noted that we human beings yearn for an eternal existence (verse 11). Knowing that death is inevitable, we search for a deeper meaning of life.

What is a soul?

Much misunderstanding about death is directly related to confusion concerning the "soul." What is a soul? Does it exist? If it exists, is it separate from the physical body? Does it live on after death?

The Hebrew word most often translated into English as "soul" or "creature" in the Bible isnephesh. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible succinctly defines this word as "a breathing creature." When used in the Bible, nephesh does not mean a spirit entity or the spirit within a person. Rather, itusually means a physical, living, breathing creature. Occasionally it conveys a related meaning such as breath, life or person.

Surprising to many, this term nephesh is used torefer to human beings and animals. In the Old Testament, man is referred to as a "soul" ( nephesh ) more than 130 times. But the same Hebrew term is also applied to sea creatures, birds and land animals, including cattle and "creeping" creatures such as reptiles and insects. All are "souls."

For example, notice the account of the creation of sea life: "And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good" (Genesis:1:21, King James Version). The Hebrew word translated "creature" in this verse is nephesh. In the biblical account, these particular "souls," creatures of the sea, were made before the first human beings were formed and given life.

To be cont'd. 

God bless you all.