Death
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Death is not a very popular subject. In fact, the majority of people do not like to talk about it. We don't even talk of people suffering death. We, instead, disguise it with other words. Most people talking about the death of a person use such phrases like passed away, went to heaven, went to be with the Lord, eternal sleep, went to his/her eternal rest, and in some instances, went to Hell. Then of course, the abortion controversy introduced a whole new term for death: instead of calling it the killing or death of a fetus, they call it a woman's right to her body, termination of pregnancy, or pro-choice right. What about a fetus' right to life?
Very few people view death like the pagan philosopher Socrates-Death may be one's greatest adventure. Of course, Socrates believed in reincarnation because he also believed that he had an immortal soul. He looked forward to being born again in another body. Then there were the pagan Romans who looked at life as an end in itself, just as those today who don't believe that there is a Creator God who raises the dead back to life: they taught one to Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. That was the philosophy pagan Romans espoused. They looked upon life as a time between birth and death, with nothing to follow.
Most people fear death and will do anything to extend their life. That is neither a bad nor evil thing in itself; it is a natural tendency to try to escape situations that would lead to death. Death stops the pleasures of this worldly life; it destroys wealth (one cannot take one's riches to the grave), it destroys ambitions. Death is destruction, plainly put.
But for a Christian, one should not fear death. Christ Jesus overcame death in his resurrection. And he did it for all who believe in him. A Christian's hope is for resurrection to a new life after one's death-no matter how much time passes in the eyes of the living. A Christian who dies is one who gives up one's spirit to God: and in doing this puts his/her life in God's hand, trusting God's promise of resurrection-on the last day, as Martha said to Jesus as recorded in John 11:24.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23).
Death reminds those who see another die that life is strictly a loan given by our Creator. Life is a loan limited by the passing of time. When that time is used up all die. Death cannot be experienced by the one dying; but dying can be experienced. Seeing someone else die reminds us that we too will face death. Yes, death is a fact of life, and we should all be aware of that as we go on with life. Death can rear its ugly head at any point in our life.
Adam and Eve were born, i.e., created, and set in a place where they would live forever on this earth by partaking of the Tree of Life God placed in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2:9 tells us that out of the ground God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But of the Tree of Good and Evil, they were not to eat; for it so doing dying they would surely die. In Genesis 5:5 it is recorded: And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died. It is not recorded in emotional terms, nor does it give any indication that Adam was spiritually separated from God. It simply states that Adam faced death, and died when his time on this world was used up. It does not say that he passed away, went to meet the Lord, went to heaven, or any other way of speaking so prevalent in our day-just that he died.
Death is plainly spoken in the Bible as the end of existence. The crucial questions are what, if anything, survives the death of the body? And if something survives death, what does that mean for life? We may also ask, what does God have to do with death? And what does the death of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection have to say to us about death?
(Note: One can argue whether Adam's dying resulted in a spiritual or physical death.)
Recently a woman told me that death is merely a separation from God, and that it is always used that way when the Bible says that the "wages of sin is death." She went on to say that she believed this because sin is a spiritual transgression against God's will.
It is amazing that many individuals have sought to re-define the meaning of the term "death" to mean something other than the loss of life - now or in the hereafter. One hears this at many funeral services: "He/She is not really dead, he/she is now alive in Heaven." This is especially expressed concerning the Scriptures that say that the "wages of sin is death" when referencing the Judgment awaiting man after the general resurrection. They have introduced a phrase with a sense that makes death mean just "a separation from God." This is philosophically done to strengthen their opinion that man has a soul that is immortal and cannot die. That this opinion of theirs contradicts everything the Scriptures reveal is silently ignored.
When the writers of the New Testament wrote in the Greek language they used the common and ordinary words the people understood in their daily communications with each other. They gave no new definitions of the Greek words. Their purpose was to communicate to the people the Good News of Jesus the Christ in words that the people were familiar with and understood. It is to secular Greek lexicons we must turn in order to get definitions of the words used; not most lexicons of the New Testament which are frequently tainted by theological and philosophical opinions. If we had any indications that the writers of the New Testament wrote and used with different meanings of the Greek words that secular writers such as Hesiod, Homer, Plato, Aristotle and Epicurus, etc., used, then we would no longer have the New Testament in an intelligible language, but in an unknown, unintelligible and useless language.
Let us state that the punishment of the unsaved is as frequently described as their death in the New Testament as it is in the Old Testament, without the slightest indication to show that the word "death" or "to die" have nothing but their normal sense placed on them (thanatos - death, and apthenesko - to die). These words, and all other words on this subject, are words whose meanings were known and understood by all people at the time the New Testament was written. Jesus plainly stated that "Whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die" (John 11:26). The reverse is strongly implied - those who do not believe in him shall die. The Apostle Paul affirms this implication by saying, "If you live according to the flesh, you are about to die" (Rom 8:13, a literal translation). Note: The words "die" in these verses of Jesus and Paul are spoken of in a future sense.
The Greek word "death - thanatos," when examined, mean lifeless, non-existence. Jesus said "If a man keeps my word, he shall never see death" (John 8:51). James said that "sin, when finished, brings forth death:" and that "he who converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death" (James 1:5, 20). Paul explains "that the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). To cap this off, John declares that the unsaved will be destroyed in "the second death" - that dreadful "Lake of Fire" wherein they will face death again; after having been raised from the dead to face the final Judgment of God. There is not a single verse or passage in the whole of the Bible that shows that death has any other meaning than its normal sense - the loss of life or loss of existence; yes, "a separation from God" that is permanent.
However, on the other side of the token is the Good News of Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Savior; and as was quoted from John 11:26, believers shall never die again. At the return of Jesus on the last day believers shall be changed into bodies that are immortal; which means "no longer subject to death." In fact, the Scriptures tell us that death itself will be destroyed in the same Lake of Fire that the unbelievers will be thrown in after being judged (See Rev. 20:11-15). Is this a good reason to believe the Good News? Life or death: there is a choice to be made now, while living, before the death of one's life (ones whole being [soul or life]).