What happens when we die?

• Death: What Happens and where are the dead?

There is a lot of confusion about death, especially among Christians, which should not be the case because the Word of God clearly shows us the state of the dead. Before we can look at death and how it came about, we need to look at the creation of mankind, since death is the opposite of life.

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

(Genesis 2:7)

From this Scripture we can conclude that in order for one to be alive or a “living soul” there needs to be two things: body (made up of dust) and the breath of life (which comes from God). We can also safely conclude that one is alive when both the body (lifeless) and the breath of life are present. So, when the body is without the spirit it not a living being (James 2:26) and the spirit (breath of life) is not alive without the body.

It is worth noting that the word “spirit” as it is used in this context refers to the breath of life which the bible says it is the same breath as that of animals:

“For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? ”

( Ecclesiastes 3:19-21)

When one dies, the opposite of creation occurs:

“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.”

(Ecclesiastes 12:7)

From this passage we learn that when people die, the body returns to dust and the spirit goes to God. So, we can conclude that death occurs when the spirit (breath of life) leaves the body and is taken back by its Originator (God).

Thus far we have established that a living being is: Body (formed from dust) + breath of life or spirit (from God) which makes up a living soul (Genesis 2:7) and a dead person is: Body (formed from dust) - breath of life or spirit (from God).

Now, we can answer the question, where does a dead person go? It is important to note that the dust (form/body) returns to dust and the breath returns to God as stated in (Ecclesiastes 12:7).

“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

(Genesis 3:19)

The text above makes note that the body does not go anywhere but to where it was taken from. We can safely conclude that when a person dies, he or she ceases to exist: since he or she is no longer a living being. He or she has no spirit roaming around.

Now that we have established that the dead are not a living being, it is also crucial to expand on this:

The dead know nothing:

“For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. ”

( Ecclesiastes 9:5)

Their memory is not active nor are the conscious:

“Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun. ”

( Ecclesiastes 9:6)

The dead do not praise God:

“The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence. ”

(Psalm 115:17)

There is no activity in the grave:

“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. ”

(Ecclesiastes 9:10)

So, the dead cannot communicate with the living because they know nothing, they cannot hear, think or partake in any conscious activity such as speaking, expressing feeling etc.

The bible describes death as sleep (Daniel 12:2, Matthew 9:24, Mark 5:39, John 11:11-14). We can safely conclude:

The dead are not in hell nor are they in heaven but have returned in the dust and their breath has returned to God who gave it. For if they where in heaven then why will Christ come to resurrect them (1 Thessalonians 4:16 ) if they are already risen, or is the where in hell why would Christ say he will reward everyone accordingly at his coming(Revelations 22:12) if the wicked are already receiving the reward of their unfaithfulness?

The dead cannot interact with the living people because they know nothing and they cannot do anything (Job 14:21; Psalm 146:4).

The dead cannot watch over the living, let us pray and ask God for wisdom from above beloved. It is because of this old lie which was first told to Eve in Eden(Genesis 3:4) that many are deceived and led into spiritualism thinking that they are speaking to their loved ones who passed away when in actual fact the are speaking to demons or devils.