Death—What does the Bible say about it?

from the old testament

• Everyone must die. This was the result of Adam and Eve’s sin (c.f. Genesis 2:17). When God cursed Adam, He said, “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). When anyone dies, it is God inflicting His righteous justice on sinful men and women.
• After Adam’s sin, the world became filled with evil (Genesis 6:5–6). Because of mankind’s wickedness, God said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them” (Genesis 6:7). The flood was God’s just judgment against evil. However, He mercifully held off killing all of humanity by saving Noah and his family because “Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8).
• Everyone who dies does so because he or she sins (Ezekiel 18:4).
• David noted that everyone sins (Psalm 14:2–3).
• Death is not arbitrary or random. Rather, God has already set the day when each person will die and face judgment (Psalm 139:16).
• Death is not the end. The book of Daniel ends with a promise of a future resurrection for all men and women (Daniel 12:2).

from the new testament

• Paul noted that, “sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).
• The author of Hebrews also noted the hopeless state of humanity left to its own devices, saying, “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
• Because of God’s judgment through death, Jesus warned that we should not fear those who can kill the body, but “rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). God alone has the final say about our eternal destiny.
• Jesus, as fully God, has power over life and death. After He resurrected, He said, “I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” (Revelation 1:18). Because of His victory over death, Jesus is able to rescue others from it.
• Before Jesus resurrected, He had to die. When Jesus died, it was not because of His sin since He had none. Instead, it was for the sin of men and women who trust in Jesus (Romans 3:23b–25a). Everyone sins and, thus, are under God’s judgment of death. However, they can be “justified” (counted as righteous despite being guilty) by trusting in Jesus. God can justly not punish men and woman because He justly punished Jesus as a propitiation for sin in their place—a “propitiation” is a blood sacrifice.
• Because Jesus, by His perfect life and death, did not remain dead, Paul could later say that there is a day when Jesus will destroy death, which is “the last enemy to be destroyed” (1 Corinthians 15:26). In excitement, he exclaimed, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). Because Jesus conquered death, death is no longer final for believers.
• The concluding act of God’s judgment against sin is found in Revelation 20:14–15. Death is destroyed once and for all, and those who are not saved enter a second, eternal death in hell. God’s destruction of death does not mean that sinners escape justice, but that there’s an even more fearful, eternal death awaiting those who have not repented of their sin and trusted in Christ.
• Jesus Himself said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25–26). Everyone will die physically because of his or her sin. However, those who belong to Jesus will be resurrected to live eternally and escape the second death mentioned in Revelation.

implications for today

Death confronts every person with the reality that life on earth is temporary. It also reminds us that we are rebels against God. The fact that we don’t die right after our first sin shows how merciful God is. However, His mercy, like our lives on earth, is temporary for those who reject Jesus. There is a day when God’s patience will end. That day, the unbelievers who have died will be resurrected to die eternally. This is a frightening reality. If you are currently in rebellion against God, we plead with you to repent now, before it is too late!

While death is frightening for the unbeliever, the Christian is able to face it with joy because it is not the final word. This is because Jesus has already paid for the sin of believers, meaning their eternal punishment has already been completed. Therefore, the believer faces death with confidence—not because dying is natural or desirable, but because it is no longer the entry into eternal punishment. Instead, for those in Christ, death is a doorway into the presence of the Lord and a step closer to the final resurrection and eternal joy we will have, living face-to-face with God.

Still, despite our joy, death is a sober reminder for the believer of sin’s consequences and of the urgency of the gospel. Do not ignore or romanticize death. Instead, use an unbelieving friend or family member’s fear of death as a way to start a conversation about the fearful, eternal destruction to come!