WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT THE DEAD?

THE DEAD
A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE
Imanueli M. Kapaya
[Evangelist, Seventh-day Adventist Church]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Dead; is there Life after Death?: a Biblical Perspective 3
The Meaning of Death 3
The Dead can do nothing for anybody or for themselves 4
Death is like a Sleep 6
Basic evidence from Jesus and Lazarus; John 11:11-14 8
Basic evidence from Jesus and the maid; Matthew 9:23-25 8
What about claims of soul’s immortality 11
Communications with the dead: forbidden by God 14
Warning on spiritualism from Spirit of prophecy 18
But there is hope; the resurrection of Christ and the saints; 24
Other facts about life and death; 28
Other issues of controversy 33
What it means to be dead in Christ! 38
Types of deaths 43
The Bible and Immortality 46
Consequences of believing in immortality of human souls 47







The Dead; is there Life after Death?: a Biblical Perspective
No wonder you have heard stories about the dead coming to their loved ones and their manifestations in various situations. Christians and Muslims, and in other major religions all in some ways teach about the state of the dead. No wonder, major religions of the world have a symmetrical belief on the issue. The key to the belief is the unbiblical teaching on the immortality of the ‘soul’. Amazingly the majority in the world do not even bother as to what the Bible on itself says on the subject. Churches and other houses of worship are regular home to many professed Christians. But majority are ignorant on the Biblical truth. In this subject, I explore death as the Bible discusses it and relate some of these discussions to the warnings of the ‘spirit of prophecy’ as provided by Sister Ellen G. White.
The Meaning of Death
It is worth noting as the scriptures confirm; death is simply ceasing to exist. Returning to dust from whence we came from. A good point to start from is in Genesis 2:7&3:19.
2:7 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.
3:19 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.

Man was formed from the ground. He is made up of dust and a breath of life combined miraculously by God himself. Thus, man = dust + breath of life + a creation miracle from God. This mystery formula is more than a mere mathematical or even chemical equation. It involves Gods creation miracle. Man is thus equated to a living soul. From this argument it is evident that the separation of these elements results into death; none-existence. In Genesis 3:19 states that humans shall return to dust for they are dust, thus death (dust) results on the mere re-arrangement of the equation, thus dust = man – breath of life – a creation miracle from God. The breath of life itself cannot take the place of a living human neither can dust (body) take the place of a living human. While these two can be separated, they do not create a living human being independently. The breath of life returns to God who gave it while the body returns to dust where it was taken. That phenomenon spells out what is death.
Have you ever thought what will the antonym of the following verses be? 2 Kings 8:5 From Elisha the prophet experience ‘to restore a dead body to life', which means to re-instate its life; that antonym would be to destroy life. Which means as he (the son), he had no life, thus the breath of life had departed from the son.
8:5 And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.

There can only be life or death, not both at a time.
The following verses explain the mortality of the soul in a most explicit way that it leaves us with no doubt, that there is no life when we die. The soul does not continue to live after death. The metaphor that is used here was that of a living dog being better compared to a dead lion. Therefore that being true, then there is hope for the living where as the dead’ hope has been sealed in judgment at their death. If the dead lived holy before their deaths, their hope is permanently sealed for a better resurrection. But if the dead lived unholy life before their deaths, their hope of a better resurrection is lost. For them there is an expectation of a hopeless resurrection of the wicked. I explore the issue of judgment and resurrection further later in the sections.
Mortality of the ‘soul’ Ecclesiastes 9:4, 5 & 6
9:4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
9:5 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.
9:6 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.

The dead do not know anything. They have no place among the living. Their feelings, both psychological and social being is not any more. They cannot love, hate, envy, or do anything of that kind. We should not expect any communication with/from the dead, because the word of God says that they do not have any portion in anything that is done under the sun. The remaining questions though remain is who are those spirits that come to us saying they are our dead loved ones. I explore this in the later sections of this paper. But to give you a glimpse of what they are, you should know that these are evil spirits impersonating the dead, they aim to deceive humans. God forbids communication with these spirits. Revelation 16:14.
16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

The Dead can do nothing for anybody or for themselves
The Bible is clearly explaining in Ecclesiastes 9:10 that there is no life after death;
9:10 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.

- No work in after death.
- No device after death
- No knowledge after death
- No wisdom after death
Surely if all the above 4 aspects of life are absent in the grave, or after we die, there is indeed no life after death. But if there is life after death, what is life then?, it is thus a lie to say the dead can come to us and talk to us, or the dead feel, or talk or even visit us, because how would they do such thing if they cannot think (no knowledge)?, how do they know what to do, the right or wrong thing (without wisdom)? And how is life without work? Surely, not life at all! Everything stands still.
Knowledge and other things can be found among the living only; 2 Peter 1:2&3, all that does not pertain to life is not given to us, simply because there is none to be given from the dead except that which is a lie by the father of lies, the devil himself.
1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

When a person dies, his life simply varnishes away; James 4:14. The Bible uses the words breath of life, vapor and wind to mean the life that is in us. That it appears (when we are created) and vanishes away (when we die)
4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Genesis 2:17, says God breathed into Adam’s nostrils and he became alive, that means life is more of a miracle than we would think of it as a scientific phenomenon. Job 7:7 & 33:4 our life is but a wind, breath, it simply vanishes and becomes no more, it is lost that miraculously and God can bring it back to us the same way he took it.
7:7 O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good.
33:4 The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.

This breath of life is that of the Almighty God, the source of all life for all created beings.
Image what it would mean, if the dead were not actually dead, especially those who wanted to kill the Child Jesus, would it not be convenient for them to come as spirits and kill the Child? But the angel of God said to Joseph that they were dead, they could not harm the Child. They (the dead) could not do anything.
Mathew 2:20
2:20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.

If one should doubt Solomon in Ecclesiastes should he doubt the angels as well? That the dead cannot do anything, thus they cannot kill a person. The echo and resonance about death in the verse below is clear that when a person dies does not live unless he/she is raised back from death by God, Mathew 9:18
9:18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.

The ruler knew that her daughter was not alive because she was dead. She could only live again after Jesus resurrected her from death.
Death is like a Sleep
Dying is like sleeping. Both in the New Testament and in the Old Testament this idea of dead being compared to a sleep is both familiar and consistently used; 1 Corinthians 15:51, 1 Kings 11:43 & Daniel 12:2.
15:51 Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
11:43 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.
12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

The dead are sleeping in the dust. They are waiting for the resurrection of God at the end of time. Some to everlasting life (the holy ones) and some to everlasting contempt (the wicked ones)
Dying is laying down (one’s) life, giving up life, and not having life; 1 John 3:16
3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Death is laying down ones life. It is giving up life. Thus the dead do not have their life with them, because they laid it down. Thus when they died they did not go into graves with their life.
Death is taking life from a person; 1 Kings 3:11, what would the underlined words in the verse below mean? Nothing but taking the life of someone! That being the case no body that dies takes his life with him to the grave.
3:11 And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;

If Solomon was promised a life time reign over Israel and it did happen, because God said so, and if a spirit of a person lives forever (as some people wrongly claim), where is Solomon and his reign? He reigned 40 years over the whole of Israel and there he died living his reign behind. 1 Kings 11:34&42
11:34 Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes:
11:42 And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.

What beautiful evidence is this! Because these are God’s own words, who are we to oppose what He says? Only the Devil has set himself against God to speak lies and oppose God and his words. The Devil had said long time a go, “thou shall not die” to the first parents; Adam and Eve at the Garden of Eden. He is the farther of lies and wishes to advance his lies to the end of time because he wants humans to be lost. He uses the most overlooked weaponry of lies in form of false doctrines, that many do not even imagine how these false doctrines such as that of immortality of the soul are capable sending them to Hades. John 8:44 and Genesis 2:17&3:4 below testify.
8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
3:4 And the serpent(Devil) said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

Remember it was the Devil’s initiative in the beginning; ‘ye shall not surely die’ (Genesis 3:4). Such is the same argument that is put forward even today; humans through false religious doctrines unknowingly are advancing the same argument that was put forward by the Devil. For God says ‘you shall surely die’, the Devil contradicts God by saying ‘you shall surely not die’. It is up to us to choose the truth.
Basic evidence from Jesus and Lazarus; John 11:11-14
The Scriptures have noted that the death that we humans die now is but a sleep. No wonder, Jesus refers to this same death as a sleep, the same way it was refer to in the Old Testament. He maintains His unchanging truth and nature, for God is the same yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever in truth in all the Scriptures, His truths are everlasting and His Commandments are eternal. The whole Bible is inspired by God and it does not contradict itself. There is always a clear line of truth from Genesis to Revelation. The death that humans die now is referred to as the first death. Its distinctions are; it happens to both holy and evil persons, it has consistently been referred to us a sleep throughout the Bible. We know it is temporal because after this sleep God will awaken/ raise from the dead (resurrect) the dead humans to life again, for the final judgment. If the dead do not cease to exist as some people claim spirit to be immortal, why would God bother resurrect humans who are immortal? We are mortal and that is why we need a resurrection after we die.
Jesus talks of Lazarus death as a sleep, and after His disciples’ confusion on what he meant He clarifies that he (Lazarus) is actually dead. Jesus resurrects him from the grave. If the dead live in the grave, both Jesus’ disciples and us would expect Lazarus to inform us or say something about where he has been, but he says nothing, why? , Because, he knew nothing when he had died. This argument works well because it confirms the words of King Solomon in Ecclesiastes, that the dead know nothing.
11:11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
11:12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
11:13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
11:14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

Basic evidence from Jesus and the maid; Matthew 9:23-25
The same conclusion can be arrived at from the dead maid case. After she has died Jesus raised her to life again. Note at how He refers her death to, death as a sleep.
9:23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,
9:24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
9:25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.

We have a better hope if we believe in Jesus and do according to His word. Our works (deeds) will follow us after we have died. They will remain in God’s records, and will be brought up by God in the Day of Judgment after the first resurrection of the saints Revelation 14:13,
14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
This is what Paul refers to as a better resurrection in Hebrews 11:35,
11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

Why, because in this resurrection only the dead saints will be raised from, Adam to the last man dead on earth.
The death of Saul; Saul was the first human king of Israel. At the point of death he knew he was at the brink of life and death. He was anguished, certainly because he had sinned against God, had no time to repent and knew he could do nothing after he died. So he died a hopeless death. But one point is significant; the person who slew him knew Saul could not live again, even after death. 2 Samuel 1:9&10
1:9 He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me.
1:10 So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord.

Soul that sins shall die, so fear who can kill both soul and body
It is important to remember that all souls belong to God. Souls of humans as well as souls of animals and angels belong to Him. The souls that sins (humans and angels) shall die say God. Therefore, when it comes to sin, no person can bear the sins of another human. No one can as well pray for other souls’ sins when they are dead. No one as well can forgive sins of others. Only Jesus Christ (God) can forgive humans. He is capable of destroying the soul and the body. He can destroy souls of humans and devils. In Mark 1:24, evil spirits feared that Jesus has come to destroy them. Surely they knew what it all meant by death that was the reason of their concerns. Ezekiel 18:4&20
18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
Mark 1:24
1:24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.
Humans are given a time to hear the word of God and repent while they are alive. After this time if they do not repent God shall destroy them at His glorious appearing in His second coming. This destruction of unrepentant souls is definite. Acts 3:23
3:23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

The Devil is a fallen angel. He is a spirit just as there are many fallen angels who are also spirits. If spirits of angels are not immortal and they shall be destroyed (cease to exist) how much more for spirits of humans who are more fragile and corruptible as well? Surely, death shall come to all sprits that sin. (Note however later, I discuss two types of deaths, the first and the second deaths. The second death pertains to the evil angels and the devil, but also it shall include the eternal death of the wicked humans). Thus, there is one lawgiver; one savior who can destroy the soul and body. 2 Thessalonians 2:8 Hebrews 2:14 and James 4:12.
2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
4:12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

If we believe Him and His atoning sacrifice we are saved. We are then enabled to keep his commandments (His law), the ones we transgressed and could not keep in the first place. But now that He has saved us through faith we can keep his law through him because He enables us to do so. We can only do so as long as we live because in the grave there is no life, nobody praises God in the grave, Jude 1:5.
1:5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.

The people before the floods, in Noah’s age, sinned against God; they were called to repentance through the preaching of Noah. They did not repent, though he preached for 120 years. Then God regretted that He had made men on earth. He decided to destroy that unrepentant generation. Now if God killed and destroyed humans for their sins, would it be of any use if He did so only to find them again alive in the graves, or another immortal life? Will such destruction be of any use to Him? Surely not! Genesis 6:6 &7&17,
6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
6:17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

In Malachi 4:1-3, God Himself says that the proud and those that do wickedly shall be burnt up and that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. The last verse says they shall be ashes. Surely with all these words God wants to assure us that the wicked unlike what others think shall be lost forever and there shall be no life in them ever again.
4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
4:3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

The metaphors used in verse 4:1 are clear, that the wicked shall be burnt up (to completion), they shall not remain neither root nor branch that only implies that the root being the essence of life to a tree’ branch as it is the breath of life to the human body, thus shall the unrepentant wicked be destroyed. They shall be found no more just as Babylon the system of evil religions and worship, a system of human religious institutions shall not be found after its destruction. Revelation 18:21
18:21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

What about claims of soul’s immortality
God’s clear and prominent warning was and is that death is a real and sure thing, no doubt about it, in Genesis 2:17 He says; “thou shalt surely die”
2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

The Devil has always contradicted God’s warning to humanity, because he is the author of lies and wishes to propagate lies; he gives fake promises and false doctrines that have their essence at the Garden of Eden to the first pair of humanity. Genesis 2:17 & 3: 4&5
2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

The devil’s ambition has always been to be as God and be worshiped like God. He has always tried to achieve this in vain. He lied to Adam and Eve that they would be like God a position he covets so much, a status he will never attain. This same idea of becoming like God is taught in Spiritualism, a system in which through meditative experiences, séances and demonic manifestations humans believe that a person is responsible to himself and that he is a god and therefore no body judges him except himself, and that anybody can progress toward God and that spirits of humans are immortal. All these lies have their essence at the Garden of Eden, because the Devil said to Adam and Eve ‘… you shall surely not die…you shall be like God knowing good and evil…’
One of his most explicit pictures is in Isaiah 14:12-15;
14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

The devil did not only challenge God but also Jesus because the devil knew that Jesus is God. Mathew 4:8-10
4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Most Christians forget that the battle is primarily against spiritual wickedness, which represents the Devil who is the Prince of darkness. The devil fights through lies, putting forward false arguments against God’s truth. Thus he said and still says “you shall surely not die” opposing what God said “you shall surely die”. We can only defeat the Devil by the truth that proceeds from God’s own mouth which tells us “you shall surely die”. Paul in Ephesians 6:12, 14 &17 reminds us of this “war of God’s Truth against Devil’s lies and accusations”. It is evident that, it is not primarily a bodily war as some would think, flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers of darkness. We can only defeat them by among other spiritual weapons, the Sword of the Sprit which is the Word of God.
6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

But if a person allows himself to be lied to, and be defeated by the Devil’s lies, then God will not force him to His truth. He will allow him to be defeated, lied to and be lost. It is important that we hear what God says and obey Him alone. The devil in most of the time works through (religious) institutions to reach humans in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 a typical institution is depicted through which the devil works.
2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

No wonder the Devil has always tried tries and will try over and over again to mislead, by advancing his lie “you shall not surely die”. Through his agents he teaches that there is life in death, not knowing that they are working against the Most High God. The Devil has always tried to challenge God’s truth, he counterfeits by bringing images of people who once lived and died. These are imitations by his agents, the evil angels. These are the wonders and lying signs (2 Thessalonians 2:9). His aim is to time humans, that they may die before they can repent, because he knows, that once a person dies, his probation ceases immediately and cannot attain repentance thereafter. I explore this fact in further sections in this paper.

Communications with the dead: forbidden by God
Have you ever wondered as to why God forbade communications with the dead through people who had familiar spirits, especially in Leviticus 19:31 and Deuteronomy 18:10-13? Surely, God would not hide or keep anything good from us, Right!? Then, there must be a danger in what He prohibits us to do. In Leviticus 19:31 God prohibits among other things existence of people with “familiar spirits” (demons) among us, dealing with them, and even to try communication with the dead via them. Violation of this command was punishable by stoning to death. It must have been a serious issue. Leviticus 19:31, 20:6 & 27
19:31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.
20:6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
20:27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

The same prohibition was put clearly in Deuteronomy 18:10-13. With further clarity, it prohibits consultations with familiar spirits. Familiar spirits are evil spirits who impersonate the dead and come to humans as their loved ones who once lived and then died. They are not the dead but devils working miracles by imitating the dead’s appearances, voices and mannerisms. Deuteronomy 18:10-13
18:10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
18:11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
18:12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
18:13 Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.

Note the way the Bible puts it in Leviticus 19:31 “regard not them that have familiar spirits… to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God” three things are emphasized here; that we should not regard them, that dealing with them is defiling ourselves (that is making sin) and that It is God who says so, the same God who said “you shall surely die”. God prohibits such communications because He knows it is the Devil that speaks through those means employing his agents lying spirits, miracles and wonders to deceive us that the dead are not dead and that they can come and visit us. The doctrines on prayers of saints and purgatory are one such example.
In 1 Samuel 28:3 & 28:7-20 we get a real case. Saul the king of Israel and the woman with familiar spirit at Endor, Samuel the prophet of God was used by God to give instructions to Saul and the Israelites. He had just died then when Saul needed him so much for instructions from the Lord. Despites God’s warning Saul consulted a woman with familiar spirit (a medium in modern equivalent terminology) 1 Samuel 28:3 & 28:7-20,
28:3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land.

28:7 Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.
28:8 And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.
28:9 And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?
28:10 And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.
28:11 Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.
28:12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.
28:13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.
28:14 And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.
28:15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.
28:16 Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?
28:17 And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David:
28:18 Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day.
28:19 Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.
28:20 Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.

From this long true story several facts are evident;
• that it was a direct violation of God’s holy Law for King Saul to communicate with this spirit via a medium
• that the violation was done by a man who knew that it was a violation
• that the violation happens in the church (holy nation) of God from His people’s leader Saul,
• that the evil spirit impersonates a holy man of God (Samuel),
• that the evil spirit came in the form of Samuel the prophet a well known personality,
• the spirit was like Samuel in many respects in all resemblances,
• it spoke like him,
• it wore a mantle like him,
• it appeared old like him,
• it gave same warning that would have come from the true Samuel,
• it pretended to come from God,
• it even gave warnings to Saul as if from God,
• that it was saying what God told it and it even said about David the King to come after Saul,
• one great twist here was in 28:15 saying “…why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up?...” in a way the Devil is trying to propose to him the idea that Samuel lives in another world, that he has not died, advancing his first lie “you shall nor surely die”
Such are the manners in which the Devil is working even today among both Christians and non-Christians. He works in lying wonders and signs he brings “the supposedly dead-but-living ones” to deceive the world. He works in the church and out of it trying to deceive as much as he can through demons who impersonate our dead fathers, mothers or children. He uses the same tricks he used to Saul in bullets above. The only difference being that Saul knew he was being deceived but most Christians who have these encounters today do not know that it’s the Devil working his old lie “you shall surely not die” for the Bible says the Devil will work wonders and miracles to deceive humans; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 (previous verses) and Revelation 16:13&14
16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

In Isaiah 8:19-20 God reminds us again not to meddle into spirits because it is dangerous for us. The Devil works through lying spirits. So instead God commends us to seek counsels from Him. There is only one way to test the spirits who come to us claiming to come from God. The test is if they speak and act according to the Law of God and the testimony of Jesus. Isaiah 8:19-20,
8:19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? For the living to the dead?
8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
Revelation 12:11&17
12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

We must not rely on human revelations; we must look to the Bible because that is Gods voice to direct us. This is the basic device that we can use to know, if the people or spirits that are professing to have been sent by God, are actually sent by God or are servants of God, that is by the two fold characterization of their belief; that is if they uphold the Law (that means the law of God according to Moses and His 10 Commandments in its original revelation) and the Testimony of Jesus (which is the Spirit of Prophecy)
1Timothy 4:1
4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

This prophecy has already been fulfilled. Seducing spirits are already working wonders and miracles through religious institutions. They teach doctrines of devils through professed Christians, Bishops, Modern Apostles and Modern Prophets one of the most prominent false doctrine being “you shall surely not die” this is the first doctrine of the Devil. In Mathew 15:9 Jesus warns on teaching human doctrines and worshiping Him in vain if people are not careful with what they believe as doctrines.
15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

God through his angle in the Bible commands us to speak to all people; all the words of this life and not words that are claimed to come from the dead, for there is nothing of truth to be expected from communication from the dead. Acts 5:19&20
5:19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,
5:20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.

The real dead will appear in resurrections as Jesus appears in the last day (Colossian 3:4), the dead appearing now are counterfeits. They are devils that impersonate them for a lie. The same lie the devil started at Eden, Genesis 3:4 “you shall surely not die”
3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

Warning on spiritualism from Spirit of prophecy
The apostasy is coming again in these later days, this time in three folds but for one purpose: to deceive as many as possible; in Revelation 16:13&14, John talks of three unclean ‘spirits’ like frogs coming out of the dragon (spiritualism), beast (papacy) and false prophet (apostasy Protestantism) and that they are spirit of devils working miracles to deceive people, these are spirits as Jesus said they work wonders and miracle. Parallel to these is the prediction that Jesus made in Mathew 24 that ‘many’ false Prophets, false Christs and such will rise to deceive ‘many’ basically from these details it is evident that these will be Christians in the Christian church and not external agencies as people would think, because Prophets and Christs are basically professed Christians.
Jesus also talked about numbers; ‘many’ to deceive ‘many’ that surely is an issue of majority apostasy Christians deceiving majority Christians and this is basically from within the Christian church. They shall work miracles and wonders in His name but He shall refuse them. Miracles are not a test of true followers of God, because many are working miracles but in the same fashion using and being used by the Devil to the same deceptive effects. It is to this effect Jesus warns us not to be deceived, because many shall be deceived if possible even the very elect of God.
Surely, the coming of the New Age Movement which employs the basics of spiritualism but in a guise of religious machinery is the study of practices of metaphysical science which is a false and satanic science. Adventist Christian author Ellen G. White warned against spiritualism which had its roots in the false Roman teaching of the "immortality of the soul". The idea of ghosts, poltergeists, and reincarnation the idea that the dead can be contacted through mediums, these practices still go on today through such movements as WICA and secret society practices. The Protestants also believe in the same false doctrine of immortality of the soul, they inherited it from the Roman Catholic Church; the Roman Catholic Church inherited it from apostate Judaism who originally took it from the Pagan Egyptians. Another forms of the new age movement come in form of Futurism which opposes Historicism.
Some of the notable quotes from Ellen G. White on spiritualism are;
"It is true that spiritualism is now changing its form and, veiling some of its more objectionable features, is assuming Christian guise. But its utterances from the platform and the press have been before the public for many years, and in these its real character stands revealed. These teachings cannot be denied or hidden." [GC, p.557, 558]
It’s no wonder that spiritualism has its manifestation in the religious machineries and institutions especially in apostasy papacy and apostasy Protestantism through false teachings, prayer manifestations, mannerisms, and meditations that parrarel the practices of paganism. The meditation religions and practices of the east in Asia for example have similar manifestations such as those manifested by new age movement and Protestantism in apostolic churches; such manifestations includes false speaking in tongs, accompanied by uncontrolled noises and body movements which many have claimed to be Holy Spirit power but actually these are manifestations of evil spirits. Many a people have claimed to have been visited by some foreign beings claiming to have been sent from God, these agents are evil spirits coming in various forms to deceive many in the church. Such is an ostentatious delusion that is ever happening now, that Jesus warned us of.
"Many will be confronted by the spirits of devils personating beloved relatives or friends and declaring the most dangerous heresies. These visitants will appeal to our tenderest sympathies and will work miracles to sustain their pretensions. We must be prepared to withstand them with the Bible truth that the dead know not anything and that they who thus appear are the spirits of devils. " [GC,p.560]
"Satan has long been preparing for his final effort to deceive the world. The foundation of his work was laid by the assurance given to Eve in Eden: "Ye shall not surely die." "In the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:4, 5. Little by little he has prepared the way for his masterpiece of deception in the development of spiritualism. He has not yet reached the full accomplishment of his designs; but it will be reached in the last remnant of time. Says the prophet: "I saw three unclean spirits like frogs; . . . they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." Revelation 16:13, 14. Except those who are kept by the power of God, through faith in His word, the whole world will be swept into the ranks of this delusion. The people are fast being lulled to a fatal security, to be awakened only by the outpouring of the wrath of God. "
“As spiritualism more closely imitates the nominal Christianity of the day, it has greater power to deceive and ensnare. Satan himself is converted, after the modern order of things. He will appear in the character of an angel of light. Through the agency of spiritualism, miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and many undeniable wonders will be performed. And as the spirits will profess faith in the Bible, and manifest respect for the institutions of the church, their work will be accepted as a manifestation of divine power. [GC, p.561, 562] "

"The line of distinction between professed Christians and the ungodly is now hardly distinguishable. Church members love what the world loves and are ready to join with them, and Satan determines to unite them in one body and thus strengthen his cause by sweeping all into the ranks of spiritualism. Papists, who boast of miracles as a certain sign of the true church, will be readily deceived by this wonder-working power; and Protestants, having cast away the shield of truth, will also be deluded. Papists, Protestants, and worldlings will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world and the ushering in of the long-expected millennium" [GC, p.588, 589]
"As in the days of the apostles men tried by tradition and philosophy to destroy faith in the Scriptures, so today, by the pleasing sentiments of higher criticism, evolution, spiritualism, theosophy, and pantheism, the enemy of righteousness is seeking to lead souls into forbidden paths. To many the Bible is as a lamp without oil, because they have turned their minds into channels of speculative belief that bring misunderstanding and confusion. The work of higher criticism, in dissecting, conjecturing, reconstructing, is destroying faith in the Bible as a divine revelation. It is robbing God's word of power to control, uplift, and inspire human lives." [Acts of Apostles, p. 474]
Remember, Sister White warned; "We have now before us the alpha of this danger. The omega will be of a most startling nature." [Testimonies, Series B, no.2, p.16] because the devil is yet to manifest himself as an angel of light in ever greater deluding episodes of the end time than ever before. Often times professed Christians in the world claims that some parts of the Bible are done with, no longer needed, or nailed to the cross etc misstating the Bible to their own desires, reading only potions of the bible, and even some claiming that some books are not to be read like revelation, and some given second hand interpretations of the word of God through padres, this is wrong, Our only safety is the scripture only because Gods (Jesus) warns us in Mathew 24:15,
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand :)
And in
2 Thessalonians 2: 9-17 we receive this same warning that if we are not going to give heed to the word of God, the Bible, we will perish alike.
2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth (word of God=Bible), that they might be saved.
2:11 And for this cause God shall send (allow) them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
if we are not going to believe on the word of God and Jesus Testimony which is the Spirit of Prophecy by denying it and avoiding some parts and truths of the bible we are not safe at all. Because we must accept the whole truth including the Sabbath of the Load. If we do not accept the truth God will allow delusions (lies) and false teachings to mislead as.
2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
2:13 But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
We will know the true church and true prophets of God only if they believe in and are led by the spirit (Holy Ghost) and the truth of God (His Bible)
2:14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2:15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
Again the epistles (letters) and every word of the disciples of Jesus Christ such as epistles of Paul and John in the Revelations (the last book on the Bible) are to be held dearly in our hearts.
2:16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
2:17 Comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good word and work.


Isaiah 8: 14-17, 19-20
8:14 And he (Jesus prophesied by Isaiah) shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
8:15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
8:16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
If we must be disciples of God (Jesus) we must bind and seal both among ourselves the Testimony of Jesus and the Law of God (10 commandments inclusive, the Sabbath inclusive), and thus, anyone who profess to be a Christian, prophet of Christ or a miracle worker and does not have and not keep the testimony of Jesus and the Law is a false Christian, false prophet and false Christ. Because Jesus affirmed that He did not come to abolish the law or the prophets. He assured us not one jot nor will tittle of the law by no means be changed.

Matthew 5:17-19
5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

A jot and tittle are smallest mark or letter in the Hebrew language in the books of law (torah) and prophets. How often professed Christians boast openly that some part of the Bible are done with especially the Old Testament. And still they call themselves apostles and prophets of God. They are making grave mistakes. The Word of God stands forever and no man can change it.
John 3:32-34
3:32 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.
3:33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.
5:34 But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved.

To be safe we must allow ourselves to receive testimony from the Word of God= the Bible rather than relying on lying spirits’ manifestations that cometh in the likeness of Christ.
Isaiah 8:19-20
8:19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? For the living to the dead?
We must not rely on human revelations; we must look to the Bible because that is Gods voice to direct us.
8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
This is the basic device that we can use to know, if the people or spirits that are professing to have been sent by God, are actually sent by God or are servants of God, that is by the two fold characterization of their profession; that is if they uphold the Law (that means the law of God according to Moses and His 10 Commandments in its original revelation) and the Testimony of Jesus (which is the Spirit of Prophecy)

Psalms 19:7-8, 119:88, 78:5.
19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
19:8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
119:88 Quicken me after thy loving-kindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth.
78:5 For he (God) established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:

Surely God wishes his Law and Commandments to be known to us and our generations, because it comes from Him and it is perfect, How many times people overlooks this or even twist this fact that Jesus said He never came to abolish the Law but to Fulfill it. Which means He never came to destroy but to do it, and set an example to us, instead most professed Christians both papists and protestants claims to be able to change God’s Law (the Sabbath for instance) or that God does not care about days etc. do we challenge God? can man question God?

Revelation 1:2-3, 12:11&17, 19:10
1:2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

These verses deliver loaded information, but one thing is clear, that we are blessed if we read the Word, and those who hear the word, and those that keep what is written in the word. If we must overcome lies and know the distinction between the preachers, religions, prophets etc (both false and true ones), we must test them on the Word of God, because that is how we overcome, by blood of the lamb and the Word of God, because it is the Sword in the spiritual war and non other. In Rev. 12:17 it is clear that the remnants are the last day church of God, the true followers of Christ, they are characterized by Keeping the (10) commandments of God and having the testimony of Jesus Christ (which is the Spirit of Prophecy (Rev.19:10))
We are admonished by God not to base our faith on human interpretations, dogmas from either the papists or Protestants no matter what their claims; they must conform to the Word of God and his Laws. Thus I would say really if we are not going to study the scriptures as we are admonished by the Lord we shall be deluded by satanic powers that manifest themselves through religious institutions and sects that do not teach the word of God.

But there is hope; the resurrection of Christ and the saints;
It is important to remember that it’s God’s purpose that we may live long. For example He promises a long life for those who honor/respect their parents. Ephesians 6:1-3;
6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
6:2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;
6:3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

Only God can contradict death, He is in control and can reverse it as He wishes; He can as well allow it. The Devil can only counterfeit life after death. 2 Corinthians 1:9&10
1:9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
1:10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;

If we die in Jesus Christ our records and breathes of life are kept in Christ, and will be given back to us at resurrection. This death is but a sleep. For saints, life on earth is punctuated by death, followed by life eternal after the resurrection of the saints; 2 Corinthians 2:16
2:16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?

Jesus is the first out of the dead. He declares His resurrection a demonstration of death and life facts, and that of dying and resurrection. So He testifies that, He lives, died (for three days) and He is alive forever. He has a command against death; He has the key to unlock the mystery of life. He has the “keys” of hell and death, that is interesting, because a person with the keys has access to where access is restricted, the only person with this ability is Jesus. Jesus reassures us because He knows that the Devil desires to have access to life mystery but he cannot have it. To fight God His only option has been to propagate lies to ignorant humans saying ‘you shall surely not die’ thereby impersonating life of our departed dead dear ones in order to fight Jesus’ truth.
Revelation 1:5
1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

There is a life now on earth and life after resurrection for humans; 1Timothy 4:8, Jesus has promised us eternal life when he comes again. This death that we die is just a sleep, when He shall come all the dead in Christ will be raised up, waked up from their sleep in that glorious morning to meet Jesus in the Clouds.
4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

Eternal life is not immediately after death, it is in the future, after resurrection of the saints; what we do now before we die decides our fate. Our good works that we do now is a foundation for what we shall become, the sprits must be transformed now and emptied of all defilements before we die, because what we are when we die decides our destiny forever, no change can be effected after we die, there is only an anticipation of the judgment. 1Timothy 6:19;
6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

Paul debates this argument of death and resurrection in 1 Corinthians; 15:12-23. Some people during his time came with some false doctrine that said that there is no resurrection of the dead. Contrary to this we know the dead will be resurrected, because Jesus being the first fruit of those that died defined a pathway for resurrection because He alone has the key to life. His resurrection is both a proof and a promise for life after resurrection for the dead in Christ now.
15:12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
15:13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
15:15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
15:16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
15:18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

The raising of Christ from the dead makes our faith and salvation in Him even surer. In verses 15:21&22 he (Paul) spells out clearly the phases of death and life. If the dead live in the grave surely there is no need of resurrection, but it is clear in the scriptures that there is no life in the grave. In verse 15:23 NOTE how Paul puts it, that Christ was raised first, and then those who are His followers shall be resurrected afterward, that is when He comes in the clouds at the end of the world. There is no doubt, that the saints who are often claimed to be in heaven or those who appear to humans to give warnings and instructions or doctrines are evil spirits impersonating those people and not the saints themselves, because the saints shall be alive (raised) when Christ come, not now.
The scriptures specifically points out the way the resurrected persons are going to be. That is the bodies with which they are going to have. Paul uses a metaphor of a seed (what you sow), that it dies and grows afterwards. Thus, it cannot grow unless it dies (buried). But when it is buried and does grow afterwards it comes up with a physical body. So the dead shall be raised with physical bodies which are glorious. Surely, mystified bodies and persons that may claim to come to us claiming to be saints are not what they claim. They are devils performing miracles and wonders to make us believe that the dead are not dead. This is basically a propagation of the same lie “you shall nor surely die” 1 Corinthians 15:33-38;
15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
15:35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
15:36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
15:37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
15:38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

Jesus came to pay for our sins by His death because of our transgressions of God’s commandments. Sin is one of His enemy, death is yet another. So when He comes he shall destroy death and put an end to all sins. Thus, death shall have no power over God’s people when He comes again. Think for a moment, why does He call death an enemy? Why does He promise to destroy death? It is because death is real and humans are mortal. If death was a mere transition or pathway to another life of spirits as some wrongly claim it to be, why would Jesus call death an enemy? And wants to destroy it? Wouldn’t death be a nice pathway to go through at will between the two worlds? No way! Through the doctrines of ‘immortality of the soul’ The Devil has succeeded in establishing formal communications between him, evil spirits and humans by taking the place of death humans in order to channel his false doctrines and lies to the rest of human kinds. He has succeeded in the formal religions as well as in the pagan world to establish this channel.
1 Corinthians 15:25&26;
15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Apostle Paul deliberately explains about how we shall look like after the resurrection. It is interesting that in 1 Corinthians 15: 52 -57, he envision the experience of the resurrected persons at the last trump (at the end of the world), in a moment = in the twinkling of an eye (15:52) which means abruptly, the dead in Christ shall be raised clothed in incorruptibility and immortality (15:53), not now but until then, that is after resurrection of the dead, that is when this immortality attribute shall be given to the dead in Christ. They receive this immortality because they accepted Christ who paid for their mortality at the cross. But those who refuse Christ and his atonement for their transgression shall inherit mortality; they shall die an eternal death.
I like the way Paul puts it in the last verse below; in 15:55 – 57, the resurrected persons who died in Christ shall celebrate for victory over death and the grave, why? Because they were held by it and death was an enemy to them. Thus, victory over death and the grave shall be celebrated by the saints. Contrary to this, how absurd it is to believe or even think that death is a transition to some other form of life and that when we die; we actually do not die but our spirits pass to another life, in another world!, because the Bible in these verses calls death an enemy. Just imagine for a moment; why should the saints celebrate for victory over death if their spirits did not die in the first place, as most of people believe that the spirit does not die?
1 Corinthians 15: 49 - 57
15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
15:51 Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Like Job of the Old Testament through the Spirit of God he knew that his redeemer, God, Jesus lives and shall stand on the earth at the end of time not only that but he, we shall see Him face to face although his flesh and body was destroyed by worms yet he shall be given another body and shall see God. In verse 25 he refer this event to ‘the later day’ upon the earth which means he shall not be able to experience this phenomena in the grave where he was buried, but on the earth when Jesus has comes.
Job 19:25-27
19:25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
19:26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
19:27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

Other facts about life and death;
- Death is compared to a sleep (a slumber) we normally are unaware of what is happening around us. And the dead are in fact not able to communicate with anyone that is alive. 1 Corinthians 15:51
15:51 Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

Basic evidence from Jesus and Lazarus; John 11:11 - 14
11:11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
11:12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
11:13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
11:14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

- Records about the dead and records of their work are kept in heaven by God. Revelation 14:13
14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and `their works do follow them.

- The dead shall be judged (just as the living shall be judged), the saints shall be rewarded, the wicked dead and living shall be destroyed; 1 Peter 4:5 and Revelation 11:18
4:5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
11:18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

- The dead must be raised, they do not raise themselves up, they do not have the power to raise up- someone must do it- God himself shall do it.
- Jesus was raised by God; Act 3:151 and Peter 4:5
3:15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
But it is also right to say Jesus raised himself from the dead because he declared it so.
- The gospel was preached to the dead before they died for a testimony in the judgement day. 1 Peter 4:6
4:6 For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

- The final judgment happens on earth and in the open before everybody, not in secret as some people think and the dead are judged out of what is written in the books. Revelation 20:11&12
20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

- Immortality shall be a reward to resurrected saints (by Jesus) at the end of time, and not in this death that we experience now. Luke 20:35&36
20:35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
20:36 Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.

- God is not God of the dead, he is of the living, Jesus is the Prince of Life; Luke 20:38 & Acts 3:15
20:38 For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.
3:15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.

- no work in after death
- no device after death
- no knowledge after death
- no wisdom after death; Ecclesiastes 9:10
9:10 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.

- There is no life immediately after death, but there is a promise for life eternal after resurrection; 2 Timothy 1:1
1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,

- Life is a gift from God where as death is a punishment for our sins; Acts 17:25 & Genesis
17:25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

- Life can be matched with good, where as death with evil; Deuteronomy 30:15
30:15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

- God never expect us to teach our children his statutes and law and truth when we are dead, but when we are living on earth, during the days of our life, and not come from our graves to do it, because we cannot, and He would not ask us what we could not do; Deuteronomy 6:2
6:2 That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.

- We can only fear and worship God when we live on earth now, not in the grave, but we can do it again after resurrection; Deuteronomy 4:10
4:10 Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.

- For humans life is only given under the sun, there is no life in the graves where humans go; Ecclesiastes 8:15
8:15 Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.

- The life that we live on the earth is our potion, our gift from God, the physical life we live, but as to that of spirits it is not our current potion. Ecclesiastes 5:18
5:18 Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.
- Just as there was no life before one was born, so it is when one dies, it miraculously happens by God’s providence and simply slips away from us at God’s will; we take nothing to the grave, we cannot even take our own life to the grave, because we lose it to Him who gave it to us; Ecclesiastes 5:15
5:15 As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.
- No more repentance or remission of unrepented sin is possible after death; a person can only repent when he is alive, once he dies he cannot repent, his door of repentance closes immediately. Ezekiel 3:18
3:18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
- It would surely be absurd for God to promise a new life if there is life in the grave, why would he promise life if we have it in the grave after we die, thus it would be a promise against what is undesirable! James 1:12
1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

- The Devil Knows the truth about death and life; Job 2:4, 6
2:4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
2:6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
- No person is sure of the life that we live now, it is in the hand of God, nobody can promise life in the grave, because it is with God alone, not even the Devil can create life; Job 24:22
24:22 He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life.

- Life perishes Job: 33:18
33:18 He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.

- We pass from ‘death to life’ and not ‘ life to life’; John 5:24 and Revelation 2:8
5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
2:8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

- Life can be lost or kept; John 12:25
12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
- Life can be taken away by God; Jonah 4:3
4:3 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
- Death is a punctuation of a life of a saint, a pose (a sleep). Illustration from the syntax of Jesus Christ Himself, Revelation 1:18&2:8;
1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
2:8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
- Death has a sting, the sting of death is sin, the strength of sin is the law, 1 Corinthians 15:55&56
15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

Other issues of controversy
- Abraham, a rich man and a beggar (Lazarus) a parable/allegory. Luke 16:19-31
From the three characters in this parable, or allegory (an extended metaphor), which is a figure of speech, Jesus illustrates important truths. The two characters (the rich man and the beggar) in the story are probably fictitious while Abraham is a familiar character in the Old Testament. Preceding and following chapters to Luke 16:19-31 are all a list of parables that Jesus was narrating to the listeners. The story of the rich man, beggar (Lazarus) and Abraham is also part of the series of parables that He spoke. A parable or allegory has meanings at two levels; first, the contextual structure/plot (which at times may not be real, but based on a people’s culture and beliefs) and second, the implied or intended meaning which is the objective, which the narrator wants his audience to understand from a figurative (symbolic) point of view. Read this parable (allegory).
16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
16:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
16:21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
16:26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
16:27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
16:28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
16:29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
16:30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Some people use this parable to justify false doctrines about the dead. In Matthew 16:6 &12 and 22:23, Luke 20:27 Jesus warned His disciples of false teachings. In His time there were religious sects in the Jewish religion. There were the Pharisees and Sadducees. The Pharisees believed in resurrection of the dead and existence of angels and spirits. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, the existence of angels and spirits. Jesus warned them of both because they all were wrong in one way or the other on this issue.
16:6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
16:12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
22:23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,
20:27 Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him,

Jesus was primarily addressing among others the Pharisees, who believed in exisistence of ‘spirits’ and ‘angels’, this is the context in which he is discussing the parable of Lazarus, among people (Pharisees) who believed in spirits. There are several clues to this fact. First, in Luke 14:3 and 16:14 &15 just before the beginning of the parable of Lazarus, it is recorded that the Pharisees heard and listened Him; in this case they were His primary audience in this parable. He might appear to some reader as if He is discussing about immortality (or spirits which is what Pharisees believed in), but to the contrary, He is actually teaching about the consequence of not loving and caring for other (verses 19-26), judgment (verse 25), eternal separation between the saints and wicked (verse 26) among other things. Secondly, the figures He uses in the parable are angels and the three dead individuals (as spirits), of which the Pharisees believed on their existence. That is a familiar environment He is using for them to understand His teaching. Thirdly, this parable immediately follows Luke 16:14&15 which hints on the presence of Pharisees when this parable was being narrated. Fourthly, Pharisees are more mentioned in the Gospels than are the Sadducees, indicating probably these are dominant on the scene than are the Sadducees.
14:3 And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying…
16:14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

In Acts 4:1-3 and 23:6&8 the same is confirmed about the belief of the Pharisees and Sadducees; even in the time of Paul’s ministry the two sects were there and were grieved by the gospel’s teaching by Paul. He sides with the Pharisees unlike the Sadducees, because they believed on the resurrection of the dead.
4:1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them,
4:2 Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
4:3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.
23:6 But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.
23:8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.

The language, plot and setting Jesus uses to address Pharisees in this parable was meant to match what they already knew and believed, although it was not very correct/perfect, He needed to start from what they already knew and from there teach them the truth. Note even in His parables He uses the language of graves which is close to what they know so that they would understand His lessons. Luke 11:44
11:44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.

What about Abraham? Hebrew 11:8-10 talks about him and the promise he was given which has not been fulfilled until now. What was the promise and why has not been fulfilled yet? The obvious reason is the fact that he is still in the grave. Contrary to the parable, Abraham and his descendants (Isaac and Jacob) died in faith having received the promise (Hebrew 11:13) but not its fulfillment. The promise was a better land, a better country, a better city, heaven (Hebrew 11:16). Note the way Paul puts in Hebrew 11:13&16, which they (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) died having received the promises but not fulfilled, but the promise shall be fulfilled when Jesus come and raise them from the dead and fulfill His promise to them. From this verse it is true to argue therefore that the parable of Lazarus was not meant to be actual but figurative. Luke 10:24 Jesus tells His listeners that even prophets and kings have desired to witness what they were experiencing, why does He say so? The reason is because He and they (disciples) knew that they (prophets and kings) are not alive, they are dead, otherwise if they were not dead, based on the wrong doctrine of immortality of souls, then there would be no reason for Jesus to say so, because they would have been watching Jesus on earth from Heaven as He lived on earth.
11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
11:14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
11:15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
11:16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
10:24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

It is God’s purpose that all the dead and the living should receive the fulfillment of this promise at the same time. Hebrew 11:35, 39&40 clarify this point about other saints who have slept in the graves. They are waiting for a better resurrection, because even those who were resurrected in the time of Jesus like Lazarus the brother of Mary did die again. The promised, final resurrection of the saints, at the time of the second coming of Jesus is a better resurrection because it results into immortality (Hebrew 11:35-40)
11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Not all saints were resurrected at Jesus’ resurrection, the Bible says they were many; it was not an issue of whether they were majority or minority or all among the dead saints, but rather many and therefore not few and not all of them. Matthew 27:50-53
27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
27:53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

The fact that they were resurrected from the dead means they were not in heaven but raised from the grave, (that is earth), it would be absurd to argue that they came from heaven, (that is based on a wrong premise that when people die go directly to heaven) because they came from the grave (earth) where they were once put (buried) by their relatives. But as well the verses note it clearly that this death was like unto a sleep (verse 52).
There are two more facts about these verses. First, nobody (saint or wicked) dead was living, as a spirit or in some other bodily form or in the grave until the time when Jesus died on the cross, except a few individuals (Enoch, Moses and Elijah) who were taken to Heaven. Secondly, the resurrected persons at the time of Jesus did not go to Heaven but went to the holy city (Jerusalem) and appeared to many people. This was more like what happened to Lazarus the brother of Mary& Martha and other people Jesus resurrected in His ministry here on earth (John 11).
So, in this allegory/parable of the Rich man, Lazarus and Ibrahim, Jesus uses a plot, setting, and language style that were compatible with the Pharisees and Sadducees’ leavened (erroneous) doctrines and beliefs. He wanted to teach them the basic true doctrine that they were ignoring. These are love and mercy for the poor like Lazarus as they stood in place of the rich man. The doctrine of ‘immortality of soul’ has its’ essence in spiritualism which is widely accepted among Christians today. The Protestants inherited it from the Roman Catholic Church; they in turn inherited it from apostasy Judaism among the Pharisees who firstly copied it from pagans in Egypt. Jesus was in no sense teaching about immortality of the soul because that was not a doctrine in the Law and Prophets which were basic books of faith and doctrine for Jews. Jesus was rather preaching what he had always been teaching all along in His Ministry here on earth; mercy, love, judgment among other basic doctrines which they were ignoring. Revisit some of these in Matthews 5:3 &7, 9:13, 12:7, 22:34-40 and 23:23
5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
12:7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
22:35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

You may study carefully through the Old Testament: the Law and Prophets you will never come across anything about ‘soul immortality’ Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Law and Prophets. He thus used this parable of the Richman and poor Lazarus to teach them the weightier matters of the Law which are JUDGEMENT, MERCY and FAITH, but also to teach the two greatest commandments on which the Law and Prophets hung which is LOVE to God and to Neighbors.

What it mean to be dead in Christ!
Christ hides our life in Him when we die, He says if a person believes in Him though he may die, he lives, it simply mean the life of the dead person is kept in Him, the breath returns to His maker for ‘safe keeping’. It is an assurance for eternal life that is to come, and not a support of the doctrines of immortality of the soul. This fact is reinforced by Jesus again as He argued with the Pharisees saying God is not God of the dead, quoting how God introduced himself to Moses saying He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who were dead, a fact the Pharisees knew about. Thus how was He to reconcile the two ideas in this fact, that they were dead, and that God is not a God of the dead, while at the same time He called Himself God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who were dead?
In Mark 12:24-27 Jesus said;
12:24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?
12:25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.
12:26 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
12:27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.

Surely the death He is referring here to by saying He is not God of the dead is not the death that is referred as ‘a sleep’ but rather the eternal death, referred to as the second death in Revelation. Thus all who believes and die in Christ escape this second death which is eternal because Christ died in their behalf, that is why the insistence has been on ‘whoever believes Him should not die but have everlasting life’ (John 3:15&16)
3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Surely the Bible says it plainly in Isaiah a soul that sins shall die/perish that refers to the eternal death that unrepentant souls shall die in the ‘second death’ in fact, it is the sentence that was pronounced to Adam and Eve ‘you shall surely die’ that extends to the end of time in the second death. Because if it were not so, and that it meant this death (referred to as a sleep) that everyone dies whether a person is a saint or a sinner, then it would fail to discriminate the two groups (the soul that sins and does not repent and that which repents). However, it is clear that the pronouncement of eternal death came with the pronouncement of a solution, a savior, a seed of Adam, Jesus Christ, who was to die in our behalf the death, which whoever believes in Him and His sacrifice will have eternal life instead of it. Thus we are certain that when we die, our life stays with Christ, we are counted asleep, and shall live with Him forever when He comes at the end of time.
In Acts 2:29&34, the apostle Paul clarifies that David who was reckoned a saint did not ascend to heaven. He died and was buried among his people. He like other patriarchs such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are still in the grave waiting for a better resurrection.
2:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
2:34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,

In Mathew 8:11, Abraham is mentioned again. In this verse what is interesting is the fact that the kingdom of Glory is yet to come. Many shall come and sit with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in God’s kingdom, indicating that life is yet to be lived in heaven.
8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

Again in Luke 20:35-38 Jesus is recorded saying God is not a God of the dead. If you read all these verses, it is clear that, there is death and resurrection of the dead (20:35). It is also clear from these verses that after resurrection humans shall be immortal shall be equal to angels (20:36). In the last verses (20:37&38) He introduces another idea, but related to the previous, that God is not God of the dead, but again Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were dead, how could He be called their God? In verse (20:38) Jesus resolves the apparent paradox; ‘for all live unto him’ this statement resolves the paradox because, ‘the dead in Christ’ as the phrase is often used mean ‘they live in Christ’ as ‘for all live unto Him’, Jesus said ‘whoever loose (die) his life for His sake shall find (live) it’ echoes His other words ‘ if a man keep my saying shall never see death (second death)’ (John 8:51) and ‘I am the resurrection, and life and that believes in me though he were dead, yet shall he live’ (John 11:25). So it is clear that these phrases were meant by Jesus to assure and reassure those who believed and would believe in Jesus that though they may die they shall live again when He comes again. The death they go through now is but a sleep only. Their lives or character identities are kept (preserved) in Christ for a moment, until when He shall come to give it back to them, that they may live again. Luke 20:35-38
20:35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
20:36 Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
20:37 Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
20:38 For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.

In John 8:51-53 He affirms His words (promise) that if a man keeps His words shall never see death. No wonder the Jews misunderstood Him (8:52 &53), why? , Because they did not interpret His words beyond its structure. If Abraham and the prophets kept God’s words and were dead, what then did Jesus meant? In (John 11:25) ‘…though he were dead, yet shall he live’ so it’s not about dying now (this death we experience now) but He is talking about the eternal life and death yet to come for those who believe and those who don’t believe Him respectively.
8:51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
8:52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.
8:53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?

In John 11:23-26 Jesus is even clearer, ‘your brother shall rise again’ Martha understands Him and answers back ‘I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day’ Jesus affirms again ‘he that believes in me, though he were dead yet shall he live’ He is pointing her to the future ‘shall’ ‘rise again’, ’yet shall he live’, ‘though he were dead’
11:23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
11:24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

The last verse (11:26) ‘whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die’ has the same meaning as ‘dead in Christ’. That: though we may die, if we were dead in Christ, our life is preserved in Him. We are counted asleep in Christ, because He is going to awake us from our graves.
The Desire of Ages pp. 530 Ellen G. White elaborates this point further;
“Jesus encouraged her faith, saying, ‘Thy brother shall rise again.’ His answer was not intended to inspire hope of an immediate change. He carried Martha's thoughts beyond the present restoration of her brother, and fixed them upon the resurrection of the just. This He did that she might see in the resurrection of Lazarus a pledge of the resurrection of all the righteous dead, and an assurance that it would be accomplished by the Saviour's power.

Martha answered, ‘I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’

Still seeking to give a true direction to her faith, Jesus declared, ‘I am the resurrection, and the life.’ In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. ‘He that hath the Son hath life.’ 1 John 5:12. The divinity of Christ is the believer's assurance of eternal life. ‘He that believeth in Me,’ said Jesus, ‘though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?’ Christ here looks forward to the time of His second coming. Then the righteous dead shall be raised incorruptible, and the living righteous shall be translated to heaven without seeing death. The miracle which Christ was about to perform, in raising Lazarus from the dead, would represent the resurrection of all the righteous dead. By His word and His works He declared Himself the Author of the resurrection. He who Himself was soon to die upon the cross stood with the keys of death, a conqueror of the grave, and asserted His right and power to give eternal life”. [DA 530]

The Desire of Ages pp.527
"Then said His disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that He had spoken of taking of rest in sleep." Christ represents death as a sleep to His believing children. Their life is hid with Christ in God, and until the last trump shall sound those who die will sleep in Him. [DA 527]

In Revelation 20:4-6 John the revelator was given visions about the great future yet to come. He among other things saw the future (not what was happening then, but what will happen in the future), the souls (persons) that believed in Christ and died afterwards. They were witnesses of Jesus. These people (as if referring to the past but not so because, this was a reported speech) shall live and reign with Christ for 1000 years. The rest of the dead (wicked) shall never live until a 1000 years are past, this is still pointing to the future. They shall be resurrected later in the second resurrection for punishment. The first resurrection is a better resurrection, because it is for the saints. The second resurrection is a hopeless one, because it is designed for the wicked, for punishment.
20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

The second death shall have no power on those who are believers in Christ. In verse (20:6) ‘the second death has no power’ over the saints of Christ, this is what Jesus was referring to, that, ‘for all live unto Him’, ‘whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die’, ‘your brother shall rise again’, ‘he that believes in me, though he were dead yet shall he live’, ‘shall’ ‘rise again’, ’yet shall he live’, ‘though he were dead’, ‘ if a man keep my saying shall never see death (second death)’ (John 8:51) and ‘I am the resurrection, and life and he that believes in me though he were dead, yet shall he live’ (John 11:25)
20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

Jesus kept their (saints) life when they died (slept), He wrote their names in ‘the Book of Life’ (20:12) this is the assurance He gave to Martha and many others who believed and would believe Him then and thereafter.

Types of deaths
There are undeniably two types of death lot for humans; ‘The first death’ and ‘the second death’. The first death relates to what humans experience now when they die. They sleep for a moment waiting in their graves and other places of resting such as the sea, waiting for Jesus to come and wake them up. The second death as explicitly and repeatedly referred to in Revelation 2:11, 20:6, 20:14 and 21:8, is yet to be executed on wicked humans. It is in the future, God said ‘you shall surely die’ in Genesis 2:17, this being the penalty for transgression. In John 3:16 He confirms His love to us by sending a savior, a Person to die this ‘second death’ on our behalf, ‘…that whosoever believes in Him should have everlasting life’. This offer if accepted by humans substitutes the ‘you shall surely die’ this is an eternal death. The sinners who rejects Jesus, rejects His death on the cross. They reject His ransom for their sin. These sinners at the end of the world, after the 1000 years, will pay for their sin by dying this second death mentioned in revelation 20:14. But as for the saints of God, those who accepted His death on the cross are set free to enjoy eternity. Instead of eternal death they will experience immortality. Revelation 20:14.
20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

In Revelation 2:11, the saints those who overcome shall not be hurt by the second death. That is the clear distinction between the two deaths, the first death does not hurt, it is a sleep, the second death hurts and it is eternal. This death shall never be experienced by those who shall overcome for they shall inherit immortality from Christ at His coming.
2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

In Revelation 20:6 He says those who will be resurrected in the first resurrection (note; there are two resurrections as well) the second death shall have no power over them. They are acquitted from it, for Jesus paid for them at the Cross and they accepted His offer in John 3:16.
20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

In Revelation 21:8 list some of the un-repented sins that shall cause sinners to suffer the second death. It’s going to be death by fire. In the later part of the verse, it defines this second death as the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.
21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Jesus abolished the second death, the one pronounced to Adam and Eve at Eden in Genesis 2:17, the one He paid for us at the cross, in exchange for our transgression, so that we may inherit eternal life, for those who believe; Genesis 2:17, 2 Timothy 1:10, Acts 11:18 & Daniel 12:2, John 11:25
2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
11:18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

In Galatians 2:20 we know, when Christ was crucified we were also crucified with Him by faith. He experienced death on our behalf because we could not die for ourselves. So, He bids us to testify His death through baptism, because it is our gift of redemption.
2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

The resurrection to come is a better one than the ones that may happen now or those that happened before were not permanent; Hebrew 11:35
11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

In John 3:16; the promise of God is elucidated that we acquire immortality (everlasting life) which is our redemption through Jesus Christ.
3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

There will be two resurrections; resurrection of life and that of condemnation; John 5:29. The resurrection of life is the first resurrection which is for the saints while the resurrection of damnation is the second resurrection of the wicked for condemnation and eternal death.
5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

In 2 Samuel 14:14 and Mathew 5:25, 28, 29 we know that Jesus shall come and call all the dead in Christ to rise again to inherit everlasting life and they shall come from the grave, not from heaven, because they did not go there in the first place. The verse (5:25) informs us that they shall live again, meaning that, they were not living when they died. Verse (5:29) calls the first resurrection; the resurrection of life which means it result into giving life again to those who died, that would only mean that they (the dead/their souls or spirits) did not live while they were dead.
14:14 For we must needs die, and are as water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.
5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

In Revelation 21:4 God promises better things, that everybody that shall be saved shall be able to enjoy. Eternal life is not yet enjoyed by the dead. Note at the way John puts it in this verse (Revelation 21:4) he uses a future tense consistently ‘God shall’, ‘there shall’ and ‘neither shall’ indicating that this is still in the future. Thus, nobody whether dead or alive, holy or saintly, has already experienced or is experiencing this heavenly situation now (except those mentioned in the Bible). All are dead weighting for this moment to be manifested to them at His coming.
21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

The Bible and Immortality
Immortality refers to the state of being eternal, without mortality. God alone possesses this attribute. He is immortal and cannot die. He lives forever. He is eternally alive. In 1 Timothy 6:15&16, God alone has immortality. This echoes the words of Jesus Himself ‘I am the resurrection and life’ (John 11:25). God says a soul that sins shall die and God never sin. But everybody else on earth has the potential for mortality because of sin. Christ death on the cross paid for humans sin, that anybody that accepts His death may be rewarded with immortality at His second coming.
6:15 Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
6:16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

In 1 Timothy 1:17 we know that God is not only eternal but also immortal. Thus, one of the attributes that make Him worthy of been God is His immortality. The scriptures testify Him as having neither beginning nor end.
1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Again in 2 Timothy 1:10, Paul testifies that Jesus Christ has abolished death and has brought life. He came to abolish death by paying for our sins at the Cross. He came primarily to abolish ‘the second death’ because ‘the first death’ is only a sleep. So, all who believe in Christ’s death and His atonement for our sin, are saved from the second death. But, also importantly, He brought not only life but ‘immortality to light through the gospel’; that means He made immortality clear, the verse does not mean He made people immediately immortal. His death on the Cross guaranteed our immortality at His second coming, but only to those who believe in Him. The Bible in Revelation is quite clear that the immortality Jesus brings to the saints is a victory over the second death, a death to be experienced at His third coming by the wicked.
1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
2:7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
The celebration of victory over death that Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians 15:53-57 relates to ‘the second death’ explained in Revelation 2:11, 20:6, 20:14 and 21:8. He is not celebrating victory over this death human die now (the first death) but victory over ‘the second death’. That is when the corruptible man shall put on the incorruptible man. Not now, but until then, the saved humans shall put on immortality. Note at the way he puts it in verse 15:54, ‘then shall be brought to pass…, Death is swallowed up in victory’, he is referring to the future when death shall be abolished. This is when Jesus comes at His second coming. 1 Corinthians 15:53-57
15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Job 4:17 we are reminded that humans are mortal and are not more just than God. Humans need Christ who can fulfill the requirement of the law (that, a soul that sins must die) through his death. Humans cannot attain immortality on their own. They can attain it through the atoning death of Jesus Christ when He comes again with the clouds.
4:17 Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?


Consequences of believing in immortality of human souls
• Genesis 2:7 job 4:17 say, God made man and He became a living soul, and not, that God gave man a soul (Body + Breath=Soul), Psalms 146:4 says, the breath (spirit) leaves; in that very moment the thoughts perish. Ecclesiastes 9:5,6 the living know they will die, the dead know nothing. Job 14:14 the change does not come after death but comes later after resurrection Job 17:13
• Does the Bible say the soul is immortal? No! Ezekiel 18:4, all the souls are God’s, the soul that sins shall die. Ezekiel 18:20, Romans 3:23 says all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God. 1 Corithians15:26 say the last enemy is death.
• Even Jesus did not immediately ascend to heaven, and so are we when we die (John 20:17) Act 2:29 says that David is buried and dead and buried until today, waiting for something. 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 says we shall be changed and the dead shall be raised. This will happens at the end of time. At that point your body and soul become immortal 1Corithians 15:16-23. If you die you go to heaven directly why does Jesus come again? Because you are there! This is a futile belief 1Thessalonians 4:13-18.
• If the soul is immortal then the soul shall have to burn forever in hell, and so you invent an eternal hell, believing this false doctrine turns God into a monster.
• Jude 1:7 Sodom and Gomorrah are in eternal fire? What does it mean? Eternal fire is fire that burns with eternal effect. The effect is eternal not the duration.
• 2 Corinthians 5:8 (where this false teaching is based) John 5:28-29 all those in the grave shall come to life. In Revelation Jesus says I am coming soon and my reward is with me.
• You make the death of Jesus on the Cross of no use. Why would He die for people who do not die (immortal)?
• You insinuate that God is a liar. He said ‘the wages of sins is death’ and ‘you shall surely die’. What would these statements mean? Thus you insinuate that the Devil was right ‘you shall not surely die’
• You make resurrection of the dead both for life and damnation a farce and of no use and thus meaningless. Why God would resurrect the living, in other words, there would be nobody to resurrect, because they live in other forms of life.
• You (and the Devils) justify the visitations of lying, evil spirits to living humans (in forms of our dear friend, relatives or old saints), because if the dead (souls) do not die logically they should visit us. And this is what happens as a result of this lie today.
• You make the judgment of God of no importance. Because if there is no death, there is no resurrection and thus there is no judgment, because the judgment of damnation comes after resurrection of the wicked.
• You encourage tempering with forbidden knowledge, what is not revealed to us yet.
• You are lost. You need a Saviour. Jesus Christ.





Contacts:
Saganga I. M. Kapaya
Postal Box Number 68131
Dar es Salaam
Tanzania

Mobile + 255 (0) 716 236 149
E-mails saga6791@gmail.com
saga_mussa@yahoo.com