Seventh-day Adventist Church
I’m scared of death, what do I do? We need not be afraid if God is with us. It’s in the Bible, Psalm 23:4, NKJV. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
Browse: What does the Bible say about death?
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Jesus died to free us from death and the devil. It’s in the Bible, Hebrews 2:14-15, CEV. “We are people of flesh and blood. That is why Jesus became one of us. He died to destroy the devil, who had power over death. But he also died to rescue all of us who live each day in fear of dying.”
What happens when you die? The body turns to dust, and the breath of life goes back to God. It’s in the Bible, Ecclesiastes 12:7, CEV. “So our bodies return to the earth, and the life-giving breath returns to God.”
Where do you go when you die? Do good people go to heaven after death? Not immediately, the Bible says that the dead are sleeping in the earth. It’s in the Bible, Acts 2:29, 34, NKJV. “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day…For David did not ascend into the heavens…”
What does it feel like to die? Jesus taught that death is like falling asleep. It’s in the Bible, John 11:11-14, NKJV. “These things He said, and after that He said to them, ‘Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.’ Then His disciples said, ‘Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.’ However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead.’”
Are dead people watching us? No, the dead are unconscious of what is happening on earth. It’s in the Bible, Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10, NKJV. “For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun...Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.”
Does the soul exist? Yes, it is made of our body and the breath of God combined. We don’t have souls, we are souls. It’s in the Bible, Genesis 2:7, KJV. “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.”
The soul is not immortal – it did not exist before we were alive, and it does not exist after we die. It’s in the Bible, Ezekiel 18:20, NKJV. “The soul who sins shall die...”
What was Satan’s first lie? It’s in the Bible, Genesis 3:4, NKJV. “Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die.’”
Only God has immortality. It’s in the Bible, 1 Timothy 6:15-16, NKJV. “Which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.”
Death does not have to be the end! It’s in the Bible, John 11:25, NKJV. “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.’”
God promises to save us from the power of death. It’s in the Bible, Hosea 13:14, NKJV. “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death…”
Will I see my loved ones again? They in Christ will awake from the graves at the resurrection at Jesus’ second coming. It’s in the Bible, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, NKJV. “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
Nothing can keep us from God’s love, not even death. It’s in the Bible, Romans 8:38-39, NKJV. “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
There will be no more death in the New Earth. It’s in the Bible, Revelation 21:4, NKJV. “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
In Christ we have victory over death! It’s in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 15:51-54, NKJV. “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written:
‘Death is swallowed up in victory.'
‘O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?’
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”