DEATH
Approximately 10,000 B.C., God said to man, who was created to live
forever, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not
eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it
you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:16). Man and woman ate from the tree and
the death process began.
Approximately 12,000 years later we read the headlines from the
Indianapolis Star, September 26, 1986:
Paranoid man shoots, kills paper carrier.
Israeli air raid kills one, injures two at Palestinian base.
Woman’s suicide leads to deaths of spouse, 4 children.
Father, son charged in girl’s slaying.
Girl, 2, dies in mobile home fire.
Killer of parents gets 30-year term.
Fatal accident closes I-69 south near Marion.
Death has been a part of man’s existence from the very beginning. Every
age and society has had to face the reality of death on a continuing basis.
It is a subject that everyone must deal with because it is an experience we
must all share in. Most people avoid the subject of death because they
have no answers as to the origin and meaning of this enemy of life. Man
fears death because it is an unknown to him. He does not know when it will
occur or how it will take place. Most people fear death because they do
not know what happens after death.
Each person has an attitude about death that will affect nearly every
activity of his life. These attitudes can be grouped into three basic
types; one is to fear death to such an extent that we become a slave to our
emotions. Another attitude is to ignore the thought of death by becoming
engrossed in living. The third attitude one can have towards death is to
accept it as a reality and to be prepared for it, both emotionally and
spiritually. Having the proper attitude towards death is a result of
understanding its various aspects.
ORIGIN OF DEATH
As was stated earlier, death was not always a part of mankind’s experience.
For in the beginning when God created man and woman there was no death.
Neither man nor animals experienced the termination of life. Death was
introduced as a sure consequence for sin, should man so chose. God had to
establish a punishment that would equal the offense of disobedience to His
Holy Word. Some would say that death was too great a price to have to pay
for simply eating forbidden fruit, but the fruit was not the issue. The
issue was the Holiness of God. We cannot begin to understand how Holy God
is unless we realize that the slightest offense against God cost man all
that he had–life, both physical and spiritual.
EXTENT OF DEATH
When man first sinned against God, death entered the human race. So vast
was this death that the entire universe began to die, “The creation was
subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one
who subjected it (God–because of man’s sin), in hope that the creation
itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay.” (Romans 8:20-21). But
not only the creation but the entire human race fell under the curse of
death because of the sin of one man, “…sin entered the world through one
man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men…”
(Romans 5:12). Again, it is through death that we get a glimpse of the
holiness of God, noting that one offense (the eating of the forbidden
fruit) caused not only the offender’s death but also all of his offspring,
to include us!
But even the physical death of the entire human race cannot repay the
insult to our Holy God. In fact, the one offense warranted something
beyond mere physical death, it demanded a “Second Death!” The physical
death of the human race still left the insult to God unpaid, so God called
for a punishment after death. This second death is a living death where
the individual suffers in great torment for an “endless” time in a burning
lake of fire, “..The lake of fire is the second death.” (Revelation 20:14).
This death after death is what every human deserves, but God in His great
mercy and love offers Life to a sin-cursed race. Often times we question
God about the death of a baby, a young child or some “good person.” But we
are wrong to ask God, “why did you let them die?” Our question should be,
“Why do you let any of us live?” We all deserve “death after death,” but
God offers “life after life.”
SOVEREIGN OF DEATH
God is absolutely sovereign over death. We have just as much control over
our death as we had over our birth–none! Man does not decide who will
live and who will die–God does. Man cannot live one second beyond the
time God has determined, nor can he live one second less, “From one man He
made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He
(God) determined the times (birth,life,death) set for them and the exact
places where they should live.” (Acts 17:26,Matthew 6:27). The Psalmist
expressed God’s sovereignty over life in this way, “Show me, O Lord, my
life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my
life…..All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one
of them came to be.” (Psalm 39:4,139:16). When I was living in California
going to seminary, there was a woman who lived in my apartment complex who
had tried to commit suicide numerous times. Once it was drug overdose,
another time she slashed her wrists, and she even tried electrocution.
Each time she should have died, but she could not. God would not allow it.
Yet another person is a jogger and eats all the right foods and is in
excellent condition according to the medical experts and suddenly dies of a
heart attack. God determines the day and means of death.
Today in our society we have some TV preachers who are teaching the lie
that God wants all Christians “healthy and wealthy,” and if you just have
enough faith you can avoid disease and die quietly in your own bed at an
old age. They even claim that any Christian who dies a violent type of
death has failed to call upon the “power” of God in their lives.
God does love His children very much but He still uses all types of deaths
to “bring us home.” The Bible is full of godly men and women dying
agonizing and untimely deaths. For example, we have the greatest man who
ever lived being killed by having his head cut off. (Luke 7:28, Mark 6:27).
Also, in the Book of Hebrews we see numerous Christians suffering terrible
deaths, “They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death
by the sword…the world was not worthy of them.” (Hebrews 11:37,38). Most
Christians today don’t suffer these type of deaths but that does not mean
that God is obligated to give us a quiet death in bed. God will chose the
type of death for a Christian that will bring God the most Glory.
God must bring Christians home through some type of death. If all
Christians died at home without any suffering then the churches would not
be able to hold all the people who would want to be a Christian. The
unbeliever would flock to the churches, but for the wrong reason. They
would come to get the type of physical death they wanted instead of wanting
to be subjected to Jesus Christ! Now I do believe that for the most part
Christians will live longer, and more peaceful lives than the wicked. And
the death experience for most will be a peaceful one of natural causes.
But we must never put God “in a box” by not allowing Him to pick the time
and mode of our deaths.
I knew of a sweet vibrant Christian lady who was very active in the church
helping other Christians grow in the Lord. One day her father showed up at
my door to tell me that Barbara had been murdered the night before. I was
shocked and dismayed, for I too had put God “in a box.” I did not allow
God to take a Christian home through the hand of a murderer. I slept with
the lights on for the next week until I read in the Bible, “Precious in the
sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” (Psalm 116:15). God was
saying that no matter how a Christian dies it is a precious moment in His
sight. You see, God loved Barbara so much that he had determined that she
should be in His presence. He did not cause the murderer to kill her, but
rather put Barbara in the path of one who was bent on doing evil, thus
allowing the sin of a person to accomplish God’s will (to bring Barbara
home). (Proverbs 16:4). One will say, but what a terrible way to die,
especially for one of God’s beloved.
In the Scriptures we find many statements about the deaths of Christians as
being likened to “falling asleep.” History has shown Christians dying
rather peaceful deaths in the midst of violence. For example, we have the
martyrs, during the Roman Catholic Inquisition, when Christians were killed
for their belief in salvation by faith alone in Jesus, singing songs of joy
as the fires consumed their bodies. During one such burning at the stake,
the dying Christian cried out that he was in a “rose garden” and had great
peace and joy–despite the fact that his skin was already on fire!
There have been many modern-day deaths of Christians who have experienced
great joy and bliss during rather painful deaths. I do believe that
victims like Barbara actually are given a great sense of peace from God as
their death began. In my own life when suddenly faced with crisis
situations I have felt the “rush” of the presence of God that assured me
that it “was of Him!” I believe that when Barbara first saw her attacker
in her room, that she was given a sudden peace from God, (call it “dying
grace” if you will) that assured her that God was calling her into His
presence. This is similar to the account of Stephen when he was stoned to
death, in which he was full of the Holy Spirit, and in peace prayed that
God would not hold this sin against those who were killing him.
RESULT OF DEATH
What exactly happens when we die? First, we must understand that the
concept that there are people who have died and then returned back to life,
after having seen heaven or hell is just not true. I am not talking about
the Biblical accounts of miraculous raisings of the dead. These miracles
were done for a specific purpose of God, which normally was to validate the
giving of new revelation from God to man. But since the closing of the
Canon of Scripture, we find no more people being raised back to life. In
this age when a person dies–he stays dead (at least until Jesus resurrects
him to eternal life or eternal judgment). In fact the Bible tells us that,
“..man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” (Hebrews
9:27). People who really die do not return to live for a few more years.
The idea that you can die and go to heaven or hell and then return to live
some more, is a lie straight from the “Pit of Hell.”
I have read the accounts of those who claim to have died, went down the
“tunnel,” heard the “buzz,” and saw the “light.” But something beckoned
them back to earth and they returned. These people will testify that they
can tell you what was occurring in their hospital room or even “down the
hall,” during their “out-of-body” experience. Who could argue that they
did not have an “out-of-body” experience. How else could we explain the
fact that they knew what was occurring in various parts of the hospital,
while they were “clinically dead” on an operating table? The answer is
rather simple. First, look at the result of the whole experience. It
tells the world that you can live any way that you want, then die, see
heaven and experience peace and then return. This makes the Bible a lie,
for it claims that after we die we go either to Heaven forever, or to
eternal torment. A new twist to the lie comes from those who claim that
they died and went into Hell, thus validating the Bible. This is equally
not true, because the big lie is that you can die, go into Hell, and then
get out of Hell! (Luke 16:19-31).
Where do these experiences come from? The answer is easy–Satan has
tricked them! You see he has great power and can give false visions to
people (i.e.,Joseph Smith-Mormans;Fatima-Catholics,etc). The details about
what was occurring around the hospital is easy when you have demons
everywhere; they just make it part of the vision. The person experiencing
it all, really is being used by the forces of evil to help deceive both
unbelievers and the saved. Know very clearly that after real death comes
eternity, either in Heaven or in Hell.
Death is often described as a door to Heaven, or a door to Hell. For the
Christian, death is like walking through a door. One moment you are on the
outside looking in, and then “swish” through the door and are inside. One
second, you are driving your car listening to a Christian tape, and then
“crash,” you are through the door and into the arms of Christ! In the same
way the wicked die. But for the the wicked, death is a terrifying
experience, because suddenly they are confronted with the reality of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He is not their Savior waiting with open arms; rather,
He is their judge who will throw them into torment. (Revelation 20:15). I
recall once when I was in pilot training, watching an Air Force film in the
Base Theater, suddenly, the lights came on and the Commander came in and
announced that there were several tornadoes spotted in the vicinity of our
Northern Texas base, and that we needed to go to a shelter. For the
unbeliever death is like that, an interruption in a movie. The lost person
thinks he has everything figured out, but is really living in a dream
world. Suddenly, the lights will come on, and he will be made aware that
the fantasy is over and that Jesus Christ is truly the God of the Universe
who called him to believe in Him by faith–and faith alone. But then it
will be too late, for he had to have made the decision for Christ before he
died.
So the believer goes to be with the Lord, and the unbeliever goes into the
fires of Hell. But what about babies, young children, and those who are
retarded to a point of not being able to reason. Are they condemned to the
fire because of the sin of Adam? The Bible indicates that there is a
special grace that God gives to allow them to enter heaven because they had
not reached the “age of accountability.” We see this with King David in
the Old Testament who prayed for his infant son who was dying. God took
the life of the little boy, and David said, “But now that he is dead…Can
I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
(2 Samuel 12:23). David spoke under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and
indicated that he, David, would someday go to be with his little son.
David was a believer who was redeemed and upon death went “non-stop” to
Heaven. Thus we can draw the obvious conclusion that those who have not
matured to the point of being able to make a decision for Christ are
covered under the Blood of Christ. Note that the sin of the baby (original
sin) still had to be “paid for” on the cross of Christ.
APPLICATION
What should be our attitude and action based on the proper understanding of
death?
A. For the Believer
Death is determined by God and we can rest assured that He will remove us
at the proper time that will bring Him maximum glory. We are not to live
in a constant state of anxiety about the possibility of death, for us or
our loved ones. As a pilot I am sometimes prone to think about a sudden
disaster striking my family, and this brings on anxiety. But at this point
I recall a powerful Bible verse, “Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the
ruin that overtakes the wicked.” (Proverbs 3:25). God has called us to
live a life of peace, so that the unbelieving world around us will see our
joy and seek it for themselves. If we fear death, then what hope can we
give anyone? Yet, there should be fear in our hearts of a different sort,
which is the fear of disobedience to God. We find in the New Testament
that God has taken some Christians off of the “globe” for their willful
continuous sins. Remember the account of Ananias and Sapphira, who in
their hearts lied to the Holy Spirit, and God struck them dead before the
church as an example of His demand for personal holiness. (Acts 5:1-11).
In 1 Corinthians 11:30 we also have the deaths of some Corinthians, due to
their unworthy manner of receiving the Lord’s Supper. The point is that
our behavior as Christians does have a part in the decision God makes about
the “number of our days.”
One important note is that if we are removed from the earth because of our
continued disobedience, the very next moment will find us in the loving
arms of Christ. He will not remind us of the fact that we left the earth
because of sin, rather He will pour upon us His sweet gentle love, “I will
forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Hebrews
8:12). For the Christian, death is the beginning of an eternal bliss.
When the Lord takes away one of our dear Brothers or Sisters in Christ, or
takes our little child, we can rejoice in our tears, that they are happier
in Heaven then they ever were here on the earth. We will miss their
presence, but can look forward with confidence to sharing all eternity with
them.
B. For the Unbeliever
If you have read thus far and have allowed the Spirit to speak to your
heart, then your response should be one of repentance. Without Christ your
sins have not been dealt with and you are liable for not only physical
death but also the second, spiritual death in the lake of fire for all
eternity. Do not delay falling on your knees and confessing to Jesus that:
1. You are a sinner who is rightly condemned to hell
for your sins against a pure and holy God.
2. You want to receive the “free gift of salvation,” that
is not based on anything you can do, but on what Jesus did
at the Cross.
3. You submit complete control of your life to Jesus, being
willing to do all that he will command you to do.
4. You are willing at the very next opportunity, to be
Baptized in a Bible believing Church. Be aware that the
Baptism does not save you; it is simply an outward sign of
the inward reality of your conversion. And is the first
step of obedience God calls you to make as a follower of His
Lordship.
Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
Box 115
Galveston, IN 46932
Modem (317)-452-1535
September 27, 1986