Section 24: Life and Death in the Bible
WHERE DOES LIFE COME FROM?
The formation of life is outlined for us in the first couple of chapters of the book of Genesis in the account of creation. The verse to note especially is found in Genesis 2:7,
"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."
Another similar description of "life" can be found in the account of the flood, in Genesis 7:21. Here it describes the living beings which died in the flood.
"All flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died."
LIFE: God supplies it through "the breath of life."
As studied earlier, the purpose of life is to bring Glory to God. We recall the passage from Revelation 4:11,
"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power:for thou hast created all things."
WHERE DID DEATH COME FROM?
Death was not a part of the creation as it was first made. All that God had made was deemed "very good." However, God did impose one simple law upon Adam and Eve in the garden. It says in Genesis 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 there of thou shalt surely die."
That promise was kept following the eating of the fruit by Adam and Eve. The curse of death was pronounced upon them by God in Genesis 3:15-19. Note especially the end of verse 19 where we have the familiar words, "for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return".
Though death was not originally part of creation it now passed on to all men. This is brought out in the Apostle Paul's letter to the Romans in the 5th chapter. Verse 12 says,
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"
And later in verse 18 it says,
"Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life."
Genesis 5 shows that death now reigns because of sin. The persons listed in the generations of Adam are described by the phrase, "and he died".
Romans 6:23 says,
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
SIN: Death is brought about as a consequence of sin and passes to all mankind.
WHAT HAPPENS AT DEATH?
Throughout the ages mankind has wrestled with this question. Everyone wants to know what lies beyond death. The Bible teaches that death is simply the REVERSAL of life. We turn to the book of Job for further testimony of this fact. Job 33:4 reminds us that life is from God. It says,
"the Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life."
In the next chapter, verse 14 and 15 say,
"If he (God) set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath; All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust."
See also: Ecc. 12:7; 3:18-20;
Death likened to sleep: Dan. 12:2; 1 Cor. 15:18,20; 1 Thess. 4:13-18
WHAT LIES BEYOND DEATH?
In the prophecy of Daniel, in chapter 12 and verse 2 it is written:
"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 Lord Jesus Christ declared:
"The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 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." (John 5:28-29)
And Paul, in his defense before Felix, declared:
"But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets: And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust." (Acts 24:14 15)
See also: 1 Cor. 15 (note argument of verse 12);
John 6:39-40;
John 11:23-27
Comments