Is a Dead person Conscious of Anything?
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Psm 115 (v. 17) The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into silence.
Psm 146 (v. 2) While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
(verse 3) Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. (v. 4) His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish.
So, the thoughts of the dead perish in that very day that they die!!
Notice this quote from Martin Luther (1493-1546) a German Reformer and a Bible translator: ....the predominant note running all through his writings is that souls sleep in peace, without consciousness or pain. The christian dead are not aware of anything: see not, feel not, understand not, and are not conscious of passing events. Luther held and periodically stated that in the sleep of death....there is complete unconsciousness and unawareness of the condition of death or the passage of time.[1a] Death is a deep, sound, sweet sleep.[1b] And the dead will remain asleep until the day of resurrection;[1c] which resurrection embraces both body and soul, when both will come together again.[1d]
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Eccl 9 (v. 5) For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing....(v. 6) Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished....
(verse 10) 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.
So why does everybody stay in their graves when they die? What is the purpose?
William Tyndale was brought into direct contention with the papal champion, Sir Thomas More, in the year 1529; about the conflict of his teachings with that of St. Paul, writing with a hint of sarcasm he says: “Nay Paul, thou art unlearned; go to Master More, and learn a new way. We be not most miserable, though we rise not again; for our souls go to heaven as soon as we be dead, and are there in as great joy as Christ that is risen again.”[2]
I Cor 15 (v. 13) But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. (v. 14) And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain and your faith is also vain. (v. 18) Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. (v. 19) If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
And Tyndale continuing on page 118: And I marvel that [Apostle] Paul had not comforted the Thessalonians with that doctrine, if he had wist [known] it, that the souls of their dead had been in joy; as he did with the resurrection, that their dead should rise again. If the souls be in heaven, in as great glory as the angels, after your doctrine, shew me what cause should be of the resurrection.[2]
I Cor 15 (v. 35) But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” (v. 38) But God gives it a body as He pleases.... (v. 42) So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in....(v. 43) ....dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. (v. 53) For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
The bible teaches that there is no afterlife until the two resurrections when Jesus comes back!!
John 5 (v. 28) Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice. (v. 29) and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
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But until then, man will live and then die, and then stay in the grave until they are resurected.
Job 14 (v. 10) But man dies and is laid away; Indeed he breathes his last, and where is he? (v. 12) So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor be roused from their sleep.
(verse 21) His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; They are brought low, and he does not perceive it.
One of the most comforting truths in God's Word is that when a person dies, he or she rests quietly, undisturbed by the problems of life or by concern for loved ones, until the call of the Life-giver. Is it any wonder that the Bible likens death to a sleep?[3]
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The First Resurrection
1 Thes 4 (v. 13) But I do not want you to be ignorant,...concerning those who have fallen asleep....(v. 14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
(verse 15) 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. (v. 16) For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, ....with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. (v. 17) Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
Upon the fundamental error of natural immortality rests the doctrine of consciousness in death,…According to the popular belief, the redeemed in Heaven are acquainted with all that takes place on the earth, and especially with the lives of the friends whom they have left behind.[4]
But how could it be a source of happiness to the dead to know the troubles of the living, to witness the sins committed by their own loved ones, and to see them enduring all the sorrows, disappointments, and anguish of life? How much of Heaven’s bliss would be enjoyed by those who were hovering over their friends on earth?[4]
And thus, all the people who have died, will stay in their graves until their appointed resurrection time!
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The Second Resurrection
Rev 20 (v. 12) And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened....And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
After the judgment of the wicked dead had been finished, at the end of the one thousand years, Jesus left the city, and the saints and a train of the angelic host followed Him.[5]
Rev 20 (v. 13) The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
Then, in terrible, fearful majesty, Jesus called forth the wicked dead; and they came up with the same feeble, sickly bodies that went into the grave. What a spectacle! what a scene! At the first resurrection all came forth in immortal bloom; but at the second the marks of the curse are visible on all. The kings and noblemen of the earth,….the learned and unlearned, come forth together.[5]
Rev 20 (v. 14) Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (v. 15) And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
More bible verses about people who die
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Job 7 (v. 8) The eye of him who sees me will see me no more....(v. 9) As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, so he who goes down to the grave does not come up. (v. 10) He shall never return to his house, nor shall his place know him anymore.
Here is a Luther citation in the quaint 1573 English translation we read: Salomon judgeth that the dead are a sleepe, and feele nothing at all. For the dead lye there accompting neyther dayes nor yeares, but when are awaked, they shall seeme to have slept scarce one minute.[6]
Just like those who "die in Christ" stay in the grave until the 1st resurrection, the wicked also will stay in their graves, until the 2nd resurrection.
Job 21 (v. 30) For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom; They shall be brought out on the day of wrath.
[ NKJV ] But until then: (verse 32) Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb. [ KJV ]
When Jesus comes, judgment for all the living and the dead will already have been settled. That’s why the angels know to which graves they should go [to] in the first resurrection; they know who will arise first and join the redeemed from among the living.[7]
What about King David, did he goto heaven when he died?
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Acts 13 (v. 36) For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption;
Where is he at today?
Acts 2 (v. 29) 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. (v. 34) For David did not ascend into the heavens....
What does the bible say about people who try to speak to the dead?
Lev 19 (v. 31) Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them....
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.…none need be deceived by the lying claims of spiritualism. God has given the world sufficient light to enable them to discover the snare. As already shown, the theory which forms the very foundation of spiritualism is at war with the plainest statements of Scripture.…God has expressly forbidden all pretended communication with departed spirits.…The work of dealing with familiar spirits was pronounced an abomination to the Lord, and was solemnly forbidden under penalty of death.[8]
Lev 20 (v. 27) a man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them.
The truth of God's word states that there will be two resurrections, one for the righteous and another one for the wicked. And all the people who have died, will stay in their graves until their appointed resurrection time.
Isa 26 (v. 19) Your dead shall live; Together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust....And the earth shall cast out the dead.
References:
1a. Martin Luther, (1493-1546). Deutsch Schriften (Erlangen ed.), vol.11, p.142ff; and in vol.41 (1525), p.373
1b. Martin Luther, (1493-1546). “Catechetische Schriften” (1542), In Schriften, vol.11, pp.287-288.
1c. Martin Luther, (1493-1546). “Auslegungen uber die Psalmen [3]” in 1533 in Schriften, vol.4, pp.323-324.
1d. Martin Luther, (1493-1546). “Am Zweiten Sonntage nach Trinitatis,” “Haus-Postille.” in Schriften, vol.13, col.2153
2. William Tyndale, (1530). An Answer to Sir Thomas More’s Dialogue (Parker’s 1850 reprint). Book 4, Chpt.4, pp.118. Cambridge: The University Press.
3. Mark Finley, (1995). Beyond Orion's Gates, p.174, Hart Research Center.
4. E.G. White, The Spirit of Prophecy (vol.4), p.364, par.3
5. E.G. White, Early Writings, p.291-292, par.1
6. Luther’s Works, (1573). An Exposition of Salomon’s Booke, called Ecclesiastes or the Preacher, 1553, folio 151v.
7. Mark Finley, (1995). Beyond Orion's Gates, p.92, Hart Research Center.
8. E.G. White, The Great Controversy, p.556, par.1-2
Image #1: Image gallery: No Hablar, (n.d.). No talking sign. Retrieved from http://keywordsuggest.org/gallery/1250288.html
Image #2: Spiritual Warrior, (2016). Ghosts are demons not dead people. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/beware-ghosts-demons-disguise-hephzibah-christly
Image #3: Franciscan Penance Library, (n.d.). Man dies and does not notice people. Retrieved from https://www.franciscanpenancelibrary.com/transitus-of-saint-francis
Image #4: The Gospels Voice, (2015). The First Resurrection. Retrieved from http://thegospelsvoice.org/archives/2837
Image #5: Jesus Way 4 You, (2015). The Second Resurrection, Retrieved from https://jesusway4you.com/tag/second-coming/
Image #6: Tracy Monger, (2012). Graveyard tombstones of the dead. Retrieved from https://tracymonger.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/ghosts-of-norwich/
Image #7: Associates for Scriptural Knowledge, (2017). King David's Tomb. Retrieved from http://askelm.com/temple/t061001.htm
Image #8: Public Domain, (2009). Saul and the Witch of Endor. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1820_Saul_Witch_Endor_byWashingtonAllston_FiveCollegeMuseums.jpg
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