Death Swallowed up in Victory!

Death, particularly of humans, has commonly been considered a sad or unpleasant occasion, due to the affection for the deceased and the termination of social and familial bonds. Many are afraid of death, as they see death as inevitable and final and they have no control over it. Many cultures and religions have the idea of an afterlife, and also hold the idea of judgment and reward for good deeds and punishment for sin. It is important for Christians to understand what the Bible says about death of the body, spirit, and soul. Let us look into a couple of scriptural references to death and resurrection:

1Corinth 15:54, 55 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

Satan seemed to be victorious in the Garden of Eden and at the cross of Jesus. But God turned Satan’s apparent victory into defeat when Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Thus, death is no longer a source of dread. Christ overcame it, and one day we will also. Death has been defeated, and we have hope beyond the grave.

Hebrews  2:14, 15 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.

Jesus had to become human so that He could die and rise again in order to destroy the devil’s power over death. Only then could Christ deliver those who had lived in constant fear of death and free them to live for Him. When we belong to God, we need not fear death. Death is only the doorway into eternal life. 

Multitudinous are the myths and superstitions that surround the subject of death in an ancient country like India that is dominated by Hindu culture. One doesn’t have to be a practioner of Hinduism to believe in them. The Hindu culture is so deeply ingrained in us that even Christian believers and people of other religions are strongly influenced by them. To list a few:

•  Dead people turn into ghosts and roam about.

• Spirits of dead people hang around where they died and haunt the living.
• Frequently they enter a living person and drive him to hurt others.
• Those who commit suicide turn into ghosts and remain where they committed the act.
• The dead turn into demons and frighten/take revenge of the living they visit.
• A woman who die as virgin turn into a particularly vicious Mohini pichasu.
• Victims of murder visit those who killed them and take revenge.
• Spirits of those who died violent deaths would find peace only when certain rights are performed in their names.
• Many possess an irrational fear of a corpse and won’t touch one or remain alone with it.
• There is a practice of “appeasing” the dead by leaving their favorite food, drinks, and articles where they are supposed to frequent--or by their grave.
• Leaving a lamp burning where a dead body is kept, for some mysterious reason.
• Lighting candles on tombs is another meaningless practice, and so on.

 In this scenario, it is important we have a clear understanding of what the Bible teaches about death. I have tried to answer some of the questions people commonly ask about death. Below are a few of the teachings from the scripture and comments upon them where necessary:

 1. DEATH IS INEVITABLE.

• Ecclesiastes 8:8 no one has power over the spirit to contain it, so no one has power over the time of their death.

• Job 14:7, 10 Even a tree has more hope!  If it is cut down, it will sprout again
  and grow new branches. But when people die, their strength is gone.
  They breathe their last, and then where are they?
• Hebrews 9:27 … people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…

 2. WHAT HAPPENS AT DEATH?

A human being consists of three parts--spirit, soul, and body.  At death, the soul and spirit leave the body. The body goes to the earth, the soul goes to God. The way of the spirit is not known. The Bible doesn’t give us a clue. Where the Bible is silent, it is wrong for us to hazard a guess, like it is done by a few so-called “experts”. It is useful to be familiar with the following verses:

 1 Thes. 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

• Matthew 27:50 And Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit.
• Ecclesiastes 12:7 Our bodies will return to the dust of the earth, and the breath of life will go back to God, who gave it to us.

 3. DEATH IS AN ONE WAY JOURNEY

Dead people come back, neither as ghosts nor as humans. Those “witnesses” who claim they had visited heaven and hell and have come back to report are deliberately deceiving the gullible Christians or out of their minds. The following verses and many others make this clear:

• Job 10:21 …before I go to the place of no return, to the land of gloom and utter darkness…
• Job 14:7, 10 Even a tree has more hope!  If it is cut down, it will sprout again
  and grow new branches. But when people die, their strength is gone. They breathe their last, and then where are they?

 4. THE STATUS OF THE SOUL

Okay, so then what happens to the soul that leaves the body? Where does it go? Jesus narrated a story of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31). According to it a sinner’s soul will go to the Hades (an evil place of torment, meant for souls that are eventually destined to hell) and a saint’s soul will go to Paradise (an intermediate place for the departed souls of the righteous who are awaiting resurrection, a place of extreme beauty, delight, or happiness). Lazarus was is carried over to rest in Abraham’s bosom. This is only another way of saying he arrived at paradise. (Remember Jesus promised the thief on the cross that he would be in paradise with Him the very same day). The ensuing conversation between the rich man and Abraham makes two things clear: that no one can cross over from Paradise to Hades and that no one can go back from Paradise or Hades to earth.

 5. WHO CAN REDEEM THE SOUL?

The Bible says the souls of the righteous dead have to be “delivered” from the power of the grave.  Jesus alone has the power to accomplish this. Look at the following verses:

•  Psalms 89:48 What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave?

• Psalms 6:4 Turn, Lord, and deliver my soul; save me because of your unfailing love.
• Psalm 56:13 For you have delivered my soul from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.
• Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign LORD will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against his land and people. The LORD has spoken!

 Therefore, to those who are regenerated in Spirit, those who have undergone the born-again experience, Jesus is life and death is a gain (Philipp. 1:21). Revelations 14:13 makes this clear ‘’…Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, … they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”. Psalms 116:15 says “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants”.  St. Paul stresses in 2 Corinth 5:8 “…we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord”.

Finally, I would like to exhort you by quoting 1Peter 1:13--So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.

 

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