What Happens when a saint dies

Grave

A burial place

Hades

The underground abode

of the dead in Greek mythology

Sheol

The abode of the dead

in early Hebrew thought

Hell

(Gehenna)

Destruction outside of Jerusalem

Thinking that the people of God goes to heaven upon death, pulls the rug right out from under the Bible. The Scriptures must be our standard for truth. Besides, why is there a resurrection of the dead when in fact, no one is really dead?

It is in the resurrected body (in the flesh) that a saint will be able to live again,

“For I know that my redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day on the Earth. And though worms destroy my body, yet in my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19:25-26).

All living things go to the same place,

“Man’s fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both...all have the same breath ... all go to the same place; all came from dust, and to dust all return” (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20).

What

happens

when a saint

dies?

When a saint dies, he is not alive somewhere else. He is dead. He does not ascend to Heaven or descend to Hell. Instead he remains in the ground “Resting In Peace” until such a time as he is awakened by resurrection. In this brochure we have included several verses taken straight out of the Bible to explain this belief. Please consider them as we have put a lot of time into this.

In the grave there is silence, just like sleep,

“Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I call upon you: let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol” (Psalm 31:17).

Jesus used sleep and death interchangeably

“After that he said to them, ´Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep but I go so that I may awaken him out of sleep´ … Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he was speaking of literal sleep. So Jesus then said to them plainly, ´Lazarus is dead´” (John 11:11-14).

Dead saints are asleep in the dust of the earth

“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to disgrace and everlasting contempt” (Dan. 12:2).

The resurrection is when the dead saints come to life

“The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. That is the first resurrection” (Rev 20:4).

The grave is the resting place of the dead. In Hebrew, the word used is Sheol. In Greek that word is Hades. The common Greek mythological understanding of Hades has corrupted contemporary understanding about death. Think about it, when was the last time you read a verse that made it seem like dead people were living in some disembodied state?

Awaking from sleep is rising from the dead

“[Jesus] said to them, 'Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.' ... Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. So Jesus then said to them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead ...' (John 11:11-14).

Dead people do not know anything

“For the living know they will die: but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten” (Ecclesiastes 9:5).

Sheol is a place where nothing happens

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).

The dead have no ability to think, act, or communicate (with God or other humans).

They are in a state of dreamless sleep, until the return of the Messiah, when they are raised first, before the living are changed (1 Thes 4:15-17).

Since there is no consciousness in death, there is no perception of time. From the perspective of the dead person, no time passes at all. One moment they are alive, the next they are at the resurrection. However, from the perspective of the living, the one who has died may have waited thousands of years.

The resurrection is in the centre of the Christian hope. This is why Paul says that without the resurrection “we [Christians] are of all men most miserable” (1 Cor. 15:19).

The resurrection is connected with the return of the Christ,

“But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him” (1 Cor 15:20-23)

The voice of Jesus commences the resurrection,

“Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to the resurrection of life” (John 5:28-29).

Original by Living Hope International Ministries