(The Truth of Heaven and Hell)
Genesis 2:17
“…for in the day that you eat it you will surely die.”
Death: The very word for many is very scary to hear and uncomfortable think about, many rather much think about anything else. Many rather ignore the topic of death entirely and rather focus on things pertaining to life: like events like work, hobbies, relationships, goals etc. However, Death is an unavoidable part of life in this world and eventually will become impossible to avoid when it actually happens.
What happens to someone’s conscious afterwards might be a mystery, but one thing is known to happen 100% for sure:
Death
But have you ever considered what exactly Death is?
Death Is defines as:
“A permanent cessation of all vital functions: the end of life —“ [1]
So, Death is an end of something. In this case, death is when any living being (which specifically are animals, plants, or humans)’s vital organs began shutting down/failing and the body (life-support) can no longer function properly, a living being is considered to be dying (in the process of Death). Death is completed when the body (or all major organs) finally stops working and will ultimately lead to the permanent stop of all bodily functions.
So, Death is basically an end to a physical life.
Now what does The Bible, God’s very words, have to say about this tragic thing called death?
The first mention of death in the Bible, is when God is first recorded speaking to Adam in a command and also a warning:
Genesis 2:16-17
“…the Lord God commanded the man (Adam), ‘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 from it you will certainly die.’ ”
It’s first mentioned of death is by God is in a warning for disobedience; death was originally a punishment for Adam’s possible disobedience to the first command of God: which was to never eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
So we see, Death is a curse; a punishment, for when a command was NOT obeyed. The first thing we should note is that Death is considered a bad thing: it’s NOT something you want!
Well, one day, an “enlightened” serpent questioned what God commanded to Eve; and Eve repeated what God said: if they eat the fruit they die!
Genesis 3:3
“ ’but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ‘ ”
But the serpent said God was wrong: Eve would not really die if she just ate some fruit. In other words, there was no real punishment for disobedience, God was really just bluffing when he said they would die so they would not discover the real power of the fruit which was gaining God’s understanding of Good and Evil.
Genesis 3:4-5
“ ‘You will certainly not die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ ”
Eve (and also possibly Adam) though God was keeping them from this amazing power, so they ate the forbidden fruit therefore disobeying God’s command. The serpent was right; they did gain understanding as soon as they ate this fruit:
Genesis 3:6-7
“...she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened (they gained some understanding: a conscience),…”
But the serpent was wrong about there being no punishment: for disobeying his commands, God cursed Eve and Adam with death: they were officially going to die!
They realized God was NOT bluffing he was serious about death! They realized they had been lied to by the serpent, but it was too late: they were going to die.
But not right on that day; they would continue to live for a while but ONE DAY death would definitely come, and God describes more about what this curse of death would be like, by what would happen to their physical bodies when they died:
Genesis 3:4-5
“In the sweat of your face you will eat bread (continue to live) until(one day) you return to the ground(die), for out of it you were taken (Adam and Eve came from dust); for dust you are (Adam and Eve were made of corruptible material), and to dust you will return.”
They would not die all of a sudden but continue to live their life day to day, but ONE DAY they were going to die: their vital organs would shut down and eventually their entire body will permanently stop working. And God is describing what will ultimately become of their body once it permanently shuts down: since Adam and Eve were made from corruptible dust (earth) at the end of their life their body would eventually become just dust once again.
This is the first description of death in the Bible, and this is exactly what happens to a dead body: From observation to what happens to a dead body after death yourself (or by being told by someone who did see it):
It BREAKS APPART into what? DIRT like material!
The body is destroyed until it is dirt again!
But today there is a more scientific term for this:
It’s called decomposing:
It is the Body’s now nonfunctional cells beginning to break down into simpler organic forms with the help of bugs, worms, and bacteria to break them down until they ultimately turns into simpler organic matter that is dust/dirt! [2]
As we read on in the Bible, we find that though Adam (and by extension Eve) were originally cursed to die one unknown day, the curse would not just apply to him and his wife: Adam and Eve eventually had two sons named Cain and Able who also inherited the cursed of death as well as all their children. And in a horrible irony, Adam would not be the first official human to die: his own son would.
Genesis 4:8
“Now Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let’s go out to the field.’ While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.”
His brother, Cain, hastened Abel’s death by injuring his body until his body was so injured it could no longer functioned and he died:
This is the first recorded human death in the Bible, and also the first murder! After God cursed Cain for murdering his brother, Adam eventually finds out his son is dead: Imagine what he must had seen if he saw his son’s dead body: he sees his son’s once living, moving body now lifeless: just lying there. Could you imagine the horror and shock Adam (and Eve) seeing their son’s dead body? The guilt and grief of never seeing their son in this world ever again, as well as their son never getting to live a long life and have children of his own. What a horrible thing Adam and Eve had to go through!
One of their first experiences with death was horrible!
They saw the curse of death fulfilled that day in their own son, and a taste of what death is like and what would happen to them.
Adam then continued to live many years later, but slowly, he found his body beginning to break down as time went by. Eventually he turned 930 years old and then he finally died of ageing himself:
Genesis 5:5
“Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.”
This is the very first “natural” death recorded in the Bible, Adam’s body (and Eve’s) eventually stopped working properly and he died and decomposed back into dirt again, just like God said!
Since then, all humans had inherited this curse: their life destined to end one day just like Adam and Eve:
Romans 5:12
“…just as sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people,…”
Because Death is the punishment for sinful human beings:
Romans 6:23
“…the wages of sin is death”
And ever since, God has let countless millions of humans of all ages, races, nationalities, occupations and genders die and turned to dust.
Psalm 90:3
“You (God) turn people back to dust,(kill their bodies and then Decompose them)…”
This also includes animals, plants, and even individual cellular organisms!
So, this is Death: God’s curse to end physical life and return it to Earth’s dust.
When decomposition happens, a human’s (or any life’s) body no longer physically exists because, unless the body is preserved, it will turn into dust and can no longer be physically found or seen ever again: a human being fades away into dust.
For this reason, God also describes humans in another way:
In warning the humans of the day, God describes humans as Mortal:
Genesis 6:3
“Then the Lord said: ‘my spirit will not stay with humans forever, because he is mortal,’…”
He describes humans as being “mortal” [3] What does that mean?
Mortal is defined as:
“A living thing that has the potential to die and possibly a limited lifespan” [4]
In other words, a Mortal is a living thing that can be killed/die and also possibly has a set lifespan:
A lifespan is the length of time that a living being can live naturally before the Body can no longer function because of aging/damage. [5]
This is in contrast to an immortal being:
“Which is a living thing that cannot die and can live forever.”[6]
Like God:
Romans 1:23
“the immortal God…”
So specifically, in the case with humans, not only are humans prone to death in many ways: many Injuries, diseases, and poisonings can all kill a human. But Humans also have a lifespan: This means even if a human could avoid/recover from injuries, Diseases, and/or poisonings ultimately at the end of the lifespan aging will ultimately kill a human. Humans don’t live for 1,000’s of years their physical bodies simply will wear out and get broken down too fast.
In fact, the human body is compared to very temporary things; like grass because its only built to last for so long:
Psalm 90:5-7
“…They (humans) are like the new grass of the morning:
In the morning it springs up new(a newborn),
but by evening it is dry and withered(elderly/dead).”
Human’s lifespans vary from generation and society, but the usual human lifespan today is around 120 years; so, after this, it’s no longer possible for a human to live, due to aging.
And once again, this does not just apply to humans; all other living creatures of Earth are mortal in the exact way humans are that all can be killed by injury, disease, and/or poisoning and also have a lifespan.
Morality and Death go hand in hand: because the very reason a living being is considered mortal is because they can die:
The Psalms says God calls humans mortals when they die:
Psalm 90:3
“You turn people back to dust,(Decompose them)
saying, ‘Return to dust (Die), you mortals.’ ”
So here is what we know for sure: All Humans physically die and thus all are Mortal. That’s a fact of reality, and the Bible absolutely confirms all that and even tells the origins of it.
Now time to move on to what is not exactly clear: what happens to a human’s conscientiousness/soul once a human physically dies.
Sources:
[1]
Merriam-Webster “Death”
Website:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/death
[2]
[A] Wikipedia “Decomposition”
Website:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decomposition
[B] Pg 71 Chapter 3 Section 2 “Energy, Producers, and consumers” in “Miller & Levine Biology” by Kenneth R. Miller and Joseph S. Levine Pearson Education Inc. 2010 Edition, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
[3]
Other verses:
Romans 8:11
“…your mortal bodies…”
God calls Micah Mortal:
Micah 6:8
“…Oh mortal…”
Romans 1:23
“...a mortal human being…”
[4]
Merriam-Websiter “Mortal”
Website:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mortal
[5]
Merriam-Websiter “Lifespan”
Website:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/life%20span
[6]
Merriam-Webster “Immortal”
Website: