Q: Where are the dead? Where did they go?
A: "Yet shall he be brought to the grave, And shall remain in the tomb."
Job 21:32 (KJV)
God's Word says that the dead are brought to the grave and remain in the tomb.
Q: Where is the patriarch David now?
A: "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day."
Acts 2:29. (KJV)
A: "For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:"
Acts 13:36. (KJV)
God's Word tells us that the patriarch David is dead, buried and remains in his grave.
Q: Where did Jesus say the dead are?
A: "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,"
John 5:28. (KJV)
Q: What words did Jesus use to say that his friend Lazarus was dead?
A: "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death:"
John 11:11-13. (KJV)
Q: What words did Paul use to say that some of those who saw Jesus were now dead?
A: "After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep."
1 Corinthians 15:6. (KJV)
Q: Are there other Bible verses which mention 'sleep' as does 1 Corinthians 15:6?
A: "Yes, there are other Bible verses which mention sleep for those who are now dead."
Acts 7:59-60; Psalm 13:3; Daniel 12:2; 1 Corinthians 11:30; 1 Corinthians 15:18 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16. (KJV)
Q: How much does a dead person know?
A: "For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten."
Ecclesiastes 9:5. (KJV)
Q: What happens to a person’s feelings and emotions when they die?
A: "Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun."
Ecclesiastes 9:6. (KJV)
Q: Can the dead haunt their house?
A: "As a cloud is consumed and vanisheth away, so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more." Job 7:9-10. (KJV)
Q: What happens to a person's thoughts?
A: "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; In that very day his thoughts perish." Psalm 146:4. (KJV)
Q: What can we do while we are alive?
A: "While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being." Psalm 146:2. (KJV)
A: "The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day:" Isaiah 38:19. (KJV)
Q: Can dead people praise the Lord?
A: "The dead praise not the Lord, Neither any that go down into silence." Psalm 115:17. (KJV)
Q: Can the dead thank God or even remember Him?
A: "For in death there is no remembrance of thee: In the grave who shall give thee thanks?" Psalm 6:5. (KJV)
Q: If we haven’t learned to love the truth while we are alive, can we get it in the grave?
A: "For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: They that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth." Isaiah 38:18. (KJV)
Q: How should we use the short time in which we are alive? And Why is it so important to do it now?
A: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." Ecclesiastes 9:10. (KJV)
Q: Some people believe in spiritualism. So what is spiritualism?
A: It’s the belief that the dead survive as spirits which can communicate with the living, esp. with the help of a third party (a medium). The dead know nothing (Ecclesiastes 9:5), their thoughts are perished (Psalm 146:4), with or without the help of a third party (medium).
Q: If the dead were already in Heaven...Why is Jesus coming back to bring rewards with Him?
A: "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Revelation 22:12. (KJV)
God’s Word clearly tells us that when Jesus returns He brings with Him each persons reward. Therefore the dead could not be in heaven, as they remain in the grave. For they have not yet received their reward.
Q: If the dead were already in Heaven...How do the dead talk to Jesus?
A: "but the dead know not any thing..." Ecclesiastes 9:5. (KJV)
God’s Word states that the dead know nothing, so they cannot talk to Jesus.
Q: If the dead were already in Heaven and their thoughts perish...How do they praise the Lord?
A: "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; In that very day his thoughts perish." Psalm 146:4. (KJV)
God’s Word says their thoughts perish the very day they die, so they cannot praise the Lord!
Q: Is mankind immortal?
A: "Shall mortal man be more just than God?" Job 4:17. (KJV)
God’s Word in 1 Timothy 6:16 says "Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto;" So only God is immortal.
Q: Will mankind ever become immortal?
A: "...at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,...and this mortal must put on immortality." 1 Corinthians 15:52-53. (KJV)
Q: What are we warned against? The Word of God warns against deceptions.
A: "Take heed that no man deceive you." Matthew 24:4. (KJV)
A: The Spirit warns of giving "heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;" 1 Timothy 4:1. (KJV)
A: The first Satanic deception "And the serpent said unto the woman (Eve), Ye shall not surely die:" Genesis 3:4. (KJV)
A: Be not deceived: "there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." Matthew 24:24. (KJV)
Q: Who has no light in them?
A: "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Isaiah 8:20. (KJV)
God's Word says they that speak not according to His word (the law and the testimony) have no light in them.
Romans 6:23
"The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
While life is the inheritance of the righteous, death is the portion of the wicked. The penalty threatened is not merely temporal death, for all must suffer this. It is the second death, the opposite of everlasting life. God cannot save the sinner in his sins; but he declares that the wicked, having suffered the punishment of their guilt, shall be as though they had not been. Says an inspired writer, "Thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be."[Psalms 37:10]. In consequence of Adam's sin, death passed upon all mankind. All alike go down into the grave. But through the provisions of the plan of salvation, all are to be brought forth from their graves. Then those who have not secured the pardon of their sins must receive the penalty of transgression. They suffer punishment varying in duration and intensity according to their works, but finally ending in the second death. Covered with infamy, they sink into hopeless, eternal oblivion.