1st Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
The current Covid 19 pandemic has taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, with many more to go in the future, and the full extent of the human toll, is not nearly known just yet. Thus, we will take this opportunity to offer our condolences to all those who have lost loved ones, and we pray that you will be sustained during this time of grief.
Having said that, there is a question that haunts the minds of those who are yet alive, for it is not clear to many where their loved ones who passed away currently are. There are those in Christendom who teach that deceased persons remain in their graves, awaiting the call of God.
Another more popular teaching proposes that the souls of those who have passed are in heaven, or in limbo as the case might be. But any which way, it is declared by some that the soul of man is a separate and distinct entity that can continue to survive on its own without the physical body.
The latter teaching is much more popular with the multitudes of earth and can be found in many of the mainstream religions of the day. It has also been bolstered over the years by Hollywood, to the point where it has made its way undetected into the mind and thought process of millions.
Therefore, it is important that we study from the word of God, what has become of those who died in former years, and those who will succumb to Covid 19, so that we would have a clearer picture of truth and duty in the light of scriptural teaching on this very important subject.
Our study today will seek primarily to do two things, [1] To offer truth and hope on this matter from the Biblical perspective, and [2] To clear up questions, and misconceptions that some may have adopted over the years, for different reasons. We will begin with the blessed hope that offers to all eternal life on certain conditions.
Jesus Christ came to this earth, not only to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, but also to give us life more abundantly. There is no hope or sense in being forgiven, but dead, and thus, the promise of eternal life when the right conditions are met, constitutes the very essence of the gospel.
Those who accept Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives, and who, by faith walk in obedience to all the commandments and principles of God to the best of their knowledge, will be partakers of the eternal life Christ came to give, and they will all come up in the first resurrection, as was stated in our first passage. This is what we refer to as the dawn of the dead.
There are a few exceptions given in the Bible as it pertains to some who were resurrected when Christ died, and Moses who was taken to heaven, and the prophet Elijah, and Enoch who were translated to heaven without seeing death. But all others remain in their graves until the second coming of Jesus. They are not in heaven as yet but are awaiting the call of God at the last day, when He will grant the gift of immortality to all who listened to His voice whilst living. This is what is referred to in the Bible as the blessed hope, to which all living persons are invited through the call of the gospel. Let’s read:
Job 19:25 For I know that my redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. 26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.
Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable. 13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
John 6: 38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing but should raise it up again at the last day. 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
1st Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
1st Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
John 11:14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.
And we can go on and on from scripture to scripture and we will discover the same basic truth, that all who die are very dead, and will be awakened at the first resurrection, if they were found in Christ. This is what we are invited to, through the preaching of the gospel, and this is what gives people hope for a brighter tomorrow, even as the shadows of death are spread across the land currently.
That is why we proclaim, upon the authority of the scriptures that the most important decision one can make is to accept Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives, whilst the opportunity still lingers, because, at the end of life’s journey, it will be discovered that it was the one and only decision that made the most sense.
However, contrary to this Biblical teaching is the belief that the soul of man has naturally, inherent immortality, and as such, it cannot die. This doctrine was developed from paganism, and it found its way into Christianity over the centuries, by which the overwhelming majority of earth’s inhabitants have come to embrace it.
It does offer a false sense of security in the wake of our loved ones passing, but it is nowhere supported in scripture. And therefore, because of the amount of death taking place as a result of Covid, it has now become necessary to make plain, what has been blurred and obscured to many minds for too long.
Thus, as we study the dawn of the dead there are certain truths which must be understood clearly, so that we be not tossed to and fro, by every wind of doctrine that may blow our way. To begin with, we should understand that a soul is the product of dust and breath. A dead soul is the body minus breath, and therefore cannot and will not survive on its own separately. Let’s read:
Genesis 2: 7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
The following are scriptural facts about the soul of man that will serve to guide our minds as we move forward, because the soul of man isn’t immortal by any means. God and God alone, possesses inherent immortality and therefore, the following scriptures would shed light on a few basic things we all should know about the soul.
[1] There is such a thing as a living soul, which, simply put is a living, breathing human being. That’s all. Let’s read:
Genesis 12:5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
Genesis 46:26 All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were threescore and six; 27 And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.
Exodus 12:3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.
Acts 2: 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
[2] A soul can die, and it can be killed, for it’s absolutely not immortal.
Revelation 20: 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Joshua 11: 11 And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them: there was not any left to breathe.
Joshua 10: 29 Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah. 30 And the Lord delivered it also, and the king thereof, into the hand of Israel; and he smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain in it; but did unto the king thereof as he did unto the king of Jericho. 34 And from Lachish Joshua passed unto Eglon, and all Israel with him; and they encamped against it, and fought against it.
35 And they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish. 36 And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, unto Hebron; and they fought against it. 37 And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were therein.
[3] Dead souls do not come back to visit or haunt any person. They never have, and they never will.
Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.
Job 7:9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. 10 He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him anymore.
So, there we have it, the Biblical perspective on the soul, which was created by God from the dust of the earth and came to life after God breathed life into man’s nostrils. It can die, and often does, and it can also be killed, because it does not possess inherent immortality, as the previous passages clearly state.
Any movie which depicts dead, departed friends as being able to visit, communicate, haunt, or advise living persons is a product of devils, and as such, everyone should strictly avoid being indoctrinated with this error.
Now there are many who have claimed to see their loved ones after passing, and some have even taken advice from such, but God would have us know that any such appearance or apparition is always a direct manifestation of devils, and is based upon that first falsehood uttered in Eden, when the serpent stated “Thou shalt not surely die”
This leads us to the core of our Bible study, in which a cursory reading of a particular incident is often misinterpreted, when persons try to study the Bible without using the specified methods that are given in God’s word. For reminders, the methods are line upon line, here a little, prayer, and sanctified reason by which God calls on us to use basic commonsense when studying His word.
King Saul had disobeyed God’s voice on numerous occasions, until The Holy Spirit left him, and he was left to follow his own pernicious ways. But, at one point a massive philistine army came up to do battle and when Saul realized that God was not answering him when he prayed, he then resorted to the witch of Endor, to seek as he thought, advice from Samuel who had previously been deceased.
After Saul entered the cave where the witch was hiding out, she brought up someone who to Saul’s reprobate mind, could be none other than Samuel. Saul hears someone other than the sorcerer speak, and he communicates his concerns to such, but it could never have been the prophet of God, for if Saul disobeyed Samuel whilst he was yet alive, he wouldn’t obey him now that he is dead.
Therefore, as we study his experience, it would be necessary for us to use the simple tools given to us in the scriptures, so that we could arrive at correct conclusions. Pay close attention to the highlighted words in the chapter, because, as we stated before, the Bible can explain itself if we study it carefully. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 28: 4 And the Philistines gathered themselves together and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa. 5 And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. 6 And when Saul enquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
Without reading the rest of the narrative, the Bible has already made clear, upfront, that whatsoever we may read further down, and regardless of the name given to the person Saul is speaking to, it just cannot be Samuel. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 28:7 Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor. 8 And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.
9 And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? 10 And Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.
11 Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. 12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.
The previous verse may seem on the surface to say that Samuel came up, but if we were to read slowly what follows next, we would find contradictions to such a conclusion, for throughout the entire back and forth between Saul, the wizard, and the “other” entity, not once does the woman, nor the entity claim to be Samuel. Not once! Let’s read:
1st Samuel 28:13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.
This stinks to high heaven of falsehood and fraud, currencies in which The Lord never deals. If, as she herself states, she saw gods coming up out of the earth, then there were multiple entities present and therefore, Saul’s request for Samuel alone goes out the window. The following verse also confirms that a deception is underway. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 28:14 And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.
The woman does not say it was Samuel, only that it was an old man with a mantle, which by implication means that she could be referring to “any old man” with a mantle. In addition, if Saul had actually seen the prophet Samuel, he would not have to ask what form is he of.
Wherever wizardry is practiced, there will always be a certain level of falsehood present, for satan is the father of lies and all his productions and derivatives will of necessity contain some element of falsehood through which several holes can be poked using the scriptures.
Even though the familiar look, mannerisms, and the tones of an individual’s voice can be duplicated perfectly by devils, some amount of falsehood, in some way, form, or fashion will always be present. Always! Let’s read:
1st Samuel 28:15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answers me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. 16 Then said Samuel, Wherefore, then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?
17 And the Lord hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the Lord hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbor, even to David. 18 Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the Lord, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day.
19 Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. 20 Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all day, nor all the night.
The purpose of these deceptions, the prophecy and the manifestation of devils was twofold: [1] To drive king Saul to desperation, and thereby cause him to do the unthinkable, by committing suicide. On this point it is important to know that suicidal thoughts never ever proceed from God. Never!
Even when a person is driven to desperation, even when one’s probation has been closed, and they know of it, and even when troubles and trials may seem to engulf persons God never ever moves upon such to take their own lives. Suicidal thoughts may come from drugs or devils, but never from God.
[2] The other purpose of the sceance was to instill in the hearts of the children of Israel, a belief in the natural immortality of the soul, directly contrary to the scriptures, for if as purported, Samuel offered a correct prophecy of the future, whilst being dead, others would be more likely to follow Saul’s lead by turning to the dead for counsel and advice.
As it is currently very many persons have passed away because of Covid, and sadly, many more are on their way, and because of this, the state of the dead is a topic of relevance, that must be clearly understood from the scriptures, so that persons would not build their hopes upon falsehoods which proliferate in the secular and spiritual realms.
One of the safest places to be is at a graveyard, for not only do you have mandatory social distancing of six feet, but there is no disembodied soul floating around anywhere to disturb living persons who may stop by to visit.
The Bible offers the hope of eternal life to those who are facing the prospect of death, but the terms and conditions are the same as they were in ages past. Obedience to all of God’s commandments, and faith in The Lord Jesus Christ is the only way that eternal life is guaranteed to persons.
Let us then avoid being straddled with false hopes and doctrines which do not deliver as promised, but instead lull its subscribers to sleep through a false sense of security, while on they are on the brink. It is very important that individuals do not put off for tomorrow, decisions for Christ that should be made today.
In other words, let us not wait for those death-bed confessions, if we have an opportunity to partake of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ today. No one is promised tomorrow, and Covid is no respecter of persons, so God advises us to make our calling and election sure, whilst we still have opportunity to do so.
We therefore end with a scripture that will help us avoid the sin of procrastination and we hope that all who are listening today will decide to serve Christ in sincerity and truth, so that whether we live or die, we will be present at the first resurrection on that great day. Let’s read:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
God Bless!