
                              DEATH


Approximately 10,000 ÿB.C., ÿGod said to man, ÿwho was created to live 
forever, ÿÿ"You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ÿbut ÿyou 
must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when 
you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:16).  Man and woman ate 
from the tree and the death process began.  

Approximately ÿ12,000 ÿÿyears ÿlater we read the ÿheadlines ÿfrom ÿthe 
Indianapolis Star, September 26, 1986: 

Paranoid man shoots, kills paper carrier.
Israeli air raid kills one, injures two at Palestinian base.
Woman's suicide leads to deaths of spouse, 4 children.
Father, son charged in girl's slaying.
Girl, 2, dies in mobile home fire.
Killer of parents gets 30-year term.
Fatal accident closes I-69 south near Marion.

Death ÿhas ÿbeen ÿa part of man's existence from the ÿvery ÿbeginning.  
Every ÿage ÿand ÿsociety has had to face the reality ÿof ÿdeath ÿon ÿa 
continuing ÿbasis.  ÿÿIt ÿis a subject that everyone ÿmust ÿdeal ÿwith 
because ÿit is an experience we must all share in.  ÿMost people avoid 
the subject of death because they have no answers as to the origin and 
meaning ÿof ÿthis enemy of life.  ÿMan fears death because ÿit ÿis ÿan 
unknown ÿto him.  ÿHe does not know when it will occur or how it ÿwill 
take ÿplace.  ÿÿMost people fear death because they do not ÿknow ÿwhat 
happens after death. 

Each ÿperson has an attitude about death that will affect nearly every 
activity of his life.  These attitudes can be grouped into three basic 
types; ÿone is to fear death to such an extent that we become a ÿslave 
to our emotions.  ÿAnother attitude is to ignore the thought of ÿdeath 
by ÿbecoming ÿengrossed in living.  ÿThe third attitude one ÿcan ÿhave 
towards death is to accept it as a reality and to be prepared for ÿit, 
both emotionally and spiritually.  ÿHaving the proper attitude towards 
death is a result of understanding its various aspects.  
    

ORIGIN OF DEATH 

As ÿwas ÿstated ÿearlier, ÿdeath was not always a ÿpart ÿof ÿmankind's 
experience.  For in the beginning when God created man and woman there 
was no death.  ÿNeither man nor animals experienced the termination of 
life.  ÿDeath was introduced as a sure consequence for sin, should man 
so ÿchose.  ÿÿGod had to establish a punishment that would ÿequal ÿthe 
offense of disobedience to His Holy Word.  ÿSome would say that ÿdeath 
was ÿtoo ÿgreat ÿa price to have to pay for ÿsimply ÿeating ÿforbidden 
fruit, but the fruit was not the issue.  The issue was the Holiness of 
God.  ÿWe cannot begin to understand how Holy God is unless we realize 
that the slightest offense against God cost man all that he had--life, 
both physical and spiritual.  

EXTENT OF DEATH

When man first sinned against God, ÿdeath entered the human race.  ÿSo 
vast ÿwas ÿthis ÿdeath that the entire universe began ÿto ÿdie, ÿÿ"The 
creation was subjected to frustration, ÿnot by its own choice, ÿbut by 
the will of the one who subjected it (God--because of man's sin), ÿÿin 
hope ÿthat ÿthe creation itself will be liberated from its bondage ÿto 
decay." ÿ(Romans 8:20-21).  ÿBut not only the creation but the ÿentire 
human ÿrace ÿfell under the curse of death because of the sin ÿof ÿone 
man, "...sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, 
and in this way death came to all men..." (Romans 5:12).  Again, it is 
through ÿdeath that we get a glimpse of the holiness of ÿGod, ÿÿnoting 
that one offense (the eating of the forbidden fruit) ÿcaused not ÿonly 
the offender's death but also all of his offspring, to include us! 

But ÿeven the physical death of the entire human race cannot repay the 
insult to our Holy God.  In fact, ÿthe one offense warranted something 
beyond ÿmere ÿphysical ÿdeath, ÿit demanded a ÿ"Second ÿDeath!"  ÿÿThe 
physical ÿdeath of the human race still left the insult to God unpaid, 
so ÿGod called for a punishment after death.  ÿThis second death is ÿa 
living ÿdeath ÿwhere ÿthe individual suffers in great torment ÿfor ÿan 
"endless" ÿtime in a burning lake of fire, ÿ"..The lake of fire is the 
second ÿdeath." ÿ(Revelation 20:14).  ÿThis death after death is ÿwhat 
every human deserves, ÿbut God in His great mercy and love offers Life 
to a sin-cursed race.  ÿOften times we question God about the death of 
a baby, a young child or some "good person."  ÿBut we are wrong to ask 
God, ÿ"why did you let them die?"  Our question should be, "Why do you 
let ÿany of us live?"  ÿWe all deserve "death after death," ÿÿbut ÿGod 
offers "life after life." 

SOVEREIGN OF DEATH

God is absolutely sovereign over death.  ÿWe have just as much control 
over ÿour death as we had over our birth--none!  ÿMan does not ÿdecide 
who will live and who will die--God does.  ÿMan cannot live one second 
beyond ÿthe time God has determined, ÿnor can he live one second less, 
"From ÿone man He made every nation of men, ÿthat they should ÿinhabit 
the whole earth; ÿand He (God) determined the times (birth,life,death) 
set ÿfor ÿthem ÿand the exact places where they should ÿlive." ÿÿ(Acts 
17:26,Matthew ÿ6:27).  ÿThe Psalmist expressed God's sovereignty ÿover 
life in this way, "Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number of my 
days; ÿÿlet me know how fleeting is my life.....All the days ÿordained 
for ÿme ÿwere ÿwritten in your book before one of them ÿcame ÿto ÿbe." 
(Psalm ÿ39:4,139:16).  ÿÿWhen ÿI was living ÿin ÿCalifornia ÿgoing ÿto 
seminary, there was a woman who lived in my apartment complex who  had 
tried ÿto commit suicide numerous times.  ÿOnce it was drug ÿoverdose, 
another time she slashed her wrists, and she even tried electrocution.  
Each ÿtime she should have died, ÿbut she could not.  ÿGod ÿwould ÿnot 
allow it.  Yet another person is a jogger and eats all the right foods 
and ÿis ÿin excellent condition according to the medical ÿexperts ÿand 
suddenly dies of a heart attack.  ÿGod determines the day and means of 
death. 

Today ÿin ÿour society we have some TV preachers who are teaching ÿthe 
lie ÿthat God wants all Christians "healthy and wealthy," ÿand if ÿyou 
just ÿhave enough faith you can avoid disease and die quietly in ÿyour 
own bed at an old age.  ÿThey even claim that any Christian who dies a 
violent ÿtype of death has failed to call upon the "power" ÿof God ÿin 
their lives.  

God ÿdoes ÿlove His children very much but He still uses all types ÿof 
deaths ÿto "bring us home."  ÿThe Bible is full of godly men and women 
dying ÿagonizing ÿand ÿuntimely deaths.  ÿFor example, ÿÿwe ÿhave ÿthe 
greatest ÿman who ever lived being killed by having his head cut ÿoff. 
(Luke 7:28, Mark 6:27).  Also, ÿin the Book of Hebrews we see numerous 
Christians ÿsuffering terrible deaths, ÿ"They were stoned; ÿthey ÿwere 
sawed in two; ÿthey were put to death by the sword...the world was not 
worthy ÿof them." ÿ(Hebrews 11:37,38).  ÿMost Christians ÿtoday ÿdon't 
suffer ÿthese ÿtype ÿof ÿdeaths but that does not ÿmean ÿthat ÿGod ÿis 
obligated to give us a quiet death in bed.  God will chose the type of 
death for a Christian that will bring God the most Glory. 

God ÿmust ÿbring Christians home through some type of death.  ÿIf ÿall 
Christians died at home without any suffering then the churches ÿwould 
not ÿbe able to hold all the people who would want to be a ÿChristian.  
The unbeliever would flock to the churches, ÿbut for the wrong reason.  
They would come to get the type of physical death they wanted ÿinstead 
of wanting to be subjected to Jesus Christ!  Now I do believe that for 
the ÿmost ÿpart Christians will live longer, ÿand more peaceful ÿlives 
than the wicked.  And the death experience for most will be a peaceful 
one ÿof natural causes.  ÿBut we must never put God "in a box" ÿby not 
allowing Him to pick the time and mode of our deaths.  

I ÿknew of a sweet vibrant Christian lady who was very active ÿin ÿthe 
church helping other Christians grow in the Lord.  ÿOne day her father 
showed ÿup ÿat my door to tell me that Barbara had been ÿmurdered ÿthe 
night before.  I was shocked and dismayed, for I too had put God "in a 
box."  ÿI ÿdid not allow God to take a Christian home through the hand 
of a murderer.  ÿI ÿslept with the lights on for the next week until I 
read in the Bible, ÿ"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of 
His ÿsaints." ÿ(Psalm 116:15).  ÿGod was saying that no matter ÿhow ÿa 
Christian ÿdies it is a precious moment in His sight.  ÿYou see, ÿÿGod 
loved Barbara so much that he had determined that she should be in His 
presence.  ÿHe did not cause the murderer to kill her, ÿbut rather put 
Barbara ÿin the path of one who was bent on doing evil, ÿthus allowing 
the sin of a person to accomplish God's will (to bring Barbara ÿhome). 
(Proverbs ÿ16:4).  ÿÿOne ÿwill say, ÿbut what a terrible way ÿto ÿdie, 
especially for one of God's beloved.  

In ÿthe ÿScriptures ÿwe ÿfind many ÿstatements ÿabout ÿthe ÿdeaths ÿof 
Christians ÿas being likened to "falling asleep."  ÿHistory has ÿshown 
Christians dying rather peaceful deaths in the midst of violence.  For 
example, ÿwe have the martyrs, ÿduring the Roman Catholic Inquisition, 
when ÿChristians ÿwere killed for their belief in salvation ÿby ÿfaith 
alone ÿin ÿJesus, ÿsinging songs of joy as the ÿfires ÿconsumed ÿtheir 
bodies.  ÿÿDuring one such burning at the stake, ÿthe dying ÿChristian 
cried out that he was in a "rose garden" and had great peace and joy--
despite the fact that his skin was already on fire! 

There ÿhave ÿbeen ÿmany ÿmodern-day ÿdeaths ÿof ÿChristians ÿwho ÿhave 
experienced ÿgreat joy and bliss during rather painful deaths.  ÿI ÿdo 
believe that victims like Barbara actually are given a great sense ÿof 
peace ÿfrom God as their death began.  ÿIn my own life ÿwhen ÿsuddenly 
faced with crisis situations I have felt the "rush" of the presence of 
God that assured me that it "was of Him!"  I believe that when Barbara 
first saw her attacker in her room, ÿthat she was given a sudden peace 
from God, ÿ(call it "dying grace" ÿif you will) ÿthat assured her that 
God was calling her into His presence.  This is similar to the account 
of ÿStephen when he was stoned to death, ÿin which he was full of ÿthe 
Holy ÿSpirit, ÿÿand in peace prayed that God would not hold ÿthis ÿsin 
against those who were killing him.  

RESULT OF DEATH

What exactly happens when we die?  First, ÿwe must understand that the 
concept ÿthat there are people who have died and then returned back to 
life, ÿÿafter having seen heaven or hell is just not true.  ÿI ÿam not 
talking ÿabout ÿthe Biblical accounts of miraculous ÿraisings ÿof ÿthe 
dead.  ÿThese miracles were done for a specific purpose of God, ÿwhich 
normally was to validate the giving of new revelation from God to man.  
But ÿsince ÿthe ÿclosing of the Canon of Scripture, ÿwe find ÿno ÿmore 
people being raised back to life.  ÿIn this age when a person dies--he 
stays ÿdead ÿ(at least until Jesus resurrects him to eternal ÿlife ÿor 
eternal ÿjudgment).  ÿÿIn ÿfact the Bible tells us ÿthat, ÿÿ"..man ÿis 
destined ÿto ÿdie once, ÿand after that to face ÿjudgment." ÿÿ(Hebrews 
9:27).  ÿÿPeople who really die do not return to live for a ÿfew ÿmore 
years.  ÿÿThe idea that you can die and go to heaven or hell and ÿthen 
return to live some more, is a lie straight from the "Pit of Hell."  

I ÿhave read the accounts of those who claim to have died, ÿwent ÿdown 
the "tunnel," ÿheard the "buzz," ÿand saw the "light."  ÿBut something 
beckoned ÿthem ÿback to earth and they returned.  ÿThese ÿpeople ÿwill 
testify ÿthat ÿthey can tell you what was occurring in their ÿhospital 
room or even "down the hall," ÿduring their "out-of-body" ÿexperience.  
Who ÿcould argue that they did not have an "out-of-body" ÿÿexperience.  
How ÿelse could we explain the fact that they knew what was ÿoccurring 
in various parts of the hospital, while they were "clinically dead" on 
an operating table?  The answer is rather simple.  First, ÿlook at the 
result of the whole experience.  ÿIt tells the world that you can live 
any way that you want, ÿthen die, ÿsee heaven and experience peace and 
then return.  This makes the Bible a lie, ÿfor it claims that after we 
die ÿwe go either to Heaven forever, ÿor to eternal torment.  ÿA ÿÿnew 
twist ÿto the lie comes from those who claim that they died ÿand ÿwent 
into ÿHell, ÿÿthus validating the Bible.  ÿThis is equally ÿnot ÿtrue, 
because ÿthe big lie is that you can die, ÿgo into Hell, ÿand then get 
out of Hell! (Luke 16:19-31). 

Where ÿdo these experiences come from?  ÿThe answer is easy--Satan has 
tricked ÿthem!  ÿYou see he has great power and can give false visions 
to ÿÿpeople ÿ(i.e.,Joseph ÿSmith-Mormans;Fatima-Catholics,etc).  ÿÿThe 
details about what was occurring around the hospital is easy when ÿyou 
have ÿdemons everywhere; ÿthey just make it part of the vision.  ÿÿThe 
person experiencing it all, really is being used by the forces of evil 
to ÿhelp ÿdeceive both unbelievers and the saved.  ÿKnow very ÿclearly 
that after real death comes eternity, either in Heaven or in Hell. 

Death is often described as a door to Heaven, or a door to Hell.  ÿFor 
the Christian, ÿdeath is like walking through a door.  ÿOne moment you 
are on the outside looking in, ÿand then "swish" ÿthrough the door and 
are ÿinside.  ÿÿOne second, ÿyou are driving your car listening ÿto ÿa 
Christian ÿtape, ÿand then "crash," ÿyou are through the door and into 
the arms of Christ!  In the same way the wicked die.  ÿBut for the the 
wicked, ÿÿdeath is a terrifying experience, ÿbecause suddenly they are 
confronted with the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is not their 
Savior ÿwaiting ÿwith open arms; ÿrather, ÿHe is their judge who ÿwill 
throw them into torment. (Revelation 20:15).  I recall once when I was 
in ÿpilot training, ÿwatching an Air Force film in the ÿBase ÿTheater, 
suddenly, ÿthe lights came on and the Commander came in and ÿannounced 
that ÿthere ÿwere ÿseveral tornadoes spotted in the ÿvicinity ÿof ÿour 
Northern Texas base, ÿand that we needed to go to a shelter.  ÿFor the 
unbeliever death is like that, ÿan interruption in a movie.  ÿThe lost 
person thinks he has everything figured out, but is really living in a 
dream world.  ÿSuddenly, the lights will come on, ÿand he will be made 
aware that the fantasy is over and that Jesus Christ is truly the ÿGod 
of ÿthe Universe who called him to believe in Him by faith--and ÿfaith 
alone.  ÿÿBut ÿthen it will be too late, ÿfor he had to have made ÿthe 
decision for Christ before he died. 

So the believer goes to be with the Lord, and the unbeliever goes into 
the fires of Hell.  ÿBut what about babies, young children, ÿand those 
who ÿare retarded to a point of not being able to reason.  ÿÿAre ÿthey 
condemned to the fire because of the sin of Adam?  The Bible indicates 
that ÿthere is a special grace that God gives to allow them ÿto ÿenter 
heaven because they had not reached the "age of accountability."  ÿÿWe 
see ÿthis ÿwith ÿKing David in the Old Testament who ÿprayed ÿfor ÿhis 
infant ÿson who was dying.  ÿGod took the life of the little boy, ÿand 
David said, "But now that he is dead...Can I bring him back again?  ÿI 
will ÿgo to him, ÿbut he will not return to me." ÿ(2 ÿÿSamuel ÿ12:23).  
David ÿspoke ÿunder the inspiration of the Holy Spirit ÿand ÿindicated 
that he, David, would someday go to be with his little son.  David was 
a believer who was redeemed and upon death went "non-stop" ÿto Heaven.  
Thus ÿwe ÿcan ÿdraw ÿthe obvious conclusion that those ÿwho ÿhave ÿnot 
matured ÿto the point of being able to make a decision for Christ ÿare 
covered ÿunder ÿthe Blood of Christ.  ÿNote that the sin of ÿthe ÿbaby 
(original sin) still had to be "paid for" on the cross of Christ. 

APPLICATION

What ÿÿshould ÿbe ÿour ÿattitude ÿand ÿaction ÿbased ÿon ÿthe ÿÿproper 
understanding of death?  

A.  For the Believer

Death is determined by God and we can rest assured that He will remove 
us ÿat the proper time that will bring Him maximum glory.  ÿWe are not 
to live in a constant state of anxiety about the possibility of death, 
for ÿus or our loved ones.  ÿAs a pilot I am sometimes prone to ÿthink 
about ÿa ÿsudden ÿdisaster ÿstriking my family, ÿand ÿthis ÿbrings ÿon 
anxiety.  But at this point I recall a powerful Bible verse, ÿ"Have no 
fear ÿof ÿsudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes ÿthe ÿwicked." 
(Proverbs 3:25).  ÿGod has called us to live a life of peace, ÿso that 
the ÿunbelieving ÿworld ÿaround us will see our joy and ÿseek ÿit ÿfor 
themselves.  ÿÿIf ÿwe fear death, ÿthen what hope can we give ÿanyone?  
Yet, there should be fear in our hearts of a different sort, ÿwhich is 
the ÿfear of disobedience to God.  ÿWe find in the New Testament ÿthat 
God ÿhas ÿtaken some Christians off of the "globe" ÿfor their ÿwillful 
continuous sins.  Remember the account of Ananias and Sapphira, who in 
their hearts lied to the Holy Spirit, ÿand God struck them dead before 
the ÿchurch as an example of His demand for personal holiness. ÿÿ(Acts 
5:1-11).  ÿÿIn ÿ1 Corinthians 11:30 ÿwe also have the deaths ÿof ÿsome 
Corinthians, ÿÿdue ÿto their unworthy manner of receiving ÿthe ÿLord's 
Supper.  The point is that our behavior as Christians does have a part 
in the decision God makes about the "number of our days." 

One important note is that if we are removed from the earth because of 
our ÿcontinued disobedience, ÿthe very next moment will find us in the 
loving arms of Christ.  He will not remind us of the fact that we left 
the earth because of sin, rather He will pour upon us His sweet gentle 
love, "I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no 
more." ÿ(Hebrews 8:12).  For the Christian, ÿdeath is the beginning of 
an eternal bliss.  ÿWhen the Lord takes away one of our dear ÿBrothers 
or Sisters in Christ, or takes our little child, we can rejoice in our 
tears, that they are happier in Heaven then they ever were here on the 
earth.  ÿÿWe ÿwill ÿmiss their presence, ÿbut can ÿlook ÿforward ÿwith 
confidence to sharing all eternity with them. 

B.  For the Unbeliever

If you have read thus far and have allowed the Spirit to speak to your 
heart, then your response should be one of repentance.  Without Christ 
your ÿsins ÿhave not been dealt with and you are liable for ÿnot ÿonly 
physical ÿdeath but also the second, ÿspiritual death in the ÿlake ÿof 
fire ÿfor ÿall ÿeternity.  ÿDo not delay falling ÿon ÿyour ÿknees ÿand 
confessing to Jesus that: 

          1.  You are a sinner who is rightly condemned to hell
          for your sins against a pure and holy God.

          2.  You want to receive the "free gift of salvation," that
          is not based on anything you can do, but on what Jesus did
          at the Cross.

          3.  You submit complete control of your life to Jesus, being
          willing to do all that he will command you to do.

          4.  You are willing at the very next opportunity, to be         
          Baptized in a Bible believing Church.  Be aware that the
          Baptism does not save you; it is simply an outward sign of
          the inward reality of your conversion.  And is the first
          step of obedience God calls you to make as a follower of His 
          Lordship.


Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
Box 115
Galveston, IN 46932
Modem (317)-452-1535
September 27, 1986