15/04/2026
THE STATE OF THE DEAD
When a person dies are they aware of what is happening around?
This question is very crucial and demands answers based on the Scriptures. We are living at a time in which so many teachings have been circulated that are not Bible based and a lot are misled on this matter, but what does the Bible say concerning the nature of a person who is dead?
To understand the state of a person who is dead, we need to understand the way man was created. Lets get to the book of beginnings.
Genesis 2:7 KJV
“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. ”
From the above passage, we understand that man was created by God, however, before he was created, he never existed. There was never a time when part of him was existing before God created him. God created man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils, the breath of life, and he became a living soul. Mark the phrase A LIVING SOUL. In the Hebrew, Soul is Nephesh which denotes a living being or breath of life or life force depending on the context of the passage. In some other versions it says a LIVING CREATURE OR BEING.
So the Creation equation is:
Dust + Breath of Life=Living Soul.
So what happens at Death?
Let us look at the passage below:
“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. ”
Genesis 3:19 KJV
The context of the above passage is that Adam and Eve had just eaten the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. God had initially warned them that the day they will eat of it, they will surely die. So instead of them obeying the clear command, they listened to the voice of Satan who used a serpent as a medium. Just after eating the forbidden fruit, their innocence departs from them and they realize that they have fallen and are naked. Guilt and afraid, they attempt to hide from God's presence on account of their sin. God comes looking for them and finds them trembling, after calling them to account for their deed. God then issues the consequence of their sin, they will die eventually. They will return to dust for from dust they where taken. God does not say that when they die, a part of them will live on, no, no, no. They will cease to live. Death is the cessation of life and not living in torment.
Let us consider some other passages of Scripture:
Ecclesiastes 9:5-6
“5 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. 6 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. ”
There you have it friends, the above passage clearly states it is those who are alive like you and me who know that one day they shall die, but those that are dead do not know anything at all.
Ecclesiastes 9:10
“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. ”
The passage above further adds up that in the grave, one cannot work, because they are no more.
Psalms 6:5 KJV
“For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks? ”
The Psalmist above made it clear that in death, we cannot praise the Lord. Time to praise our God is now while we are alive. The other passage below adds up:
“The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence. ”
Psalms 115:17 KJV.
A question may be asked on the meaning of soul and spirit.
These two words are usually used interchangeably, however one needs to understand depending on the the context. For example, consider the passage below:
“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. ”
Psalms 103:1 KJV
David is simply speaking to himself to praise the Lord with the essence of his entire being. It does not mean that he is telling a part of him.
Look at the verse below:
“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. ”
Ecclesiastes 12:7 KJV
This passage tells you and I what happens at Death. We are told that the spirit shall return to God who gave it.
We need to understand what is meant by spirit here.
The Hebrew word for spirit is ruach which denotes air, wind or breath.
Remember in Genesis 2:7, the Lord upon creating man, had breathed into his nostrils the breath of life for him to be a living soul or living being. Therefore, what returns to God is the breath of life or the spark of life from God himself, we can not touch it, feel it or hear it. It is a mystery.
Therefore, with the above evidence, a person who is dead, does not know anything, he or she is just like a dead wood which has no life in it.
Check the passages below also about the soul.
Ezekiel 18:4,7 KJV
“4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. 7 And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment; ”
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. ”
Ezekiel 18:20 KJV
The passages above is simply telling you and I that all human beings, that is those living, belong to God, and those that sin shall die.
Simply put, a living soul is a living human being, a dead soul is a dead human being.
What about the dead loved ones who appear in dreams?
We should first understand that we are human beings who may have lost loved ones, whom we had spent time with. These may be our late brothers or sisters, our friends, our spouses etc, it is normal to dream about them once in a while because they were part of us. We have memories of them in our minds. Therefore, the brain can replay those memories in form of dreams. However, when these dead loved ones appear in dreams as comforting us concerning our present situations, even predicting our future, or even telling us that that they are in heaven and watching over us. Then we should know that it is Satan or his demons personating them and appearing to us to deceive us so that we turn away from what the Bible says about the nature of those who are dead.
Look at the quotation below which is a commentary.
He has power to bring before men the appearance of their departed friends. The counterfeit is perfect; the familiar look, the words, the tone, are reproduced with marvelous distinctness. Many are comforted with the assurance that their loved ones are enjoying the bliss of heaven, and without suspicion of danger, they give ear “to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” GC 552.1
This passage talks about the power of Satan to deceive humanity into believing that the dead can come and appear to the living.
The belief that the dead are conscious, is the foundation of Spiritualism, which is a teaching that the human being possesses something in him which never dies. This lie originated with the devil himself and it is based on the lie that Satan told Eve in the garden of Eden as quoted below:
“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: ”
Genesis 3:4 KJV
May God bless and enlighten us.
