Henriette Juliane Caroline von Rüling lived in Hanover, Germany, in the 1700s, and she apparently did not believe in (or at least did not want to face) the resurrection. To make her point, she inscribed on her tombstone, “May this tomb bought for eternity never be opened.” She died and was buried in that tomb in 1782. The tomb was covered with gigantic blocks and surrounded by iron bars and sealed with the commandment, “May this tomb bought for eternity never be opened.”
Guess what happened. A tiny birch tree seed under her tomb germinated, began to grow, and instead of growing around the tomb, it grew through the tomb, effectively splitting and opening the tomb that was meant to be sealed forever.
Death. It affects us all in different ways. Some folks hear about death but are too young for it to seem relevant. Some seem to have dealt with death their entire lives, having lost many close friends and/or relatives. Regardless, we all know we must face death. Yet Jesus said this:
Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
John 5:28–29
There are many ways in which Jesus’ voice overcomes death. Jesus is willing to heal all who are dead in their trespasses and sins. Jesus, while on earth, raised people from the dead, literally calling them out of their tombs, like His friend Lazarus. On that final day, there will be a resurrection of all to face the judgment. Jesus has power over death.
There are many people who do not believe this claim. Those who believe in only the material world consider death to be the end. There are some who fear our Lord’s words. Why did Mrs. von Rüling demand that her tomb to be sealed forever? Perhaps she believed the words of Jesus, but she wanted to be an exception to “all who are in the graves.” What’s to fear about death? The unknown. The end. Prematurity. The suddenness. The sadness. Unfinished business. What’s to fear about the resurrection? Accountability.
And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
Hebrews 9:27–28
Imagine you’re scheduled for a serious surgery. What would you do? I would start asking questions. I would want to be as prepared as possible for that appointment. I would want to know what to expect both before and after the surgery. You and I have an impending appointment—death. Don’t you want to know what to expect?
What is death? When we lose a loved one, we’re confused, sad, and sometimes angry. When we try to console someone who’s lost a loved one, we are at a loss for words (sometimes silence is best, anyway). When we talk about death, we avoid explicit statements. I recently learned that someone I knew several years ago “passed away.” He had “taken his own life.” Everyone talking about it used euphemisms to soften the impact, appropriately so. No one used the words suicide, death, or killed himself. That would have just been too harsh. I understand. Today, we are seeing a new development in language and euphemisms, where TV networks and social media policies have driven people to begin replacing the word kill with unalive and suicide with unalive oneself. Clearly, death is a sensitive subject.
The materialistic scientific world that has forced all consideration of spirituality and God out of the lab still does not understand the subject of death. They know how to describe it with scientific jargon: Death is the cessation of all biological functions, followed by disintegration of the flesh. That was easy. Yet, it’s still a phenomenon. Something happens at death that cannot be explained or reproduced in a lab. Only the Lord has authority on this matter, and the Bible’s definition of death is quite simple.
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
James 2:26
When the spirit leaves the body, death has occurred (see also John 19:30, where Jesus gave up His spirit while on the cross).
When you consider that death is imminent, do you echo the words of Psalm 55 or Philippians 1?
My heart is severely pained within me
Psalm 55:4
And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Philippians 1:21
The first time death is mentioned in the Bible, it’s in the form of a warning.
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 2:16–17
The woman and the man ate, and a death sentence loomed over their heads for the rest of their lives. But it didn’t remain only their problem.
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.
Romans 5:12
So, unless we are still alive at the return of Christ, we will all face what Bildad the Shuhite describes as the “king of terrors” (Job 18:14).
Since all people—both religious and not—experience death, it’s no surprise that people of all “faiths” have teachings and tales on the matter. My Buddhist friends, for example, claim that death is the beginning of another earthly life—in a word, reincarnation. When I was a teenager, a friend had me read a short book about a woman who, after death, was allegedly taken on a tour of Hell by Jesus Himself. In 2010, a book called The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven hit the bestsellers list. The author of the book claimed to have died, gone to heaven, spoken to angels, spoken to God, and then he came back to life on earth, recounting the whole ordeal. Later, he publicly repented, admitting he made the whole story up. With all of these teachings and tales, no wonder people are asking, “What really happens at death?” Jesus said:
There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” But Abraham said, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.” Then he said, “I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.” Abraham said to him, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” And he said, “No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” But he said to him, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.”
Luke 16:19–31
Although everything from our perspective seems to cry, “End!” at death, death is a conscious state. Death is the moment that everything comes into true perspective. What will you see, experience, and desire when it happens to you? The rich man, who realized the seriousness of both life and death in one moment, saw Abraham and Lazarus from a distance and realized that they were not experiencing what he was, which was torment. Notice the text doesn’t say torture. So many people picture the unrighteous entering some eternal torture chamber after death (with either God or the devil as the torturer), but the Bible never uses the word torture to describe what the unrighteous will face. Instead, it speaks of torment—torment in the flames, in the separation, in the regret, and so on. Therefore, he desired that his loved ones avoid coming to such torment. He realized it was too late for himself. But what could be done to save his family members?
This leads me to ask you to do something very difficult. Imagine the last person in your life you lost to death. Whether they are in paradise or in torment, I guarantee that, right now—at this very moment—they want to see you avoid torment. Who is begging Abraham right now on your behalf that you come to your senses before it’s too late?
Sometimes when someone around us is expecting his own death or we ourselves have lost a loved one, we say that “God’s will must be done.” I understand the sentiment of that phrase. Can God’s will be accomplished through death? Yes. Consider what God was able to accomplish through the death of His Son. Yet we need to understand one serious fact: death is an enemy of God.
But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
1 Corinthians 15:20–26
When someone is facing death—whether a Christian or a wicked person—don’t say it’s God’s will that they die. Also, please do not say other equally unbiblical expressions like, “God has gained another angel,” or “So-and-so has gained their wings,” or “I guess God needed them in heaven more than He needed them on earth.” These sayings are not scriptural, and, not only are they unhelpful, but they have also harmed the faith of the grieving.
Many things are antithetical to the Christian life, and Christians will always have enemies. Here, the Bible lists death as an enemy of God’s people—an enemy that Christ will put an end to. Notice this picture that God gave to the first-century Christians:
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:11–15
Although there’s a lot to say about this first-century picture of the throne and judgment, we can recall Jesus’ words in John 5: “All who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth.” This also includes those whose bodies have been lost at sea, cremated, or devoured by beasts. On the final day when Jesus returns, death will no longer serve a purpose. Death will find its true end. Many Bible students are aware of the beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount.1 Are you aware of this beatitude in the book of Revelation?
Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”
Revelation 14:13
One of my mentors passed away in 2019. During his ministry, this was his favorite verse to quote. He Himself now knows the blessing of it, for he died in the Lord.
Those who are in Christ can rejoice that the final enemy will be destroyed on the final day, and, because of the work of Jesus, physical death is not only the end of our sufferings, temptations, and labors! It’s also the beginning of so much more.
Jesus knew that, as He became human, He would face all aspects of the human experience, including sadness, joy, pain, satisfaction, hunger, temptation, happiness, suffering, and even death.
Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Hebrews 2:14–15
The Bible describes those who fear death as in bondage. Jesus died to free us from that bondage! All will die and face God in judgment. Mrs. von Rüling went to extreme measures to try to miss this appointment. Yet, a single birch tree seed was powerful enough to remind the world that we will all experience death—that which is coming at us at the speed of a freight train.
After her brother had passed away, Jesus comforted Martha with these words:
I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.
John 11:25–26
Then, Jesus asked Martha the pointed question, “Do you believe this?”
I’m at the point in my life when old people still think I’m young, but young people think I’m old. So, am I old or young? Regardless, James reminds me in James 4:14, “You do not know what will happen tomorrow.” He asks, “For what is your life?” The answer? “It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”
Old folks, pay attention. Your life is a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
Young folks, pay attention. Yes, the old folks say things like, “You’ve got your whole life ahead of you.” What does your whole life consist of? A vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
Jesus says that the person who plans his life, not considering the imminence of death (no matter how old or young), is a fool (see Luke 12:13–21). We all have a limited number of heartbeats. How many do you have left? 350 million (about ten years)? or 75 (about a minute)? Jesus told us about the death of the rich man and Lazarus. It’s been centuries since those guys died, but because of that great gulf, they are still where they were. The rich man is in torment, and Lazarus is in paradise. If you died today, who would you meet—the rich man or Lazarus? It’s your choice.
If you’re not prepared for death, please contact us or consider studying your Bible beginning with this lesson.
- In case you’re not, read Matthew 5:3–12. The word beatitude is a transliteration of the Latin noun beātitūdō, which simply means “happiness,” and the Bible’s beatitudes are usually introduced with the word blessed. Being the person described in the beatitude comes with a guarantee from God to receive true blessedness or happiness. ↩︎