
                              DEATH


Approximately 10,000 B.C., God said to man, who was created to live 
forever, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you 
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 12,000 years later we read the headlines from the 
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 has been a part of man's existence from the very beginning.  
Every age and society has had to face the reality of death on a 
continuing basis.  It is a subject that everyone must deal with 
because it is an experience we must all share in.  Most people avoid 
the subject of death because they have no answers as to the origin and 
meaning of this enemy of life.  Man fears death because it is an 
unknown to him.  He does not know when it will occur or how it will 
take place.  Most people fear death because they do not know what 
happens after death. 

Each person has an attitude about death that will affect nearly every 
activity of his life.  These attitudes can be grouped into three basic 
types; one is to fear death to such an extent that we become a slave 
to our emotions.  Another attitude is to ignore the thought of death 
by becoming engrossed in living.  The third attitude one can have 
towards death is to accept it as a reality and to be prepared for it, 
both emotionally and spiritually.  Having the proper attitude towards 
death is a result of understanding its various aspects.  
    

ORIGIN OF DEATH 

As was stated earlier, death was not always a part of mankind's 
experience.  For in the beginning when God created man and woman there 
was no death.  Neither man nor animals experienced the termination of 
life.  Death was introduced as a sure consequence for sin, should man 
so chose.  God had to establish a punishment that would equal the 
offense of disobedience to His Holy Word.  Some would say that death 
was too great a price to have to pay for simply eating forbidden 
fruit, but the fruit was not the issue.  The issue was the Holiness of 
God.  We 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, death entered the human race.  So 
vast was this death that the entire universe began to die, "The 
creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by 
the will of the one who subjected it (God--because of man's sin), in 
hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to 
decay." (Romans 8:20-21).  But not only the creation but the entire 
human race fell under the curse of death because of the sin of one 
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 death that we get a glimpse of the holiness of God, noting 
that one offense (the eating of the forbidden fruit) caused not only 
the offender's death but also all of his offspring, to include us! 

But even the physical death of the entire human race cannot repay the 
insult to our Holy God.  In fact, the one offense warranted something 
beyond mere physical death, it demanded a "Second Death!"  The 
physical death of the human race still left the insult to God unpaid, 
so God called for a punishment after death.  This second death is a 
living death where the individual suffers in great torment for an 
"endless" time in a burning lake of fire, "..The lake of fire is the 
second death." (Revelation 20:14).  This death after death is what 
every human deserves, but God in His great mercy and love offers Life 
to a sin-cursed race.  Often times we question God about the death of 
a baby, a young child or some "good person."  But we are wrong to ask 
God, "why did you let them die?"  Our question should be, "Why do you 
let any of us live?"  We all deserve "death after death," but God 
offers "life after life." 

SOVEREIGN OF DEATH

God is absolutely sovereign over death.  We have just as much control 
over our death as we had over our birth--none!  Man does not decide 
who will live and who will die--God does.  Man cannot live one second 
beyond the time God has determined, nor can he live one second less, 
"From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit 
the whole earth; and He (God) determined the times (birth,life,death) 
set for them and the exact places where they should live." (Acts 
17:26,Matthew 6:27).  The Psalmist expressed God's sovereignty over 
life in this way, "Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number of my 
days; let me know how fleeting is my life.....All the days ordained 
for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." 
(Psalm 39:4,139:16).  When I was living in California going to 
seminary, there was a woman who lived in my apartment complex who  had 
tried to commit suicide numerous times.  Once it was drug overdose, 
another time she slashed her wrists, and she even tried electrocution.  
Each time she should have died, but she could not.  God would not 
allow it.  Yet another person is a jogger and eats all the right foods 
and is in excellent condition according to the medical experts and 
suddenly dies of a heart attack.  God determines the day and means of 
death. 

Today in our society we have some TV preachers who are teaching the 
lie that God wants all Christians "healthy and wealthy," and if you 
just have enough faith you can avoid disease and die quietly in your 
own bed at an old age.  They even claim that any Christian who dies a 
violent type of death has failed to call upon the "power" of God in 
their lives.  

God does love His children very much but He still uses all types of 
deaths to "bring us home."  The Bible is full of godly men and women 
dying agonizing and untimely deaths.  For example, we have the 
greatest man who ever lived being killed by having his head cut off. 
(Luke 7:28, Mark 6:27).  Also, in the Book of Hebrews we see numerous 
Christians suffering terrible deaths, "They were stoned; they were 
sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword...the world was not 
worthy of them." (Hebrews 11:37,38).  Most Christians today don't 
suffer these type of deaths but that does not mean that God is 
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 must bring Christians home through some type of death.  If all 
Christians died at home without any suffering then the churches would 
not be able to hold all the people who would want to be a Christian.  
The unbeliever would flock to the churches, but for the wrong reason.  
They would come to get the type of physical death they wanted instead 
of wanting to be subjected to Jesus Christ!  Now I do believe that for 
the most part Christians will live longer, and more peaceful lives 
than the wicked.  And the death experience for most will be a peaceful 
one of natural causes.  But we must never put God "in a box" by not 
allowing Him to pick the time and mode of our deaths.  

I knew of a sweet vibrant Christian lady who was very active in the 
church helping other Christians grow in the Lord.  One day her father 
showed up at my door to tell me that Barbara had been murdered the 
night before.  I was shocked and dismayed, for I too had put God "in a 
box."  I did not allow God to take a Christian home through the hand 
of a murderer.  I slept with the lights on for the next week until I 
read in the Bible, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of 
His saints." (Psalm 116:15).  God was saying that no matter how a 
Christian dies it is a precious moment in His sight.  You see, God 
loved Barbara so much that he had determined that she should be in His 
presence.  He did not cause the murderer to kill her, but rather put 
Barbara in the path of one who was bent on doing evil, thus allowing 
the sin of a person to accomplish God's will (to bring Barbara home). 
(Proverbs 16:4).  One will say, but what a terrible way to die, 
especially for one of God's beloved.  

In the Scriptures we find many statements about the deaths of 
Christians as being likened to "falling asleep."  History has shown 
Christians dying rather peaceful deaths in the midst of violence.  For 
example, we have the martyrs, during the Roman Catholic Inquisition, 
when Christians were killed for their belief in salvation by faith 
alone in Jesus, singing songs of joy as the fires consumed their 
bodies.  During one such burning at the stake, the dying Christian 
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 have been many modern-day deaths of Christians who have 
experienced great joy and bliss during rather painful deaths.  I do 
believe that victims like Barbara actually are given a great sense of 
peace from God as their death began.  In my own life when suddenly 
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, that she was given a sudden peace 
from God, (call it "dying grace" if you will) that assured her that 
God was calling her into His presence.  This is similar to the account 
of Stephen when he was stoned to death, in which he was full of the 
Holy Spirit, and in peace prayed that God would not hold this sin 
against those who were killing him.  

RESULT OF DEATH

What exactly happens when we die?  First, we must understand that the 
concept that there are people who have died and then returned back to 
life, after having seen heaven or hell is just not true.  I am not 
talking about the Biblical accounts of miraculous raisings of the 
dead.  These miracles were done for a specific purpose of God, which 
normally was to validate the giving of new revelation from God to man.  
But since the closing of the Canon of Scripture, we find no more 
people being raised back to life.  In this age when a person dies--he 
stays dead (at least until Jesus resurrects him to eternal life or 
eternal judgment).  In fact the Bible tells us that, "..man is 
destined to die once, and after that to face judgment." (Hebrews 
9:27).  People who really die do not return to live for a few more 
years.  The idea that you can die and go to heaven or hell and then 
return to live some more, is a lie straight from the "Pit of Hell."  

I have read the accounts of those who claim to have died, went down 
the "tunnel," heard the "buzz," and saw the "light."  But something 
beckoned them back to earth and they returned.  These people will 
testify that they can tell you what was occurring in their hospital 
room or even "down the hall," during their "out-of-body" experience.  
Who could argue that they did not have an "out-of-body" experience.  
How else could we explain the fact that they knew what was occurring 
in various parts of the hospital, while they were "clinically dead" on 
an operating table?  The answer is rather simple.  First, look at the 
result of the whole experience.  It tells the world that you can live 
any way that you want, then die, see heaven and experience peace and 
then return.  This makes the Bible a lie, for it claims that after we 
die we go either to Heaven forever, or to eternal torment.  A new 
twist to the lie comes from those who claim that they died and went 
into Hell, thus validating the Bible.  This is equally not true, 
because the big lie is that you can die, go into Hell, and then get 
out of Hell! (Luke 16:19-31). 

Where do these experiences come from?  The answer is easy--Satan has 
tricked them!  You see he has great power and can give false visions 
to people (i.e.,Joseph Smith-Mormans;Fatima-Catholics,etc).  The 
details about what was occurring around the hospital is easy when you 
have demons everywhere; they just make it part of the vision.  The 
person experiencing it all, really is being used by the forces of evil 
to help deceive both unbelievers and the saved.  Know very clearly 
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.  For 
the Christian, death is like walking through a door.  One moment you 
are on the outside looking in, and then "swish" through the door and 
are inside.  One second, you are driving your car listening to a 
Christian tape, and then "crash," you are through the door and into 
the arms of Christ!  In the same way the wicked die.  But for the the 
wicked, death is a terrifying experience, because suddenly they are 
confronted with the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is not their 
Savior waiting with open arms; rather, He is their judge who will 
throw them into torment. (Revelation 20:15).  I recall once when I was 
in pilot training, watching an Air Force film in the Base Theater, 
suddenly, the lights came on and the Commander came in and announced 
that there were several tornadoes spotted in the vicinity of our 
Northern Texas base, and that we needed to go to a shelter.  For the 
unbeliever death is like that, an interruption in a movie.  The lost 
person thinks he has everything figured out, but is really living in a 
dream world.  Suddenly, the lights will come on, and he will be made 
aware that the fantasy is over and that Jesus Christ is truly the God 
of the Universe who called him to believe in Him by faith--and faith 
alone.  But then it will be too late, for he had to have made the 
decision for Christ before he died. 

So the believer goes to be with the Lord, and the unbeliever goes into 
the fires of Hell.  But what about babies, young children, and those 
who are retarded to a point of not being able to reason.  Are they 
condemned to the fire because of the sin of Adam?  The Bible indicates 
that there is a special grace that God gives to allow them to enter 
heaven because they had not reached the "age of accountability."  We 
see this with King David in the Old Testament who prayed for his 
infant son who was dying.  God took the life of the little boy, and 
David said, "But now that he is dead...Can I bring him back again?  I 
will go to him, but he will not return to me." (2 Samuel 12:23).  
David spoke under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and indicated 
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" to Heaven.  
Thus we can draw the obvious conclusion that those who have not 
matured to the point of being able to make a decision for Christ are 
covered under the Blood of Christ.  Note that the sin of the baby 
(original sin) still had to be "paid for" on the cross of Christ. 

APPLICATION

What should be our attitude and action based on the proper 
understanding of death?  

A.  For the Believer

Death is determined by God and we can rest assured that He will remove 
us at the proper time that will bring Him maximum glory.  We are not 
to live in a constant state of anxiety about the possibility of death, 
for us or our loved ones.  As a pilot I am sometimes prone to think 
about a sudden disaster striking my family, and this brings on 
anxiety.  But at this point I recall a powerful Bible verse, "Have no 
fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked." 
(Proverbs 3:25).  God has called us to live a life of peace, so that 
the unbelieving world around us will see our joy and seek it for 
themselves.  If we fear death, then what hope can we give anyone?  
Yet, there should be fear in our hearts of a different sort, which is 
the fear of disobedience to God.  We find in the New Testament that 
God has taken some Christians off of the "globe" for their willful 
continuous sins.  Remember the account of Ananias and Sapphira, who in 
their hearts lied to the Holy Spirit, and God struck them dead before 
the church as an example of His demand for personal holiness. (Acts 
5:1-11).  In 1 Corinthians 11:30 we also have the deaths of some 
Corinthians, due to their unworthy manner of receiving the Lord'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 continued disobedience, the 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." (Hebrews 8:12).  For the Christian, death is the beginning of 
an eternal bliss.  When the Lord takes away one of our dear Brothers 
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.  We will miss their presence, but can look forward with 
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 sins have not been dealt with and you are liable for not only 
physical death but also the second, spiritual death in the lake of 
fire for all eternity.  Do not delay falling on your knees and 
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

