What Happens At Death?

I. The Great Argument

A. Did God Say Man Would Die?

Genesis 2:

    17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

NOTE:

    Margin says “Dying thou shalt die.” This is more accurate because as the record of Adam and Eve shows they didn’t die instantly, rather, when they sinned the process of dying begin. (see “TEXTS OF INTEREST” below)

    If wicked man in any shape or form lives in hell fire, is this death? God said, “thou shalt surely die.”

Genesis 3:

    3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

NOTE:

    Here Eve repeats what God had said.

Genesis 3:

    19 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.

TEXTS OF INTEREST

Genesis 3:

    22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

    23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

    24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

NOTE:

    Here we see that God made Adam and Eve leave the Garden and guarded the “tree of life” so they could not live for ever. It is here very clear that man does not automatically have eternal life.

    Does this death only refer to the body of man? Does man have a “soul” that does not die? (see VIII.)

Genesis 5:

    5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

Romans 5:

    12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

1 Corinthians 15:

    21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

    22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

NOTE:

    When Adam and Eve sinned they caused all of humanity to be sentenced to death because death is the penalty for sin and “all have sinned.” The only way to be pardoned is to be pardoned by Christ who died in our place. This pardon doesn’t automatically cover everyone, only those who choose Christ instead of the world. (see Romans 5:12 above and 6:23)

B. Who Said Man Would Not Die?

Genesis 3:

    4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

    5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

NOTE:

    It is Satan himself that says men will not die if he sins. (see Revelation 12:9 below)

Revelation 12:

    9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

TEXT OF INTEREST

John 8:

    44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

NOTE:

    As you prayerfully study the Bible on this subject ask yourself, “who’s side am I on?” God says, “disobedience leads to death.’ Satan says, “God is wrong and that you won’t die.’

    Is to say, “man has a soul that can’t die” the same as saying, “ye shall not surely die?”

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