October 27, 2023 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Ted N.C. Wilson, President, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Greetings, friends. For the past several months, we have been going through the book, “The Great Controversy” by Ellen White. One of the most important themes in this amazing book is that the Bible is the Word of God. Despite incredible persecution, there have been faithful people down through the ages who have stood firm for God’s Word.
We will be returning to our journey through “The Great Controversy” in due time, but for the next several weeks we will be looking at some specific challenges the Seventh-day Adventist Church is facing at this very time. These challenges are serious as they undermine important teachings of the Bible, bringing in confusion and misunderstandings as to what the Word of God says. Today, we will consider the biblical teaching regarding what happens when a person dies and the confusion that the devil has brought in regarding this topic.
Every year at the end of October and the first of November, millions of people celebrate festivals focusing on the dead, spiritualism, and the occult. And, in fact, the celebrations are growing.
For example, here in the United States, the National Retail Federation estimates that total Halloween spending will reach a record $12.2 billion—up nearly 2 billion in sales from last year. Halloween sales include candy, costumes, decorations, parties and more that focus on the macabre.
In many parts of the world, “The Day of the Dead,” or el dia de Muertos (“el deeya de martos”) is celebrated. During this festival, families build private altars to the dead in their home. These altars contain the favorite foods and beverages, as well as photos and memorabilia, of the departed. The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so the souls will hear the prayers and the words of the living directed to them. In some countries these altars are also placed in public spaces such as schools and libraries, or in cemeteries.
The point is not only to honor the dead, but to get in touch with the “spirits” of the departed loved ones. This goes directly contrary to God’s clear instruction given in Ecclesiastes 9:5: “For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing.”
Many unbiblical understandings about life after death are being promoted. The occult, spiritualism, and satanic influences are growing. The worldwide entertainment industry promotes spiritualism.
The devil plans overwhelming delusions at the end of time through mysticism and unbiblical understandings regarding life after death. Satan will even attempt to duplicate Christ’s return. I urge you to refute any attempts to overpower your thinking by relying only on what you read in God’s Word.
In 1 Timothy 6:16 we are told clearly that God “alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light . . .” He is uncreated, self-existent, and has no beginning and no end.
In contrast to God, humans are mortal, created beings. Nowhere in the Scriptures are we described as being immortal, or that we have an “immortal soul” or spirit.
At Creation, “God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Gen. 2:7), or as some translations put it, a “living soul.” To be a “living soul,” one must have the breath of life, plus a body. Without both, the “soul” or “being” does not exist.
When God created Adam and Eve, He gave them free will—the power of choice. They could obey or disobey, and their continued existence depended upon their choices. God carefully explained that if they ate of “the tree of knowledge of good and evil” they would “surely die” (Gen. 2:17).
But Satan contradicted God’s warning, asserting to Eve, “You will not surely die” (Gen. 3:4). But after they sinned, Adam and Eve discovered “the wages of sin” is, indeed, death (Rom. 6:23). God told them they would “return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Gen. 3:19).
Our 26th Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Belief explains it this way:
“The wages of sin is death. But God, who alone is immortal, will grant eternal life to His redeemed.
“Until that day death is an unconscious state for all people. When Christ, who is our life, appears, the resurrected righteous and the living righteous will be glorified and caught up to meet their Lord.
“The second resurrection, the resurrection of the unrighteous, will take place a thousand years later.”
The Bible describes death as an unconscious state, a deep sleep from which a person awaits the resurrection. In Psalm 115:17 we read: “The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into silence.”
Jesus also spoke of death as a sleep. In describing the condition of Jairus’ daughter, who was dead, Christ said she was sleeping (Matt. 9:24; Mark 5:39). In referring to His friend, Lazarus, Jesus said to His disciples, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up” (John 11:11). Here Christ is referring both to Lazarus’ death, and his soon-to-be resurrection.
The prophet Daniel also speaks of death as a sleep, and the resurrection and judgment to follow. Referring to the end time, he wrote, “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Dan. 12:2).
When the Bible speaks of death as a sleep, it implies an awakening from that sleep, a resurrection. It is Christ’ death and resurrection that makes it possible for us to be raised. As Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 15:20-22—”. . . 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,” that is, Jesus, “also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.”
Ellen White gives an incredible description of the first resurrection at the Second Coming. She writes: “Amid the reeling of the earth, the flashing of lightning, and the roaring of thunder, the voice of the Son of God calls forth the sleeping saints. He looks upon the graves of the righteous, then raising His hands to heaven He cries, ‘Awake, awake, awake, ye that sleep in the dust, and arise!’ Throughout the length and breadth of the earth, the dead shall hear that voice, and they that hear shall live” (Heaven, p. 35).
Friends, I hope to be among the living to see Jesus come, and I’m sure you do, too. But even if we should die, we can rest assured that if we go to sleep in Jesus, He will raise us up on that day.
Brothers and sisters, as the world around us grows darker and more confused, I urge you to avoid all efforts, evil influences, and programming that destroy the biblical understanding of the state of the dead. We can rest confidently in the Word of God.
I invite you to pray with me just now.
Father in Heaven, we pray that you will help us to fully understand this very important subject that you formed us out of the dust. That was the body. It was not living. And then you breathed into us the breath of life, which is life itself. And the combination of the breath of God and the dust formed into what looked like a human being became then a living soul. And when one of those elements, those two elements, is taken away, there is no longer a living soul. But we rest quietly, sleeping in Jesus. Now, Lord bless and keep us safe from all kinds of misinterpretations and false understandings as to what truly constitutes the state of the dead. We place ourselves in your hands. Help us not to be deceived, but to stay close and completely adhere to the Word of God. Thank you for hearing us in. Jesus s name, we ask it. Amen.