KNOWING THE TRUTH ABOUT DEATH IS BENEFICIAL

What the Bible teaches about the condition of the dead is comforting. As we have seen, the dead do not suffer pain or heartache.  There is no reason to be afraid of them, for they cannot harm us.  (the demons-Satan's helpers can. They can take the shape and the voice of the loved one who died and fool people. That is one of the many ways that Satan uses to get people to worship him)  They do not need our help, and they cannot help us.  We cannot speak with them, and they cannot speak with us.  Many religious leaders falsely claim that they can help those who have died,  and people who believe such leaders give them money.  But knowing the truth protects us from being deceived by those who teach such lies.  (and what whoppers they are!) 

Does your religion agree with what the Bible teaches about the dead?  Most do not. Why? Because their teachings have been influenced  by Satan.  He uses false religion to get people to believe that after their body dies, they will continue to live in the spirit realm.  This is a lie that Satan combines with other lies to turn people away from Jehovah God.  How so? 

As noted earlier, some religions teach that if a person lives a bad life, after death he will go to a place of fiery torment to suffer forever.  This teaching dishonors God. Jehovah is a God of love  and would never make people suffer in this way.  (1 John 4:8) How would you feel about a man who punished  a disobedient child by holding his hands in fire?  Would you respect such a man?  In fact, would you even want to get to know him?  Definitely  not!  You would likely think  that he was very cruel.  Yet, Satan wants us to believe that Jehovah tortures such people in  fire forever-for countless billions of years!  

Satan also uses some religions to teach that after death people become spirits who must be respected and honored by the living. According the this teaching, the spirits of the dead can become powerful friends or terrible enemies.  Many people believe this lie.  They fear the dead and give them honor and worship.  In contrast, the Bible teaches that the dead are sleeping and that we should worship only the true God, Jehovah our Creator and Provider. -Revelation 4:11. 

Knowing the truth about the dead protects you from being misled by religious lies. It also helps you to understand other Bible teachings. For example, when you realize  that people do not  pass on to the spirit realm at death, the promise of everlasting  life on a paradise earth takes on real meaning for  you. 

Long ago, the righteous man Job raised this question:  "If an able-bodied man dies can he live again?" (Job 14:14)  Can a lifeless person who is sleeping in death be brought back to life?  (only/during  after the Armageddon/judgment day  and only by God or Jesus) What the Bible teaches about this is deeply comforting, as the next chapter will show. 

Note: With the experiences that I have had-been through; I can tell you that if you mess with anything that pertains to evil-go to a medium;  accept anything that anyone who does not believe in God; is physically abusive; etc., can and most likely invites evil into your life and can experience some strange happenings. Especially if you have lived without fearing God and lived or married to someone who doesn't believe in God.  Things can get pretty scary.  If God is fully in your life; you are protected.  But if not, anything can happen. This I can tell you for sure, because I have experienced certain things. So when a Jehovah's Witness came to me and  started teaching me the truth of what is in the Bible: It hit me like a brick wall, that I was hearing the truth.  And I have asked God to be in my life and he has protected me ever since.  Before Jehovah's Witnesses. I had been to many different churches-religions, trying to find the real truth and always came out feeling like I was missing something, not getting the whole story.  Later, I realized that these churches among the others were not teaching the true knowledge of the Bible.  

Next time: Real Hope for Your Loved Ones Who Have Died, Chapter Seven

From the Book: What Does the Bible Really Teach?