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Study 3: What Does "Death" Mean in the Bible?

The Origin, Nature, and Meaning of Death in Scripture

Reminder from Study 1

We continue to distinguish between what the Bible explicitly says and what people infer from the Bible.

  • Explicit: You can point to a verse and quote it. The text directly says this.
  • Inference: Someone claims the Bible teaches something, but no single verse says it. They have drawn a conclusion that is not itself in the text.

As you work through these questions, notice when you are reading what the text says versus what you have been told it means.

Section A: The Origin of Death

  1. Read Genesis 2:17. What did God warn Adam would happen if he ate from the forbidden tree?

  2. Read Genesis 3:19. After Adam sinned, how did God define the death that would come? What would happen to Adam's body?

  3. Read Genesis 3:22-24. Why did God bar Adam from the tree of life? What would the tree have given him?

  4. Read Romans 5:12. How did death enter the world? Is death limited to certain people, or does it pass upon all?

Section B: What Happens at Death?

  1. Read Ecclesiastes 12:7. What happens to the body at death? What happens to the spirit?

  2. Read Psalm 146:4. When a person's breath departs, what happens to their thoughts? Does the text say this is gradual or immediate?

  3. Read Ecclesiastes 9:5-6. What do the dead know? What has happened to their love, hatred, and envy?

  4. Read Psalm 115:17 and Psalm 6:5. Do the dead praise God? Is there remembrance of God in death?

  5. Read Job 14:21. Does a dead man know what happens to his children?

Section C: Death as Sleep

  1. Read John 11:11-14. What word did Jesus use for Lazarus' condition? What did He then clarify?

  2. Read Acts 7:60 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14. What term did Luke and Paul use for the death of believers?

  3. Read Daniel 12:2. Where are those who "sleep"? What will happen to them?

Section D: Death, Sin, and the Wages of Sin

  1. Read Romans 6:23. What is the wage (payment) of sin? What is the gift of God? Are these the same thing, or opposites?

  2. Read Ezekiel 18:4, 20. What happens to the soul that sins?

  3. Read Romans 8:6. What does Paul say is the result of being carnally minded? What is the result of being spiritually minded?

  4. Read Deuteronomy 30:15, 19. What two choices does God set before His people? How many options are there?

Section E: The Second Death

  1. Read Revelation 20:14. What is the "second death" identified with?

  2. Read Revelation 21:8. Who has their part in the lake of fire? What does the text call this?

  3. Read Revelation 20:6. Over whom does the second death have no power?

  4. Read 1 Corinthians 15:26 and Revelation 21:4. What ultimately happens to death itself?

Explicit or Inference?

For each statement below, decide: Does the Bible explicitly say this (you can point to a verse), or is it an inference (a conclusion someone draws that no verse directly states)?

A. "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." - [ ] Explicit -- the Bible says this - [ ] Inference -- someone concluded this

B. "Death means the separation of the soul from the body." - [ ] Explicit -- the Bible says this - [ ] Inference -- someone concluded this

C. "The wages of sin is death." - [ ] Explicit -- the Bible says this - [ ] Inference -- someone concluded this

D. "Death means separation from God." - [ ] Explicit -- the Bible says this - [ ] Inference -- someone concluded this

E. "The second death is the lake of fire." - [ ] Explicit -- the Bible says this - [ ] Inference -- someone concluded this