Is death final?

Many verses seem to indicate that death is final: that there is no afterlife; for instance, Joshua 23:14, Job 7:9, Job 14:10-14, Job 20:7, Psalm 6:5, Psalm 31:17, Psalm 88:5, Psalm 115:17, Ecclesiastes 3:19, Ecclesiastes 9:5, Ecclesiastes 9:10, and Isaiah 38:18, using phrases such as “so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more” (Job 7:9), “in death there is no remembrance of thee” (Psalm 6:5), and “the dead know not anything” (Ecclesiastes 9:5), among others.

However, we also read that death is not the end in verses such as I Kings 17:22, II Kings 4:32-35, II Kings 13:21, Isaiah 26:19, Ezekiel 37:12, Daniel 12:1, Matthew 9:24-25, Matthew 25:46, Matthew 27:52-53, Mark 5:39-42, Luke 7:12-15, Luke 9:30, Luke 14:14, Luke 20:37, John 5:28-29, John 11:39-44, Acts 26:23, I Corinthians 15:16, I Corinthians 15:52, I John 2:25, and Revelation 20:12-13 among others.

So is death final or not?

Response

Death is final from an earthly perspective: dead men do nothing at all on the earth.  However, death is not final: or soul and new body will live forever somewhere, either in a literal Lake of Fire, or in a literal Heaven.

Verses speaking of the finality of death approach it from an earthly perspective, mentioning earthly work, praise for the Lord’s goodness as a testimony to others on earth, and worldly knowledge.  From an earthly perspective, this is true; dead men do nothing, and this is good to keep in mind because some people live as though they will never die physically.  They think of themselves as indestructible physically, which is untrue: all of us will die.  However, death is not the end: eternity awaits us, and only those who have accepted Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior will spend an eternity with Him in a perfect Heaven, while those who have rejected Him will spend an eternity in a literal Lake of Fire.  If you have not, please submit to Jesus Christ today before death, at which time it will be forever too late.