INTRODUCTION: Very early in the history of the world, man accepted the idea that life could be maintained without willing obedience to God’s will. (See Genesis 3:1-6) The assurance was that man could have life apart from obedience to God. In fact, man was told that by disobedience he would become a god. But this is far from what happened. 1. Of what substance was man formed in the beginning? Genesis 2:7 THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________ 2. What act of God made man a living soul? Genesis 2:7 THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________ 3. What happens to the soul that sins? Ezekiel 18:20 THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________ 4. Are others besides man called “living souls” in the Bible? Revelation 16:3 THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________ NOTE: The living soul was not put into the man, but the breath of life which was put into him made him a living soul, or creature. The original word for “soul” in Genesis 2:7 is nephesh. In Genesis 1:24 this word is translated “creature.” Dr. A Clarke says that this word is used as a “general term to express all creatures endued with animal life, with any of its infinitely varied gradations, from the half- reasoning elephant down to the polyp, which seems equally to share the vegetable and animal life.” 5. Is theirs the same breath as man’s? Ecclesiastes 3:19? THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________ 6. Then what is the difference between man and the lower creatures? 1Corinthians 15:39 THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________ NOTE: God gives various physical natures to the creatures He has made. The physical nature alone determines the properties of the mind and body, whether of man or beast, for the breath of God that gives them life is the same in all. 7. When man gives up the spirit (or dies) what becomes of it? Ecclesiastes 12:7 THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________ Job 27:3 8. Is this spirit that returns to God conscious? Ecclesiastes 9:5 THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________ Psalm 146:4; 9. How did Jesus refer to death? John 11:11-14; Luke 8:52 THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________ NOTE: One might ask why Jesus would tell one thing to his disciples regarding Lazarus being in sleep and then that he was dead, and then in the other reference tell the people that the damsel was not dead, but rather just asleep. The answer to this “conflict” is found in the context the answers were given in. The disciples simply misunderstood what Jesus said, knowing that Lazarus had been sick and could have been sleeping while regaining his health. This was not the case with the damsel. The people were full of unbelief. What He said to them was that her death was not a permanent state, just a temporary state of sleep and He then proceeded to raise her from her bed proving His statement. As to sleep itself, it is firmly established that when one is asleep, that person is wholly lost to consciousness; time goes by unnoticed; and the functions of the mind are in a state of suspension until that person awakes. So also it is in death. 10. How did Paul refer to death? 1Corinthians 15:51-52; 1Thessalonians 4:15-17 THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________ NOTE: Death is also referred to as sleep by David - Psalm 13:3; Job - Job 14:12; Jeremiah – Jeremiah 51:39, 57; Daniel – Daniel 12:2; Bathsheba – 1Kings 1:21 11. Where do the dead sleep? Daniel 12:2 THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________ 12. Is there any memory in this sleep of death? Psalm 6:5 THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________ Isaiah 38:18; Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10   13. What becomes of man’s thoughts at death? Psalm 146:3-4 THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________ 14. In reality, do the dead know anything at all? Ecclesiastes 9:10 THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________ NOTE: In death, one loses all the attributes of his mind, such as love, hatred and envy. It is plain that his thoughts have perished, and that he can have nothing more to do with the living. 15. What does the psalmist say about the dead praising the Lord? Psalm 115:17 THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________ NOTE: In death, there is not even a remembrance of God. As already seen, the Bible everywhere represents the dead as asleep. To represent them as being anything or anywhere else is a lie of the devil and not to be believed. 16. How long will the dead sleep? Job 14:12 THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________ 17. But are not the righteous dead in heaven? Acts 2:34 THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________ 18. If there would never be an awakening of the dead, what would be the result? 1Corinthians 15:16-18 THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________ 19. So where will the dead be when Jesus resurrects them at His second coming? John 5:28-29 THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________ 20. If the dead cannot praise God, what must take place to enable them to do so? Isaiah 26:19 THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________   21. When does this resurrection take place? 1Thessalonians 4:16 THE BIBLE SAYS: ______________________________________________ COMMENT: Man was made of the dust of the ground, and brought to life by the breath or spirit of life from God. The clay filled with the breath – not the breath of life alone – is called a living soul or creature according to the original text. Creatures other than man live by the same process, and some of them are plainly called living souls. When man dies, he knows nothing until he lives again, simply because the power that caused him to live and move and think has been taken from him and has gone back to its original Possessor. Unless that is brought back to man, he will be forever unconscious in death. But when Christ comes again, He will return the life to those who sought it through Him, eternal life, not the life which they forfeited through sin. It is thus that man obtains immortality, and not until then. It’s a blessing to know that the moment you die, the next thing you know could be the first resurrection finding yourself on the way to heaven. Unfortunately, without Christ, the next thing you know could be the realization that you are eternally lost. Christ’s way is surely the better way. Will you commit your life to Him now? MY RESPONSE TO CHRIST IS □ YES □ UNDECIDED Email us at: admin@thebiblesays.net