Why do Seven Day Adventist and Jehovah witness say that there is no life after death ?

Question

I am stunned that a group of people that profess the infallibilty of the bible give it's followers a teaching that is at complete odds with fundamental teaching that animates the faith of God. The claim that the soul dies untill resurrection on the last day. The bible does not teach that physical death cause the death of the soul. A soul may be dead spiritually due to lack of the knowledge of God but it's reality is still alive.

Answer 1

Jehovah's Witnesses certainly do *NOT* teach that there is no life after death. In fact, Witnesses believe the bible to teach that most dead humans will be resurrected to life in a restored paradise earth, with the hope of living forever under God and Christ.

So what does the bible teach about "the soul"?

A "soul" is a life, with no implication regarding some immortal otherwordly entity. Each deceased life is in Jehovah God's remembrance (with the potential for future resurrection), but the dead do not exist anywhere but memories until and unless the life is resurrected.

(Ezekiel 18:4) The soul that is sinning - it itself will die.

(Ecclesiastes 9:5) For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all

(Ecclesiastes 9:10) there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol ["hell"]

(Genesis 2:17) But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.”

(Genesis 17:14) And an uncircumcised male who will not get the flesh of his foreskin circumcised, even that soul must be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.”

(Judges 16:30) And Samson proceeded to say: “Let my soul die with the Philistines.” Then he bent himself with power, and the house went falling upon the axis lords and upon all the people that were in it, so that the dead that he put to death in his own death came to be more than those he had put to death during his lifetime.

(Job 33:22) And his soul draws near to the pit, And his life to those inflicting death.

(Psalm 78:50) He did not hold back their soul from death itself; And their life he handed over even to the pestilence.

(Isaiah 53:12) he poured out his soul to the very death

(Acts 3:23) Indeed, any soul that does not listen to that Prophet will be completely destroyed from among the people.’

(Revelation 16:3) And the second one poured out his bowl into the sea. And it became blood as of a dead man, and every living soul died, yes, the things in the sea.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/lmn/index.htm?article=article_08.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/19970515/article_02.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20050501/article_02.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/pr/index.htm?article=article_04.htm

Answer 2

Seventh Day Adventist teach soul death because they do not differentiate between the body, soul and spirit. They take Scriptures out of context in order to substantiate their beliefs.

For instance, several have quoted Eccl. 9:5 as a proof text for soul death, "For the living know that they will die but the dead know not anything" and that's where they stop. They don't examine the verses around it and they don't realize how those verses change the meaning.

Eccl 9:2 says, "All share a common destiny--the righteous, the wicked, the good, bad"

Do we really all share the same destiny?

Not according to the N.T. John 3:16 says, "whoever believes in him (Christ) shall never perish but have eternal life" John 3:36 "Whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him"

Ecclesiates was written by King Solomon during the period of his life when he had rejected Godly viewpoint. The entire book is the viewpoint of man. How man views things apart from God.

If you continue to read Eccl. 9:5 it also says, "they have no further reward and even the memory of them is forgotten".

The Adventist teach you are soul dead but they do not teach that you have no further reward and that your memory is forgotten.

Eccl. 9:6 says "never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun" However, Adventist teach that these people will be resurrected and live in the new heaven and the new earth (under the sun)!

Adventist teach that you have eternal life. What a joke!!! What's eternal about eternal life if you cease to exist at some point.

In regard to Lazarus' resurrection as proof of soul death I ask you this: When you slept last night were you brain dead? There is much brain activity that still goes on while the BODY IS ASLEEP. We are very much ALIVE when we sleep!!!

And, if everyone is dead--body, soul and spirit---where did the speaking "souls under the altar" in Rev. 6:9-11 come from. These people certainly don't fit Eccl. 9:5 "the dead know not anything.....even their memory has been forgotten". They are shouting, "How long...until you avenge our blood?"

This isn't the worst of the Seventh Day Adventist teachings--not one will go to hell because they were confused on the state of the dead, however, many will go trusting that THEY have a part in their salvation. Adventist teach that only those who keep the Seventh day as the Sabbath will enter into the kingdom of God. They do not believe in a rapture and they teach that the Holy Spirit will be withdrawn from the earth at this time and all believers who remain will have to live in sinless perfection without the aid of the Holy Spirit!!!

(Why did Christ have to die if at some point we can reach perfection?)

Answer 3

As you will have noted about, you should take the time to learn the Bible before making such wild claims. As for life after death, JWs do believe in it, only after the resurrection and not the moment someone dies. To the person, it will be as if no time had passed at all. One moment they were alive, the next they are being resurrected, if that is the choice of God, to a new Earth, washed of the old system. They will have a new body, perfect in every way. And, instead of finding themselves with nothing to do for thousands of years, as Christendom claims, they participate in the rebuilding of the Earth back into a Paradise, than heading out into the Universe to explore all of God's Creation and help terraform planets to sustain human life. Which would you rather do, float around in heaven as Christendom thinks, or see a lot more of God's creation?

Answer 4

Get your facts straight, Seventh-day Adventists DO teach that there is life after death. The difference between them and the majority view is that they teach that become become alive after the resurrection from death, which is why it is called "the resurrection".

Moses was resurrected, Lazarus was resurrected, the widow of Nain's son was resurrected, Jairus' daughter was resurrected, Lazarus was resurrected, Jesus was resurrected, and some people were resurrected when Jesus died.

As for the rest, the saved people will be resurrected when Jesus comes back at the last day, and the lost will be resurrected after the millennium when they will face judgment and be killed again.

Answer 5

Jesus Christ spoke about the condition of the dead. He did so with regard to Lazarus, a man whom he knew well and who had died. Jesus told his disciples: “Lazarus our friend has gone to rest.” The disciples thought that Jesus meant that Lazarus was resting in sleep, recovering from an illness. They were wrong. Jesus explained: “Lazarus has died.” (John 11:11-14) Notice that Jesus compared death to rest and sleep. Lazarus was neither in heaven nor in a burning hell. He was not meeting angels or ancestors. Lazarus was not being reborn as another human. He was at rest in death, as though in a deep sleep without dreams. Other scriptures also compare death to sleep. For example, when the disciple Stephen was stoned to death, the Bible says that he “fell asleep.” (Acts 7:60) Similarly, the apostle Paul wrote about some in his day who had “fallen asleep” in death.


The Bible teaches that the dead “are conscious of nothing at all.” They are not alive and have no conscious existence anywhere. The account of Lazarus confirms this. Upon returning to life, did Lazarus thrill people with descriptions of heaven? Or did he terrify them with horrible tales about a burning hell? No. The Bible contains no such words from Lazarus. During the four days that he was dead, he had been “conscious of nothing at all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5) Lazarus had simply been sleeping in death. John 11:11.
The account of Lazarus also teaches us that the resurrection is a reality, not a mere myth. Jesus raised Lazarus in front of a crowd of eyewitnesses. Even the religious leaders, who hated Jesus, did not deny this miracle.

Think about this too: If Lazarus had been in heaven for those four days, would he not have said something about it? And if he had been in heaven, would Jesus have made him come back to earth from that wonderful place? Of course not!

Yet, many people say that we have a soul, and they say that the soul lives on after the body dies. They say that Lazarus’ soul was alive somewhere. But the Bible does not say that. It says that God made the first man Adam “a living soul.” Gen. 2:7, Adam was a soul. The Bible also says that when Adam sinned, he died. He became a “dead soul,” and he returned to the dust from which he had been made. The Bible also says that all Adam’s offspring inherited sin and death too.

The Scriptural teaching of the resurrection, however, is not compatible with the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. If an immortal soul survived death, no one would need to be resurrected, or brought back to life. Indeed, Martha expressed no thought about an immortal soul that was living on elsewhere after death. She did not believe that Lazarus had already gone to some spirit realm to continue his existence. On the contrary, she showed her faith in God’s purpose to reverse the effects of death. She said: “I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.” (John 11:23, 24) Likewise, Lazarus himself related no experiences of some afterlife. There was nothing to report.

Clearly, according to the Bible, the soul dies and the remedy for death is the resurrection. You enjoy the best sleep ever, until Jesus resurrects you, sometime in the future.

Answer 6

i think of the reason that the reason many human beings, especially mainstream "Christians" call those non secular communities cults is because of the fact they don't understand them. A cult by definition is "a set or sect certain mutually by veneration (worship) of an analogous element, man or woman, concept, and so on." So by definition any faith is seen a cult. i'm a Mormon, and that i'm able to assist you to recognize that no one dictates my movements besides myself via the direction of my God. that's an analogous one that protestants, Baptists, Catholics, Lutherans, Jehovah's witnesses, seventh day Adventists and a variety of of alternative religions have confidence in. i'm a Mormon, and a Christian, and a daughter of God, not a member of a cult

Answer 7

Where are the dead?

Gen.3:19:''In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return.''

Eccl.9:10:''All that your hand find to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol [''the grave,Kings James,The Holy Bible; ''the world of the dead ,'' Good News Bible-Today's English Version] , the place to which you are going.''

What is the condition of the dead?

Eccl.9:5: ''The living are conscious that they will die; but as for dead, they are conscious of nothing at all.''

Ps.146:4:''His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts [thoughts.''Kings James Version, 145:4 in Catholic Challoner- Douay Version; ''all his thinking,'' The New English Bible; ''plans, Revised Standard Version,The New American Bible] do perish.''

Is there some part of man that lives on when the body dies?

Ezek.18:4: ''The soul [''soul,'' Revised Standard Version,The New English Bible,Kings James Version,Catholic Challoner-Douay Version,The Holy Bible; ''man,'' The Jerusalem Bible;''person,'' Good News Bible-Today's English Version] that is sinning-it itself will die.''

What does the Bible say that helps us to understand what the soul is?

Josh.11:11:''They went striking every soul [Hebrew, ne'phesh] that was in it with the edge of the sword.'' [The soul is here shown to be something that can be touched by the sword, so these souls could not have been spirits.]

Answer 8

Death Records Search Database : http://DeathRecordInfo.com/Support

Answer 9

The Sea of life is referd to as a resting place fore souls,it could be that their insome sort of slumber / resting. The third comming of Christ and resurection then all are raised.

Answer 10

And some Christians believe in the Triune. Go figure.