when you see a scripture like this... what do you think??

Question

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

if the dead are conscious of nothing at all... how can they be floating around in heaven? or going into another body.. or haunting the earth?? i'm curious of how other people interperate this scritupre.. theres no wrong answers.. unless you are just an atheist trying to start trouble.. haha

Answer 1

That's the Old Testament. In the OT times, everyone when to one place called Sheol in Hebrew.

Answer 2

The bible says that those in Christ when they die will simply sleep, awaiting the final call and will therefore not be conscious. Those alive and in Christ will be caught up (raptured).

1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.(NIV)

Ephesians 5:14
for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." (NIV)

1 Corinthians 15:50-52
I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. (NIV)

Revelation 21:1-3
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (NIV)

Answer 3

Calvin and the sola scriptura people started this idea of looking at the Bible as an infallible newspaper when clearly there is a process at work. In the Torah (first five books, also called the Pentateuch) God will get you if you don't follow the law. In Ecclesiastes and Job our earthly lot in life have almost nothing to do with that. See, there is a process of getting clearer and clearer about God going on here.

Ancient Hebrew philosophy asserted that there was no distinction between body/soul/mind - the person is one and the bodily death was death, period. Christianity takes the Greek idea that there is a body/soul "duality" as its basis. We do not see the verses that presuppose no duality as essentially wrong, per se, but we do view them as reflections and percpetions of truth, same as the rest of the Bible and all Christian writing since.

Answer 4

I think the dead are asleep in their graves awaiting the resurrection at the second coming of Christ. Read the following text and I think you will agree...

1 Thessalonians 4:13-17
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

Answer 5

These are unbelievers, the believers are in heaven but their bodies are in the grave.

The dead don't haunt the earth but familiar spirits that have been in the dead can haunt the earth and look for new bodies.

Answer 6

Physical death is one thing. The death of the soul is another. When the soul dies, consciousness is also gone. But, if only the physical body dies, the soul will still live on somewhere with its consciousness or awareness of self. In near-death experiences, the souls may see their bodies from afar. Yet, even without the physical brain, they can think.

Answer 7

U right. But u misinterprate it too. It said The dead concious of nothing at all (about the living, coz there are no relationship between live n dead). It never said that the dead is disappear right? They still exist, but do know nothing about the living.

Answer 8

For the righteous know that if they sin, they shall be reckoned as dead men in the world to come, therefore they keep their ways, and sin not; but if they sin, they return by repentance.

And sinners know not any good, so that they do not make their works good while they live; and they know not any good in the world to come.

Isa 26:14 They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.

Answer 9

This certaily appears to knock the idea of life after death on the head.

I am one of those "atheists"

But I do believe that there is something beyond death, having crossed that line twice.

So is this another lie in print, or the personal view of the writer. It doesn`t seem to have any god influence in it...!!

Answer 10

The dead they are speaking of are not Christians. Christians will be spiritually alive forever with Christ