Death, according to the Bible, is not a progression but a return.
From the creation of man we read:
“Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
Gen 2:7
Thus, man became a living soul. Living but mortal. And when he dies, when we die, it is described as a return to the previous state. Death is a return. The first time death is mentioned in the Bible, it is described as a “returning” (hb shuv):
“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread until you return (hb shuv) to the ground, for from him you are taken. For dust you are, and to dust you will return (hb shuv)!”
Gen 3:19
The Hebrew word for “return” (hb shuv) means a return to a previous state or place. It happens regularly. Some examples:
“And the LORD departed when he had talked with Abraham; and Abraham returned (hb shuv) to his place.”
Gen 18:33
“And Jacob made a vow, saying, If God be with me, and keep me in this way which I go, and give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, and I return in peace(hb shuv) unto my father’s house, then shall the LORD be my God.”
Gen 28:21
“And he said, Do thine hand again (hb shuv) in your garment bag! Then he put his hand again (hb shuv) into his robe bag. And when he drew it out of his garment bag, it was again like the rest of his flesh.”
Ex 4:7
“And it came to pass, when Pharaoh let the people go, God led them not the way through the land of the Philistines, though he was the nearest. For God said, “Lest the people be grieved when they see battle before them, and they return to Egypt (hb shuv).”
Ex 13:17
“But if the daughter of a priest becomes a widow or is cast out and has no children and returns (hb shuv) to her father’s house as in her youth, then she may eat of her father’s bread.”
3Mo 22,13
“Then he also said to the men of Pnuel, “When I return in peace(hb shuv), I will pull down this tower!”
Ri 8,9
Job also understands death as a return:
“For I have known it, unto death thou leadest me back (hb shuv), and into the house of meeting of all the living.”
Hi 30:23
“And he said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked will I return thither. The LORD has given, and the LORD has taken away; the name of the LORD be praised! In all this, Job did not sin and did not accuse God of anything offensive.”
Hi 1:21-22
In all this, Job did not sin, it is said, and did not accuse God of anything offensive. This includes Job describing death as a return. And Solomon writes:
“As he came forth from his mother’s womb, naked he will go again as he came, and for his trouble he will not carry away the least thing that he may take in his hand.”
Eccl 5:14
The body returns
“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread until you return (hb shuv) to the ground, for from him you are taken. For dust you are, and to dust you will return (hb shuv)!”
Gen 3:19
“If he turned his heart only to himself, drawing back to himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh would pass away altogether, and man would return to dust.”
Hi 34:14-15
“For dust thou art”. That is what makes the human being. Its body is dust, and as it was once formed from earth, so it returns to that earth at death. In Job, it is said that “man” returns to dust. In both texts, the human being is essentially equated with his body.
“You hide your face: you are terrified. You take away their breath of life: they perish and return to dust.”
Ps 104:29
“His spirit goes out, he returns to his earth: the same day his plans are lost.”
Ps 146:4
“Consider that you have fashioned me like clay! And now you want me to return to the dust!”
Hi 10,9
“And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”
Eccl 12:7
The spirit returns
The word spirit is used for a variety of things. The creation of man is about the “breath of life” (Gen 2:7), also called the “spirit of the living” (Gen 6:17) or the “spirit of the breath of life” (Gen 7:22). This is spirit as God gave it to human beings and through which it became a living soul. This spirit is not a consciousness, not a higher self, also not holy spirit, but simply “life spirit”. The breath of life was breathed into Adam so that he begins to live. To breathe out the breath of life (hb gava) means to die (Gen 6:17 “All that is on earth, breathe out!” CAT). But then the spirit of the breath of life returns to God who gave it.
“And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”
Pr 12.7
“You hide your face: you are terrified. You take away their breath of life: they perish and return to dust.”
Ps 104:29
“If he turned his heart only to himself, drawing back to himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh would pass away altogether, and man would return to dust.”
Hi 34:14-15
“But Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.”
Mt 27,50
“And they stoned Stephen, who prayed and said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
Acts 7:59
The soul returns
The soul is not an ingredient of our humanity, but the product or coming together of the body and the spirit of life. Man did not receive a soul, but became a living soul when the body and breath of life came together (Gen. 2:7). Therefore, what happens to the body, for example, cannot happen to the soul. There are no components that disintegrate. The soul disappears, just as light disappears when either the lamp is broken or the electricity is interrupted. Where does the light go? Nevertheless, it can also be said of the soul that it returns. It returns to Sheol (hb sheol, Old Testament) or Hades (gr hades, New Testament). This can be derived in combination from two verses:
“May to Sheol turn ( hb shuv) the wicked, all nations that forget God.”
Ps 9:18
“For my soul thou wilt not leave to Sheol, wilt not admit that thy pious one sees the pit.”
Ps 16:10, cf. Acts 2:27-31
In death all are equal
In death, all people are the same, even if this is often described differently. In death there are no differences:
“For I have known it, unto death thou leadest me back… and into the house of meeting of all the living.”
Hi 30:23
“For I have taken all this to heart, and that is to test all this: that the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Be it love, be it hate, nothing of it recognizes man. Everything both lies before their time, everything both – as with all humans. A destiny is destined for the righteous and for the unrighteous, for the good and for the pure and for the impure, and for the one who sacrifices and for the one who does not sacrifice; as the good, so the sinner, the one who swears, as the one who shuns the oath. This is an evil in everything that happens under the sun, that the same fate is given to all. Also the heart of the children of men is full of wickedness, and madness is in their heart during their life; and afterwards it goes to the dead.”
Eccl 9:1-3
“I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the unrighteous, for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. I said in my heart: Because of the children of men it is so that God tests them and so that they see that they are nothing but cattle. For the fate of the children of men and the fate of cattle – they have one and the same fate – is this: as these die, so dies that, and one breath they all have. And there is no preference of man over cattle, for all is nothingness. Everything goes to one place. Everything has become from the dust, and everything returns to the dust.“
Eccl 3:17-20
Differences exist in the resurrection
Death is a return and all people return to death, as Job said (Hi 30:23). In death, all people are equal. Death is not being “clothed over” but being “unclothed” (2 Cor. 5:4). In death there is no expectation. In death, all people are “parked” exactly the same. However, there are differences in the resurrection. There is a difference in how and when the dead drive out of the “parking garage”. Just as there is a resurrection to life and a resurrection to judgment (John 5:29), so there are great differences in being made alive (1 Corinthians 15:22-24a).
Someone does not die because he is a believer or unbeliever, just or unjust, man or woman, or anything else. A human being dies because the human being is mortal. If we disregard God’s work for a moment, death is the final destination. The Bible is very sober here. All men die “in Adam” (1 Cor. 15:22).
What’s next? If we have the promise of eternal life, it does not sneak us past death. When Jesus returns, Paul writes, the dead in Christ will be raised first (1Th 4:13-18). The dead in Christ are also dead. There it is impressively shown that death is a return for all, that in death there is no expectation, but that only the resurrection and being made alive opens the door to immortality (1Cor 15,53-54). Therefore, there is comfort in the words that the dead in Christ are raised “first.”
