Ebony is not in Heaven!!!

The issue of death continues to be a mystery to many. Many people throughout world history have tried to explain this mystery but none has been able to answer all the questions associated with it. Science has not been able to explain, neither has philosophy been able to tell exactly what happens to a person when he dies. 

The only book that contains all the answers related to death is the Holy Bible. The purpose of this message is to bring our minds back to the word of God and to reiterate the clear position of the Bible concerning the state of the dead.

In Ghana and like other countries, the issue of death becomes a topic for discussion anytime a popular person dies. In such situations, we often hear lay people and even prominent Pastors make statements about the dead which are not Biblical. These statements go contrary to the explicit position of the Bible (The inspired word of God). The death of Ebony (a Ghanaian dance hall musician) who died in a motor accident on 8th February 2018 has come with similar statements. I read an article on Ghanaweb (https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Ebony-is-in-heaven-Dr-Lawrence-Tetteh-626585) where a renowned evangelist in Ghana - Dr. Lawrence Tetteh, said Ebony is in heaven. This statement is not true and is directly against the position of the Bible he preaches. The truth is that Ebony is neither in heaven nor hell now. She is simply dead and to put it in Jesus' own words, she is sleeping (Matthew 9:24) 

The purpose of this message is to state clearly the position of the Bible concerning the state of the dead. The Bible is the bedrock of this message. 

Introduction

To begin this discussion, we need to find an answer to one basic but great question; “In what inherent nature did God create man? In other words, does man possess a mortal nature or an immortal nature?” A correct answer to this question will make it easier to answer all the other questions that may come up. 

According to the dictionary, mortal means subject to death whilst immortal on the other hand means not subject to death (living forever, never dying). The question again is; “was man created with the qualities to die or to live forever?” The answer is found in Job 4:17 which reads:

“Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?

 (Job 4:17 KJV)

We can see from this verse that God created man with a mortal nature and for that matter man is subject to death. There is only one being who is immortal and has the inherent nature to live forever and that is God. 

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, [be] honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen (1 Timothy 1:17 KJV)

How was man created?

According to Genesis 2:7, God formed man with the dust of the ground. After molding man He (God) breathed into his nostrils and man became a living soul. Man therefore is made up of the dust of the ground and the breath of God.

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7 KJV)”

  

What is the soul?

There are people who believe that the body is mortal but the soul which they call the inner man is immortal. The word "soul" was first introduced in the creation of man by God.

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7 KJV)”

From the verse above, the soul is the dust and breathe of God put together.

Dust + Breathe of God = Living soul

Remember, God did not put in man a soul after molding him with the dust of the garden but he breathe in to his nostrils. For this reason, man does not possess a soul but man is the soul and the soul cannot exist if any of the variables (dust and breathe of God) is absent. 

A simple search through the Bible shows that, the soul and man are used interchangeably. The soul has no conscious existence apart from the body, and no scripture indicates that at death the soul survives as a conscious entity. In the Bible verses below, the soul and man are used interchangeably.

And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came (Genesis 12:5 KJV)

These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls (Genesis 46:18 KJV)

All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were threescore and six (Genesis 46:26 KJV)

And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten 

(Genesis 46:27 KJV)

Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which pertain unto the Lord, even that soul shall be cut off from his people (Leviticus 7:21 KJV)

And they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish (Joshua 10:35 KJV)

And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof; as he had done also to Libnah, and to her king (Joshua 10:39 KJV).

Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls (Acts 2:41 KJV).

And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles (Acts 2:43 KJV)

And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls (Acts 27:37 KJV).

The expression "Living Soul"  is the Hebrew nephesh chayyah. This same expression is used in Genesis1:24 which is translated as living creature. The word nephesh is used in other passages and no where does it have the meaning of a separate conscious and intelligent entity having the form of man and dwelling in man.

Is the soul immortal?

Throughout the Bible’s references to the soul and the spirit, neither the soul nor the spirit is ever declared to be immortal or eternal. The doctrine of immortality of the soul is full of false hope and negates the message of death. If humans are immortal then there is no need for the atoning death of Christ because Christ died to restore life to those who had forfeited it through sin. In the garden of Eden, God said that Adam and Eve would die if they ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). God did not say, "Your body will die, and your souls will live forever. In Genesis 3:1-4, it was the serpent that lied to Eve, saying, "You will not die."

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die (Genesis 3:1-4 KJV)

The idea that our soul is immortal is a lie that originated in Eden to convince us that we are immortal like God. Human beings are not immortal. Although death was not God’s plan for us in the beginning, it became a reality as a result of sin (Romans 6:23). 

Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die (Ezekiel 18:4 KJV)

Death

For the wages of sin is Death (Romans 6:23). Death became a reality after Adam and Eve disobeyed God by listening to the serpent and eating the forbidden fruit. Sin caused death.

In the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread, till thou returns unto the ground; for out of it was thou taken; for dust thou art and unto dust shall thou return. (Genesis 3:19 KJV). 

These words do not point to a continuation of life but to its cessation. After giving this sentence, God barred the sinful couple from the tree of life so that they could not "'eat, and live forever'" (Gen. 3:22). His action made it clear that the immortality promised on condition of obedience was lost through sin. They had now become mortal, subject to death. And because Adam could not transmit what he no longer possessed, "death spread to all men, because all sinned" (Rom. 5:12). 

The question I ask myself is; If the soul was immortal, why will God bar Adam and Eve from eating of the tree of Life? The good news is that it was God's mercy that kept Adam and Eve from dying immediately. The Son of God had offered to give His life so that they might have another opportunity (second chance). He was "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8).

What happens when a person dies?

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7 KJV).

His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish (Psalm 146:4 KJV).

When a person dies, his spirit (breath of life) returns to God (Ecclesiastes 12:7) and the body returns to the ground. God takes back the life (ruach, spirit, breath) that He granted on condition of obedience, and the person ceases to live.

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also (James 2:26 KJV)

When God said that man shall surely die if he transgressed His commandments (Genesis 2:17), He meant that man would cease to live, and would return to dust. Humans lie in the sleep of death until the resurrection at the end of time. Dead people are not conscious and so do not do the things of the living. They do not even know what goes around them.

The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence (Psalm 115:17 KJV).

For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.  Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun (Ecclesiastes 9:5,6 KJV)

There is no activity when a person dies.

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. (Ecclesiastes 9:10 KJV)

Death and Sleep

The Bible refers to death as sleep because is not a complete extinction of man, it is only a state of temporary unconsciousness while the person awaits the resurrection. The Bible repeatedly calls this intermediate state a sleep.

Referring to their deaths, the Old Testament describes David, Solomon, and the other kings of Israel and Judah as sleeping with their forefathers. (1 Kings 2:10; 11:43; 14:20, 31; 15:8; 2 Chron. 21:1; 26:23). 

So David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David (1 Kings 2:10 KJV)

And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead (1 Kings 11:43 KJV).

  

The New Testament uses the same imagery. In describing the condition of Jairus' daughter, who was dead, Christ said that she was sleeping (Matt. 9:24; Mark 5:39). 

He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn (Matthew 9:24 KJV)

Matthew wrote that many "saints who had fallen asleep were raised" after Christ's resurrection (Matt. 27:52), and in recording Stephen's martyrdom, Luke wrote that "he fell asleep" (Acts 7:60). Both Paul and Peter also called death a sleep (1 Cor. 15:51, 52; 1 Thess. 4:13-17; 2 Peter 3:4). Reference can also be made to the words of Jesus in John chapter 11:11-14, when Jesus referred to Lazarus as sleeping.

These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. (John 11:11-14 KJV)

In the book of Psalms, David refers to death as sleep.

Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death (Psalm 13:3 KJV)

Paul makes a similar statement in 1 Thessalonians 4:13.

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. (1 Thessalonians 4:13 KJV)

In Daniel 12:2, Daniel calls those who die as sleeping.

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2 KJV)

Martin Luther puts it this way in the book “A command of Luther’s Theology” by Hugh Thomson Kerr (1943)

We should learn to view our death in the right light, so that we need not become alarmed on account of it, as unbelief does; because in Christ it is indeed not death, but a fine, sweet and brief sleep, which brings us release from this vale of tears, from sin and from the fear and extremity of real death and from all the misfortunes of this life, and we shall be secure and without care, rest sweetly and gently for a brief moment, as on a sofa, until the time when He shall awaken us together with all His dear children to His eternal glory and joy...For since we call it a sleep, we know that we shall not remain in it, but be again awakened and live, and that the time during which we sleep, shall seem no longer than if we had just fallen asleep... Hence we shall censure ourselves that we were surprised or alarmed at such a sleep in the hour of death, and suddenly come alive out of the grave and from decomposition, and entirely well, fresh, with a pure, clear, glorified life, meet our Lord and savior Jesus Christ in the clouds...Scripture everywhere affords such consolation, which speaks of the death of the saints, as if they fell asleep and were gathered to their fathers, that is had overcome death through this faith and comfort in Christ, and awaited the resurrection, together with the saints who preceded them in death.

The abode of the dead

The Bible tells us emphatically the abode of the dead. The Old Testament it sheol (Hebrew), and the New Testament hades (Greek). This is because the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament was written in Greek. In the Scripture, sheol and hades most often simply means the grave.

What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? (Psalm 89:48 KJV)

Both the righteous and wicked will go to sheol and hades (Grave) when they die.

And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him (Genesis 37:34,35 KJV).

When Christ died, He went into the grave (hades) but at the Resurrection He left the grave. Peter quotes from the Psalms 16:10 to explain that Christ Jesus left hades (grave) on the resurrection morning.

Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (grave), neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption (Acts 2:27 KJV).

For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption (Psalm 16:10 KJV).

 The grave is not a place of consciousness. It is a place where the body returns to the ground as God said in Genesis 3:19. Since death is a sleep according to the Bible, the dead will remain in a state of unconsciousness in the grave until the resurrection, when the grave (hades) gives up its dead as stated in Revelation 20:13.

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. (Revelation 20:13 KJV)

Man - Animal scenario

King Solomon the wisest man who ever lived gives an interesting comparison between the death of man and animals. To king Solomon, there is no difference between the death of man and animals. Both man and animals die, returns to the ground and never go to Heaven or Hell.

18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. 19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. 20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? 22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him? (Ecclesiastes 3:18-21 KJV)

Conclusion

The Bible does not support the popular belief that dead people are alive and they can see us. The word of God does not support the doctrine that a dead person goes to Heaven or Hell immediately he dies. The Bible clearly states that a dead person returns to the dust and his breathe goes to God. This is what Jesus calls sleep. Let us read the Bible and we will never be deceived. Ebony like my late grandmother is not in Heaven nor Hell. Do not be deceived for false prophets shall come and deceive many. Let the Bible be your bedrock.
God bless you.

Written by James Mckeown Amoah