Towards the end of my school years, a good friend of mine suffered a terrible blow when her mother died of cancer.

Since then, she has been comforted by the thought that her mother is looking down on her from heaven and will always be with her. Like my friend, many people believe that the deceased look down from heaven after death, that their souls live on, or that they are with us as angels. But however comforting this idea may seem, it is not in the Bible!

When God created Adam and Eve, He breathed into them the breath of life (Genesis 2:7); He gave them life. Immortality is not inherent; it is a gift. Adam and Eve had it. But then the gift was lost.

Our immortality is conditional. You can only be immortal if you are connected to God, the source of power. If a mobile phone is not connected to the grid, the battery will eventually die. Its life is limited. Only when it is connected does it live 'forever'. When man chose the serpent over God, he cut himself off from the source of eternal life.

Since then, man has not been immortal, but perishable. We grow old and sick, our strength diminishes, and at some point, we have to face death.

But what happens when a person dies? Do they live on in another form? Perhaps as an immortal soul with consciousness? No. The Bible describes death as a sleep, a state without consciousness.

It says: "... but the dead know nothing... Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6).

That is comforting to me. The dead no longer have to suffer. They no longer see the evil of this world, but can rest in peace.

Above all, I am comforted because I believe in a resurrection. God has worked out a plan for us to regain our immortality. He has overcome separation and is bringing us back to paradisiacal unity. When Jesus returns, all those who have accepted Him as their Saviour will receive eternal life. Those who have died before His return will then rise from their graves and ascend to heaven with Jesus, along with those who are alive at the time of His return (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).

That sounds pretty clear. But I'm sure you've heard that some people claim to be able to communicate with the dead. How is this possible when the Bible says that you have no consciousness in death? The answer is quite simple: Satan and his angels – the demons – take on the appearance and speech of the deceased, deceiving those who long to communicate with their loved ones. Since Satan's only goal is to turn people away from God and their salvation and destroy their lives, the Bible clearly warns against such practices.

Another topic often heard in connection with death is hell. But there is no hell in the Bible!

The resurrection of the faithful dead will take place at the Second Coming of Jesus. Those who have not accepted Jesus as their personal Saviour in this life will also be resurrected later. All mankind will then be able to understand that God has acted justly. Those who have chosen to reject Jesus will die the 'second death', from which there will be no resurrection.

This final judgement is described in the Bible as hell and likened to an eternally burning lake of fire. However, this does not mean literal eternal torment, but eternal, irrevocable non-existence (Revelation 20). This is sad, of course, but it also shows God's love in recognising the free choice of His creatures and not allowing them to suffer for all eternity.

Back to the beginning: are we taking something away from people when we tell them that their loved ones are not looking at them from heaven? A few years ago, my grandmother died. We had a very close relationship, so it would be no comfort to me if she could continue to see all the suffering and unhappiness on earth. Could she really sit happily on her cloud with all the wars and disasters going on below?

Much more comforting is the prospect of seeing our loved ones again when Jesus returns, and then spending eternity with them without sadness, suffering, pain, and fear!

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Bible texts for in-depth study:
Job 19:25-27; Psalm 146:3-4, Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10; Daniel 12:2, 13; Isaiah 25:8; John 5:28-29; 11:11-14; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:51-54; Colossians 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 20:1-10