The Deep Mystery (Pt. 3). — KING SOLOMON CAME UP WITH “YOLO”

Last time we talked about what the Bible says about what happens after death, we saw that once the breath of God, the energising energy, was withdrawn from our bodies, that we simply ceased to be.   Like a key removed from the ignition of a vehicle, our “motor” stops running.  Period.

King Solomon, AKA “the wisest man who ever lived” also believed this.  In fact, he made a very practical point about it:

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Ecclesiastes 9:4-6, 10 (NASB1995) —
    For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope; surely a live dog is better than a  dead lion. 5 For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. 6 Indeed their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun….10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

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In other words, you only live once (YOLO)! You only get one go-around to get things right! As long as you are on this side of the dirt, you can be making a difference, but on that side of the dirt?…No! Not at all!

In other words, Solomon demonstrates that the Bible message is consistent.  Once a person dies, they cease to be.  They aren’t wandering the earth as ghosts, looking for peace or vengeance.  They aren’t floating up to Heaven to become angels. They aren’t in their coffins, bemoaning the deterioration of their physical remains.  Nor are they exuberant and delighted to be “free” of their fleshly prison.  They simply are not. Their minds are “shut off.” Their consciousness is not conscious nor active. 

But the wise man argues (in v. 10) that dead people are headed for “Sheol”.  We will look more at what that means next time.

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