Bereavement Support Group

I found some articles on this subject, so I will copy these articles here, for your assistance in understanding this mysterious subject matter.

Should You Be Afraid of Death?

A Closer Look at Some Myths About Death

THROUGHOUT history, man has stood perplexed and apprehensive before the dark prospect of death. What is more, fear of death has been fueled by a mix of false religious ideas, popular customs, and ingrained personal beliefs. The problem with fear of death is that it can paralyze one's ability to enjoy life and erode one's confidence that there is meaning to life.

Popular religion is especially reprehensible for promoting a number of popular myths regarding death. By examining a few of these under the light of Bible truth, see if your personal perceptions about death can be clarified.

Remembering and learning, and his inward longing for eternity, is it not clear that he was made to live? Indeed, God created humans, not with death as the natural outcome, but with the prospect of living on indefinitely. Note what God set before the first human pair as their future: "Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it, and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving upon the earth." (Genesis 1:28) What a wonderful, lasting future that is!

Myth 1: God takes people in death to be with him.
Is the Creator really so cruel that he would callously inflict death on us, knowing that this breaks our hearts? No, not the God of the Bible. According to 1 John 4:8, "God is love." Note that it does not say that God has love or that God is loving, but it says that God is love. So intense, so pure, so perfect is God's love, so thoroughly does it permeate his personality and actions that he may rightly be spoken of as the very personification of love. This is not a God who takes people in death to be near him.

False religion has left many confused as to the whereabouts and condition of the dead. Heaven, hell, purgatory, Limbo—these and various other destinations range from being incomprehensible to being downright terrifying. The Bible, on the other hand, tells us that the dead are unconscious; they are in a condition best compared to sleep. (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; John 11:11-14) Thus, we need not worry about what happens to us after death, any more than we worry when we see someone sleeping soundly. Jesus spoke of a time when "all those in the memorial tombs" would "come out" to renewed life on a paradise earth.—John 5:28, 29; Luke 23:43.

Myth 2: Why do people die?

Part of the Bible's answer is recorded at Ecclesiastes 9:11: "Time and unforeseen occurrence befall them all." And Psalm 51:5 tells us that all of us are imperfect, sinful, from the time of our conception, and the eventuality for all men now is death from any number of causes. In other cases, People succumb to their dire circumstances, or have accidents and die. God is not responsible for such eventualities.

Myth 3: Some people are tormented after death.

Many religions teach that the wicked will go to a fiery hell and be tormented forever. Is this teaching logical and Scriptural? The human life span is limited to 70 or 80 years. Even if someone was guilty of extreme wickedness all his life, would everlasting torment be a just punishment? No. It would be grossly unjust to torment a man forever for the sins that he committed in a short lifetime.

Only God can reveal what happens after people die, and he has done so in his written Word, the Bible. This is what the Bible says: "As the [beast] dies, so the [man] dies; and they all have but one spirit . . . All are going to one place. They have all come to be from the dust, and they are all returning to the dust." (Ecclesiastes 3:19, 20) There is no mention here of a fiery hell. Humans return to dust—to nonexistence—when they die.

In order to be tormented, a person has to be conscious. Are the dead conscious? Once again, the Bible gives the answer: "The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they anymore have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten." (Ecclesiastes 9:5) It is impossible for the dead, who are "conscious of nothing at all," to experience agony anywhere.

Myth 4: Death means the permanent end of our existence.
We cease to exist when we die, but this does not mean that everything is necessarily finished. The faithful man Job knew that he would go to the grave, Sheol, when he died. But listen to his prayer to God: "O that in Sheol you would conceal me, that you would keep me secret until your anger turns back, that you would set a time limit for me and remember me! If an able-bodied man dies can he live again? . . . You will call, and I myself shall answer you."—Job 14:13-15.

Job believed that if he was faithful until death, he would be remembered by God and in time be resurrected. This was the belief of all of God's servants in ancient times. Jesus himself confirmed this hope and showed that God would use him to raise the dead. Christ's own words give us this assurance: "The hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear [Jesus'] voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment."—John 5:28, 29.

Very shortly God will remove all wickedness and establish a new world under heavenly rulership. (Psalm 37:10, 11; Daniel 2:44; Revelation 16:14, 16) The result will be a paradise over the whole earth, inhabited by people who serve God. In the Bible we read: "I heard a loud voice from the throne say: 'Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his peoples. And God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.'"—Revelation 21:3, 4.


Some Common Myths About Death, What Do the Scriptures Say?

Death is the natural end of life: Genesis 1:28; 2:17; Romans 5:12
God takes people in death to be with him: Job 34:15; Psalm 37:11, 29; 115:16
God takes little children to become angels: Psalm 51:5; 104:1, 4; Hebrews 1:7, 14
Some people are tormented after death: Psalm 146:4; Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; Romans 6:23
Death means the permanent end of our existence: Job 14:14, 15; John 3:16; 17:3; Acts 24:15
Free From Fear and
Knowledge of the resurrection hope coupled with knowledge of the One who is the source of that provision can comfort you. Jesus promised: "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32) That includes emancipating us from the fear of death. Jehovah is the only one who can actually change the process of aging and death and grant us eternal life. Can you believe in God's promises? Yes, you can because God's Word always comes true. (Isaiah 55:11) We urge you to learn more about God's purposes for mankind. Jehovah's Witnesses will be delighted to help you.


Knowing the truth about death frees us from fear



Will the Earth ever be Peaceful? If so, Will that Peace remain?

The Scriptures state many times about a paradise soon to come to earth by means of God's Kingdom. What is this kigdom, and what will it accomplish for mankind?
Although the Scriptures clearly show that God's toleration of the wicked has its limits, how can we be sure that evil, once eliminated, will not recur? After all, following the Flood of Noah's day, it soon surfaced again to such an extent that God had to thwart mankind's wicked schemes by confusing their language.—Genesis 11:1-8.

Our main reason for confidence that evil will not arise again is that the earth will no longer be ruled by humans as it was soon after the Flood. Rather, it will be ruled by the Kingdom of God. Ruling from heaven, this Kingdom will be earth's sole government. (Daniel 2:44; 7:13, 14) It will act quickly against anyone who attempts to reintroduce evil. (Isaiah 65:20) In fact, it will eventually destroy the very originator of wickedness—Satan the Devil—along with the demons, the wicked angels that followed him.—Romans 16:20.

Additionally, mankind will have no causes for anxiety about food, clothing, shelter, and employment—the lack of which today drives some into a life of crime. Yes, the entire earth will be transformed into a productive paradise with an abundance for all.—Isaiah 65:21-23; Luke 23:43.

More important, the Kingdom will educate its subjects in a peaceful way of life while at the same time raising them to the very pinnacle of human perfection. (John 17:3; Romans 8:21) Thereafter, humankind will no longer have to struggle with weaknesses and sinful tendencies, making perfect obedience to God both possible and delightful, as it was in the case of the perfect man Jesus. (Isaiah 11:3) In fact, Jesus remained loyal to God even in the face of great temptation and torture—things that will be utterly foreign to life in Paradise.—Hebrews 7:26.

Why Do Only Some Go to Heaven, and not all?

Many readers of the Bible, however, are aware of Jesus' words: "In the house of my Father there are many abodes. . . . I am going my way to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2, 3) Does this not contradict the idea of life everlasting on a paradise earth?

These teachings are not contradictory. In fact, one supports the other. To begin with, the Bible states that only a limited number of faithful Christians—namely, 144,000 of them—are raised as spirit creatures to live in heaven. Why are they given this wonderful reward? Because they make up the group that John saw in a vision who "came to life and ruled as kings with the Christ for a thousand years." (Revelation 14:1, 3; 20:4-6) Compared with the billions on earth, the 144,000 truly are a "little flock." (Luke 12:32) Moreover, having experienced the problems common to humankind, like Jesus they will be able to "sympathize with our weaknesses" as they supervise the rehabilitation of mankind and of the earth.—Hebrews 4:15.

Earth—Mankind's Eternal Home

By providing the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God began gathering the 144,000 almost 2,000 years ago, and indications are that this group is now complete. (Acts 2:1-4; Galatians 4:4-7) However, Jesus' sacrifice was not for the sins of the 144,000 only, "but also for the whole world's." (1 John 2:2) Hence, all who exercise faith in Jesus have the prospect of eternal life. (John 3:16) Those asleep in the grave but who are in God's memory will be resurrected, not to heaven, but to life on a cleansed earth. (Ecclesiastes 9:5; John 11:11-13, 25; Acts 24:15) What will await them there?

Revelation 21:1-4 answers, saying: "Look! The tent of God is with mankind . . . And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away."

Imagine—humans being released from death, and the pain and outcry it causes gone forever! At last, Jehovah's original purpose for the earth and humankind will reach its glorious fulfillment.—Genesis 1:27, 28.

Our Choice—Life or Death

Adam and Eve were never given the option of going to heaven. Their choice was either to obey God and live eternally on a paradise earth or to disobey him and die. Sadly, they chose disobedience and therefore returned to the "dust" of the ground. (Genesis 2:16, 17; 3:2-5, 19) It was never God's purpose for the human family in general to die and to populate heaven via the grave. God created myriads of angels to live in heaven; these spirit creatures are not humans who are deceased and who have been resurrected to life in heaven.—Psalm 104:1, 4; Daniel 7:10.

"The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it."—Psalm 37:29

What must we do to receive the blessing of living forever in Paradise on earth?
A first step is to study God's Word, the Holy Bible. "This means everlasting life," Jesus said in prayer, "their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ."—John 17:3.

Putting that knowledge into practice is another step to everlasting happiness in Paradise. (James 1:22-24) Those who live by God's Word have the prospect of seeing with their own eyes the fulfillment of such thrilling prophecies as the one recorded at Isaiah 11:9, which says: "They [humankind] will not do any harm or cause any ruin in all my holy mountain; because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea."



* For a discussion of why God has tolerated evil in heaven and on earth, see the book "Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life", published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., pages 70-9.


Appeared in The Watchtower October 1, 2000

I am so sorry for your loss, I have lost my parents too. If you want to talk I'll listen, take care, sending hugs too.

I know how you feel, my mother just passed away this past February 3rd. It is the hardest time in my life for me too. I can't tell you how to feel better but it helps me to know others loved their mothers and they died and they survived. I feel sometimes very alone, I am married but no children. I still am extremely close to her, wherever she is that relationship has not ended and it hasn't ended for you either. It just changed, that's all.