The subjects of death and religion are inherently linked. If something does await us after we die, a supernatural being like a god must be involved. It stands to reason, then, that we should look to religious texts to find information about death.

However, there are many religious texts available today, and they do not all say the same thing about death. In fact, one of the reasons there are so many opinions about death is the diverse array of religious doctrines on the subject. So how do we know which text, if any, will guide our search correctly?

First, we must look for a text that claims to be directly from God. After all, if God holds the answers to death, then any real answer must come from Him. This singular principle narrows the selection of texts considerably. For example, the Buddhist texts contain many spiritual insights, but Buddha himself never claimed to be God, or to speak on God’s behalf. Thus, the insights contained there are Buddha’s, not God’s.

In reality, there is only one collection of texts in existence that makes the bold claim to contain direct communications from God: the collection we call the Bible. Over and over again, it records God speaking directly to mankind; in fact, the Bible itself claims that the Holy Spirit of God communicated the contents of the Scriptures to God’s prophets on earth, who wrote them down. Thus, the true author of the Bible is God Himself.

Though some other religious texts also claim to be from God, such as the Koran and the Book of Mormon, they do not claim to supersede or replace the Bible. The Muslim faith claims its prophet, Mohammed, was a descendant of Abraham’s son Ishmael, a character found in the book of Genesis; the Book of Mormon claims that it is “another” testament of Jesus Christ. Thus, both texts and the faiths that view them as authoritative ultimately acknowledge the Bible as a communication from God. We should look to the Bible, then, for answers about death.

The Bible contains a record of the entire history of mankind, from the moment man was created on the earth until the close of earth’s history and beyond. It describes a world where death did not exist, explains how death came to exist here, and reveals the steps God took to eventually eliminate death and restore that planet to its originally intended state. There are no gaps in the Bible’s record of history. Through an understanding of the prophecies contained therein, we are able to identify our modern day in texts written nearly two millennia ago and to peer into the future to see what God has in store.

The Bible also claims that God is the source and originator of all life. It makes this claim many times. Therefore, we have a detailed description of the nature of life and death from the One who is responsible for life in the first place. In our view, this makes the Bible the authoritative source to learn about issues relating to death.

Now you might ask: “What if I belong to a non-Christian faith group? Does the Bible still apply to me?” Good questions. The majority of the books written in the Bible were written before the word “Christian” existed. In other words, most of the authors of the Bible belonged to a non-Christian faith group. The Bible makes the claim that all human life originated with God. Over the course of history, different societies have emerged that have created their own image of God for themselves, resulting in different religions and theological ideas. However, these do not actually change God. God remains God, no matter what we do.

Therefore, the Bible is for everyone. Its truths about God are not limited to the Jews or the Christians. In fact, at varying points of history, the Jews and the Christians alike have lost sight of God and misrepresented His character to the world. While it is true that the Hebrew (Jewish) and Christian people are the ones who wrote the Bible, God is available to everyone in the world, regardless of church affiliation. We encourage you to consider what the Bible says about death even if you do not identify yourself as Jewish or Christian. We encourage you to learn about the God who claims everyone on earth as His own.

You might also say: “I don’t believe in God.” If this is true, then you certainly don’t believe that the Bible is inspired or written by God. That is your choice, and we respect it. However, ask yourself what it is you do believe and why you believe it … and we encourage you to learn a different perspective about life and death than you’ve likely heard before.

The arguments we make on this website are drawn exclusively from the Bible. We believe they are authoritative for the reasons we’ve stated here. We believe they apply to all people on earth, regardless of race, ethnicity, or church affiliation. Millions of people throughout time have found peace and joy in the messages of the Bible, and we hope you will be one of them as you study this important topic with us.

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