It hurts the Lord when those who trust in him die.
Then the dust returns to the earth from which it came, and the breath of life returns to God who gave it.
Good people die, and nobody cares; the faithful pass away, and nobody thinks that they were being protected from evil.
Those who follow what's right rest in peace; they find rest as they lie down in death.
Once there was a man who was rich. He wore purple clothes and fine linen, and enjoyed a luxurious life.
A beggar named Lazarus used to sit at his gate, covered in sores,
longing to eat the leftovers from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
Then the beggar died, and angels carried him away to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.
In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the far distance, with Lazarus beside him.
‘Father Abraham,’ he called out, ‘Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I'm burning in agony.’
But Abraham replied, ‘My son, remember that you enjoyed the good things of life, while Lazarus had a very poor life. Now he is here being comforted, while you suffer in torment.
Apart from that, there's a great gulf that stretches between us and you. Nobody who wants to cross from here to you can do so, and nobody can cross from there over to us.’
The rich man said, ‘Then Father, I beg you, please send him to my father's house.
For I have five brothers and he can warn them so that they don't end up here in this place of torment.’
But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. They should listen to them.’
‘No, Father Abraham,’ said the man. ‘But they would repent if someone went to them from the dead!’
Abraham said to him, ‘If they won't listen to Moses and the prophets, they won't be convinced even if someone returns from the dead.’”
As they went on stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
In fact it was like a death sentence inside us. This was to stop us relying on ourselves and to trust in God who raises the dead.
He saved us from a terrible death, and he will do so again. We have total confidence in God that he will continue to save us.
The kind of sorrow God wants us to have makes us change our minds and brings salvation. This kind of sorrow leaves no sense of regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
We don't want you to be confused about what happens when people die, brothers and sisters, so that you won't grieve like others who don't have any hope.
Since we're convinced that Jesus died and rose again, we're also sure that God will bring with Jesus those who have died trusting in him.
What we're telling you comes from the Lord: those of us who are alive and still here when the Lord comes certainly won't precede those who have died.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the cry of the archangel, and with the sound of God's trumpet, and those who have died in Christ will rise first.
Then those of us who are alive and still here will be carried up together with them into the clouds, and we shall meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever!
So encourage one another with these words.
and free everyone who through fear of death were enslaved all their lives.
The reason we know that we have changed from death to life is because we love our Christian brothers and sisters. Anyone who doesn't love remains dead.
Then I heard a voice from heaven that told me, “Write this down! Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, because they can rest from their troubles. What they have accomplished will speak for them.”