Costly in Yahweh’s view is
the death of his faithful ones.
And the dust returns to the earth as it was,
and the breath returns to God who gave it.
The righteous one perishes, and there is no one who takes it to heart.
And men of faithfulness are gathered, while there is no one who understands,
for the righteous is gathered from the presence of wickedness.
he enters into peace;
they will rest on their beds,
walking straight ahead of him.
“Now a certain man was rich, and dressed in purple cloth and fine linen, feasting sumptuously every day.
And a certain poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, lay at his gate,
and was longing to be filled with what fell from the table of the rich man. But even the dogs came and licked his sores.
Now it happened that the poor man died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried.
And in Hades he lifted up his eyes as he was in torment and saw Abraham from a distance, and Lazarus at his side.
And he called out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he could dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am suffering pain in this flame!’
But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you received your good things during your life, and Lazarus likewise bad things. But now he is comforted here, but you are suffering pain.
And in addition to all these things, a great chasm has been established between us and you, so that those who want to cross over from here to you are not able to do so, nor can they cross over from there to us.’
So he said, ‘Then I ask you, father, that you send him to my father’s house,
for I have five brothers, so that he could warn them, in order that they also should not come to this place of torment!’
But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must listen to them.’
And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent!’
But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone rises from the dead.’ ”
And they kept on stoning Stephen as he was calling out and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”
The last enemy to be abolished is death.
But we ourselves had the sentence of death in ourselves, so that we would not be putting confidence in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead,
who delivered us from so great a risk of death, and will deliver us, in whom we have put our hope that he will also deliver us again,
For grief according to the will of God brings about a repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted, but worldly grief brings about death.
Now we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who have fallen asleep, so that you will not grieve as also the rest, who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, thus also God will bring those who have fallen asleep through Jesus together with him.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who remain until the Lord’s coming, will not possibly precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who remain, will be snatched away at the same time together with them in the clouds for a meeting with the Lord in the air, and thus we will be together with the Lord always.
Therefore comfort one another with these words.
and could set free these who through fear of death were subject to slavery throughout all their lives.
We know that we have passed over from death to life because we love the brothers. The one who does not love remains in death.
And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write:
‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’ ”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “in order that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow after them.”