Ecclesiastes 9: Death and the Afterlife

Solomon finally dwells on a topic that he has touched on from time to time. He comments that The same destiny overtakes all (3). All will die, both he good and the evil.

Does it seem, then, that Solomon's understanding of heaven is rather limited in comparison to my own.
For the living know that they will die,
but the dead know nothing;
they have no further reward,
and even the memory of them is forgotten.

Their love, their hate
and their jealousy have long since vanished;
never again will they have a part
in anything that happens under the sun. (5-6)

Now, it is possible to see that Solomon does not mention heaven here, and he suggests that the dead know nothing. Thus, Solomon, and perhaps the majority of Israelites, do not have the same concept of heaven that we do. We suggest that when people die they go directly to heaven. At the very least, Solomon seems to think that the dead lie in the grave while their memory is forgotten. Either Solomon thinks that they wait for God to wake them, or he does not know of a heaven where people come back to life. And Solomon has yet to address the issue of what the dead might be waiting for.

Indeed, his focus throughout the book is on the here and now. He looks for justice in the present, he argues for obedience and pleasing God in the present. Solomon also argues that humanity needs to work hard now for there will be no work in the grave. (10) With his focus on the here and now, I think his point is this: You have the gift of life--do not waste it on foolishness and worry. Work hard today and please God today--that is all you have.

Since Solomon's emphasis is not on the future, he does not explain his idea of heaven here. This is not to say that he does not have a concept of heaven or future life--although his comments on there being no reward in the grave may lead some to think that he has no hope of eternal life beyond the grave.

However, the rest of the Bible teaches us of eternal life and heaven (see Colossians 1:5 for an example). Thus, it seems to me that Solomon's emphasis stops at the finality of death. He does not discuss the rewards of heaven, only the emptiness of the grave.

Let eveyone who hears, then, make the right choices in this life--for there will be no time or opportunity to correct them in the grave. I think this is Solomon's emphasis: enjoy God's gifts now and please him. The future is out of our hands.

First Corinthians 15:35-58

OK. After a few days off, I ready to finish 1 Corinthians.

First things first! What an amazing passage! The resurrection of Christ, and the testimony of the disciples to that event, gives hope to every believer. Our faith and work is not in vain because of the work of Christ on the cross, and then his defeat of death. Truly, we must give thanks to God for the victory he has given us over death. What an amazing passage!

Secondly, have you ever wondered what your heavenly body will be like? Paul wants the COrinthians to know that it is foolish to imagine a body that is physical in natrue like our current one. What will it be made of? I don't know. But if Jesus'd resurrection body is the proto-type (so to speak), the we will look like ourselves (although glorified--and the disciples had trouble recognizing him at first). We will also be able to eat, hug, talk, shake hands, walk. Yet, we will also be able to walk through walls, and will not be bound by the physical limitations of this world.

Will we still have scars like Jesus? I don't know, although I'd like to think that he has his scars, for the time being, because he is our high priest and thus stands constantly before the throne covering our sins by his suffering and death. I'd like to think that my scars will be erased by his. Perhaps, when his final glorification comes and we all are brought before God's throne, his scars will disappear because there will finally be no more need for forgiveness--when our sins are totally washed away. I don't know that there are any verses that speak to these details.

How old will we be? Interesting question? Will my father and I be the same age? And what about my grandfather? Or Moses? Of my children? I can only imagine that age will not matter, and we will know each other even as we are known by God.

There are probably more questions like these that are unanswerable at this time. It is fun to think of them, and it is good to know that Christ's defeat of death makes it possible.