The Purpose of Death part 3 – Human Death After the Fall

Most view death as a bad thing. Death is an enemy that will some day be destroyed. However there is more to death than just the judgment from God of sin. It is likely that YEC will not object to these reasons for death since this is a post-Fall discussion – however it’s important to realize that death – even though it is an enemy – is used by God for multiple reasons and ultimately brings Him glory.

Death is Universal - with some exceptions
The running joke is that you can’t escape the IRS and death... So unless you are translated by God (like Enoch and Elijah) or you are alive at the 2nd coming of the Lord - you are going to die. Period. End of story.

Life shuns death.
God has put in each of us a drive for life. The maintenance of life is a key fundamental of being alive. If something threatens our life (say rapid internal bleeding and blood loss) our brains instantly shut down non essential portions of our bodies - even consciousness - in a drive to survive.

We don’t want to die
Even a true Christian convert - who has assurance of salvation and glorification - does not in general wish for death. The drive for life mentioned earlier prevails. Even the apostle Paul stated, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Phil 1:21) Paul realizes that Christ was with him in life, but to die would be better (gain) - yet he concluded that it was more important for him to stay around for the sake of his children in the Lord when he stated, "nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you." (Phil 1:24) As a Christian, there is no fear in death, but does not mean that we would purposely hasten death.

Death limits the evil potential of man
God reduced human life expectancy from around 900 years down to 120 years after the flood. "... Yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years." (Gen 6:3) One reason for this is to limit the amount of damage that sinful men could do to each other. Note that God noted that in the days of Noah that all flesh was continually doing evil. Violence was at astronomical levels. Imagine the amount of pain and suffering that a rebellious sinner can do if he were to live to the age of 900. One caveat to this point is that God knows, controls, sustains, allows, and oversees everything that comes to pass. There are no contingencies, no what ifs. So in a way this is a theoretical usage of death - yet in God's sovereign control of our world, he has used death to be a limiting influence (a restraint of evil) in our day.

Death is a catalyst for the contemplation of eternity
How many people do we know that have been drawn to the Kingdom of God through the death of a loved one? When someone close dies, it spawns thoughts of eternity and God many times uses this - along with other seeds of the Gospel - to bring a sinner to repentance and salvation.

Death is a doorway to eternity
First comes death - then the judgement. [3] Once we die, our eternal state is fixed. The elect are saved from the foundation of the world. The Calvinist-Arminian debate asks the question of how the elect are determined - either by means of God's foreknowledge of some future human event, or by means of the will and praise of the Glory of God. Yet both sides agree that when you die, your eternal state is fixed. It is the story of the sheep and the goats. Christ said you are either for Him or against Him.

Death was punishment for sin
We agree with YEC that death was given as a punishment. We recognize that Adam spiritually died instantly upon eating the wrong fruit. He was instantly separated from God and it affected all of his progeny. Note that Adam did not die on the calendar day that he (with Eve) ate the wrong fruit. They died spiritually, but their natural death was not to be realized for many years to come. We agree that Jesus came to earth in the incarnation as a man, and that he died substitutionally for the elect and then was victorious over death.

All death will eventually be done away with
God has allowed animal and human death to play a part in His good and very good creation. We disagree in respect to the timing of the introduction of death to animals, but we both agree that death (both physical and spiritual) will one day be destroyed [2].


NOTES:

[1] Gen 3:22 (NKJV) Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"--

[2] 1Cor 15:26 The last enemy [that] shall be destroyed [is] death.
1Cor 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

[3] Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: