Have you ever been taught that there are invisible intelligent beings that were created like that, as spirits, and that they do not die and have never been human, but they were created before humans? If NO, now you know.
No, I have never heard that, and I do not believe it. I guess that comes from an interpretation of Bible verses that I do not interpret that way.
Anyway: there are many of them who became evil and they are trying to deceive humans on believing they are dead persons, so they do not believe what the Bible says about the condition of dead (Ecl. 9:5,10). They are deceiving many with that lie, and they are also enslaving them to demonic practices that displease God. They make humans stray from the truth and do things that God condemns.
What do you think those Bible verses mean?
I think Ecl. 9:5 means that dead bodies know nothing. Of course they know nothing, since their bodies are dead so their brains are dead.
Ecclesiastes 9:5-10
New International Version
5 For the living know that they will die,
but the dead know nothing;
they have no further reward,
and even their name is forgotten.
6 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.
7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. 8 Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. 9 Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
I agree with the following interpretation of Ecl. 9:5. Every person will spend eternity with God in heaven or apart from Him in hell. Each person will have feelings, thoughts, and abilities that exist in eternity.
What does it mean that the dead know nothing (Ecclesiastes 9:5)?
Answer
Ecclesiastes 9:5 reads, “For the living know that they will die, / but the dead know nothing; / they have no further reward, / and even their name is forgotten.” This verse is sometimes used as a proof text for
annihilationism, but that concept is not what is being communicated here. The “dead know nothing,” but in what way?
First, it is clear from other places in the Bible that this verse cannot mean the dead have absolutely no knowledge. For example,
Matthew 25:46 speaks of everlasting consciousness: “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Every person will spend eternity with God in heaven or apart from Him in hell. Each person will have feelings, thoughts, and abilities that exist in eternity.
In fact,
Luke 16:19–31 offers an example of human capabilities in the afterlife. Lazarus is in paradise in eternal joy, while the rich man is in torment in hell (called “Hades”). The rich man has feelings, can talk, and has the ability to remember, think, and reason.
Second,
Ecclesiastes 9:5 cannot contradict
Ecclesiastes 4:2. There, Solomon states that the dead are “happier than the living.” However, when a person is dead, the opportunities to enjoy things on earth no longer exist.
The key to understanding the statement “the dead know nothing” is found in the theme of the
book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes is written specifically from an
earthly perspective. The key phrase, repeated throughout the book, is
under the sun, used about thirty times. Solomon is commenting on an earth-bound life, “under the sun,” without God. His conclusion, also repeated throughout the book, is that everything from that perspective is “vanity” or emptiness (
Ecclesiastes 1:2).
When a person dies “under the sun,” the earthly perspective, without God, is that it’s over. He is no longer under the sun. There is no more knowledge to give or be given, just a grave to mark his remains. Those who have died have “no further reward” in this life; they no longer have the ability to enjoy life like those who are living. Eventually, “even their name is forgotten” (
Ecclesiastes 9:5).
Ecclesiastes 9:5 displays a
chiastic structure (ABBA format) like this:
A “For the living know that they will die,
B but the dead know nothing;
B they have no further reward,
A and even their name is forgotten.”
Lines 1 and 4 are parallel thoughts in the sense that the living know death is coming while those who remain after a person dies quickly forget those who have died. The second and third lines lay down associated ideas in parallel: the dead know nothing, and the dead can no longer enjoy or be rewarded for their activities in this life.
The saying “the dead know nothing” seems to be a negative sentiment, but it is not without a positive message. Solomon encourages his readers to live life to its fullest, knowing life is short. In the end, the fullest life is one that honors God and keeps His ways (
Ecclesiastes 12:13–14).
What does it mean that the dead know nothing (Ecclesiastes 9:5)? | GotQuestions.org
Don't you think that if the dead were still alive somewhere, their living relatives would no longer suffer and, in short, they would all have agreed to help humanity solve its problems? Obviously they haven't, because none of them really lives, and those who pretend they are, the only thing they do is deceive living humans.
Those who have died physically are alive in heaven in a spiritual body. That is what the Bible says.
After the physical body dies the soul (who is the person) is raised and continues to exist forever as a spiritual body and goes to heaven where it continues to live forever.
The physical body cannot exist in the Kingdom of God in heaven. That is why it needs to be transformed into a spiritual body.
40 There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies.
44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.
50 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.
51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed!
Even though those who have died physically are still alive in heaven in a spiritual body, their living relatives will still grieve over the loss of their loved one, since they are temporarily separated from their loved ones.
Those who are left on earth are responsible for solving humanity's problems. However, according to my religious beliefs, the pure and sanctified souls who have passed on to the Kingdom of God in heaven will provide the impulse to help humanity solve its problems.
“The light which these souls radiate is responsible for the progress of the world and the advancement of its peoples. They are like unto leaven which leaveneth the world of being, and constitute the animating force through which the arts and wonders of the world are made manifest. Through them the clouds rain their bounty upon men, and the earth bringeth forth its fruits. All things must needs have a cause, a motive power, an animating principle. These souls and symbols of detachment have provided, and will continue to provide, the supreme moving impulse in the world of being.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 157
