Expert: Brenda Martin - 12/1/2006

Question
I am just wondering whether the dead can still be forgiven.

And where exactly in the bible and what verses address these questions?

1.Can the dead be forgiven?

2.Can the living pray to God for the forgiveness of their dead relatives sins (knowingly that they did not get to receive God during their death)?

3.And if they do,  will there be a chance of salvation?

Thanks


Answer
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE DEAD?

To answer such a question it helps for us to know what happened to Adam at his death. When he sinned, God told him: “You will return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return.” (GENESIS 3:19) Think of what that means. Before God created him from the dust, there was no Adam. He did not exist. So, after he died, Adam returned to that same state of non-existence.

Simply stated, death is the opposite of life. The Bible shows this at ECCLESIASTES 9:5, 10.

This means that the dead cannot do anything and cannot feel anything. They no longer have any thoughts, as the Bible states at (PSALM 146:3, 4)

Now the churches teach; “that is just our physical body, the soul however is immortal”, not true—

GENESIS 1:20 AND 30 says that God created “living souls” to live in the waters, and that the animals have “life as a soul.” In these verses some Bibles use the words “creature” and “life” instead of “soul,” Among the Bible references to animals as souls is NUMBERS 31:28. There it speaks of “one soul out of five hundred, of humankind and of the herd and of the asses and of the flock.”

Since animals are souls, when they die their souls die. As the Bible says: “Every living soul died, yes, the things in the sea.” (REVELATION 16:3) What about human souls?

God did not create man WITH a soul. Man IS a soul. So, as we would expect, when man dies, his soul dies. Over and over again the Bible says that this is true. Never does the Bible say the soul is deathless or that it cannot die. “All those going down to the dust will bend down, and no one will ever preserve his own soul alive,” PSALM 22:29

“The soul that is sinning—it itself will die,” explains EZEKIEL 18:4 AND 20.

And if you turn to JOSHUA 10:28-39, you will find seven places where the soul is spoken of as being killed or destroyed.

When a person is in a very deep sleep, he remembers nothing. It is similar with the dead. They have no feelings at all. They no longer exist. But, in God’s due time, the dead who are ransomed by God will be raised to life. (JOHN 5:28)

CAN THE DEAD BE FORGIVEN?

God’s Word assures us: “There is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.”—ACTS 24:15.

None of these unrighteous ones are raised simply to be judged worthy of death again. In the righteous environment that will prevail earth wide under God’s Kingdom, they will be helped to bring their lives into harmony with God’s ways.

They will be “judged individually according to their deeds” performed AFTER their resurrection. (REVELATION 20:12, 13) Thus, viewed from the standpoint of the final outcome, theirs can prove to be “a resurrection of life” and will not unavoidably be “a resurrection of [condemnatory] judgment.”—John 5:28, 29.

CAN THE LIVING PRAY TO GOD FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF THEIR DEAD RELATIVES SINS

No need, as God has stated that, death annuls our sin; anyone who has died has been “aquitted from sin” (ROMANS 6:7, 23)

To illustrate; my Mother died in March and while alive she did not serve God, however I look forward to seeing her again in the “new earth” when she is resurrected and given a second chance if you like because, when she died the slate was wiped clean.

If this answer has raised further questions, I will be happy to answer them.

All the best
Brenda