Virtually everyone in the world, and unfortunately every single believer that I’ve ever heard outside of Reform Church, believes in this statement… “Everybody dies.” You yourself may very well agree with that statement. But does God agree with it?
If there’s any verse that a Christian will use to try to prove the point that everybody dies, this is probably amongst the most common:
Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV) And as it is appointed for men to die once…
In the first part of the verse, it says that “it is appointed for every man to die once.” And that is the only part you’ll hear most of the church quote. Here’s the funny thing, the only reason why God mentions that man was appointed to die one time, is to show the reason that Jesus only had to die once to fulfill humanity’s death. In other words, the one death that was appointed to us, Jesus fulfilled at the cross. Christians just rarely quote the whole sentence. So let’s read the rest of it:
Hebrews 9:27-28 (NKJV) And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.
It’s true that in the beginning, it was appointed to every man to die once, because of Adam’s sin, but this is the reason that Jesus was offered once. He did so to fulfill the one death that was appointed to us.
So, when someone says, “Everybody dies,“ I would disagree with that and say, “Everybody died” (…past tense). When Jesus died at the cross, that was everybody’s death being fulfilled in His body. It certainly wasn’t Jesus’ own death. Jesus never sinned, nor deserved death. That was humanity‘s death that Jesus was taking at the cross.
2 Corinthians 5:14 (NKJV) …if One [Jesus] died for all, then all died…
Hebrews 2:9 (NKJV) …that He [Jesus], by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
If Jesus’ death was on behalf of all humanity, then technically all of humanity has already died through the body of Jesus! They have fulfilled their one death that was appointed to them, through Jesus’ body! If a Christian currently says that “It is appointed for every man to die once” they don’t realize that this one death has been fulfilled, and therefore their statement is out of date. Sure, it was appointed to every man to die, but that’s why Jesus came and died that one death for all of us!
Only Judgment For Sin
But Christians will say, “The death that Jesus died was simply to take judgment for sin.“ And to that I would say, “Of course!” Did you know that ALL death is judgment for sin? Let me give a for instance: If you’re great grandfather dies of some illness, that death is Adam’s judgment for his sin. Not that your great grandfather is being judged by God — not at all — but all death in this world is the judgment that God passed on Adam’s sin in the garden. That judgment or condemnation simply spread to everybody who was born of Adam’s cursed flesh. Romans says this explicitly.
Romans 5:17-18 (NKJV) For if by the one man’s [Adam’s] offense, death reigned through the one… Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation…
So yes, Jesus’ death was taking judgment for sin, but all death — I repeat — all physical death in this world is judgment for sin — it’s Adam’s judgment for his sin! And that condemnation spread to everyone who was born after him!
So whenever you say, “Everybody dies,” you are saying, “Everyone is held under the curse.” When you say, “Jesus did not redeem us from physical death,” you are saying “Jesus did not redeem us from punishment,” because physical death is the curse and punishment of Adam. I understand that we may not like that, but that’s what we are saying! Death in this world is a curse and punishment that was used on Adam.
Physical Or Spiritual Death?
And yet, Christians will push back and say, “No, I believe Jesus redeemed us from death, but Jesus only redeemed us from spiritual death and separation from God.“ There’s so much to say about this, but if Jesus was only redeeming us from this “spiritual death” then why in the world did He need to take on a physical body to die in? Did Jesus only die spiritually? Did He die metaphorically? Was the whole thing a figurative death? Or was Jesus physically put to death on our behalf?
Don’t we understand that whatever Jesus took at the cross is something we don’t have to experience anymore? Otherwise, why did He take it? Don’t we understand that for Jesus to redeem us from something, He had to experience it Himself (namely sin and physical death)? Jesus took on a body to die physically.
Hebrews 10:5 (NKJV) Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “…a body you have prepared for me.
Then Why Do People Die?
So, what does this mean for us? What are we saying here? Are we saying that people don’t die anymore? Are we saying that Christians don’t die anymore? No. That much is evident. What we are saying is, Jesus provided freedom from physical death (and how can we deny that? He died physically.), but people will continue to die unless we get a revelation of what Jesus did (like Enoch and Elijah). It should be nothing new to us that people need to believe what Jesus did in order to receive what Jesus did. This is exactly how you got saved.
Just because Jesus saved the world, do we expect that everybody automatically receives salvation? Of course not! The same goes for everything in our life (Colossians 2:6). If we grow in our knowledge of Jesus, we get to receive the grace that Jesus provided. If we lack knowledge of what Jesus provided, we won’t walk in what Jesus provided. Simple as that. People die for lack of knowledge, not because Jesus didn’t provide it.
Romans 8:6 (NKJV) For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
What people don’t know about Jesus is killing them. Just because Jesus provided something, doesn’t mean people automatically walk in it. We need to know it in order to receive it (2 Peter 1:2). But the fact stands: Jesus came to die a physical death on behalf of all humanity. And whatever people do not receive from Him, does not negate what He provided. This is basic Christianity, and yet most of the church has completely missed this.
Life And Not Death
How do you think Jesus was able to raise people from the dead in His earthly ministry? Why do you think the Bible says that “the graves were opened“ when Jesus breathed His last? How do you think people were physically resurrected even following Jesus’ crucifixion? How do you think Enoch received exemption from physical death, as well as Elijah? I am going to ask you a very important question, and you would do well to answer it in your own heart before leaving this article. Here it is: All of these people who were raised from the dead, and regarding Enoch and Elijah who never saw death at all… Did they receive this through the atonement of Jesus, or through some other way?
Meditate on that question for a while. Chew on it for a while before answering. Your answer to that question is going to reveal a lot of what is in your mind.
If all of those people received exemption from death through some other way, besides Jesus atonement, then you believe that people can receive from a holy God without the mediation of Jesus. You are saying that Jesus is not the only way to receive from the Father. You are saying that there is another way for people to access God’s grace (Romans 5:2).
On the other hand, if these people did receive exemption from death through the atonement of Jesus, then it is for everyone, because Jesus died for the whole world and not a select special few. God so loved the world that He sent His Son.
The truth is, Enoch and Elijah received from the same inheritance that your average, every day Christian has living inside of them. Exemption from physical death and immortality that can be given to our bodies is part of what Jesus came to provide us!
Romans 8:11 (NKJV) …He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
2 Timothy 1:10 (NKJV) …the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel…
What About So-And-So?
Trust me, this is so far away from with the church is teaching you today. I’m not saying this is an easy pill to swallow for a lot of Christians. But it’s a pill that you need to swallow in time, because your Savior provided you something, and it would be a shame to make His sufferings in vain through disbelief.
We have taken time to give you just a small bit of the biblical evidence that we have on the topic — and I mean a small bit. This article could be 20 times the size that it is. But whatever you do, do not give the retort in your mind, “But what about all the people that I know that have died? What about Paul? What about Peter? What about Moses, and Samuel, and Abraham?“ To all of this I would give you this sound advice: “Look at Jesus.”
Are you created in the image of Paul? Are you a joint-heir with Peter? How about Moses, Samuel, or Abraham? Or rather… are you a joint-heir with the glorified Jesus? Is it Paul’s power that you have in you? Or is it the power that raised Jesus from the dead? If you have received everything that Jesus has, then stop looking at everyone else, and look at what Jesus has, to figure out what’s yours!
Ephesians 2:5-6 (NKJV) even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ… and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…
1 John 4:17 (NKJV) …as He is, so are we in this world.
We are joint heirs with Christ. We have been made alive together with Him. We have been raised together with Him. We have the same position as Him. As He is, so are we in this world. So we need to look at Him to find out what is available to us. So let’s look at Jesus together. What do we see in Jesus?
Romans 6:9 (NKJV) …knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.
Jesus is the mirror we look at to find ourselves, as 2 Corinthians 3:18 says very plainly, and physical death no longer has any dominion over Jesus. He has paid his dues, He has fulfilled the one death that was needed, and death no longer has dominion over him. Now, through his death, you can say the same thing for yourself.
Resurrection And Life
Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He is resurrection for those who have died, so they can be alive again. And Jesus is the life to sustain people, so they don’t have to die in the first place.
John 11:23-26 (NKJV) Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again [physically speaking].” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day [she assumed this was reserved for a day to come].” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever livs and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Jesus just spoke of raising the dead, and not only that, but also His ability to keep those who believe, alive forever. Most people will want to spiritualize this or make this a metaphor — not because the context is metaphorical. All the contrary. The context of this conversation is Jesus raising her physical brother from the dead. He is asking her if she believes that He is the resurrection, to raise her dead brother. And He is asking if she believes He is the life to keep people from dying to begin with. But people will want to make this conversation metaphorical, not for any biblical reason, but mostly just because they haven’t seen it in their life. And of course, anything that we haven’t seen in our own life does not exist. Anything that is invisible to us right now must not exist. Of course, if God were real, we would see Him. If Jesus were really resurrected, we would surely see Him. And if there really was power inside of us to keep us from ever dying, we would surely see that as well!
I think we understand where I’m coming from. As Christians, we should be used to believing in things that our eyes can’t see. You should never allow what your eyes see to dictate what you believe Jesus provided you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t believe in Jesus at all. You believe in a Savior you have never seen. So why would we question the reality of what Jesus is saying in this chapter, simply because we’ve never seen it in our life?
We don’t walk by our experience, we walk by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7). We allow the Lord to teach us what is true first, before we ever see it. Then we will see it manifest, after we believe. But only then! And the truth is, Jesus is the resurrection for those who have physically died (like in Lazarus his case), and Jesus is the life to keep people from dying to begin with. And just like Jesus asked Martha, He’s asking you, “Do you believe this?” Because most people don’t.
In Closing
If you’re a little overwhelmed by this, and you’re having a hard time accepting it or fitting it into your head, don’t let that be what deters you from accepting this, because everything that the Lord has prepared for us is bigger than your heart can even imagine on its own! If it’s human, natural, and small enough to fit in your head on its own, then it’s not the gospel. Allow the Lord to teach you and lead you into this truth!
1 Corinthians 2:9 (NKJV) But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
And part of what the Lord has prepared for us, is full exemption from physical death, because the death that was appointed to us, Jesus already fulfilled at the cross.
No one has to die. Not a single person has to die. Not a single one. You can take that to the bank.
…If you enjoyed this Article, share it with someone else. More people need to understand this awesome truth!
Reform Church 
You must be logged in to post a comment.