Death is an inevitable and mysterious part of the human experience. For Christians, the Bible provides comfort, wisdom, and truths about death and the afterlife. Here is an overview of some notable Bible passages that discuss death:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 – There is a time for everything, including death
Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us that there are seasons to life. Death, like birth, is part of God’s design:
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted.”
Ecclesiastes 9:5 – The dead know nothing
This verse teaches that the dead are unconscious and unaware of what is happening on earth after their death:
“For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.”
Psalm 116:15 – Precious in God’s sight
This Psalm reassures us that to God, the lives of His followers are precious even after death:
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”
John 11:25-26 – Jesus is the resurrection and the life
In one of the most well-known passages about death, Jesus comforts Martha upon the death of her brother Lazarus. He affirms the hope of resurrection and eternal life for those who believe in Him:
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”
1 Corinthians 15 – The resurrection of the dead
1 Corinthians 15 is the Bible’s most extensive teaching on resurrection. Paul explains how Christ rose from the dead and how those who belong to Him will also be resurrected to eternal life. Our earthly bodies are perishable but the resurrected body will be imperishable.
Revelation 21:4 – No more death
This verse describes the glorious future when sin and death will be no more for God’s people:
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Psalm 23:4 – With me in death
Psalm 23, often read at funerals, reassures us that God is present with us even as we walk through the darkest valley of death:
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
2 Corinthians 5:8 – Away from the body, home with the Lord
As believers, we do not need to fear death because it represents a transition into the Lord’s presence:
“Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – The coming of the Lord
These verses explain the Second Coming of Christ when the dead in Christ will be resurrected and meet the Lord in the air. We can have hope and comfort knowing that God will reunite us with believers who have passed away.
Revelation 14:13 – Blessed rest from labor
This calls those who die in the Lord blessed. Death represents a chance to rest from earthly labor:
“And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
Philippians 1:21-23 – To live is Christ, to die is gain
Paul views death differently than unbelievers because he sees it as a departure from earthly life and a chance to be with Christ:
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.”
Romans 6:23 – The wages of sin is death
This well-known verse establishes death as the consequence of sin. While sin brings death, Christ offers eternal life:
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 – Death cannot separate us
Nothing, including death, can separate God’s people from His love:
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
2 Timothy 1:10 – Abolished death, brought life
Through Christ’s resurrection, He defeated the power of death:
“[God] abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
1 John 3:14-15 – Passed from death to life
Those who believe in Jesus can be assured they have eternal life and will transition from death into that life:
“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.”
John 5:24 – Will not be condemned
Jesus declares believers will cross from death into eternal life because of their faith:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
1 Peter 1:3-5 – Protected by God’s power
Even after death, God’s power protects His people as they await the full revelation of their eternal inheritance:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
John 14:1-4 – Many rooms in my Father’s house
As Jesus prepares to die, He comforts His disciples with the assurance that He is going to prepare a place for them in heaven:
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
Luke 23:43 – Today you will be with me in paradise
As He hung on the cross, Jesus told one of the criminals being crucified that he would join Jesus immediately after death in paradise:
“And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.’”
Philippians 3:20-21 – Our citizenship is in heaven
Our eternal home is in heaven, not on earth. Jesus will resurrect our lowly bodies into glorious, heavenly bodies:
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”
1 Corinthians 15:51-57 – The perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable
When Christ returns, the dead will be resurrected and the perishable will become imperishable as we receive glorified bodies fit for eternity. Then death will be swallowed up in victory.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 – Temporary troubles achieving eternal glory
Our present sufferings are temporary and light compared to the eternal glory awaiting us. We can keep an eternal perspective in our trials.
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
Romans 14:8 – Live and die for the Lord
Christ’s followers belong to Him both in life and death:
“For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 – Asleep in Jesus
Christians who die are not lost, but rather “asleep” in Jesus. Just as someone wakes from sleep, they will rise again when Jesus returns.
“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”
The Bible offers many truths and words of comfort regarding death. While death is inevitable, Christians can find hope knowing it represents a transition into eternal life for those who believe. Christ’s resurrection secured victory over death, and we can trust that God will raise up our perishable bodies into imperishable, glorified bodies fit for eternity with Him.