he passed on the inheritance of imperfection and death to all his offspring.​—Rom. 5:12.

How Man Dies

In death the reverse of what took place at man’s creation occurs. Breathing stops. The spirit, or life force in all the cells, is extinguished. The brain ceases to function and the thoughts perish. “His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish.”​—Ps. 146:4; Ezek. 18:4.

This agrees with what is known scientifically of the death process. When the heart stops beating, the blood ceases to circulate nourishment and oxygen (from breathing) to the cells of the body. Yet the cells do not die immediately. That is why it is possible to revive some people whose breathing and heartbeat have ceased. Absolute death comes with the disappearance of the life force, or spirit of life, from the body cells.​—Ps. 104:29.

Death means a state of total inactivity. The dead “are conscious of nothing at all, . . . for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol [the grave].” This means that the dead cannot be helped by religious or spiritistic efforts or by human scientific means.​—Eccl. 9:5, 6, 10.

Spirit Manifestations

But what about the spirit manifestations that are associated with the dead? The Bible explains that spirit creatures were produced before the material universe was created. Some of these angels, including Satan, rebelled against God. They are the ones who impersonate the dead, and this is done to support Satan’s first lie, that man ‘positively would not die’ if he rebelled against God.​—Gen. 3:4; John 8:44; Jude 6.

Thus, the consulting of the dead, funeral rites for appeasing or paying homage to them, prayers for them, and all spiritistic practices are based on a deception, a lie. Money paid for such services does not bring God’s favor, nor does it influence the dead. Instead, it plays right into the demons’ hands. That is why God forbids participation in these practices.​—Deut. 18:10-12; Isa. 8:19.

Understanding and acting in harmony with the truth about death liberates one from fear and futile practices. It also puts one in position to appreciate and benefit from our Creator’s purpose to provide a real conquest over death.

Death Does Not End It All!

SCIENCE cannot create human life, nor can it restore the dead to life. But the Creator of humans can! He has absolute knowledge of human life and its functions. He can accomplish acts that biologists cannot even understand, much less do.

Since God created man to begin with, He knows how to sustain him forever, and even to re-create him once he is dead. And now that God has permitted time for all to see the results of disobedience to his laws, the appointed time is fast approaching for him to correct matters on this earth. That includes raising the dead from the graves and guiding mankind to eternal life on earth.

No, death will not end it all! It is God’s purpose to restore earth wide the paradise conditions that once existed in Eden, and to restore mankind to the perfection it once had. This will enable people to live forever on an earth that will be transformed into a delightful paradise. That is why Jesus could tell a man who was about to die: “You will be with me in Paradise.” And it is why the psalmist could write: “The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.”​—Luke 23:43; Ps. 37:29.

But for life in God’s new order to be worth while, humans need more than eternal life. They need more than a resurrection of the dead to take place. What else is sorely needed? The present ungodly, unjust, violent system of things must be removed. And then, too, there needs to be a righteous government over all mankind.

A Perfect Government

When Jesus taught his followers to pray, he associated the fulfillment of God’s will on earth with the coming of God’s heavenly kingdom. (Matt. 6:9, 10) That heavenly kingdom, or government, is the means by which God will administer the restoration of Paradise.

Fittingly, Jesus is the appointed king of that heavenly government. He is the Christ who was promised to come as a savior, a prophet greater than Moses, a king to inherit an everlasting kingdom.​—Deut. 18:15; Isa. 9:6, 7; Luke 1:30-33; John 4:42.

To begin with, the kingdom under Christ will totally wipe out the present unsatisfactory system of things on earth. This will remove all governments, social systems and economic systems that have long misruled mankind. (Dan. 2:44) But there will be a “great crowd” of survivors, Bible prophecy foretells. These will be ushered into God’s new order to begin life anew on an earth cleansed of wickedness, with the prospect of endless life before them.​—Rev. 7:9, 10, 14.

A Resurrection of the Dead

Not only the survivors of this present system’s end will have such life prospects; so will many of the dead. Jesus spoke of this when he said: “Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out.” The apostle Paul also noted: “There is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.”​—John 5:28, 29; Acts 24:15.

This will be a creating anew​—a recreation—​of those who have died. They will come back from the graves endowed with the personality they had before death, including their memories and mental functions. Since each original body will already have returned to dust, God will construct a body having the DNA pattern in its cells and the brain capacity that the person had before he died. Jesus, while on earth, demonstrated this power of God by resurrecting dead persons, such as Lazarus, the widow of Nain’s son, and an official’s daughter.​—John 11:38-44; Luke 7:11-17; 8:49-56.

Also, just as Jesus healed the sick when he was on earth, so he will heal redeemed mankind of the effects of sin, restoring them to perfection of mind and body. Then, “as the last enemy, death is to be brought to nothing.” Never again will inherited death claim another victim!​—1 Cor. 15:26; Rev. 21:1, 3, 4.

There will then be nothing to mar the peace and harmony that will exist on earth. Redeemed mankind will extend Paradise to the very ends of the earth. They will forever enjoy the fruits of their joyful work, as the earth will produce abundantly. Everyone will be satisfied with good things, for Jehovah will ‘open his hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.’ (Ps. 145:15, 16) Even the animals will once again come under man’s loving subjection, as they were in Eden.​—Gen. 1:28.

What Should You Do?

Do you want to enjoy these blessings in the restored Paradise on earth? Then take in accurate knowledge of the Creator, who has purposed these things. That is what Jesus said to do. (John 17:3) In faith, obediently follow the instructions and direction of the Great Teacher, Jesus Christ. (John 3:36) Many people in all parts of the world are doing this and are reaping real benefits now.

For example, when an Asian woman living in South Africa lost her husband, she decided to starve herself to death so as to be with him. Jehovah’s Witnesses visited her and, free of charge, showed her from God’s Word the truth about the dead. She got to understand that, though her grief was natural, she could overcome it and work toward a truly happy future. Her entire outlook changed. Now she even teaches others about the hope ahead.

No, death does not end it all! Jehovah holds out the marvelous hope of a resurrection, with the prospect of endless life in a restored Paradise. Then there will be unlimited time to pursue worthwhile activities to the full. How good it will be to be able really to get to know the earth and all the wonderful things on it, and to understand the majestic universe with its planets, stars and galaxies.

Above all, it will be deeply satisfying really to know our Grand Creator, Jehovah, and to enjoy an everlasting, happy relationship with him, “because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea.”​—Isa. 11:9.