Renee
The Bible indicates that dying was not what God originally intended for humans. The Bible account of Genesis explains that to allow the first human couple, Adam and Eve, opportunity to show their love and loyalty, God placed a simple test upon them. It consisted of a prohibition against eating from one particular tree. God said: “In the day you eat from it you will positively die.” (Genesis 2:17) Adam and Eve would die only if they rebelled, thus failing the test. The Bible account reveals that they proved disloyal to God, and therefore they died. In this way, imperfection and death were introduced into the human family.
The Creator himself promises: “From the hand of Sheol [the common grave] I shall redeem them; from death I shall recover them. Where are your stings, O Death? Where is your destructiveness, O Sheol?” (Hosea 13:14) Another Bible prophecy states that God “will actually swallow up death forever, and the Sovereign Lord Jehovah will certainly wipe the tears from all faces.” (Isaiah 25:8) This process of bringing dead ones back to life is called resurrection.
Under ideal conditions, would you not love to live on a paradise earth? The hope offered in the Bible is exactly that, namely, to live forever right here on earth. God created the earth for that purpose—to be inhabited by those who will love and serve him forever in happiness. That is why the Bible says: “The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.”—Psalm 37:29; Isaiah 45:18; 65:21-24.
When will the resurrection take place? The fact that death is compared to sleep indicates that the resurrection does not usually take place immediately after death. A period of “sleeping” takes place between the time of death and the resurrection. In the Bible, a man named Job raised the question: “If an able-bodied man dies can he live again?” Then he answered: “I shall wait [in the grave] until my relief comes. [God] will call, and I myself shall answer.” (Job 14:14, 15) What a joy it will be when that time arrives and the dead are reunited with their loved ones!