John 11:11-15
The Death of Lazarus
11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
Matthew 9:18-26
18 While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.
20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”
22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.
23 When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, 24 he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. 26 News of this spread through all that region.
Genesis 25:1-11
1 Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. 3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.
5 Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. 6 But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.
7 Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, 10 the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.
John 12:44-50
Believe in Jesus and the One Who Sent Him
44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. 49 For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”
John 17:3
Now This is Eternal Life
3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
Matthew 10:28
Fear Only God Who Can Kill the Soul
28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
John 14:1-4
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Why are there funerals?...What do atheists and non-believers think about funeral rights or a ceremony after one's death?...
We and my wife have jogged in a nearby cemetery for years...Their is a respect, I think, for the graves of those who have passed before us, and it seems almost unexplainable...I think the Holy Spirit gives us this reverence and sacredness for those who have passed before us...There is an importance for this respect of those who have passed on...We have some sort of feeling or thinking that seems to say let us take care of this one before they move on to the next world...Let us do something formal before one moves on to the next world...Let us do or say something before they leave us...Even though most of those times are very much saddened and grieving...
Jesus made the point to His Disciples that Lazarus was really not dead, but that he was asleep...Jesus made this same point to others when raising a little girl from death back to life...He told the people the girl is not dead but only asleep...This makes one think that raising someone from the dead, is like bringing one out of a sleep for Jesus...
In Old Testament Scripture, we read that when we die, we are gathered to our people...When Abraham died Moses writes this about Abraham's death: "Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people."...Abraham was gathered to his people...His people that are asleep...His people that had died before him...His people that are living an eternal life...His people who believe in the resurrection of Jesus and the One who sent Him...
I think the reason we have funerals is that God has indwelt the Holy Spirit in us to somehow feel that there is something sacred about another one's passing...There are evidences of some sort of ceremony after death, even in Genesis, when they speak of Abraham and others being gathered to his and their people...And even though we are in the most grief of our lives, when our loved ones and friends pass on, we have had these ceremonies since the ancient days and they are written about in the Book of Genesis...
For me this is evidence of God...It is very much a mystery, but He someone has put this respect, this care, in our soul of those passing before us...It is a passing from one life to the next...Maybe it is like us leaving our mother's womb and coming into another world -to this world...Maybe we are asleep in the womb and come to life...Maybe when we pass on, we again are asleep as Jesus says, and He brings us back to a raised and resurrected and new life...In our souls there must be an energy that Jesus speaks of when He talked about death...The body can and does die...Jesus teaches us to fear only the One who can kill the soul, because men cannot kill the soul...Jesus says believe in Me, but believe also in God...Those souls who believe in the Only True God, and the Son, He sent will have eternal life and they will be gathered to Him and with Him...We will be gathered to our people who are eternal...We will be gathered in a place He has prepared for us...And just as Jesus explains to His Disciples before His death, we will be greatly comforted in this place...This place of Paradise, this place called Heaven...