What do the Dead Know?
Many people find comfort in the idea that their deceased mom or dad is looking down from above. Others, perhaps, find it disconcerting – if not a motivation to avoid doing bad things. They would not want mom or dad to see them engaging in x, y, or z. Does the Bible lend support to the idea that the dead know what is happening on earth right now?
As we move through the Bible, let’s think about the Bible’s picture of the dead. Clearly, they are cognizant and remember what happened back on earth. For example, in 1 Samuel 28, King Saul, fearing the Philistines, tracks down a witch in the village of Endor and persuades her to call up the prophet Samuel from the dead. In looking at this example, we see that Saul informed Samuel what was happening on earth (verse 15). Acknowledging what Saul already knew, next, Samuel tells him that God is simply fulfilling what His word, spoken on earth, had already said – Saul was going to lose his kingdom (verse 17; see 1 Samuel 15:28). Finally, in verse 19, Samuel predicts the future – that Saul will be with Samuel the following day (that is, dead).
While it appears that Samuel does know what is going on with Saul, it was no encouragement to him! Yet, Samuel could have said what he did based on what he knew when he died in addition to what King Saul had just revealed to him (notice verse 18). Samuel gives no indication that he knows what is transpiring in Saul’s life at that moment.
Moving on through the Scriptures, we come to Ecclesiastes 9:5: “For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing.” Solomon surely does not mean that the dead are not conscious. Samuel just disproved that interpretation. He must mean, then, that the dead do not know what the living know. In context, Solomon is encouraging us to use our time wisely on this earth (see 12:13-14).
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Aside from Christ, we have one other person who speaks from the realm of the departed – Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16. The rich man, in particular, seems to be anxious about his five brothers back in the land of the living (verse 28). It is unfortunate that he decides to be an evangelist after he is dead. Yet, acknowledging that his brothers need to be warned could be based simply on what he knew when he died. His thoughts and concern are not necessarily based on what was transpiring at that very moment.
So, unless I’m missing some important passage, the evidence that our departed loved ones know what we are currently doing is either against the idea or, at best, ambiguous.
What most needs to encourage us (or conversely alarm us) is what Jesus thinks about our current behavior. That needs be the motivation for living a righteous life!
— Paul Holland
