“Death and Taxes…” “Death and taxes…” so they say, are the only certainties in life. Necromancy, witchcraft, etc., are all belief systems that claim power to contact the dead to know something about the living – no man has that power or knowledge. If you want to learn about death, for obvious reasons, don’t go to a séance or read The Enquirer. Go to the Bible. It alone is the source of information, because God alone can reveal to us what “after life” is like. But death, itself, will one day no longer be a certainty. At the end of time death and Hades will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone (Revelation 20:10-12). Death will have been eternally conquered and Hades, the abiding place of the dead, will have served its purpose. It is Impossible for me to imagine in my own system of beliefs not having God nor hope beyond the grave (1 Peter 1:3, 18-21). That would mean that death is the end of it all and, like the dog Rover, when we are dead, we are dead all over. “Nihilism” says there are no answers to man’s purpose for existence. But man seeks earnestly for answers since he is an intelligent being who is able to reflect about life and who he is. According to Nihilism, since man seeks for answers but there are none, then life is only a series of meaningless experiences and, consequently, misery of mind. Suicide, then, becomes a viable alternative to living, for if life is meaningless, then the best solution is to end it. And, while God does not tell us everything about life after the resurrection, he supplies answers about eternal fellowship with him where there are no tears, no pain, no suffering (Revelation 21:4). God says to man, “You are a special creation made in my likeness…you are so important to me that I gave my Son as an atonement for your sin that fellowship between us might be restored…I have a place reserved for you in heaven, if you will love me and serve me faithfully during your sojourn on earth.” Oh, we will pay our taxes and, one day, our friends and families will pay their last respects at a graveside but in the bosom of the believer rests the confident expectation that allows him to live above the circumstances of this life. Departure from this world will not be the end of existence – it will be only the beginning of perfect fellowship with God. – Jim R. Everett

	Created on Febuary 16, 2003		Page last updated