Why do we 'fear' death?

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Hobie

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've had several friends lose their parents or others close to them within the last several weeks, and now some who are close to me are fast coming to the grave in a few days and suddenly I am gripped by a strange sense of 'paralysis' or 'numbness' from this life/death state of limbo they are in which I can only describe as fear of encroaching death, and yet Gods Word has this....

The Resurrection Body
35But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" 36How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"[e]; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we[f] bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

50I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."[g]
55"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"[h] 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:35-58

If we have faith in Christ why are we gripped by these types of feelings when death comes near?.......
 
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Windmill Charge

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We fear the unknow, we don't know what it is like to die, we fear the process of dying, will it be painful etc etc.

Then we know that death is final, no respawning in this life. Those who have died we cannot speak to, or listen to. It is final.

Yes as Christians we have the hope of a resurrection of meeting christian loved ones.

But there is still the enormous loss. the pain of losing a loved one and the fear that did they truly accept Jesus or worse knowing despite our witnessing they never did.
 
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Hobie

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We fear the unknow, we don't know what it is like to die, we fear the process of dying, will it be painful etc etc.

Then we know that death is final, no respawning in this life. Those who have died we cannot speak to, or listen to. It is final.

Yes as Christians we have the hope of a resurrection of meeting christian loved ones.

But there is still the enormous loss. the pain of losing a loved one and the fear that did they truly accept Jesus or worse knowing despite our witnessing they never did.
Very true,, we have to share our faith with them as best we can while they are living.
 
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Debp

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've had several friends lose their parents or others close to them within the last several weeks, and now some who are close to me are fast coming to the grave in a few days and suddenly I am gripped by a strange sense of 'paralysis' or 'numbness' from this life/death state of limbo they are in which I can only describe as fear of encroaching death, and yet Gods Word has this....

The Resurrection Body
35But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" 36How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"[e]; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we[f] bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

50I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."[g]
55"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"[h] 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:35-58

If we have faith in Christ why are we gripped by these types of feelings when death comes near?.......

My 94 year old mother died last June at our apartment. I took care of her until she passed away....she was bed bound after hip surgery, never got out of bed again.

I don't know if she even knew she was going to die soon. She just laid there and because she couldn't hear, she didn't say much either. She did have a home care nurse to check on her sometimes, and a lady to change the sheets and bathe her in bed....mom finally went on hospice at our apartment nine days before she died.

I went into the living room to eat my dinner. When I went back to the bedroom, mom had already passed away.

My comfort and hope was/is that mom believed in the Lord since she was young, and she is now with Jesus.

That is my comfort for myself, too, as I am 74. I pray when my time comes that I might pass away in my sleep. I always prayed to outlive mom as she couldn't take care of herself at all. That prayer was answered thankfully.

@Matthias
 

Hobie

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My 94 year old mother died last June at our apartment. I took care of her until she passed away....she was bed bound after hip surgery, never got out of bed again.

I don't know if she even knew she was going to die soon. She just laid there and because she couldn't hear, she didn't say much either. She did have a home care nurse to check on her sometimes, and a lady to change the sheets and bathe her in bed....mom finally went on hospice at our apartment nine days before she died.

I went into the living room to eat my dinner. When I went back to the bedroom, mom had already passed away.

My comfort and hope was/is that mom believed in the Lord since she was young, and she is now with Jesus.

That is my comfort for myself, too, as I am 74. I pray when my time comes that I might pass away in my sleep. I always prayed to outlive mom as she couldn't take care of herself at all. That prayer was answered thankfully.

@Matthias
We just heard yesterday that 2 more members had passed away. God is putting the faithful to sleep..
 
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Taken

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Ever hear about a younger person passing…and the living saying why…him…?
he was a good kid, respectful and helpful to his parents, did his tasks well…was kind to everyone…was faithful to God….
* Sounds exactly like what God is looking for…eh?

Glory to God,
Taken
 
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Hobie

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Ever hear about a younger person passing…and the living saying why…him…?
he was a good kid, respectful and helpful to his parents, did his tasks well…was kind to everyone…was faithful to God….
* Sounds exactly like what God is looking for…eh?

Glory to God,
Taken
The young never think anything will happen to them, so it's more of a shock.
 
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Lambano

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Rockerduck

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The only people that have a fear of death are those who have no fear of the Lord. Christians love the Lord and want to with Him. I will be happy for my wife when she passes, before me, knowing she'll be with Jesus. This world is not our home, it doesn't belong to us, our reward is in Heaven with Jesus, who saved us.
 
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TheOneHeLoves

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I look forward to what happens after the physical death. It is how I will die that brings a fear. Pain, alone, horrible, long and drawn out? If I knew I would die in my sleep then maybe it would not be so bad.
 

Hobie

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I got multiple strokes and my heart was damaged with 98 percent blockage, and it hurt worse than you can imagine. I was a dead man and let me tell you, I would go through that again if that's what it took to be with Christ in His heavenly kingdom..
 
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Ronald Nolette

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If we have faith in Christ why are we gripped by these types of feelings when death comes near?.......
We have fear because we let our "faith guard " down and allow the flesh to reign for a time. Teh flesh fears death while the "new man" welcomes it! We know death is a transition from mortality to immortality with Jesus!

I am 70 years old. I have walked with the Lord for 50 years. I welcome going home. my only concern is that I wish to stay to see people I love come to know Jesus.
 

Hobie

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We have fear because we let our "faith guard " down and allow the flesh to reign for a time. Teh flesh fears death while the "new man" welcomes it! We know death is a transition from mortality to immortality with Jesus!

I am 70 years old. I have walked with the Lord for 50 years. I welcome going home. my only concern is that I wish to stay to see people I love come to know Jesus.
That is a real issue as I am finding many in the family who married, many of the husband's have been unfaithful and it has led to a divorce. That person either from guilt or continued infidelity, has taken themselves away from God to say nothing of the family, and the wives are shattered at many levels and the children left in confusion. That makes it very hard to even try to bring them back to God, and leaves a unimaginable hole in the fabric of the family. Very sad and difficult to deal with..
 
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