Planetary Origins and the Finality of Death
by Pastor Walter Snyder

Q: How did the other planets in our galaxy get here and where is that found in the Bible?

A: The Bible narrative of Creation in Genesis 1 and 2 encompasses all of the universe. However,
after stating specifically that God set the heavenly bodies, Scripture is silent. Thus, the best we
can do is to speculate, and speculation is often misleading and counterproductive, especially since
God doesn't usually operate the way we expect Him to.

The Psalms, the Epistles, and Christ's own words in the Gospels all testify that God made
everything that is, aside from Himself. He doesn't give us the details because they evidently aren't
necessary for belief and salvation. If we believe that God speaks truly in Scripture, then belief in
Creation as opposed to accidental formation and evolution is necessary. God uses the Creation as
sign and  testimony of His creative and redemptive works If sun, moon, and planets developed
accidentally, or without His active participation, then how can we trust Scripture elsewhere? To
sum things up, if God misleads us about the origin of the planets, sun, and moon, then how can
we trust Him to tell the truth in other things?

Q: Is death final? Please elaborate.

Yes it is, yet no it isn't. This isn't some theological word game, it's how Scripture speaks of
death. While I hope we can agree on what "is" means, both "death" and "final" can be understood
in different ways.

Under normal circumstances, we would probably say, "Yes, death is final." When people die, they
no longer breath, process food, procreate, or show signs of activity. Because of the finality of
death, we usually commend these folks to funeral homes. Death ends breathing, heartbeat, and
brain activity. On earth, these people live on only in our memories. They aren't reincarnated, nor
do they interact with the living.

Scripture also speaks of other deaths. Spiritual death is the state in which we are conceived and
born. It means that we don't have a living, vital, healthy relationship with God. Sinfulness
inherited from Adam kills us spiritually even as our lives begin in the womb. Obviously, this death
isn't final. If it were, then no one would believe in God and trust His forgiveness through Jesus.

Another death is eternal. This is truly "final," without ending. It is the final curse of the Law. It
comes when one dies a physical death while living in a state of spiritual death. Its curse belongs
only to the unrepentant, unbelieving sinner. Without Christ's forgiveness, this death would be the
end of all people.

Yet God doesn't operate according to our own "normal circumstances." Already among the
prophets, He called the dead back to life as testimony to His holy Word of love. This continued
with Christ who more than once called a dead person back to life. The most striking of these was
Lazarus (see John 11), whose own sister testified that since he'd been dead for four days, and was
already decaying and stinking. Yet this dead man heard Jesus' voice call him out of the tomb.
Christ's words made him alive. Lazarus' death wasn't "final." Likewise, at Christ's crucifixion,
graves split open and many of the righteous dead came out to testify to the resurrection.

This leads us to the final point: Jesus Christ rose from the dead. All four Gospels describe His
suffering and death. However, they also proclaim His resurrection as the Father brought Him back
to life. His death was not final and thus neither are the deaths of others. All the dead will be raised
to life at the end of the world. Believers in Christ, living and dead, will be made truly and
absolutely alive. The unrighteous, whether physically alive or dead, will be condemned to eternal
death, that is an unending series of torments and absolute isolation from the love of God.

We receive this eternal life when we believe that Jesus died and rose again to take away our sins
and bring us to peace with the Father. Christ makes us spiritually alive by "killing" us. In Baptism,
God kills our old, sinful natures and gives new lives of faith and hope: "Do you not know that all
of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried
therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by
the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-4)"

In summary, since Christ finished death through His own death and resurrection, death is not final
for the Christian.

Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from ~The Holy Bible, English Standard Version~<TM>,
© 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

Ask the Pastor, © 2003 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced in totality, including this disclaimer,
by anyone, provided that no profit is generated by said republication and redistribution. Translations
into other languages should similarly note the United States and any appropriate international
copyrights, as well as God's Scriptural injunctions concerning the property of others.

Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book
"What Do Lutherans Believe."