Q: "I am a new Christian, and my mother just passed away.
Do the dead know nothing?"
A: While it is true that "the dead know nothing" (Eccl 9:5), this refers to how the dead know nothing of what goes on here on earth. We read something similar in Job 14:10,21:
But a man dies and is laid low...His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; they are brought low, and he perceives it not.
Also, Isaiah 63:16 says:
For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us...
Finally, in 2 Kings 22:20, God says:
...I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place...
Having said all that, it must be remembered that while the dead know nothing of what is going on here on earth, this does not mean they are not conscious, aware and even able to speak in heaven, as we see in Revelation 6:9-11:
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
A: While it is true that "the dead know nothing" (Eccl 9:5), this refers to how the dead know nothing of what goes on here on earth. We read something similar in Job 14:10,21:
But a man dies and is laid low...His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; they are brought low, and he perceives it not.
Also, Isaiah 63:16 says:
For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us...
Finally, in 2 Kings 22:20, God says:
...I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place...
Having said all that, it must be remembered that while the dead know nothing of what is going on here on earth, this does not mean they are not conscious, aware and even able to speak in heaven, as we see in Revelation 6:9-11:
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
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