Prayers on behalf of the dead hold no significance, as nothing can be altered by them. God's Word reveals that the dead lack any physical or mental activity. Each person who dies rests in unconsciousness in the grave until the resurrection. Prayers should therefore be offered for the living, while there remains hope of repentance, rather than for the dead, who are powerless to act. The Bible indicates that the soul itself can die, and the human spirit returns to God, not to a place of punishment. God preserves the spirit until He can restore it during the resurrection, when eternal judgment to either eternal life or eternal death is determined. God promises to resurrect those who died before being called and offer them salvation, including most of humanity. In the future, God will resurrect billions from all of earth's history to physical life, granting them the opportunity for the first time to accept or reject His gift of eternal life.

The state of the dead is a profound reality that underscores the transient nature of earthly possessions and life itself. Ecclesiastes 9:5 declares that the dead know nothing, emphasizing the cessation of awareness in death. God Himself spoke in Genesis 3:19, affirming that humanity, formed from dust, shall return to dust, highlighting the physical end of life shared by both humans and animals. Genesis 2:7 describes man as a living being, not possessing a soul but being one, a creature like the animals, yet distinct in purpose. Humanity, however, possesses a unique element, a spirit in man, as described in Job 32:8, which grants understanding and sets humans apart from other creatures. This spirit, joined with the physical brain, enables reasoning, planning, and creating, often referred to in Scripture as a person's mind or intelligence. Ecclesiastes 12:7 reveals that upon death, the dust returns to the earth, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. This spirit serves as a perfect recording of each person's life, capturing memories, actions, words, and attitudes. When God chooses to resurrect individuals, He will return this human spirit, making it as if they had never died. The character recorded in this spirit will determine the nature of one's resurrection, as God will judge based on the lifelong record of how each person has lived. Thus, the only thing taken through the grave is the character etched in the spirit, which will define one's place in the Kingdom of God, where He will assign positions suited to each individual's strengths and proven decisions in harmony with His will.

Jesus Christ, who was God with us, Emmanuel, became flesh, fully human and divine. He was not merely God inside a body, but was converted into flesh, becoming flesh itself. As flesh, His life resided in His blood, and He partook of the same human nature as we do, so that He might die. Scriptures affirm that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose from death, not from a living state. He was unconscious, not active or alive during the three days and nights in the tomb, as He was revived, indicating a return from a state of death. Christ, the Divine One, was truly dead for those three days and nights. His life, residing in His blood, was poured out on the cross, given for the forgiveness of sins. If He was not dead, the penalty for sins remains unpaid. But God the Father, who has life inherent in Himself, raised Jesus from the dead. Christ did not return to the same human body that died; He was changed into immortality through resurrection. Once mortal and subject to death for our sake, He is now a living Savior, alive forevermore.