Why Do People Die?

The Bible’s answer

It’s natural to wonder why people die, especially when we lose someone close to us. The Bible says: “The sting producing death is sin.”​—1 Corinthians 15:56.

Why do all people sin and die?

The first humans, Adam and Eve, lost their lives because they sinned against God. (Genesis 3:17-19) Death was the only possible outcome of their rebellion against God, for with him is “the source of life.”​—Psalm 36:9; Genesis 2:17.

Adam passed on the defect of sin to all his descendants. The Bible says: “Through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned.” (Romans 5:12) All people die because they all sin.​—Romans 3:23.

How death will be eliminated

God promises a time when “he will actually swallow up death forever.” (Isaiah 25:8) To remove death, he must eliminate its root cause, which is sin. God will do this through Jesus Christ, who “takes away the sin of the world.”​—John 1:29; 1 John 1:7.