“the last days” began its fulfillment] will by no means pass away until all these things occur.”—Matt. 24:36, 34.

Also, after telling of events that would follow the establishment of the Kingdom in the hands of Jesus Christ in 1914, Revelation 12:12 adds: “Be glad, you heavens and you who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.”

Was man created by God to die?

On the contrary, Jehovah warned Adam against disobedience, which would lead to death. (Gen. 2:17) Later, God warned Israel against conduct that would lead even to premature death for them. (Ezek. 18:31) In time he sent his Son to die on behalf of mankind so that those who would put faith in this provision might enjoy everlasting life.—John 3:16, 36.

Psalm 90:10 says that the usual human life span is 70 or 80 years. That was true when Moses wrote it, but that was not so from the beginning. (Compare Genesis 5:3-32.) Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is reserved for men to die once for all time.” This, too, was true when it was written. But it was not the case before God passed judgment on sinful Adam.

Why do we grow old and die?

Jehovah created the first human couple perfect, with the prospect of living forever. They were endowed with free will. Would they obey their Creator out of love and appreciation for all that he had done for them? They were fully capable of doing so. God told Adam: “As for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.” Using a serpent as a mouthpiece, Satan enticed Eve to violate Jehovah’s command. Adam did not reprove his wife but joined her in eating that forbidden fruit. True to his word, Jehovah passed sentence of death upon Adam, but before executing the sinful pair, Jehovah mercifully permitted them to bring forth children.—Gen. 2:17; 3:1-19; 5:3-5; compare Deuteronomy 32:4 and Revelation 12:9.

Rom. 5:12, 17, 19: “Through one man [Adam] sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned—. . . . By the trespass of the one man death ruled as king . . . Through the disobedience of the one man many were constituted sinners.”

1 Cor. 15:22: “In Adam all are dying.”

See also the main heading “Fate.”

Why do babies die?

Ps. 51:5, JB: “You know I was born guilty, a sinner from the moment of conception.” (See also Job 14:4; Genesis 8:21.)

Rom. 3:23; 6:23: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God . . . The wages sin pays is death.”

God does not “take” children from their parents, as some have been told. Although the earth produces ample food, selfish political and commercial elements often hinder its distribution to those most in need, resulting in death due to malnutrition. Some children die in accidents, as adults do. But all of us have inherited sin; we are all imperfect. We were born in a system in which everyone—both the good and the bad—eventually dies. (Eccl. 9:5) But Jehovah ‘yearns’ to reunite children with their parents by means of the resurrection, and lovingly has made provision to do so.—John 5:28, 29; Job 14:14, 15; compare Jeremiah 31:15, 16; Mark 5:40-42.

Where are the dead?

Gen. 3:19: “In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return.”

Eccl. 9:10: “All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol [“the grave,” KJ, Kx; “the world of the dead,” TEV], the place to which you are going.”

What is the condition of the dead?

Eccl. 9:5: “The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all.”

Ps. 146:4: “His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts [“thoughts,” KJ, 145:4 in Dy; “all his thinking,” NE; “plans,” RS, NAB] do perish.”

John 11:11-14: “‘Lazarus our friend has gone to rest, but I am journeying there to awaken him from sleep.’ . . . Jesus said to them outspokenly: ‘Lazarus has died.’” (Also Psalm 13:3)

Is there some part of man that lives on when the body dies?

Ezek. 18:4: “The soul [“soul,” RS, NE, KJ, Dy, Kx; “man,” JB; “person,” TEV] that is sinning—it itself will die.”

Isa. 53:12: “He poured out his soul [“soul,” RS, KJ, Dy; “life,” TEV; “himself,” JB, Kx, NAB] to the very death.” (Compare Matthew 26:38.)

See also the main headings “Soul” and “Spirit.”

Are the dead in any way able to help or to harm the living?

Eccl. 9:6: “Their love and their hate and their jealousy have already perished, and they have no portion anymore to time indefinite in anything that has to be done under the sun.”

Isa. 26:14: “They are dead; they will not live. Impotent in death, they will not rise up.”

What about reports made by persons who were revived after being reported to be dead and who spoke of another life?

Normally, after a person stops breathing and the heartbeat ceases, it is several minutes before gradual cessation of