But the Dead Know Not Any Thing (Ecclesiastes 9:5)

2023-09-12

For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. (Ecclesiastes 9:5)

This disheartening verse fuels some of the arguments for soul sleep. What does this mean, and how do we reconcile it with the New Testament teaching that when we die we will be with Christ, and the unsaved die and go to hell?

As with much of the book of Ecclesiastes, a key refrain throughout the book should be remembered: “under the sun.” It is used at least 27 times in the book. One of those occasions is just two verses before this verse in Ecclesiastes 9:3, and another is the next verse in Ecclesiastes 9:6. Let us consider a little more context.

For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them. All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead. For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 9:1-6)

The sum is that death comes to all. Under the sun, meaning, only considering this life and world, everyone dies, and when they are gone, there is nothing left. You are not considering eternity, the heavens where God dwells, or any other parameter. You only consider this life. When you do there is no hope, because only “to him that is joined to all the living there is hope.”

Without considering anything spiritual or heavenly (we are only talking about “under the sun”), your dead body knows nothing. It is a pile of bones in the ground, slowly decaying. Brainwaves have long ceased. They have no reward, as it says here, because they are eventually forgotten. Even for those famous people who get awarded things posthumously have no idea what they are getting. They cannot do anything anymore.

However, the hope in Ecclesiastes is summed up at the end. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). There is someone beyond the sun whom you will meet face to face. Live this life accordingly. When you consider beyond the sun and the heavens, your entire perspective changes.