DEAD, DEATH.

DEAD, DEATH. Death is the destruction or extinction of life. By the transgression of God's commandment our first parents became liable to death. The threatening was, "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Gen 2:17 (comp. Rom 5:12-14; 1 Cor 15:21-22; Heb 9:27). This expression does not mean to define the time of actual dissolution, but rather to denote an inevitable liability or exposure to death, which, in that day and by that act, they should surely incur. The sacred writers speak of a death which affects the body only. Gen 25:11; of another, which describes the condition of the soul under the power of sin, Eph 2:1; and a third, which denotes the everlasting perdition of the wicked. James 5:20. In each of these senses our divine Redeemer may be regarded as having virtually destroyed death and delivered them who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Heb 2:14-15. To avail ourselves, however, of the benefits of his perfect triumph, we must believe, trust, love, and obey him. See Buby, Resurrection, Christ.