Where Death Arrives, Who Can Resist It?

By Dr. Sheety Speero

Some philosophers were accustomed to eat and drink from the skulls of the dead so that the memory of death would always be before their eyes, and through this practice, they sought to overcome worldly desires. Many kings and great men have been mentioned who used the memory of death as a remedy for their pride and arrogance, so that greatness would not tempt them to act improperly. For instance, King Philip of Macedon ordered one of his servants to repeat these words to him three times every morning: “Remember, Philip, that you are mortal, and that with death, which is inevitable, you will leave everything behind.” In this way, he guarded himself against pride and grandeur, and his reign was marked by justice, truth, and mercy. Emperor Maximinus I even made a coffin for himself and took it with him wherever he went. When asked why, he replied, “This reminds me that I will inevitably die and that I will leave everything.” Philosophers in India would build their homes near cemeteries so that they would remember death whenever they went in or out, as they knew well that the thought of death greatly benefits one’s moral refinement and helps to suppress desires, fame, love of position, and authority.

It was a custom among the Ethiopians that when they crowned a king, they would place a skull on his desk with the words inscribed on it, as if spoken by the dead person to anyone who read it: “As you are now, so I once was.”

Truly, many who occupied their minds with the thought of death during their lives were able to discipline themselves in ways that neither powerful sermons nor terrifying warnings could achieve. One of the fathers said, “When you imagine the humble shroud in which you will be wrapped, and that grave in which you will be placed, there is no doubt that you will scorn the world. And if you remember that you will be buried in the earth, trampled underfoot, and forgotten by people, then all the glories and ranks of the world will seem like nothing.” If a person knew where they came from and where they are going, they would be humble, for they came from dust (“For you are dust”) and will return to dust (“to dust you shall return”) (Genesis 3:19).

This thought was what Abraham used to humble himself when God spoke to him as a friend speaks to a friend. He did not become arrogant because God spoke to him; rather, he humbly regarded himself and said, “I have ventured to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes” (Genesis 18:27).

It is said that when a certain king was on his deathbed, he saw his family weeping around him. He said, “Yes, I gave you the world, and you repay me with tears. I leave behind what I gathered, while you leave me to carry my burden alone.” The prophet David said, “I have become like a dead man” (Psalm 31:12).

My dear brother, I did not write to frighten you but to show you an undeniable truth, which is death. It is strange that human beings regard the illusions of life as truths and believe in the validity of things that are evidently uncertain, while they disregard death, which is an indisputable reality. The psalmist said, “Their inner thought is that their houses are forever, their dwelling places to all generations. They are like sheep appointed for the grave; death shall shepherd them” (Psalm 49:11,14). Job also said, “Turn away from me that I may have a little cheer before I go—and I shall not return—to the land of darkness and deep shadow, the land of gloom like thick darkness, like the shadow of death” (Job 10:20-22). The Bible declares that “it is appointed for men to die once” (Hebrews 9:27).

When we know this truth—that we will die—why do we live in this life as though we will not die? Saint Augustine said, “Do you think there is any power or connection we can use to avert or delay the decree of death upon us? People can resist raging fires, turbulent waves of the sea, and deadly weapons, but when death comes, who can resist it?” The psalmist asks, “What man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of the grave?” (Psalm 89:48).

But, my dear friend, Jesus Christ, the living One, has trampled death and declared that whoever believes in Him shall not die but will pass into eternal life. By His resurrection, He abolished death, and through His appearance, He brought life and immortality to light (2 Timothy 1:10).