SUMMARY
This is an important statement about death and the limitations of human knowledge about death.
ANALYSIS
“Who knows whether the human spirit goes upward and the spirit of animals goes downward to the earth?” asks the Teacher in one of a number of passages in which he speaks about death. Later he will announce: “The same fate comes to all, to the righteousA righteous person is one who is ethical and faithful to God's covenant. Righteousness in the Old Testament is an attitude of God; in the New Testament it is a gift of God through grace. In the New Testament righteousness is a relationship with God... More and the wicked, to the good and the evil…” (9:2-3). Ecclesiastes 7:2 and 7:4 speak of the benefits of attending funerals: the living are reminded that they, too, are mortal. These passages from Ecclesiastes need to be read in the context of the whole biblical canonA canon is a general law or principle by which something is judged. The body of literature in the Old and New Testaments is accepted by most Christians as being canonical (that is, authentic and authoritative) for them. More. While the Old Testament contains some hints of life beyond death (PsalmA psalm is a song of praise. In the Old Testament 150 psalms comprise the psalter, although some of the psalms are laments and thanksgivings. In the New Testament early Christians gathered to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. More 73:23-25; Isaiah 25:7-8; Isaiah 26:19) and even speaks of resurrection (Daniel 12:2-3), it is the New Testament, written in the light of the resurrection of Jesus, that gives expression to a clear and confident hope for life beyond death (see especially 1 Corinthians 15 and Romans 8:31-39). The basis for hope in new life after death is the New Testament testimony that Jesus has been raised (Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20; the apostolic preaching in Acts).
