What is the state of the dead?
“So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them. ” Job 14:12,21
Answer: The bible calls it a state of “Sleep”. And in this state one knows nothing neither does the dead recognizes anything.
But where can we find this in the new testament?
“He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.” Matthew 9:24
Sleepeth (εὕδω heudō ) which means: to lie down to rest
Answer: Here Jesus is trying to teach the same concept of the dead as a state of “Sleep”, but those who heard him laughed at him. The same way some today laugh when they hear this wonderful teaching that Jesus himself taught about the state of the dead.
Do the dead know anything?
“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. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5,6,10)
Answer: The dead know not anything.
If the dead were communicating with the living, they would have known something. But the bible is absolutely clear, stating that the dead knows nothing. So David is still in his tomb up to this day and he knows nothing (Acts 2:29,34). He is waiting for the voice of Jesus, so that he could be resurrected. The dead can neither love, envy, hate. Neither do they have knowledge or wisdom for they know nothing.