It is human nature to fear death, to dread even the thought of death. But for a Christian, I think there are only a precious few subjects that would delight the soul other than the prospect of death. But sadly, and quite tragically, many of us, even those who count themselves in Christ, see death as still a most hateful thing. They cannot imagine it. They cannot comprehend it. It’s pains and terrible agonies. Many of us are surprised, surprised at death.

Dear reader, one day you will die. When that time comes will you be surprised and incessantly terrified over death? Or would you, like the apostles and martyrs of old, welcome it with all joy and peace in believing?

Dare we think of death as a vocation? The author of Ecclesiastes made this declaration:

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die.”—Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a

Likewise the author of Hebrews says:

“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”—Hebrews 9:27

Notice the language of Scripture. It speaks of death in terms of a “purpose under heaven” and of an “appointment.” Death is a divine appointment. It is part of God’s purpose in our lives. God calls each person to die. He is sovereign over all of life, including the final experience of life.

Usually we limit the idea of vocation to our careers or our jobs. The word vocation, however, comes from the Latin word vocare, meaning “to call.” Used in the Christian sense, vocation refers to a divine calling, a summons that comes from God Himself. He calls people to teach, to preach, to sing, to make cars, and to change diapers. There are as many vocations as there are facets to human life.

We have different vocations with respect to jobs and tasks that God gives us in this life. But we all share in the vocation of death. Every one of us is called to die. That vocation is as much a calling from God as is a “call” to the ministry of Christ. Sometimes the call comes suddenly and without warning. Sometimes it comes with a notification in advance. But it comes to all of us. And it comes from God.

I am aware that there are teachers who tell us that God has nothing to do with death. Death is seen strictly as the fiendish device of the Devil. All pain, suffering, disease, and tragedy are blamed on the Evil One. God is absolved of any responsibility. This view is designed to make sure that God is absolved of blame for anything that goes wrong in this world. “God always wills healing,” we are told. If that healing does not happen, then the fault lies with Satan—or with ourselves. Death, they say, is not in the plan of God. It represents a victory for Satan over the realm of God.

Such views may bring temporary relief to the afflicted. But they are not true. They have nothing to do with biblical Christianity. In an effort to absolve God of any blame, they do so at the expense of God’s sovereignty.

Yes, there is a Devil. He is our archenemy. He will do anything in his power to bring misery into our lives. But Satan is not sovereign. Satan does not hold the keys of death.

When Jesus appeared in a vision to John on the Isle of Patmos, He identified Himself with these words:

“Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”—Revelation 1:17-18

Jesus holds the keys to death. Satan cannot snatch those keys out of His hand. The grip of Christ is firm. He holds the keys because He owns the keys. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him. That authority includes all authority over life and all authority over death. The angel of death is at His beck and call.

We remember the words of the great negro spiritual, “God’s Trombones.” Here the scenario is in heaven. The Lord speaks with the thunderous tones of divine authority. “Call Death!” He declares, “Send Death for Sister Caroline, down in Atlanta, Georgia.”

The pale horse of the Apocalypse is summoned and dispatched by God, and by God alone.

World history has witnessed the emergence of many forms of religious dualism. Dualism affirms the existence of two equal and opposite forces. These forces are variously called Good and Evil, God and Satan, Ying and Yang. The two forces are locked in eternal combat. Since they are equal as well as opposite, the conflict goes on forever, with neither side ever gaining the upper hand. The world is doomed to be forever the battleground between these hostile forces. We are the victims of their struggle, the pawns in their eternal chess game.

Dualism is on a collision course with Christianity. The Christian faith has no stock in such a dualism. Satan may be opposite to God, but he is by no means equal. Satan is a creature; God is the Creator. Satan is potent; God is omnipotent. Satan is knowledgeable and crafty; God is omniscient. Satan is localized in his presence; God is omnipresent. Satan is finite; God is infinite. The list could continue. But it is clear from Scripture that Satan is not an ultimate force in any way.

We are not doomed to an ultimate conflict with no hope of resolution. The message of Scripture is victory. Full, final, and ultimate victory. It is not our doom that is certain, but Satan’s. His head has been crushed by the heel of Christ. It is Christ who is Alpha and Omega.

Above all suffering and death stands the crucified and risen Lord. He has defeated the ultimate enemy of life. He has vanquished the power of death. He calls us to die, but that call is a call to obedience to the final transition of life. Because of Christ, death is not final. It is a passage from one world to the next.

God does not always will healing. If He did He would suffer endless frustration from His plans that are thwarted. He did not will the healing of Stephen from the wounds inflicted by stones that were hurled against him. He did not will the healing of Moses, of Joseph, of David, of Paul, of Augustine, of Luther, of Calvin. These all died in faith.

To be sure, there is ultimate healing that comes through death and after death. Jesus was gloriously healed of the wounds of crucifixion, but only after He died.

Teachers argue that there is healing in the atonement of Christ. Indeed there is. Jesus bore all of our sins upon the cross. Yet none of us is free of sin in this life. None of us is free of sickness in this life. The healing that is in the cross is real. We participate in its benefits now, in this life. But the fullness of the healing of both sin and disease takes place in heaven. We still must die when it is our appointed time.

Certainly God answers prayers and gives healings to our bodies during this life. But even these healings are temporary. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. But Lazarus died again. Jesus gave sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf. Yet every person Jesus healed eventually died. They died not because Satan finally won over Jesus, but because Jesus called them to die.

When God issues a call upon us it is always a holy call. The vocation of dying is a sacred vocation. To understand that is one of the most important lessons a Christian can ever learn.

When the summons comes we can respond in many ways. We can be angry, bitter, or terrified. But if we see it as a call from God and not a threat from Satan, we are far more able to cope with its difficulties.

—R.C. Sproul, (1996, c1988). Surprised by Suffering. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

Read more of “Surprised by Suffering” here.