Fear of Death
Fear of Death
Question
I am afraid of death, indeed, I am terrified of it. What do you advise me?
Answer
The person who is not prepared for death is the one who fears it.
But the one who prepares for it through a life of repentance, and through fellowship with God, does not fear it. Rather, he says with Saint Paul the Apostle: “I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” , or as Simeon the Elder said: “Now You release Your servant, O Lord, according to Your word, in peace, for my eyes have seen Your salvation” .
Fear of death, in reality, is fear of the unknown.
A- Fear of the nature of death and the sensation of it, and how the soul departs and what accompanies it. All of these are things unknown to us.
B- Fear of what happens after death, and of the person’s destiny afterward.
My advice to you is to be constantly prepared.
And to read about how the saints departed from the world.
As it is said in the Bible: “Let my soul die the death of the righteous, and let my end be like theirs” .
And learn about the comforting visions that the righteous used to see during their departure, and some spiritual appearances. Some of them would hear words of consolation, or smell the fragrance of incense. And as it is said in the Psalm: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints” .
One of these righteous men, I used to hear him say in his prayer: “Do not take me, O Lord, in an hour of heedlessness”..
Read also about heaven and the angels and the heavenly Jerusalem, the dwelling place of God with people, and about the Kingdom, and eternal bliss, and fellowship with the saints.
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