How Much Does a Dead Person Know?

After death the brain disintegrates; it can’t know, comprehend, or remember anything.

“No one remembers you [Lord] when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave?”
—Psalm 6:5.

All human emotions cease at death.

“Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.”
—Ecclesiastes 9:6.

The dead are not aware of anything that takes place. They have absolutely no contact with the living:

“For the living know that they will die, but THE DEAD KNOW NOTHING; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. . . . Enjoy life . . . for IN THE GRAVE, where you are going, THERE IS NEITHER WORKING NOR PLANNING NOR KNOWLEDGE NOR WISDOM.”
—Ecclesiastes 9:5, 9, 10.

Death is like a dreamless sleep—in fact, 54 times the Bible calls death a “sleep.” The psalmist said, “I will sleep in death” (Psalm 13:3). Jesus also taught that death is like a sleep. He said to His disciples: