Death in the New Testament does not refer solely to extinction at the end of natural life, which was taken for granted (though not welcomed, to be sure) by the Hebrews of the Old Testament. In the New Testament, Death has become a hostile Power; therefore, to die is not simply to pass into Sheol, and certainly not to inherit immortality — Paul is explicit about that23 — but is experienced as condemnation and defeat at the hands of God’s Enemy.
