If Life Ends at Death, Then Eat, Drink, and Be Merry, for Tomorrow We Die

The book of Ecclesiastes is notoriously difficult to interpret. In this article I share my best attempt at understanding and explaining what this book is about.

Many have argued that the main message of Ecclesiastes is that we shouldn’t look for meaning and purpose in this world or in this mortal life. While that might be a valid application of the truths found in Ecclesiastes, I don’t think that is its primary message. It seems to me that the main purpose of Ecclesiastes is to teach the following conditional:

If life ends at death, then life, and the toil of this life, is vanity because it’s fleeting, futile, meaningless, and absurd.

Yes, one of the applications we can learn from Ecclesiastes is not to look for ultimate meaning in this life or the things of this world. But I think more so the main message we’re supposed to take away from Ecclesiastes is that death is horrific. In this regard it’s a treatise on how terrible, crushing, horrific, awful, and unsettling death is. Death causes life to be meaningless. Thus, it fits into the overall corpus of Scripture in that it helps us to understand that death, which is the result of our evil choices, is terrible and destructive. Ecclesiastes helps us see how serious and terrible God’s punishment for us, death, truly is. The more we understand how crushing death is, the more we’ll appreciate God’s victory over death and the eternal life He offers us freely through faith in Christ.

Someone may say, “Well, wouldn’t Solomon know that life doesn’t end at death, that there’s life after death?” Maybe and maybe not. God’s revelation is progressive in that He has given more details over time. It’s easy for us to know about life after death now because we have all 66 books of the Bible. But remember that Solomon didn’t have the New Testament, and not even all of the Old Testament had been written during his time. Thus, it might be the case that Solomon didn’t know there was life after death. There are even hints throughout Ecclesiastes that Solomon was uncertain about whether or not there was life after death (Eccl. 2:15-17, Eccl. 3:18-22, Eccl. 4:2-3, Eccl. 6:3-6, Eccl. 7:2, Eccl. 9:5-6, Eccl. 9:10). Also, even if Solomon did know that there’s life after death, he might still have decided to write Ecclesiastes to drive home in a powerful way this true conditional statement: “If life ends at death, then life, and the toil of this life, is vanity because it’s fleeting, futile, meaningless, and absurd.”

I’ve come to this conclusion about the main message of Ecclesiastes in part because Paul seems to teach the same conditional truth in 1 Corinthians 15—“If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1 Cor. 15:32b). Below, I’ll include the pertinent verses from 1 Corinthians 15 so you can see how closely Paul’s message here is to the main message of Ecclesiastes. I’ll underline the sections that are especially pertinent to understanding Ecclesiastes.

¹² Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; ¹⁴ and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain….

¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; ¹⁷ and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.¹⁹ If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. ²⁰ But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. ²¹ For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. ²³ But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, ²⁴ then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵ For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. ²⁶ The last enemy that will be abolished is death….

³² If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die….

⁴¹ There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. ⁴² So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; ⁴³ it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; ⁴⁴ it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶ However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. ⁴⁸ As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. ⁴⁹ Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.

⁵⁰ Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. ⁵⁵ O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; ⁵⁷ but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

In 1 Cor. 15 Paul affirmed the conditional truth of Ecclesiastes (if life ends at death, then life, and the toil of this life, is vanity because it’s fleeting, futile, meaningless, and absurd), as can especially be seen when he wrote, “If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1 Cor. 15:32b). But then Paul pointed out that the first part of this conditional is wrong, that life doesn’t end at death because the dead will be raised. And Paul argued that in light of this, our toil in this life is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58b). In other words, both of the following conditionals are true:

A. If life ends at death, then life, and the toil of this life, is vanity because it’s fleeting, futile, meaningless, and absurd. Both Ecclesiastes and Paul affirm this truth.

B. If life doesn’t end in death because the dead will be raised, then life, and the toil of this life, isn’t fleeting, futile, meaningless, and absurd. Ecclesiastes affirms this implicitly at the end of chapter twelve, but Paul affirms it explicitly.

Here are various ideas found throughout Ecclesiastes that reinforce its main message, which is “If life ends at death, then life, and the toil of this life, is vanity because it’s fleeting, futile, meaningless, and absurd.”

• Solomon explains his purpose was to try and “see what is good for people to do under heaven during the few days of their lives” (Eccl. 1:3).
• IF life ends at death, then all of our effort and work is in vain (Eccl. 1:3).
• IF life ends at death, then there’s never any ultimate satisfaction in life (Eccl. 1:8).
• IF life ends at death, then chasing accomplishments is futile because no matter what you accomplish, in a few hundred years no one will remember you (Eccl. 1:11, Eccl. 4:15-16, Eccl. 9:13-16).
• IF life ends at death, there’s no meaning to our efforts and work because they’re mostly driven by selfish ambition and jealousy of others (Eccl. 4:4).
• IF life ends at death, there’s no ultimate meaning in riches because you can’t take them with you to the grave (Eccl. 5:13-17).
• IF life ends at death, there’s no ultimate satisfaction in riches because no matter how much you accumulate, you’ll always want more (Eccl. 4:7-8, Eccl. 5:10-12, Eccl. 6:7).
• IF life ends at death, then building wealth is futile because when you die, it all goes to someone else, and you can’t control whether or not that person will be an idiot (Eccl. 2:4-12, Eccl. 2:18-24).
• IF life ends at death, then you might as well eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die. However, there is no lasting ultimate meaning in these activities (Eccl. 2:1-3).
• IF life end at death, being wise has no advantage over being foolish because the wise and the foolish both end at death (Eccl. 2:13-17, especially Eccl. 2:16).
• IF life ends at death, then there’s no real advantage in being wise or righteous (Eccl. 7:15-17).
• IF life ends at death, then there is no rhyme or reason to life’s random events (Eccl. 3:1-8, Eccl. 9:1a, Eccl. 9:11-12, Eccl. 10:8-11, Eccl. 10:14, Eccl. 11:1-6).
• IF life ends at death, then there is no ultimate justice, for in this life bad people often prosper and escape punishment whereas good people often suffer and are oppressed (Eccl. 3:16-18, Eccl. 4:1-3, Eccl. 5:8-9, Eccl. 7:15-17, Eccl. 8:9-14, Eccl. 9:2-3, Eccl. 10:5-7).
• IF life ends at death, then it’s actually wiser to mourn over your mortality than to eat, drink, and be merry (Eccl. 7:2-4).
• Death is destructive, seemingly random, and no one has control or authority over it (Eccl. 8:7-8a).
• The aging process, which is part of death, is devastating, ugly, frustrating, humiliating, and wretched (Eccl. 12:1-8).

Sections in which Solomon encourages the reader to “enjoy life” (Eccl. 2:24-26, Eccl. 3:9-15, Eccl. 3:22, Eccl. 5:18-20, Eccl. 8:14-15, Eccl. 9:7-10, Eccl. 10:19, Eccl. 11:8-10) are not positive encouragements to enjoy the gifts God gives us in this life; rather, they are actually sarcastic jabs similar to the statement “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.” Of course we should enjoy the gifts God gives us in this life, that’s a true statement, but that’s not the point that Solomon is making in Ecclesiastes. Below are the verses that lead me to believe Solomon is making sarcastic jabs similar to “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.” I’ll underline the words that seem to indicate he’s being sarcastic:

There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good.

Eccl. 2:24

There is futility which is done on the earth, that is, there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked. On the other hand, there are evil men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I say that this too is futility. So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

Eccl. 8:14-15

Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works. Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

Eccl. 9:7-10

Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be futility.

Eccl. 11:8

Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward. Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. For he will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart.

Eccl. 5:18-20

In relation to these verses from Eccl. 5:18-20, it’s important to note that a recurring theme throughout Ecclesiastes is people occupying themselves with meaningless pursuits in this life to keep them busy so they don’t think about more serious things like mortality and the meaning of life. If life ends at death, it will be a frustrating waste of time to try to figure out the ultimate meaning and purpose of life. This is because if life ends at death, there is no ultimate meaning to life. Don’t even think about such things but instead just occupy your time with eating, drinking, and being merry (Eccl. 1:13-18, Eccl. 2:10-12, Eccl. 5:18-20, Eccl. 7:13-14, Eccl. 7:23-25, Eccl. 7:27-28a, Eccl. 8:14-17).

Solomon seems exasperated by trying to figure out these deep things about ultimate meaning and concludes it’s a waste of time. We’ll never be able to figure it out, so don’t even try. Just eat, drink, and be merry, and that’ll keep you from wasting time trying to understand what you’ll never be able to figure out. Trying to unlock this mystery will just make you frustrated and depressed, so instead occupy yourself with eating, drinking, and being merry for tomorrow we die. Again, I see this as a sarcastic jab in light of his overall message that if life ends at death, then life is vanity because it’s fleeting, futile, meaningless, and absurd. This is especially driven home in Eccl. 6:11b-12a: “What is the advantage for mankind? For who knows what is good for anyone in life, in the few days of his futile life that he spends like a shadow?”

Many have argued that the main point of Ecclesiastes is found in Eccl. 12:13: “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.” However, it seems to me that this is merely the main application of the book, which follows from the actual main point of the book that’s found in Eccl. 12:14: “For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.” In other words, if life ends at death, then we might as well live it up, eat, drink, and be merry, because, after all, you only live once! But because life doesn’t end at death, we can be assured that God will judge us in the next life for all we do in this life. In light of that truth, the application then follows: we shouldn’t merely live it up, eat, drink, and be merry, but instead keep God’s commands, not only out of fear of judgment for the bad things we do, though that should motivate us, but also out of the expectation of reward for the good things we do.

It might be tempting to think that Christians, since we know life doesn’t end at death, don’t have much to learn from Ecclesiastes. However, keep in mind that one of the major points of application from Ecclesiastes is that it’s a terrible mistake to look for ultimate meaning and purpose in this world. And unfortunately, Christians often make that mistake; I know I do. We focus too much on success or achievements in this life, or we get fixated on accumulating wealth, or we try to find fulfillment in power, influence, and fame. This even happens for those of us in ministry. I confess that I’m very achievement-oriented, and so I tend to seek fulfillment in accomplishments like degrees, ministry positions, getting a book published, speaking at a conference, etc. But if I’m not careful, those things can become more important to me as ends in themselves instead of merely means to serve other people.

When we tend to seek ultimate meaning and purpose in this world, we often end up frustrated and depressed like Solomon in Ecclesiastes because, as this book teaches us, there’s just no lasting fulfillment in this transitory life. So Ecclesiastes can be a huge help in fixing our thinking and reminding us that true meaning is found in loving God and loving others, for that’s what we were created for. In this regard the main application of Ecclesiastes is similar to what Jesus taught: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:19-21).

It’s interesting to note that Western culture eventually came to this same conclusion, namely, that if this physical life is all there is, then life is utterly meaningless. This was the eventual conclusion of Modernism, that we’re merely the result of an accidental, haphazard process of evolution and there’s no meaning to life except to eat, drink, and procreate. This conclusion threw Western culture into an existential crisis in the 1800s, as Ecclesiastes teaches it should, and it was out of this crisis that Postmodernism was born. The key driving idea behind all of the Postmodern movements, starting with Romanticism in the early 1800s, culminating with Existentialism in the mid-1900s, and continuing through to today, is this: there is no objective meaning to life, but don’t despair, you can create your own subjective meaning by following your heart. I’m sure Solomon would find that idea absurd and futile. I know I do.

© Adam Lloyd Johnson and Convincing Proof.