Fundamental Beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists

The Spirit Returns of God
Though the body returns to dust, the spirit
returns to God. Solomon said that at death "the dust
will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will
return to God who gave it" (Eccl. 12:7). This is true
of all, both the righteous and the wicked.
Many have thought that this text gives evidence
that the essence of the person continues to live after
death. But in the Bible neither the Hebrew nor the
Greek term for spirit (ruach and pneuma,
respectively) refers to an intelligent entity capable
of a conscious existence apart from the body.
Rather, these terms refer to the "breath"--the spark
of life essential to individual existence, the life
principle that animates animals and human beings
(see chapter 7 of this book).
Solomon wrote, "'Man's fate is like that of the
animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one
dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath
["spirit," margin; ruach]; man has no advantage
over the animal. ... All go to the same place; all
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