If you could turn back the proverbial clock, would you? What if you could stop the clock altogether? That’s what some companies are trying to do in an emerging industry known as “death tech.”

Can a Computer Cheat Death?

Death technology refers to the range of technologies and innovations designed to extend life by preventing death. This goes well beyond anti-wrinkle cream. Companies in this field range from those finding a cure for Alzheimer’s to some who want to revive the long dead.

Billions are spent on research to eradicate disease, slow the aging process, or prevent death altogether. If growth projections are accurate, the “lifespan improvement” industry should be worth $504 billion by 2025.

Do You Want to Be a Robot?

Looking to cheat death? Death tech also includes companies that help people achieve “digital immortality.” These companies create a copy of your digital footprint, then create a look-alike avatar that your loved ones can interact with after you’re gone. You may not be present, but you can “live on” and interact with your loved ones.

Theoretical physicist, Dr. Michio Kaku, was involved in one such project called Eterni.me. When asked about the idea of digital immortality, Dr. Kaku responded, “One day you’ll have a disk that has all your consciousness on it and you’ll be able to, perhaps, put it into a robot… and you’ll be immortal. Even if your physical body decays, your consciousness, your memories, your personality quirks will live forever… Why not live forever? Why do we have to die?”

The Bible answers Dr. Kaku’s question. Hebrews 9:27 says, “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” No amount of technology or digital data storing can delay the inevitable.

What About Freezing?

Pioneers in the death tech space are even freezing people as soon as they are clinically deceased in hopes of reviving them later. Cryogenics is a concept that sounds like it belongs in a science fiction novel. However, there are very real companies agreeing to put people’s bodies into a state of deep-freeze post-death. They hope that one day, technology will become so advanced that the frozen bodies can be resuscitated.

Robert Ettinger, the founder of cryogenics, once wrote: “No matter what kills us, whether old age or disease, and even if freezing techniques are still crude when we die, sooner or later our friends of the future should be equal to the task of reviving and curing us.”

Unfortunately, this is a gamble that may cause people to delay their need to face the reality of eternity. Those who trust science for their future will ultimately find themselves waking up in the flames of hell instead of sleeping on ice. What an ugly surprise!

After the Clock Stops

Regardless of how much digital information gets stored up on Earth, our souls will spend eternity elsewhere. Every person on Earth will live forever. However, the real question is, where will eternity be spent?

The Bible is clear. We all have the choice to accept the work of Christ on the cross —or reject it. By accepting Christ’s shed blood for our sin, we have an eternity of joy in heaven with God to look forward to. Those who reject his free gift of salvation, however, are faced with the unpleasant reality of an eternity away from God in hell.

Eternal Questions, Eternal Answers

Cultural fascination with prolonging life might just be the open door we need to share the gospel. People are asking questions and looking for hope. But instead of theoretical concepts, we can offer real hope!

In the tract, Back from the Dead, we read a story about one man’s near-death experience. After being pronounced dead, he miraculously revives and wakes up with a story to tell. Terrified by what he witnessed, he knows changes must be made. This tract is practically irresistible for someone interested in death and the afterlife.

In Rick Jones’ book, When Life is Over, he pleads with the unbeliever to turn their questions about death into answers about eternal life. In one section, he provides a perfect picture of what Christ has done on our behalf.

…picture yourself dying of a rare disease. You have exhausted every avenue, but still you are dying. Then you hear of a doctor with a revolutionary new cure. Every patient he has treated has been completely healed. Your choices… receive the doctor’s treatment and live, or refuse his help and die. The choice is simple.

The choice really is that simple. Let’s all offer this choice to those we know!

Pages 9 and 11 from Back From the Dead by Jack T. Chick