We find this scripture to be in harmony with the remainder of the Bible and as particularly expressed in the ninth chapter of this same book of Ecclesiastes– "for there is no work nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave whither thou goest." When an individual dies – falls as a tree in death – so shall he remain in the same condition in which he went into the death state, even as the tree of the forest remains at rest. According to the ideas of some good, well-meaning people, when a man dies there is something that escapes and goes winging its flight around through space, and, according to this theory, this intangible essence that it is liberated from the body, is the real individuality, and thus the person is more alive than ever and perfectly conscious. With this view in mind, and referring to the scriptures quoted in the question, we would be forced to understand that when a tree falls it does not actually die, but something passes from it and it is very much alive somewhere. However, there is no such absurdity about the Bible teachings, to the effect that the dead are dead (and not alive) and will be awakened in the morning of the resurrection.
