'Absurd!' - the secular humanist would retort. 'To die one loses everything!,' he would continue, 'there are no U-Hauls to oblivion when one lies absolutely and continuously motionless in the morgue, casket, and when buried in the ground or cremated.'

So what on Earth did Saint Paul.....Divinely-inspired.....mean in stating that to die is "gain?" Is there existence beyond human death?

Job 19:25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at last he will stand upon the earth;
Job 19:26 and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then from my flesh I shall see God,
Mt 22:23 The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection; and they asked him a question,
Mt 22:28 In the resurrection, therefore, to which of the seven will she be wife? For they all had her."
Mt 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
Lu 20:27 There came to him some Sadducees, those who say that there is no resurrection,
Lu 20:33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife."
Lu 20:35 but those who are accounted worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage,
Lu 20:36 for they cannot die any more, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
Joh 5:28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice
Joh 5:29 and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.
Ac 17:32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; but others said, "We will hear you again about this."
Ac 23:8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.
Ac 24:15 having a hope in God which these themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.
Ro 1:4 and designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
Ro 6:5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
1Co 15:12 Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

It is thus obvious that human death does not end it all. But what in fact is "gained" by dying and coming to life at the resurrection?

Re 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it; from his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done.
13 And the sea gave up the dead in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged by what they had done.
14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire;
15 and if any one's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Re 21:3 and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them;
4 he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away."
5 And he who sat upon the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true."
8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death."
22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.
23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
24 By its light shall the nations walk; and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it,
25 and its gates shall never be shut by day--and there shall be no night there;
26 they shall bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.
27 But nothing unclean shall enter it, nor any one who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Re 22:1 Then he showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 There shall no more be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall worship him;
4 they shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads.
5 And night shall be no more; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they shall reign for ever and ever.

A very happy predicted future is beginning to become evident: NO more, for EVER:

01. ANY human female immodestly misattired with LOOSE long hair, nude-armed sleeveslessness, naked legs exposed by shorts or shortened skirt, socklessless baring toes in sandals or barefootedness, etc. in general public view, especially during warm weather.
02. Being bitten by snakes, insects, nor any poisonous thing.
03. Smart-ass revilers accusing and condemning with mean-spirited sarcasm.
04. Being troubled by malicious and dishonest gossippers.
05. Being targeted for assassination or robbery with any weapon or mechanism of murder.
06. Getting diarrhea, headache, nausea, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, etc.
07. Getting suffocated by cigarette or cigar smoke.
08. Being tailgated and rudely honked at impolitely and impatiently; car and home insurance required.
09. Being vandalized.
10. Bothered by city and county inspectors invading the privacy of one's home without a reasonable probably-cause search warrant.
11. Income, death, nor sales taxes.
12. Noxious boom-boom rap noise.
13. Neighbor dogs barking or whining in the middle of the night.
14. Earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, typhoons and forest fires...causing human death or injury.
15. Auto smog, graffiti, or parking in front of residential mailboxes.
16. Impure lake water, with a few polluted small fish in them.
17. Feminist-sexist newscasters and reporters on TV.
18. Feminist-sexist cops, lawyers, judges, clerks, secretaries, etc. sexually harassing men with chauvenistic arrogance and belligerant competitive insubordination.
19. Bratty shrieking or suddenly-screaming children.
20. Computer malware, viruses, or hardware failure; Apple/Mac OS.
21. Other than 72 degree temp year-round.
22. Disqualification for free trips to planets and stars.
23. Ability to sin or sinned against.
24. TV shows and movies with [obscene nor loud] commercials of any kinds.
25. Absence of singing, fellowship, companionship, and intimate ecstasy far beyond frequent erotic orgasms.

And "friends?" "Long-lost loved ones and relatives?"

Re 7:9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
Re 7:13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and whence have they come?"
Re 7:14 I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Re 15:1 Then I saw another portent in heaven, great and wonderful, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is ended.
Re 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and wonderful are thy deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are thy ways, O King of the ages!
Re 19:1 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
Re 19:2 for his judgments are true and just; he has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants."
Re 19:5 And from the throne came a voice crying, "Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great."
Re 19:6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.

Were any of your dead loved ones Christians upon their death? If you are a Christian, you will see and be with them again with old-age and imperfections....as they will see and be with you.
Beats the heck out of being eternally tormented in solitary confinement in the fiery outer darkness reserved for the Devil and his demons - where those confined will gnash their teeth as they eternally remember nothing by lies of themselves and others, deception, missed opportunities, cheating, dishonesty, cursing, reviling, accusations, blasphemies, disgusting sexually-perverse filthiness, slander, disbelief, hypocrisy, assaults regret, terror and fright, every painful whatever they inflicted on others to their hopeless and perpetual grief and shame. Flesh being burned as with excruciatingly-painful gasoline fire but flesh constantly renewed so there's always replentishment to burn.

2Th 1:9 They shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
Re 14:10 he also shall drink the wine of God's wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and he shall be tormented with fire and sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
Re 14:11 And the smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever; and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name."
Re 20:7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be loosed from his prison
8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth, that is, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.
9 And they marched up over the broad earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city; but fire came down from heaven and consumed them,
10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.