Muffled,
It is extremely important to understand what the Bible says about death. The truth is, no on can understand the Bible's message unless they understand what death is.
There are many Scriptures about death, but it seems that people only believe what they want to believe, no matter what the Bible says.
Notice first what God told Adam about his coming death, Genesis 3:19. God told Adam that he was dust and that he would return to dust!! So why do people believe that dead people go to heaven, was it to reward Adam because he had disobeyed God??
The Bible actually shows that, as far as death is concerned, people are no different than animals, who are also called souls, Ecclesiastes 3:18-20. The term breath, Hebrew Ruach, means spirit also, which is a force from God, that stops at death, or figuratively, returns to God, Ecclesiastes 12:7. Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 10, tells us about death, there is no knowledge, the dead know nothing at all, and they have no part in anything done under the sun, no work no planning no wisdom.
It seem very clear what we are told at, Psalms 146:3,4, on the day we die our spirit goes out, back to God, and our thoughts stop, perish, die.
Job has some interesting points about death! Job actually wanted to die to get out of his misery, Job 14:13. There must not be torment there. At Job 14:1,2 tells us that a man's days are few, he comes like a flower, then cut down, and like a shadow, he does not continue.
Job 14:21 tells us that when a man dies, if his sons are honored, he does not know it. Why??? Because he knows nothing, because his thoughts have stopped!!
Another point to show that there is no feeling in death is; at death Jesus went into Hades, or the grave, Acts 2:27,31. Jesus was perfect, never sinned!!! Jesus surely would not have gone into a place of torment!!! Also Psalms 6:4,5, 115:17, The dead do not praise God!!!