It is rare to get to my age and not have some brushes with death on a personal level.

Many trains of thought would have us believe that death is simply a natural part of life, cyclical and normal. People will always fear the deep unknown, however much you tell them not to, and in my experience, those who don’t fear it haven’t really thought about it all too much. Either that, or they have such an over confidence in their lack of fear that they come across as shallow, foolish and thoughtless to me.
I have personally come to the conclusion that human death is a most un-natural severing. Something is so clearly ‘wrong’ about it to me, it seems almost un-necessary. 
Philosophers like the Buddha and those who echo his sentiments talk about death as transformation, the next step in the evolution of consciousness. They speak of karma and samsara, of the illusion of maya, of the drop in the ocean, uniting back with the source. There are schools of religious thought that attempt to console us with ideas of re-incarnation, or an eternal oblivious sleep.
I know all this, and still respectfully disagree that human death is something normal and natural… let me tell you why I do so.

As most people know, human beings are corrupt. There is not a soul on the face of the earth who could honestly say they were perfect in all their ways, who do everything and say everything they do with the utmost pure motives of love and respect for both God and others, at all times. If they can say this, they are not introspective or honest people, in my opinion. Admittedly, there are those who simply cannot see their own faults past their own egos, yet others who knew them would easily be able to point out the faults and corruption if they were asked to do so.
Alas, this imperfection comes with a price; the price is death. People love to use the excuse that they are not perfect, but the fact is that the human race were originally created to be perfect, in every way, truly reflecting our Creator in character and essence. Of course, it was in the garden of Eden that there was a horrific fall, through the succumbing of temptation and eating the dreadful fruit from that terrible tree, resulting in firstly spiritual, and then eventually physical death.

Buddha’s acceptance for suffering and the striving for the destruction of desire is in many ways admirable, but even he could never avoid the inevitable end that comes from a life of imperfection – however much one accepts the fact that you are imperfect, death is completely unavoidable, unless you are perfect. As interesting as the Buddha was, he remains in the grave along with everyone else until the resurrection of the dead for the judgement of all souls – and he won’t be the one doing the judging.
The One who will be doing the judging, however, also died… but He didn’t have to, because He was the only perfect person to have ever lived, and so death had no hold on Him. 
He gloriously resurrected from the shackles of death, because death had nothing on Him. That is why His precious blood is so powerful; it’s totally innocent and pure, and can cleanse anything…even human imperfection.

Death was never God’s original intent for human beings, and having had a lot of experience of it now, I can see why. It severs, it separates, it smells bad, it looks bad, it causes all sorts of pain, loneliness, loss and sometimes even despair. Even the ageing process, which is a symptom of pre-death, is full of a loss of beauty, strength, vigour, virility, motivation and power. Disease and weaknesses creep in, and people really suffer.

So why does this happen? For anyone who has honestly witnessed human death up close, what good is there in it? Well, even after all I have said so far, from my point of view, there IS good, but the good is hidden and is not what most people consider. 
Death is actually part of the redemption process, for God promises that all the suffering we go through, including taking that scary last breath, will be worth it. Why? We suffer simply because we are all very evil beings deserving nothing but the wrath of pure Love, we who have all gone astray and all have hidden ulterior and purely selfish motives that need crucifying.
Because we are imperfect, God saw to it that our corrupted bodies would be cast off, separated from our souls and spirits, so that He could give us new ones that are incorruptible once we are wise to evil and then actively reject it, having experienced first hand the result of sin, which is death, favouring God’s ways instead. What happened in the garden of Eden was the same iniquity that led the wicked angels that have deceived the whole world into their own eternal doom; yet human death gives us all a second chance with Him, should we choose it. 
You might ask, “why do WE get that chance and the fallen angels do not get it?”
Well, because we were tempted into evil and didn’t actively seek it. Because of our weakness of the flesh/body we all failed the test (for we were all mystically a part of Adam’s loins), yet there is a chance to ‘re-sit’ the exam, because Jesus has conquered death forever and grants us the same unmerited privilege He has earned (by His obedience unto death), if we trust in Him alone. 
Death was an evil used in wisdom by God to save Adam’s spawn and restore the imperfect back to Himself, who is perfect. Death was also used to teach a very valuable and profound lesson to us all, about the nature and consequences of disobeying Him and the havoc and misery of knowing evil firsthand, things that are too big for any of us to do anything about apart from God. He also used it to bring Himself great glory, where we will be singing His praises full of genuine thankfulness for all eternity because of what happened at calvary (the greatest miracle of them all, the transaction of the innocent for the guilty).

Jesus said that the way to destruction is broad; sadly most people on earth go that way. He also said that the way to ‘life’ is very narrow, and only a few ever find it. Why is that? Because people prefer their darkness, the sin that keeps them in the bondage of spiritual (and eventually physical) death. They would rather be ‘right’ than strive for compassionate holy love by humbling themselves unto obedience. 
The optimist would say that human beings are inherently good, and they simply make bad mistakes every so often. As a realist and an introspect, I know that the problem of evil starts with me…and if I realise that I am evil, without a hope of saving myself, then how much so the rest of the world, which seems to be rapidly decaying as each day passes. 
Anyone who watches the thoughts and motives of the heart will quickly see a corruption in themselves that might possibly be quenched through self-discipline, but not eradicated. It is so ingrained, it sticks like ‘shit to a blanket’ (a common saying here in the UK, and although that word is ‘dirty’, it’s usefully descriptive in this context). Self discipline is simply trying to ‘wipe it off with a tissue’…it doesn’t work at the core level; the stain remains despite your best effort.

The myth of the evolution of human consciousness into higher realms of understanding is part of the deception from our mutual spiritual enemy, the one who would have us believe in anything but the cross of Christ, the only place where we must die with Him in order to one day be raised with Him in power. There is no other way for human evil to be eradicated other than there… Buddha’s way won’t work, nor anyone else’s (although admittedly we can take good lessons about the denying of oneself, the quenching of ego and the compassion he had for others from his teachings). If there is a change in human consciousness at all, it’s a devolution from the pristine creation that the original human beings were part of.

As the bible tells us with resounding alarm bells, NO one can be saved through works, lest anyone boast in front of God. It is by grace, through faith alone that saves us, the hope in the promise that this first death we all go through is not the end for those who are believing God for their salvation. Indeed, death (along with hades/hell) are both thrown into the lake of fire after the great white throne judgement. Yes, I believe it with all my heart, it is not figurative speech. Both entities will have served their purpose, that in some way they brought God glory by existing, but in order for heaven to truly be heaven, their destruction is completely necessary.
‘Death’s demise’ – I can’t wait for it!

So going back to the fear of the unknown, a.k.a. death; I refer you to a very famous bible verse:

“According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.”