I do not believe your statement "if you leave the Cross, you enter death" is accurate.
The cross is where we put to death our life in the flesh. However, this is just the beginning. What about the resurrection?
1 Corinthians 15:
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures
1 Corinthians 15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
1 Corinthians 15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
The purpose of the cross was to bring about the resurrection from the dead. It is in the resurrection that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ conquered death.
Then there is the ascension. It is in the ascension of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into heaven that we see the exceeding greatness of the power of God to us who believe. It is in the ascension into heaven that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ reigns far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. (See Eph 1:17-23)
MessageOfTheCross, do you believe God raised Jesus Christ from the dead?