Q: #2. I hear some people teaching that when we die, our soul goes to sleep
until Jesus returns and we are resurrected, does the Bible say this?
A: The term many use for this is "soul sleep" and it is a misunderstanding of
what the word "sleep" means in reference to death in the Bible. The verses that say
we "sleep" (i.e. 1 Thess 4:14, 1 Cor 11:30, 15:20,51) are referring to our BODIES
and not our soul or spirit. The moment a believer dies, his soul (Gen 35:18)
(Rev 20:4) and spirit (Eccl 12:7)(Eccl 3:20-21) leave his body and go to be with the
Lord. Our soul will remain with the Lord in a "disembodied" (for lack of a better
term) state until Jesus returns, at which time body and soul will be reunited.
Paul clearly expected to be with the Lord the MOMENT he died, saying in
(2 Cor 5:8) "to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord," and in
(Phil 1:23) "having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ." Actually, in
(Phil 1:21-24) Paul is trying to decide if it is better for him to die and be with
Christ, or stay on Earth and help others to grow in Christ. Paul says he desires to
depart, but is convinced he should stay and teach others. A question to consider is,
would Paul think it was better to die rather than stay and teach others if he
thought he was just going to sleep? What would be the "gain" of dying rather than
teaching?
We also have a number of examples showing people have consciousness after death
and are clearly not "sleeping"
(Lk 16:19-31) The rich man and Lazarus were not sleeping.
(Mt 17:1,3-4) Moses and Elijah appeared at the transfiguration of Jesus. (Remember
that both Elijah (2 Kin 2:11) and Enoch (Gen 5:22-24) were taken directly to Heaven
without dying.)
(1 Pet 3:18-20) Jesus preached to the spirits in prison. They were obviously awake
to hear that.
(Jude 1:7) Says the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are "suffering (present tense)
the vengeance of eternal fire."
Also, keep in mind, Jesus said to the thief on the cross, "TO DAY shalt thou
be with me in paradise" (Lk 23:43). (Caps emphasis mine)
