Awake beyond the Grave: What the Bible
Says about Soul Sleep
Brian Leicht
Death raises many questions: When
will it happen? What will it be like? What is the soul's
destiny? Chuck Swindoll addresses that last question in Growing
Deep in the Christian Life:
When the believer dies, the body goes
into the grave; the soul and spirit go immediately to be with the Lord Jesus
awaiting the body's resurrection, when they're joined together to be forever
with the Lord in eternal bliss.1
Sadly, many fear their souls will have to wait indefinitely
for heaven. "Soul sleep"- the belief that the soul rests after death
in an unconscious state, or ceases to exist, until the final resurrection - finds
its roots in the common "sleeping" metaphor for bodily death.
Although this metaphor appears in Scripture, a thorough
study shows that the metaphor of sleep refers only to the
earthly body's inanimate state after death, not to the soul.
Scripture assures
believers of their souls' destiny at death:
Therefore, being
always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we
are absent from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight—we are of good
courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:6–8)
For to me, to live
is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will
mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am
hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with
Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more
necessary for your sake. (Philippians 1:21–24)
And Jesus, crying out
with a loud voice, said, "Father, into Your hands I commit My
Spirit." Having said this, He breathed His last. (Luke
23:46)
Jesus, as God's Son, knew He would be spiritually present
in the Father's "hands" at the very moment of His death, not asleep
in the grave.
Other biblical events make clear there is no soul sleep
for believers but rather a conscious, immediate presence with God after death:
Two more passages
bear further discussion.
- First, John 11:23–27: Jesus said to her, "Your brother
will rise again." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again
in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the
resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and
everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe
this?" She said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the
Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world."
Notice Jesus corrected Martha's belief that her brother
would only
"live" in the resurrection. In contrast, Jesus revealed
that believers will live even if they die, and in fact, they will never die in
the way that our bodies do.
- The second passage comes from Peter's pen:
For Christ also
died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us
to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. (1
Peter 3:18)
Believers, at the moment of salvation, are "crucified with Christ," and
yet they live (Galatians
2:20).
When the earthly body of the believer dies, he or she
lives on spiritually. Through faith in Christ, believers have been made alive
in the spirit just as Jesus lives in the spirit.
We who profess Christ are not
destined for soul sleep or the grave!
We can resolve many of the interpretation conflicts that
surround the issue of death by simply keeping the earthly physical
body's inanimate state after death completely separate from the
soul's spiritual life and location apart from the body.
One key scriptural event that supports this, but is
sometimes misunderstood, is Jesus' exchange with the thief on the cross. Jesus
tells the thief dying next to Him that their spirits would be together, alive,
and conscious on that day.
Yet some argue the punctuation is misplaced in Luke 23:42–43. Instead of, "Truly I say
to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise," they
argue Jesus really said, "Truly I say to you today, you
shall be with Me in Paradise."
But Scripture includes no other instance of Jesus saying,
"I say to you today." This adds to the likelihood that, as every
English translation indicates, Jesus was emphasizing that today was
the time He and the thief would be together in paradise.
And even Jesus' statement, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit," points to
His being spiritually in God's presence immediately upon
death.
Another scriptural event that is sometimes misinterpreted
is Saul's visit to the medium of Endor. Some believe that Saul summoned the
spirit of Samuel, that Samuel's spirit ascended from the ground; and that
Samuel was angry because his sleep had been disturbed.
However, sleep is not mentioned in the passage. The text
only says, "Why have you disturbed
me by bringing me up?" (1 Samuel 28:15). "This passage does not say that the witch brought up Samuel from
the dead. God revealed Samuel to Saul."
We don't know exactly where Samuel was before he was
disturbed, but we do know he told Saul that the king and his sons would be with
the prophet the very next day (1 Samuel 28:19).
This wouldn't be very meaningful if their souls were just
going to be sleeping after they died. Rather, it's more likely Samuel meant
they would all be conscious of their spirits meeting one another the next day.
In Luke 16:19–31, Lazarus and the rich man were
in "Abraham's
bosom" and "Hades" after their deaths.
But some readers conclude that those "waiting places" indicate that
our souls will wait for heaven in similar places.
Actually, this story, told by Jesus himself, teaches that
the soul is not sleeping but alive and conscious after death and before
bodily resurrection. Incidentally, this is the only time the phrase "Abraham's bosom" appears in
the Bible.
"Abraham's
bosom" was an expression
referring to the "paradise"
Jesus anticipated following His death.
Some wonder if we will recognize our loved ones in heaven
or if our spirits will be without form like a ghost or a wispy cloud, but these
passages suggest we will have a bodily form.
The Bible doesn't give us details,
but several passages suggest we will have recognizable intermediate
bodies.
Lewis Sperry Chafer refers to 2 Corinthians 5:1–5 when he explains
"the concept of an intermediate body between death and resurrection":
At the present time believers are in an "earthly tent" (v. 1), but they long for
their "heavenly dwelling" (v. 2).
References to believers after death but before
resurrection all seem to suggest that they have a body, as in the case of
Lazarus (Luke 16:19–25).
When Moses and Elijah met with Christ on the Mount of
Transfiguration, they were represented as having bodies (Matt. 17:1–3; Mark
9:4; Luke 9:30).
In Revelation 6:9–11 [and 7:13–17] the martyred dead
. . . are represented as wearing robes and being before the throne of God.
Though full revelation was not given in Scripture concerning the exact
characteristics of these bodies, apparently they will not be
suited for eternity
for they will be replaced by resurrection bodies.
This conscious,
intermediate state is not an
intermediate cleansing place between heaven and earth, like purgatory, a
concept that is never found in the Bible and contradicts the gospel.
Rather, it is a temporary body, intermediate
between the time of our death and the resurrection, which will take
place when Jesus returns.
Scripture assures
us of our souls' destiny. God's Word also
offers insight on the future of our earthly, physical bodies, which will be
resurrected at the Rapture.
Paul wrote that we "wait
eagerly for . . . the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were
saved" (Romans 8:23–24 NIV).
Unfortunately, many who believe in soul sleep have
confused the resurrection of our earthly bodies and spiritual life after death.
Regarding the earthly body and its significance after
death, Scripture says, "It has not
appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like
Him, because we will see Him just as He is" (1 John 3:2).
We also know that our resurrected bodies will be different
in some ways than our current bodies (1 Corinthians 15:45–49) and suited for eternity.
We can learn about
our resurrected bodies by considering Jesus' body after His resurrection.
We know that Jesus ate and drank, that the disciples could
touch Him, and that He had flesh and bones yet could move at will without
physical limitations. "See my hands
and my feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have
flesh and bones as you see that I have" (Luke 24:39).
If Jesus' resurrected body could do all these things, our
resurrected bodies likely will too.
Fears and questions about death are natural, but the Bible
offers peace. Believers can take courage in the knowledge that the rest God
provides for us after death is so much better than any so-called "soul
sleep."
While death is sorrowful and painful, for those who know
Christ, the time beyond death carries with it marvelous hope.
For Christians, death means we will
finally, immediately be face-to-face with our Father.
Are you struggling with a big decision or
wondering how your eternal future will play out?
Why not talk to the God of the universe and
let Him work in your behalf?
He says, “I
will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with
my eye upon you" (Psalm 32:8).
Ask God to show you what to do. Pray the
following prayer:
“Heavenly
Father,
I
admit that I am a sinner and my sins have separated me from You. I now want to
turn away from my past sinful life and begin a new life with You.
Please
forgive me. I now receive your Son, Jesus Christ as my Savior, my Master and my
Lord. I believe and confess that Jesus Christ died for my sins, was buried, and
rose from the dead.
I
want to receive all that Jesus Christ has provided for me as my Savior. Your
Word says, ‘Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved’ (Romans 10:13).
I
believe and confess that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and
no man comes unto the Father, but by Him.
Lord
Jesus, I pray and ask You, to come into my heart and be Lord of my life. I
thank You that you have given me eternal life, and according to Your Word, I am
born again.
Heavenly
Father, thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit Who is in me now. I surrender
my life to You. I promise to study Your Word – the Bible.
Use
me for Your glory.
In
Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
Brian Leicht received a master of theology degree in Pastoral Ministries from Dallas Theological Seminary. As director of the Biblical Counseling team at Insight for Living Ministries, he provides biblical guidance to listeners through written and verbal correspondence. He has also pastored in single adult, marriage reconciliation, and missions ministries for 20 years. Brian also holds a master’s degree in Trumpet Performance, and he, his wife Bonnie, and their three sons enjoy participating in worship ministry and local theater.
https://www.insight.org/resources/article-library/individual/awake-beyond-the-grave-what-the-bible-says-about-soul-sleep
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