Soul Sleep yes or no?

[LeviR]

Matt 28:20 behold I am with you always!

He was to be with them by the Spirit of the Father by which they would perform miracles in confirmation of the word of truth.This is also called the measure of the gift of Christ because Christ received the gifts from the Father and sent them to his disciples.
These gifts of the Spirit through Christ was to mean that he would be with them until the end of the age. The end of the age came with the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in AD 70. After which he would no longer be with them in the form of miracles.

I will be with you always, even until the end of the age. After that, seek the truth in God’s word. The RCC hasn’t a clue.

 

[donadams]

He was to be with them by the Spirit of the Father by which they would perform miracles in confirmation of the word of truth.This is also called the measure of the gift of Christ because Christ received the gifts from the Father and sent them to his disciples.
These gifts of the Spirit through Christ was to mean that he would be with them until the end of the age. The end of the age came with the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in AD 70. After which he would no longer be with them in the form of miracles.

I will be with you always, even until the end of the age. After that, seek the truth in God’s word. The RCC hasn’t a clue.

Really? Holy mother church?

 

[donadams]

Yeah, the stupid follow the stupid.

Holy mother church is scripture the new Jerusalem gal 4:26

 

[donadams]

He was to be with them by the Spirit of the Father by which they would perform miracles in confirmation of the word of truth.This is also called the measure of the gift of Christ because Christ received the gifts from the Father and sent them to his disciples.
These gifts of the Spirit through Christ was to mean that he would be with them until the end of the age. The end of the age came with the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in AD 70. After which he would no longer be with them in the form of miracles.

I will be with you always, even until the end of the age. After that, seek the truth in God’s word. The RCC hasn’t a clue.

The apostolic church has not got a clue? Does this go for the founder of the church? Jesus Christ? Lk 10:16

Christ and His church are one mystical unity by faith & baptism!

(Faith and baptism)

Ez 36:25-27
Mk 16:16
Jn 3:5 Jn 3:22
Acts 2:38-39
Acts 8:36-38
Acts 22:16

(Unity)

Isa 53:5
Matt 25:40
Jn 15:4-5
Eph 5:24
Eph 5:32
Phil 4:13

(((The church and the revealed truth are of divine origin and can no more be reformed than God Himself!)))

 

[donadams]

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. (Jn 10:11)

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. (Holy mother church & baptism)

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. (Narrow road)

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
(The cross and intercession of Mary)

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. ( mass, and the sacraments of abundant life and grace)

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. (Eternal salvation)

 

[deepfaithpraise]

Soul sleep is the teaching that when a person dies, his soul "sleeps" or the denial of man's conscious existence between when he dies and the resurrection day. It's what is called the intermediate state of the believer, in which both the body and the soul lay rest in the ground and the phrase 'soul sleep' appears to have been popularized by John Calvin. In this condition, the person is not aware or conscious till he is made alive at the resurrection by Christ at the Second Coming.

So what does the Bible say at whether you lay in the grave in a non sentient state, awaiting Christ.

Let's look at the story of Lazarus who was raised up from the grave by Christ.
John 11:11-14 - These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And then in verse 17 Jesus says of Lazarus: 17 Then when Jesus came, he found that he [Lazarus] had lain in the grave four days already.

We see that Jesus equated death to sleep and used the terms interchangeably; and in this story Lazarus has been dead for 4 days. Let's continue:
Verse 43-44: And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

Now, Lazarus had been dead for 4 days, if he had in fact gone to heaven (or hell) in any conscious form why is nothing told by Lazarus of this? Lazarus does not come back to life with any stories of where he was, what he saw, or anything. He doesn't talk about walking on streets of gold nor burning with fire. After being resurrected he does speak, and all he says is a simple acknowledgement of who was standing there with Jesus. So lets look at the whole Bible and see what we find.

Jesus' use of sleep as a metaphor for death, and Lazarus' silence about any experiences during his four days of death, do lend credence to the idea of a dormant state between death and resurrection.

But the human mind may not be capable of fully comprehending or retaining experiences beyond our earthly existence.

The idea of "soul sleep" might offer comfort to some, alleviating fears about an unknown interim state. It simplifies the journey from death to resurrection, providing a sense of continuity and peace.

What matters most is not the specifics of what happens immediately after death, but our faith in God's infinite love and the promise of resurrection. We should focus on living lives of compassion, kindness, and service, trusting that our eternal destiny rests in the hands of a merciful Creator.

 

[Hawkins]

I speak for myself and from my experience, just as buried in the Jewish concept back in Jesus' days, "good people" fall asleep or enter God's rest, while "bad people" will be awaken in sheol/Hades till the Final Judgment comes (i.e., God refuses them to enter His rest).

 

[donadams]

Matt 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

Bodies not souls!

 

[reddogs]

Matt 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

Bodies not souls!

Just as will happen at the resurrection at the Second Coming...

 

[Carry_Your_Name]

Matt 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

Bodies not souls!

False dilemma. Soul = Body + Spirit. Soul means a living being, not jsut a body, a body without spirit is a corpse.

 

[donadams]

False dilemma. Soul = Body + Spirit. Soul means a living being, not jsut a body, a body without spirit is a corpse.

Thats what put in the ground a corpse the soul Goes to God for the particular judgment

 

[Carry_Your_Name]

Thats what put in the ground a corpse the soul Goes to God for the particular judgment

Nonetheless, all will be resurrected in a new body, some in everlasting glory, some in everlasting contempt, Dan. 12:2.

 

[reddogs]

Jesus' use of sleep as a metaphor for death, and Lazarus' silence about any experiences during his four days of death, do lend credence to the idea of a dormant state between death and resurrection.

But the human mind may not be capable of fully comprehending or retaining experiences beyond our earthly existence.

The idea of "soul sleep" might offer comfort to some, alleviating fears about an unknown interim state. It simplifies the journey from death to resurrection, providing a sense of continuity and peace.

What matters most is not the specifics of what happens immediately after death, but our faith in God's infinite love and the promise of resurrection. We should focus on living lives of compassion, kindness, and service, trusting that our eternal destiny rests in the hands of a merciful Creator.

It wasnt a 'metaphor' as they were in dead the ground as the Bible tells us what happens in the grave for the just and unjust, but also says what awaits them at the end.

Daniel 12:2
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.

The word for sleep here is not the same as one sleeping in everyday use. yashen ( from 3462; sleepy: KJV-- asleep, (one out of) sleep slept.

What does sleep mean in this context? The Bible uses this term when speaking of death. The primary verses we find showing the dead have no thoughts or consciousness are:
Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, "For the living know they shall die: but the dead know not any thing," and Ecclesiastes 12:7, "then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it." Also Psalm 146:4, "His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; in that very day his thoughts perish". Or Psalm 115:17, "The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into silence" or Psalm 6:5 "For in death there is no remembrance of Thee; in the grave who shall give Thee thanks? And of course, there is Ezek. 18:4, "the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

And in the Old Testament we also find:

Genesis 3:19
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?"

1 Samuel 3:3 Samuel was laid down to sleep;

1 Samuel 28:3 Now SAMUEL was DEAD, and all Israel had lamented him, and BURIED HIM in RAMAH,

And you know what happened when Jesus was speaking to His disciples about Lazarus, Jesus told them:

Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, if he sleep he shall do well. Howbeit, Jesus spoke of his death; but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. John 11:11-14

The disciples were confused and thought Christ meant natural sleep, but He meant the sleep of death.
On His arrival Jesus found that Lazarus had already been four days in the tomb. John 11:17

While conversing with Martha, He tried to comfort her by saying,
'Thy brother shall rise again.' Martha saith unto him, 'I know that He shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.' John 11:23,24

Martha knew that life would be restored to Lazarus only in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus demonstrated through the resurrection of Lazarus that He was the One who could resurrect the dead according to His claim:

I am the resurrection and the life. John 11:25

The Scriptures in both Old and New Testaments are very clear on this issue. Life to the dead will be restored in the resurrection on the last day. (1 Corinthians 15:51-55, Job 19:25-26; Job 14:10-15; Psalm 17:15; Daniel 12:13) There will be separate resurrections for the righteous and for the wicked. John 5:28-29 states:

Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation.
For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.1 Thessalonians 4:16 NKJV

But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Revelation 20:5 NKJV

That same voice that raised Lazarus from the grave will be heard on that last day of this world's history, calling forth those who have slept in the graves of the earth. Christ will recreate the righteous dead, or "dead in Christ", and breathe into them the breath of eternal life, and they shall enter Heaven.

Revelation 20:6:
Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection.

When Jesus called Lazarus from the tomb,
...he cried with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come forth'. John 11:43

That voice raised dead Lazarus to life. "He that was dead came forth", and Jesus said:
Loose him, and let him go. John 11:44

 

[reddogs]

The Bible is clear what is happening when we are dead:

Deuteronomy 31:16 - And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.

2 Samuel 7:12
And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

Job 7:21
And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.

1 Kings 1:21
Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.

Job 7:21
And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.

Psalms 13:3
Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

Psalms 30:9
What will you gain from my death? What profit from my going to the grave? Are dead people able to praise you? Can they proclaim your unfailing goodness?

Psalms 76:6
At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.

Isaiah 57:2
Those who live good lives find peace and rest in death.

Jeremiah 51:39
In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD.

Jeremiah 51:57
And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.

Daniel 12:2
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.


In the New Testament we see
Matthew 9:24
He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.

Matthew 27:52-53
And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

Mark 5:39
And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.

Luke 8:52
And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth.

John 11:11-14
These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

Acts 7:59 -60
And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Acts 13:36
For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:

Ephesians 5:14
Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

1 Corinthians 11:30
For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

1 Corinthians 15:6
After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

1 Corinthians 15:18
Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

1 Corinthians 15:20
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

1 Corinthians 15:51
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

1 Thessalonians 4:13
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

1 Thessalonians 4:14
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

1 Thessalonians 4:15
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

2 Peter 3:4
And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

And when we will come out of the grave, it is at the resurrection, not when we die.

John 11:24
Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

Acts 4:2
Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

And what Christ himself tells us will happen to those who have died, the resurrection of the just, and the resurrection of damnation for the wicked.

Luke 14:14
And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.

John 5:29
And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

These text clearly show we stay in the grave with no thoughts, and clearly do not go straight to heaven or float in spirit bodies and dwell Gods presence, to say nothing of the wicked who will stay in the grave till the lake of fire.

 

[reddogs]

Here is a great explanation of the state of the dead by my buddy Palehorse..
'..First let me say, for the sake of ease and clarity, this essay is by no means exhaustive in nature. By that I mean I have not given every single example found in the Bible to support the following questions and arguments; I have included the ones I feel best explain each section. I could literally write a book if I wanted to show every example for this study but it is unnecessary for the plain teaching of the Bible on this topic is very clear. However, I will address the arguments Ive heard that are in favor of the immortal soul and the teaching of going to heaven/hell immediately following death near the end of this paper. As such, this has become a fairly long essay. But it is vital that people understand the relationship between what happens to us at death and how that ties into our going to hell or heaven. I could have made this essay much shorter simply by doing a breakdown of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (which is included herein) but I wanted to make sure that there was not room for doubt or error by comparing many verses together to ensure we have a solid picture of what the scriptures actually teach on this topic. This is my personal study, as such, please forgive any spelling/grammatical errors I've made.

To answer the question of the state of the dead, we must first define what the Bible says a soul is:
How was man created?
Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Man was not given a soul he became a living soul. Don't miss that. Soul and spirit are not the same thing. It is the unity of body and breath-of-life that constitute the soul. You ARE a soul; you do not HAVE a soul. It is sad that an educated clergy gets this part wrong in most churches, and in doing so, the rest of what happens after we die gets distorted based off this first failing step.

For those that are mathematically minded, the idea can be expressed as such:
Physical body (dust) + breath of life (spirit - ruwach) = living soul (a wholism of the two - nephesh)

The Hebrew word for soul is"nephesh". Nephesh was translated into many different English words for the KJV Bible (for instance; creature, beast, man, fish, thing, person or persons, etc) but an important thing one should plainly see is that none of the translations refer to it as being something that survives the death of the body nor does it mean that in the original Hebrew. It was used to describe the "wholism" of life - not a "dualism" as was latter taught by the Greeks (Plato to be precise) and is unfortunately with us still today.
The Hebrew word for spirit is "ruwach". This word means breath or air and these terms are used interchangeably. The Hebrew word ruwach appears 377 times in the Bible; 117 times translated as wind/air, 33 times as breath, and 227 times as spirit. There is no indication that there is any memory, consciousness, ego, or character associated with it in ANY of the verses. Also, there is no implication that it is immortal. Check it out for yourself if you have any doubts.

Can/does the soul die?
Ezekiel 18:4 - Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Ezekiel 18:20 - The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
Revelation 16:3 - And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
Genesis 3:19 - In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Ecclesiastes 3:19 & 20 - For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

These five verses show the same equation (if you will), in reverse:

Physical body (dust) + breath of life (spirit) = death (the ceasing of the two)


Lets verify that the 'breath of life' equates to the spirit:
Genesis 7:22 - All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.
Job 27:3 - All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;
Isaiah 2:22 - Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?
What is in the nostrils? Some immortal memory-retaining substance? No, figuratively and literally it is the breath.

As you can see, the breath of life and the spirit are one and the same and are used interchangeably. Does the spirit have thoughts or memory?
Ecclesiastes 9:5 - For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Job 12:2 - No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.

So, the spirit (breath - ruwach) that returns to God at death is not mentioned as being immortal nor does it contain any memory or information of the individual or any conscience whatsoever. In fact, just the opposite has been seen; the dead dont know anything nor can they gain any further reward towards heaven...'

 

[reddogs]

'...Who is/has immortality now?
1 Timothy 6:15 & 16 - Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
1 Timothy 1:17 - Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Deuteronomy 33:27 - The eternal God is thy refuge, ...

ONLY God has immortality right now, 1 Timothy 6:15 & 16 makes that abundantly clear. The question is can humans achieve it, and if so, how?
Mark 10:17 - And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
Luke 10:25 - And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Luke 18:18 - And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

Notice, the questions in the verses above talk about inheriting eternal life that is a future tense event not a current one. They were asking what they had to do to inherit eternal life; which also says they didn't already have it. So, what did they, and we, have to do to inherit eternal life?

John 3:15 - That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
John 17:2 - As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
1 Timothy 6:19 - Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
John 10:28 - And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Again we find that eternal life is a future event but it's conditional; you must believe in Him.

Titus 3:7 - That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Heirs receive an inheritance.
Hebrews 9:15 - And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
1 John 5:11 - And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

These verses clearly show that eternal life is NOT an automatic thing it is something that is hoped for, something that must be given by God or inherited from God.

So, if eternal life (either in heaven or hell) is not granted at death, then when is it?
John 5:28-29 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
1.Cor.15:52 which says, "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
1 Cor 15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

Notice that all of these verses (and this is by no means all of the scriptural references) talk of a future event (His coming) in which the dead are raised. There is no mention of souls going to either heaven or hell immediately after death. That is a Hellenistic (pagan Greek teaching made popular by Plato) teaching that was introduced in the 400+ years between the writings of the Old and New Testaments. But the details of that are outside of the scope of this study.

So what does happen when we die?
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 - But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

If that verse doesnt explain our position then nothing will. The Bible, not me, clearly likens death to 'sleep' and calls it such many times. At the end of this study I'll provide many more supporting scriptures for this fact. Also note; the dead in Christ ARE STILL HERE AND ALL THE RIGHTEOUS RISE AT THE SAME TIME. Christ descends from heaven and we rise to meet Him then; not before, not later, but at that moment. There is no second chance as is being taught by popular Christianity. That is a dangerous myth, a fable..'

 

[Beetow]

.
Re: Soul Sleep yes or no?

If there is such a thing as soul sleep I won't know it, here's why:

I've been under anesthesia once for appendicitis, twice for hernias, one for a scalp
lump, once for a kidney stone, twice for total knee replacements, once for a
colonoscopy, once for lung cancer, once for wisdom teeth, and twice for an
endoscopy.

In none of those procedures was I aware of the passage of time. The very moment
I went under was simultaneous with awakening. So if soul sleep is like that, I'll be
in paradise as if I went from here to there in less than a second of time on the
clock, i.e. instantaneously. The same can be said for folks on track for the wrong
side of the chasm separating Abraham from the rich man per Luke 16:19-31
_

 

[Carry_Your_Name]

"Soul sleep" is totally fictitious. In the fifth seal judgement, souls of the saints are crying out for justice and vengeance, that is not "sleep". Although "sleeping" is often used in the bible as a euphemism for death, "soul sleep" is not even scientific - your brain is highly activated during REM (rapid eye movement) phase, that's when you dream. Human soul is not dormant either in sleep or in death.

When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Rev. 6:9-10)

 

[Carry_Your_Name]

.
Re: Soul Sleep yes or no?

If there is such a thing as soul sleep I won't know it, here's why:

I've been under anesthesia once for appendicitis, twice for hernias, one for a scalp
lump, once for a kidney stone, twice for total knee replacements, once for a
colonoscopy, once for lung cancer, once for wisdom teeth, and twice for an
endoscopy.

In none of those procedures was I aware of the passage of time. The very moment
I went under was simultaneous with awakening. So if soul sleep is like that, I'll be
in paradise as if I went from here to there in less than a second of time on the
clock, i.e. instantaneously. The same can be said for folks on track for the wrong
side of the chasm separating Abraham from the rich man per Luke 16:19-31
_

General anesthesia is not comparable to sleep, although both are an unconscious state. The key difference is REM (rapid eye movement), under general anesthesia there's no REM, the brain stays inactive, which makes perfect sense since all your senses are blocked and you're not supposed to feel any pain during the procedure. Therefore if there is soul sleep, the soul wouldn't stay dormant as you think it is under general anesthesia.

 

[7thMoon]

"Soul sleep" is totally fictitious. In the fifth seal judgement, souls of the saints are crying out for justice and vengeance, that is not "sleep". Although "sleeping" is often used in the bible as a euphemism for death, "soul sleep" is not even scientific - your brain is highly activated during REM (rapid eye movement) phase, that's when you dream. Human soul is not dormant either in sleep or in death.

When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Rev. 6:9-10)

The spirit not the soul-- meanest thou?