Jennifer Rothnie Supporter Housewife, Artist, Perpetually Curious

'Soul sleep' is a term referring to the theory that there is no awareness between death and judgement. That is, the theory that after a person dies, the next thing they are aware of is the Resurrection and judgement. 

"Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." I Cor 15:35-58

To the people left alive and living, it would seem like the person had 'fallen asleep'. To the dead, there would be no awareness of the passage of time at all. They would be dying, then the next thing they would be aware of would be the Resurrection/Judgement/and being present with the Lord.

"We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord." II Cor 5:1-10

In the theory of soul sleep, there is no intermediate state that the soul or spirit resides in such as Purgatory, a subsection of the grave such as 'Righteous Sheol' in which souls or spirits are self-aware, or in heaven looking down at their loved-ones still on Earth. Rather, the soul-sleep theory holds that there is death and then there is judgement, with no in-between phase of consciousness.

Heb 9:27 "..Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment..."

John 5:28-29 "...An hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment." 

Rev 20:5: "The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection."

There are several support verses for man being unaware of his state of death before the Resurrection, mostly from the Old Testament, the largest NT support being I Cor 15:35-58:

Eccl. 9:5: "For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten."

[This verse in context is speaking of earthly rewards, as believers still look forward to a heavenly reward (Eph 6:7-8, John 4:36, Rom 6:22, etc].

Psa 146:4: "His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; In that very day his thoughts perish."

[The breath of life returns to God, but the thoughts of a mortal perish at death, unless we have hope in the redemption of God (Hosea 13:14)].

I Sam 28:15 "Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?"

Psa 6:5: "Among the dead no one proclaims your name. Who praises you from the grave?"

Etc.

There are many criticisms commonly leveled against the soul-sleep theory. Some are valid, some are spurious.

For example of a spurious criticism, one charge often leveled is that Christ said 'I tell you today you will be with me in Paradise', and as such the thief must have gone to a subsection of sheol (the grave) dubbed 'Paradise' along with Jesus. This interpretation neglects several things; namely that Paradise is in heaven, Jesus was making proclamation to spirits in Tartarus while in the tomb, and that 'TODAY' was a rabbinical term referring to the coming of the Messiah, specifically to entering God's rest. See http://ebible.com/answers/19855?ori=167400 for more detail.

Yet there are legitimate criticisms of the theory as well. If those who have died are asleep without consciousness, then how are the several descriptions of individuals conscious after death explained? What of Moses and Elijah, seen at the transfiguration (Matt 17:3)? What of the martyred souls under the altar? (Rev 6:9-10)

With differing theories pointing to different verses, and differing usage of terms [such as soul or hell], it is hard for anyone to be completely dogmatic about the state of the dead between death and Resurrection.

What we can know clearly from scripture, however, is that our hope is in Christ and in the Resurrection unto eternal life! (Jude 1:21)

October 09 2015 • 5 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

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