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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. 
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, : “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.’" (John 11:23–27)
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.
"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" (verse 1), but they long for
their "heavenly dwelling" (verse 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).
The exact details
of that will remain a mystery; however, we know that we will be physically resurrected
at the Rapture (John
5:29; Acts 24:15; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18).
We also know that
our resurrected bodies will be different in some ways than our current bodies 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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