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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Acts 13:1 | Bible general Archive 4 | jamison | 203832 | ||
Hello WOS, First let me state that I am not trying to persuade you that soul sleep is correct. I don't think it really matters whether you believe in soul sleep or that the spirit lives on after death. I assume you will agree that neither belief will save you or condemn you. The bigger issue is that we not just brush under the rug any doctrine that does not line up with ours as if it is nonsense. However, since you have asked for where this is taught, I will give a few examples. I am aware that some Scriptures seem to teach that the soul lives on after death. Others seem to teach that at death you do not exist at all until the resurrection. Choose whichever you like, but each side has valid arguments. Ecc 12:7 is often given as an argument that the spirit lives on. That could be true. Who am I to disagree? Yet, the word translated as “spirit” is the Hebrew word “ruwach”. This is the same word used to describe the spirit of animals as well. See Ecc 3:18-21, the word “ruwach” is translated as “breath” in this passage. Nonetheless, man and beast have the same “ruwach”, breath, spirit. Again, check Gen 7:15 when the word “ruwach” describes the breath of life of animals. This is restated in Gen 7:22. From a study of this words it appears that the “spirit” of man is the same as the “spirit” of animals (which is what Ecc 3:18-21 says). If this is the case, then if the spirit of man lives on, then one should also believe the sprit of animals lives on. Those who believe in soul sleep would say that the “spirit returning to God” is not referring to man entering the “spirit world”, but to that which God gave us which gives us life (His breath) he has now taken back from us, which is similar to what Psalms 104:29 and Job 34:14-15 say. Job 10:20 – Talks of no return from death Job 14:7-17 – Similar to above, but Job does mention that there will be a resurrection at some point, but he talks as if he does not exist until then. Psalms 6:5 – Talks as if there is no consciousness after death. Ecc 3:18-21 – Already mentioned above Ecc 9:5, 10 – Talk about the dead know nothing, having no reward, etc. Ezek 18:4, 20 – Talks about the soul dying (Hebrew: Nephesh) From reading these passages, some will get the definite feeling that the Jews did not believe in an immediate afterlife (or at least not give it much importance). These are the OT verses. I can put in the NT ones if you like. It isn’t really necessary though. The point isn’t to change your mind about soul sleep, but to get you to consider another’s views. It is better to hear what they have to say than to hear what someone else has to say about them. Jamison |
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2 | Acts 13:1 | Bible general Archive 4 | humbledbyhisgrace | 203834 | ||
Jamison, As you search this out, here is a brief Christian orthodox view by Ra McLaughlin of the subject at hand. "The Bible uses different language in different places to describe what happens to us when we die. Often it refers to death as 'sleep' (e.g. Psalms 13:3; John 11:11-14; Acts 13:36; 1 Corinthians 11:30; 15:6,18,20,51; Ephesians 5:14; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15; 5:10) -- this is the regular way Kings and Chronicles refer to the deaths of kings. In all these cases, 'sleep' is simply a euphemism for 'death.' It is not to be taken literally, as if it indicated 'soul sleep.'" "John 11:11-14 provides a good example of 'sleep' as 'death' rather than as 'soul sleep.' When the disciples misunderstood Jesus' reference to Lazarus' death as 'sleep,' he corrected them not by saying that Lazarus soul was asleep, but rather by stating that Lazarus was dead." "One of the more confusing passages in this regard is 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, where Paul speaks of the dead in Christ as being asleep, and as rising only when Christ returns. This may at first give the impression that they are rising from sleep when Christ returns, and that prior to that they are not with him. However, 'rise' (from the Greek anistemi) is not the normal word the Bible uses to describe those who cease to sleep -- 'awake' is. 'Rise' generally refers to the simple act of standing up, but it also refers frequently to the general resurrection when our bodies will rise from the grave (Mark 9:9; 9:10; 12:25; Luke 16:31; 24:46; John 20:9; Acts 10:41; 13:43; 17:3,31). In these cases, the point is not that our souls wake up or rise, but that our bodies do. This being the background of the language of 'rising' (anistemi) in the church, the Thessalonian church would have understood 'rise' (anistemi) in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 to refer to the bodily resurrection, not to awaking from soul sleep." "There is no explicit teaching in Scripture that outlines any doctrine of 'soul sleep,' but it is an inference drawn from the metaphor/euphemism of death as 'sleep.' The Bible does explicitly teach, however, that our souls are immediately present with the Lord upon our deaths. For example, Jesus told the thief on the cross that the thief would be with him that day in paradise (Luke 23:43). Further, Paul explicitly taught that to be absent from the body was to be present with the Lord -- he mentioned no third alternative such as soul sleep (2 Corinthians 5:6-9). Moreover, we have actual examples of people who died but did not experience soul sleep: Moses and Elijah (Matthew 17:3; Mark 9:4; Luke 9:30-31); perhaps Samuel (1 Samuel 28:3-20); and of course Jesus himself (e.g. Luke 23:43). Some would add the debatable example of Abraham, Lazarus and the rich man in the parable of Luke 16:19-31." "When we die, it is fair to speak of us 'sleeping' insofar as we are no longer walking the earth, and insofar as our bodies are not active. In our sleep of death, however, we are conscious and active in the presence of Christ." --Ra McLaughlin Steve |
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3 | Acts 13:1 | Bible general Archive 4 | jamison | 203836 | ||
Thank you for your notes Steve. You have given some very solid points. These points along with the points that soul sleep is Scriptural should be noted together by all those searching so they can decide for themselves what they believe, instead of just looking at one side. | ||||||