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NASB | John 11:14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 11:14 So then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. |
Subject: Do the dead "sleep"? |
Bible Note: Do the dead "sleep"? In John 11:11-15, the disciples did not understand what Jesus meant when He said that Lazarus had 'fallen asleep' (v. 11) and He had to plainly tell them that Lazarus was dead (v. 14). Matthew 27:52 speaks of 'saints who had fallen asleep' being raised out of their tombs. People in the Old Testament described death as 'sleeping with their fathers' (1 Kings 1:21). Ecclesiastes 12:7 says "the spirit returns to God who gave it" at the moment of death. The New Testament indicates that when a believer dies, his or her spirit goes to be immediately with the Lord (Acts 7:59; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23) and our bodies will eventually be made perfect (1 Cor. 15:53). But those who do not believe in Christ go to a place of suffering when they die (Luke 16:19-31), with only the expectation of judgment. Perhaps this is the best way to understand 'sleep' in relation to death: that our bodies (either saved or unsaved) are inactive until either resurrection or judgment. Daniel 12:2 "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt." (NASB) Jesus could be interpreted as prophesying in Mark 5:39 "the child is not dead but sleeping" and in John 11:4 regarding Lazarus. --Makarios |
View Branch | ID# 217035 | ||
Questions and/or Subjects for John 11:14 | Author | ||
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Makarios |