The Bible teaches that we sleep awaiting resurrection. Can you reconcile this with a belief in Heaven-going?

Question

Does the Bible teach soul-sleep or conscious Heaven-going prior to Resurrection?

Answer 1

When you die you are asleep until Jesus returns to resurect you, this is what the Bible teaches. The belief that you go directly to Heaven or Hell is not Biblical.

In order to understand death we have to let the Bible speak for itself which is why In the following answer there is a text to back every statement

I was listening to a sermon recently in which the pastor talked about this subject. Talking about death we should look at how life was created

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. - Genesis 2:7

From this we see that the soul is the combination of both the breath of God and the physical body.

So what happens when you die?

1) In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.- Genesis 3:19

2) And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. - Luke 23:46

3) Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. - Ecclesiastes 12:5
From these scriptures we see that when you die the two components of the soul either decay (the physical body) or goes back to God (the spirit)

Many people believe that the spirit is some intangible ghostlike substance but if you look at what the bible says

All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils - Job 27:3

From this we see that the spirit is the Breath of Life not a … ghost (for lack of a better word)



Do the dead go directly to heaven or hell?

Psalms 115:17 The dead praise not the Lord.
Psalms 6:5 In death there is no remembrance of thee.
Isaiah 38:18 Death can not celebrate thee.
Psalms 146:4 His thoughts perish.
Job 21:32 Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb.
Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they shall die; but the dead do not know anything, nor do they have any more a reward; for their memory is forgotten.

From these verses we see that there is no thought in death

Some may argue that these are all Old Testament examples of the teaching of death so let’s look at the New Testament

Jesus speaking about the death of Lazarus
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. John 11:11-14

Jesus also uses sleep to define death when he raises Jarius' daughter

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

1 Thessalonians 4:15 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 Them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

If we look at what Jesus said on the cross in Luke 23:43
And Jesus said to him, Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.

Many use this to prove the point that we go directly to our reward. The problem is in the Greek there was not a comma, the comma was placed centuries later by people who believed that we go directly to our reward. If you move the comma it conforms to the rest of scripture

And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you today, you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Read what happens on Sunday morning and Jesus tells Mary he did not ascend to heaven yet.

"Behold, I come quickly. My reward is with me, to repay to each man according to his work." Revelation 22:12. If you go directly to Heaven or Hell don't you already have your reward?

But doesn’t the Bible say to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord?

As I mentioned above the Bible says we do not go directly to heaven or hell. I think we should look at 2 Corinthians 5, but rather than only looking at verse 8 lets look at the whole chapter in order to gain better perspective. If you read the whole text we see Paul talking about three states of being. In chapter 1 Paul writes 1) our earthly house {our earthly bodies} 2) a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens {glorified bodies}. In verse 3 he says 3) naked.

The question to ask is when do we get our glorified bodies?

1 Corinthians 15:51 says we get them at the last trumps when Christ returns proving we do not go directly to heaven upon death.

If we go directly to heaven or Hell when we die then there is never a time when we are “naked”

Let’s look at what Peter said in Acts chapter 2

Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
Acts 2:29

For David is not ascended into the heavens
Acts 2:34

But what about Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration?

The Bible tells us how they got to Heaven, Moses was resurected according to Jude 9

And Elijah was taken to heaven in a fiery chariot 2 Kings 2:11

If you read the Bible you see that when you die you sleep in the grave until Jesus returns


check out this video
http://www.bibleuniversity.com/Video/CourseID2/NR10.asx

Answer 2

Several people ask this. Where do we go after Death.

You know there are many people who believe that when people die, they go into the ground and they sleep there till the coming of the Lord. Is that true or isn’t that true, Soul Sleep…?
No, it’s not true at all and it’s a very erroneous doctrine.
James 2:26 says, “As the body without the spirit dead…” Where does that spirit go? 2 Corinthians 5:8 says, “Absent from the body… present with the Lord”. That’s why Paul said, “To die is gain”. Now, when the Lord returns in I Thessalonians 4:16-18, he brings the dead with him to come after the dead, for the dead in Christ rise first. What part does he bring with him? – The spirit that left the body, that’s been there to join the body. There is no soul-sleep in this book.
A lot of people use Hebrews chapter 12, verses 1 & 2, where there is a great cloud of witnesses, and they think that means that they are sitting in the heavenlies watching us and every move we make. But that is not so. The great cloud of witnesses are the great heroes of the faith of chapter 11. And because of the way they lived, we are to follow their example, but they can not look down from heaven and see what is going on in this earth, if they could it would make heaven hell, because they’d see so much heartache, even among their children and grandchildren, etc.
Now, the Bible teaches that there will come a time when we are like Christ. In Acts 15:18 it says, “known unto God are all His works...” And Christ is the 2nd member of the Trinity, and now in His heavenly body, He knows everything about everything, because He is God. That means He is Omniscient, knowing all things about all things. When we are raptured, then we get bodies and minds like His. That’s why David said in Psalms 17:15, “I shall be satisfied when I awaken with your likeness.” And when we see Jesus we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is, I John 3:2. So there’s an hour coming when we get these new bodies and new minds, and then we will be all knowing. And not until then. So nobody in the heavenlies now can see what’s going on.In Luke 15, whenever anyone is converted upon the earth, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over 1 sinner that repents, because the message is relayed to the angels, and the angels relay it throughout the heavenlies. So that if a mother’s son finds Christ, and one for whom she’s prayed for years, there is joy because the message has been related. It’s not because she knows everything, she won’t until she gets that body, the new glorified body of the resurrection. So, I hope that answers the question, because it is exactly what the Word of God teaches. And oh, Jesus is coming soon, and we’ll have that great mind in the near future.
.

Answer 3

i will have to agree with Conundrum's answers.


in addition for those who say God takes the spirit this is true also however the spirit is the breath of life it has no memory

The body without the spirit ["breath," is dead." James 2:26. "The spirit of God ["the breath which God gave him," is in my nostrils." Job 27:3.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 (NIV)

and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it
the body + spirit ( meaning breath of life)= soul
you cannot have a soul without both body and spirit.


we sleep until the resurrection
"So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep."
"His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them." Job 14:12, 21. "Neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun." Ecclesiastes 9:6.

The Bible Says
After death a person: returns to dust (Psalms 104:29), knows nothing (Ecclesiastes 9:5), possesses no mental powers (Psalms 146:4), has nothing to do with anything on earth (Ecclesiastes 9:6), does not live (2 Kings 20:1), waits in the grave (Job 17:13), and continues not (Job 14:1, 2).

Answer 4

It always best to accept Christ's words at face value.

Christ said with certainty that Abraham was alive, and that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

The "sleep" of death is simply a metaphor for the state of our human body prior to the resurrection.

It doesn't indicate that our soul is trapped there in the grave, with it.

To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

The Catholic Mass of Christian Burial even goes so far as to make Christ truly present on the altar. Then we beseech him to personally escort the soul of the deceased directly to heaven.

So much for soul sleep!

Answer 5

The ancient jewish religion believed that we will all be woken up again on the last day and be judged. This is reflected in the Old Testament. They were a bit unclear about what happened in the mean time although around 250 BC they borrowed the Greek notion of Hades - a sort of waiting room for the dead.

Jesus said to the good thief "Today, you will be with me in Paradise" This seems to contradict the idea of waiting until the last day. Paul's teaching seems to be based on the expectation that the last day was about to happen. Generally, modern Christianity prefers the idea of immediate heaven although the Catholic and Orthodox churches have the doctrine of Purgatory (it's that Greek Hades again)

You'll just have to wait and see.

Answer 6

There are two examples. 1) Jesus told the thief on the cross that that day he would be with him in paradise and 2) the Apostle Paul detailed, "to be absent from the body is to be present with The Lord."

Look also at the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. Paradise and hell come after death. The second death is the lake of fire.

Answer 7

After death the old body is asleep and the Spirit(if Saved) goes to Heaven. At the rapture when Jesus returns the Spirit will returen with Him and the body will then unit with the Spirit made anew. What is so hard about that. Simple as Mom's apple pie. My daughter understood this when she was just 8 years old.

Answer 8

The two apparently contradicting concepts can be reconciled if you think of resurrection as the resurrection of a person's soul, not their body.

If it's the soul that is resurrected, there's no reason why it can't also go to Heaven.

Answer 9

To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

2Corinthians 5:8
http://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/2Cr/2Cr005.html#8

Answer 10

it means that the souls of the believers of Christ will enter the Kingdom of God when they die but there body will rest on earth and when Jesus returns to Earth the dead will be ressurrected and united with the soul again and the undead will enter His Kingdom after that.

Answer 11

yes all man kind awaits a ressurection on a paradise earth but only 144000 annointed ones will rule in heaven over earth with jehova god and jesus christ