Soul Sleeping Thru Theology 101

I recently heard of a minister who took the opportunity of the funeral sermon to tell the bereaved that their dearly-departed was NOT in the presence of the Lord. Did he imply that the deceased loved-one was in Hell? No, but he stated that they were sleeping until the Lord returned. You see, this is the problem with mail order theology degrees! I only know of two groups that teach soul-sleep, the Christadelphians and the Seventh-Day Adventists, and both are a few Baptists short of a potluck dinner, if you know what I mean.

Soul sleep is a concept that has been rejected throughout most of church history. The idea of the soul sleeping (along with the body in the grave) until the resurrection is a shaky idea and your support rests in a few lines of Old Testament poetry and the literal understanding (and/or misapplication) of euphemisms. As a rule, poetry and euphemisms are not a good sources for doctrinal positions.

We may often speak of death as a type of sleep and in fact the Bible does do this. But the soul, independent of the body, is not unconscious or obliterated upon death. When someone dies they are in "an intermediate state between death and resurrection and, apparently, [in] a disembodied state; but it is not a limbo of oblivion, for the believer who has died is at home with his Lord, and that is preferable to our present life in the body" (NIV Study Bible notes).

Along with Jesus' words to the thief on the cross and his story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, note the following passages written by the Apostle Paul:

• "We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord." 2Cor. 5:8
• "I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far" Phil. 1:23

As a rule, always use the clear passages to help you understand the obscure passages. The texts supporting a conscious soul that waits in the presence of the Lord are clear and definitive. The texts supporting an unconscious soul tied to the body are obscure and figurative. It's not even a very good debate with clear teaching on one side and vague implications on the other.

When you assume room temp, as a believer, you'll go to be with the Lord. You're not a ghost and you're not an angel; you're with Jesus. How are you affected by time? I don't know. It may (or may not) seem like mere moments until the final bodily resurrection, but then it happens. Your old body is made new and you rise to rejoin the Lord in both body and spirit to be with him forever in a real, physical eternity. With minor adjustments here and there, this is the standard Christian understanding based on scripture.