SPELLING EDITED I have several other studies on the doctrine of soul sleep but they can become extremely long. So I decided to break those studies down to cover the specific individual verses that are used to try and prove that the soul sleeps in the grave in an unconscious state until the first resurrection that takes place at the coming of Jesus. I thought about calling this study “What does Genesis 2:7 truly mean?” But in some cases, those who teach the doctrine of soul sleep use two or three verses to make a single argument. Their MAIN argument is that Christians do NOT go DIRECTLY STRAIGHT to Heaven when they die. But rather they teach that the SOULS of Christians SLEEP in the GRAVE in an UNCONSCIOUS state until the first resurrection at the return of Jesus. However, they have several smaller arguments that build upon and connect together to try and prove their main argument. So then, their first argument is to try and prove that the SOUL is made up ONLY of TWO PARTS. And if you take either of those two parts away then the soul is NO MORE. I will be quoting from my much longer study called: DO CHRISTIANS GO TO HEAVEN WHEN THEY DIE? Or more specifically, “Do Christians go DIRECTLY to Heaven when they die?” Or “Do the SOULS of Christians SLEEP in the GRAVE until the first resurrection? Well, we need to look at what the WHOLE Bible ITSELF teaches us on this subject. For you see, every church doctrine, whether it is true or false, uses verses from the Bible to support what that particular doctrine teaches. But we all know that just because a church doctrine quotes verses from the Bible does not always mean that it is SOUND Biblical teaching. The Christians who teach that the SOUL SLEEPS in the grave in an unconscious state until the coming of Jesus START their search for the truth by going to the creation of the first man Adam. And they quote Genesis 2:7 as their first proof text. Here is Genesis 2:7. “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.” And then they INTERPRET this verse to mean that the BODY PLUS the BREATH of LIFE EQUALS a LIVING SOUL. Or in other words, the BODY + SPIRIT = LIVING SOUL. And then they CONCLUDE that when the BREATH of LIFE leaves the BODY when a person dies, then the SOUL ceases to exist or that there is NO MORE SOUL. To say this another way, to Christians who teach the doctrine of soul sleep, the living soul is ALWAYS synonymous with the phrase “a living being”. For example, they quote 2 Peter 3:20 where there were 8 SOULS saved in the flood of Noah. Thus they conclude that a soul ALWAYS means the same thing in every verse as being a person, as in, every person IS a SOUL. And they quote Ecclesiastes 12:7 as their second proof text. Here is Ecclesiastes 12:7. “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the SPIRIT (Or the BREATH of LIFE) shall RETURN unto God who GAVE IT.” Now, while this is a true statement of FACT, it is also misleading. For you see, the Christians that teach soul sleep, INTERPRET this verse to mean that the spirit returns to God at the very moment that a person dies physically. They then conclude that when a person dies their body goes to the grave to decay and to turn back to the dust or back into the dirt of the earth and that the spirit IMMEDIATELY goes back to God at the very moment of death. And thus to them, the living SOUL is NO MORE. Some Christians, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, claim that the SOUL ceases to exist. Other Christians claim that God records all the memories of the soul right before it ceases to exist and then God creates a new soul at the resurrection and downloads all the memory from the old soul into the new soul. And yet other Christians say that the soul SLEEPS in the grave in an UNCONSCIOUS state UNTIL the resurrection. But most of the soul sleep believing Christians START with the soul being NO MORE at the very moment that the breath of life leaves the physical body. And then they CHANGE from saying that the soul is NO MORE to saying that the soul DIES or is no longer a LIVING soul. But what does the Bible ITSELF teach us? For you see, there are many more verses in the Bible besides Genesis 2:7 and Ecclesiastes 12:7. Remember that those who teach the soul sleep doctrine try to prove that the living soul is made up of just TWO parts. They say that a living soul is a human being. In other words, they argue that the BODY + the SPIRIT = a HUMAN BEING or a LIVING SOUL. Let us see if their INTERPRETATION of Genesis 2:7 and Ecclesiastes 12:7 agree with what the Bible ITSELF teaches. Please read 1 Thessalonians 5:23. “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole SPIRIT and SOUL and BODY be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” So then, the Bible itself, without any need of being interpreted, states as a FACT that we are made up of THREE PARTS. That means that the Christians who teach the doctrine of soul sleep have ERRED in their INTERPRETATION of the Scripture by their CLAIMING that we are made up of just TWO parts and that the word soul ALWAYS means a person. This is just ERROR #1. The TRUTH of the matter is that the soul and the spirit are connected to make up what the Bible calls the INNER man. And the inner man which is the REAL PERSON dwells IN the BODY. And when the body dies that spirit and the soul continues to live. We will look at the verses which teach us that the SOUL continues to live after the physical body dies in section two of this study. But first, we will read a few more so-called proof texts from those who teach that the soul ceases to exist or that the soul DIES and then SLEEPS in an UNCONSCIOUS state until the resurrection. Keep in mind that just because the soul continues to live after the body dies does NOT mean that the soul is IMMORTAL. The Bible does NOT teach that the soul is immortal. In the next study, we will look at ERROR #2 that is made by those who teach the doctrine of soul sleep. Their next ERROR in that they claim that the soul DIES at the very moment that the physical body dies. Please read the study “SOUL SLEEP---ERROR #2.” In that study, we will look at the true meaning of James 2:26 and Ezekiel 10:20 which they use to try and prove that the soul DIES along with the body when the breath of life leaves the body. And as you read this series of sound Biblical Bible studies I want you to truly consider that after seeing that they have erred in their interpretation of the Scriptures in several different areas, then how can you honestly trust their interpretation of the Scriptures in other areas concerning this subject of the SOUL? And if you would like to read all six types of errors made by those who teach the doctrine of soul sleep all together in one study then please read the study “DO CHRISTIANS GO TO HEAVEN WHEN THEY DIE?” Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the whole word of Almighty God. Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark. RETURN TO HOMEPAGE AT For further study on this subject errors of interpretation made by Christians who teach the doctrine of soul sleep please read all the studies under the heading >>>THE FALSE DOCTRINE OF SOUL SLEEP<<< |