SPELLING EDITED Aa-4. Is the DOCTRINE of SOUL SLEEP BIBLICAL? Part 2
In part 1 of this study in God’s word to show the errors of interpretation made by Christians who teach the doctrine of soul sleep, we covered all the verses of Scripture in the Old Testament that SEEM to teach that there is NO consciousness in the grave. And in part 2 we will cover the verses of Scriptures that have been incorrectly interpreted to mean that NO ONE goes to heaven when they die. So in part 2, we will cover the other THREE errors of interpretation or three verses of Scripture that have incorrectly been interpreted.
ERROR #4.
Here in section number four, we will primarily be concentrating on the verses used by those that teach the doctrine of soul sleep to try to prove that the righteous believers do NOT go to HEAVEN when they die. But rather, they falsely teach that ALL the SOULS of the dead, meaning the souls of BOTH the righteous and the wicked, REMAIN in the GRAVE with their decaying bodies. And thus, to THEM, the ONLY thing that goes to heaven is the BREATH of life of God that was breathed into a man that created him to become a LIVING soul. So then, when those that teach soul sleep say that only the SPIRIT goes to God IMMEDIATELY when a person dies. And they believe when the Bible uses the word “spirit” that it always means the BREATH of LIFE from God and NOT the spirit of man. Therefore, according to their INTERPRETATION of the word “spirit”, their doctrine leaves no room for the word “spirit” to mean anything other than the BREATH of life God breathed into the NOSTRILS of man in order to become a living soul. Now the TRUTH of the matter is that the WHOLE man is made up of SPIRIT, SOUL, and BODY. And we covered All the Scriptures that clearly teach us that man is made up of THREE parts and NOT just two parts in section number one under ERROR #1 in part 1 of this study. We also covered a couple of verses from the New Testament that clearly show that the SOULS of those who have DIED in Jesus Christ are indeed IN HEAVEN and are PRESENT with the Lord. Since we already covered these two sound Biblical FACTS that do not need any “interpretation” to understand what they mean, I will only quote these same verses of Scripture that I have already explained in detail in part 1. And then we will take a closer look at some more verses that clearly show us that those who sleep or who have DIED IN Jesus Christ are indeed IN HEAVEN present with the Lord. So then, here are the clear, plain, and simple NEW Testament verses of Scripture that teach us that the RIGHTEOUS dead are indeed IN HEAVEN present with the Lord.
VERSE #1.
2 Corinthians 5:1-10.
“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, (Speaking of our physical body that the real you the INNER man dwells in while alive on the earth were to DIE then) we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 3. If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. 4. For we that are IN this tabernacle (Or WE speaking of the real us our INNER man, our SPIRIT or our SOUL that is presently IN or inside this physical body) do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, (With our new IMMORTAL glorified bodies of flesh and bone just like Jesus has now) that mortality might be swallowed up of life. 5. Now he that has wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, (Meaning that this the goal or joy that is set before us by God that we are aiming towards) who also has given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. 6. Therefore, we are always confident, KNOWING that, while we are at home IN the body, we are ABSENT from the Lord: (Or while we are IN our physical mortal body we are NOT PRESENT with our Lord who is IN Heaven) 7. (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be ABSENT from the body, (In other words, a believer should NOT fear death or love their mortal life more than loving God. But rathe,r a believer should be willing to lay down his or her life for the testimony of Jesus) and to be PRESENT with the Lord. (Who is IN HEAVEN seated at the right hand of the Father) 9. Wherefore, (Or for this very reason that we are ALWAYS confident KNOWING that when we die we will immediately be PRESENT with our Lord up in heaven) we labor (Or we work the works of righteousness and do the commandments of God walking in love one toward another), THAT, (Or so that or in order that) whether PRESENT (Alive IN our physical body) or ABSENT, (Having left our physical bodies to go be present with our Lord IN heaven) we may be accepted of him. (This one verse of Scripture should be enough to prove that WORKS of righteousness are REQUIRED to receive eternal life in the world to come and that the once saved always saved doctrine is false teaching. Please read all the studies under the heading >>>IS CALVINISM BIBLICAL?<<< and >>>CAN WE LOSE ETERNAL LIFE?<<<) 10. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad.”
VERSE #2.
Revelation 6:9,10.
“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar (Which is BEFORE the THRONE of God up in Heaven according to Revelation 8:3-5; 9:13; 11:1; 14:18, and 16:7) the SOULS of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10. And THEY cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge OUR blood on them that dwell on the earth? (Meaning that they are CONSCIOUS and they REMEMBER being slain and the promises in God’s word to be avenged) 11. And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”
Again, the two verses that we just read I have already covered in section number one or under the section called ERROR #1 in part 1 of this study. So you can go back and read that section again for a clearer explanation if you need to do so. Keep in mind that the phrase, rest a little longed proves that the “resurrection” is still yet in the future, but yet they were AWAKE, CONSCIOUS, and TALKING with God BEFORE the resurrection which again proves the doctrine of soul sleep to be FALSE teaching. Now, the verses that follow we have not yet discussed. Therefore, I will include my explanation of them to show those of you who are seeking the TRUTH that the righteous who have DIED in Jesus Christ are indeed IN HEAVEN present with our Lord as the above two verses of Scripture that we just read clearly teach us. VERSE #3.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, CONCERNING them which are asleep, (Or CONCERNING your fellow brothers and sister in the Lord who have DIED Paul does not want us to be IGNORANT) that you sorrow not, even as others which have NO hope. (The central message of this whole passage of Scripture is about the HOPE that we as Christians have concerning our future resurrection and our CHANGE. And by our change, the Bible is speaking of our receiving our new glorified IMMORTAL bodies of flesh and bone as Jesus has now. Christians should not fear death because we shall pass from death unto life and death has no sting for the true believer in Jesus Christ. So sorrow NOT for those you know and love who have gone home to be with the Lord IN Heaven to await their new glorified immortal bodies) 14. For (Or because) if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep IN Jesus will God BRING WITH him. (In other words, the SOULS of the dead IN Jesus Christ are IN HEAVEN present with the Lord awaiting the reward of their new IMMORTAL bodies and God will BRING these SOULS that are in heaven WITH him when Jesus comes again to execute the wrath of Almighty God. It is at this time that the physical dead BODIES belonging to these SOULS of the righteous dead will be raised from the graves and reunited with their physical bodies. Then immediately after this FIRST resurrection ALL the righteous saints both the newly just raised to life “dead in Christ” AND those of us who will have remained ALIVE unto the coming of Jesus shall ALL be CHANGED TOGETHER, according to Hebrews 11:39,40) 15. For THIS we say unto you BY the word of the Lord, (In other words, this passage of Scripture is a THUS SAYS the LORD factual statement that can and should be used to build good SOUND BIBLICAL doctrine upon because it is qualified as being BY the WORD of the Lord) that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (Or go BEFORE or go ahead of) them which are asleep. (Meaning that we who remain ALIVE unto the coming of Jesus do not receive our CHANGE and ascend up into the AIR to meet Jesus until the dead are raised from the dead. And that means that we do not receive our reward of eternal life before or ahead of those who have died in the Lord. In other words, we who endure unto the end to be saved, ALL receive our IMMORTAL bodies at the SAME moment of time that only takes a split second, according to 1 Corinthians 15:51-54, and Hebrews 11:39,40. And THEN we shall ALL be caught up together at the same time WITH the newly raised dead in Christ) 16. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (Which basically teaches us that AFTER we receive eternal life AT the second coming of Jesus then the second death will have NO more power over us and we shall REST from all our works. It also means that there will be no “rapture” of the church UNTIL this FIRST resurrection takes place where we ALL shall be CHANGED in a moment and in a twinkling of an eye. This is just one of the many reasons why there can be no PRE-tribulation rapture of the church) 18. Wherefore, (Or for this very reason of the dead IN Christ of having HOPE of eternal life the SAME as we who remain alive unto the coming of Jesus) COMFORT one another with these words.”
Referring to this whole passage of Scripture that clearly teaches us that the DEAD who are IN Jesus Christ are indeed IN HEAVEN WITH our Lord and that God will BRING these SOULS of those who SLEEP in Jesus WITH him when Jesus comes again at his second coming. The main thing that I want you to see and understand from this passage of Scripture is that it is a THUS SAYS the LORD passage of Scripture that has no need of any “interpretation”. In other words, the phrase “God will BRING WITH him” demands that the DEAD or the SOULS of those who have DIED in Jesus Christ are PRESENT WITH our Lord IN HEAVEN because this thus says the Lord type of verse of Scripture plainly says that God will BRING WITH him those who sleep or those who have DIED in Jesus Christ. Wherefore, COMFORT one another with these words. Now a dear brother in the Lord wrote to me arguing that the SOULS of the righteous are NOT in heaven because to him, the DEAD are DEAD, as in, dead as a doornail in the GRAVE in a state of complete unconsciousness. He then went on to try and explain this clear thus says the Lord New Testament verse of Scripture away by saying that God will BRING the dead WITH with him AFTER they are RESURRECTED from the DEAD and they are CAUGHT UP in the AIR to meet Jesus and so shall they forever be with the Lord, THEN the dead will be WITH him. And I thought to myself do you even hear what you are saying my dear brother in the Lord? The DEAD, as in, the saints who are ASLEEP in Jesus that God will BRING WITH him will NOT be DEAD or asleep after they are RAISED from the dead and given new IMMORTAL bodies BEFORE we are ALL CAUGHT UP TOGETHER to be with Jesus in the AIR. And I thought to myself that IF this INTERPRETATION of his was true, then HOW can God BRING them WITH him if they are ALREADY here on the earth supposedly remaining in the GRAVE as the doctrine of soul sleep dogmatically demands. And then the Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance several other NEW Testament verses of Scripture that AGREE with the teaching that the SOULS of the righteous who have died are INDEED IN HEAVEN PRESENT with the Lord. Therefore, to me, ALL these other clear, plain, and simple NEW Testament Scriptures would need to be explained away as well. And most assuredly they would need to be explained away in a much more logical way than this brother in the Lord has tried TRIED to explain away 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. So again, I implore you my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, please do NOT try and change the clear, plain, and simple meaning of the NEW Testament Scriptures in order to try and make or force them to agree with your own personal INTERPRETATION of the OLD Testament Scriptures. But Rather be open and teachable to hear and consider doctrine that is base upon the NEW Testament Scriptures which reveal the TRUE meaning of the OLD Testament scriptures. This brother in the Lord who believes in the doctrine of soul sleep wrote me several times on this subject and we exchanged emails for a couple of weeks. But after I heard this last argument I knew on the inside of me that God was trying to get my attention to write an in-depth study on this subject to explain the errors made by those who teach that no one goes to heaven immediately when they die because all of the dead souls remain in the grave in a state of unconsciousness until the resurrection. This is HOW this study came to be. You see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, I do NOT go OUT and search on the Internet for false teachers, but rather, the Lord BRINGS these false teachers to me. I mean, I never even heard of this doctrine of soul sleep until this brother wrote me and dogmatically told me that I was NOT teaching the truth about the thief on the cross being with Jesus in PARADISE on that very selfsame day that they died on the cross. And I thought to myself WHAT are you talking about, and what Bible are you reading from anyway because I have never gotten any understanding like what that brother in the Lord is teaching from any the Bible that I have read. Then I received email after email the next few days of why I was wrong in what I was teaching about the thief being with Jesus that very self-same day that they died on the cross. It was then that I knew that the Lord was wanting me to write on this subject of the soul supposedly sleeping in an unconscious state. Please understand that I had prayed and asked God just a few days prior to these emails from this dear brother accusing me of being a false teacher and said to God, “What do you want me to write on next”? And then out of the blue so to speak I am being accused of false teaching about the thief on the cross being with Jesus in paradise that very self-same day that they died on the cross. You can read this study called “WHAT AND WHERE IS PARADISE?” for yourself to see that I am not teaching false doctrine. Again, I just present to my readers ALL the evidence that I myself have been made aware of and then let you decide for yourself. Yes, I do give my OPINIONS and the conclusions that I myself have drawn for studying ALL the evidence, but I will not call you a heretic if you do not agree with the way that I have come to believe. Now, this particular brother did not call me a heretic, but I did sense from some of his emails that I was no brother of his simply because we did not AGREE on what he himself believes to be the truth. I pray that I never make anyone feel that they are NOT a true Christian just because they do not AGREE with my opinions and the conclusions that I myself have drawn for doing these in-depth studies in God's word. With that being said, let us get back to the dead in Christ coming WITH Jesus at his second coming, which again, clearly teaches us that the righteous dead are indeed IN HEAVEN to be PRESENT with the Lord just like Paul teaches us in 2 Corinthians 5:1-10. Again, we have already covered this particular passage of Scripture which is, obviously, a NEW Testament Scripture as well. Now here is yet another NEW Testament passage of Scripture that, to me, definitely teachings us that the righteous saints are indeed IN HEAVEN and that they will come WITH Jesus FROM HEAVEN at his second coming. Please read Revelation 19:1-16 where we see a great multitude of PEOPLE before the THRONE of Almighty God IN HEAVEN praising God and being given white robes that are called the RIGHTEOUSNESS of the SAINTS. And this all takes place IN HEAVEN just BEFORE Jesus and his army of saints leave heaven to come back to the earth at the second coming of Jesus.
VERSE #4.
Revelation 19:1-16.
“And after these things I heard a great voice of MUCH PEOPLE IN HEAVEN, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2. For true and righteous are his judgments: for he has judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 3. And again, they said Alleluia. And her smoke rose up forever and ever. 4. And the four and twenty ELDERS (Who some Bible teaches believe are the twelve apostles and twelve representatives one from each tribe of Israel because they are called ELDERS in the same way that mature spiritual leaders in the church are called ELDERS) and the four beasts fell down and worshiped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. 5. And a voice came OUT of the THRONE, (Which is IN Heaven) saying, Praise our God, all you his SERVANTS, and you that fear him, both small and great. (Remember that the Apostle John is caught up into Heaven before the throne of God in Revelation chapter 4. So the servants are IN Heaven before the throne being prepared to leave Heaven to go with Jesus back to the earth at the second coming of Jesus) 6. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, (Or many people, according to Revelation 17:11) and as the voice of mighty thundering, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. (Among these voices PRAISING God up IN HEAVEN before his THRONE are God's SERVANTS the righteous SAINTS.) 7. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself ready. (In other words, the time has arrived that the saints IN Heaven along with our fellow brothers and sisters who have remained alive unto the coming of Jesus, for our blood to be avenged and that we should reign with our Lord on the earth.) 8. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9. And he said unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said unto me, These are the true sayings of God. 10. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See you do it not: I am your FELLOW SERVANT, and of your BRETHREN that have the TESTIMONY of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Here we see John who again is IN HEAVEN talking with a FELLOW SERVANT and BROTHER in the Lord who has the TESTIMONY of Jesus which I personally believe IS Jesus himself) 11. And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness, he does judge and makes war. 12. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14. And the ARMIES which WERE IN HEAVEN followed him upon white horses, CLOTHED in fine linen, white and clean. (Keep in mind that other verses of Scripture clearly teach us that Jesus will be coming WITH the SAINTS. And other verses say that Jesus is coming with his angels. So I myself see TWO armies, the army of saints and the army of angels coming WITH Jesus from Heaven) 15. And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16. And he has on his vesture and on his thigh a name is written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Now here in this passage of Scripture, we have more than just one verse that clearly teaches us that the saints who have died are indeed IN HEAVEN. So then, we should in all fairness view each verse in this passage of Scripture as a separate supporting argument on this side of the saints being IN HEAVEN. In other words, in Revelation chapter 19 in verse 1, we see MUCH PEOPLE up IN HEAVEN before the THRONE of Almighty God. So we will call this verse number five in our list of verses that clearly, and plainly teach us that the souls of the saints who have died are without a doubt IN HEAVEN present with the Lord.
VERSE # 5.
Revelation 19:1
“And after these things I heard a great voice of MUCH PEOPLE IN HEAVEN, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God:”
Please notice that these PEOPLE are PRAISING God. So, therefore, they are NOT in a so-called state of UNCONSCIOUSNESS as some FALSELY teach. Now I myself find NOWHERE in Gods word where Jesus comes to the earth for the dead in Christ at his second coming, resurrects the dead in Christ, and then goes BACK to heaven with the dead saints in Jesus Christ who have just been resurrected from the dead along with us who are ALIVE and remain unto the coming of Jesus who will be changed also at the second coming of Jesus before he supposedly RETURNS BACK to heaven so we all can be IN HEAVEN to PRAISE God and then RETURN WITH Jesus at the second coming. Which by the way, would be his THIRD coming. But rather, the CLEAR, plain, and SIMPLE word of God speaks only about his SECOND coming to the earth to gather his saint together and then to execute the WRATH of Almighty God. There are NO Scriptures that teach us that Jesus will RETURN to Heaven after he gathers his saints together. So then, since the whole word of God does NOT teach us about a THIRD coming of Jesus after he supposedly returns to heaven after his second coming, then WHO are these PEOPLE of great number UP IN HEAVEN PRAISING GOD if they are NOT the souls of the righteous who have died having a testimony of Jesus and for the word of God? Clearly, this scene of MUCH PEOPLE being IN HEAVEN who are PRAISING Almighty God is not taking place AFTER the second coming of Jesus as you will clearly see as we continue this study in God's word. Then in verse in verse 4 of Revelation chapter 19, we see 24 ELDERS up IN HEAVEN before the THRONE. And again, some Biblical scholars teach that number 24 represents the priesthood where the priests mediate between the people and God. And some Christians believe that 12 of these ELDERS are the 12 Apostles of Jesus plus another 12 representatives of the 12 tribes of Israel, and these 24 elders are before the very throne of God as a council so to speak for the multitude of people that are redeemed. My point is that the 24 elders IN Heaven are PEOPLE and NOT angelic beings. This brings us to argument number 6 or verse #6 for the support of the teaching that the souls of the righteous saints are, indeed, IN heaven present with the Lord.
VERSE # 6.
Revelation 19:4.
“And the four and twenty ELDERS (Who some Bible teaches believe are the twelve apostles and twelve representatives one from each tribe of Israel, because they are called ELDERS in the same way that mature spiritual leaders in the church are called ELDERS) and the four beasts fell down and worshiped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.”
Again, we see that the ELDERS are PRAISING God which teaches us that they are NOT in a state of UNCONSCIOUSNESS as some falsely teach. But even if you argue that these 24 ELDERS are not SAINTS up in heaven there is still yet much sound Biblical evidence not only from this passage of Scripture but other passages of Scripture that clearly teach us that the saints are, indeed, IN HEAVEN. And that the saints IN Heaven are awaiting their robes of righteousness which I believe is speaking of our new IMMORTAL bodies of flesh and bone like Jesus has now that the RIGHTEOUS will one day be CLOTHED upon. Moving on to verses 5-7 in Revelation 19, we see that a voice coming OUT of the THRONE of Almighty God that is IN HEAVEN is calling out to these SAINTS who again are IN HEAVEN PRAISING the Almighty for REIGNING or for being ALMIGHTY. Please notice that these SAINTS or this MUCH PEOPLE are called his SERVANTS in verse 5.
VERSE #7.
Revelation 19:5-7.
“And a voice came OUT of the THRONE, saying, Praise our God, all you his SERVANTS, and you that fear him, both small and great. (Now, IF this verse said a voice came out of HEAVEN, then it could be argued that these servants are on the earth. But the word of truth clearly states that the voice came out of the THRONE which we all agree is IN Heaven. So then, these servants of God are IN Heaven) 6. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, (So we know that these servants are not just the 24 elders. But rather, the SERVANTS of God are a GREAT MULTITUDE praising God) and as the voice of many waters, (Or many people, according to Revelation 17:11) and as the voice of mighty thundering, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. (Again, these voices PRAISING God up IN HEAVEN before his THRONE are God's SERVANTS the righteous SAINTS) 7. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is COME, and his wife has made herself ready.”
In other words, the time has arrived that we along with our fellow brothers and sisters who have remained alive for our blood to be avenged and that we should reign with our Lord on the earth. You see the phrase “...and his WIFE has made herself ready.” is speaking of the REST of the saints who will still be alive on the earth at the second coming of Jesus. Remember in Revelation 6:9-11 when the saints or the SOULS of the saints in heaven asked Jesus HOW LONG Lord do you NOT judge and AVENGE our shed blood? And Jesus told them to be patient and WAIT till their brothers and sisters in the Lord who were still on the earth be killed as they were killed for their testimony of Jesus and the word of God. THEN the SOULS of the righteous in Heaven under the altar who have died IN Jesus Christ were given white ROBES. And in this passage of Scripture, we learn that the white robes represent the righteousness of the saints. But when you understand that at the time of the second coming of Jesus that the SAINTS are going to be CLOTHED with new IMMORTAL bodies, then it appears to me that these white robes are representative of the IMMORTAL bodies that we shall receive at the second coming of Jesus. But the main point for this particular argument is that these SOULS of the righteous who have died are INDEED IN HEAVEN and PRESENT with the Lord WITHOUT any BODIES. And the SOULS of the saints IN Heaven are waiting to be CLOTHED upon with their new IMMORTAL bodies. So then, when Jesus comes again at his second coming these SOULS of the dead in Jesus Christ will COME WITH Jesus FROM HEAVEN back to the earth to be reunited with their resurrected physical bodies that with be raised from their graves here on the earth. And THEN, we ALL shall be changed TOGETHER at the same time in a moment in a twinkling of an eye and be given new IMMORTAL bodies of flesh and bone like Jesus has now. So many thousands of times NO, Jesus is not coming again at his SECOND coming to raise the dead in Christ and take them BACK to heaven to PRAISE God in order to satisfy your OWN PERSONAL INTERPRETATION of Scripture where you dogmatically demand that NO ONE goes to heaven when they die. Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, that IF this were true, then this would mean that Jesus would have to come a THIRD time back to the earth and the Bible says absolutely NOTHING about a THIRD coming of Jesus. So simply just go back and rethink what has been TAUGHT to you about the OLD Testament verses Scripture that the leaders of your church denomination keep drilling into your minds over and over nearly every Sunday demanding that the SOULS of the dead remain in the grave with their dead bodies. Do NOT believe their argument that those Old Testament verses of Scripture cannot possibly mean anything other than what they have dogmatically demanded them to mean which is that the soul CEASES to exist. But rather, always interpret the Old Testament Scriptures in the LIGHT of the NEW Testament. Moving onto the next verse or argument that clearly supports the truth that the souls of the righteous who have died are indeed in heaven present with the Lord. Then in revelation 19:8,9 along with verse 7, we see these same white ROBES that we see be given to the SOUL under the altar of God are being GRANTED to the SAINTS to wear, which tells me that the saints in heaven do not actually receive their new immortal bodies until they are first resurrected. I will explain this a little further in a moment, but for now, I want you to see that these SAINTS are indeed up IN HEAVEN present with our Lord and that they are PRAISING God for the time has arrived to be married to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This brings us to argument number eight or verse # 8.
VERSE # 8
Revelation 19:7-9,
“7. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is COME, and his wife has made herself ready. (In other words, the time has arrived that we along with our fellow brothers and sisters who have remained alive for our blood to be avenged and that we should reign with our Lord on the earth.) 8. And to her ( Speaking of the church that is always referred to in the feminine gender as the BRIDE of Christ at this present time. Then at the second coming of Jesus, the church will be known as the Lamb's WIFE because this is when the MARRIAGE of the Lamb will take place. Anyway, to the church or to HER) was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of SAINTS. 9. And he said unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are CALLED unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said unto me, These are the true sayings of God.”
And my point is that the Apostle John is seeing all of this IN Heaven before the THRONE. So these SAINTS are the dead in Christ who are IN Heaven awaiting the second coming of Jesus to avenge their blood. You see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, these SAINTS who are IN HEAVEN and who are PRESENT with the Lord being without a body to be CLOTHED upon are being CALLED to the marriage supper of the Lamb. In other words, God is saying to the SOULS of these saints, the INNER man, it is TIME now to avenge your blood so go with my Son back to the earth to be reunited with your physical bodies and I will CHANGE them to new IMMORTAL bodies of RIGHTEOUSNESS that I now grant unto you to wear. It is TIME to judge the wicked for the wickedness has come to full and there is NONE, no not ONE wicked person who seeks after me. So then, let the wicked remain wicked for that brief moment that I will CHANGE the righteous who are living righteously before me when I send my Son to execute my WRATH upon the wicked. And then after my Son has received all the righteous who are changed, I will have my Son execute my wrath. And during my wrath, I will show mercy to all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved alive to be taught of me being during the thousand-year reign of Jesus that I grant my Son to reign over my kingdom. Please read the studies that I have written on the subject of >>>THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS<<< for a deeper understanding of what I just said. But for now, let us continue with this study in God's word. Then in verse 10 in Revelation 19, we see that the Apostle John, who we know was caught up into heaven to be given these revelations from Jesus, is talking with a FELLOW SERVANT and a BROTHER in the Lord who has the TESTIMONY of Jesus. Now the only way anyone can refute this verse in order to explain it away so you can say that no one has ascended to heaven except Jesus is to say that this FELLOW SERVANT who is CLEARLY up IN HEAVEN and who is talking to John is Jesus Christ himself. You can twist the true meaning of these verses of Scripture in the book of Revelation and TRY to argue and say the John himself is not actually in heaven and that this is only a vision. But the TRUTH of the matter is that John is talking to a MAN who is, indeed, IN HEAVEN. And this MAN is called a FELLOW SERVANT and a BROTHER in the Lord who has the TESTIMONY of Jesus. And other verses in the books of Revelation say SERVANTS in the plural that are a great multitude. So there is no way to explain ALL these verses away to FORCE them to fit your own INTERPRETATION that the soul sleeps in an UNCONSCIOUS state until the resurrection.
VERSE #9.
Revelation 19:10
“And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See you do it not: I am your FELLOW SERVANT, and of your BRETHREN that have the TESTIMONY of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Here we see John, whose spirit has left his body and has been caught UP INTO HEAVEN and the spirit or soul of John is talking with a FELLOW SERVANT and BROTHER in the Lord who has the TESTIMONY of Jesus. But even if this BROTHER here in verse 10 who is without a doubt up IN heaven and who has the testimony of Jesus turns out to be proven to be Jesus himself beyond any shadow of a doubt there is still yet more clear evidence yet remaining to be seen. What I mean by this is that I myself can see that there is a possibility that this verse may be speaking of Jesus as an angel of God, AS IN, a messenger of God, and NOT as an angelic being. Please read the study called, “IS JESUS MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL”. Also, I can see that this messenger of God talking with John up in heaven is a fellow servant of God and our fellow brother in the faith where we know from other verses of Scripture that Jesus is called our fellow servant and our brother. Now the next part of this verse that most of us interpret as being that this person in heaven who HAS the TESTIMONY OF Jesus is concluded to mean that this man PREACHES Jesus just like John and every other Christians who preach Jesus. But then I have to ask myself why this verse continues to go on to explain that the TESTIMONY OF Jesus is the spirit of PROPHECY. This makes me personally think that this verse may be saying that the Scriptures that this man up in heaven is speaking to John are PROPHECIES of Jesus. In other words, the Scriptures are PROPHECIES of Jesus that have the TESTIMONY that Jesus IS the coming MESSIAH. And, therefore, this man IN HEAVEN may be saying that HE is that man whom the spirit of PROPHECY is speaking of or TESTIFYING of. In other words, this man in heaven MAY be saying in the first person I HAVE the TESTIMONY or I am the ONE of whom the Scriptures TESTIFY or PROPHESY. I am JESUS your fellow servant. Please keep in mind that in the Bible when people hear the NAME of a person they actually HEAR what that name MEANS. And the name JESUS means the salvation of YHWH. That is to say the salvation of Almighty God. This is one of those verses that I myself can see either way, but to some Christians, it can only mean ONE way because of what they have been taught concerning Jesus being the one true and only Almighty God as opposed to being the Son of Almighty God. Again, I am not dogmatic about all of what I teach. And I do not demand that if you do not believe every jot and tittle of what I teach then you are not my brother or sister in the Lord as some Christians of these groups who teach this doctrine of soul sleep do with those of us who do not believe “their” teachings. Again, the only mark of a “CULT” in my own definition of a cult is any group of Christians that claim that they ALONE are saved and if you do not belong to their church denomination then you are not truly saved. So again, I myself do not say that you are not my brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ just because you may disagree with the conclusions that I have drawn by studying closely all the evidence from both sides of a controversy. Anyway, there are more verses that clearly teach us that the souls or the spirits of the dead saints are indeed IN HEAVEN. In the verse that follows, we can see that the word “ARMIES” is in the plural form and that these ARMIES will one day very soon FOLLOW Jesus FROM HEAVEN. Now while these verses do not actually come right out and plainly say the words SAINT or the SOULS of the saints to identify who these armies are we know from other verses that Jesus is coming WITH an army or a great number of his SAINTS. And we know from other verses that Jesus is coming WITH his mighty ANGELS. In other words, Jesus will be coming with BOTH the SOULS of the SAINTS, which is one army or one group with a great number in that group as well as Jesus will be coming with yet another mighty army or a great number of angels. We also see that those who are following Jesus FROM heaven are now CLOTHED with white robes. Please read again Revelation 19:11-16 which is describing the second coming of Jesus as we take a look at argument number ten of verse #10 as the tenth passage of scripture that supports the sound Biblical teaching that the souls of the righteous go to heaven when a righteous person dies.
VERSE # 10
Revelation 19:11-16.
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness, he does judge and makes war. 12. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14. And the ARMIES which WERE IN HEAVEN followed him upon white horses, CLOTHED in fine linen, white and clean. (These ARMIES, which are again plural and they are more than just one army singular that is up IN HEAVEN who FOLLOWED or who will be following Jesus to the earth at the second coming of Jesus agrees with what we are assured as being the word of the Lord in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. “For this, we say unto you by the word of the Lord” that clearly teaches us that the DEAD in Jesus will God BRING WITH him. And in verse 9 of this passage of Scripture in 1 Thessalonians, just as we are assured that they are THUS SAYS the Lord type verses, we are also assured that these verses here in Revelation chapter 19 are the TRUE sayings of Almighty God. “These are the TRUE sayings of God.” that the armies of saints WERE IN HEAVEN and will God BRING WITH him at the coming of Jesus WITH his SAINTS FROM HEAVEN when he comes again) 15. And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16. And he has on his vesture and on his thigh a name is written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Now some Christians may try and argue that the “ARMIES” here refers to ANGELS and NOT to the SAINTS that WERE IN HEAVEN who Jesus will BRING WITH him. To this feeble weak argument, I ask where in the Scriptures are the angels granted by God to be CLOTHED in fine linen white and clean, which in the very CONTEXT of this passage of Scripture is called the righteousness of the SAINTS. Remember the CONTEXT and read verse 8 once again.
Revelation 19:8.
“And to HER (Referring to the CHURCH, the BRIDE of Jesus Christ who is being CALLED to the MARRIAGE supper of the Lamb. To HER, to the CHURCH, to the SAINTS, and NOT to the angels) was granted that SHE should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen IS the righteousness of SAINTS.”
This verse does NOT say that this FINE LINEN that is clean and white is the righteousness of the ANGELS, but rather, the FINE LINEN in this entire CONTEXT is called the righteousness of the SAINTS which is ONLY for the SAINTS to be CLOTHED UPON. Verse 14 clearly, and plainly states that these SAINTS WERE IN HEAVEN and FOLLOWED Jesus FROM HEAVEN to judge and make war. As I said before, I myself believe that since the word “ARMIES” is plural then this most logically in the light of other verses means that part of this army coming FROM heaven will be BOTH the SOULS of the SAINTS who have died in Jesus Christ AND the mighty ANGELS. And this AGREES with other verses in the Bible in which I myself find absolutely NO contradiction anywhere in the WHOLE word of God. Please read Jude 1:14,15 where we see that when Jesus comes again he will bring WITH HIM, ten thousand SAINTS.
VERSE #11.
Jude 1:14,15.
“And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord comes WITH ten thousands of his SAINTS, (These SAINTS that are coming WITH Jesus when he returns are the SOULS of the dead in Jesus Christ who are now at this time IN HEAVEN PRESENT with the Lord. In other words, not ALL of the SAINTS will be IN Heaven to come WITH Jesus because many SAINTS will still yet be alive on the earth waiting for the coming of Jesus from Heaven) 15. To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard [speeches] which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
Again, this agrees with all the other verses in the Bible. Please keep in mind that we must always INTERPRET the OLD Testament in the LIGHT of the NEW Testament and NOT the other way around. Then in Zechariah 14, we are told the same thing that the SAINTS will come WITH the Lord when he returns from HEAVEN to make WAR with the ungodly and execute the WRATH of Almighty God.
VERSE #12.
Zechariah 14:3-5.
“Then shall the LORD go forth, (From heaven) and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4. And his feet shall stand in that day (The second coming of Jesus) upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley, and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north and half of it toward the south. 5. And you shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, you shall flee, like as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the SAINTS WITH you.”
Now this OLD Testament Scripture may, at first, sound a little confusing when we read the words with THEE or with YOU in today's modern English. In other words, WHO is the thee or the pronoun you here speaking of? Well, the prophet is speaking TO Israel the Jewish people who believe in God, but who have not yet heard of JESUS as being their Messiah. However, in the NEW Testament that REVEALS to us what the OLD Testament is TRULY saying, we can see more CLEARLY that this verse in the Old Testament is saying that these Old Testament Jewish believers who have not yet heard of Jesus will also be IN HEAVEN and will be AMONG the number of the SAINTS speaking of the dead in Jesus Christ will ALL come to TOGETHER with Jesus at his coming. Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ that this agrees with the verses in the New Testament that teaches us that Jesus descended first into the lower parts of the earth to PREACH to these Jewish believers in the Old Testament who died without ever hearing about Jesus and how Jesus led those captives out of their graves and took then to heaven where they are at this present time? Can you not see and understand this vast amount of sound Biblical NEW Testament evidence that the SOULS of the SAINTS are IN HEAVEN and that they ALL, both the Old Testament saints and the New Testament saints will come WITH Jesus when he returns. We have also clearly seen that these saints IN HEAVEN are NOT in a state of so-called complete UNCONSCIOUSNESS as some FALSELY teach. For you see, we see them PRAISING Almighty God. And neither were the Old Testament saints in a state of unconsciousness in the Old Testament times when they WERE in the past being kept in the LOWER PARTS of the earth BEFORE Jesus lead them out of their graves and they ascended into heaven with Jesus where they are today along with all the NEW Testament SAINTS. For you see, Jesus PREACHED the gospel to the Old Testament saints while Jesus was DEAD for three days and three nights. Also, please keep in mind the parable of the rich man and Lazarus who died and the rich man went down into the pit into silence or the DOOM of DEATH. The rich man knew what his fate would be that was awaiting him on the Day of Judgment and was he in the torment in his SOUL of this flame that was going to destroy him to be no more. But Lazarus went down into the lower part of the earth that was on the side of Abraham's bosom so to speak referring to the side where the souls of the righteous who died went to be kept until God could execute the next step of his PLAN of salvation. This side of the place of the dead in the Old Testament times was called PARADISE. Please read the study called “WHAT AND WHERE IS PARADISE” for an in-depth understanding of where the Old Testament saints WERE being TEMPORARILY kept until Jesus could die for their sins and how Jesus PREACHED the gospel of salvation to the SPIRIT be kept in this holding place for the dead. I also show in this study that Jesus took these spirits of these souls of the Old Testament saints with him to heaven where they are presently waiting to be glorified with their new IMMORTAL bodies as Jesus has now. But for now, let us get back to the study at hand. Please keep in mind that the OLD Testament Scriptures or verses that SEEM to be saying that the DEAD do NOT praise God are in the form of QUESTIONS. They are NOT statements of fact, as in, they do NOT thus say the Lord type statements. Also, many of these OLD Testament verses of Scriptures are PRAYERS from man to God and NOT God speaking to man. In other words, most of the verses of the Scriptures that are used by those who teach this doctrine of soul sleep are from the OLD Testament. And those verses are from books of the Bible like the Psalms that are written in a POETIC style of writing from MAN'S perspective of the things of God. These kinds of verses of Scripture cannot be used to build doctrine upon unless they AGREE with the more clear, plain, and simple verses of the NEW Testament. For example, Ecclesiastes 1:2,14and 2:17 say, “ALL is VANITY” which is simply how that preacher FELT at that time in his life. But in truth, ALL is NOT vanity or VAIN, otherwise, simply believing in Jesus would be VANITY or be in VAIN and we know that our faith in Jesus is NOT in vain. So we simply can NOT build sound Biblical doctrine on verses of Scriptures that are quoted out of their context from the poetic books and the wisdom books such as the book of Ecclesiastes. Also, please keep in mind that in some OLD Testament verses of Scripture the word “DEAD” refers to ONLY the WICKED and NOT to the righteous dead. And you must also understand that under the OLD covenant or during the OLD Testament times ALL of the dead, both the wicked and the righteous, went into the heart of the earth that was called the place of the dead which was divided into parts separating the wicked dead from the righteous dead. The side of the righteous dead was called PARADISE which means a place of comfort. Jesus tells us in one of his parables that the righteous were being COMFORTED in the bosom of Abraham. Again, please read the study “WHAT AND WHERE IS PARADISE?” in which I explain how the Old Testament SAINTS were taken to heaven when Jesus ascended into heaven the first time shortly after he arose from the grave. Now those who teach the doctrine of soul sleep dogmatically argue and demand that NO man has ever ascended to heaven EXCEPT Jesus because Jesus himself told us so. In other words, those who teach this doctrine of soul sleep have wrongly INTERPRETED John 3:13 to mean without a doubt that from the creation of man to this present day NO man has ASCENDED into heaven EXCEPT for Jesus. This brings us to error number five where again those who teach the doctrine of soul sleep have falsely concluded that this verse in John 3:13 dogmatically means, without fail, that absolutely no one has ascended or will ascend into heaven except Jesus alone until the resurrection of the dead in Jesus Christ that does not take place UNTIL the second coming of Jesus. Now in the LIGHT of what you have already read thus far in this study of Gods word I want you to CLOSELY consider that IF this were TRUE, then this would mean that right after Jesus comes again at his SECOND coming that Jesus will need to ASCEND BACK INTO HEAVEN WITH his SAINTS so that your own personal interpretation of John 3:13 can be satisfied or be made to harmonize and agree with the SAINTS being in HEAVEN before God's THRONE PRAISING Almighty God. Can you not see my dear brothers in our Lord Jesus Christ that this INTERPRETATION of John 3:13 simply cannot be true because I find nowhere in the Bible that Jesus ASCENDS BACK into heaven WITH his SAINTS AFTER they are resurrected and given their new IMMORTAL bodies and then Jesus comes yet a THIRD time FROM HEAVEN WITH HIS SAINTS. Let us move on to error # 5 to expose this error of INTERPRETATION that no man has ever or will ever ascend into heaven except Jesus UNTIL the resurrection of the dead at the SECOND coming of Jesus.
ERROR #5.
In this section under error #5, we will take a CLOSER look at John 3:13 which those that teach the doctrine of soul sleep dogmatically demand that there is NO other way to interpret or understand this verse than to demand that Jesus was saying that NO man has or ever ascended into heaven or will ascend into heaven UNTIL the resurrection. Please read John 3:13 first and then we will take a look at how this verse can and should be interpreted and understood in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of God.
John 3:13.
“And NO man has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.”
Now when anyone has been taught over and over, that a particular verse of Scripture MEANS this or means that and it can NOT mean anything else then whenever they read that verse of Scripture then what they have been TAUGHT is all that they can see until someone convinces them that those verses of Scripture have another meaning. And hey, I will be the first to admit that it is sometimes hard to see that it can mean anything other than what has been drilled into our minds over and over. In other words, I am sure that those of you who have been TAUGHT over and over the doctrine of soul sleep that you will have a little trouble, at least at first, to be OPEN to any other interpretation of this verse of Scripture in John 3:13 that does not agree with what you yourself have been taught over and over and, therefore, have come to believe. But I assure you that there are indeed OTHER interpretations of this verse of Scripture in John 3:13. In truth, no one can be absolutely sure without a doubt what Jesus EXACTLY meant by these words in John 3:13. But we know with absolute certainty that whatever INTERPRETATION that one concludes then that interpretation must, without fail, AGREE with the REST of God's word. And right now the INTERPRETATION of this verse in John 3:13 by those who teach the doctrine of soul sleep does NOT AGREE with the WHOLE word of God which clearly teaches us that the SOULS of those SAINTS who have died are indeed IN HEAVEN and are PRESENT with the Lord. So then, since we KNOW without a doubt that the SOULS of the dead in Jesus Christs are IN HEAVEN and are PRESENT with the Lord, then we have to conclude that John 3:13 does NOT mean the NO man has ascended into heaven or will ever ascend into heaven UNTIL the resurrection. In other words, these words of Jesus could very well actually mean that no man has ascended to heaven up to that TIME in history when Jesus spoke these words to Nicodemus where Jesus was speaking of himself in the FUTURE of being crucified and ascending into heaven. Please understand that at the time Jesus was speaking these words to Nicodemus that he had not yet been crucified nor had he himself ASCENDED into heaven. I will explain more on what I mean by this in a moment, but for now, I want you to clearly see and understand that there is MORE than just ONE way to understand what Jesus meant by these words he spoke to Nicodemus in John 3:13. Also, please keep in mind that by the word MAN in which Jesus used in this verse Jesus may have been referring to man as being in a PHYSICAL BODY and NOT to the SOULS of men. Or Jesus may have meant by these words in John 3:13 that no man who has received an IMMORTAL body has ascended into heaven EXCEPT the Son of man who descended from heaven. Please keep in mind that right after Jesus arose from the grave he told Mary Magdalene NOT to TOUCH him BECAUSE he had NOT YET ASCENDED to his God and Father. But then AFTER Jesus DESCENDED back to the earth to be seen of his disciples for forty days he told them to TOUCH him and proved to themselves that he was NOT a SPIRIT. But rather, Jesus told them SPECIFICALLY that he had a BODY of FLESH and BONE. Then after these forty days, Jesus ASCENDED back into heaven where he will remain until his second coming. So, again, Jesus may have meant by his words, “NO man” to mean no IMMORTAL man has ascended up to Heaven except the now glorified Son of Man, Jesus. Or Jesus may have meant by these words, in John 3:13 that no man has ascended into the Holy of Holies to see Almighty God face to face except the Son of man. Jesus speaking of himself because without an IMMORTAL body a man would DIE if he was to see God face to face. What the Bible means when it says no MAN has seen God at any time is that no man in their PHYSICAL MORTAL BODY has seen God at any time. In other words, the SOULS of the righteous who are IN heaven do not have PHYSICAL bodies. The “spirit” of John was caught up to heaven and the “SOUL” or spirit of John saw Almighty God sitting on the throne dwelling in the light. Again, no one KNOWS with absolute certainty what Jesus truly meant by these words in John 3:13. However, one thing for sure with absolute certainty is that this verse does NOT teach us that no man will EVER ascend into heaven until the second coming of Jesus. Please keep in mind the verses that clearly show us that the SAINTS are IN HEAVEN PRAISING God. But if you try and reason away these verses by demanding these saints are praising Almighty God UP IN HEAVEN before his THRONE only AFTER the SECOND coming of Jesus AFTER he has raised these saints from the dead, then you must produce sound Biblical evidence from the Bible that clearly teaches us of yet a THIRD coming of Jesus where Jesus and his saints come BACK to the earth to rule and reign for 1000 years ON THE EARTH after Jesus has ascended into heaven in order to reconcile these saints being IN HEAVEN PRAISING God with your own private interpretation that the souls of the righteous saints remaining in the grave until the second coming of Jesus because you so dogmatically demand that John 3:13 means, without fail, that NO man has ever or will ever ascend into heaven except Jesus UNTIL the second coming of Jesus. Now to me, in the light of all these other possible interpretations, it is pretty clear that Jesus means by these words in John 3:13 that no man had ever ascended up into heaven UNTIL the Son of man will one day very soon ASCEND into heaven to his God and Father. Again, please keep in mind that Jesus was speaking of his FUTURE death, resurrection, and ascending into heaven at the time that he spoke these words to Nicodemus. So the simplest meaning of John 3:13 is that BEFORE the time that Jesus ascended into heaven NO OTHER man had yet ascended into heaven. PLUS, no man WITH a BODY had ever ascended up into heaven BEFORE Jesus ascended up into heaven with his body so that his mortal body could be changed or glorified to become an IMMORTAL body. You see, we know from other verses of Scripture with absolute certainly that John was called up or ASCENDED up into heaven in the “SPIRIT” before the throne of Almighty God. We are told that immediately after John heard Almighty God himself calling out to him to come UP hither or to come up here where I am, then John was in the spirit and beheld the throne of God. This means that the spirit of John left or departed out of John's body and ascended up to heaven. Now, this could not possibly mean that the Spirit, as in, the BREATH life departed from John’s physical body because John would have died. And if John died then, according to the soul sleep doctrine, John would have needed to be resurrected back to life in order for him to write down what he was seeing or hearing. But in truth, when your spirit leaves the body in a vision, the body does NOT die. But rather, the body sleeps. And sometimes the body sleeps in a trance. Even when it is not a vision such as in cases of people being in a comma the body remains alive but the spirit has left the body. You see, your SPIRIT can go and be somewhere else and your body still be alive to communicate to your physical mind. Paul tells of us his out-of-body experience which we will look at in a moment. But first, please read Revelation 4:1,2 which teaches us about John's out-of-the-body experience of ascending into heaven.
Revelation 4:1,2.
“After this, I looked, and, behold, a door was OPENED IN HEAVEN: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come UP hither, and I will show you things which must be hereafter. 2. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set IN heaven, and one sat on the throne.”
Now John was a MAN and yet the Bible teaches us that he ascended into heaven as a SPIRIT of a man to receive a vision from Jesus and Almighty God the Father UP IN Heaven. Also, Paul was a MAN who tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:1-4 that although he himself could not perceive at the time whether he was still in his physical body or whether he was OUT of his physical body he knew that he had ASCENDED UP into PARADISE, the third heaven where the throne of Almighty God resides.
2 Corinthians 12:1-4.
“It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knows;) such a one CAUGHT UP (Or the “spirit”, as in, the soul of Paul ascended up) to the third heaven. (Which is the highest heaven where the throne of Almighty God resides. The first heaven is the sky, the second heaven is space outside the earth's atmosphere, and the third heaven is where the SOULS of the SAINTS who have died are PRESENT with the Lord under the altar that is before the THRONE of Almighty God up in Heaven) 3. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knows;) 4. How that he was CAUGHT UP (Or ascended up) into PARADISE (Which was moved when Jesus ascended into heaven with the SOULS of the Old Testament SAINTS. But again, ONLY Jesus had an IMMORTAL body. The SAINTS will not receive their reward of eternal life and their new immortal bodies until the second coming of Jesus. So then, in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of God it was the SPIRIT of Paul, his INNER man that was OUT of Paul's physical body that ASCENDED up into the THIRD HEAVEN) and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”
John, as well, was instructed NOT to write down some things that he saw and heard while his spirit or inner man was in heaven. So then, in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of God the whole man is made up of SPIRIT, SOUL, and BODY. The soul and spirit that make up the INNER man are connected and only God can separate them. The Bible teaches us in Matthew 10:28 that the SOUL of man can indeed be destroyed and that we are to FEAR Almighty God who not only can but will DESTROY the SOUL and the BODY of the wicked sinner on the last day.
Matthew 10:28.
“And fear not them which kill the BODY, but are not able to kill the SOUL: but rather FEAR him which is able to DESTROY BOTH SOUL and BODY in hell.”
Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, that just because the SOULS of the dead LIVE and remain CONSCIOUS after the physical body dies does NOT mean that the SOUL is IMMORTAL. You see, the SOUL of those who died IN Jesus Christ shall remain alive and conscious when they go to be PRESENT with the Lord IN HEAVEN where they are waiting under the altar of God until the Day of Judgment which for Christians will be at the second coming of Jesus. Please keep in mind that the day of the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as a day. In other words, the day of the Lord's judgment BEGINS at the second coming of Jesus and that the WRATH of God will be suspended or God will remember mercy and lift his wrath for 1000 years of our earth time. Satan will be bound for this 1000 year and Jesus and the SAINTS who have died in Jesus Christ and who have remained alive to the coming of Jesus shall be judged RIGHTEOUS and then given new IMMORTAL BODIES. Then we will reign with Jesus for 1000 years in our earth time, but only a day in God's time if there is such a thing as literal time to God. And at the END of the 1000 years or the end of the DAY of the Lord which is a thousand years long, Satan will be loosed once again to deceive the nations proving for once and all that God did not create Lucifer to be evil. And that is another study in and of itself. Please read the study called “UNDERSTANDING WHY?” That study explains a lot of things such as why bad things happen to good people. Anyway, after Satan deceives the nations once again at the end of the Millennial reign of Jesus, then God will lift the suspension of His wrath to bring an end to evil once and for all. It is at this time that the REST of the dead will be raised, and ONLY those who are JUDGED to be WICKED shall be cast into the lake of fire where the SOUL of ONLY the wicked will be cut asunder from God's Spirit of BREATH of LIFE and BOTH the SOUL and BODY of the WICKED ONLY will be DESTROYED never to rise again. Now some Christians will argue and say what about Acts 2:22-36?
Acts 2:22-36.
“You men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also know: 23. Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24. Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. 25. For David speaks concerning him, (or David spoke these word PROPHESYING about Jesus whose SOUL would not be left in Hell) I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26. Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover, also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27. Because you will not leave my soul in hell, neither will you suffer Your Holy One to see corruption. (In other words, David is PROPHESYING of the resurrection of Jesus where both the SOUL and the BODY of Jesus would be resurrected to life evermore) 28. You have made known to me the ways of life; you shall make me full of joy with your countenance. 29. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher (Or his tomb where his decayed body still yet remains as dust) is with us unto this day. 30. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; 31. He (David) seeing this before spoke (Or King David PROPHESIED) of the RESURRECTION of Christ, that his SOUL (Or that the SOUL of Jesus) was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. (Or NEITHER would the BODY of Jesus be in the grave long enough to decay) 32. This Jesus has God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he has shed forth this, which you now see and hear. 34. For David is NOT ASCENDED into the heavens: but he (David) says himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit you on my right hand, (In other words, these Old Testament verses are NOT speaking of King DAVID being raised from the dead and given a new IMMORTAL BODY, but rather, they are speaking of JESUS whom you, the Jews have crucified. Now please notice that Jesus will ONLY sit on God’s throne for 1000 years) 35. Until I make your foes your footstool. (And that fact alone, proves that Jesus is NOT Almighty God Himself. But rather that Jesus is the human Son OF Almighty God and that Almighty God MADE His Son Jesus to become His Lord to rule for Him during the 1000 year Sabbath rest of Yahweh, the Father. And all of this is being done to convict Satan for making war against God to try and take over God’s throne. Please read all the studies under the heading >>>WHY ARE WE HERE?- IS GOD AT WAR?<<<) 36. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God has made that same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Now for most of you who are reading this study and truly desiring to come to the knowledge of the TRUTH, then you should, by now, have your eyes of understanding open to the truth. In other words, by now, after reading part 1 and part 2 of this study in God’s word you should know without a doubt that the doctrine of soul sleep is, indeed, FALSE doctrine that needs to be rejected. But I also know from experience that there are some Christians that will CLING to what THEIR church denomination teaches. And thus some Christians will still want to argue and say what about the verses which say that the dead go DOWN into the PIT? This brings us to error #6 or section number six.
ERROR #6.
Here in section six, we will expose the sixth error made by those who teach the false doctrine of soul sleep, which is that they have not properly discerned or come to understand that it was ONLY in the OLD Testament times that ALL the dead went DOWN into the lowers parts of the earth. In other words, those who still yet teach the doctrine of soul sleep have not come to understand that Jesus went into this prison or this place of the DEAD where the PIT is located and PREACHED the gospel to the SPIRIT of men who have died. You see the SPIRITS of these dead men were being kept in this holding place in the LOWER PARTS of the earth UNTIL the coming of the Messiah to PREACH the gospel to them so that they could be saved in the same way in which men MUST be saved form this point on. The Bible clearly teaches us that the name of Jesus is the ONLY name under heaven whereby mankind MUST be saved and that NO man is saved by the law. Therefore, it was needed to PREACH the gospel of Jesus Christ in order for the OLD Testament saints to be saved. God chose that by the foolishness of PREACHING to save them who believe. Please keep in mind that in New Testament times ONLY the souls of the WICKED and the SINNERS go DOWN into the PIT into SILENCE or to face only the DOOM of the SECOND DEATH. But the SOULS of the righteous IN Jesus Christ go UP into Heaven to be PRESENT with the Lord. With that being said let us take a look at Job 17:11-16 which those who teach the doctrine of soul sleep CLAIM that it proves without a doubt that the dead go down into the pit.
Job 17:11-16.
“My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart. 12. They change the night into day: the light is short because of darkness. 13. If I wait, the GRAVE is my house: I have made my bed in the darkness. 14. I have said to corruption, (Referring to the decaying of his physical body after Job or any draws their last breath and dies) You are my father: to the worm, You are my mother and my sister. 15. And where is now my hope? As for my hope, who shall see it? (Job's HOPE for LIVING is fading away. Please keep in mind that Job is in a lot of pain and truly believes that he is DYING. Job did not have the Book of Job to read and know that he does not die at this point in time of his life. Job does not know the end of the book so to speak. And thus, Job truly believes that he is dying at this point in his life. But WE who have read the whole Book of Job know that God restores him because we have the book of Job to read and know that Job does not die at this point in his life) 16. They (Speaking of Jobs body which shall see corruption AND Job's hope of living) shall go DOWN to the bars of the PIT when our rest together is in the dust.”
Again, there is no doubt that the Bible does indeed teach that those who DIED in the OLD Testament times went DOWN into the lower PARTS of the earth. Some Old Testament saints like Job did, in fact, call the place of ALL of the dead during the Old Testament times the PIT. But please keep in mind that Job also believed that it was Almighty God who was oppressing him with boils when in TRUTH, it was SATAN who went forth and smote Job with boils. So again, these OLD Testament verses must be interpreted in the LIGHT of the NEW Testament verses to understand their TRUE meaning. We can see this rule of interpretation that we must always interpret the Old Testament verses in the light of the revelation knowledge of the NEW Testament verses being taught or illustrated to us as an EXAMPLE in Job 14:10-21, which by the way, is another verse that is used by those who teach the doctrine of soul sleep.
Job 14:10-21.
“But man dies (Meaning only the physical body of a man dies) and waste away: yea, the man gives up the ghost, (Meaning that the SPIRIT of man or the INNER man departs from the physical body and then the physical body dies) and where is he? (This question of WHERE is he could be referring to the INNER man or it could be referring to the OUTER man, the BODY of flesh. Or it could be referring to the WHOLE man meaning where is the body AND where is the SOUL of man after he draws his last breath?) 11. As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decays and dries up: 12. So man lies down, and rises not: TILL the heavens are no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. 13. O that you would hide me in the grave, that you would keep me a secret, until your wrath is past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me! 14. If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. 15. You shall call, and I will answer you: you will have a desire to the work of your hands. 16. For now you number my steps: do you not watch over my sin? 17. My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and you sew up my iniquity. 18. And surely the mountain falling comes to naught, and the rock is removed out of his place. 19. The waters wear the stones: you wash away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth, and you destroy the hope of man. 20. You prevail forever against him, and he passes: you change his countenance and send him away. 21. His sons come to honor, and he knows it not, and they are brought low, but he perceives it not of them.”
Now those who teach the false doctrine of soul sleep use this passage of Scripture to try and prove that the SOUL of man REMAINS in the GRAVE WITH the decaying BODY. And they wrongly teach that the SOUL of man is in a state of complete UNCONSCIOUSNESS in the grave and that the SOUL along with the body that decays will NOT be resurrected or do NOT rise again UNTIL the WRATH of God is poured out at the second coming of Jesus. But is their UNDERSTANDING and what they teach SOUND BIBLICAL teaching in that their teaching agrees with the rest of God's word? Absolutely NOT! Please bear with me and let me explain why the doctrine of soul sleep is NOT sound Biblical teaching. First of all, why do those who teach soul sleep not include the very next verse?
Job 14:22.
“But his flesh UPON him shall have PAIN, and his SOUL WITHIN him shall MOURN.”
Please notice that man is being described here as having his BODY of FLESH UPON him while the man has his SOUL WITHIN him and that his flesh shall have PAIN and his SOUL shall MOURN. But this is NOT what those who teach the doctrine of soul sleep say. Rather, they falsely conclude that the whole man IS a SOUL. And when the physical body of a man dies then his SOUL goes into a state of complete UNCONSCIOUSNESS. But HOW can a SOUL MOURN if it is true that there is absolutely NO CONSCIOUSNESS of the SOUL in the grave? Remember their formula? The BODY+the BREATH of life = a living SOUL. And when a man draws his last breath and the breath of life is SUBTRACTED from the physical body, then their formula becomes the BODY – the BREATH of life = a DEAD SOUL or a soul that CEASES to EXIST. Ora soul that goes into a state of completely UNCONSCIOUSNESS until that soul is resurrected. In other words, these conclusions that they have drawn do NOT agree with the rest of God's word. Even in verses that they themselves use to try and prove another point of their doctrine will end up DISPROVING a different point that they made earlier. Can you not see my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, that you who believe in the doctrine of soul sleep have NOT been taught the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of God. Now as for the rest of this passage of Scripture in Job, most of you already know that Job does NOT accurately describe the RESURRECTION of the dead the way in which we see from other verses of Scripture that the dead will be raised or resurrected from the dead. For you see, in the LIGHT of the NEW Testament Scriptures the earth does NOT pass away until AFTER the second and final resurrection at the END of the Millennial reign of Jesus. So always interpret the OLD Testament verses in the LIGHT of the NEW Testament and NOT the other way around. In other words, the OLD Testament must agree with the NEW Testament, as opposed to forcing the New Testament to agree with one’s own private INTERPRETATION of the Old Testament Scriptures. Let me explain what I mean by this. First of all, Job has not discerned that there will be THREE future resurrections of the dead when the writer of the book of Job was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write down this account of Job. The very first resurrection was the resurrection of Jesus. And by the very first resurrection, I mean that Jesus was the FIRST human being to ever be GIVEN the divine nature of IMMORTALITY after he was resurrected. So again, Job did not discern that there are THREE resurrections to become the FIRSTFRUITS unto God. Please keep in mind that it was AFTER the resurrection of Jesus that John received REVELATION that there would be TWO more resurrections. Now Paul was obviously also given at least part of the REVELATION as well because Paul also teaches us more PLAINLY than the book of Job teaches us. But in reading just the OLD Testament it is not made CLEAR that there would be THREE separate resurrections. This is why the OLD testament needs to be INTERPRETED in the LIGHT of the NEW Testament. So then, the FIRST resurrection AFTER the resurrection of Jesus where ONLY the dead in Jesus Christ will be raised has not yet taken place or WILL yet in the FUTURE take place at the second coming of Jesus. Then AFTER the first resurrection on Revelation 20:1-4 takes place there will be one more resurrection at the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus. And the LAST or FINAL resurrection that shall take place will be AFTER all the WRATH of God has passed at the end of the Millennial reign of Jesus is completely over. Please read 1 Corinthians 15:12-28 which teaches of the THREE resurrections or the THREE harvests of the firstfruits unto God. The resurrection of Jesus has already taken place leaving two and only two resurrections remaining to occur. But yet Job seems to speak on only ONE resurrection WHEN the earth will pass away. So you see WHY we can NOT build sound Biblical doctrine on the Old Testament Scriptures BY trying to EXPLAIN AWAY the New Testament verses of Scripture that CONTRADICT your own personal “INTERPRETATION” of the Old Testament Scriptures. Also, Revelation 20:1-4 gives us even more detail of the two resurrections that are yet to take place.
Bt first, read 1 Corinthians 15:12-28.
“Now if Christ is preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? (There was even false teaching at the very beginning of the church) 13. But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14. And if Christ has not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15. Yea and we are found false witnesses of God; (Any and every false teaching is a false witness of God) because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up if so be that the dead rise not. 16. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 17. And if Christ is not raised, your faith is vain; you are yet in your sins. 18. Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. (But Paul knows the TRUTH and that those who were CLAIMING that there is NO resurrection are the ones who are FALSE teachers and FALSE WITNESSES before God because what they TEACH is false doctrines) 20. But NOW is Christ risen from the dead, and become the FIRSTFRUITS of them that slept (Past tense which is referring not only to the Old Testament saints that rose with Jesus and ascended into heaven with him but also the sinners of the Old Testament which will be raised in the last and final resurrection at the END of the 1000 years) 21. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the DEAD (Meaning all the dead both the righteous and the unrighteous in their appointed time and NOT all at the same time which is what Job wrongly perceived) 22. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive (As in, all humans will be resurrected to face the judgment, but NOT that ALL of mankind will be granted eternal life) 23. But every man in his own order: Christ the FIRSTFRUITS; (Which is resurrection #1 that has already taken place) afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. (Or the next resurrection that will take place and is called the FIRST resurrection that will take place AT the second coming of Jesus where ONLY the righteous dead IN Jesus Christ will be raised from the dead and then given IMMORTAL bodies of flesh and bone like Jesus already has, being the FIRST fruits or the FIRSTBORN from the dead to be made the firstborn of every new creature in the IMAGE of his God and Father) 24. Then comes the END, (Speaking of the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus and after the final war by Satan has ended which is when the REST of the dead shall be raised and also) when he (The now glorified Son of MAN, Jesus) shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25. For he must reign, TILL He (Almighty God the Father) has put all enemies under his feet. 26. The LAST enemy that shall be destroyed is DEATH. (And in Revelation chapter 20, we learn that death is cast into the lake of fire at the END of the 1000 years to be DESTROYED) 27. For he has put all things under his feet. But when he said all things are put under him, it is manifest (Or clearly shown) that He (Speaking of Almighty God the Father) is excepted, (Which means that everyone and everything has been put under Jesus the Son of God EXCEPT his God and Father, the one true and ONLY ALMIGHTY God) which did put all things under him. 28. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son ALSO HIMSELF be SUBJECT unto him that put all things under him, that (Or so that) God (Referring to Almighty God the Father) may be all in all.”
Can you not see that these OLD Testament verses are NOT clear and plain? And, therefore, the Old Testament verse of Scripture must be INTERPRETED in the LIGHT of the revelation knowledge of the NEW Testament Scriptures. For a deeper understanding of the resurrections please read the studies that I have written on the subject of the second coming of Jesus and the rapture of the church and our BODILY resurrection. For you see, SOME Christians that teach the doctrine of soul sleep also wrongly teach that Jesus was raised as a SPIRIT and that WE will be resurrected as spirits. But for now, let us continue to closely examine the remaining verses of Scripture that are used by those who teach soul sleep to expose the errors that they made in the INTERPRETATION of these verses as well. Please read Hebrews 9:27 which is used to prove that man is MORTAL and that every man is APPOINTED to DIE and be judged.
Hebrews 9:27.
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”
In other words, Almighty God has NOT APPOINTED ANY man to die a SECOND time, as in, referring to the SECOND DEATH of being cast into the lake of fire to be destroyed for all eternity never to rise again. As I said before at the beginning of this study that the whole word of God does NOT teach that man IS an IMMORTAL SOUL. And neither does the Bible teach that man POSSESSES an IMMORTAL SOUL. We have already discussed that BOTH the physical body of man AND the SOUL of man can be DESTROYED and that on the last day Almighty God will indeed DESTROY both the body and the SOUL of the wicked ONLY and ONLY the wicked shall be NO more for all eternity. But I also know that some of the mainstream church denomination falsely teach that man possesses an IMMORTAL SOUL. And, therefore, to THEM, God torments the SOUL of the WICKED for all eternity. But again, that is ALSO false teaching. So for the sake of those Christians that WRONGLY teach that the soul is IMMORTAL, we will at least look at all the verses used by those who teach the false doctrine of torment in hellfire to prove that man is MORTAL both SOUL and BODY. Please read 1 Timothy 6:16 which clearly and plainly teaches us that Almighty God alone has IMMORTALITY until He GAVE the divine nature of immortality to His human Son, Jesu AFTER the cross.
1 Timothy 6:16.
“That you keep this commandment without spot, NOT being able to be rebuked, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: 15 Which in his times (Plural, meaning the first and second coming of Jesus. The Bible teaches us that Jesus came to SHOW us the one true and only Almighty God who alone is the FATHER) he (Jesus) shall show, who is the blessed and ONLY Potentate, (The ONLY SOVEREIGN or the ONLY ALMIGHTY) the King of kings, and Lord of lords; (The KING of all kings including being King over His Son Jesus) 16. Who (Speaking of Almighty God the FATHER) ONLY HAS IMMORTALITY, dwelling in the light which NO man can approach unto; whom NO man has seen, NOR CAN SEE: (And every eye shall SEE Jesus when he comes again) to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.”
The Bible teaches us that ONLY Almighty God has always had and always will have IMMORTALITY. God is SPIRIT and INVISIBLE. However, Jesus is not invisible and men have seen Jesus. Therefore, this passage of Scripture is NOT referring to Jesus as Jesus being the ONLY one who has IMMORTALITY. But rather, the “WHO” here that Jesus came to SHOW to us is speaking of Almighty God the FATHER as being the ONLY one who has IMMORTALITY. However, this does not mean that Almighty God Himself cannot GIVE immortality to whomsoever He pleases. You see, the Bible also teaches us that Jesus is the FIRSTFRUITS and that his God and Father the one true and ONLY ALMIGHTY God has GIVEN His human Son, Jesus, the same kind of IMMORTAL life as the Father Himself has always had from all eternity past.
Please read John 5:17-27.
“But Jesus answered them, My Father works hitherto, and I work. 18. Therefore the Jews sought more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. (Jesus never once said he was equal with God or made himself EQUAL with his God and Father, the one true and ONLY ALMIGHTY God. It was the JEWS who ACCUSED Jesus of making himself EQUAL with God. Some of the same Jews ALSO ACCUSED Jesus of having a DEVIL so why hear you, him. And I know there is not one Christian who will say that verse means that Jesus has a DEVIL. So why then do some Christians dogmatically demand that this verse means without fail that Jesus himself was making himself EQUAL with Almighty God? We know without a doubt that this verse cannot possibly mean that Jesus was saying that he was EQUAL with God his Father, because in other verses Jesus plainly states that the Father is GREATER than the Son and that ONLY the Father is good. 19. Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, (Or Truly, truly) I say unto you, The Son can do NOTHING OF HIMSELF, but what he sees the Father do: for what things soever he does, these also does the Son likewise. 20. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all things that himself does: and he will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel. 21. For as the Father raises up the dead, and quickens them; even so the Son quickens whom he will. 22. For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son: 23. That all men should honor the Son, EVEN AS they honor the Father. He that honors NOT the Son honors NOT the Father which has sent him. 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 25. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead (Speaking of the spiritually dead and not the physical dead) shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that HEAR (Speaking of ONLY they that shall hear and obey the words of Jesus) shall live. 26. For AS the Father HAS life IN HIMSELF (Or in the same way or with the same kind of IMMORTAL life whom ONLY Almighty God has always had); so has He GIVEN to the Son to have life IN HIMSELF; (In other words, Jesus was NOT always an IMMORTAL being) 27. And has GIVEN him authority to execute judgment also, BECAUSE he is the Son of MAN.”
It was NOT because Jesus is the Son of God that his God and Father GAVE him all authority to execute judgment. And it was NOT because Jesus was supposedly fully Almighty God in the flesh that Jesus did the mighty works of healing that men saw him do. But rather. It was BECAUSE Jesus was the Son of MAN as to WHY Jesus was highly exalted by his God and Father and granted to sit on his Father's throne only after the human Jesus OVERCAME and became obedient unto death on the cross. So then, ONLY Almighty God has always had IMMORTALITY from the eternity past. And then Yahweh the Father GAVE immortality to His Son Jesus AFTER the cross who the Bible says is the FIRSTFRUITS, or the FIRST man to be granted IMMORTALITY. Then the Bible goes on to say that WE who are found to be those good and faithful servants in Jesus Christ shall also be granted the right to eat of the tree of life if so be that we OVERCOME and are found to be that good and faithful servant unto death or until the second coming of Jesus. In other words, man, as in, BOTH the outer man and the inner man or the soul are MORTAL and can be destroyed. Remember we are taught in the word of God not to fear any man who is only able to kill the BODY, but rather, we are to fear Almighty God who is able to DESTROY both the body AND the SOUL. The whole word of God teaches us that God will ONLY destroy the WICKED on the last day at the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus. Here are a couple of verses of Scripture that clearly show us that man is a MORTAL being. Job 4:17 can be interpreted as meaning that the whole man is a MORTAL human being. But Romans 6:12 speaks of only the BODY being MORTAL. If you just THINK about it, WHY would a man need to be GIVEN ETERNAL LIFE or an IMMORTAL body if he was ALREADY an immortal being? For a deeper understanding of why man is NOT an IMMORTAL being, as in, neither the body nor the soul is immortal, then please read the study “IS THE SOUL OF MAN IMMORTAL?” As a brief review before we take a look at the last few verses of Scriptures that are used by those who teach this false doctrine of soul sleep, remember that the argument against any man every ascending into heaven except for Jesus. They claim the IF the souls of the righteous go to be PRESENT with the Lord IN heaven being ALIVE and conscious would then mean that the SOULS are IMMORTAL souls. And that is another error made by those who teach the doctrine of souls sleep. For you see, just because they died in Jesus Christ go to be present with the Lord IN Heaven does NOT mean that the soul MUST be immortal. And neither does it mean that the souls of the dead in Jesus Christ have already obtained the promise of eternal life in order to be ALIVE. It simply means that God will NOT destroy the souls of the righteous in Jesus Christ. But rather, God will give the MORTAL soul of the righteous IMMORTALITY in the world to come. There is no need for the SOUL to DIE before God can give the mortal soul of the righteous in Jesus Christ immortality. Hebrews 11:13,39,40 plainly teaches us that no reward or promise of eternal life has as yet been given to the souls of the saints who are present with the Lord in heaven and that they will not be made perfect WITHOUT this of us who are yet alive physically and remain alive to the second coming of Jesus.
Hebrews 11:39,40.
“These all died in faith, (Speaking of all the OLD Testament saints) NOT having RECEIVED the promises, (Meaning that the saints in heaven have NOT yet received the new IMMORTAL bodies) but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth...And these all, (Again, speaking of the Old Testament saints, but also includes all those who have died in Jesus Christ from the time of Jesus until he comes again) having obtained a good report through faith, received NOT the promise: 40. God having provided some better thing for us, that they WITHOUT US us should NOT be made perfect.”
Meaning that the Old Testament saints and the dead IN Jesus Christ saints up in Heaven will NOT be given the promise of eternal life or clothed with their new IMMORTAL body of flesh and bone like Jesus has now UNTIL we ALL are made perfect TOGETHER at the second coming of Jesus. So HOW can the SOUL still be ALIVE when the verses of Scripture in the Old Testament teach us that the SPIRIT RETURNS to God when a person dies and the body returns to the dust from which it was made? The answer is SIMPLE. The spirit of the breath of life that gives life to the SOUL remains CONNECTED to the SOUL until the Day of Judgment. And ONLY the SOULS that are judge UNWORTHY to receive the divine nature of IMMORTALITY will be cast ALIVE in the lake of fire to be DESTROYED. And THEN AFTER the soul is DESTROYED in the lake of fire the SPIRIT RETURNS to God. In other words, the spirit does NOT return to God IMMEDIATELY when a person dies. But rather, God divides asunder the soul and the spirit of the WICKED ONLY on the final Day of Judgment after the souls of ONLY the wicked are destroyed in the lake of fire. In closing please read John 8:51-53 along with Mark 12:26,27.
John 8:51-53.
“Verily, verily, (Or Truly Truly) I say unto you, If a man keeps my saying, he shall never see death. 52. Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that you have a devil. Abraham is DEAD, and the prophets; and you say, If a man keeps my saying, he shall never taste of death. 53. Are you greater than our father Abraham, which is DEAD? and the prophets are DEAD: who do you make yourself?”
Mark 12:26,27.
“And as touching the dead, that they rise: have you not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spoke unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? 27. He is NOT the God of the DEAD, but the God of the LIVING: you, therefore, do greatly ERR.”
Now to me, the SOUL of the RIGHTEOUS can NOT be DEAD as some falsely teach because Jesus himself says that God is NOT the God of the DEAD but that God is the God of the LIVING. But yet many have DIED that God accounts to be RIGHTEOUS. So the Jews and those who teach soul sleep have ERRORED in their understanding of the Scriptures, according to these words of Jesus. However, if one TWISTS these verses of Scripture then they can be FORCED to support the side of soul sleep. In other words, either side can be supported by these verses of Scripture and they do not prove either side to be wrong. I only added them because both sides use these same verses to try and prove their teaching to be the truth. In other words, some controversial doctrines are somewhat like those pictures that trick our eyes. They are optical illusions. For example, have you ever seen the picture that when you look at it one way the picture looks like a duck, and when you look at it after being told that it is a rabbit, then some can see that the picture is BOTH a duck and a rabbit depending on what picture in your mind that you are FOCUSING upon? Well, in some ways, certain highly controversial doctrines are this way. The truth of the matter is that there is a little truth in what both sides say, but the whole truth of what the whole word of God teaches us is somewhere down the MIDDLE. In other words, if you are truly seeking the truth of the whole word of God, then you need to lay aside what you have been TAUGHT by your denomination and consider closely the evidence from both sides. Again, I am just giving you all the evidence that has come to my attention while doing an in-depth study on this subject as well as on every other subject, and then I let you my readers and seekers of the TRUTH to decide for yourself. I do give my opinions of what I myself have concluded to be the truth of the whole word of God and WHY I have concluded it that way. But again, you are still my brothers and sisters in the Lord even if you still disagree with my conclusion. I am not here to argue or debate with anyone. I am always open to your comments and questions. Please write me an email with any questions or comments. It may be that I have missed a very crucial verse, but I assure you that I have searched this matter quite deeply so it is highly unlikely. In part 3 of this study on soul sleep is will list ALL the verses of Scripture that are used to try and prove that the soul sleeps in an UNCONSCIOUS state UNTIL the resurrection so you can do your OWN in-depth study in God’s word. For all those verses of Scripture please click on the link “SCRIPTURES USED TO TEACH SOUL SLEEP! PART 3” Thanks for reading. And may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the whole word of God.
Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
RETURN TO HOMEPAGE AT |
|
|