Our Souls Sleep until the Resurrection – Challenge Response
Here’s Tim Barnett of Stand to Reason’s response to this week’s challenge: “Our souls sleep until the resurrection.”
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Seventh Day Adventist believe in soul sleep too.
Here is the Biblical explanation of hell. Jesus taught that all people would be either saved lost or, that they would go to either heaven or hell. “The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” No question about it, it’s one place or the other according to Jesus. What goes to hell? Jesus answers it for us in Matthew 5:30 “And if thy right hand offends thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” He says the “whole body” would be cast into hell, not a spirit or “soul”. BTW, the term “soul” is defined in Genesis 2:7 “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” It says here man “became a living soul”, not that he was given a soul. He, man, was formed of the dust of the earth and given the breath of life from God, or the metabolism, the spark of life if you will and became a soul. In a ship disaster they say, “All souls on board were lost”, meaning all people. So the whole “body” will be cast into hell. When does this happen? Not at the moment of death. According to Jesus it in the parable of the wheat and the tares, Matthew 13:29 – 43, it happens at the harvest and “the harvest is the end of the world” (verse 39). 2 Peter 2:9 says, “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished”. Where are the unjust “reserved”. Jesus says in John 5:28 & 29 “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” When will those in their graves hear His voice and come forth? At Christs 2nd coming. When does Christ reward the good and the evil? Mathew 16:27 “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” When He comes again. Revelation 22:12 “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Daniel 12:2 “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” They are “reserved” in the grave until then. Then where is hell? 2 Peter3:7 & 10 “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” And “…and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” He says the earth is “reserved” for that purpose. Also see Isaiah 34:8 & 9 and Psalm 11:6. Matthew 10:28 Jesus said “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.”. He said God will “destroy” body and soul in hell, meaning all of the unsaved, every part of them, will be destroyed. Not punished eternally. Would God do that, eternally torment and torture someone who chose to believe in evolution but lived a relatively good life? Not the God of the Bible. He will destroy them and they will suffer the 2nd death. Revelation 20:14 & 15 says “ And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”. The unsaved suffer eternal death not eternal suffering. Is that not bad enough, to be eternally separated from God. Must He torture people forever? So after a trillion years of torture, exquisite pain and suffering, God will tell those suffering “You have only just begun”? Whoa, really? That’s not what the Bible teaches, that’s not the God of the Bible. Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” Also see 2 Peter 3:13. How long do they burn? How can we inherit it if it is a lake of fire? John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” and Roman 6:23 says “The wages of sin is death”. 1 John 5:11 & 12 “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” John 3:16 says unbelievers will “perish” and Paul say the wages of sin is death. Ezekiel 18:4 makes it clearer “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” It is clear, the unsaved die, not live forever. So, what Jesus tells us about hell is that it is the final destination of those who do not choose salvation through Jesus, that an unsaved persons “whole body” will be cast into hell and not a “soul” or “spirit”, they will be destroyed in hell and not suffer eternally. Their punishment will be eternal. There will be no second chances after that, but they will not be tortured forever, they will be eternally destroyed. Hell is not eternal. It’s consequences are. Hell will be on this earth and sin will be burnt up with sinners then the earth will be made new. A new heaven and a new earth, free from sin where God and His people will live together. All this is taught in the Bible, from the mouth of Jesus. Check it out for yourself. Don’t take my word or the word of anyone else. Your life depend on you knowing the Truth personally. Jesus said “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”. Trust Him and His Word only. Blessings as you study His Word
The Bible clearly teaches sleep after death until resurrection. Even the favourite verse used by those that believe in an intermediate state in 2 Corinthians 5:8 is shown to be false when the beginning of 2 Corinthians 5 is read and it shows it's talking about the resurrection
Ecclesiastes 9:5
Amen Brother
When you die, you're dead until Christ comes…. To not believe in "soul sleep" is to call Jesus a liar.
Jesus told us, "I go to prepare a place for you….."
I know in our weakness it’s difficult to think of ourselves lying in the ground. I am not a Jehovah Witness,
I am a Bible Christian raised in the faith by a Baptist Grandmother.
I believe the Bible clearly teaches we go to sleep until Christ returns when He will make the DEAD in Christ rise first the the living in Him. Relax Brother, when you close your eyes even if you lay there it the grace 1000 years…. When you open your eyes again it will feel as if you died and went immediately to Heaven…
In the twinkling of an eye.
#1 Thoughts=plans & God's plan does endure: Christ the Firstfruits AFTERWARD they that are Christ's at His coming, written by the same Paul who longed to be absent from this mortal body & not
unclothed/naked but clothed upon with his glorified body & be with Jesus.
Soul can mean person: "Man became a living soul" after God formed Adam & breathed into his nostrils, the breath of life that caused his blood to flow, his synapses to fire, his muscles to move, etc.
"All souls are Mine" Ez. 18:4
"Eight souls were saved by water." 1 Peter 3:20
Soul can mean your inmost being:" Bless the Lord, O my soul"= "all that is within me, bless His holy name" Psalm 103 :1
"…with My whole heart & with My whole soul(/being)"
Jer. 3:41.
My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death = My heart is melted in the midst of My bowels.
Matt. 26:38
Psalm 22:14
Sometimes death means the 1st death & sometimes it means the 2nd.
Jesus resurrected people to this mortal life, which meant that they would experience dying again, except for Moses, & those resurrected at His resurrection, these with Enoch & Elijah who were translated, are the only ones who have gone to heaven before His 2nd coming, thus far.
Dan.12 :2 & Rev. 1: 7 speak of another special resurrection of some who are righteous & some who are wicked before His 2nd coming. At His 2nd coming most will be resurrected & a few will be translated.
In His warning to His disciples to fear God above any human, Jesus wanted to assure them that the fearful & unbelieving shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire & brimstone to be annihilated.
Here He shows that the soul/spirit is the whole life of that person. All the character traits that came from God are those eternal life principles in a unique personality & go back to God held by Him in trust until the day of the 1st Resurrection when Jesus returns.
God knew that people would try to contact dead people as necromancers & witches, wizards, etc., do;
OR as misled Christians who pray/talk to dead relatives, saints, Mary etc.
The souls crying to God under the altar = your brother's blood cries to Me from the ground.
When Jesus returns He will resurrect the martyrs & everyone else of His people unto eternal life in heaven with Him where their shall be no more death, neither SORROW, nor CRYING, nor pain.
After 1000 years the wicked will be resurrected to show to the universe & the saved that as they went to death with the same thoughts & feelings, so they would continue if allowed to live & they will try to destroy God's children. Thus they will be annihilated in the lake of fire.
Genesis 2:7 confirms we do not have a thing called a soul.
I think that what Jesus says to the thief on the cross dont mean that they would be on Heaven in that same day. Because, after Jesus is risen from the dead, He says that he had not yet gone to the Father
The thief on the cross didn't go to heaven that day because Jesus never went to heaven that day.
Idunno
When Lazarus died It was like a sleep.
He didn’t go to God. At least Bible doesn’t teach that. But god woke him.
Tough subject.
Strawman after strawman. You’re wrong on this one my guy. I’m not a JW just to clarify
Hebrews 11:39-40 (NIV)
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
If believers' souls go to heaven when they die, then it seems to me that they would have already received a great deal of what God had promised. After all, they would be in a place of amazing bliss. Yes, they are still waiting for the redemption of their bodies, but they would still be in a place of great joy. That would be receiving a big part of God's promise. The best part actually. – – And then what about this verse?
2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
Again, it looks like believers who passed away will not receive what God promised until after judgment day. Could you explain these verses, please?
Look up the word asleep you will find ALOT of scriptures. It's biblical. Your right on! ✅️ IF WE RISE NOT THEN CHRIST DIED IN VAIN -PAUL
great video.
So why would God take our souls to heaven then put it back in our dead bodies when jesus returns to resurrect us from the dead?
Rev. 6:9-11 is essential study and my go-to verses that end the arguement against the false doctrine of soul sleep.
not only JW's have this belief. Seventh Day Adventist believe in soul sleep aswell.
I'm not a JW but I believe in soul sleep. Mt 10:28 has nothing to do with soul sleep. Our soul SLEEPS when we die, it's not killed.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 says, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
How can people who are already risen and with Jesus in heaven rise at his second coming? The verse doesn't say that "dead bodies rise and are rejoined with their souls." No, it says that dead people rise out of the grave. The Bible says the "DEAD IN CHRIST" not the living spirits in Christ. And Jesus and the Bible says dead = asleep.
Just read the Bible for what it says and not eisegeting your wrong ideas into the Bible.
Why point to the JW and belittle this teaching as if they started this teaching. Great reformers like Martin Luther , John Wycliffe ,Tyndale and many more believes in soul to sleep. And the smirk ….
Good job 👍
Quit using scripture JEHOVAH WITNESS AND 7TH DAY ADVENTIST from the OLD TESTAMENT! JESUS DIED AND WAS RESURRECTED….On that 3rd day , Jesus brought those from Abraham's Bosom back to the earth 🌎 with him and they were seen walking around for 40 days until Jesus ascended to the Father and placed his blood on the holy of holies.They ascended to the third Heaven with Jesus that day!
Much scripture supports Spirit/Soul returning to God [thru belief in Christ Jesus].
Me playing the role of the antagonist: In regards to fearing the "One who can destroy the body and soul in hell"…If an unbeliever dies, their body remains on the earth (just like believers' bodies) until the resurrection. How then could a body be destroyed in hell if it has not first been resurrected? This may imply that the sequence is Death > soul sleep/suspension of consciousness > bodily resurrection & resumption of consciousness > judgement > eternal residence in hell/heaven.
I'm not a believer in soul sleep necessarily, but I'm having a tough time justifying my long-held beliefs against it as I am researching the Scriptures.
I'd really love to do a zoom/teams meeting about this if you have the time!