Soul Sleep

Purpose of This Study

  • To help Christians determine where a believer goes when they die

 

The Bible tells us that those that died in faith before the Resurrection of Jesus went to a place the Bible calls Abrahams Bosom.

Many New Testament believers believe that when they die their spirit instantly goes to be with God because of what 2Corinthians 5:8 says

We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

But this verse actually contradicts 1Thes 4: 16-17

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:

 

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.

Q: So the question I present, does the Bible contradict itself?

A: NOT AT ALL! The Bible never contradicts itself. In many cases we need to use other verses in order to truly understand the meaning or the proper use-case.

Because God lives outside of time, a believer that dies 1,000 years ago and a believer that dies a week ago, enters heaven at the same time.

If this is true, then where do believers go in the mean-time?

We know that the Old-Testament tells us that believers went to a place called Abraham’s Bosom and sinners went to a place of torment. Therefore the place of torment still exists but where are believers?

To my understanding, Abraham’s Bosom no longer exists but there is a condition called Soul Sleep where the believer is in this form of suspended state.

My conclusion comes from the following verses

1Thes 4: 13-18
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

*2 Esdras 4: 35-37

Didn’t the souls of the just in their resting places ask about these things, saying, ‘How long are we to remain here, and when will the harvest of our reward come?’ Then Jeremiel the angel answered them, ‘When the number of those like you is complete, for God has weighed the world in a balance and measured the times by measure and numbered the times by number, and he won’t move or arouse himself until the prescribed measure is fulfilled.’”

Revelation 6: 9-11

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar those who had been slaughtered on account of the word of God and the witness they had given. They cried out with a loud voice, “Holy and true Master, how long will you wait before you pass judgment? How long before you require justice for our blood, which was shed by those who live on earth?” Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little longer, until their fellow servants and brothers and sisters—who were about to be killed as they were—were finished.

Although 2 Esdras is an Apocrypha book, it lines up with what it says in The Book of Revelation. That believers are in a suspended state because it is not until ALL SOULS that God has determined to be saved are accounted for, will Jesus descend from heaven and the dead in Christ as well as those alive are both lifted up to meet with Jesus.

Remember, Always do your research and make sure to validate that what I’m saying is correct.

*NOTE: The Book of Esdras is an Apocrypha book not recommended to read for those not grounded in the Bible.