By Dr. Mike Johnston
“The heresy of one age becomes the
orthodoxy of the next” Helen Keller -- Optimism (1903)
False teachers proclaiming false
teachings have always existed in the church and will continue throughout the
last days (1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Pet. 2:1-3). Why they aren’t spotted more often
decries the shameful spiritual temperature of far too many Christians that
are simply not equipped to discern between “the spirit of truth and the
spirit of error” (1 John 4:6).
Hermeneutics vs. Heresy
Hermeneutics is the fancy name given to
the science of Biblical interpretation. In laymen terms, it is formed from
consistent Bible principles mandatory to a full and balanced approach to
interpreting Scripture through studying: the original setting of both writer
and recipient; the original language (to include vocabulary, grammar and
style); the original intention of the Book or passage; and the narrower
(immediate) and broader (canonical) context of a passage. In short, adhering
to sound hermeneutical principles will feed your soul while protecting you
from heresy.
Origin of the Soul Sleep Heresy
The phrase “soul sleep” per se is not a
Scriptural term. In fact, you never find the soul linked to sleep anywhere
in the Bible. It is actually a hybrid heterodoxy contrived from the Biblical
euphemism for the sleep-like appearance of the body at death (2 Sam. 7:12; 2
Pet. 3:4) which has been hijacked by heretics.
A study of church history proves soul
sleep has no roots in Christian orthodoxy, and no place in sound exegesis.
And for the first three centuries of the church the immediate ascendency of
the soul to Paradise (aka Heaven) at death (Luke 23:43) was never
questioned. Then, according to historian Philip Schaff, soul sleep fomented
in the mind of a specious fourth century pantheist named Arnobius. Since
that time, poor exegesis has been the main mechanism soul sleepers have
employed in the maintenance of their ruse. Today its champions are
noteworthy indeed: atheists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christadelphianists, Old
school Armstrongism, and Seventh Day Adventists. Talk about a spurious crew!
Since hermeneutics teaches us to examine
historical and contextual settings when interpreting Scripture, we need to
first understand the five separate divisions making up the 66 books: the
books of law, the books of history, the books of prophecy, the epistles
(history and doctrine), and the books of wisdom.
One place soul sleepers love to dance is
in the wisdom books including Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes, while fully
inspired, is written from an earthly—not an eternal (or Heavenly)
perspective. It literally rips the mask off the wisest mortal, who from the
opening words admits to being out of fellowship with God (Ecc. 1:1-3, 14).
His thoughts often reflect the same fatalistic mindset so prevalent in OT
Jewish times:
“For to him that is joined to all the
living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the
living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither
have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten” (Ecc.
9:4-6). This verse gives hope to souls sleepers and others who ignore the
context of Solomon’s opining as Albert Barnes wisely notes:
“The last clause of Ecc. 9:6 indicates
that the writer confines his observations on the dead to their portion in,
or relation to, this world.” (Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible)
Progressive Revelation
Someone once quipped: “The New is in the
Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed.” In hermeneutics, this is
called “progressive revelation.” Here’s how it works.
While the 39 OT Books and the human
penmen were fully inspired, their concept of certain doctrines was somewhat
diffused behind types and shadows (Isa. 9:2; 42:16; Mark 4:16) not fully
understood until the completion of the New Testament canon (Heb. 8:5). This
of course included their knowledge of death. Were they wrong? No, they were
merely expressing opinions based upon the light God gave them for
disseminating His truth for that particular dispensation.
Death as understood in the Old
Testament
As previously stated, by and large, Jews
were fatalists believing in a future– albeit general- resurrection: “Thy
dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise
. . . and the earth shall cast out the
dead” (Isa. 26:19). To them death was lonely, somber, and somewhat fearful:
David mourned, “For in death there is no
remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks” (Psa. 6:5).
Job anguished: “Are not my days few?
cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, Before I go
whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of
death; A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death,
without any order, and where the light is as darkness” (Job 10:20-22).
Even though these men loved the Lord
with their entire being, they seem to have been almost smothered in a
blanket of despair when contemplating their own death.
Death as revealed in the New
Testament
By the time of Christ, the doctrine of
the resurrection of the dead was a highly debated issue. Greek philosophers
like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Epicurus had launched circuitous
philosophies that diverted focus from God to man, and from eternal to
temporal.
As the NT was written- and a new
dispensation unfolded– God began unwrapping the precious yet somewhat
shadowy secrets stored in the OT (1 Cor. 2:7). Not surprising, this became
startling revelation to Old Testament Jews, “who through fear of death were
all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:15).
One person the Holy Spirit chose to
reveal these mysteries to was a brilliant OT scholar we know as the Apostle
Paul (1 Cor. 2:7; 15:51; Eph. 1:9; 3:3). Interestingly, while Paul’s
teachings in some ways mirrored the OT thought regarding bodies falling
asleep at death (1 Cor. 11:30; 1 Thess. 4:14), when God revealed as many as
14 Books of the NT to Paul, He also gave him a fresh understanding of what
happens to the spirit and soul at death; that it becomes absent from the
body and present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:21). From that point
forward Paul taught that death was not to be dreaded, but looked upon with
anticipation and hope somewhat like a graduation (1 Cor. 15:54-55). This of
course garnered the ire of his former Sanhedrin associates who now sought to
kill him for teaching such things (Acts 9:23; 26:21).
5 Great Truths Refute Soul Sleep
There is an erroneous
doctrine known as “general resurrection, general judgment” that teaches one
day all the dead throughout history will be awakened from their sleep and
summoned to the Great White Throne (Rev. 20:11-15) where they’ll stand
before God to enter either Heaven or the Lake of Fire.
If that is true, and
Scripture proves that it is not, every saint in history should be asleep
somewhere awaiting judgment. And yet, such is not the case as we will see
from the testimony of Jesus and several saints that died and yet were very
much alive.
Note if you will, the
following 5 great Scriptural truths that will easily repudiate the soul
sleep heresy:
TRUTH #1:
The Bible refutes soul sleep in that God is God of the living, not the dead!
Since God is life and the source of all life (Gen. 1:20; Deut. 30:20; John
1:4; 14:6), apart from Him is considered death (Eph. 2:1,5). Toward the end
of His physical ministry on earth, Jesus was confronted by the godless
liberal Sadducees who had led the Jews to believe there was no future
resurrection. Once while trying to trap Him, they disingenuously inquired
about the status of marriage in the after life. Of course Jesus spotted the
ploy and called them ignorant which not only sewed their mouths shut but no
doubt helped seal His fate:
“Have ye not read that which was spoken
unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Mat
22:31-32).
What does this mean? If you believe in
soul sleep, it means nothing. If you believe Jesus, you understand that it
means these patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) along with all the saints
of history, have been alive– not asleep– all these years (see Luke 16:22-31;
Rev. 4:4, etc).
TRUTH
#2: Jesus refuted soul sleep by
promising we would never die! In a public pledge Jesus promised: “He that
heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life,
and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life”
(John 5:24). Later Jesus said, “If a man keep my saying, he shall never see
death” (John 8:51). Again, Christ’s integrity is at stake here. Every person
who heard the Lord utter this promise died, and their bodies were buried. In
light of that, if Jesus was referring to the death of the body as soul
sleepers are forced to maintain– and in view of the fact that all those
disciples bodies eventually died (fell asleep)- wouldn’t that make a liar
out of our Savior?
TRUTH #3:
Paul refuted soul sleep when he taught that absent from the body is to be
present with the Lord! As we have stated previously, Old Testament writers
operated under the disadvantage of limited light and therefore viewed the
resurrection as a one-time future event.
Paul, a converted rabbi, was given
additional revelation, adding light to what had been known regarding the
intermediate state of the body and soul at death. Remember, he had
experienced a trip to paradise so he knew first hand how real and
magnificent it was (1 Cor. 12:2). He taught more about death and
resurrection than any other Bible writer. Although he agreed with the Old
Testament writers that death brought about the appearance of a body falling
asleep (1 Cor. 15:6; 1 Thess. 4:14), he never implied that a sleeping body
brought about a sleeping soul or spirit- ever. Please consider God’s Word
here:
“Whilst we are at home in the body, we
are absent from the Lord: We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be
absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:6, 8). Did
you see that reinforcement? So not to confuse his readers, he said it one
way, then repeated it another way. In the body, away from the Lord. With the
Lord, away from the body. How much clearer can it get? Then, three years
later this captivating thought surfaced again in a letter to the
Philippians. “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart,
and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the
flesh is more needful for you” (Phil. 1:23-24). Once again, to depart from
earth (death) is to be with Christ. No soul sleep, no awaiting a general
resurrection, and no confusion for those who are not bound by the fallacious
traditions of religious rogues who continue to hold an eerie spell over
their duped disciples.
TRUTH #4:
Hebrews refutes soul sleep by teaching that the spirits of those who died
exist right now in Heaven! “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the
city of the living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable
company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn,
which are written in Heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits
of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and
to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel”
(Heb 12:22-24).
TRUTH #5:
The Bible systematically refutes soul sleep on at least 15 separate
occasions which again conclusively proves it to be a poorly concocted,
grievous error!
-
Samuel the Prophet wasn’t sleeping (1
Sam. 28:7-19)
-
Moses and Elijah weren’t sleeping (Matt.
17:1-4)
-
The thief on the cross didn’t sleep
(Luke 23:43)
-
When Stephen was stoned, his body slept
but the Lord received his spirit (Acts 7:59-60)
-
The Spirit of Jairus’ daughter was not
sleeping (Luke 8:51-54)
-
Abraham, Lazarus and the rich man were
not sleeping (Luke 16:20-31)
-
The Old Testament saints weren’t
sleeping (Matt. 27:52-53)
-
The souls in Sheol/Hades Christ preached
to weren’t sleeping (Eph. 4:8-10)
-
The Great Cloud of witnesses aren’t
sleeping (Heb. 11-12)
-
The Heavenly Saints are not sleeping at
the Rapture (1 Cor. 15:51-53; 1 Thess. 4:16)
-
The elders in John’s Revelation aren’t
sleeping (Rev. 4:4, 10)
-
The martyred tribulation souls aren’t
sleeping (Rev. 6:9-11; 20:11)
-
The great multitude redeemed from the
great tribulation aren’t sleeping (Rev 7:9, 14)
-
The returning army of Heavenly saints
are not sleeping at the Revelation of Christ (Rev. 19:11-14)
-
Jesus Christ, the Firstfruits of the
resurrection isn’t sleeping
SUMMARY STATEMENT: If soul sleep is
true, Jesus was a liar, Matthew was a liar, Luke was a liar, John was a
liar, Paul was a liar, Jude was a liar, the Book of Revelation, and in fact
the entire Bible is nothing more than a collection of lies written by a
prevaricating group of grievous wolves.
On the other hand, if what Jesus taught,
John taught, and Paul taught time and again is as true as we believe it is,
the clear choice for you will be to refute and reject the soul sleep heresy
and embrace God’s Word which clearly promises us that “absent from the body
is to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8).
