A Word about
Soul-Sleep
The New Testament
refers to death as “sleep”
53 times. Remember the story of
Lazarus, the brother of Mary and
Martha? Jesus referred to
Lazarus’ death as sleep. (See
John 11.) Why did Jesus say that
Lazarus was asleep? Why is death
called sleep so many times in the
Bible? The death experience is temporary,
just like sleep is temporary (and the
older I get, the more temporary sleep
seems to be). That is the reason for
a “resurrection.” Every
person who dies will live again, and
these people will be awakened from
their death/sleep in a resurrection.
There are two general resurrections
– one for the saints, the other
for the wicked. The saints will be
resurrected at the Second Coming. (1
Thessalonians 4:16) The people judged
to be wicked will be resurrected at
the end of the millennium.
(Revelation 20:5)
Here is some
background information about
soul-sleep that might be helpful. The
Lord commanded Adam that he should
not eat of the fruit of the forbidden
tree. “If you do,” the Lord
said, “you will be executed on
that very day because of your
rebellion.” (Genesis 2:17) In
the Garden, there was only one
death possible for those who had
access to the Tree of Life. Death
could only come through execution.
(The wages of sin is eternal death.
Romans 6:23) The day Adam sinned, he
was to be executed for his rebellion
against God, but Jesus stepped
“in the way” and became
man’s mediator or intercessor.
At that very moment, man’s penalty
for sin (execution and eternal death)
was averted because a Savior stepped
in the way. To prevent sinners from
living forever, man was removed from
the Garden so he would not have
access to the Tree of Life. (Genesis
3:22) Without the renewing power
found in the fruit on the Tree of
Life, a temporary death (first
death) became part of man’s
experience. Even though the PLAN of
salvation delayed the administration
of eternal death, it did not stop the
relentless process of sin’s
degeneracy. The first death – a
temporary death – is the
consequence of sin’s degeneracy.
For example, Adam lived 930 years and
then died. Adam received a “stay
of execution” (as all mankind
has) for the sin he committed until
the end of the millennium. The final
death-by-execution is the second
death. Of course, if Adam received
Christ as his Savior (and I believe
he did), He will not have to die the
second death because Jesus died that
death for him (paid the price for
sin). Jesus was executed just
as the second death requires.
However, and this is the point,
although execution and eternal death
has been delayed for mankind, it will
certainly be implemented. The second
death (the eternal death) comes at
the end of the millennium when the
justice of God is poured out on
people who He determines are in
rebellion against Him and the
principles of His kingdom.
Am I saying that the
wicked are going to be resurrected
from their temporary death at the end
of the millennium, only to be
executed for their wickedness at the
second death? Yes. Why would God
treat the wicked this way? Why would
He resurrect wicked people only to
destroy them? Does this sound mean?
On the surface, it does. However, as
this study continues, you will learn
the simple and profound answer to why
God chose to handle matters in this
way.
A 7,000 Year Plan
I believe that the
Bible describes the PLAN of salvation
to take a period of 7,000 years to
accomplish. God designed this plan as
a simple, but elegant process for
dealing with mankind. In short, it
works this way: By staying Adam and
Eve’s execution, God allowed
them to live, procreate and populate
the Earth as originally PLANNED.
Nevertheless, since sin ruined
mankind was allowed to live for only
a season. At the end of each
person’s life, he or she would
have to sleep in a temporary
state of death until the time comes
for the restoration of all things.
Just before the time of restoration,
the dead and the living will be
judged to determine who will have a
part in the Earth made new. (The dead
are judged shortly before the Second
Coming and the living are judged
through the mark of the beast test.
Revelation 12:15-18) At the Second
Coming, those individuals found to be
righteous during the judgment of the
dead will be resurrected and given
eternal life. The individuals who are
alive at the Second Coming, who have
not submitted to the mark of the
beast test, will be “caught
up in the air with those resurrected
from the dead.” (1
Thessalonians 4:17) The people who
are alive at the Second Coming and
have received the mark of the beast
tattoo will be killed by the sword
that comes out of the mouth of Jesus
(Revelation 20:4-5) and the birds
will eat their flesh (Revelation
19:11-21). At the end of the
millennium, all of the wicked from
all ages will be resurrected to watch
and understand three things:
- God’s
generous offer of salvation
to all mankind through the
gift of Jesus
- The reality of
God, His sovereignty and
kingdom and man’s
accountability to God
- A
comprehensive review of each
person’s life presenting
the reasons why God refused
to save him
As you can see, the
subject of the millennium is
important because it explains how God
finally disposes of sin. For this
reason, the subject of the millennium
is directly connected to the doctrine
of man’s mortality. When a
person dies, he or she goes neither
to Heaven nor to Hell. Instead, the
body decays back to dust (Genesis
2:17). The breath of life (the
spirit) returns to God and the soul
or intellect is suspended in an
unconscious state (John 11:11-14;
Ecclesiastes 9:5,6; Ecclesiastes
12:7; Acts 2:29,34). Christ, as
recorded in the book of deeds, judges
that person’s life, at an
appointed time, just before the
Second Coming. Jesus carefully
reviews each man’s actions as
recorded in the books of Heaven. When
Christ comes, the dead are
resurrected in one of two
resurrections – the first
resurrection is at the Second Coming
and the second resurrection (for the
purpose of eradicating the sin
problem) is at the end of the
millennium. (John 5:28,29; John
6:39-54; Luke 11:31,32)
Obviously, I do not
believe anyone is burning in hell
right now, nor are the saints
rejoicing in Heaven. An in-depth
Bible study does not support an
eternally burning hell. If the wages
for sin are burning in hell for
eternity, then Jesus never paid the
price for sin – He would still
be burning in hell. The Bible states
that the wages of sin is death –
not a life of torment. The dead are
nonexistent; they cannot talk, think
or communicate. It is simple; the
souls of dead people do not exist,
just as if your soul did not exist
before you were born. When the
resurrection occurs, God will restore
the soul/persona of each person just
as he was when he went to the grave.
This is why Paul writes that we shall
be known. Even as we are now known.
(1 Corinthians 13:12) Yes, there are
some texts that seem, on the surface,
to contradict this view; however,
when we evaluate all that the Bible
has to say on this topic, I find the
above conclusion to be the only
solution to several issues that are
involved.
Some People are in
Heaven
Yes, I know there are
a few chosen ones who God has already
taken to Heaven such as Enoch, Moses
and Elijah. A small group also
ascended with Jesus at the time of
His ascension, but I am writing about
humanity in general. (Genesis
5:23,24; Jude 9; 2 Kings 2:11-12;
Matthew 27:51-53; Psalm 68:18) When a
person dies, his or her soul ceases
to exist. Our souls do not have some
intelligent existence before we are
born and our souls do not have some
intelligent existence outside the
body after we die. However, if you
disagree on the matter of soul-sleep,
do not quit reading yet. Please allow
me to explain further.
Groups of people
The chart on the
following page summarizes how God
deals with seven groups of people at
the time of the Second Coming. Many
people do not realize that there are
seven distinct groups of people and
the bible addresses how God will deal
with each group. Keep in mind that
when it comes to salvation, there is
one PLAN, one faith, one Lord, one
baptism. However, at the time of the
Second Coming, there will be seven
distinct groups of people for God to
deal with. If we merge or mix
God’s plans for one group with
another, hopeless confusion will
result. So, let us examine each group
independently and determine how God
deals with them. Here are the seven
groups:
How God Deals with
Seven Groups of People
- The wicked
dead
- The righteous
dead
- The righteous
living
- The wicked
living
- The
“chosen few”
previously taken to Heaven
- Those who
crucified Christ
- Those who will
die for Christ during the 5th
seal
Obviously, the first
four groups presume the presence of a
judgment, for how can a person be
classified as wicked or righteous
without being judged? Again, let the
point be emphasized that at the time
of the Second Coming, these
classifications will exist because
the judgment of the dead and the
living will have already been
completed. The living will have
either rejected or accepted the mark
of the beast – thus they judge
themselves. By then, Christ will have
judged all the dead to be wicked or
righteous. Thus, the end-time
judgment produces four groups of
people: the wicked and righteous dead
and the wicked and righteous living.
- For the sake
of illustration, let us
assume that Cain (the first
born who killed Abel) died in
the year 3200 B.C. He
has been
“nonexistent” for
5,196 years, yet he will be
resurrected. Notice that on
“Judgment day” for
the dead began in 1844.
Assuming that Cain was one of
the first persons to be
judged, let us also assume
that Jesus, the Judge,
refused to offer Cain eternal
life because of lifelong
rebellion. Therefore, Cain is
not disturbed at the Second
Coming and sleeps through
that glorious day. However,
he will be resurrected after
the millennium when Christ
returns to Earth in an even
more glorious display of
power! At the end of the
1,000 years, the wicked dead
from all ages will be raised
to behold the Holy City and
meet their Maker at the White
Throne. Simple. Jesus will
reveal to each person why He
could not save him or her.
Every person is due this
dignity. Then, and only then,
will Jesus proceed to execute
justice upon the wicked in a
two-step process. First, the
wicked must provide
restitution (suffer) for the
evil deeds they committed
against their fellow human
beings (the amount of
suffering which was already
determined by the saints
during the 1,000 years
(revelation 20:4) and then,
the wicked will fully
destroyed because of defiant
rebellion against God. Both
the suffering for evil deeds
and the destruction for
rebellion against God will be
accomplished through fire and
burning sulfur.
Key Point: The
wicked dead are not disturbed at the
Second Coming.
- Again, for the
sake of illustration, let us
assume that Abel, the first
person to die, died in the
year 3970 B. C. at the age of
30 years. Abel has been
“nonexistent” for
5,266 years, yet he too, will
be resurrected. Remember,
“Judgment Day”
began in 1844 and Abel, being
the second person to be born
but the first person to die,
was the first person to be
judged. (I am assuming people
are judged in the order they
die.) Let us assume that
Jesus, the Judge, granted
Abel eternal life when He
judged him because of
Abel’s faith. Even
though Abel is found
righteous through faith, he
continues to sleep until the
resurrection of the righteous
at the Second Coming. Abel
will be resurrected at the
Second Coming and during the
1,000 years, he will sit in
judgment of Cain to determine
fair restitution (suffering)
for all Cain’s evil
deeds, including his own
murder by Cain. All the
righteous dead will be
resurrected at the Second
Coming of Christ. They will
join the righteous living and
together they will judge the
wicked. Their judgment is not
for the purpose of deciding
who is to be saved or lost.
The One who has such
authority has already
determined that. (John 5:22)
Rather, their work will be
focused on the executive
phase of judgment. They will
determine the administration
of justice by Heaven’s
faithful rule: “It shall
be done unto you as you did
unto others – plus
20%” (This is the
reciprocal of the golden
rule.)
Key Point: The
righteous dead are in a state of
temporary “sleep” until the
Second Coming and then reign
triumphantly with Christ during the
1,000 years.
- The righteous
who is still living at the
time of the Second coming
will be a smaller group than
the first two groups. These
people are identified by
their refusal to accept the
mark of the beast. When Jesus
pierces the dark, rolling
clouds at the Second Coming,
the living righteous will be
caught up with the righteous
dead to meet the Lord in the
air. (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
As revelation’s story
unfolds, I believe the number
of righteous people who live
through the Great Tribulation
without experiencing death
will be small compared to the
total number of righteous
people who die during that
time. (Revelation 17:6;
18:24) The righteous living
and the righteous dead will
be united at the Second
Coming and they will sit
together to judge the wicked
and the evil angels during
the 1,000 years. (1
Corinthians 6:1-3; Revelation
20:4-5)
Key Point: The
righteous living does not experience
death, and they meet Jesus in the
air, not on Earth.
- Now we come to
a very large group of people
compared to the living;
however, on the global scale
of billions and billions who
have lived upon earth, this
is a rather small group.
(Most of the people who have
lived on this planet are
currently dead.) This group
is the wicked that are
living at the time of the
Second Coming. These people
have lived through the Great
Tribulation and have chosen
the mark of the beast. Notice
that these groups of people
are not judged in the
pre-Advent judgment that
began in 1844. Jesus does not
judge these people from the
books of record either.
Instead, these people condemn
themselves! The mark of the
beast test causes
everyone to make a tough
decision. Those who chose to
rebel against God will chose
the mark of the beast. Taking
the indelible tattoo is a
conscious, open act of
rebellion against God’s
authority. So remember, God
does not need to judge the
living – they determine
their own eternal outcome.
The mark of the beast test
will be “Judgment
Day” for all who live on
Earth. The people who receive
the mark of the beast will be
destroyed at the Second
Coming by the sword that
comes out of the mouth of
Christ. The enemies of His
kingdom will be killed and
the birds of the air will
feed upon their flesh.
(Revelation 19:19-21; Hebrews
4:12,13)
Key Point: The
wicked people who are alive and have
chosen the mark of the beast at
Jesus’ second coming will be
killed by the sword of truth at
Christ’s glorious return and
will sleep through the 1,000 years.
- The fifth
group includes people that
God has taken to Heaven
already. Enoch, Moses, and
Elijah are among this group
the Bible indicates are
already in Heaven. In fact, I
believe the 24 elders of
Revelation are also among
those individuals who were
taken from earth! The
interesting point about those
taken to Heaven before Christ
paid the penalty for sin, is
that they were in Heaven
“on a credit card,”
figuratively speaking. In
other words, God took them to
Heaven before Christ died on
the cross at Calvary as a
sign of hope to believers
down through the ages that He
fully intended to pay the
price for sin at an appointed
time.
Key Point: This
group of people has not been happy in
Heaven. Think about it. How could
they be happy after watching the
people of Earth for a few thousand
years? Does the evening news make you
happy? If you could see all the evil
deeds that are done on Earth as they
do, you would also be unhappy.
- The Bible
teaches that those who
approved and participated in
the crucifixion of Christ
will be resurrected to behold
His appearance in glory
(Revelation 1:7). There will
be a special resurrection
about 45 days before Christ
appears for these people.
(The difference between 1,335
days and the 1,290 days in
Daniel 12.)
Key Point: This
group will be amazed, awed and
horrified when they see Jesus Christ
return in all His glory.
- There will be
a special blessing for those
who are murdered for the Lord
during the Great Tribulation.
I believe they will also be
resurrected in the same
special resurrection that
occurs 45 days before Christ
appears, so they might see
His glorious return. This
resurrection is sometimes
called “the special
resurrection” which
includes all the righteous
from ages past occurring at
the Second Coming.
Key Point: This
group will be resurrected in the
presence of their enemies, right
before their murderers! I wonder who
will be more surprised.
