The theory of “soul sleep” (mortalism) is troublesome for some believers. This is the belief that after the body dies the soul of the person is left in a state of suspended animation, or unconsciousness. For the record I am not a believer in this ideology, therefore, my remarks on the subject will be few. From my studies I have found no biblical support for this viewpoint and like many other scholars I find the teaching of this ideal somewhat cultic. John Calvin refuted the claim of soul sleep in 1534 with his writing Psychopannychia, stating that it was “eating in like a cancer”[1] to the faith of those less skilled in their understanding.
Some seem to support the idea of mortalism through certain passages of the Bible that reference death as a “falling asleep.” Take for instance the story of Stephen’s stoning, “Lord do not charge them with this sin.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep (Acts 7:60).”[2] Also, in other passages such as when Jesus raises the dead girl in Matthew 9:24, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” These instances and other passages like these offer the basis for this belief. But as most of us know already, we can take passages out of context and make them say anything we need if we have a claim that needs supporting. Yet, doing so doesn’t make what we believe true, it just makes us false prophets and distorters of God’s Word; that is dangerous ground to tread.
Furthermore, when death is likened to sleep in the Bible it is speaking of how it appears to the onlooker, not the person who has actually passed. This idea is supported by Don Stewart, in his article Are People Conscious at Death? (Soul Sleep) for Blueletterbible.org, he states the same premise I just spoke of, “When the dead are referred to as sleeping, it is the language of appearance, the way it looks to an observer.”[3] So, when the body dies, from the outward perspective we seem as though we are sleeping.
Although, the body is dead, we (our souls/spirits) are not there, and I base this of different passages in Scripture, but I will only reference two in today’s blog. The first, is that of Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:8, “Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” The gist of what Paul is claiming here is that when we die our soul/spirit goes on to be with the Lord. Prior to verse 8, Paul speaks of our bodies as being our earthly tents and that when we move from our “earthly home (v.1)”, we have a heavenly building waiting upon our arrival, and the Spirit is our guarantee of this (1 Cor. 5:1-5). The point I am getting to here is that our bodies are just housings, if you will, for our souls and our souls can and will exist (consciously) apart from the body.
The second passage is that of Jesus and the thief at the Crucifixion (Luke 23:39-43). In verse 42, the thief asks Jesus “remember me when (emphasis mine) you come into your kingdom.” The thief stated “when” because the common belief in Jewish thought was that God’s kingdom would not come until the end of time. However, look at Jesus’ response “Truly, I say to you, today (emphasis mine) you will be with me in paradise.” Who said that? the Son of God said that, and why would He say that if it wasn’t true. It was that day that the thief moved into the presence of the Lord, as clearly emphasized by Christ. There would be no soul sleep, no state of unconsciousness that the thief would reside in, “today,” that day was the day he would be with Christ in Paradise.
I hope this was enough to clear some anxious thoughts for those who question this so-called doctrine (not intentionally trying to be offensive). Yet, I hope we see that there is no biblical foundation for it in Scripture. Scripture does teach, however, that when our bodies have run their course, all that makes us who we are moves on to be either with the Lord, or eternally separated from Him. And it is my prayer that you will enjoy the former; not the latter part of that statement.
Blessings,
Pat
[1] http://www.godrules.net/library/calvin/142calvin_c9.htm
[2] All Scripture quotations taken from the ESV, unless otherwise noted
[3] https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_127.cfm