The question
is whether the soul sleeps until the resurrection, or if it goes to Paradise at
the time of death. Here I have to delve into the subject deeper that just 2
Corinthians, Ch. 5: 6-8, “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that,
whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:” which I will
get to in due course.
The apologist
for immanent transportation to Paradise use Peter, Chapter 2 Peter to help make their
case, but Peter is talking about the believer’s being led astray, however it
is a non sequitur argument. Verse 1 set the stage, “But there were false
prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among
you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that
bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”
So when Peter
gets down to verse 4-9 he is still talking about the pearls of those who would
lead the faithful astray, then in 4-11 where he says “For if God spared not the
angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains
of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but
saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the
flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and
Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example
unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with
the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them,
in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their
unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations,
and to reserve the unjust unto the Day of Judgment to be punished: But chiefly
them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise
government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak
evil of dignities. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring
not railing accusation against them before the Lord.”
Those who do
not believe in Sole Sleep pounce, see! But
what Noah was saved from was the destruction of his life of which the other
inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrha had to suffer. Noah was not whisked away to
Paradise, rather he walked away from the destruction, giving his wife the
opportunity to look back and turned into a pillar of salt. The non-Soul Sleep apologists
interpret verses 8 and 9 “(For
that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his
righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how
to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day
of judgment to be punished:” to mean that the believer will, at death, will go
to Paradise instead of the grave, a truer interpretation is to take it to mean
that God will give His elect the power to not be led astray by the false
prophets.
Then they (I
will use 'they' from now on instead of non-Soul Sleep apologists) use this
parable that Jesus told in Luke 16:22-31, “The poor man died and was carried by
the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in
Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and
Lazarus at his side. And he called out,
'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his
finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.' But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you in
your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things;
but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a
great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you
may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.' And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, to send
him to my father's house- for I have five brothers- so that he may warn them,
lest they also come into this place of torment.' But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets;
let them hear them.' And he said, 'No,
father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and
the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the
dead.'"
The parable
of Lazarus and the rich man has been the foundation for many of the erroneous
beliefs about "hell" within traditional Christianity. Some have
viewed it not as a parable, but as a true story Christ told to give details
about the punishment of sinners in hell. Yet a thorough, unbiased examination
of this story will show that the generally accepted interpretations of this
passage of Scripture are fallacious and misleading. Here I will go through the
parable to see what Christ was truly teaching.
Those who
insist that this is not a parable, but a true, literal story Christ told to
describe the condition of the lost in hell must overlook several facts to
arrive at that conclusion. First, Yeshua the Messiah never accuses the rich man
of any sin. He is simply portrayed as a wealthy man who lived the good life.
Furthermore, Lazarus is never proclaimed to be a righteous man. He is just one
who had the misfortune to be poor and unable to care for himself. If this story
is literal, then the logical implication is that all the rich are destined to
burn in hell, while all the homeless and destitute will be saved. Does anyone
believe this to be the case?
If hell is
truly as it is pictured in this story, then the saved will be able to view the
lost who are burning there. Could anyone enjoy eternal existence if they were
able to see lost friends, family, and acquaintances being incinerated in hell,
yet never burning up? Additionally, if hell (as it is traditionally taught) is
an abyss of fire and brimstone, where sinners are tormented forever, does
anyone really believe that one drop of water would relieve the pain and anguish
of someone suffering in its flames?
These are
just some of the difficulties we encounter when we try to make the account of
Lazarus and the rich man literal, instead of realizing that it is a parable. If
it is a true story, then all of the things Christ said must be factual. If all
the points of the story are not literal, then we must view this tale as an
analogy Jesus used to teach larger spiritual truth.
This brings
us 2 Corinthians, Ch 5: 6-8, “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that,
whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by
faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent
from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” But if we look up in verse 1
in this chapter, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were
dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in
the heavens.” We see that it is Heaven that Paul is talking about, not
Paradise.
From there
they go to Philippians 1:23–24, “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.” Or as ‘proof. Biblia.com’ who puts
it this way:
“Conclusion: Those who desire that Christ may
be magnified in their bodies have a holy indifference whether it be by life or
death and may rejoice in all their tribulations as Christ’s witnesses, knowing
that the Word of God cannot be Imprisoned and that though things do not turn to
their comfort in this world, by God’s grace, they will be made to turn to the
salvation of others.” In other words, Paul is not struggling with whether to
die and go to Paradise to be with Jesus, rather he is unconcerned if he lives
or dies as long it is in service to our Lord.
They will go
to bring up Philippians 1, where Paul is describing “departing and being with
Christ” before the resurrection, for there is no mention of the Last Day or the
final resurrection in the immediate context.” But Paul does not say how long
after his departure before he would be with Christ: "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." 1 Thess.
4:16, 17. Also See 1 Cor. 15:51-54; 2 and Tim.4:7, 8.
If no-one
goes to be with Christ till after the resurrection, how would it have been
better for Paul, so far as he was concerned, to depart then, rather than live
on? As no cognizance is taken of the lapse of time, after a person becomes
unconscious in death see Eccl. 9:5 and Ps. 146:4, though 2,000 years should
elapse before Paul's resurrection, it would seem to him but the twinkling of an
eye.
I will
respond their interpretation of Luke 23:43 and then terminate this discussion,
bty I am not a Seventh Day Adventists.
Jesus said
to the thief on the cross next to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be
with me in Paradise” This I have no bone to pick with, I believe that Jesus
took him to Paradise with him. But some don’t, they say if the phrase is re-punctuated
it can be interpreted differently:
“And Jesus
said unto him, Verily I say unto thee today, shalt thou be with Me in
Paradise.” See the difference in understanding the placements of the comas can make?
1
Corinthians 15:3-4: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and
that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the
scriptures.” So, according to this verse, Christ didn't rise from the dead
until the THIRD day after His death on the cross. Do you now see the problem
with the statement: "TODAY you will be with Me in paradise"? Well,
maybe Christ went to heaven when He died? The answer to that question is found
in the verse in John 20:17,”Jesus saith unto her, Touch Me not; for I am NOT
YET ascended to My Father.” So Jesus had risen from the dead on the third day
after His death, and meets Mary and says to her, "I have NOT YET ascended
to My Father". So do we have a contradiction with what Jesus said to the
thief and what actually happened? We know we cannot question the truthfulness
of Christ, because He is without sin and perfect. So we must look for harmony
between His statements.
With this I
bid you adieu, you will have to make up your own mind. I believe that the soul sleeps until it is resurrected.
And do not believe that you can use the Bible to prove otherwise to do so you will have to explain I
Thessalonians 4:13-14, "But
I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are
asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For
if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in
Jesus will God bring with him."
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