Soul sleep

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Heb 13:8

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Phoneman777 said:
I checked this site's interpretation of how Christ, and not the antichrist, confirmed a covenant for seven years, Very detailed and comprehensive, but they left out one critical proof text: "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and then was confirmed to us by them that heard Him." Hebrews 2:3 KJV

Christ confirmed the Covenant for 3 1/2 years while He was among us in Person and the continued confirming it through "them that heard Him", the apostles, for the remaining 3 1/2 years.
Correct. What was your question.
 

Phoneman777

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Heb 13:8 said:
Correct. What was your question.
Why do Christians read Revelation and look for a "literal 1/3 part of the 'Earth, the trees, the grass" etc. to be destroyed, do not find such, so therefore conclude these events are yet to happen and must be future? Isn't Revelation a SYMBOLIC book, in which the elements contained therein must be interpreted? Do not the prophets elsewhere refer to "trees" as "men of Israel", which seriously limits the scope of the destruction to one of many events in the past, and undermines the rigid, popular interpretation of some soon to arrive "nuclear holocaust" or the like? Yes, the Churches, Seals, and Trumpets all parallel each other from the days of John and unfold throughout history until the Second Coming. Historicism, brother, is the key to correct eschatological interpretation.
 
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theefaith

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Is 2 Cor 5:8 real proof between death and the first resurrection that when we die, we go to be with the Lord immediately.

2 Cor 5:8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

I believe this..

The False Doctrine of 'Soul Sleep'

Word RTF

Question: When we die, does our soul remain in a conscience state or an unconscious sleep awaiting the resurrection? Thanks.

Response: Actually, the "soul" (Greek psyche [ψύχη], Hebrew nephesh [נפש]) is the word the Bible uses to describe the inner person as a combination of the both the material and immaterial parts of the human being (namely, the physical mind and the human spirit respectively). More information on the nature of man can be found in part 3 of the Satanic Rebellion series: "The Purpose, Creation, and Fall of Man". And you might also want to see the following links:

Sleep as a Euphemism for Death

Our Heavenly, Pre-Resurrection, Interim State.

The False Doctrine of Soul Sleep II

This point is actually apropos of your question because one of the things a correct understanding of the biblical teachings about God's construction of Man imparts is the realization that we are and have always been both material and immaterial, and will always be so (true even of unbelievers). Man was never meant to be and never will be a "disembodied spirit", and never will be. In the resurrection, we believers will have a new, glorious body far superior to our present one in many ways (see the Peter series, lessons #20 "The Resurrection" and #27 "Three False Doctrines that Threaten Faith"). The resurrection will occur at the Second Advent of our Lord for all believers alive at that time (as well as for all those who have died before our that event takes place: 1Thes.4:13-17), and ever after those so blessed will enjoy a body that cannot know pain, or sorrow, or decay (Rev.21:4). But even during for all those who have or will die in the Lord before that point, the time between physical death and bodily resurrection is not spent in "soul sleep". On the one hand, such a thing is impossible because

1) the soul is, as mentioned above, a combination of material and immaterial elements (i.e., without some sort of home for our spirit, there is no "us").

2) there is no mention of "soul sleep" in the Bible or anything approximating it;

3) scripture is consistent in all descriptions of heaven and paradise as representing the dead as conscious (e.g., the parable of the rich man and Lazarus: Lk.16:19-31; the description of believers in heaven awaiting the Second Advent: Rev.6:9-11; 7:9-17; cf. Heb.12:22).

After all, why would Paul (and others) be so anxious to "be with the Lord", if it only meant that they would be "asleep" until some far future time ("I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far": Phil.1:23)? And there is this passage of scripture which definitively puts the issue to rest:

For we know that if our earthly tent-dwelling [i.e., our physical body] be struck, we have an abode [that comes] from God, a dwelling made without human agency, eternal in the heavens. For indeed we do groan in this one, desiring to put on our habitation which comes from heaven. And [even] if we do put off this present one, at any rate, we [i.e., our spirits] will not be found naked [i.e., "body-less"].
2nd Corinthians 5:1-3

If your translation of the Bible prints something different here, that is not surprising. Most versions want to "emend" the original Greek text of 2nd Corinthians 5:3, not on the basis of any alternative manuscript reason, but solely on the basis of not understanding what Paul is saying - namely that after death we will not be naked (i.e., without a body), in spite of the fact that the resurrection has not yet occurred. The reason for this is that, creatures of both a material and immaterial nature that we are, God will never leave us in any other way than He always meant us to be, possessing both a body and a spirit (in the case of departed believers, the body is at this present time an "interim" body which, while superior to our present "home", is not to be compared with the marvelous "resurrection body" which will be ours on that future day of Christ's return).

That believers who have departed to be with the Lord are conscious and truly experiencing His presence (even though they have not yet experienced the resurrection) can also be seen from John's description of the worship of martyred believers in presence of the Lamb prior to the Second Advent:

After this I looked and, behold, [there was] a huge multitude which no one was able to number from every nation and tribe and people and tongue standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and with palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting in a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God, the One who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!"
Revelation 7:9-10 (cf. Rev.7:13-17)

Confidence in our immediate reunion with the Lord we love and for whom we live is also a large part of the motivation that keeps us going forward in the Christian life, ever up that steep and narrow road. The false doctrine of "soul sleep" robs us of this assurance of being with Jesus immediately after death and tends to make our view of resurrection more tenuous. But the resurrection is the rock of the gospel, and just as we believe that our Lord was "conscious" in the grave for three days (1Pet.3:18-19), and resurrected on the third day, so also we are confident of a joyous and immediate reunion with Him as soon as we complete our tour of duty on this satanic battlefield - whenever that day may come, on that very day we shall be "with Him in paradise" (Lk.23:43). And we are supremely confident of the literal resurrection of our bodies - into something far more wonderful than we can now imagine - when the time arrives for His glorious return.

Yours in the confident expectation of the resurrection of the Church of Christ,

Bob Luginbill http://ichthys.com/mail-soul sleep.htm

only the body stays in the ground until the resurrection

Lk 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.