Those Who "Sleep" in Death

This section talks about the dead and the coming of the Lord. It references "those who fall asleep" and some of us ask, what does this mean? When we die, are we only asleep?

Many people believe we are completely unconscious upon death until Judgement Day. Others suggest that our bodies "sleep" but the spirit is "awake". What does scripture say?
See Luke 16:19-31 (The Rich Man and Lazarus)
2 Cor. 5:6-8
Phil 1:23
These readings suggest that Christians will be with Jesus in spirit, while their body remains buried on Earth. (And when I say Christians, I mean those who believe, repent, AND follow His ways.) When those who refused Jesus have died, their spirit is in a place of torment.

It makes sense that our body and spirit separate upon death. The Old Testimate refers to death as a valley of fire, but the New Testimate uses the word "Hades" to describe death. The fact that Hades was also the Greek god of death was interesting to me. In mythology, all the dead float endlessly in a river, and Hades guards them. When the Bible used the word "Hades", it's curious to know how it was used and what was described according to Jesus. In Rev. 20, it describes the "second death", the eternal separation from God, which is for those who are wicked. In Luke, Jesus claims that "Hades" is divided between the wicked and the righteous. For the wicked there is torment; for the righteous there is peace. When Christ's return is described in Revelations, the dead who believe in Him are resurrected with new bodies. So when we or a loved one dies, we hope that their spirit is with Jesus, and that we will all be resurrected on Judgement Day.

Created about 1 year ago