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SOUL SLEEP---ERROR #2.
I have several other studies on the doctrine of soul sleep but they can become extremely long. So I decided to break those studies down to cover the specific individual verses that are used to try and prove that the soul sleeps in the grave in an unconscious state until the first resurrection that takes place at the coming of Jesus.
I thought about calling this study “What does Ezekiel 18:20 truly mean?” But in some cases, those who teach the doctrine of soul sleep use two or three verses to make a single argument. Their MAIN argument is that Christians do NOT go DIRECTLY STRAIGHT to Heaven when they die. But rather they teach that the SOULS of Christians SLEEP in the GRAVE in an UNCONSCIOUS state until the first resurrection at the return of Jesus.
However, they have several smaller SINGLE arguments that they build upon or connect together to try and prove their main argument. So then, their second argument is to try and prove that the living SOUL becomes a DEAD soul the very moment that a person dies. If you have read the study “SOUL SLEEP---ERROR #1”, then you can see how they CHANGE what they teach from their first argument that the living soul is made up of just two parts. And if either part is taken away then the soul is NO MORE. In other words, they CHANGE from saying that the living soul is NO MORE to now saying that the living soul is DEAD. So if you have not done so already please read “SOUL SLEEP---ERROR #1.” In that study, I show how they have incorrectly interpreted Genesis 2:7 and Ecclesiastes12:27 to try and prove that we are made up of just TWO parts, the body, and the spirit. But for now, let us continue with this study to expose the error of interpretation of Ezekiel 18:20 and James 2:26.
I will be quoting from my much longer study called:
DO CHRISTIANS GO TO HEAVEN WHEN THEY DIE?
SECTION TWO
Another verse that Christians who teach the doctrine of soul sleep use is James 2:26. And they use this verse to try and prove that without the spirit the SOUL is DEAD. In other words, they CHANGE what they teach about the soul being NO MORE to the living soul now becoming a DEAD SOUL when the body dies.
James 2:26.
“For as the BODY without the SPIRIT is DEAD, so faith without works is dead also.”
But this verse does NOT say that the SOUL dies when the spirit leaves the body. Rather it says that the BODY is DEAD without the spirit. Their argument is that the Greek word translated as “spirit” means BREATH and the BODY means the WHOLE person. So they conclude that breath PLUS body EQUALS a SOUL. And, therefore, to THEM, when the breath leaves the body then there is NO MORE SOUL. In other words, to THEM, there can only be a LIVING soul or a living PERSON when there is the breath of LIFE in the BODY. And thus, they conclude that when the breath of life leaves the body then the soul DIES. It becomes a DEAD SOUL. Because to THEM, the souls IS the PERSON. Remember that they use 2 Peter 3:20 to conclude that the word “soul” ALWAYS means the WHOLE person.
Then they quote their third proof text to show that the soul is NOT IMMORTAL by showing that the soul of a SINNER shall DIE.
Please read Ezekiel 18:20.
“The soul that sins, it shall DIE. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.”
And I totally agree. The souls of all SINNERS will indeed be destroyed by Almighty God in the lake of fire on the final Day of JUDGMENT if so be that a person dies while living in SIN. But that does NOT mean that the soul itself DIES at the very moment that the physical body dies.
Please understand that the word “soul” does NOT ALWAYS mean the whole person in every single verse. In this particular verse in Ezekiel 18:20 the word “soul” could be interpreted as the whole person as well as the soul OF a person. Also, this verse says NOTHING about the soul of a Christian. It says the soul that SINS shall DIE. In other words, the souls of SINNERS will die if they do not repent of their sins. For you see, if you read the CONTEXT in the very next verse you can see that God also says that the soul that TURNS from his wicked ways shall LIVE.
Please read Ezekiel 18:21.
“But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he has committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely LIVE, he shall NOT die.”
So you can see how those that teach soul sleep take verses OUT of their context to try and support that the soul DIES when the body dies. Remember that they use James 2:26 to equated that the LIVING BODY or the living person IS the SOUL. And to them when the breath of life leaves the BODY the SOUL dies because to them the soul IS the BODY. In other words, according to them, the body without the spirit of the breath of life equals a DEAD SOUL.
Then they quote their fourth proof text to prove that God DESTROYS BOTH the BODY and the SOUL in hell that proves that the soul of man is NOT an IMMORTAL soul. Now, to me, this one verse alone should be more than enough to prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that the SOUL is NOT the BODY or is not always the whole person in every verse of the Bible. For you see, this verse says that God is able to destroy BOTH the body AND the soul.
Please read Matthew 10:28.
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in HELL.”
Again, I agree that God will destroy BOTH the body and the soul of every WICKED person in the lake of fire on the final Day of Judgment that takes place AFTER the 1000 year reign of Jesus. But this verse has NOTHING whatsoever to do with proving that the soul DIES or SLEEPS at the very moment that a person dies physically. And I agree that the soul is NOT IMMORTAL. That is an invention of the Roman Catholic Church in order to teach the eternal torture in the flames of hell doctrine. Please read the studies “IS THE DOCTRINE OF HELL BIBLICAL?” and “DOES REVELATION 20:10 TEACH ETERNAL TORMENT?” But again, none of these verses have anything to do with the SOUL dying when the breath of life leaves the body. Then they sum things up by saying that the Bible teaches that the soul is BORN and then the soul DIES.
But that is NOT what the Bible itself teaches. The Bible teaches us that soul of a SINNER shall die, as in, the soul of a sinner shall be destroyed by God in the lake of fire on the final Day of Judgment after the 1000 year reign of Jesus. God does NOT destroy the soul of any person at the very moment that a person dies. Also, God will ONLY destroy the souls of the wicked. And the destruction of the soul of the wicked sinners will not take place UNTIL the final Day of Judgment which is when the souls of the WICKED only will be cast ALIVE into the lake of fire.
Anyway, after they have deceived Christians that are not rooted and grounded in the word of truth to wrongly believe that the soul DIES when the body dies, then they quote many verses to show that the Bible LIKENS death to being ASLEEP.
Now, I am not going to quote any of those verses that liken death to being asleep because they are 100% correct in their interpretation of those particular verses. I totally agree that the Bible does indeed liken death with being asleep. But that does NOT prove that the SOUL SLEEPS in an UNCONSCIOUS state until the resurrection because there are no verses in the Bible that teach us that the soul actually DIES when the body dies.
However, there are verses that teach us that we, as Christians, will pass from death unto life and that we shall NOT taste death.
Please read John 5:25.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
Also, read James 5:20.
“Let him know, that he which converts the sinner from the error of his way shall SAVE a SOUL from DEATH, and shall hide a multitude of sins.”
Now read 1 Thessalonians 5:23.
“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be PRESERVED BLAMELESS unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
So how can a BLAMELESS SOUL DIE when the Bible teaches us that only the souls of SINNERS will DIE? The wages of SIN is DEATH. So to ME, there is absolutely no sound Biblical proof that the SOUL DIES when the physical body dies.
Now those who teach the doctrine of soul sleep do quote several verses that may SEEM as if the souls of the DEAD are in an unconscious state. But as I say many times that any verse, when viewed apart from the rest of God’s word, may SEEM to be saying something that it is NOT TRULY saying when it is correctly interpreted in the light of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. Also, remember that being asleep does NOT equate to being in an unconscious state. For you see, we DREAM when we sleep. So to me, death being LIKENED to sleep speaks more of death being likened to RESTING.
So in the next three studies in this series on the false doctrine of soul sleep, we will cover ALL 13 remaining verses that are used to try and support that NO ONE goes directly to Heaven when they die. I will divide them up into categories. In category #1, we will cover the verses where no man has ascended into heaven. In category #2, we will cover the verses that speak of SLEEPING IN the GRAVE. And in category #3, we will cover the verses that SEEM to be saying that the DEAD have no THOUGHTS which those who teach soul sleep conclude to mean that the SOULS of the dead are UNCONSCIOUS.
So then, in the next study called “SOUL SLEEP---ERROR #3” we will take a CLOSER look John 3:13 and Acts 2:34. And if you would like to read all six types of errors made by those who teach the doctrine of soul sleep all together in one study then please read the study “DO CHRISTIANS GO TO HEAVEN WHEN THEY DIE?”
For further study on this subject errors of interpretation made by Christians who teach the doctrine of soul sleep please read all the studies under the heading >>>THE FALSE DOCTRINE OF SOUL SLEEP<<<
Thanks for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
Once Christians, Jews, Muslims, and even atheists understand the REASON that Yahweh CREATED the Son of MAN, Jesus, was to have DOMINION over the work of Yahweh’s hands.
And after you understand that the REASON that Yahweh did that is to STILL His ENEMIES, Satan and the fallen angels.
Then you can understand that God made His human Son to become “a” Lord, “a” King, and “a” God, under and subject to his God and Father in order to JUDGE Satan and the fallen angels.
For a deeper understanding of this WAR that Lucifer and one third of the angels waged against the throne of Almighty God, please read the studies under the subject category called ** Q-0 Why Are We Here? Is God at WAR? **.
More studies are coming in this SHORTER Biblical Unitarian view of who Jesus is according to the WHOLE word of God.
If you have a PARTICULAR verse of Scripture that you would like to know the sound Biblical Unitarian meaning, then please email me at MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail.com and let me know.
For further and more in-depth studies on this subject of Jesus being created to STILL the enemies of Yahweh, please read the studies called D-25. A NEW LOOK at JOHN 1:1, In the BEGINNING!
And also read the study called D-28. The PRE-ADAMIC LUCIFERIAN FLOOD!
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Thanks again for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
And again, for ALL of the studies on the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus, please click on the subject heading ** D-0 The BIBLICAL UNITARIAN VIEW of Jesus! **
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Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Brother Mark.
My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century.
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