Ain't that life (Isn't death living?)
A Written compostion of the Heavenly Calling Network Study Group

Part 11
Ain't that life!
Joel, Since it is seemingly thought that I hold the view of Soul sleep, we should go through that for that is unscriptural. Now the usage of the word Sleep in scriptures. Hmm, looking into scriptures, the word sleep is in there. But does it mean sleep, as you and I would mean sleep, i.e.when we go to bed and snore the night away, dreaming, breathing, conscience in any sense? Or does it mean dead like in all creation, but with an added feature. Temporarily dead. Dead until the call of Christ.

I am added because you have brought it in to this topic. And maybe it is good that it is. We should be concerned with all angles, and leave no stone uncovered if we can. For it is to be truly profitable, all true ministry must be "a word in season (Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.)", and it is not possible nor expedient to teach all the truth, or witness to every doctrine, at each sitting in time.

So we need to go look at scripture and get ourselves acquainted with all that it means. First, lets start off with: John 11:14, "Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead" (Lazaros apethanen). The Greek verb here translated "is dead" is from apothnesko. John 11:21 and 41 show well, that the word thnesko means "to" "The addition of the prefix apo intensifies the cone representing the actions of the simple verb as consummates finished, to die out, to expire, to become quite dead." In John 8:52 we read: "Abraham is dead." (Abraham apethanen). Here, therefore, is fact one. Lazarus was literally and completely dead as was Abraham.

Now secondly, in Luke 8:52 we read "She is not dead" (Greek ouk apethanen). Here we had negative "not", which sets before us the exact opposite of the proposition made in John eleven. Here, therefore, is fact two. "She is not dead".

It is of the norm for some to use the words of Luke 8:52 to deny or belittle the language of John 11:14, but by so doing they are making Christ contradict Christ, which is impossible. The third fact emerges, which demand All of our acceptance is that Lazarus was dead and the little maid was not; both statements must be, accepted, and neither contradicts the other.

The fourth fact is that in both cases the word "sleep" occurs, and this is brought forward as a proof that Lazarus was not really dead. But when we "open the Book" and "search and see" we discover that this "proof" is based on the supposition that the Greek word for "sleep" in both passages is identical. This, however, is not the case:

"Our friend Lazarus sleepeth", Greek koimaomai (John 11:11). "She is not dead, but sleepeth", Greek katheudo (Luke 8:52).

These two words represent two distinct thoughts; they are used with purpose, and recorded by inspiration of God. Those who desire the truth will adhere to the words that the Lord chose; those who wish otherwise will probably pay little or no attention to the essential difference between them. The word in John 11:11 is used in the passive and means "to fall asleep involuntarily", consequently it is used of death. The word in Luke 8:52 is active, and means "to compose oneself to sleep". A good illustration of the essential difference between the two words occurs in the first epistle to the Thessalonians. In 4:13-15 we read of them which "sleep", and these believers are spoken of as "them which sleep in Jesus" (verse fourteen) and "the dead in Christ" (verse sixteen). Moreover these are contrasted with those who are "alive and remain". In these passages the word consistently used is koimaomai, for this "sleep" means death.

In 1 Thessalonians five, however, katheudo is used, and not koimaomai:

"Let us not sleep as do others" (verse six).

"They that sleep, sleep in the night" (verse seven).

"Whether we wake or sleep" (verse ten).

Were the word "sleep" here synonymous with death, we should be able to restate verse six as follows: "Therefore let us not die as do others"! but, alas, we have no such option. The word "sleep" finds its synonym, not in death, but in "drunkenness", its contrast in being "sober".

If you read the A.V. you should remember that the words "watch" in 1 Thessalonians 5:6 and "wake" in verse ten are the same. The original word is gregoreo, and is translated "be vigilant" once, "wake" once, "watch" twenty times, and "watchful" once; consequently 1 Thessalonians 5:10 should read, "Who died for us, that whether we be watchful or drowsy, we should live together with Him", although, of course, other Scriptures make it plain that the unwatchful believer may not be granted to "reign with Him", a doctrine not in view in the chapter before us.

Here is fact number four; that two essentially different ideas are presented by the two different words translated "sleep" in Luke eight and John eleven, and must therefore not be confounded.

There is, however, one further statement in Luke's Gospel that demands attention. It is, "And her spirit came again" (Luke 8:55). It is to Mark's account of the raising of Jairus' daughter that we are indebted for the fact that on that occasion (Mark 5:41) the Saviour spoke Aramaic, not Greek, from which it is clear that her parents and those concerned were acquainted with the Hebrew Scriptures, and familiar with its idiom. Having that in mind, let us refer to 1 Samuel 30:11,12 where we read:

"And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water; and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, HIS SPIRIT CAME AGAIN to him".

This passage proves that the expression in Luke 8:55 does not necessitate death.

We learn, therefore, that Lazarus was actually dead, whereas, while the family and friends of the little maid thought she was dead, they were mistaken. The word used of Lazarus meant "to fall asleep involuntarily", whereas the word used of the little maid meant "to sleep", not as the dead, but as those who were in a coma or heavy sleep.

Unravelled by these considerations we can now face the Scriptural fact that the dead are said to be "asleep". Even the heathen poets, of necessity well acquainted with their mother tongue, realized that the figure of sleep, as used of death, implied a subsequent awakening, and so we find them continually adding the epithets "perpetual", "eternal", "unawakened", "brazen", to the word "sleep", in order to exclude the idea of awakening natural to it. Estius says "sleeping is thus applied to men that are dead, and this because of the hope of resurrection; for we read no such thing of brutes". The early Christians rightly called their burying places koimeterion, "sleeping places", from which comes the English "cemetery".

To you, the believer, who is prepared to accept whatever may be the teaching of the inspired Word, these passages are of themselves sufficient proof that in the Scriptures death is likened to sleep, and because the Scriptures are true, and no figure employed by them can be misleading, the two words "sleep and awaken", used to indicate "death and resurrection", leave no room for a conscious interval, where, it is taught, the disembodied dead are more alive than they were in life.

In order that nothing will cloud your view, we should return to John eleven.

"He whom Thou lovest is sick" (11:3).

"This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified" (11:4).

We have already seen that Lazarus died, and the record of his burial follows. The words "not unto death" cannot therefore mean that our Saviour was mistaken. We may learn the intent behind these words by comparing them with another comment found in John:

"Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him" (9:2,3).

In this passage the Lord is not teaching that the man or his parents were the exceptions to the universal rule, and were sinless. He was indicating that this special calamity of blindness was allowed, or even planned, in order that, by the miracle of his healing, the works of God that set Him forth to be the Messiah, should be made manifest. So, also, the sickness of Lazarus, though it ended in actual death, had a greater purpose in it, namely the glorifying of God and of His Son. In verse fourteen of John eleven we read, "Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead".

"Plainly" (parrhesia)-Four times this word occurs in John's Gospel as the translation of the Greek parrhesia, and in each case it is used in the explanation of a parable or proverb.

"If Thou be the Christ, tell us plainly" (John 10:24).

"Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazar-us is dead" (11:14).

"These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father" (16:25).

"His disciples said unto Him, Lo, now speakest Thou plainly, and speakest no proverb" (16:29).

In John 10:6, in allusion to the previous verses regarding the fold, the shepherd and the robber, this word paroimia, "proverb", is translated "parable". This "proverb" is then "plainly" stated in John 10:7-18. When, therefore, the Lord said "plainly", "Lazarus is dead", He was but explaining the meaning of the figure, the parable or proverb of "sleep".

You will probably be alive to the fact that death, as you already have been, conceived of as sleep from which there is no awakening until the resurrection, is so contrary to the teaching of many who have embraced the teaching known as "the immortality of the soul", and its consequent sequel "the intermediate state" (with, incidentally, is a teaching of "Spiritism" and other false doctrines.).

There is no such thing as soul sleep. But we should continue:

Moses is the first concerning whom it is written "Thou shall sleep with thy fathers" (Deut. 31:16). Moses was a believer, and consequently this one reference is evidence that the term can be used of the redeemed. That it does not mean actual sepulchre is evident by the testimony of Deuteronomy, for the last chapter reveals that the Lord buried Moses in the land of Moab, "but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day", so the term "fathers" must not be unduly pressed.

The next who was told that he would sleep with his fathers, was David (2 Sam. 7:12), and in 1 Kings 2:10 we have the record, "And David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David". We find, however, that this same term is used of such evil men as Jeroboam, Rehoboam, Abijam, Baasha and other similar characters; these also are said to sleep with their fathers upon their decease, just in the same way and expressed in the same language as of Moses, David, Solomon and Hezekiah. Consider Baasha for example. He, like Moses, slept with his fathers, but it is written:

"Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat: and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat" (1 Kings 16:4), because this man followed in the evil ways of Jeroboam. It is time, therefore, to consult the original and to discover what Hebrew word is translated "sleep". That word is shakab, the primary meaning of which is "to lie down", by which it is translated over100 times. In common usage it may be preparatory to sleep, but the actual act and fact of sleep is not inherent in the word chosen. The Hebrew word shenahwhich does mean "sleep", is NEVER used in the phrase, "He slept with his fathers" which is strange if the conception that death can be likened to sleep is true of all men.

Job use the word as well, but as I have stated, it is not necessary to us any passages in Job to prove scripture. And as you have objected to the usages of that book, I have willingly agreed to the use of other passages.

So lets look in the N.T. and discover that there are actually three words translated sleep, hupnos, which gives us the word "hypnosis", and "hypnotism", katheudo, and koimaomai. Hupnos occurs six times. Three times in the Gospels (Matt. 1:24; Luke 9:32; John 11:13), twice in the Acts (Acts 20:9), and once in the epistles, where it is used for the first and last time in a figurative sense (Rom. 13:11). This word, therefore, should not stop us any further, then just a passing mentioning for this topic. Katheudo occurs twenty-one times, of which seventeen references are found in the Gospels, and four in the epistles. The references in the Gospels refer to ordinary physical sleep; the references in the epistles refer to culpable un watchfulness, rather than the involuntary falling asleep in death.

"Awake thou that steepest" (Eph. 5:14).

"Let us not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober" (1 Thess. 5:6,7,10).

Two references will call for consideration after the next Greek word is considered, namely Luke 8:52 and I Thessalonians 5:10, but they will be more clearly seen when the comparison with koimaomat has been made. This Greek word occurs eighteen times. Katheudo means to compose oneself to sleep, in contrast with koimaomai which means to fall asleep out of sheer weariness or under the hand of death.

"He found them sleeping for sorrow" (Luke 22:45).

"If her husband be dead" (1 Cor. 7:39).

"For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep" (1 Cor. 11:30).

When the Lord assured the mourning family that the little girl "was not dead, but sleepeth", they laughed Him to scorn (Luke 8:52), but we believe His word implicitly and without debate. The word chosen by the Lord in this context was katheudo. The apparently parallel passage in John 11:11 "our friend Lazarus sleepeth" uses the word koimaomai, and whereas in Luke eight, the Lord said, "She is NOT DEAD", in John eleven, He said plainly, "Lazarus IS DEAD".

In 1 Thessalonians four and five the argument of the Apostle revolves around the figure of sleep, but with this difference. In chapter four, it is the involuntary sleep of death, whereas in chapter five it is the culpable sleepiness of the unwatchful. Let us observe the process of the two arguments:

"concerning them which are asleep (i.e. dead) . . .them also which sleep in Jesus (those that die in the Lord, no unwatchful believer is `unwatchful in Jesus') . . . We which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep . . . the dead in Christ" (1 Thess. 4:13-18).

Here the reference is to those who, though believers, have fallen asleep in Christ, i.e. who have literally died, whereas in the next chapter koimaomai is excluded, and only katheudo is employed, the closing verse of the argument reading: "Who died for us, that, whether we are watchful" (gregoreo, same word "watch" in 1 Thessalonians 5;6, and so translated twenty-one times, once "be vigilant" which amounts to the same thing, and once, herein 1 Thessalonians 5:10 by "wake" which is -misleading), "Whether we are watchful or drowsy (katheudo not koimaomai as in 1 Thessalonians four) we should (in spite of this lack of faithfulness) live together with Him". In 2 Timothy 2:11-13 the difference between "living" and "reigning" with Christ is brought out, living with Him as in 1 Thessalonians 5:10 being solely dependent upon His death on our account, not upon our watchfulness, yet watchfulness is taken into consideration when the question of reward is before us.

"Saints" are said to "sleep" (Matt. 27:52); Lazarus is said to "sleep" (John 11:11); Stephen "fell asleep"(Acts 7:60); Christ is said to be the firstfruits of them that "slept" (1 Cor. 15:20); and believers are said to have "fallen asleep" in Christ (1 Cor. 15:18), but in all the range of this usage, whether in Gospels, Acts or Epistles, "to fall asleep" is never used to speak of the death of an unbeliever.

The Lord never says "Ye shall fall asleep in your sins", buy "ye shall die in your sins", for the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law, but for those who believe in the Son of God, that sting has been removed. What is plain death to the ungodly is to fall asleep in Christ to the redeemed.

"For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself, For whether we live, we live unto the Lord: and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's" (Rom. 14:7,8).

Christ is the Lord both of the dead and the living. In Adam all die, but in Christ, the believer falls asleep-blessed difference indeed! The dead which die "in the Lord" are pronounced "blessed" (Rev. 14:13).

You should find that "sleep" is not predicated of the ungodly in their death, but is reserved only for those who die "in the Lord".

Let us, therefore, use this blessed word with discretion, and value the priceless inferences that such a distinction must necessarily lead to.

Tommy, "Thank you for the great exposition on "sleep" as related to death, now I know "soul sleep" is not the position you hold. It must be annihilationism then right? It matters not I suppose as far as this discusson is concerned. Both "soul sleep" and annihilationism hold to the idea that there is no consciousness after death. That's really one of the main questions we need to ascertain here, if there is consciousness after death.

I think at the heart of our discussion is our understanding of body, soul, and spirit. It is clear based on what you have clearly said, that you believe:

body (flesh) + spirit (breath of life) = living soul (or being, or creature)

I personally hold to the triunity of man, that man is composed of body, soul, and spirit.

1 Thessalonians 5:23: "Now may the God of Peace Himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

That is, to be sanctified entirely and preserved complete, our total self is involved--body, soul, and spirit.

What do you think of the following scriptures which to me clearly indicates that the soul can live outside the body:

Genesis 35:18 records concerning Rachel in childbirth that "it came about as her soul (nephesh) was departing, for she died, that she called him...Benjamin." So apparently the soul goes out at death.

Another scripture shows us the opposite, a soul returning gives life, in 1 Kings 17:21,22 Elijah the prophet entreats the Lord to raise a boy from the dead.

"Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to the Lord and said, 'O Lord my God, I pray Thee, let the child's life [nephesh] return to him' and the Lord heard the voice of Elijah and the life [nephesh] of the child returned to him and he revived."

Isaiah 53:12 records that Christ "poured out His soul unto death."

It seems obvious then that the language used to describe the soul departing and returning is a clear indication that the soul does not simply cease to exist at death.

Another good passage is in the NT where soul or "psuche" (equivalent of "nephesh") is said that it cannot be killed. Mat 10:28, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." The encouragement clearly is that man can only cause death to the body of another man but not to the soul, and by implication the soul survives the death of the body.

And with regards to man's spirit being merely the "breath of life" and has no consciousness of its own, seems to me not in concert with the entirety of scriptural counsel. Zechariah 12:1 says this: "Thus declares the Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him...." That seems to me more involved than just having breath in our lungs.

Isaiah 26:9 says this: "...at night my soul longs for Thee, indeed my spirit within me seeks Thee diligently." Our spirits can seek after God, that to me requires consciousness.

Another scripture states clearly that our spirit is capable of thought. 1 Corinthians 2:11 says, "For who among men knows the thoughts of a man, except the spirit of the man, which is in him?"

Our spirit can also "perceive" just as Mark 2:8 says of Jesus, "and immediately Jesus, perceiving in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves said to them, "Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts?"
Ephesians also suggests that we renew not only our minds, but our spirits. Clearly, our spirit within us is not simply breath.
Ain't that life 12