We continue our meditations on eternity, addressing the question: Does the Bible teach soul sleep? In other words, when we die, are believers in Christ unconscious until the resurrection? In the Old Testament, 1 Kings 17:17 presents a story about a little boy raised from the dead. He was the only son of a widow who had assisted the prophet Elijah. The boy was ill and gradually deteriorating until he ultimately stopped breathing (NIV translation). The original Hebrew text states that his soul ("nephesh") had departed. In verse 22 of the same passage, the boy's life returned to him after Elijah prayed for him. Once more, the Hebrew word used is "nephesh," indicating that the boy's soul returned! Like Jairus’ daughter in Luke 8, we observe again the invisible part of a person’s being, his soul, rejoining his body. This Scripture provides further evidence that the unseen aspect of us is conscious and alive at the moment of departure from the body (death).
The Holy Scriptures reveal that at this moment, the spirits of just men made perfect are in heaven (Hebrews 12:23). In another passage discussing Christ's return to Earth: “God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). Their physical bodies rest in the grave, but the unseen parts of their nature—their spirit and soul—are with the Lord. They are very much alive but in a different realm, a different life. Paul the apostle wrote: "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8). He also wrote to the church at Philippi about his desire to die and be with Christ:
22If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body (Philippians 1:22-24, Emphasis added).
Paul did not believe he would be unconscious in sleep when he died; he fully expected to be very much alive. He refers to it as “better by far.” The term “depart” in verse 23 above is translated from the Greek word meaning to break loose from an anchor. A.T. Robertson translates it as "To weigh anchor and put out to sea." What a beautiful image! It reminds us of the scene in the movie “Lord of the Rings,” when Bilbo Baggins leaves the Grey Havens and sets sail to begin a new adventure. It serves as a lovely analogy for what some view as an end; rather, it signifies a new beginning. If the apostle Paul were preparing to sleep for two thousand years, I don't understand how that could be described as "better by far." No, Paul was ready to go to another place that is “better by far.” A place where “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him!” (1 Corinthians 2:14).
Imagine a butterfly trying to explain to a caterpillar what its new life will be like. The caterpillar would have no frame of reference to understand what it means to fly in a glorious new body, unbound by the earth. If the caterpillar could comprehend this, would it choose not to enter its pupa state and be transformed? When we leave our bodies and pass from Earth, we will have fellowship with the Lord in a spiritual realm. The only reason spiritual matters don't feel as real to us now is that we are anchored or bound to this earth and can only function on one level, one realm. But a day is coming when, if you believe and trust in what Christ did at the cross, we will experience all that God has prepared for us. Jesus said:
2My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am (John 14:2-3).
Our purpose in this life is to be prepared for this most excellent adventure into a realm described as BETTER BY FAR! Keith Thomas
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These meditations are drawn from the in-depth study available at the following link: What Lies Beyond Death's Door.