Soul Sleep Is Unbiblical; Part 2 of 2

Body Without The Spirit Is Dead
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. -James 2:26 (see also Ecclesiastes 12:7).  The body is buried in the grave, the spirit goes to Heaven to be with the Lord. As 2 Corinthians 5:8 teaches, absent from the body, present with the Lord.

Eternal Life / Everlasting Life
Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. -Jesus; John 5:24
Everlasting life is not a picture of unconscious existence, but of conscious, abundant life with God that lasts forever. 

In referring to 1 John 5:11-13 and eternal life, Walter Martin says,

“In the grammar and context of this passage eternal life is the present possession of every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and if the term eternal life does not include conscious fellowship then the whole New Testament meaning is destroyed.” -Walter R. Martin, Kingdom of the Cults, Bethany Fellowship; 1977.

Shall Never Die
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” -John 11:25-26
Eternal life and “shall never die” speak of the believer never being separated from God. 

Spiritual death is when a person is separated from God. How can you call it eternal life, if you are separated from God in the grave until the resurrection? Soul sleep sounds more like spiritual death than spiritual life and eternal life.

Today In Paradise
Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” -Luke 23:43
Jesus’ promise to the thief on the cross sounds a little hollow if it only meant an unconscious 2,000 year sleep. Implied is you will consciously be with Me today in Paradise. 

I Commend My Spirit
And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’” Having said this, He breathed His last. -Luke 23:46
This picture does not seem to align with Jesus being unconscious for the next three days. 

Jesus Standing At The Right Hand Of God
55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” -Acts 7:55-56, 59 
The picture is Jesus standing to receive the first martyr of the Christian faith. This glorious scene seems disappointing if only Stephen’s unconscious soul made it to Heaven; or, as some believe, his soul was destroyed to only be recreated in the far, distant future. 

Whether We Wake Or Sleep
For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. -1 Thessalonians 5:9-10
Whether we are alive or dead, we will live with Jesus Christ. Living with Christ does not seem to match up with sleeping for centuries. 

Death Cannot Separate Us
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Romans 8:38-39 
Would 2,000 years of unconscious existence count as being separated from God? 

I Saw The Souls
9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. -Revelation 6:9-11
Apostle John saw the souls of those martyred. What were they doing at this particular time? Speaking to the Lord about judgment. And they were spoken to. Not a picture of unconscious existence. 

Elijah Goes Straight To Heaven
Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. -2 Kings 2:11
Strongly implied is that Elijah consciously went straight to heaven. 

Departure
The time of my departure is at hand. -2 Timothy 4:6
Paul was facing death. He is about to depart, leave his body behind to be with the Lord. His spirit was not going to sleep with his lifeless body, but depart to Heaven. 

If Our Earthly Body Is Destroyed
For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
-2 Corinthians 5:1 
The picture is of the Christian’s conscious life continuing uninterrupted after death. 

These are some of the reasons most Baptists, and Christians in general, reject the concept of soul sleep and believe that upon the death of a Christian, the body sleeps and returns to dust, the spirit goes immediately and consciously to Heaven to be with the Lord.

-David R. Brumbelow, Gulf Coast Pastor, May 12, AD 2015. 

Soul Sleep Is Unbiblical; Part 1 of 2
Our First Great Sorrow
Basic Baptist Doctrines / Beliefs
The Roman Road of Salvation
   More articles in lower right margin. 

"A Loving God Wouldn't Send Anyone To Hell"

Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. -Jesus Christ; Matthew 25:41
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. -Romans 5:8

Occasionally someone would say to Joe, “A loving God would not send anyone to Hell.” Joe Brumbelow would sometimes respond with this illustration:

Suppose your medical doctor told you that you were dying and there was no hope - and you replied, “Isn’t there any hope? Doctor, you can’t just let me die.” Suppose you begged and pleaded with the doctor until he said, “There is just one hope. There is a very rare and expensive medicine, but I know you could never afford it.” You replied, “Doctor, please let me live. You’ve got to get me that medicine.”

Suppose the doctor took pity on you and determined he was going to obtain that medicine, no matter the cost. The doctor sold his house, sold his car and anything else he had of value. Then he borrowed all the money he could, even though it would put him in debt for the rest of his life. Finally he scraped the money together and gave it all to buy you that vial of costly medicine.

The doctor comes to you with the medicine and tells you how much it cost him. “My wife and children will be in poverty from now on, but we couldn’t let you die,” he tells you. He then carefully hands you the precious vial of medicine.

Suppose you looked at that vial of medicine in disdain, and then threw it to the floor. The doctor watches in horror as the vial that cost him everything breaks and the medicine runs into the floor.

Then suppose you had the audacity to say, “Doctor, you’re not just going to let me die are you? I thought you loved me more than that.”

You were a sinner headed for Hell. But God loved you and gave His only begotten Son, the most precious thing He had. Jesus went to the cross for you. He shed His royal blood, gave His life for you and then rose again. Because of the incredible sacrifice Jesus made for you on Calvary, you can simply accept Him as Lord and Saviour and be forgiven and escape Hell. But you reject the most precious gift that has ever been given; then have the audacity to say, “How could a loving God send someone like me to Hell?" 
-from The Wit and Wisdom of Pastor Joe Brumbelow, Hannibal Books.
-David R. Brumbelow, Gulf Coast Pastor, September 3, AD 2012.

Other Articles:
The Girl Who Saved His Ministry
Adrian Rogers on "Wit & Wisdom of Pastor Joe Brumbelow"
 How to Get a Life When Ministry Drains it Out of You
Other articles in lower right margin.