The Immortal Soul: A Response to Soul Sleep

Here's are questions to ponder: How is the identity of a person, their personality, memories, inner self, etc., maintained after death and until the resurrection? How does God resurrect the exact same person, even if that person has no physical remains left to resurrect? How are our memories, the things that can us who we are, the data as it were, preserved and reconstituted later? Jehovah Witnesses try to provide an explanation. They believe that God resurrects people from the perfect memories He has of them. That, however, provides an unsatisfactory explanation, as it wouldn't be the same exact person but a copy or duplicate of the person they once were. Nor does Scripture say such a thing. The only satisfactory answer is that there has to be a continuity of the self that exists in an intermediate state until the resurrection (i.e., the soul). The soul (inner being, mind, consciousness) has no material parts; therefore, it doesn't perish the same way as the physical morta...

In this blog, we will be addressing scriptures that soul sleep proponents typically use to justify their position. Instead of addressing each scripture individually, which would be extremely time-consuming, we will focus on three broad categories that they fit in. 1) Death = Unconsciousness (No Thought, Awareness, or Activity) Ecclesiastes 9:5: For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing , And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten. Ecclesiastes 9:10: Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going. Psalm 146:4: His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish. Other scriptures cited: Psalm 6:5, Psalm 115:17, Isaiah 38:18–19, Job 14:10–12, Ecclesiastes 3:19–20 Core Argument: When a person dies, conscious experience stops completely. Response: There are several ways we can respond to this argument: A. Unconsciousness sh...

In this blog, we will examine a few of the resurrection doctrines of the Jehovah Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists, and Christadelphians. When their doctrines are examined under a microscope, however, their fallacies are revealed. If their ideas about the resurrection are flawed, then so too are their ideas about soul sleep. Jehovah Witnesses: The Jehovah Witnesses (JWs) essentially believe in a two-class system. Only a very select few get to heaven to rule and reign with Christ during the millennial reign. Specifically, the 144,000 in Revelation 7 and 14. Ironically, they interpret the number literally, but they don't interpret who the Bible says the 144,000 are literally: the tribes of Israel. Instead, they believe the 144,000 are "spiritual Israel." That is, faithful Christians chosen by God. Why they would need to be in heaven to govern the earth is not clear. Especially since Christ will be coming down to earth to rule and reign. JW's believe the 144,000 began ru...

The story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 is often dismissed as a parable. However, there are several things that distinguish it from parables. For one, Jesus never prefaces the story by saying it's a parable. Usually, but not always, it will say if it's a parable or not, but in this instance, Jesus does not. Second, it mentions real people that have lived (i.e., Abraham and Moses). No other parable includes specific names. Third, it mentions the afterlife, one that includes the concept of an immortal soul no less. If it were a parable, it would be the only parable to mention the afterlife. But there's another reason that lends credence to the idea that it's not a parable, and it ties in with Abraham's bosom. Scriptures give us clues to what happened to Jesus between the crucifixion and the resurrection: He descended to the lowest parts of the earth (Eph 4:8-10) He went to the heart of the earth (Mat 12:40) He went to Sheol/Hades (Psa 16:10, Acts 2:27) ...

The story of the Witch of Endor summoning the the ghost or spirit of Samuel in 1 Samuel 28 is often dismissed as a trick, hallucination, or a demonic deception. But is it really? There are, in fact, reasons to believe it was the spirit of Samuel: 1) The spirit of Samuel prophesized that the Philistines would defeat Israel and Saul and his sons would die the very next day. The people involved and the exact day it was prophesied were fulfilled to the letter. This would rule out a demon because they don't know the future, nor can they make it happen. Also, the spirit of Samuel did not contradict God or say anything that is untrue. He only confirmed what God has already decreed, rebukes Saul, and enforces accountability, just as an actual prophet of God would do. Demons deceive, but there was no deception involved. 2) The witch of Endor is startled and surprised to see the ghost of Samuel, indicating it was a genuine experience. Also, the witch was reluctant to even call forth Samuel o...

In this blog post, we will examine soul sleep proponents' view of the supernatural world and how it actually works against their own theology. For the most part, their concept of the spiritual world is similar to mainstream Christianity with some caveats. They believe heaven is a real place inhabited by angels and where God dwells, but no humans are allowed with few to no exceptions (depending on the denomination). So, let's consider the nature of angels. They are non-corporeal beings, though they sometimes can appear corporeal. That are always described in Scripture has having the appearance of a man. That would infer that they have a body of some sort. One of the arguments against having a soul is that it is akin to being a ghost but angels are not described that way. That would imply that angels have a body, just one made of a different substance than our own. The implication here is that if angels can have non-biological bodies, then so can humans, until the resurrection. T...

Proponents of soul sleep often argue that the idea of a conscious soul existing independently of the body diminishes the purpose of the resurrection. They reason that if a person remains fully conscious and aware after death, then the resurrection would seem unnecessary or redundant. After all, if one's existence continues consciously without a body, what meaningful purpose would reuniting the soul with a physical body actually serve? Answering this question involves understanding the three body types. The Three Bodies 1Co 15:21For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 1Co 15:40 There are also celestial (heavenly) bodies and terrestrial (earthly) bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. The Apostle Paul speaks of earthly bodies, heavenly bodies, and the resurrected body. While it can be argued that the 'heavenly bodies' of 1 Corinthians 15:40 refer specifically to astronomical bodies, Paul...

Scripture itself speaks of the soul existing outside the body after death if taken literally. We will divide this between the Old Testament and the New Testament. I will also address common objections to these verses. This is far from an exhaustive list, and I intend to add to it over time. Old Testament Support: The story of the Witch of Endor in 1 Samuel 28 portrays the spirit of the prophet Samuel coming up from the ground. The witch describes Samuel as an elohim. An elohim is any divine being in the spirt realm, including angels. The implication is Samuel is alive and conscious after death in the same spiritual realm as God and the angels. There are those who would dismiss this account as a deception either by the witch or a demon, which I have addressed here . Regardless, it demonstrates that the ancient Israelites had an understanding of the immortal soul at least three thousand years ago, minimum. Enoch walked or pleased God and was taken (Gen 5:24), meaning that he did not die....

Is there a way we can know if the soul persists beyond death? Perhaps the closest we can get to knowing without actually dying is Near-Death Experiences (NDEs). The term "near-death experience" was coined by author and physician Raymond Moody. In his book, Life After Life , Moody recounts the story of George G. Ritchie, who was a U.S. Army recruit in 1943 during World War II. George reportedly died of pneumonia and was declared clinically dead for about 9 minutes. During that time, he recounts leaving his body and encountering a being of light, among other things. He was told it wasn't his time to die and was later revived with an adrenaline injection. George G. Ritchie's story is considered one of the earliest "modern" NDEs, although NDEs are not new or novel but have been recorded in ancient texts for thousands of years. NDEs often have many commonalities among them, including: Having an out-of-body experience and seeing their own physical body apart from ...

Where does consciousness reside? The question is both intriguing and thought-provoking as it poses a particular challenge for both the materialist and soul sleep advocates. If all we are are our brains, then consciousness should be found in the brain. The problem is, science can't explain how an organ that is made up of mostly water (73-80%) and a little fat (10-12%) produces consciousness at all, and it may never. Science deals with the material, tangible world. But consciousness is immaterial and intangible. Therefore, it is unquantifiable. We may understand in part how the brain works. We can detect brain waves, for instance, but it's still a big leap to go from understanding how neurons fire to understanding how the brain produces thoughts. The enigma that is consciousness may, in fact, be the greatest argument for the immortal soul. Before we begin, it should be established what we mean by consciousness so we can rule out what it is not. "Consciousness" can refer...

There is a common accusation that Christians adopted the concept of the soul from the Greeks, most notably from Plato. There’s a variation of this argument that Christians adopted ideas about the soul and the afterlife from the Egyptians. By soul, I’m referring to the immaterial essence of humans that encompasses consciousness and continues on after physical death. But just how true is this accusation? How much did the Greeks influence Christian theology? And can it be established that the mainstream Christian concept of the soul is not purely the product of Greek philosophy? We will seek to answer these questions. It should first be established that Israelite/Jewish thought had already allowed for a postmortem existence prior to Greek influence. One very prominent example can be found in 1 Samuel involving the story of the Witch of Endor. King Saul had gone to visit the witch to summon Samuel from the grave. Much to the witch's surprise and dismay, she summoned what appeared to be...

Soul sleep proponents believe that Greek philosophy significantly influenced traditional Christian ideas about the soul and the afterlife rather than Scripture alone. For that reason, they reject the continued existence of the soul after death, also known as the intermediary state. Instead, they have a more Hebraic worldview that places far less emphasis on heaven and the afterlife than later Jewish and Christian theology. It is founded on the belief that humans don’t have a soul; we are souls. This belief is interpreted from Genesis 2:7: “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul ( nephesh ).” The Hebrew word for “soul” is “ nephesh ” and is broadly defined as the whole living being or person. The question is, are we only nephesh ? “ Nephesh ” is translated to “psyche” in the Septuagint. If nephesh were strictly biological, they could have used the Greek word “bios,” from which we get the Engl...

Why did I write this blog? After the passing of my father, I began to reflect heavily on death and my own mortality. We live most of our lives trying to avoid the thought of death, but when we lose a loved one, we are forced to confront it. Death is something that is inescapable and touches each and every one of us at some point. It's part of the human experience. What happens when we die is one of life's big questions along with "Is there a God?" and "Why am I here?" My motivation in writing this blog was to try and answer that question to the best of my ability. There are a lot of ideas of what happens when we die. The materialist will say there is no life after death, that when your dead your dead. Buddhists and Hindus, among others, believe we have lived many lives and will be reincarnated. Mainstream Christians like myself believe in a life after death. Then there is the view that the soul "sleeps" until the resurrection of the dead. The latte...