In Luke 16:19-31, the Rich Man and Lazarus are in the afterlife. One in Abraham's bosom and the other suffering in flames. Both are conscious after physical death but in different locations.
People love to use I Thessalonians in an attempt to prove "soul sleep," but actually it supports a conscious existence after death: "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him." I Thessalonians 3:14 KJV. The Holy Spirit is telling us that God intends to bring with Him (Greek sun auto), that is, with Jesus at His Second Coming, believing Christians who have experienced physical death. The state of their bodies is descrbed as "sleep," which is a common metaphor for death in the New Testament. In the NT, in every instance in which "sleep" is used as a metaphor for death refers to the death of the body and is never used in the NT to describe the state of the soul.
"And this is the record, that God hath given to use eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written to unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." I John 5:11-13 KJV. In the grammar and context of this passage "eternal life" (Greek eionion zoes) is the PRESENT POSSESSION OF EVERY BELIEVER IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND IF THE TERM DOES NOT INCLUDE CONSCIOUS FELLOWSHIP THEN THE WHOLE NEW TESTAMENT MEANING IS DESTROYED. The Holy Spirit used the present indicative active of the Greek verb echo, expressing present, continuous action. THE BELIEVER, HAVING BEEN REGENERATED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, ALREADY POSSESSES NEVER-ENDING LIFE AS A CONTINUING QUALITY OF CONSCIOUS EXISTENCE.
The bible never makes the separation that you have. It never says that it is just the body that is sleeping. This is what you choose to believe, not what the bible says anywhere. It would be nonsense to refer to the dead body as sleeping. The body immediately begins decaying and rotting in the ground after death. If anything should be referred to as dead, it should be the body, that we will never have again. When we die, this body truly dies, for it will never exist again. It will be replaced with our new glorified bodies.
It is the soul which is sleeping. This is why the bible says that the dead have no thoughts, they do not even worship or praise God. They have no idea of anything that goes on anymore. They also have no love, and no memory.
If the parable of the rich man and Lazarus is not a parable then you are making the word of God contradict itself, and you are contradicting your own argument. The parable is clearly stating that both the wicked, and the saved are conscious after death. And yet you quote a scripture that says only he that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son hath not life. This scripture directly contradicts what you are teaching. At the same time, why would God continually promise the saved the reward of eternal life, when the wicked also have eternal life, just not a good one.
It is as I said earlier, your refusal to accept the truth of this matter, has distorted your understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Do you not understand the Christ suffered the penalty of sin on our behalf? It is because He has paved the road before us, that we are able now to follow Him. This we do by faith in Him, His grace, His power, and His Holy Spirit. If the penalty for sin is eternal torment, then you my friend are doomed, for Christ did not burn in hell forever. Even if this was the penalty for sin, then Christ would have to burn in hell forever. This task could never be accomplished seeing that it would take all of eternity, which would still leave you doomed. I ask you, how do you explain how Christ has paid the penalty for your sins, if you believe the penalty is eternal torment?
You cannot rightly understand the gospel of Jesus Christ because you have chosen to believe the lie of the devil, “ you shall not surely die”. No sir, you most certainly will die. You are a sinner, and you must die, for the soul that sinneth, it shall die. You will either choose to die now in Christ, or you will die later in the lake of fire, the second death, which is final. By faith, you can be in Christ on the cross when He died, thereby being justified. Likewise, by faith you may allow Christ to be in you, the hope of glory, through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, thereby being sanctified. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ which your false doctrine of the immortality of the soul destroys. The father of your lie knows this very well. It is the very reason that he invented this lie.
Rom 6:1-16 1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are
dead to sin, live any longer therein?
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were
baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are
buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been
planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6 Knowing this,
hat our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7 For he that
is dead is freed from sin.
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Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be
dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey;
whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Gal 2:20 20 I am
crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I,
but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Christ died the second death for all of humanity, that all of humanity might have life through Him. Those who choose to pick up their cross and follow Christ now, will never die the second death. All who will follow Christ must pick up the cross and follow in His footsteps.
Matt 10:38-39 38 And he that
taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Matt 16:24-26 24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Mark 8:34-36 34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, and follow me.
35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.
36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world,
and lose his own soul?
Mark 10:21-22 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come,
take up the cross, and follow me.
22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
Luke 9:22-25 22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.
23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world,
and lose himself, or be cast away?
Luke 14:27 27 And whosoever doth not
bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
1 Cor 1:17-18 17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
18
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
Gal 6:14-15 14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
Phil 2:5-8 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself,
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
The cross is a symbol of death my friend. The very thing that you say does not exist. If there really was no death, then much of the written word would make no sense at all. God has given us all the freedom to choose. The choice is simple, will you die now in Christ, or will you die the second death later. Or will you just choose to ignore this choice, and believe the lie of Satan, that “ you shall not surely die”?
Bye for now. Y. b. in C. Keith