What really happens to our souls when we die?

[derpytia]

I've heard various theories regarding the Christian soul after we pass. There are some that use scripture to say that after we die, our souls go to heaven. There are others that say, according the scriptures, that this is NOT true. That after we die we "know nothing". Our souls go back to God and we know nothing because we do not have a body. And then when Jesus comes back to earth and the dead are raised, we will be "awakened" and then Judged and then put into a new body (assuming that one has accepted Christ as their Savior).

So, really, which is it??

 

[JoeP222w]

Immediate judgment.

Hebrews 9:27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

The bible only speaks of us as being a living soul, not having a soul that is separate from us. The formula for life is in Gen. 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."

The belief that we have a soul that is immortal and does not die is the lie that Satan told to Eve in the garden.." ye shall not surely die".

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

Immediate judgment.

Hebrews 9:27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

The passage does not say immediate judgement, is says "after that". We need to be careful not to read into scripture what is not there...

 

[Root of Jesse]

The passage does not say immediate judgement, is says "after that". We need to be careful not to read into scripture what is not there...

Yeah, you do. What comes after dying? Judgement. You think God just lets you sit there and roast awhile?

 

[Goatee]

The bible only speaks of us as being a living soul, not having a soul that is separate from us. The formula for life is in Gen. 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."

The belief that we have a soul that is immortal and does not die is the lie that Satan told to Eve in the garden.." ye shall not surely die".

Thing is, what suffers forever in Hell or resides forever in Heaven if it is not your soul?

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

Yeah, you do. What comes after dying? Judgement. You think God just lets you sit there and roast awhile?

Only if you believe what Satan said to Eve... otherwise, there is no part of ourselves that is immortal, that "lives" on. We die and are resurrected when Christ comes, the Bible is clear on this, it is only by injecting dogmas (primarily Greek philosophies) into the scriptures that we "understand" that the soul goes somewhere at death and then contrive a scenario where our spirits return with Christ to be inserted into our resurrected bodies... where is that found in the Bible? It's not...

Soul sleep, or death as described throughout the scriptures, is the only understanding that dovetails with all scripture on death and the resurrection without having to interject or wrest the Word. It is the most merciful way God preserves until the resurrections.

Here's simple scenario that illustrates God's Mercy.

Imagine a love one has passed away, and as you believe, they are wisked into the presence of the Lord. Of course, they are able to look down on you to see and celebrate your life's accomplishments. People say it all the time..."I know so and so is watching over me or looking down on me with a smile right now', right? You hear it all the time. So back to the scenario, your loved one is gone and you find yourself involved in a relationship that becomes abusive and you are humiliated, degraded, and beat down. What is your loved one doing in Heaven during this time... weeping, crying, pleading, right? Really? Would a Merciful God subject those that He loves to this degradation?
On the contrary, we can know what the Bible describes for those that gain eternity... no more tears, no more sorrow. Having peace... being at rest. This will happen after Christ comes and we are all animated from the dust again to spend eternity in His joy.

 

[Thursday]

I've heard various theories regarding the Christian soul after we pass. There are some that use scripture to say that after we die, our souls go to heaven. There are others that say, according the scriptures, that this is NOT true. That after we die we "know nothing". Our souls go back to God and we know nothing because we do not have a body. And then when Jesus comes back to earth and the dead are raised, we will be "awakened" and then Judged and then put into a new body (assuming that one has accepted Christ as their Savior).

So, really, which is it??

Rev 8
8And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

Thing is, what suffers forever in Hell or resides forever in Heaven if it is not your soul?

It is what God created when He created you... the Mormons believe that there is a soul factory in heaven that matches them up to babies being born... do we, also think similarly? God did not breath into us a soul, He breathed in the breath of life and we became a living soul. That same breath of life will reanimate us from the dust at His return.

 

[Thursday]

It is what God created when He created you... the Mormons believe that there is a soul factory in heaven that matches them up to babies being born... do we, also think similarly? God did not breath into us a soul, He breathed in the breath of life and we became a living soul. That same breath of life will reanimate us from the dust at His return.

The breath of life is our soul.

Those who believe and live in Christ will NEVER die.

 

[Root of Jesse]

Only if you believe what Satan said to Eve... otherwise, there is no part of ourselves that is immortal, that "lives" on. We die and are resurrected when Christ comes, the Bible is clear on this, it is only by injecting dogmas (primarily Greek philosophies) into the scriptures that we "understand" that the soul goes somewhere at death and then contrive a scenario where our spirits return with Christ to be inserted into our resurrected bodies... where is that found in the Bible? It's not...

Soul sleep, or death as described throughout the scriptures, is the only understanding that dovetails with all scripture on death and the resurrection without having to interject or wrest the Word. It is the most merciful way God preserves until the resurrections.

Here's simple scenario that illustrates God's Mercy.

Imagine a love one has passed away, and as you believe, they are wisked into the presence of the Lord. Of course, they are able to look down on you to see and celebrate your life's accomplishments. People say it all the time..."I know so and so is watching over me or looking down on me with a smile right now', right? You hear it all the time. So back to the scenario, your loved one is gone and you find yourself involved in a relationship that becomes abusive and you are humiliated, degraded, and beat down. What is your loved one doing in Heaven during this time... weeping, crying, pleading, right? Really? Would a Merciful God subject those that He loves to this degradation?
On the contrary, we can know what the Bible describes for those that gain eternity... no more tears, no more sorrow. Having peace... being at rest. This will happen after Christ comes and we are all animated from the dust again to spend eternity in His joy.

Soul sleep is heresy. Note the period. Our life on earth is a test, it's our journey to the gate of heaven. If we live in God's Grace, we're allowed in to live with Him in Eternity. By the way, check out Lazarus and the rich man. What happened there?

 

[derpytia]

I think I'd rather be judged than to just essentially sleep for thousands of years before being resurrected. After I die, I want to be with God, not waiting for a long time. But it will be as God wills it.

 

[Goatee]

It is what God created when He created you... the Mormons believe that there is a soul factory in heaven that matches them up to babies being born... do we, also think similarly? God did not breath into us a soul, He breathed in the breath of life and we became a living soul. That same breath of life will reanimate us from the dust at His return.

We have a soul that never dies. Our bodies are dust when we die.

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

The breath of life is our soul.

That's not what the weight of scriptural evidence says... See what Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 says...
For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

Those who believe and live in Christ will NEVER die.

Even though the scripture says it is appointed for men once to die? There must be a time of death for the resurrection to have any meaning... even Christ was resting in the tomb until the first day.

I will agree with you that eternally, those who are Christ's will never die... but that is conquering the second death.

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

We have a soul that never dies. Our bodies are dust when we die.

Tradition may teach this but it is not supported in the Bible at all.

Why do people so readily want to give Satan credence in his lie to Eve?

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

I think I'd rather be judged than to just essentially sleep for thousands of years before being resurrected. After I die, I want to be with God, not waiting for a long time. But it will be as God wills it.

The thing is, you won't know it was a length of time... it will be like you close your eyes in death and the next thing you open your eyes to Christ coming in the clouds...

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

Soul sleep is heresy. Note the period. Our life on earth is a test, it's our journey to the gate of heaven. If we live in God's Grace, we're allowed in to live with Him in Eternity. By the way, check out Lazarus and the rich man. What happened there?

In the allegorical parable? Well, let's see, it an allegory first of all so we can discount it relating to reality.

It is a strong message to those that think themselves rich and increased with knowledge about salvation, denying those that don't have the riches of truth of this same message. Primarily it was directed at the Jews' attitudes towards the Samaritans, more broadly, gentiles in general. The outcome of those that 'hoarded God's truth was they would be ones lost in the end.

Just curious RoJ, if I'm heretical in my belief of soul sleep and you have stated you agree with Aquinas, you wish for me to be exterminated?

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

I think I'd rather be judged than to just essentially sleep for thousands of years before being resurrected. After I die, I want to be with God, not waiting for a long time. But it will be as God wills it.

It's funny, but the idea of soul sleep really appeals to me. I'd like to sleep in the grave for several years before moving on to the next life. Specifically, I'd like to really, really sleep in late, then have a bowl of cereal and get dressed to meet God. Maybe I just need more sleep.

It's the old Seventh Day argument. They say that the story of Lazarus and the rich man is just an allegory and not like real life, even though every other allegory in the Bible is based on something that not only could have happened but probably did, as a matter of eventuality. If this one allegory was not realistic, then it must have been the only one. The purpose of an allegory is to take familiar and established ideas and use them to make an unfamiliar point. The unfamiliar point was that even if a man rose from the dead to tell the world that they were headed to Hell, the world would still not believe. It was an allusion to Christ rising from the dead and the world still not believing in him. The rest of the story relies on the established ideas about the afterlife and the familiar experiences about the relationship between the rich and the poor. Those are the tools used to make the final point. Those tools were used because the audience that it was being told to already accepted those things. Ironically, just as the allegory stated, even after the Man rose from the dead, there are still those who don't believe in the punishment to come, preferring instead to claim "soul sleep."

One might wonder what Christ said to the repentant thief who hung on the cross beside him. Did he say, "thousands of years from now you shall be with me in Paradise?" He didn't say that, now did he?

 

[derpytia]

It's funny, but the idea of soul sleep really appeals to me. I'd like to sleep in the grave for several years before moving on to the next life. Specifically, I'd like to really, really sleep in late, then have a bowl of cereal and get dressed to meet God. Maybe I just need more sleep.

It's the old Seventh Day argument. They say that the story of Lazarus and the rich man is just an allegory and not like real life, even though every other allegory in the Bible is based on something that not only could have happened but probably did, as a matter of eventuality. If this one allegory was not realistic, then it must have been the only one. The purpose of an allegory is to take familiar and established ideas and use them to make an unfamiliar point. The unfamiliar point was that even if a man rose from the dead to tell the world that they were headed to Hell, the world would still not believe. It was an allusion to Christ rising from the dead and the world still not believing in him. The rest of the story relies on the established ideas about the afterlife and the familiar experiences about the relationship between the rich and the poor. Those are the tools used to make the final point. Those tools were used because the audience that it was being told to already accepted those things. Ironically, just as the allegory stated, even after the Man rose from the dead, there are still those who don't believe in the punishment to come, preferring instead to claim "soul sleep."

One might wonder what Christ said to the repentant thief who hung on the cross beside him. Did he say, "thousands of years from now you shall be with me in Paradise?" He didn't say that, now did he?

I don't know. I feel like it'd be almost like not existing. At least when I sleep now I have dreams and such. I don't just cease to exist or think. But I guess that is the price of our sin. Thank God Jesus will come and get us.

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

It's funny, but the idea of soul sleep really appeals to me. I'd like to sleep in the grave for several years before moving on to the next life. Specifically, I'd like to really, really sleep in late, then have a bowl of cereal and get dressed to meet God. Maybe I just need more sleep.

It's the old Seventh Day argument. They say that the story of Lazarus and the rich man is just an allegory and not like real life, even though every other allegory in the Bible is based on something that not only could have happened but probably did, as a matter of eventuality. If this one allegory was not realistic, then it must have been the only one. The purpose of an allegory is to take familiar and established ideas and use them to make an unfamiliar point. The unfamiliar point was that even if a man rose from the dead to tell the world that they were headed to Hell, the world would still not believe. It was an allusion to Christ rising from the dead and the world still not believing in him. The rest of the story relies on the established ideas about the afterlife and the familiar experiences about the relationship between the rich and the poor. Those are the tools used to make the final point. Those tools were used because the audience that it was being told to already accepted those things. Ironically, just as the allegory stated, even after the Man rose from the dead, there are still those who don't believe in the punishment to come, preferring instead to claim "soul sleep."

One might wonder what Christ said to the repentant thief who hung on the cross beside him. Did he say, "thousands of years from now you shall be with me in Paradise?" He didn't say that, now did he?

The parable was indeed a representation of a commonly held belief among the Jews of the day... you see, from Greek influence, most believed in the concept of an eternal place of torment and Jesus was just using this commonly misunderstood notion to teach the people the bigger lesson of exclusion from God's truth.

This is the reason why this one teaching of death does not line up with the rest in the Bible that speak of death as sleep. It wasn't meant to teach on death but on something afflicting the Jews far more.