Soul sleep is a false doctrine

Both the rich man and lazarus died.
Their bodies were dead and rotting into the ground.
What went on was both their soul and spirit.
No sleep of oblivion what so ever

From wanttoknow.com;
"""Unfortunately, the 1844 “Great Disappointment," as it was known to those who sold everything and waited in vain on their rooftops for Christ’s return, was replaced by a greater disappointment when the investigative judgment took a little longer than anticipated. Today, this doctrine is still taught as doctrine number 26 of the Seventh Day Adventist’s 28 fundamental beliefs publication (1). It is also taught as the doctrine of the condition of the dead by Jehovah’s Witnesses (2) (3)."""

Apparently, from the article, the "investigative judgement" is soul sleep or oblivion of the dead until the judgement...." Soul sleep"

Resting and sleep are not absolute equal meaning and there is no record of anyone sleeping in Heaven.

Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” Rev 14:12-13

There is no need for sleep in Heaven as we need it, here on earth, for our physical bodies.

That’s false.

Resting can mean sleep:
John 11:13
13Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.

Those who sleep in Jesus, their souls, are brought to Earth by God and then their dead bodies are resurrected.
1 Thessalonians 4:14
14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

Please pray my baby brother 56 died last night in his sleep.

Resting and sleep are not absolute equal meaning and there is no record of anyone sleeping in Heaven.

In every case in 1 Thess 4:13-18 the word 'sleep' means DEATH = no sleeping souls.

There are no alarm clocks in Heaven = there are no physical tired bodies, no old age decrepted spirits, no one is sleeping = only rest.

When the LORD released His Spirit from His physical body, HE never went to sleep.

He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
Psalm 121

Sleep in 1 Thessalonians 4:14 is G2837. It means sleep or fall asleep. Sometimes it can mean to die, but God is bringing those sleeping souls of people with Him at the return of Christ so it means they aren’t dead. Doesn’t fit the context or definition of what you’re trying to say.

We can test this by seeing if the reverse is true. Jesus is not bringing dead or sleeping people back up to the clouds with Him in the rapture. The only remaining possibility is that those who God is bringing with Christ are sleeping. @DavidTree

No sleeping souls in Heaven = you are adding to Revelation what it does not say.

No sleeping souls in 1 Thess 4:13-18 = again adding to Scripture what it does not say.

Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed/ignorant about those who sleep in death. = 1 Thess 4:13

As is the case with all religions = believe what you want to believe and ignore/reject/alter/change/redefine the Scripture(s).

Follow this and you will excel in understanding = Deut 4:1-2 , Proverbs 30:5-6 , Revelation 22:18-19

Every word of God is flawless;
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
Do not add to His words,
lest He rebuke you and prove you a liar.
Proverbs 30:5-6

What version are you using for 1 Thess. 4:13? They have it wrong because God isn’t bringing the dead in Christ with Him at Christ’s return because the dead in Christ are in the ground according to verse 16.

What I see in the KJV is this:

13But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

The bit concerning those who are dead in the ground is in this verse:

1 Thessalonians 4:16
16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first

After they rise they aren’t the dead in Christ or the sleeping in Christ. They are the glorified resurrected in Christ. Your problem is you’re reading the passage wrong and confusing death and sleep when those words aren’t always used interchangeably. Sometimes those who are asleep are actually just slumbering.

Paul can be difficult to understand sometimes, but if you pay close attention to the language you’ll see what 1 Thessalonians 4:14 is talking about.

Thanks for the Proverbs passage. Here’s one for you:

Proverbs 12:15
15The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel iswise.

So sorry to hear this, sister. My heart goes out to you. Praying for you and your family.

Praying for you, sister.

Death of a loved one is so difficult to deal with. I lost my aunt last year who was 57. She had been a Chrisitan most all of her life. She passed away suddenly without any warning.

I had a hard time dealing with it. So, I had to pray, lean on the Lord, and dig into the scriptures looking for comfort in the Word of God.

Pretty sure, comfort was Paul's intent in 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-16

Do we go straight to heaven? Do we just go to sleep in Christ waiting for the judgement? Seems people have a difference of opinion...but one thing's for sure "Blessed are all those that die in the Lord." They have rest from all of their labors and the troubles of this wicked world.

The way of the fool is to remain ignorant by choice = right in his own eyes!!!

Let's see if you can answer these questions truthfully according to Scripture = according to 1 Thess 4:13-18

A.) Who is sleeping?
B.) Where are they sleeping
C.) When do those who are sleeping wake up?
D.)Who are those who God brings with Jesus?
E.) Where are they now?
F.) Who are the Dead that Jesus raises?

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as indeed the rest of mankind do, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, so also God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.

Paul is talking of Christians in that section of scripture.

A.) Christians who have died.
B.) In the ground.
C.) Dead Christians will be raised from the dead at the rapture.
D.) Dead Christians. They are currently dead and in the grave. God will bring them from the grave and they will be with Jesus when Jesus takes all Christians (the formerly dead and those who will be changed) to heaven.
E.) Dead and in the grave.
F.) That section of scripture is about dead Christians. Jesus will raise dead Christians.

Hope this helps..

False. Absolutely no one is in the soil six feet under the ground. This huge misunderstanding is all because the KJV translators called Sheol "the grave" instead of simply "Sheol" (which is the Hebrew equivalent of Hades). Before the resurrection of Christ, both the righteous and unrighteous dead (their souls and spirits) went to Sheol. But after the resurrection of Christ only the unsaved or unrighteous dead go there. (The soil is reserved for burrowing animals).

It's true.

Billions of people are. People that have been dead long enough have disintegrated to dust.

Both words mean the same. The state of death. We do not have a word like that in English. We do not refer to people as "going to the grave", or "going to sheol". We simply say they are dead.

Right. They went to the grave, they went to the state of death. They still do. Nobody has been resurrected yet.

Everyone who dies still goes to the grave. When Christ returns at the rapture to gather the Christian church, THEN is when the dead in Christ shall rise, and living Christians changed.

Death is not a separation of the body from the soul/spirit, where only the body dies but the soul/spirit continues to live. When a person dies, the person is dead. All of him. That's why the upcoming rapture/resurrections are so vital. If they do not happen, those who have died are perished.

A.) Who is sleeping? - the sleeping in Christ are saints.
B.) Where are they sleeping - God has them
C.) When do those who are sleeping wake up? - when they are brought to their bodies and resurrected.
D.)Who are those who God brings with Jesus? - the sleeping in Christ are saints
E.) Where are they now? - now they’re on earth, resurrected, not sleeping or dead, ready to be caught up in the clouds with Jesus
F.) Who are the Dead that Jesus raises? - they’re those who were sleeping in Christ that God brought to be resurrected and raptured

there is a lot odf debate about sleep, rest, and death and when you you search the scripture you can work out the state by the context.

The word is not the issue - it is what happen when we rest, sleep and die?

Is death a state of complete unconsciousness or is the soul, spirit freed from the body and lives on...... ???

The state of the dead is what we need to talk about not the terms for death...

Can a person live separate from their body. What is a soul?
Many of these questions have been answered and there are some plan texts that can not be twisted (but have been) and the bible does not contradict itself.

Act_2:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.

If you presume that it is only the body that is dead, and the spirit is alive, this is presumption and adding to the word that isn't there.

The bible says =
“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. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun. … There is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 10).
“The dead do not praise the Lord” (Psalm 115:17).
God says that the dead know absolutely nothing!

The dead - sleeping - those resting in the grave, know nothing and do not praise God.