Quick Apology: Soul Sleep?

The other day I received an email from a reader who had spoken to a non-Catholic with a rather rare point-of-view, and who asked for helpful suggestions when speaking to him…

Objection

During a discussion about the Saints, the Protestant in question made the following statement:

“…no one is in Heaven except Jesus, Enoch, and Elijah.”

This sort of theological position is rarely held by those in mainstream Protestantism, but how might we respond to this?

Response

It appears that this person seems to believe in the doctrine of “Soul Sleep”, something which one finds more typically among Jehvoah Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists. The idea is that those who have died are not alive with God in Heaven, but either unconscious or in a state of complete non-existence which continues until the final resurrection.

If I were speaking to this person, the first thing I would do is confirm that I understood his position accurately. After all, there would be little point in refuting a position which the other person didn’t actually hold!

Scriptural Response

There are various rebuttals to this doctrine of “Soul Sleep”, but here are some of my favourites:

1. In Matthew 17:1-8, Jesus is seen talking to Moses and Elijah. Now, given this person’s belief, Elijah’s presence makes sense…but what about Moses? Was Moses briefly reanimated to have this conversation with Jesus and then sent back to sleep until the Resurrection?

2. In Revelation 5:8, we see Saints in Heaven before the throne of God offering prayers. Were they actually talking in their sleep?! In Revelation 6:9-10 we see them crying out to God. How can these Saints be doing this if they’re asleep or have ceased existing?

3. In Luke 16:22, in the parable of Lazarus and the Rich man, Jesus describes an angel taking Lazarus to Abraham and the two of them conversing. How can they do that if they’re asleep or not existing? In telling this story, was Jesus describing a completely fictitious reality?

There are other rebuttals out there, both philosophical and Scriptural, which can be put to good use in refuting “Soul Sleep”. If you regularly encounter people who hold such beliefs, I would invite you to listen to the lectures on the Jehovah Witnesses and Seventh-Day Adventists at the Institute of Catholic Culture.

Questions in return

As with any good apologetics exchange, it’s always good if you can respond with questions of your own. If I were speaking to a Protestant who believed in a doctrine like “Soul Sleep”, I would ask him two questions. The first question calls into question his interpretation of Scripture:

1. Where does it explicitly talk about “Soul Sleep” in the Bible?

The second question hopefully would give the person pause for thought by underscoring the lonely theological position being adopted:

2. This doctrine is entirely absent from mainstream Protestantism (Anglican, Lutheran etc.) and is pretty much restricted to groups which you yourself would regard as heretical (Jehovah Witnesses and Seventh-Day Adventists). Here is what Calvin had to say about “Soul Sleep”:

“[The Apostle] speaks of the dead as asleep, agreeably to the common practice of Scripture – a term by which the bitterness of death is mitigated, for there is a great difference between sleep and destruction. It refers, however, not to the soul, but to the body, for the dead body lies in the tomb, as in a couch, until God raise up the man. Those, therefore, act a foolish part, who infer from this that souls sleep” – Calvin’s Commentaries, Volume XXI

If all Protestants are following Sola Scriptura, why is it that you are one of the very few to notice this crucial doctrine of “Soul Sleep”?

There was a second question in the reader’s email and I’ll respond to in the next few days 🙂