Tag: Death

Soul Sleep

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I recently had a conversation on YouTube about “Soul Sleep”…

Opening Questions

I began by asking a few questions:

Q1. When a man dies, does he go straight to *judgement* , or straight to *sleep* ?

Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,

Hebrews 9:27

Q2. When we are away from the body and with the Lord, are we *asleep* with the Lord?

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:6–8

Q3. At the Transfiguration, were Moses and Elijah briefly woken up and brought up to speed with Jesus’ mission and then sent back to sleep?

Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.

Luke 9:30-31

Q4. In Hebrews we’re told that we’re surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, alluding to a stadium in which former winners are cheering on those currently running the race. However, is this great crowd all *asleep* ?

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

Hebrews 12:1

Q5. Will the “good thief” be unconscious with Christ until the Second Coming?

And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Luke 23:43

Q6. If all who die are sleeping, how is necromancy even possible, requiring God to ban it?

There shall not be found among you …any one who practices divination, a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a medium, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

Deuteronomy 18:10-11

The Problematic Parable

However, the real problem for Soul Sleep is the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Jesus speaks about two men dying. Do they go to sleep? No – they go to Hades, where one receives blessing and the other receives torment.

If Soul Sleep were true, Jesus should describe them both going to sleep until the Final Judgement and then each being conscious of their eternal fate. However, Jesus doesn’t do this. Not only are they both fully conscious, the Rich Man is concerned for those back on earth.

This can’t just be dismissed because it’s a parable – in every other parable of Jesus he describes a real reality, such as a son leaving his father, a coin being lost, seed falling on different kinds of soil – this one is no different.

Tuesdays With Morrie

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Today I’ve been tidying up my room and trying to do a bit of a purge of all the junk which one somehow incessantly accumulates. Appropriately enough, as I was going through my bookcase, I came across is Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. It recounts the story of Mr. Albom’s visits to see his former college professor during the last months of life. It’s a pretty short book and, while I don’t agree with all the content, it does retain a special place in my heart. In particular, the opening chapter still makes me “mist up” a little…

The last class of my old professor’s life took place once a week in his house, by a window in the study where he could watch a small hibiscus plant shed its pink leaves. The class met on Tuesdays. It began after breakfast. The subject was The Meaning of Life. It was taught from experience.

No grades were given, but there were oral exams each week. You were expected to respond to questions, and you were expected to pose questions of your own. You were also required to perform physical tasks now and then, such as lifting the professor’s head to a comfortable sport on the pillow or placing his glasses on the bridge of his nose. Kissing him good-bye earned you extra credit.

No books were required, yet many topics were covered, including love, work, community, family, aging, forgiveness, and, finally, death. The last lecture was brief, only a few words.

A funeral was held in lieu of graduation.

Although no final exam was given, you were expected to produce one long paper on what was learned. That paper is presented here.

The last class of my old professor’s life had only one student. I was that student.

Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie (Chapter 1 – The Curriculum)

Restless Heart: 12 – “Memento Mori”

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Dad

Nessa and I could not meet up this week, so I recorded a solo where I talked about meeting Christ in my Father’s death.

Please subscribe to this podcast using iTunes, Google Play or Podbean. If you have any feedback or would like to pose a question for an upcoming episode, you can send us a message from the website or tweet us at @davidandnessa.

Episode 12: Memento Mori (Download)

 

— Show Notes —

* “Memento Mori” is a phrase in Latin which means “Remember Death”

* If you were wondering where Whidbey Island is, it’s here.

* The book I referenced was “Something Other Than God” by Jennifer Fulwiler:

“The Catechism explained that praying for the souls of the dead is a tradition going back to the first Christians and to the Jews before them… The living sent their love for the deceased into the spiritual world, like adding water to a stream that would eventually float their lost friends home“

* Don’t believe me about the ninja boots? Here they are.

* The Psalm I quoted was Psalm 84:6

Blessed are the men whose strength is in [the Lord]… As they go through the Valley of Baca [weeping] they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools.

* The poem I quoted at the end was “As Kingfishers Catch Fire” by Gerard Manly Hopkins:

…for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not His
To the Father through the features of men’s faces.

* A written version of what I said in this podcast is available on my blog.

Music Monday: Death Was Arrested

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[Verse 1]
Alone in my sorrow and dead in my sin
Lost without hope with no place to begin
Your love Made a way to let mercy come in
When death was arrested and my life began

[Verse 2]
Ash was redeemed only beauty remains
My orphan heart was given a name
My mourning grew quiet my feet rose to dance
When death was arrested and my life began

[Chorus]
Oh your grace so free
Washes over me
You have made me new
Now life begins with you
It’s your endless love
Pouring down on us
You have made us new
Now life begins with you

[Verse 3]
Released from my chains I’m a prisoner no more
My shame was a ransom he faithfully bore
He cancelled my debt and he called me his friend
When death was arrested and my life began

[Verse 4]
Our savior displayed on a criminal’s cross
Darkness rejoiced as though heaven had lost
But then Jesus arose with our freedom in hand
That’s when death was arrested and my life began
That’s when death was arrested and my life began

[Chorus]
Oh your grace so free
Washes over me
You have made me new
Now life begins with you
It’s your endless love
Pouring down on us
You have made us new
Now life begins with you

[Bridge]
We’re free free
Forever we’re free
Come join the song
Of all the redeemed
Yes we’re free free
Forever amen
When death was arrested and my life began (x2)
That’s when death was arrested and my life began

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