First, What is a soul? Beginning at Genesis let’s see what we can learn. In Genesis 2:7 we read, ‘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.’ Notice that he became a living soul not that God put a soul in him. At that point he became a soul. Paul refers to this text in 1 Corinthians 15:45, ‘And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul;...’ In Ezekiel 18:4 & 20 we read, ‘The soul that sinneth, it shall die.’

Second, What is the condition of the dead according to the Bible? If we look at several texts in the books 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles we can find references to people who died. When David died the Bible records it in 1 Kings 2:10 this way, ‘So David slept with his Fathers, and was buried in the city of David.’ This discription is repeated of Solomon in 1 Kings 11:43. It is again mentioned in 1 Kings 14:20 for Jeroboam and 1 Kings 14:31 of Rehoboam. In fact it is mentioned 31 more times in these four books. These kings, whether good or bad are said to be sleeping with their fathers. In Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 we read, ‘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.’ Now I realize that in the following verse it speaks of a mans spirit going up and the animals going down but if you look up the word in the Stong’s Concordance it defines spirit as breath or exhalation.

What does the Bible say the dead are not doing? David wrote in Psalms 115:17, ‘The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down in silence.’ They don’t know anything. Solomon wrote in Ecclesiates 9:5, ‘For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.’ Job tells us that they don’t know anything about what is happening on this earth. In Job 14:14 he asks, ‘If a man die, shall he live again?’ and then in verse 21 we read, ‘his sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he percieveth it not of them.’ In 1 Timothy 6:14-16 we find that they do not have immortality for we read that God alone has immortality-- ‘Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

What did Christ say about the dead? He discribed them as sleeping. In Matthew 9:24 before he resurrected a little girl he said, ‘Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth.’. Now be sure to notice the reaction of the people, they knew what a dead person looked like. They knew that she was dead. The verse says, ‘And they laughed him to scorn.’ There was no doubt in the minds of these people that she was indeed dead and not in a coma or taking a nap. This story is discribed also in Mark 5 if you would like a second witness of the story. In John 11:11 when he spoke of his friend, Lazarus what did he say? ‘Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep.’ His desciples thought he meant that Lazarus was asleep as you and I at night but Jesus in verse 14 made his meaning clear when He said, ‘Lazarus is dead.’ When he came to the tomb to raise Lazarus Martha who knew that her brother was indeed dead said, ‘Lord, by this time he stinketh; for he hath been dead four days.’ He was actually dead yet Christ said that he was sleeping.

‘But’, you say, ‘I have seen someone that has died? I spoke to my dead friend or family member. I know they are real.’ I agree that what you have experianced is very real and what you saw did look like that person and probably has spoken to you about things that only you and that person knew about. But if you refer again to the Bible you can find the answers to this. There are unseen powers in this world. Paul tells us that Satan can transform himself , ‘And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.’ 2 Corinthians 11: 14. In the Old Testiment we find that God warned people not to communicate with spirits, ‘And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God?’ Isaiah 8:19. In Leviticus 19:31 the Lord said, ‘Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.’ See also Deuteronomy 18:11. Paul refered to these things in Ephesians 6:12-- ‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.’ Peter warned against the devil too, ‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.’

You may say, ‘That is something different, that isn’t my friend or family member that I talk to because they are in heaven. They have told me about it. They see and know what I am doing.’ There is a story in the book of 1 Samuel of king Saul going to a woman with a familiar spirit. Read about it in 1 Samuel 28:7-18. The spirit looked like Samuel. But Christ said, ‘And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.’. In Acts 2:34 we read, ‘For David is not ascended into the heavens:’ Tell me, if a person goes to heaven at death what need would there be for a resurrection? Job said, ‘For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be comsumed within me.’ Also in Job 14:12 we read, ‘But man dieth, and wasteth away; yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up; So man lieth down, and riseth not; till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.’ He goes on in verse 14: ‘If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.’ Paul wrote, ‘Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.’ 1 Corinthians 15:51-54. He was speaking of the sleep of death and he was saying that we recieve that immortality that God promised to His people at the ‘last trump’. Until then we are mortal, not immortal.

If you back up to verse 18 of that chapter you will find that Paul wrote in of them that are dead in this way, ‘Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.’ and in verse 23 he tells us when man will rise, ‘But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.’ Those that die in Christ have the promise that they will rise again. But that promise is fulfilled when Christ returns. Some may say that that is when we get our bodies. But what kind of body did Christ have after His resurrection? We read what he said about himself after His resurrection, ‘Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.’ (Luke 24:39). He then ate food.

What about the punishment of the wicked? Tell me should Cain who killed one man be punished almost 6,000 years more than Hitler? If the wicked were in ever burning hell right now how could that be fair? But God is a God of mercy and fairness. 2 Peter 2:9 says this, ‘The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:’ He is reserving the unjust. Christ said this, ‘Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.’ Matthew 10:15. Now if the residents of Sodom and Gomorrha were allready burning in hell how could it be more tolerable for them as Christ said? They would always be many years further into their punishment. See also 2 Peter 3:7 and Jude 6.