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Man in Death

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Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · May 13, 1913

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 40, No. 19.

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Man in Death

1. Are the dead spoken of in the Bible as being asleep?
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake Me, and break My covenant which I have made with them.” Deut. 31: 16.
“And why dost Thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and Thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.” Job 7: 21.
“Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.” Ps. 13: 3.
“And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Dan. 12: 2.
“And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” Matt. 27: 52, 53.
“After that He saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said His disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that He had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.” John 11: 11-14.
“For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption.” Acts 13: 36.
NOTE.—There are many other scriptures which show the Bible teaching that the dead are regarded as being asleep. They are quietly resting in the tomb, awaiting the resurrection. In perfect sleep there is complete unconsciousness. Therefore the Bible term that is used to describe man in death would denote that he is unconscious in the grave.
2. What are some of the texts which explicitly say that man is unconscious in death?
“For in death there is no remembrance of Thee: in the grave who shall give Thee thanks?” Ps. 6: 5.
“Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Ps. 146: 3, 4.
“For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.” “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” Eccl. 9: 4-6, 10.
“The grave can not praise Thee, death can not celebrate Thee: they that go down into the pit can not hope for Thy truth.” Isa. 38: 18.
3. Will the saints of all ages “together” meet Christ when He brings them forth at the resurrection, and not one at a time at death?
“But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that fall asleep; that ye sorrow not, even as the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. For 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; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thess. 4: 13-18, A.R.V.