So, this is a question that we have all thought about from time to time. After looking at this topic in the Scripture, the result is not quite what we anticipated, nor does it really line up with the common “story line.” Let's take a look at what Scripture says about what happens to us when we die.
The body and soul return to the dust and the Spirit departs and returns to Yahweh.
The body and soul return to the dust and the Spirit departs and returns to Yahweh.
Psalms 146:1-4 NASB
Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! (2) I will praise the LORD while I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. (3) Do not trust in princes, In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation. (4) His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; In that very day his thoughts perish.
Psalms 104:29 NASB
You hide Your face, they are dismayed; You take away their spirit, they expire And return to their dust.
Ecclesiastes 12:7 NASB
then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.
Genesis 3:19 NASB
By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return."
Luke 23:46 NASB
And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, "Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT." Having said this, He breathed His last.
Acts 7:59 NASB
They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!"
The body and the soul are delivered into Sheol in death.
1 Samuel 2:6 NASB
"The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
2 Samuel 22:6 NASB
The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.
Psalms 89:48 NASB
What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah.
Proverbs 7:27 NASB
Her house is the way to Sheol, Descending to the chambers of death.
Proverbs 9:18 NASB
But he does not know that the dead are there, That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
The body and soul are asleep in Sheol and are awakened to a day of judgement.
Daniel 12:2 NASB
"Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.
Daniel 12:13 NASB
"But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age."
Isaiah 26:19 NASB
Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.
John 5:28-29 NASB
"Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, (29) and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
Acts 2:29 NASB
"Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
Acts 2:34 NASB
"For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: 'THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,
Acts 13:36 NASB
"For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay;
1 Thessalonians 4:16 NASB
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.
Many look to Yeshua’s death on the stake as a reason to believe that when we die, that very day we will be in heaven. Luke 23:43 says, “And Jesus said unto him, Verily, I say unto thee, Today thou shalt be with me in paradise." At first glance, it seems that Yeshua promised the thief that the thief would be with Him (Yeshua) in "paradise" that very same day. However, John 20:17, clearly states that Yeshua didn’t go to heaven during those three days after He died. How is it that Yeshua made this promise to the thief? We know that no deceit was found in His mouth (1 Peter 2:22 & Isaiah 53:9), so Yeshua couldn’t have promised the thief that the thief would be with Yeshua that same day in paradise. There is no punctuation in the Greek texts. Read it again, with a slight change in the placement of the punctuation: “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee today, thou shalt be with me in paradise."
In Luke 20:34-38, Yeshua specifically states that Yahweh is the God of the living not the dead, which further supports the notion of a resurrection to eternal life. At that future time, the dead will be roused from their sleep. And, in John 14:1-3, Yeshua spoke of all who will believe it and accept it regarding the time when the dead will wake up. Yeshua indicates that when He returns to Earth, He will re-gather his chosen ones (including those that have died) and bring them to Himself. This verse indicates that there will be dwelling place and that we will have a consciousness of Yeshua and our environment again.
In summary, it seems that, according to our study of Scripture, when we die, our body and soul are put to rest in Sheol and our Spirit departs to Yahweh. While in Sheol, we are in some sort of "sleep" state without consciousness and without awareness of even Yahweh Himself. Despite the Biblical evidence, this is not a popularly held view. It is important that we point out that the Scripture is also clear that while death may be a “sleep of unconsciousness,” it is only temporary. For those who trust in Yahweh to keep His promises through Messiah, eternal life without death awaits them for eternity!
Shalom Aleichem!
The H.U.B.
In Luke 20:34-38, Yeshua specifically states that Yahweh is the God of the living not the dead, which further supports the notion of a resurrection to eternal life. At that future time, the dead will be roused from their sleep. And, in John 14:1-3, Yeshua spoke of all who will believe it and accept it regarding the time when the dead will wake up. Yeshua indicates that when He returns to Earth, He will re-gather his chosen ones (including those that have died) and bring them to Himself. This verse indicates that there will be dwelling place and that we will have a consciousness of Yeshua and our environment again.
In summary, it seems that, according to our study of Scripture, when we die, our body and soul are put to rest in Sheol and our Spirit departs to Yahweh. While in Sheol, we are in some sort of "sleep" state without consciousness and without awareness of even Yahweh Himself. Despite the Biblical evidence, this is not a popularly held view. It is important that we point out that the Scripture is also clear that while death may be a “sleep of unconsciousness,” it is only temporary. For those who trust in Yahweh to keep His promises through Messiah, eternal life without death awaits them for eternity!
Shalom Aleichem!
The H.U.B.
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