For soul-sleepers, the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man in Luke 16:19-31 is difficult to explain away. It indicates a consciousness after death. So, what is the soul-sleep theory? It purports that between death and the resurrection, the soul sleeps and is not conscious. Another difficult passage for soul-sleepers to explain is Luke 23:43 where Jesus tells the thief on the cross, today you shall be with me in paradise. 2 Corinthians 5:8 speaks of being absent from the body and at home with the Lord. In Philippians 1:21-24 Paul desired to depart this flesh and be with Christ. Revelation 6:9-11 speaks of slain souls that cried with a loud voice. The theory of soul sleep is a dubious, one-sided view which takes one set of passages as literal and others as non-literal metaphors.
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