XPost: alt.religion.christian   
   From: usenet@christrose.news   
      
   The passages you quoted describe death from the standpoint of what   
   happens *to the body under the sun*, not what happens to the soul before   
   God. Ecclesiastes, for example, is a book that repeatedly qualifies its   
   observations with the phrase *“under the sun”*—that is, from the earthly   
   perspective of man’s experience apart from divine revelation of   
   eternity. It describes life as it appears to the human eye, not as it   
   truly is in the full light of God’s eternal truth.   
      
   When Scripture is allowed to interpret Scripture, the full picture of   
   death is far more than the “cessation of biological functions.”   
      
   Jesus Himself refuted the idea that death equals nonexistence. When the   
   Sadducees denied the resurrection, He said, *“Have you not read what was   
   said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and   
   the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living”*   
   (Matthew 22:31–32, ESV). Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were long dead   
   physically, yet Jesus declared they are living to God. Nonexistence   
   cannot be called “living.”   
      
   Likewise, the Lord told the thief on the cross, *“Truly, I say to you,   
   today you will be with me in Paradise”* (Luke 23:43, ESV). That promise   
   makes no sense if the man ceased to exist.   
      
   Paul echoed the same truth: *“My desire is to depart and be with Christ,   
   for that is far better”* (Philippians 1:23, ESV), and again, *“We would   
   rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord”* (2 Corinthians   
   5:8, ESV). To be away from the body means physical death; to be at home   
   with the Lord means conscious fellowship after death.   
      
   The word *sleep* describes the appearance of the body, not the condition   
   of the soul. Daniel 12:2 says, *“Many of those who sleep in the dust of   
   the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and   
   everlasting contempt.”* That “sleep” is not unconsciousness of the   
   spirit but rest from the body until resurrection. Jesus used the same   
   term for Lazarus’s death—*“Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep”*—but   
   then clarified, *“Lazarus has died”* (John 11:11–14, ESV). Moments   
   later, He called Lazarus out of the tomb, proving that the man was not   
   annihilated but awaiting God’s summons.   
      
   Psalm 146:4 speaks of the *thoughts* of a man perishing when his breath   
   leaves him. That is true of his earthly plans—his ambitions and   
   projects—not the extinction of his soul. Job 14:10–14 uses similar   
   language, but then Job declares, *“I know that my Redeemer lives, and at   
   the last he will stand upon the earth… yet in my flesh I shall see God”*   
   (Job 19:25–26, ESV). The man of faith understood that death was   
   temporary for the body but not for the person.   
      
   Finally, Revelation 6:9–10 shows souls of the slain crying out before   
   God: *“I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for   
   the word of God… They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord…   
   how long before you will judge and avenge our blood?’”* The bodies of   
   those martyrs were dead, but their souls were conscious, praying, and aware.   
      
   Thus, when the Bible speaks of death, it never teaches extinction of   
   being. It teaches separation—first physical (soul from body), and   
   ultimately spiritual (the lost separated from God’s presence). The meek   
   inherit the earth only after resurrection, when Christ reigns. But even   
   now, the believer who dies is present with the Lord, awaiting that day.   
      
   --   
   Have you heard the good news Christ died for our sins (†), and God   
   raised Him from the dead?   
      
   That Christ died for our sins shows we're sinners who deserve the death   
   penalty. That God raised Him from the dead shows Christ's death   
   satisfied God's righteous demands against our sin (Romans 3:25; 1 John   
   2:1-2). This means God can now remain just, while forgiving you of your   
   sins, and saving you from eternal damnation.   
      
   On the basis of Christ's death and resurrection for our sins, call on   
   the name of the Lord to save you: "For 'everyone who calls on the name   
   of the Lord will be saved'" (Romans 10:13, ESV).   
      
   https://christrose.news/salvation   
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)