Do Nazarenes believe in 'soul sleep' after death or do Nazarenes believe the soul goes to heaven and in the presence of God upon death??
Do Nazarenes believe in 'soul sleep' after death or do Nazarenes believe the soul goes to heaven and in the presence of God upon death??
Post Thanks / Like - 1 Thanks, 0 LaughingMarian Schwaller Carney - "thanks" for this post
Scripture isn't really clear one way or another; I think either opinion is entirely orthodox, or no opinion at all.
...just my $.02.Post Thanks / Like - 4 Thanks, 0 Laughing
Haven't heard there is a "Nazarene view" on this matter. My personal view is that Moses and Elijah didn't appear very sleepy at the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt 17) and that God is not the God of the sleepy, but of the living (Matthew 22:32). That's just me though and I am not a Nazarene pope
"No scripture can mean that God is not love, or that his mercy is not over all his works" (John Wesley - Free Grace, 26)Post Thanks / Like - 0 Thanks, 1 LaughingDavid Graham - thanks for this funny post
Jesus told the thief who believed, "Today you will be with me in paradise". Jesus is not sleeping.
That's good enough for me!
My Prayer: Father, use me until I am used up, then call me home and may I hear "well done good and faithful servant". Amen.Post Thanks / Like - 2 Thanks, 0 Laughing
In 1Corinthians Paul says "We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord." That seems to rule out "soul sleep" in the most general understanding of the term.
On the other hand, we've had lots discussions here through the years about the nature of time, and several have said that they believe God is "outside time." So, tying the two together, we have a believe that when we die we to go the Lord who is "outside time."
In that "place" a "day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day."
A person goes to sleep, and opens their eyes - hours have passed as though it was just a moment.
So - I don't believe in soul sleep as some have believed it. But if we exit this world into the keeping of the Lord - we may just open our eyes, finding ourselves in the general resurrection.
I really don't know - but I can confidently affirm that Nazarenes don't have a belief as a denomination either way.
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There is not an official Nazarene position on that specific matter, so I am sure there are Nazarenes out there who hold to a version of "soul sleep." Others may hold a view that one's identity is kept in Christ through death and then one is resurrected at the coming of Jesus. Still others hold that a part of the human being ("soul" or "spirit") is immediately conscious and present with Christ awaiting completion through the resurrection of the body.
The only traditionally orthodox position regarding these matters is that a) the person is incomplete without a body; therefore, we believe in the "resurrection of the body" (I Cor 15, etc.); b) we are not simply going to be spirits floating around disembodied for all eternity.
Other than that, there's plenty of speculation based upon the texts we have in regard to the "intermediate state" of the human being.
Thanks,
Charles
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Samuel seemed grumpy when Saul woke him upOriginally Posted by Hans Deventer
Haven't heard there is a "Nazarene view" on this matter. My personal view is that Moses and Elijah didn't appear very sleepy at the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt 17) and that God is not the God of the sleepy, but of the living (Matthew 22:32). That's just me though and I am not a Nazarene pope
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Some Nazarenes believe in "soul sleep." Most of us don't know. My own view is that time is a part of creation and doesn't exist in the same way after death.
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We absolutely believe in soul sleep. Just look around during the sermon.
Fear not those who argue but those who dodge. -- Marie von Ebner-EschenbachPost Thanks / Like - 1 Thanks, 8 Laughing
Now that response made me laugh. I would have to concur.
Post of the day ... this evoked a really good LOL.We absolutely believe in soul sleep. Just look around during the sermon.
Charles, have you been gone for awhile, or do you actually possess that much restraint!?. . . enough to read for nearly two years and post only a dozen times!?
Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one.
~ Stella Adler ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It takes a great deal of maturity to accept that trying to eliminate all risk eliminates life.
~ Susan Lapin ~
I think this fits here -- what do you think Jesus was doing during his time in the tomb? Was he in soul sleep? Was he "with the Lord?" Was he preaching to people in Hades?
Only a few years ago I learned of "soul sleep" (via Seventh-Day Adventist beliefs) and at first I found it so incredibly odd, but realizing their counterarguments (for example, the difference between, "I tell you today, I will see you in Paradise," and, "I tell you, today I will see you in Paradise") it doesn't seem as unbelievable as it once did. Personally, I believe in an "instantaneous" Heaven, but there seems to be a lot of differing views, all with scriptural support. I guess we'll find out someday who's "right."
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Couple of years ago I would have said sleep probably. But now I am more inclined to Hades. There seems to no real reason except for some of the comments and discussion on here. I think the use Paradise is interesting given that the Greek did have a concept of paradise not to be confused with Elysium, paradise was a place for supernatural entities. Now this may not be the actual word used, but I have found it interesting that we translate it that way.
"Means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek."Post Thanks / Like - 1 Thanks, 0 Laughing
The Jews believed they went to Sheol after death - at some point later in Israel's development, they split Sheol into two places - one good (paradise) and the other bad (gahenna). These roughly correlate to what we would today call heaven and hell. However, for those who believed in a resurrection, neither place was a final destination, but simply a place to wait for resurrection, which would be back here in a perfected Earth.
That seems to be the general chain of events that Paul and the other NT writers believed as well.
There's nothing really in scripture to say that paradise and gahenna actually exist. For me, I just say "I don't know."
...just my $.02.
This is an issue that's not worth losing a lot of sleep over.
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Easter brings near to everyone the question of what happens after death. Jesus of course is our Great Hope for resurrection. Enoch, Elijah, Moses, remind us there is an intermediary stage or phase whether we call it soul sleep or paradise or heaven, the soul goes somewhere and does something and it may depend on the spiritual condition of the soul at the time of death. "After Jesus was resurrected, many souls came forth from their graves and went into Jerusalem." At some point Christians will receive a perfect, imperishable, incorruptible body. The soul of non-Christians has a different destiny. The in between time of soul sleep or paradise may be a bit less busy than after our resurrection.
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