Topic(s): Bible Study, Eternity & Judgment

Todd Clippard

1. Simply because one goes to a particular place of waiting does not imply the judgment is unnecessary. For example, most people will be in torment where the rich man is, but will not know why. The judgment will render the verdict and reason for guilt (2 Cor 5:10; Rev 20:12ff). Think about those in Matthew 7:21-23 who honestly did not know why they were in torment or why they would not enter heaven.

2. The phrase "the dead know not any thing" (Ecc 9:5) is modified by the statement "under the sun" (v 6). Therefore, the dead do not look down upon the living and the things which transpire on earth. While we retain our memories of our earthly existence, at death we are separated from the earth and all things therein.

3. Consider the case where Samuel was "conjured up" by the medium of Endor in 1 Samuel 28. In verse 15 Samuel rebuked Saul saying "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" How could Samuel make such a statement if he were in the state known as "soul-sleeping?"

4. Consider also the transfiguration of Matthew 17 and Luke 9, where Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ and talked with Him about His upcoming death which would take place at Jerusalem.

5. Finally, in Matthew 22, Jesus quieted the Sadducees with the following statement, "Have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.'" The Greek word translated "living" appears some 140+ times in the New Testament. In Hebrews 4:12, the word of God is described as "quick (alive) and powerful."

Again, I don't think this a matter of extreme importance, so long as we understand (as you ably said) that we must be ready to face the Judgment when we die.