Soul Sleep

Definition and Meaning

Soul sleep is the view that when a person dies, the soul remains in an unconscious state of sleep until the resurrection. In scholarly usage it is called psychopannychism, a term derived from Greek meaning that the soul sleeps through the night. The view addresses the question of a person's condition between death and resurrection, known as the intermediate state. It is therefore a topic within eschatology.

Several related but distinct views exist. One holds that at death the soul, together with the body, ceases to exist or ceases all activity and is brought back to life at the resurrection; this view is sometimes called mortalism. Another is conditional immortality, which rejects the very idea that human beings possess an inherently immortal soul. These two views are often discussed together with soul sleep.

Biblical and Historical Background

Proponents of this view point out that Scripture frequently describes death as "sleep." They cite passages such as John 11:11, where the death of Lazarus is described as sleep ("Our friend Lazarus sleepeth"); 1 Thessalonians 4:13–14, which refers to deceased believers as "them which are asleep"; Ecclesiastes 9:5, which says that "the dead know not any thing"; and Psalm 146:4, which says that on the day a person dies, "in that very day his thoughts perish."

Opponents regard the biblical language of "sleep" as a figurative euphemism for death. They appeal to passages that appear to teach conscious existence after death: Luke 23:43, where Jesus says to the thief on the cross, "To day shalt thou be with me in paradise"; Philippians 1:21–23, where Paul expresses a desire "to depart, and to be with Christ"; 2 Corinthians 5:8, which speaks of being "absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord"; the account of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31); and Revelation 6:9–10, where the souls of the martyrs under the altar cry out.

During the Reformation, some Anabaptists are known to have held this view. Martin Luther also wrote passages comparing death to a deep sleep, though scholars disagree over whether these should be understood as teaching soul sleep. Around 1534, John Calvin wrote Psychopannychia, a treatise refuting the view; it was published in 1542. Later, Chapter 32 of the Westminster Confession of Faith declared that the souls of the righteous are received into heaven immediately after death, while the souls of the wicked are cast into hell, where they await the Last Judgment. This confession takes a position that differs from soul sleep.

Practice in the Korean Church

The major denominations in Korea, including Presbyterian, Methodist, Holiness, Baptist, and Full Gospel churches, generally reject soul sleep. These denominations teach that the souls of deceased believers are consciously present with Christ as they await the resurrection.

• Presbyterian churches clearly affirm this position on the basis of the Westminster Confession of Faith.
• In the Wesleyan tradition, including Methodist and Holiness churches, the common understanding is likewise that deceased believers await the resurrection in paradise.

The phrase "fell asleep in the Lord" is frequently used at funeral services and memorial services. However, it is understood as following the figurative language of Scripture and is not used as a profession of soul sleep.

By contrast, the Seventh-day Adventist Church regards death as a state of unconscious sleep and teaches that the righteous will be raised at the Second Coming. Jehovah's Witnesses hold that a person does not continue to exist as a conscious being after death, and in this respect their view is classified as similar to soul sleep. Both groups claim that their views strip away the influence of the Greek philosophical notion of the immortality of the soul and return to the teaching of Scripture. In the Korean church, soul sleep is mentioned mainly in connection with the doctrines of these two groups.