Soul Sleep or Body Sleep?


 Having firmly established the conscious existence of the soul "out of the body" we want to consider a few passages that are referencing the death of people (death meaning the absence of life, in this case their body without their spirit- Jam.2:26) as basically being disconnected from the physical realm. The bible uses the phrases "under the sun", "under heaven", in the "land of the living" or "on the earth" to indicate life while in the body. The soul sleep doctrine adherents teach that death is the 'absence of existence' in contrast to the 'absence of life'.
 What they really appear to mean is the soul goes out of existence and not that it 'sleeps'. They teach that the soul is a product of the body and spirit joined, and so when the spirit and body are detached the soul ceases existing and thus doesn't actually sleep. In which case the bible phrases "out of the body" contrasted with "in the body" (2 Cor.12:2-3) and "at home in the body" in contrast with "absent from the body" (2 Cor.5:6-8) would have no meaning. Plus if Paul believed the soul sleep doctrine he would not have stated 'whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell' for he would have easily deduced- 'well, I know I wasn't out of the body because I had conscious existence'.
 The following verses are what they point to as proof texts of "soul sleep" (while ignoring or making metaphors and symbolism out of the verses which contradict their claims- and ending in ridiculous stretches of interpretation.).
 

Psalm 115:17 The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.

Psalm 6:5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?

Psalm 146:4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

Eccles. 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

Eccles. 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

 

Psalm 88:10-11 Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah. Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?

Isa. 38:18-19 For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.

There is no contradiction between these passages and the ones we referenced when you understand that once you are dead or absent from the body you know nothing about things going on in the earth and cannot glorify God in the land of the living. This is significant to the Jews in the Old Testament because their hope was in the inheritance of the land of promise. When they died their hopes of inheritance was frustrated (Ezek. 47:22-Ch48) until the resurrection (Lk.20:37-8).

 
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Heb.11:13

 
Here are some of these promises:

And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. Gen.13:14-15

And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. Gen.17:8

Body Sleep
 

Eccles.12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

The BODY was formed from the dust of the earth! Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Job 34:15 All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust. Man here is called flesh, and is connected with dust. Flesh and bone is the physical body.

(Luke 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.--That was The Lord after he rose from the dead). Psalm 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. Notice he associates our frame with dust, and says that is 'us'. 1 Kings17:21-22 When the widows son died, Elijah prayed 'let this CHILD'S SOUL come into him again'. The 'him' was referring to his body. And so the child’s soul LEFT, and then CAME into him again. In death the soul departs. We are a body, soul and spirit. Eccles. 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Eccles. 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. The DUST again, is our BODY. Daniel 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Isaiah 26:19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. What part of man is in the dust asleep? Well the body of course-"Matthew 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose" What is in the grave asleep? Well, of course it is the body!-Jeremiah 26:23 And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people. Rev. 11:9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. Jeremiah 8:1
At that time, saith the Lord, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves:

 It is also of interest that communicating with the dead is not possible.