THE DEAD SLEEP, KNOWING NOTHING
Time and time again we are asked how can we
believe in communication with the dead in The Afterlife when The
Bible says The Dead sleep in the ground knowing nothing.
They neither hear nor do they see. To fully understand this
Bible verse we must understand the beliefs of ancient times.
Many ancients believed that in order to have Eternal Life the
body had to be preserved, that the Soul still dwelled within it
and journeyed out to roam the world. That if the
flesh was totally destroyed the individual would cease to exist,
forever. This misguided belief caused much confusion among
the people, and The Prophets found it necessary to teach them
that this was totally untrue. The maintainence of the
former physical existence was not necessary for the continuance
of The Soul. That once the body died the Soul seperated
from it, and left it to go on to The Afterlife. That the
body in the ground was empty, llifeless. The Soul had left
it. Its maintainence was not necessary for the continuation
of The Soul. Hence, the teaching that the body in the
ground felt nothing, saw and heard nothing.....that it was an
empty, lifeless thing.
Those giving these teachings were not saying that the Soul knew
nothing, was totally unaware, they were saying that the discarded
flesh, the body that the Soul once possessed, heard and felt
nothing.
Every Bible verse must be taken in its content. The reason
why it was written must be understood before it is applied to
other issues. In many other parts of The Bible It clearly
teaches that the Soul dwells in The Afterlife, and is aware.
One only has to read of the exchange between Lazarus and the rich
man to understand that Those in Ancient Times were fully aware
that The Afterlife existed.