When the Bible describes a deceased person as “sleeping,” it references their physical death (Luke 8:52; 1 Corinthians 15:6). This terminology is a pleasant way of describing their passing since their body appears to be “asleep.”
The Bible does not teach or support the doctrine of soul sleep, where souls wait unconsciously after death until the resurrection before entering heaven or hell. Rather, it proclaims that bodies and souls part upon death (2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Philippians 1:23-24; Luke 16:19-23; Luke 23:42-43), and physical bodies return to “the dust of the earth” (Daniel 12:2)— while souls enter heaven or hell immediately (John 3:35-36; 2 Peter 2:4, 9-10, 17-19; Jude 1:6-7). A person's eternal destination is based upon whether they placed their faith in Jesus for salvation while on Earth (John 3:16).
Many biblical accounts and verses oppose the notion of soul sleep. For example:
The martyred believers who are killed during the great tribulation are present and alive in heaven before the tribulation ends and resurrection begins (Revelation 6:9-11).
Jesus told the thief on the cross that he would be with Him in Paradise the day they both died (Luke 23:42-43).
Paul stated that believers are present in heaven when they are "absent from the body" (2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Philippians 1:21-24).
Jesus described the rich man in Luke 16:22-31 as experiencing conscious torment in Hades immediately following his death, while Lazarus was carried by angels to Abraham’s Bosom [Paradise] when he died. This account also identified Abraham’s acute and extensive capabilities after his death, which included his knowledge of the rich man’s and Lazarus’ lives on the earth.
Moses and Elijah were alive with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration despite having passed away centuries beforehand (Matthew 17:1-4).
Each individual above is not a special circumstance but an accurate account of what occurs immediately following death. If souls were unconsciously confined to the grave after death, each of these examples would render God’s Word unreliable and untrue.
The Bible teaches that all physical bodies will be raised “from the grave” at the resurrection and transformed into ones equipped for eternity. God will transform believers’ bodies as imperishable, immortal, and glorified ones that bear the likeness of Jesus. Simultaneously, He will reunite each believer’s soul with its newly transformed body “in the twinkling of an eye” to live with Him forever in the new heaven and earth He creates (see Resurrection for more details and Scripture references).
Likewise, God will resurrect and transform the bodies of unbelievers as imperishable and immortal. Simultaneously, He will reunite each unbeliever’s soul with its newly transformed body to face final judgment. Afterward, they will be cast into the Lake of Fire to carry out their eternal sentence.
