First, in terms of the question about why Jesus needs to “come first for the dead” and how that is possible if they are with him in heaven is that only their spirits are with him in heaven–their bodies are left to the grave. Thus, when Paul speaks to the Thessalonicans, he is speaking of the resurrection from the dead–a physical event. When Paul speaks earlier to the Corinthians, he speaks of passing from this world (through death) into the presence of Christ (something that he would be very conscious of), he tells them that he would be somewhat unclothed, if you will, until his body is resurrected at the time of the second coming. He also has earlier told the Corinthians that if there is no physical resurrection from the dead–there is no reason for hope (i.e. floating around on clouds and playing our harps is not sufficient). Why? Because God created us to be both flesh and spirit, but has chosen to wait until Christ’s return to resurrect us physically from the dead. Our spirits, being eternal, either go to God or to the torments of hell (spiritual torments) waiting on that great day of resurrection–and yes, conscious all the while.

Your reference to the difference between our mortal bodies and resurrected bodies is correct, but you neglect to note that there is continuity as well as discontinuity. Jesus looked human, he walked, talked, ate, was tangible, was recognizable, etc… At the same time, he walked through closed doors and at times, people did not recognize him right away. Thus, even though we will be different, Paul also points out in 1 Corinthians 15 that we will be fleshly (in the positive sense, not the sense that flesh is sometimes used to convey sin). Thus again, the glorious aspect of this whole thing is that we will be resurrected (and those who are still alive will be changed) and thus physical but free from the effects of sin. Remember, it is the Gnostic Greeks that imported the idea of the physical being bad into the whole Christian framework; God created the physical and pronounced it to be “good.”

In terms of the idea of rest, you are misunderstanding the greatness of the idea. Worship is an aspect of rest and is part of the way we fulfill the command to rest on the Sabbath day. Ultimately, the idea of rest in scripture can be understood in terms of rest from one’s enemies–our primary enemy being sin. Think of how God modeled rest. He did not do so by kicking his feet up on the celestial ottoman of earth–had he done so, the created order would have blown up into a million, trillion bits–for God binds the universe together. God was active on the first Sabbath day (and all subsequent ones) in the work of governing his creation. Yet, God’s rest is found in his looking back on what he had done and finding satisfaction in it. We too, in looking at how God has delivered us from our enemies, can find satisfaction and rest in it at least partially when here on earth and then fully when with Christ. Because we are not whole without our bodies, it is not enough to say our rest is in a spiritual state of bliss or as you would propose, unconsciousness; no, rest, in the Biblical sense, is something that we are fully conscious of. Again, look to the martyrs under the throne in Revelation, they are anxious, to say the least, to see God bring final judgment against his enemies–why, because they want to rest and worship in the satisfaction that God’s glory has been fully revealed to the wicked–something that does not take place until the final judgment.

And yes, amen, indeed, we will be worshipping in heaven because “He is too glorious not to fall on your face and worship,” I wholeheartedly agree, but that is part of our rest, in the fullness of the Biblical portrayal. Look at how Jesus modeled rest on the Sabbath. He healed people, he taught, he did acts of kindness and mercy and he rebuked those who thought that Sabbath rest required a total cessation of physical activity. Rest, as he modeled it, was active, not passive.

In terms of word pictures–the term koimao is used for physical death, not to indicate some special state. If that were so, scripture would have been more clear on that. When you read extra-Biblical documents–the ancient Greek philosophers and playwrights, for example–they consistently use the term koimao to refer simply to dying and being placed in the ground. It was a concept that people understood, were Paul to be changing the idea around, he would have had to explain to his audience the new concepts that were being imported into the idea of “sleeping” as a metaphor for death. He never does this.

In terms of Daniel 12:1-2, this passage supports my model as easily as it supports yours. He is speaking of the final Resurrection (Revelation 20) and how the bodies of all people will be resurrected–some given eternal life with Christ and some to eternal condemnation in the fires of hell. Again, this is the finality of events, not the awaking from some unconscious holding state. Once again, there is nothing in scripture to imply that we will not be conscious in death. Even Samuel, when brought back to confront Saul and the Witch of Endor, knew where he was and was quite conscious of events. Moses, too, on the Mount of Transfiguration, discussed with Jesus his coming passion and death, as Luke relates–seems like an odd conversation were he to be unconscious. Also, again, I point to the Martyrs under the throne in heaven, the 24 elders, etc… in Revelation–none of them seem unconscious to me.

As a side note, there is a reason that the bulk of the orthodox (“right thinking”, not eastern) Christian church has not held to this doctrine that you are espousing, and that is to support it, you really do ignore the broader text of scripture. A rule of thumb in Biblical interpretation is that we interpret the unclear passages in light of the clear, and this is one of those cases. There are lots of places where people are portrayed as being completely aware of their surroundings in the afterlife yet prior to the resurrection (Jesus’ parable of the Rich man and Lazarus is another example), so to translate sleep to imply an unconscious rest is not consistent exegesis of the whole of Canon. Also, since the natural meaning of koimao, when used as a metaphor, is natural death and it is used to describe believers and unbelievers being used this way in Christian and non-Christian literature, you really do have to make a stretch to imply that this is anything other than the natural reading–that is unless Paul explicitly says that he is redefining the term.

One other interesting note on a purely psychological level. Do you realize that your mind does not rest when it is unconscious? People, for example, who must take sleeping pills to “knock them out” to get sleep only receive physical rest, not mental rest. Often, if they have to rely on these means every day for extended periods of time, there are nasty consequences. Our mind’s rest when we are dreaming–something that we are conscious of at least on some level (some moreso than others). Similarly, one of the best ways to rest when we are weary is not to “turn off” the mind in front of a mindless amusement like TV (and the word “amuse” means to “not think”), but instead to read a book. Again, a conscious activity.

Blessings,

Win

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