What Happens When a Person Dies? A Biblical and Spirit of Prophecy Study on Soul Sleep

I. The Bible Teaches That the Dead Are Unconscious

1. Death is a Sleep Until the Resurrection

The Bible repeatedly describes death as a sleep from which the dead will awaken at the resurrection.

• John 11:11-14 – “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep... Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.”

  • Jesus directly compares death to sleep.

  • If Lazarus had gone to heaven immediately, Jesus would not have called him back (John 11:23-24).

• 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.”

  • The dead are asleep in the dust until they awaken at the resurrection.

• 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16 – “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope… For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout… and the dead in Christ shall rise first.”

  • Paul calls the dead "asleep" and says they will rise at Christ’s second coming.

• Job 14:10-12 – “Man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?… So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.”

  • The dead remain unconscious until the end of time when God resurrects them.

2. The Dead Know Nothing

The Bible teaches that the dead do not have consciousness.

• Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10 – “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything… also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished.”

  • The dead have no thoughts, emotions, or awareness.

  • If souls went to heaven or hell immediately, they would still "know" things, but the Bible says they "know nothing."

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

  • When a person dies, their thoughts cease—they do not continue in an afterlife.

3. The Dead Do Not Go to Heaven or Hell Immediately

• Acts 2:29, 34 – “Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day… For David is not ascended into the heavens.”

  • Even King David, a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), is still in the grave.

  • If souls went straight to heaven, David should have been there already, but Peter confirms he is still waiting for the resurrection.

• Job 7:9-10 – “As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.”

  • The dead do not return to the land of the living, proving they do not become spirits who haunt places or appear to the living.

II. What is the Soul?

Some believe the soul is a separate, immortal entity, but the Bible teaches that humans do not have immortal souls.

1. A Living Soul = Body + Breath of Life

• 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.”

  • Man does not have a soul—he is a soul.

  • The soul is not separate from the body; it is the combination of body + breath of life.

2. Souls Can Die

• Ezekiel 18:20 – “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.”

  • If souls were immortal, they could not die.

  • The Bible clearly teaches that souls are not naturally immortal.

• Matthew 10:28 – “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

  • Souls are not eternal—God can destroy both soul and body.

III. Ellen G. White’s Writings on Soul Sleep

1. The Dead Remain in the Grave Until the Resurrection

“Upon awakening, the dead will come forth from their graves as if they had been in sleep.”(The Great Controversy, p. 550)

“Christ represents death as a sleep to His believing children. Their life is hid with Christ in God, and until the last trump shall sound those who die will sleep in Him.”(The Desire of Ages, p. 527)

2. The Dead Do Not Communicate with the Living

“The spirits of the dead who appear to us are not the spirits of the dead, but evil angels that personate them.”(The Great Controversy, p. 551)

• This aligns with Job 7:9-10, where the dead do not return to their houses or haunt the living.

3. The Teaching of the Immortal Soul is a Deception

“The doctrine of man’s consciousness in death, especially the belief that spirits of the dead return to minister to the living, has prepared the way for modern spiritualism.”(The Great Controversy, p. 551)

• This is why Satan uses spiritualism to deceive people into believing that the dead are alive.

IV. Summary: What Happens When a Person Dies?

Biblical Truth	Key Bible Verse
Death is a sleep	John 11:11-14
The dead know nothing	Ecclesiastes 9:5-6
Thoughts cease at death	Psalm 146:4
The dead remain in their graves	Acts 2:29, 34
The soul is not immortal	Ezekiel 18:20
The dead do not return or communicate with the living	Job 7:9-10

Conclusion:

• When a person dies, they enter a state of unconscious sleep in the grave.

• They remain there until Jesus' second coming, when He will resurrect the righteous and judge the wicked.

• The belief in an immortal soul is not biblical but a deception used by Satan through spiritualism.