A requiem in loving memory of a beloved twin brother who died in the Lord 12-23-92 The Old Testament and New Testament scriptures are quite clear that death is a sleep
Ps. 6:5 - "In death is no remembrance."
Ps. 13:3 - "Lest I sleep the sleep of death."
Ps. 115:17 - "The dead praise not the Lord."
Eccl. 9:5 - "The dead know not anything."
Matt. 9:24 - "The girl is not dead but asleep."
John 11:11 - "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep."
I Thess. 4:13 - "We do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep."
On at least two occasions Jesus brought persons who had died back to life, and there are probably many more. In both cases He referred to their condition as being a sleep, (Matt. 9:24, John 11:11). Also, at His resurrection, the graves of many of the saints were opened and they were awakened from their sleep
And so all those who have died since Adam sinned have been sleeping. Adam and Eve, Abraham, Noah, David, Daniel, Paul and the disciples, all the protestant reformers and martyrs have been asleep They all are waiting for the voice of the Lord to come forth, as did Lazarus. Death and the grave (hell, hades) are Satan's prison house into which all those who have died are locked up But, praise the Lord, Jesus by His victory over death has broken the bonds of death. He holds the keys to the grave, and the "gates of hell shall not prevail" (Matt. 16:14). Those who are asleep will awaken, some to everlasting life and some to everlasting damnation.
So, let us be comforted with the thought that those who die in the Lord are resting in the tender arms of Jesus, and soon they will come forth as did Lazarus, for they, like Lazarus, are asleep
