“But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB. 38 “Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him,””  (Luke 20:37-38).

In our discussion on annihilationism, the question of the state of an individual after death and before his resurrection is critical. Most annihilationists maintain that once a person dies, he enters into a state of soul sleep, or the spirit is deprived of life – the latter position leads to the heresy which I will explain. Please consider these two quotes from annihilationists sources.

• “soul sleep,” the view that death is a state of total unconsciousness, rather than survival in heaven, hell, or purgatory.” ¹Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism (Kindle Locations 503-504). Cascade Books, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition.
• “When death occurs, then it is the soul that is deprived of life. Death cannot strike the body or any other part of the soul without striking the entirety of the soul.”²Fudge, Edward William. The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment, Third Edition (p. 27). Cascade Books, an imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition.

In light of this view, three Scriptures are worth considering.

• ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living,” (Matthew 22:32).
• “But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, and the God of Jacob’? 27 “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken,”” (Mark 12:26–27)
• “But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB.” 38 “Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him,” (Luke 20:37-38).

Jesus said that God is the God of the living, not the God of the dead. The annihilationist is quick to respond by saying that Luke 20:38 says, “for all live to Him” or that soul sleep means they are still alive, just unconscious. In other words, they take these last words of Jesus to mean that even though the person is either nonexistent or in a state of soul sleep, in the mind of God he is alive. But, is the conditionalist interpretation valid? They will say that it is and we who hold to the traditional “biblical” position will say it is not. Who is right?

The soul deprived of life

There is a possible difficulty in the conditionalist interpretation.  In light of those who hold to Edward Fudge’s teaching that when death occurs the soul is deprived of life (which means it doesn’t exist anymore – including Jesus’ human soul!), then they would be forced to interpret Jesus’ words to mean that God is actually the God of the dead not of the living.

Soul sleep

Those who hold to soul sleep could affirm that the dead are alive – just unconscious.  Of course, the problem here is that Moses and Elijah were conscious when talking with Jesus in the Transfiguration  (Matt. 17:3) even though Moses had died. Elijah was taken up to heaven 2 kings 2:11. Was he conscious or not conscious there according to the annihilationists? The conditionalist would have to respond and say that their appearance was a special event where they were given consciousness to talk to Jesus. Of course, such conjecture is a fabrication not supported in Scripture.

Scripture says…

There are plenty of scriptures that show people being alive (and conscious) after death. Because the following

• The witch of Endor encountered Samuel in a séance, (1 Sam. 28:11-19)
• Moses and Elijah appeared to Jesus and spoke with him at his Transfiguration, (Matt.17:1-4)
• Lazarus and the rich man both die in both are conscious and aware after physical death, (Luke 16:19-31)
• On the cross, Jesus told the thief that he would be with Jesus in paradise on that day, (Luke 23:42–43)
• Paul, most probably, was caught up into the third heaven and was not permitted to speak of what he saw when he was out of the body, (2 Cor. 12:2)
• The saints in heaven cry out for the avenging of their blood, (Rev. 6:10)

Of course, the conditionalists are not without their responses to these Scriptures (bad ones). But the fact is that the Bible most certainly implies consciousness after physical death as the above list of Scriptures demonstrate. Unfortunately, those who hold to annihilationism sometimes go to great lengths to get scriptures to fit another perspective.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, the texts (Matt 22:32, Mark 12:26-27 and Luke 20:37-38) do not tell us exactly what is meant by Jesus’ words when he said that God “is not the God of the dead but of the living.” Conditionalists are forced to interpret the text figuratively to remain consistent with their assumptions. But, of course, there are plenty of scriptures that demonstrate consciousness after death.  Samuel appeared alive and conscious after his death (1 Sam. 28:11-19). Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke to Jesus at the Transfiguration. Lazarus and Rich man are alive and conscious after death (Luke 16:19-31). Jesus told the thief that he would be with Jesus in paradise on that day, (Luke 23:42–43). Paul was probably caught up to the third heaven being out of his body (2 Cor. 12:2). And, the Saints in heaven are conscious as they cry out for the avenging of their blood (Rev. 6:10).  In light of this, the best explanation for the meaning of Jesus’ words where he declares that God is the God of the living not the dead, means that they are alive and conscious after death.