"For now shall I sleep in the dust, and thou shalt seek me in the morning,
but I shall not be." [ JOB 7:21 ]
"Man dieth... 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."
[ JOB 14:10,12 ]
Both the Old Testament AND the New testament are in total harmony about
"death" being a sleep.
"They stoned Stephen... and... he fell asleep." [ ACTS 7:59-60 ]
"They... which are fallen asleep in Christ." [ 1 COR 15:6, 18, 20 ]
o "And the Lord siad unto Moses, behold, thou shalt sleep with thy
fathers." [ DUET 31:16 ]
o "So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of
David." [1 KINGS 2:10 ]
o "And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city
of David his father." [ 1 KINGS 11:43 ]
o "For David... fell asleep, and was laid unto his fathers..."
[ ACTS 13:36 ]
o "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers
fell asleep..." [ 2 PETER 3:4 ]
And also see (just some more for fun):
1 KINGS 11:21; 14:20; 14:31; 15:8; 15:24; 16:6; 16:28; 22:40; 22:50
2 KINGS 8:24; 10:35; 13:9; 13:13; 14:16; 14:22; 14:29; 15:7; 15:22;
15:38; 16:20; 20:21; 21:18; 24:6
2 CHRON 9:31; 12:16; 14:1; 16:13; 21:1; 26:2; 26:23; 27:9; 28:27;
32:33
"...lest I sleep the sleep of death." [ PSA 13:3 ]
In John 11 we have the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead -- Jesus
said, "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of
sleep." The disciples MISUNDERSTOOD him, so Jesus CLARIFIED: "Lazarus is
dead." [ JOHN 11:11-14 ]
Also: when Lazarus came out of the grave, if he had been called back from
heaven, don't you think he would've said something about it? But Lazarus said
"nothing." And he certainly would have had lots to say to everyone if he'd
been called out of hell.
It's so simple: Lazarus said nothing because he knew nothing -- not a single
thing. For four days Lazarus had truely been "asleep in the grave."
Jesus knew what the Old Testament said about those in the grave... "There is
no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou
goest." [ ECC 9:10 ] Why? Because "death" is sleep.
Here's another important "sleep" text. "The dead praise not the Lord,
neither any that go down into silence." [ PSA 115:17 ] If people went straight
to heaven at their death, they would be praising the Lord. But the dead rest
in the silence of sleep, and they don't awake until the resurrection.
"For the grave cnnot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go
down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth." [ ISA 38:18; PSA 88:10-12 ]
Even David waits in his grave. "He is both dead and buried, and his
sepulchre is with us unto this day... for David is not ascended into the
heavens." Why? Because he too awaits his resurrection. [ ACTS 2:29, 34 ]