A Living Soul Does Not Die, It Only Falls Asleep

Rev. Tse Amable | April 28 2025 | Acts 7:57-60

KEY VERSE: “ When he had said this, he fell asleep.” Acts 7:60b (NIV)

MESSAGE:

One truth made abundantly clear in the scriptures is that the soul of a human being does not die. It only falls asleep to wake up on the day of resurrection – either the resurrection of the righteous or the resurrection of the unrighteous. The Bible tells in the book of Genesis that Elohim (the LORD God) formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and THE MAN BECAME A LIVING SOUL (Genesis 2:7). The hymn writer put it “a never-dying soul to save and fit it for the sky.”

Human beings die only in the natural sense. In the spiritual sense, they fall asleep. When Jesus Christ heard about the death of Lazarus, he told his disciples “OUR FRIEND LAZARUS HAS FALLEN ASLEEP; BUT I AM GOING THERE TO WAKE HIM UP” (John 11:11). We know Jesus Christ woke Lazarus up but he died again later and remains dead waiting for the day of rapture or the resurrection. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13, Apostle Paul wrote, “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about THOSE WHO FALL ASLEEP, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope”. He was referring to believers in Jesus Christ who had died, but he wrote they had fallen asleep. Dying is like falling asleep. When we fall asleep at night, we wake up in the morning. The blessed hope of the resurrection takes away the fear of death.

You are a never-dying soul. At God's appointed time, you will fall asleep through death and wake up on the resurrection morning. The Apostle’s Creed states that Jesus Christ will come again “to judge the living and the dead”. Every soul asleep through death shall wake up to appear before the judgment throne of Jesus Christ.

FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE:

On which side of the divine divide will you wake up? Will you wake up in heaven or in hell? Everyone who has gone ahead of us to the other world is only asleep. One day, they will wake up from their sleep to enjoy eternal life or suffer everlasting damnation. CHOOSE WHERE YOU ARE GOING NOW!.

PRAYER:

Father, I thank you that you created me a living soul, and because I believe in Jesus Christ, I have eternal life and shall not perish. Empower me to be a faithful witness of Jesus Christ so that my unsaved family members and friends will also come into this saving knowledge to enable them to fall asleep by death in Christ. In Jesus Christ's name I pray. Amen!

THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING.

SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

The 365 DAILY BIBLE READING Day 118: Judges 1-2 — Incomplete Conquest and the Pattern of Apostasy

DAILY word study: ASLEEP

In Acts 7:60, the Bible uses the Greek word koimaō (κοιμάω) to describe Stephen’s death. The word means "to fall asleep" or "to rest," drawn from a root that speaks of lying down peacefully.

In biblical language, sleep is often used as a metaphor for death for the believer, not as a final end, but as a temporary rest before the resurrection. When Scripture says Stephen “fell asleep,” it reminds us that in Christ, death is not the last word. It is a resting place, held in God’s faithful hands, until the day He calls us to rise again.

Reflection:

In Christ, sleep is not loss. It is a promise held in His hands, a rest before the morning of eternal life.