Question:  Dear Greg,

            I would like to know what is the condition of the person when he dies?  Paul says absent from the body is present with the Lord. Others say you are totally unconscious and know nothing until Jesus returns.  Also, what is your opinion of tongues?  When I was baptized years ago I came up out of the water speaking in tongues—much to my own amazement.  I appreciate your time to answer.

            Thanks and God bless,

            Dave

Answer:  Dear Dave,

            The Bible does not offer specific details about what happens to the soul after death.  We know:

1.      the body corrupts, decomposes, etc.

2.      that there will be a resurrection of the body at the Second Coming of our Lord

3.      that the soul or spirit, at the death of the body, returns to God

Is the soul conscious or unconscious while with God, awaiting the resurrection of the body?  This specific “time” is called the intermediate state.  We don’t know if the soul is conscious or unconscious.  The majority of Christians believe that the soul is conscious, while those who believe it to be unconscious believe in “soul sleep”—a term which is taken from the Bible when those who die are said to be sleeping.  The use of the term in the Bible is not a specific definition of the state of the soul but as a word picture of those who have ceased to be physically alive/active.

            In the New Testament speaking in tongues is stated to be a gift of the Holy Spirit.  However, most Christians for the last 1900 years have been and are cessationists.  That is, they believe that while it “was” a gift, it has ceased to be given by God.  Some cessationists allow that some today may speak in tongues but that most Christians do not—and while some do, it is not an activity or sign that demonstrates spiritual superiority or special status of some kind.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht