Correspondence: Death - Present or Asleep?; John 2:17 - Zeal of Thine House

From: Young Christian: Volume 19, 1929

Ecclesiastes 9:5; Matthew 27:52; 1 Corinthians 11:30; John 2:17 • 4 min. read • grade level: 6

Question: I was taught by my parents that when we die, we go to be with the Lord. Now I am told by others, that all go to sleep in death till the resurrection. If you can, please enlighten us about this? What does Ecclesiastes 9:5⁵For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. (Ecclesiastes 9:5) mean, “The dead know not anything?”

Answer: The death of the Christian is often spoken of as asleep. (See Matt. 27:52⁵²And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, (Matthew 27:52); Acts 7:60⁶⁰And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:60); John 11:11¹¹These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. (John 11:11); 1 Cor. 11:30; 15:6, 18, 20, 51; 1³⁰For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. (1 Corinthians 11:30)
⁶After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:6)
¹⁸Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. (1 Corinthians 15:18)
²⁰But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. (1 Corinthians 15:20)
⁵¹Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, (1 Corinthians 15:51) Thess. 4:13, 14, 15; 5:10), but asleep refers to the bodies, so that they know not anything under the sun—they are away from all that is going on here on earth. Ecclesiastes is wisdom under the sun. We need to get what the Lord Jesus and His apostles tell us, to know the full truth.

We find clear evidence from them that neither saved nor unsaved are unconscious as to the spirit. Death in Scripture is NEVER, ceasing to exist. There is no death to the soul or spirit.

Man, the highest of the animal kingdom, is a responsible being, and his existence is for eternity; the body goes to decay at death, but the soul or spirit has gone either to be with Christ in paradise; or to the prison, under chains of darkness, awaiting the day when the body will be given again, to stand at the Great White Throne to receive the sentence—the wages of the sins the person was guilty of.

The saved are seen in Luke 16:23; 20:38; 23:43, 46²³And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (Luke 16:23)
³⁸For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. (Luke 20:38)
⁴³And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:43)
⁴⁶And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. (Luke 23:46); Acts 7:59⁵⁹And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. (Acts 7:59); 2 Corinthians 5:8⁸We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8); Philippians 1:21, 23²¹For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)
²³For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: (Philippians 1:23); Revelation 14:13¹³And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them. (Revelation 14:13), and another picture of the martyrs in Revelation 6:9-11⁹And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: ¹⁰And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? ¹¹And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. (Revelation 6:9‑11).

The unsaved are seen in Luke 16:23²³And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (Luke 16:23); and in Luke 12:5⁵But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. (Luke 12:5). They are warned to “Fear Him who after He has killed has power to cast the person into hell.” Notice it is after He has killed. We see the unsaved, who would not listen to Noah’s preaching, are now in prison (1 Peter 3:19¹⁹By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; (1 Peter 3:19)); and we see them chained up (2 Peter 2:4, 9⁴For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; (2 Peter 2:4)
⁹The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: (2 Peter 2:9)).

When the Lord Jesus comes for His own, the dead in Christ will rise first; then the living ones changed (Phil. 3:20, 21²⁰For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: ²¹Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. (Philippians 3:20‑21)), will be caught up together to be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:15-18¹⁵For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. ¹⁶For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: ¹⁷Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. ¹⁸Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:15‑18)). These will also stand at the judgment seat of Christ, now glorified in their resurrection bodies, to receive their reward, and be appointed to the place each one is to fill for Him.

Question: Please explain explicitly, “The zeal of Thine house hath eaten Me up” (John 2:17¹⁷And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. (John 2:17)). S. E. W.

Answer: It means that the Lord Jesus, seen here as the Messiah in His burning zeal for God’s glory in His house, rises above every other thought. “Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God” (Psa. 40; Heb. 10). If anyone spoke against God, the burden of it fell on Him. “The reproaches of them that reproached Thee are fallen on Me.” (Psa. 69:9⁹For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. (Psalm 69:9)). Here we have the Lord’s sufferings from the hand of man (He took it all from the Father). It is not atonement here. This is seen in Psalms 22. It is some of His inward sufferings, in which other Godly men might share. It is like Psalms 102:1-11¹<<A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the Lord.>> Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto thee. ²Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily. ³For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth. ⁴My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread. ⁵By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin. ⁶I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert. ⁷I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top. ⁸Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me. ⁹For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping, ¹⁰Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down. ¹¹My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass. (Psalm 102:1‑11).

He knew, to carry out the will of God would lead through death (John 12:27²⁷Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. (John 12:27)). This earnest desire to fulfill all the will of God, brought suffering and reproach upon Him.

There are three prophetic days: John Baptists’ day (chap. 1:1-36). Jesus’ day, with the godly remnant of the Jews (37-51). The marriage day, pointing to Israel’s restoration (chap. 2:1-22).

Jesus comes to the house of God, but it must be cleansed (14, 15). There the disciples remember (Psa. 69:9⁹For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. (Psalm 69:9)). Then we see in the same shadowy way, that He is to go through death, into resurrection life and glory, before all these things can be fulfilled (verse 19-22). This was the sign He gave them.

This scene foreshadows the purging of the kingdom in the latter days before the Lord as King can take possession of it.

May it be our earnest desire while we wait for Him, to have a little of that zeal, that we also may learn, and do His will (Rom. 12:1, 2¹I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. ²And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:1‑2)).

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