Question:
Could you please clarify whether you believe that the personal identity of the soul continues after death or if it is destroyed or annihilated at that time? If you believe in the former, what is the state of the soul during the interim period? In other words, please state your exact beliefs on this topic clearly and succinctly, with Scriptural references or other supporting information.
Answer:
We have not formulated any doctrine regarding the condition of humanity between death and resurrection. We have chosen to rely on biblical statements without attempting to create a formal creed. The literal biblical assertion is that “in death there is no remembrance of [God];” that when death occurs, man’s “breath goes forth, he returns to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish” (see Psalm 6:5; 146:4; Ecclesiastes 9:5).
The condition between death and resurrection is a dreamless sleep, from which only Christ, the Life-giver, can awaken the sleeper. As for how God preserves individual identity—whether through an infallible life record indelibly marked upon the resurrection body or by some other means—we may not fully understand, nor is it essential to concern ourselves about it. What we do know is that man dies, that “the dead know not anything,” and that Christ will restore them from the grip of death and the grave at His coming. The Bible indicates that Christ’s second coming and the resurrection of the dead are essential elements of God’s plan, contrary to much of modern theology.
