Asleep. That is the word that Jesus used to describe the condition of a twelve-year-old girl who had passed away. “She is not dead but asleep” (Luke 8:52). Then he went into her room, took her hand, spoke to her, “her spirit returned” (verse 55), and she rose from the dead. Asleep is also the word he used when he said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up” (John 11:11). He brought him back to life, too. In Acts 7, when Stephen is stoned to death for the things he was teaching, it is noted that he asked God to forgive his attackers and then “he fell asleep” (verse 60). Asleep is the word that is used to describe King David’s death (Acts 13:36), as well as the death of some of the believers in the city of Corinth (1 Corinthians 11:30, 15:6, 15:18). Paul used the word three times in three verses when he wrote, “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to ...
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