I was reading 1 Thessalonians, and it presents a concept that seems puzzling. We are told in the Bible that “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord,” and Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “this day you will be in paradise with Me” and there are many other similar verses in the Bible. Now comes Paul Chapter 4 telling us that we “sleep” when we die and when Christ comes back, we shall rise first and those Christians alive will follow . . . https://www.wordsfortheday.com/2023/10/soul-sleep/