Phil 1v21-23:
'For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If it is to be life in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.'
Bishop Lightfoot in his commentary on Philippians states that in 1v23, there is a triple 'far' and it would be better written as '...for that is far, far, far better.'
Paul is certainly NOT saying that nothingness after death (ie soul sleep) is far, far far better than living an earthly life in communion with the Lord!
In 2Cor 5v8, Paul is simply stating his preference, which is, if he is absent from the body he is present with the Lord, there is no doubt in Paul's mind where his soul and spirit go at death, which is into the Presence of God in Paradise in Heaven, Weymouth brings this out:
'We have therefore a cheerful confidence. We know that while we are at home in the body we are banished from the Lord; for we are living a life of faith, and not one of sight. So we have a cheerful confidence, and we anticipate with greater delight being banished from the body and going home to the Lord.'
Heb 12v22,23:
'But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect...'
Rev 6v9-11:
'When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying,"How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.'
In Rev 6v9-11 (The 5th Seal) we see the saints who have been slain by Antichrist during the Great Tribulation who are in Heaven crying out for God to avenge them of their adverseries...The 2nd Coming of Christ occurs at the 6th Seal (Rev 6v12-17) and the 7th Trumpet (Rev 11v15-19), up until the 2nd Coming of Christ and the setting up of the Millennium Kingdom, the saints are said to be 'resting' in Heaven.
And some words from the lips of the Lord Jesus in Luke 20v38:
'For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.'
Plenty of other Scriptures teach the consciousness of the soul after death, not nothingness, ie 'soul sleep.'
Yahweh Shalom...