The Intermediate State
the chastisements which God has ordained for the sanctification of His people. The very thought of death, bereavement through death, the feeling that sicknesses and sufferings are harbingers of death, and the consciousness of the approach of death,—these all have a very beneficial effect on the people of God. They serve to humble the proud, to mortify the flesh, to check worldliness, and to foster spiritual-mindedness.
Questions for Review:
How is physical death represented in Scripture? How may it be described? Who teach that man was created mortal, that is, subject to the law of death? How can it be proved that death is not something natural in the life of man? What is the connection between sin and death? Is physical death a punishment for believers?
What purpose does it serve in their case?
References for Further Study:
Berkhof, Reformed Dogmatics, II, pp. 276–280; Dahle, Life After Death, pp. 24–58; Mackintosh, Immortality and the Future, pp. 149–
152.
THE INTERMEDIATE STATE
There is a great deal of difference of opinion respecting the condition of man in the period between the death of the individual and the general resurrection. The most important theories call for a brief discussion.
A. The Modern Idea of Man's Existence in Sheol-Hades. The idea is very prevalent at present that at death both the pious and the wicked descend into an intermediate place, which the Old Testament calls
sheol and the New Testament hades. This underworld is not a place of punishment nor of reward, but a place where all share the same fate. It is a dreary abode, where the dead are doomed to an existence that is merely a dreamy reflection of life on earth. It is a place of weakened consciousness, of slumbrous inactivity, where life has lost its interests and the joys of living are turned into sadness. But the idea of such a separate locality, which is neither heaven nor hell, in which all the dead are gathered and where they remain, either permanently or until some general resurrection, is an idea that may have been more or less current in popular thought and may have given rise to some figurative descriptions of the state of the dead, but certainly is not a part of the positive teachings of Scripture. The terms sheol and hades are evidently not always used in the same sense in Scripture. If it always denotes the place to which both the pious and the wicked descend, how can the descent of the wicked into sheol be held up as a warning, as it is in several places, Job
21:13; Ps. 9:17; Prov. 5:5; 7:27; 9:18; 15:24; 23:14? And how can Scripture speak of God's anger as burning there, Deut. 32:22? In view of such passages as these we may proceed on the assumption that these terms sometimes serve to designate the place of punishment for the wicked. It is perfectly evident, however, that they do not always have this meaning, since the Bible also speaks of the pious as going down into or as being in sheol. In several instances they do not denote a place at all, but simply serve to designate the state or condition of death, the state of the separation of body and soul. This state is sometimes figuratively represented as the place whither all the dead go, be they great or small, rich or poor, pious or wicked. They are all alike in the state of death. The following are some of the passages in which sheol and hades refer to the condition or the state of death rather than to a place: Job 14:13, 14; 17:13, 14;
Ps. 89:48; Hos. 13:14; 1 Cor. 15:55; Rev. 1:18; 6:8. Finally, there are also passages in which sheol and hades designate the grave, though it
is not always easy to determine, whether in any particular place the words refer to the grave or to the state of death, Gen. 42:38; 44:29,
31; Num. 16:30, 33; John 17:13; Ps. 16:10; 49:14, 15.
B. The Doctrine of Purgatory, of the Limbus Patrum and of the Limbus Infantum.
1. PURGATORY. According to the Church of Rome the souls of those who are perfect at death are at once admitted to heaven or the beatific vision of God, Matt. 25:46; Phil. 1:23, but those who are not perfectly cleansed, but are still burdened with the guilt of venial sins
—and this is the condition of most believers at death—must undergo a process of cleansing before they can enter into the supreme blessedness and joys of heaven. This purification takes place in purgatory, where the souls are oppressed with a sense of deprivation, but also suffer positive pains. The length of their stay in purgatory as well as the intensity of their sufferings varies according to the need of individual cases. The time can be shortened and the suffering alleviated by the prayers and the good works of the faithful and especially by the sacrifice of the Mass. The main support for this doctrine is found in 2 Macc. 12:42–45, though it is supposed to be favored also by Isa. 4:4; Mic. 7:8; Zech. 9:11; Mal. 3:2; Matt. 12:32; 1
Cor. 3:13–15; 15:29. However, these passages do not support it at all.
2. LIMBUS PATRUM. The Limbus Patrum is the place where, according to the Roman Catholic Church, the souls of the Old
Testament saints were detained in a state of expectation until the Lord's resurrection from the dead. After His death Christ went down into this part of hades, released these saints, and carried them in triumph to heaven.
3. LIMBUS INFANTUM. Roman Catholics speak of the Limbus Infantum as the abode of the souls of un-baptized children,
irrespective of their descent from heathen or from Christian parents.
These children cannot be admitted to heaven, cannot enter the kingdom of God, John 3:5. They remain in the Limbus Infantum without any hope of deliverance. There is no unanimous opinion as to their exact condition. The prevailing opinion is that they suffer no positive punishment, but are simply excluded from the blessings of heaven. They know and love God by the use of their natural powers, and have full natural happiness.
C. The Doctrine of the Sleep of the Soul. Certain sects in the early Christian centuries, in the Middle Ages, and also at the time of the Reformation, advocated the notion that, after death, the soul indeed continues to exist, but in a state of unconscious repose or sleep. This view is also held by the Irvingites in England and by the Russellites of our own country. It has a peculiar fascination for those who find it hard to believe in a continuance of consciousness apart from the brain. Scripture support for it is found especially in passages that represent death as a sleep, Matt. 9:24; Acts 7:60; 1 Cor. 15:51; 1
Thess. 4:13, and in those that seem to assert that the dead are unconscious, Ps. 6:5; 30:9; 115:17; 146:4; Eccl. 9:10; Isa. 38:18, 19. It should be noted, however, that the Bible never says that the soul falls asleep, nor that the body does so, but only the dying person. And this
Scriptural representation is simply based on the similarity between a dead body and a body asleep. Moreover, the passages which seem to teach that the dead are unconscious clearly intend to stress only the fact that in the state of death man can no more take notice of nor share in the activities of this present world. The Bible represents believers as enjoying a conscious life in communion with God and with Jesus Christ immediately after death, Luke 16:19–31; 23:43;
Acts 7:59; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; Rev. 6:9; 7:9; 20:4.
D. The Doctrine of Annihilation and of Conditional Immortality.
According to these doctrines there is no conscious existence, if any existence at all, of the wicked after death. These two views agree in their conception of the ultimate condition of the wicked, but differ in a couple of fundamental points. Annihilationism teaches that man was created immortal, but that they who continue in sin are by a positive act of God deprived of the gift of immortality and ultimately destroyed or—what amounts to practically the same thing—bereft forever of consciousness. According to the doctrine of conditional immortality, however, immortality is not a natural endowment of man, but a gift of God in Christ to those that believe. The person that does not accept Christ is ultimately annihilated or loses all consciousness. Some of the advocates of these doctrines teach a limited duration of conscious suffering for the wicked after death.
These doctrines are based primarily on the fact that the Bible represents eternal life as a gift of God to those who are in Christ
Jesus, John 10:27, 28; 17:3; Rom. 2:7; 6:22; Gal. 6:8, and threatens sinners with "death" and "destruction," asserting that they will
"perish," terms which are taken to mean that they will be reduced to non-existence. These arguments are not conclusive. Eternal life is indeed a gift of God in Jesus Christ, but this is something far greater and richer than bare immortality. Moreover, it is arbitrary to assume that the terms "death," "destruction," and "perish" denote annihilation. The Bible teaches that sinners as well as saints will continue to exist forever, Eccl. 12:7; Matt. 25:46; Rom. 2:8–10; Rev.
14:11; 20:10, and that there will be degrees in the punishment of the wicked, Luke 12:47, 48; Rom. 2:12. Extinction of either being or consciousness precludes the possibility of such degrees. Moreover, annihilation can hardly be called a punishment, for this implies a consciousness of ill desert and pain. People who have grown tired of life often consider extinction of being as a very desirable thing
E. The Doctrine of a Second Probation. Several scholars adopt the theory that in the intermediate state those who died in their sins will have another opportunity to accept Christ in repentance and faith unto salvation. According to them the eternal state of man will not be irrevocably fixed until the day of judgment. The salvation of many will depend on their decision between death and the resurrection. No man will perish without having been offered a favorable opportunity to know and to accept Jesus. One is condemned only for the obstinate refusal to accept the salvation that is offered in Christ
Jesus. The advocates of this theory appeal to such passages as Eph.
4:8, 9; 1 Cor. 15:24–28; Phil. 2:9–11; Col. 1:19, 20; Matt. 12:31, 32; and 1 Pet. 3:19; 4:6. But these passages fail to carry conviction.
Moreover, Scripture represents the state of unbelievers after death as a fixed state, Eccl. 11:3; Luke 16:19–31; John 8:21, 24; 2 Pet. 2:4, 9;
Jude 7, 13. It also invariably speaks of the final judgment as determined by the things that are done in the flesh, and never represents this as dependent in any way on what transpires in the intermediate state, Matt. 7:22, 23; 10:32, 33; 25:34–46; Luke 12:47,
48; 2 Cor. 5:9, 10; Gal. 6:7, 8; 2 Thess. 1:8; Heb. 9:27.
Questions for Review:
What is the modern idea of sheol and hades? What objections are there to this theory? What is the Scriptural meaning of these terms?
What is the difference between the doctrine of annihilationism and the doctrine of conditional immortality? What is the supposed
Scripture basis for these doctrines? What objections are there to them? What is the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory? Is there any Scriptural basis for it? What is meant by the Limbus Patrum and the Limbus Infantum? What is the doctrine of the sleep of the soul?
On what Scriptural data does it rest? What objections are there to it?
What is the doctrine of a second probation? Is there any Scripture ground for it? What objections are there to this view?