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A Critique Of Realized Eschatology
(Part III)

The Death Of The Body And The Intermediate State

As you can see from the above title, this article is about death and the intermediate state. But before getting into this study, let's spend a few moments summing up some of the things we looked at in the previous article:

  • Man is both body and spirit.

  • Body and spirit are not natural enemies, as some have believed, for both make up the "real man."

  • A man dies spiritually (i.e., is separated from God) when he sins.

  • Man sins when he violates the law of God (1 John 3:4).

  • He violates the law by exercising a choice God has given him.

  • "Choice" implies a God-given free moral agency.

  • And lastly, free moral agency makes a man personally responsible for his own sinfulness.

Based on this, those who seek to blame their sinfulness on heredity are like those recorded in Ezekiel 18:1, who said: "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." Although Calvinists will deny it, this passage addresses itself to anyone who places the responsibility for his sin anywhere except squarely on the shoulders of the one doing the sinning. Although it is certainly true that Adam's sin set in motion circumstances that apparently make sin easier, and although Satan and his agents are actively engaged in trying to destroy man spiritually, the truth of the matter is this: Each man bears his own guilt. Now, it is true that this guilt may involve another and influence another, but it is still personal guilt!

Sin, then, has had an effect, and this effect is on the whole man, both body and soul. Although spiritual death is experienced when one becomes alienated from God by sinful conduct, physical death is experienced by every person because ever since Adam's sin, man has not had access to the tree of life. Romans 5:12 teaches that death entered into the world and spread to all men as a result of the sin of one man, Adam. 1 Physical death, then, is a consequence of Adam's sin that has passed to all his posterity. According to the Bible, death is the "last enemy" to be defeated by Christ through the final resurrection (1 Cor. 15:26,27).

Consequently, if man is to be redeemed, then salvation must involve the whole man, both body and soul (Rom. 8:23). How do I know this to be true? The Bible tells me so:

Behold I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord (1 Cor. 15:51-58).

The Death Of The Body

It is now time to spend a little time thinking about the death of the body. Modern medicine defines death primarily as a biological event. On the other hand, and much more importantly, the Bible defines death as a spiritual event with biological consequences. This truth, although it will seem subtle to many and, therefore, inconsequential, is very important. Death, according to the Bible, occurs when the spirit leaves the body (Eccles. 12:7; Jas. 2:26).

The Intermediate Place

When one adds to this the Biblical teaching of Luke 16:19-31, and factors into this the words of Jesus to the thief on the cross (Luke 23:42,43), then one knows that there is an intermediate, ethereal place of the dead. By "intermediate," we mean a place of existence between physical life and the resurrection; by "ethereal place," we mean a location other than this plane; and by "dead," we mean discarnate spirits. The Bible calls this place "Sheol" in the Old Testament and "Hades" in the New Testament. Although the details and circumstances of the New Testament Hades are much more developed than the Old Testament Sheol, it can be safely said that Hades and Sheol are, in fact, one and the same. Although it is true that both of these terms are sometimes used to denote just the grave, they both generally had the broader meaning of the intermediate dwelling place of discarnate spirits (see the chart below for a depiction of this "place." 2

Intermediate State

Sheol or Hades is not, as some suppose, the Gehenna or Hell to which the wicked are condemned and from which the Lord's faithful are spared (cf. Matt. 10:28). It is indeed unfortunate that the King James translators decided to render Hades, Gehenna, and Tartarus as "Hell." Sheol/Hades is the dwelling place of the disembodied spirits of dead people, whether good or evil. Those who died in covenant relationship with God are in a comfortable place called "Abraham’s bosom" (Luke 16:22) and "Paradise" (Luke 23:43). On the other hand, those who died outside covenant relationship with God exist in a place of "torments" (Luke 16:23) called "Tartarus" (2 Pet. 2:4), if angels, who are spirits, go to the same place that discarnate spirits go. Within the confines of Sheol/Hades is a "great gulf" (megas chasma = "very large void") that prevents those who occupy either compartment from going to the other side (Luke 16:26).

When one passes from the state of being alive to the state of being dead, he has arrived in Hades. And although he has yet to experience the judgement, nevertheless, his fate is now sealed. Whether one will eventually spend an eternity in Heaven or Hell is now a foregone conclusion. In their disembodied state, these discarnate spirits are experiencing either comfort or torment. Someone is tempted to ask, "Are these not already in Heaven or Hell?" Absolutely not! "Well," that same someone asks, "What’s the difference?" The difference is that Hades is not Heaven nor is it Hell. It is an intermediate place between this present world and the next—the "new heavens and a new earth," if you will, of 2 Peter 3:13. Man, who is both body and soul, is not complete or whole in Hades. Remember, sin effects the whole man, both body and soul. Remember, spiritual death, physical death, and eternal death are all a result of sin. Without the washing away of one's sins through the precious blood of Christ, one who experiences physically death while still spiritually dead will ultimately experience eternal death—that is, they will spend an eternity, both body and soul, in a devil's Hell (cf. Matt. 10:28, 25:46; 2 Thess. 1:7-10). On the other hand, redemption also effects the whole man and those who have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ will spend an eternity, both both body and soul, in Heaven (cf. Matt. 25:46; Rom. 8:23).

This brings us, then, to the subject of the resurrection, which will occur at the final or second coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (Phil 3:20-21; Heb. 9:28).

It is at this point, however, that REs exclaim, "Wrong, wrong, wrong, you've got it all wrong!" So, it is just here that we'll begin the next article.


Notes

1  As was pointed out in the previous article, when thinking of death, one must keep in mind that apart from God's grace, there are three deaths inextricably linked together: spiritual death, physical death, and eternal death.

2  The Hebrews did not use the term "spirit" to refer to the entities dwelling in Sheol; instead, they used the term rephaim or "shades." To conclude, as some do, that the Hebrews did not believe that man's personality survived beyond the grave because they did not use the term "spirit" is to commit the fallacy of non sequinter, that is, the conclusion does not follow. Why? Because the Hebrews usually just used a different term to refer to disembodied spirits. Furthermore, when the witch of Endor spoke of Samuel, who had been dead for some time, she said, in 1 Samuel 28:13, "I saw a spirit [elohim] ascending out of the earth." That Samuel was quite comfortable in Sheol/Hades is demonstrated by his question in verse 15, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Also, the historical narrative is clear in pointing out in verse 19 that Saul and his sons, who were going to die the following day, and therefore go to Sheol/Hades, would join Samuel where he was. This serves to demonstrate that the Hebrews recognized a continuity of existence between the living and the dead. In other words, even though Samuel was dead, he was still Samuel. It also shows that the Hebrews did not believe that death was simply some form of suspended animation. Even though this occurrence is special, Samuel was still dead; but even so, he was able to engage in a number of acts of conscious communication. All this while his body, which included his brain, remained buried at Ramah, according to 1 Samuel 28:3. For further consideration of the Hebrews' belief in life after death, one ought to consider Psalms 16:10, 49:15, and 139:8. Consider also the teaching found in Acts 23:8 concerning the resurrection.

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