FATE OF SOULS AT DEATH (CONTINUED)

Here are some additional thoughts on this difficult subject:

There is no clear-cut teaching in the OT or NT regarding the fate of the soul, or even of the distinction between the spirit, soul and body.

OT perspective: souls are in Sheol, the equivalent of Hades. “It is not non-existence, but it is not life, for life can be enjoyed only in the presence of God.” Most descriptions are of a shadowy, almost ghostly existence. But there are also vague hints in the OT that God's people will have fellowship with Him: Psalms. 16:9-11; 23:6 (forever or my whole life?); 49:13-15; Job 19:25-26

There is perhaps a hint of levels within Sheol in Isaiah 14:15.

Intertestamental Period: The idea developed further that Sheol (Hades) had two compartments, one for the righteous and one for the unrighteous (Gehenna).

Three Christian perspectives:

    Most evangelicals believe in some sort of particular judgment at death with unity of the soul with God (for believers) until the bodily resurrection.

    Others feel that some or all dead believers will receive a new body upon death.

    Some (Christian mortalists) believe that our soul sleeps (even though they may be somehow close to God) until the resurrection, when it is reunited with the body.

    Others, in a variation on the above, feel that both body and soul will be resurrected only at Second Coming.

Consider the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. Some feel that it is a realistic picture of the state of the dead. Thus, the intermediate realm of the righteous here was labeled Abraham's bosom. But we have to remember that it is a parable. That means that we can't push the details since Jesus may be only reflecting popular thinking of the time in order to make a point.

Often quoted on this subject is the fate of the thief on the cross in Luke 23:43. There is a clear indication here that the spirit or soul of the righteous dead would be in Christ's presence. The word "paradise" is rare in the NT: elsewhere it merely means the dwelling place of God. Here it may have the meaning of a compartment of Sheol (Abraham's bosom) since Jesus apparently went there before ascending to the Father. Notice that Jesus does not indicate the intermediate state of the wicked dead.

Romans 8:38 teaches that not even death can separate us from Christ. But does that mean permanent separation or just a temporary one?

Philippians 1:21-24 states, according to some, that the righteous dead will be immediately in the presence of God. But it doesn't say whether that is in fact or only in the perception of the dead.

I Corinthians 15:51-52 on the resurrection of the dead. Nothing about the intermediate state is taught here.

II Corinthians 5:1-10. “We have” in verse 1 may be taken as present tense (less likely) or expressing the certainty of obtaining a resurrected body eventually.

Verses 2-4 Jews had a horror of appearing naked. Paul applies this to the dislike of us appearing before God in a naked state (only soul and no body). Contrast the Greek perspective; they looked forward to shedding the burden of the body at death and existing in Hades as a pure spirit. Gnostics had the same general dislike of the body.

Verse 8 is like Philippians 1:21-24. It seems to teach clearly that while in God's presence, we are away from our old body, but it doesn't state whether we have a new body yet. If not, it is felt that God would not make us appear before him unclothed, and so therefore we are not aware of being with him (i.e., our soul “sleeps”)

Revelation 6:9-11 Souls of martyrs underneath the throne in heaven. Note that this only applies to martyrs. They are close to God but are told to “rest.” The word doesn't mean to sleep, but to be quiet. Some feel that the white robes are heavenly bodies given to them in advance because of their martyrdom. This group may include anyone who has suffered for the faith.

I Thessalonians 4:13-16. This describes either the so-called Rapture or the final resurrection. Therefore it has nothing to say regarding the intermediate state of a believer upon death.