There is more to life after death than being in God’s presence. We are awaiting the new heavens and the new earth that come at the end of time. The American church often thinks of eternity as a disembodied Spirit, but the Scriptures offer a much richer picture. The time between our death and Christ’s final judgment is known as the intermediate state. Paul refers to this as both being in the presence of the Lord and falling asleep.
What Is the Intermediate State?
The intermediate state refers to the destination of the human soul after death but before Christ’s resurrection. All souls end up either in paradise with God or in hell apart from him until the final judgment. This vision is seen in Revelation 4-6, where people from every nation, tribe, people, and language worship God. Some view the intermediate state as the soul sleeping until the day of judgment.
Catholics, Protestants, and Eastern Orthodox Christians have developed varying views on the intermediate state over the centuries.
What Does the Bible Say about the Intermediate State?
Paul says in Philippians 1:23 that when he dies he will be with Christ. This means that our souls immediately go to be with Christ. If Paul thought he would cease to be conscious after death he likely would not have seen it as beneficial. Elsewhere, he says believers have “fallen asleep,” but this is in a bodily sense, not a spiritual one.
What Was the Ancient Jewish View of the Intermediate State?
The Jewish view of the afterlife was known as Sheol. Until the intertestamental period it was believed that all souls would end up in Sheol for eternity. People in Sheol did not praise God. David makes this clear when he says in Psalm 6, “In death there is no remembrance of you, who in Sheol can give you praise?”
The view that souls would be resurrected at the end of history gained popularity after the Babylonian exile. This shows up in a prophecy in Daniel, which is the only explicit reference to the resurrection in the Hebrew Bible. This dearth of evidence led the Sadducees of Jesus’ day to reject the resurrection and therefore the intermediate state altogether.
What Is the Roman Catholic View of the Intermediate State?
The Catholic view of the intermediate State has been explained in detail by Dante Alighieri in his three epic poems, Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso (also known collectively as the Divine Comedy). The first and last are the views of heaven and hell that Protestants share. The third is what distinguishes the Catholic view from other forms of Christianity. In Catholic doctrine, Purgatory is the place where humans work off unconfessed venial sins between their death and the return of Christ.
Roman Catholics use verses like 1 Corinthians 3:13 to justify the doctrine of purgatory. This verse says that the quality of each person’s work will be seen on the Day of Christ. Protestant theologians maintain that the Day of Christ refers to judgment day, not to the time of a believer’s death. Therefore there is no basis for purgatory as a destination for souls. It is also worth noting that the text says the fire, punishment, and rewards are for the teacher.
Catholics hold certain deuterocanonical books of the Bible on the same level as other scriptures, contributing to their views on the intermediate state. The deuterocanonical 2 Maccabees provides the basis many Catholics use for purgatory. 2 Maccabees 12:44-45 says it is good to pray for the dead so that they may be freed from their sins. 2 Maccabees was written before Christ’s birth, meaning the writer believed there was no hope of permanent freedom from sin. The writers would have believed the recipients of prayer were in Sheol. Now, in Christ, the old covenant has been fulfilled. Hebrews 9:8-9 says that gifts and sacrifices of the old covenant could not perfect the sacrifice of the worshipers. Hebrews 10:14 says that “by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are made holy.” The doctrine of purgatory is still operating under old covenant principles that state that humans must work in order to be forgiven.
Purgatory has problems when examined in light of scripture. The Bible teaches that Jesus’ death credited his righteousness to us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 is also known as the great exchange. This means that Christ took on our sin, and we were credited his righteousness in God’s sight. This is known as the imputed righteousness of Christ. Purgatory says that believers need to work off their own sins because they are not yet worthy to be in God’s presence.
Saints, meanwhile, died in a state of grace, and enter directly into paradise. There they behold Jesus and go before him to intercede for the people on earth. Catholics believe that saints can hear their prayers from heaven, and intercede before Jesus on their behalf. According to the Catechism, “Just as Christian communion among our fellow pilgrims brings us closer to Christ, so our communion with the saints joins us to Christ, from whom as from its fountain and head, issues all grace, and the life of the People of God itself.”
There is no scriptural evidence that saints are able to hear our prayers from heaven. This is another example of the different authority the Catholic Church has. The Roman Catholic Church gets its doctrine from three places, the Bible, Tradition, and the Pope. This view of saints as intercessors became prominent over the years because people had trouble relating with Jesus as a mediator and friend.
What Is The Eastern Orthodox View of the Intermediate State?
Eastern Orthodoxy also holds the idea that the soul is conscious after death. Orthodox theologians often cite Justin Martyr, who wrote the following:
“For let even necromancy, and the divinations you practice by immaculate children, and the evoking of departed human souls, and those who are called among the magi, Dream-senders and Assistant-spirits (Familiars), and all that is done by those who are skilled in such matters —let these persuade you that even after death souls are in a state of sensation.” (First Apology of Justin Martyr)
In this passage, Justin uses pagan beliefs to show the eternality of the soul. He cites practices such as necromancy and spirits on earth as evidence that souls after death don’t cease to exist or to be conscious, as some in his day argued. Orthodox theologians see the eternally conscious soul as the main view of the church throughout history.
What Is Soul Sleep and How Does it Relate to the Intermediate State?
Soul sleep is the idea that souls are not conscious after death, but rather go into a sleeping state until the day of judgment and resurrection. Proponents of this view cite Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians, where he refers to those who died before Jesus’ return as having “fallen asleep.”
Many great Christian thinkers have refuted this view. John Calvin wrote his first book on this topic, Psychopannychia (The Greek word for “Fallen Asleep”). A frequently cited retort to this viewpoint is Luke 22:42. Today in this case means that the we will be united with Christ immediately upon our death.
Why Is the Intermediate State 'Intermediate'?
Many believers have a false idea that the intermediate state will last forever. We will not be spirit beings in heaven forever. The vision of eternity as one in the clouds is not found in scripture. One day our bodies will be resurrected as well. This is the hope and conclusion of the book of Revelation. The new heavens and the new earth will be perfect. Eden will be recreated in the new earth, and God’s story will be complete and perfect forever, just as it began.
This view likely stems from a gnostic and platonic idea that the body is less valuable and pure than the spirit. There is no evidence for this in scripture. In fact, scripture attributes human’s souls as the reason for their death.
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Ben Reichert works with college students in New Zealand. He graduated from Iowa State in 2019 with degrees in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, and agronomy. He is passionate about church history, theology, and having people walk with Jesus. When not working or writing you can find him running or hiking in the beautiful New Zealand Bush.
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