THE PRESENT
STATE OF THE DEAD
T.P.
Simmons
That men do not enter into the
final state at death is too evident to require detailed proof. The
resurrections, which are yet future, prove an intermediate state for the present
dead. The thing we are specially concerned with is the nature of the intermediate state, and it is to this matter that we now address
ourselves.
Seventh Day Adventists,
Jehovah's Witnesses, and some others, teach what is known commonly as "soul
sleeping." But the real substance
of this false teaching is that the spirit of the dead is non-existent between
death and the resurrection. This is logically true of this
theory, and it is so admitted by Adventists, at least. It is logically true,
because a sleeping spirit (if such were possible) would be a non-existent
spirit. The idea of the spirit
being alive and being unconscious when free from the body is the limit of
absurdity. And that this teaching
amounts to a non-existence of the spirit is shown from the following words from
"Signs of the Times," a Seventh Day Adventist paper (issue of
December 1931): "Surely no more forceful expression could possibly be used to
show utter cessation of existence than this. In death 'I shall not be'" (Comment on
Job 7:21, by Carlyle B. Haynes, on of their noted writers).
I. THE DEAD
ARE NOT NON-EXISTENT
Against this theory we assert
and undertake to prove from the Scriptures that man's spirit does not cease to
exist in death. By the term,
"spirit" we mean the immaterial nature of man in its higher relationship. We use the term "spirit" in preference
to the term "soul" because we believe spirit best expresses
the immaterial part of man in distinction from bodily life.
"The immaterial part of man,
viewed as an individual and conscious life, capable of possessing and animating
a physical organism is called psuche (soul); viewed as a rational and moral agent, susceptible of divine influence and
indwelling, this same immaterial part is called pneuma (spirit)" (A. H. Strong).
The spirit is man's immaterial nature looking Godward. "The spirit is the highest, deepest,
noblest part of man. By it he is
fitted to comprehend eternal things, and it is, in short, the house in which
dwell faith and the Word of God. The . . . soul is this spirit, according to nature, but yet in another sort of activity,
namely, in this, that it animates the body and works through it" (Luther). "Soul
is spirit modified by union with the body" (Hovey).
Sometimes both the Hebrew and
Greek words for spirit denote wind or breath; but that they
do not always do so is evidenced by Matt. 26:41; Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59; 1 Cor.
2:11; 5:5; 7:34; 14:14; and 1 Thess. 5:23. Let those interested study these
passages and substitute breath in the place of spirit and see what sort of sense
is made. Then we know that spirit may signify more than breath because "God is a
spirit" (John 4:24).
1. Physical death does not
bring about the non-existence of man's spirit, because it is not subject to
physical death.
We have the proof of this in
Matt. 10:28. If man cannot kill the spirit, then physical death has no power to end the existence of the spirit. Man can
kill anything that is subject to physical death. In physical death the body
ceases to function and begins to disintegrate, and man ceases to be a "living
soul" in the distinctive sense of the term "soul." But the spirit cannot be
killed and is never spoken of as ceasing in death. Instead we find Jesus at
death committing His spirit into the hands of God and Stephen
committing his spirit into the hands of Jesus (Luke 2,3:46; Acts 7:59). Physical
death is merely the separation of the spirit from the body.
2. The representation of death
as sleep does not teach that the spirit sleeps, and is, therefore, non-existent.
Sleep is purely a physical
phenomenon. Death is sleep only by analogy; not actually. And the analogy is in
the appearance of the body, and not in the state of either the body or the
spirit. In sleep the spirit is still united with the body, and, therefore,
conditioned by it. But in death, as all are forced to admit, the spirit and the
body are separated. And the spirit separated from the body is
no longer conditioned by the body.
Stephen fell asleep (Acts
7:50), but his spirit did not cease to exist, because he committed it into the
hands of Jesus; and a non-existent spirit could not be committed into the hands of anybody. Paul described death as
sleep (1 Cor. 15:6; 1 Thess. 4:14), but he did not teach the non-existence of
the dead. Paul looked upon death, not as a cessation of existence, but as a
departing to be with Christ (Phil. 1:23). To Paul, being absent from the body
meant not to be non-existent, but to be present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:6). That
which is non-existent cannot be present anywhere or with
anybody.
3. Reference to the wicked
dead as "spirits in prison" shows that the dead are not non-existent (1 Pet.
3:20).
A
non-existent spirit is a nonentity, and a nonentity cannot be anywhere; for to
be is to exist.
4. Moses did not cease to
exist when he died, for centuries afterward he appeared with Christ on the mount
of transfiguration (Matt. 17:3).
Will some say that Moses was
resurrected immediately after burial? If so, a refutation for them is waiting in
1 Cor. 15:20. Christ's being the first fruits of the dead forbids the theory
that Moses was resurrected immediately after his burial.
5. The
inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah did not cease to exist when they died (Jude
7).
Jude describes them in New
Testament times as "suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." The word for
suffering in this passage is a present participle, and a present participle expresses progressive, durative action. And that
this is not a historical present is shown by the present tense of the verb "are
set forth."
6. The rich man and Lazarus
did not cease to exist when they died (Luke 16:1941). This is not a parable, but
no matter if it were. The Son of God did not resort to misrepresentation even in parables. All of His parables are
true to facts.
7. Christ and the penitent
thief did not cease to exist when they died. Christ was not dependent on the
body for life, for He lived before He had a body (John 1:1,2,14). And on the
Cross Christ asserted that He and the thief would that day be together in paradise. Non-existent spirits could not be anywhere, much
less together.
8. The spirits that John saw
under the altar had not ceased to exist (Rev. 6:9).
9. The resurrection proves
that the dead are not now non-existent.
If they were non-existent,
then there would need be a re-creation instead of a resurrection. And this would
wholly destroy the basis of rewards, for those who come forth from the grave
would be different individuals from those who wrought works here in this world.
10. The fact that the
righteous dead have not attained to their highest state of bliss, and must yet
pass through the resurrection does not prove that they are now non-existent.
"That
blessed hope" (Titus 2:13; 1 John 3:2,3) is the union of the spirit with the
glorified body. This only will bring the full satisfaction of the believer's
longing (Psa. 17:15). But God has chosen to suspend the realization of this hope
until a future time. And while the disembodied state is not the ideal one, yet
it is better than continuing in the flesh (Phil. 1:23); and those who are in
this state are present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8).
11. The fact that the wicked
dead are yet to be judged and cast into the lake of fire does not prove that
they are now non-existent. It has pleased God to confine the spirits of the
wicked dead in prison (Isa. 24:22; 1 Pet. 3:19), finally to bring them forth and consign them altogether to the lake of fire (Rev.
20:11-15). But that the wicked dead are already in conscious fiery torment we
have previously shown (Luke 16:19-31; Jude 7). The final misery of the wicked,
like the final bliss of the righteous, awaits the resurrection of the body; at
which time the wicked will be cast, both body and soul, into Hell (Matt. 10:28).
12. The fact that eternal life
is received through faith does not prove that those who do not possess it do not
have eternal existence.
Eternal life in the Scriptures
means more than eternal existence. It is in contrast with
spiritual death (John 5:24; Eph. 2:1; Col. 2:13; 1 John 3:14). Spiritual death
is inner slavery in a state of sin and separation from God, in which one is
devoid of divine spirit life, although he possesses human spirit life. Eternal
life is freedom and fellowship with God. Spiritual death makes one subject to
the second death, which "is a continuation of spiritual death in another and
timeless existence" E. G. Robinson). Eternal life is
exemption from the second death.
13. The fact that immortality
is revealed in the gospel and attained only in the resurrection does not prove
the men by nature do not have eternal existence. See Rom. 2:7; 1 Cor. 15. 53,54;
2 Tim. 1:10.
While in both Classical Greek
and English, "immortality" is used synonymously with "endless existence," it is
not so used in the Scripture. In the Scripture, immortality means incorruption,
deathlessness. The disembodied human spirit is not deathless, for it is held in
that state by death; nevertheless, as already shown abundantly, it has endless existence.
14. The ascription of
immortality to God alone (1 Tim. 6:16) does not mean that no others possess
eternal existence.
This
passage of Scripture means that God alone possesses essential and underived
immortality. It does not deny that the elect angels now possess immortality
(Luke 20:36). Neither does it prove that men by nature do not possess endless
existence. As already pointed out, immortality, in the Bible, means more than
endless existence.
15. The
statements of Jesus in John 3:13 and 13:33 do not teach that the righteous dead
are non-existent.
Scripture must be interpreted
in the light of Scripture. Therefore, the first passage above cannot be taken
with absolute literalness. For in 2 Kings 2:2, 11 it is twice stated that Elijah was taken up into Heaven. The meaning of
Christ's statement here then, can be no more than that Jesus alone had ascended
up to Heaven and came back to reveal the mysteries there communicated to Him.
The second passage is explained by the thirty-sixth verse. Christ meant merely
that for the time being those to whom He was talking could not follow Him; not
that they were never to follow Him, for in that case they
could never go to Heaven.
16. The statement of Peter in
Acts 2:34 does not mean that David was non-existent.
This statement concerning
David is elucidated by the statement of Christ to Mary Magdalene concerning Himself (John 20:17). Christ said: "I have
not yet ascended unto the Father." But Christ's spirit had ascended to the
Father (Luke 23:43,46; Rev. 2:7; 22:1,2). The meaning, then, of Peter's
statement about David, and that of Christ about Himself is that they had not
ascended in body.
17. Old
Testament Scriptures do not prove the non-existence of the dead.
Scripture must be explained by
Scripture. The incomplete and indistinct revelations of the Old Testament must
be explained by the fuller and clearer revelations of the New Testament. And in
the light of these fuller and clearer revelations some statements in the Old Testament concerning the state of the
dead can be taken only as the language of appearance. Old Testament writers, not
having a clear revelation concerning the state of the dead, often spoke of the
dead from the standpoint of this life. It is in this sense that we are to
understand such Scriptures as Job 3:11-19; 7:21,22; Psa. 6:5; 88:11, 12; 115:17;
Eccl. 3:19, 20; 9:10; Isa. 38:18.
II. THE RIGHTEOUS DEAD ARE WITH THE LORD
We have alluded already to the
state of both the righteous and wicked dead. But, for sake of clearness, we
restate the teaching of Scripture on this matter.
The righteous dead are with
the Lord. This is proved by the following Scriptures:
"Whilst we are at home in the
body, we are absent from the Lord; ... we are of good courage, I say, and are
willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:6-8). Thus for the righteous to be
absent from the body-that is, to be in that state brought about by death- is to
be in the Lord's presence.
"I am in a strait betwixt the
two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ" (Phil. 1:23). Paul was
unable to decide whether he preferred to remain in the flesh, that is, to continue to live here on earth, or to die in order
to be with Christ. Thus, for the righteous, a departure from this life is an
entrance into the presence of Christ.
To the dying repentant thief
Jesus said: "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." Paradise is the third heaven of the Jews, the place of God's
throne (3 Cor. 12:2,4). Further proof of this is found in the fact that the tree
of life is in paradise (Rev 2:7), and it is near the throne of God (Rev.
22:1,2).
III. THE WICKED DEAD ARE IN CONSCIOUS, FIERY TORMENT
This is shown by the story of
the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). Some reply that this is only a
parable. But there is not one hint that it is. And the fact that one of the
persons involved is named is inconsistent with all other parables. But suppose
it is a parable. Did Christ misrepresent facts in His parables? What purpose
could He have had in doing so? Would not a misrepresentation
of facts in the Scripture under discussion teach an error? Those who seek to
evade this on the ground that it is a parable, show the hopelessness of their
theory by such a miserable dodge.
This fact is also shown, as we
have pointed out already, by the words of Jude in verse 7 of
his epistle concerning the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. He describes them
as "suffering (present tense) the vengeance of eternal fire."
The place where the wicked are
confined is called a prison (1 Pet. 3:19).
They are as condemned criminals waiting in prison until the time of their
being placed in God's eternal penitentiary, the lake of fire
(Rev. 20:15). This is to take place at the judgment of the great white
throne. At that time both the body
and the soul of the wicked will be cast into fire (Matt.
10:28).
IV. NO PROBATION AFTER DEATH
The notion that there is
probation after death takes two forms.
The first is contained in-
1.
THE CATHOLIC TEACHING CONCERNING PURGATORY
"The Catholic Church teaches
the existence of Purgatory, where those who die with slight sins on their souls,
or who have not satisfied the temporal punishment due their sins, are detained
until they are cleansed sufficiently to enter Heaven" (What The Protestant Bible
Teaches About The Catholic Church, Patterson).
The passages given to
substantiate this teaching are: Matt. 5:26; 12.32; 1 Cor. 3:13-15; Rev. 21.27; 1
Pet. 3:18.
Before briefly commenting on
these passages, it is in place to remark that the above teaching clearly contradicts all that the Scripture teaches
about justification and salvation wholly by grace through faith in Christ. We
have seen that God does not charge sins to the believer (Rom. 4:8; 8:33). The
believer has been everlastingly acquitted of all sin. Furthermore, Heb. 9:27
clearly implies that no change is possible between death and the judgment. These
passages, not to mention many others, show that Purgatory is
a human invention.
As to the passages used to
substantiate the doctrine of Purgatory: Matt. 5:26 is manifestly to be taken as
referring to the Roman prison. Matt. 12:32 makes simply "a strong and expanded
declaration" that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. To find here the implication that some sins
may be forgiven in the age to come is to found a far-reaching doctrine on an
uncertain inference. Such a doctrine, if true, would certainly find a clearer
statement than this passage affords. In 1 Cor. 3:13-15 we have only a strong
allusion to the testing of men's works in the days of Christ. There is here no
purging or cleansing, as Catholics suppose to take place in
Purgatory; but only a stripping of unacceptable works. Rev. 21:27 declares only
that the wicked cannot enter New Jerusalem. The spirit and glorified body of the
believer have no sin in them. The spirit is purged of all sin in regeneration.
The last passage (1 Pet. 3:19) will find treatment under the next head.
The second
form of this notion of probation after death lies mainly in-
2.
THE BELIEF THAT CHRIST PREACHED TO THE WICKED DEAD
This belief is based on 1 Pet
3:19,20. This form of the notion of probation after death is
different from the Catholic teaching of Purgatory, in that it includes only
unbelievers, while the Catholic teaching includes only believers, as having
probation. According to this form of the doctrine of probation after death,
unbelievers will have opportunity to repent and he saved after death.
This is
argued at length in What Happens After Death! by William Striker, published by
the American Tract Society.
It must be admitted that the
common translations of 1 Pet. 3:19, 20 lend encouragement to this belief. But
even at that, it is strange that Jesus should have preached
only to those who were disobedient during the days of Noah, or that, if all were
preached to, these alone should be mentioned.
And the verb "went" cannot be
insisted on as indicating that Jesus came into personal contact with the spirits
in prison. "Great weight has been attached to this word in
support of the view that Christ went in person to the prison of the lost. But
the word does not necessarily imply personal locomotion (N. M. Williams, Com. in
loco). Instances of a similar word where personal locomotion is not indicated
are found in Gen. 11:5-7 and Eph. 2:17.
Furthermore it is not at all necessary to translate the
Greek as in the common versions. The clause, "who aforetime were disobedient,"
in the Revised Version, is the translation of just two words in the
Greek-"apiethesasi pote." The first Greek word is a participle in the first
aorist tense, expressing past action. The second Greek word is a pronominal
adverb, expressing indefinite time, and may have the general
meaning of formerly. If the participle "apiethesasi" were preceded by the
article, then it would be definitely attributive; and the relative clause of the
Revised Version would be unquestionably the correct translation. But this
participle is without the article, therefore it can be considered predicate. See
Robertson's Short Grammar of the Greek New Testament, p. 194. As a predicate
participle it may be considered circumstantial, as
expressing time relative to the main verb, which is "ekeruxeit" (preached),
another first aorist. Now an aorist participle (especially when used, as in this
case, with an aorist verb) may express "time coincident with that of the verb."
See Goodwin's Greek Grammar, p. 276, also Robertson's, p. 197.
The
conclusion of the whole matter is that it makes perfectly good Greek to adopt
the following translation. ". . . in which also he went and preached unto the
spirits in prison, WHILE FORMERLY THEY WERE DISOBEDIENT, when the longsuffering
of God waited. . ." This means that Christ in spirit preached in the days of
Noah, through Noah and others, to the spirits that were in prison at the time Peter wrote, which spirits were at the time of preaching
disobedient. For further and extended discussion of this passage in line with
the foregoing, see An American Commentary on the New Testament.
It may be asked why the King
James, the Revised, and the Bible Union Versions all translate this construction with a relative clause. We answer
that this is evidently because of the influence of the Vulgate, and the
theological bias of Christendom that has favored the notion of probation after
death. But the New Testament is everywhere opposed to the idea of probation
after death, without which this supposed preaching to the wicked dead was
useless. Such probation is not needed to vindicate the
justice of God, for even the heathen without the gospel are "without excuse"
(Rom. 1:20).
1 Pet. 4:6, which is another
passage used to teach probation after death, means that the gospel was preached
to the dead while they were living.