The Intermediate State

Good evening. Tonight we're on lesson two of eschatology. Last week we looked at physical death. And if you remember, we defined death in various ways. There is spiritual death, which is a separation of the soul from God. That happened in the garden, right? As soon as Adam and Eve sinned, God was holy and they were no longer holy. And so there was a separation there. There's also what we call physical death, which is a separation of the soul from the body. When we die, our body goes into the ground. We're buried. And our soul though lives on. Our soul is created in the image of the perfect God and our soul is immortal. It's a contingent immortal, and that's that God is the One who gives it to us, but He's the one who made us in His image.

There's also what we call the second death. We talked about that last week. And that is after the resurrection when our body — everybody's body — will be called forth from the grave at some point. When Christ returns, He's going to call both the righteous and the unrighteous out of the ground. And our bodies will be reunited with our souls. The unjust will go into what's called the second death. And we'll be discussing that in a few weeks. That's eternal punishment. Whereas the righteous go to heaven at that point. New heaven and a new earth where their body and soul are reunited. What happens when we die before the resurrection, right? Everyone who's died so far has died before the return of Christ and Christ could tarry longer. I hope He doesn't. But if so, when we die, what happens to our soul — that's what we call the intermediate state. And we'll be looking at that tonight. Let's begin with Bible point number one.

In the intermediate state, the soul is without. Without is the blank. Without a body. Now, scripture affirms the conscious existence of both the righteous and the wicked after. After is the second blank. After death. In other words, as soon as you die, you continue on, right? Both the righteous and the unrighteous live in a conscious state after death. But prior — prior is the third blank — prior to the resurrection. So we live in the intermediate state after death, but before the resurrection. The resurrection of the body is not immediate, but future. Future is the fourth blank. So one day it's going to come. And we're looking forward to that day. The righteous will experience a conscious joy in the intermediate state. The wicked will experience a conscious suffering. Neither the just nor the unjust are unconscious in this state, nor experience a neutral existence. In other words, there are some who have talked about the grave as being kind of a never world, somewhere in between heaven and earth in a gray area, so to speak, where people kind of wander aimlessly. No, we're never in a neutral state in regards to our relationship with God.

Both the just and the unjust live after death in a conscious relation. Relation is the fifth blank. To the thrice-holy God. In other words, the righteous after death, but before the resurrection are in the very presence of God, right? We are in the presence of Christ and how sweet that is. On the flip side, the unjust or unbelievers are also in the presence of God, but not in His graceful presence — in His wrathful presence — because they are relating to a holy God as rebels, as those deserving of judgment. And so in the intermediate state they have an experience of conscious torment. It's hell before hell, if you will.

Matthew 22:32 says, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." When Jesus quotes that, He is saying that here God in His own words is saying that I'm the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. Those people were long dead as far as walking on this terrestrial world. But as Jesus said, "He who believes in Me, though he may die, yet shall he live." God is the God of the living, not the God of the dead.

Application for number one. Are you cultivating fellowship? Fellowship is the blank. With God, here, and now.

Are you cultivating fellowship with God here? Now, as Christians, we have to look forward to the moment we die. We're going to be in the presence of our sweet Savior. But do we care enough to know Him now? To worship Him now? To read His word? Do it now, right? Don't just wait. "Oh, I'll get to heaven." No, now is the same Lord, and He's available to us. How do we cultivate this fellowship with the Lord in the here and now? Through His word, right? That's how we hear His voice — through His word, right? So by reading scripture, that's the revelation of God. How else do we cultivate fellowship with God in the here and now? What's that? Yes, talk to Him. Prayer. God wants us to pour out our hearts before Him, right? He's honored when we pray. Jesus taught us to pray. Heavenly Father, right? To go to Him with our needs and to repent daily and to trust in Him. How else do we grow or cultivate our relationship with Him in the here and now? Yeah, Christian fellowship is what we do. We fellowship over the word, and when we do so, we're encouraging one another. We're edifying one another. We tell people we're praying for them, right? And that builds us up. How about what we did just a few minutes ago through our praises, right? God is honored when we praise Him, and when we sing praises, we're singing His word back to Him, right? We're praising Him for who He is and His faithfulness and His character, and that affirms our faith, and that draws us closer to Him and sweet fellowship in the here and now.

Flip over on the back. Luke 9:28 through 31. Now it came to pass about eight days after these sayings that He took Peter, John, and James and went up to the mountain to pray. And as He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. And behold, two men talked with Him who were Moses and Elijah. They had long left the face of the earth, but here they are at the Mount of Transfiguration conversing with Christ. Verse 31, "who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem." Here you have Moses and Elijah. They appear in glory, sharing the very glory of God that emanates from His presence, right? What did Jesus pray in His high priestly prayer? "Father, now glorify Me, the same glory that I shared with You from the very foundation of the world, and I want to share My glory with My disciples, right? Those who will believe in Me." Right? So here we have — what was Elijah and Moses, did they receive their resurrected bodies yet? No, Christ hasn't come back yet, right? But here they are, they're glorified. They're in the presence of Christ and it's a conscious presence, right? They are conversing with Him. They're carrying on a conversation with Him. And what are they carrying on a conversation about?

It says about His decease, which you can translate that from the Greek, about His exodus. In other words, they see Christ as bringing about a new exodus, a new deliverance, redoing what Moses did, bringing the people of God out of bondage and into freedom. That's what Christ was about to do on the cross. So they're talking theology with Christ, right? And they're doing it in glory. That is the believer upon death, right? You don't have to wait for the resurrection of the dead. We have a conscious glorified presence in the very throne room of God before Christ. He shares His glory with us. Sure. The good question is on the Mount of Transfiguration, why did Jesus change His appearance to glowing? Why? What He was doing was actually unconcealing His glory. When He came to earth, He took on the form of man and He humbled Himself in servant form, right? And in doing so, we think about the Mount of Transfiguration as a miracle, that Christ was able to conceal His glory for 33 years, right? The glory that was His from the very beginning. He never lost that glory, but in taking on flesh, that glory was veiled. And He did that so He could serve us and die in our place as our substitute. Let's look at Bible point number two.

Believers in Christ — believers is the first blank for number two — believers in Christ do not receive their resurrected body at death.

That'd be a great day when we do get our resurrected bodies, right? No more limitations, no more bad knees, no more bad backs, no more coughs or anything like that. It'll be a glorious day. But we do not receive a resurrected body at death. This is plain from 1 Thessalonians 4:16 through 17 and 1 Corinthians 15:52,

where an interval — interval is a second blank — a period of time, interval, is intimated between Paul's time and the raising of those who slept. Let me read to you from 1 Thessalonians 4:16 through 17. "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout and with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first." So speaking of the second coming, we'll be talking about that next week. But here you have pictured people who are already dead in Christ, their bodies in the grave. But when Christ comes, what happens? Those bodies are quickened, they're changed, they're made new. "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord." There's a period of time from when we die until when the Lord comes, right? Saints in the time of Christ have been dead for 2,000 years, right? Their body is in the grave. But when Christ returns, their bodies will be quickened, will be made new, made complete in the image of Christ, totally sanctified and glorified and rejoined with their spirits at that point. "This rising" — rising is the third blank. This rising is to occur in the future when Christ returns at that last trumpet.

"Likewise the wicked" — the wicked is the fourth blank. So the first blank is believers, the second blank is interval. The third blank is rising, the fourth blank is wicked. "Likewise the wicked do not receive the resurrected body at death." The coinciding resurrection of the wicked is also described as future. Let's flip over on the back and read these verses here.

Have John 5:28 through 29, which you're going to see in reference number four on the right-hand side here.

It says, "Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the grave will hear His voice and come forth — those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation." Christ comes, He will say, "Come forth," and all will rise because the judge will be here, right? Look at 1 Corinthians 15:50 through 55. This is in the lower left-hand corner on the back. "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 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 that 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 the corruptible has put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass that saying which is written, death is swallowed up in victory." Your new body will never die again, right? Verse 55, "Oh death, where is your sting? Oh, Hades, where is your victory?" Put back over on the front. Acts 24:15, Paul says, "There will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust." Meaning that when Christ returns, He as judge will resurrect both the just and the unjust to stand before Him.

Application for number two. How does annihilationism deny the resurrection of the body? Denies the blank. There's a doctrine that some errantly hold called annihilationism, and it can be taken two different ways. Some say that the moment you die, the lights go off, you cease to exist. They call that annihilation.

Others will say, "Well, no, you're going to go through the resurrection. God's going to give you a new body. Then you're going to be judged. Then He annihilates you. He stamps you out." They like to use that understanding because they have a problem conceiving of eternal conscious torment. Well, how does annihilationism deny the resurrection of the body? What sense would it make for God to resurrect the body of the wicked only to kill it again and to kill it in finality, to where it is done and no longer exists? You might as well at your death have the body just stay in the ground. It removes hope. Annihilationism — we'll get into that when we discuss the fate of the unrighteous. I believe that's in lesson number seven, if I recall, and why by necessity God's judgment must be eternal.

Application for number two again — the blank is deny. Bible point number three. The soul of the believer is separated from the body in death and enters the presence. Presence is the first blank. The presence of Christ. In Luke 23:43, Jesus assured the criminal, "Today you will be with Me in what? In paradise." Paradise is the second blank for number three. "Today you'll be with Me in heaven," or "today you'll be with Me in paradise." Paradise is none other than the abode of God. It's where God dwells. And the rest and blessedness of the saints. You'll find references to this in Revelation 6 and also in Revelation 14.

Life and consciousness certainly describe the souls under the altar as they cry out, "How long?" In other words, heaven pictures saints who are in heaven who are crying out, "How long?" They're crying out, "When will we be vindicated? When will the wicked be punished? When will God's holy name be exalted and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord?" And they're calling out, "How long?" That shows that they have a conscious awareness, right? They are in the presence of Christ and they're interacting with Christ. They're calling out for vindication. Life and consciousness certainly describe the souls under the altar as they cry out, "How long?" Paul wrote of his desire for God over earthly desire. In Philippians 1:23, Paul says, "But I am hard pressed from both directions, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better." Better is the third blank. He's saying, "Yes, I know I have a ministry here and it's needful for me to be here to plant churches, to make disciples, but I know that to depart from here means I will be with Christ. I'll be in His precious presence and that is far better." Kim was saying last week that her husband used to say, "Don't threaten me with heaven." When you die, for the believer you're immediately into paradise. So someone says, "I'm going to take your life." Like, "Okay, go to heaven." What a blessedness that is. It is better — that's what Paul says.

In our joy, it is our joy and blessing to be with Christ here and now and forever. We have this joy of having communion with Christ now, right? And we will have that joy in heaven as well. We are, quote, "persuaded that neither death nor life shall be able to separate" — separate is the fourth blank — "us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Catch that. Neither death nor life. You see, there is nothing in this life that can separate me from the love of Christ. Neither tribulation or trial nor persecution can separate me from the love. He says, "But neither can death, because for the believer, when we die, we go straight into the presence and the loving arms of our Savior." Christ has promised, quote, "Lo, I am with you always, even till the end of the age." Always be with us. We're united to Christ in this life and we'll be united to Christ in heaven as well. Look at 1 Thessalonians 5:9 through 10. "For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him." This life, we live together with Christ. Can't see Him, He's with us. He's in us and we're in Him. It's a privilege to serve Christ. But whether we wake — in other words, are alive here on this earth — or whether we sleep, we go down to the grave, we live with Christ. 2 Timothy 4:18 — I believe this is the ESV here I've quoted from. I like the way they translate it. It says, "The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen."

Christ will bring you safely into His kingdom. He is the One who will receive your spirit when you get to heaven. What a glorious welcome that will be because you are His bride and He is your groom. That's what the church is. The church is the bride of Christ. Flip over on the back.

2 Corinthians 5:1 through 8. "For we know that if our earthly house, this tent," speaking about this body, "is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation," which is from heaven. We long for that heavenly body, right? "If indeed having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan," being burdened, "not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up in life. Now, He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has also given us the Spirit as a guarantee." In other words, your abode with God in heaven is guaranteed by the Holy Spirit who's been placed within you. So we are always confident knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. In other words, we're not directly in the Lord's presence where we can see Him with our eyes.

For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Home sweet home, what a glorious day that will be. Flip back over on the front. The application for number three. Will Christ's high priestly prayer be answered? I'm quoting here from John 17:24. What does He say? "Father, I desire them to be with Me where I am." Will that be answered? Yes, His will be done.

Bible point number four. The soul of the wicked is separated from the body in death. They are guarded, tormented, and punished as they await God's judgment and the second death. The wicked enters a state of constraint and guard. Guard — 1 Peter 3:19. They're not being guarded by the devil. They're not being guarded by demons. They're being guarded by God. This state is a conscious existence as there is no need for putting the unconscious under guard. In other words, if they were in this dreamy state or unconscious, there would be no need to guard them. But God has guarded them. He has placed them in a place of torment because judgment is reserved for them and there is no escape. The wicked enter a state of torment. Torment is the second blank. And suffering — Luke 16:23.

This too shows consciousness, for suffering implies awareness. Can you suffer if you're not really aware of it? No. Our suffering — the problem is we're all too aware of our sufferings and the pain and the agony. Therefore, we cry out to God for help. The wicked are under punishment. Punishment is the third blank. They are kept under punishment for the day of judgment. 2 Peter 2:9. It's not a neutral place. It's not a dream state. They are under the wrath of God in the intermediate state. This likewise shows consciousness, for they are reserved under punishment, waiting to give an account. Account is the fourth blank. For their wicked deeds. So they know that judgment day is coming and in the interim they're being judged for who they are, right? As being wicked rebels. Luke 16:23 says, "And being in torment in Hades, he lifted up his eyes," speaking of the rich man, right? He says, "Being in torment, he lifted up his eyes." He is consciously aware of the torment and the misery that he has earned. Flip over on the back.

We already read John 5:28 through 29, but I want to reread verse 29. It says, "And come forth — those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation." They're experiencing condemnation right now, but it's going to be even amplified in hell. Flip back over on the front. The application for number four. "Can the wicked escape" — escape is the blank — "God's guard, torment, and punishment?" No. I have always enjoyed when my kids were little, when we go to Disney World, going through the Pirates of the Caribbean, and there's that comical scene where there are pirates in a jail cell and they're wagging a bone. They're trying to get that dog to bring the keys, right? The figure of the guard's asleep and they can't escape. Well, there is no escape from God's guard. There's no escape from His torment and there's no escape from His punishment.

Bible point number five. "The souls of both the righteous and the wicked do not sleep." Sleep is the blank. Between death and the resurrection of the body, some have asserted over the years that there is what's called soul sleep, that the minute you die, it's like you go to sleep, then you wake up and it's judgment day, right? But scripture will not allow that, okay? We've all had the experience before where you lay down to take a nap or maybe you just slept really hard that night and you wake up — have you ever woken up and don't know what time or what day it is or where you're even at, right? Have you ever had that experience? That's kind of what they try to liken soul sleep to, but that's not faithful to scripture. Yeah, it's conscious torment or conscious pleasure for the believer, right? It's a state of being in the presence of Christ at death for the believer, and a state of confinement, punishment, and torment for the unbeliever.

The souls of the departed are described as spirits and you can see the references in Ecclesiastes 12:7, Acts 7:59, Hebrews 12:23, 1 Peter 3:19 — both Old and New Testament, our souls and spirit are interchangeable. But this is not inconsistent with their conscious activity. Activity is the second blank, as described in scripture. In other words, because they do not have a body does not mean they are not active. You've already looked at examples where we have Elijah and Moses interacting with Christ, right? Where we have the spirits of saints in heaven crying out from underneath the throne, "How long," right? We see this — you mentioned the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Just because you don't have a resurrected body doesn't mean you're inactive, right? You're conscious. You are aware and you are interacting. But this is not inconsistent with conscious activity as described in scripture. The verses previously cited in describing the conscious — conscious is the third blank — the conscious state of both believers and unbelievers after death are incontrovertible. You can go back through Bible point number three and Bible point number four and make a note there of all that conscious activity of both the believer and the unbeliever in the intermediate state.

When the dead are spoken of as sleeping, which scripture often does — we've actually already read some that refer to saints as sleeping: Daniel 12:2, Matthew 9:24, John 11:11, 1 Corinthians 11:30, 1 Corinthians 15:51, and 1 Thessalonians 4:14 and 5:10 — when the dead are spoken of as sleeping, we are to regard this as simply the language of appearance. Appearance is the fourth blank. And it is literally applicable only to the body. In other words, it's a euphemism. The body is laid to rest. So you say it is sleeping, right? Flip over on the back. Let me show you some examples of this. Daniel 12:2, "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." Matthew 9:24, "And He said to them, 'Make room, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.'" And they ridiculed Him, right? Christ said, "She's not dead. She's just sleeping." And they made fun of the Savior. John 11:11, "These things He said, and after that He said to them, 'Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.'" How many days was Lazarus dead before Christ arrived? Four days. He stinks by this time, right? But he's referred to as sleeping because his body was laid to rest. 1 Corinthians 11:30, "For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many" — what? Sleep — talking about taking the Lord's table in an unworthy manner. Many sick and many die. Sleep again is a euphemism. 1 Corinthians 11:30, "For this reason many are weak and sick among you, many sleep."

Let's look back on the front. 1 Corinthians 15:51, "Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed." In other words, at the resurrection, when Christ comes, those who are living, we're going to be transformed. We're not going to experience physical death — we're not all going to sleep. The application. What euphemisms do we use of death? Are they correct? Correct is the blank. We often have some jocular euphemisms for death that we use to try not to take it seriously. Oh, he's pushing up daisies. Oh, he's gone to the big house up in the sky. Oh, he's worm food. Oh, he's pushing up dirt. Different phrases like that. But we often use euphemisms in a very sincere way, in a gentle way, to talk about our loved ones who have died. You say, "They have gone to be with the Lord." They have passed on.

Yeah, "they became an angel" is not a good euphemism. That's not a correct one. And there are many euphemisms that are not biblical. That's why we have to use biblical ones. It's okay to say, "Rest in peace. We've laid his body to rest," so awaiting the resurrection — and what a glorious day that will be. But on the flip side, we have to be very careful. How many times have you heard it spoken of someone that, as far as you know, they were not Christians. They say, "Oh, he's gone to a better place." Is that true? Is that correct? No. If they're not a believer, they have not gone to a better place. They are under the positive punishment, guard, and torment of the Lord.

Bible point number six. The souls of both the righteous and the wicked do not — not is the first blank for number six — enter purgatory between death and the resurrection of the body. Roman Catholicism holds that there is a place called purgatory. It teaches that all who are at peace with the church, but not yet perfect, enter into purgatory. Their official dogma is if you're in good standing with the church, but you're not yet perfect, you go to purgatory. Whoever dies as perfect — in their concept, that would be someone who's become a saint. You have to do miracles in this life, and most of their saints are made saints years after their death. So that means everybody goes to purgatory

in their concept. In purgatory, believers make satisfaction for the sins they have committed after their baptism by suffering. Suffering is the second blank. According to the degree of their guilt. In other words, they say you're baptized as an infant, but after that, all those sins you've committed, you got to pay the piper. You got to pay the price. And depending on how great a sinner you are, you may be in purgatory for a long, long, long, long, long time. I'd be in there and never get out, right? In purgatory, believers make satisfaction for the sins they have committed after baptism by suffering according to their degree of guilt. They teach that the church has power by prayers and the sacrifice of the mass to shorten these sufferings. They believe that by faithfully attending the mass and praying for the dead — those who are in purgatory — you can ease their burden. And if you pray to the saints, because your prayers probably aren't good enough, but if you pray for Mary to intercede for your grandpa or grandmother in purgatory to give them an early release, a get-out-of-jail-free card, maybe that will do it. So pray and keep the mass in the way that they do it. The Pope — Pope is the third blank. The Pope has jurisdiction over purgatory. He is, in Catholic theology, the vicar of Christ. And what does Christ do? He holds the keys of death and Hades in His hand. And so the Pope has the power to bind and the power to loose. So the Pope can get your loved ones out of purgatory if he wishes. And he can even remit the suffering altogether through indulgences.

This is what set Martin Luther off in a horrible way about the Catholic church.

Young Martin Luther went to Rome and in Rome he saw the excess there of the Catholic church. He saw the way they raised money by selling indulgences. What indulgences are is this.

The saints — those who are made saints by the Catholic church — had excess righteousness.

They were so good they have a treasure of merit that the church accrues. And so the church, the Pope being the one who has the keys to this treasury of merit,

can grant you this merit to remit your deeds and your punishment that has been charged against you in purgatory for a nice contribution to the church. That's the idea behind indulgences. They were selling indulgences. Luther said of Tetzel, "When a coin in a copper rings, a soul from purgatory springs." How do you like that for a televangelist? They were doing that 500 years ago and they're still doing that today. So that's what they believe. They believe that they can get you out through a papal indulgence. The supposed support for this doctrine is found in 2 Maccabees 12:42 through 45, which is not recognized as canonical by Protestants. There's some good history in 1 and 2 Maccabees but it's an extrabiblical book.

Purgatory turns every Roman Catholic funeral into dread as only the recognized saints of the Catholic church escape it. We had a lovely celebration of life here Saturday for Dawn Pici. It was a joyous time, right? People were giving testimony of how she discipled them, how she touched their lives and we had confidence and hope knowing that she's in heaven, right? If you go to a Catholic funeral, they know that the one who's in that casket is suffering in conscious torment underneath the wrath of God in purgatory for the sins that he or she committed since their baptism. Where's the hope in that?

It's so godless.

Purgatory turns every Roman Catholic funeral into dread as only the recognized saints of the Catholic church escape it. Thus death is not the sweet coming of Christ for the believer but the sinking of the soul into unspeakable suffering. I don't know how long my grandma is going to be suffering in purgatory. Will she ever get out? You know, that's the idea behind robbing hope. Purgatory is inconsistent with any proper view of the completeness of Christ's satisfaction. Galatians 2:21 and Hebrews 9:28. In fact, look down below on Hebrews 9:28. "So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many," right? We don't have to atone for the sins we have committed since our baptism. Christ suffered once and He completely wiped my slate clean, right? I get His righteousness which far exceeds any sin I've ever committed or will ever commit. It removes and is inconsistent with any proper view of justification. Justification is the fifth blank, through faith alone. Romans 3:28. And of the state of death of all men determined by their actions in this life. You can look up those references but the idea is that there is finality in death. When we die, we enter into either conscious torment or conscious pleasure with God, right? And there's no changing that. But what does purgatory teach? You can change that. You can still sanctify yourself and get out of this torment. Flip over on the back.

Galatians 2:21. "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." Right? Don't set aside Christ's grace. He died to pay the price that we incurred by breaking the law. Romans 3:28. "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law." It's not something we earn. It's not something that we can pay through — it's what Christ paid through His suffering. Then Hebrews 9:27. "And as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this, the judgment." Flip back over on the front.

Application. How does purgatory deprive believers of assurance? Assurance is the blank. Assurance of faith. How does purgatory deprive believers of assurance of faith? There is none. Exactly right. It's like, "Hey, I'm going to purgatory and I have no idea if I'll ever be able to escape purgatory. My only hope is maybe someone will donate some generous money to the Pope and buy an indulgence for me." Right? There is no hope in Christ's righteousness. There is no assurance of faith. Right? It even obliterates the doctrine of union with Christ. Right? Would Christ allow a soul united to Him to experience suffering, torment, and Hades? Not at all.

5.7. Medieval Roman Catholicism is associated with the conception of limbo. L-I-M-B-O. Limbo. Back at New Year's Eve, we had a B students fellowship and we played the limbo bar. You know, you've seen that at parties where you get really, really low. That actually has religious significance. That game originated in Trinidad and Tobago where they would have wakes, which is a Roman Catholicism observance of death. And at these wakes, they stay up with the body all night long, all their friends and family gathering, wailing in mourning. But for a moment of levity, they would do the limbo. Right? And that's where they derived that from Roman Catholic doctrine.

Limbo literally means the edge of hell, the outskirts of hell, the outer limits or outer regions of the grave. Medieval Roman Catholicism is associated with the conception of limbo, which is essentially the compartmentalization of hell. The limbus infantum —

that's Latin by the way — which means the outer edge for infants. This is contrived. It's not scripture. This is contrived. This is man-made. It is contrived as a place on the outskirts of hell where unbaptized infants remain forever. Because see, they believe that baptism is a sacrament and sacraments save. That's why they baptize their babies. And so to console them, they say that if your baby is unbaptized, he doesn't go to paradise, but he goes to limbo.

It's a place on the outskirts of hell where unbaptized infants remain forever. The terrible fires of hell do not reach them. So it's not quite so hot. It's got the thermostats a little bit cooled down there. But they are excluded from paradise without any hope of deliverance.

I encourage you, whenever you have time, go to YouTube and go to our systematic theology series that we've been doing for the last three years on Wednesday. Look at two lessons. One is underneath hamartiology. We have a lesson on the salvation of infants. Watch that. Then also go over to soteriology and look at the doctrine of election. Those two together explain what you need to know. We cover that in depth when we discuss the doctrine of election. That Jesus desires not that any of these little ones should perish. So I encourage you to get properly grounded, not in this limbo infantum. There is no basis — no is the second blank — no basis in scripture for this. None whatsoever. It is a contrivance.

Limbus patrum. Okay, this is a second type of limbo. This is the limbo, the outer edge of hell for the patriarchs. Limbus patrum is described as a place where Old Testament saints were detained in the upper part of Hades associated with Abraham's bosom, Luke 16:9 through 31, until Christ's resurrection from the grave. In other words, His death, burial, and resurrection. After His death, Christ supposedly descended into Hades to free them. So Abraham and Moses and all those who died before Christ — in this contrivance — they would go to this outer edge of hell. And they would remain there until Christ came and preached to them and delivered them in the time between His burial in the grave and His resurrection. Usually 1 Peter 3:18 through 20 and Ephesians 4:9 are appealed to for support. And we'll look at these in just a minute.

Limbus patrum is refuted — refuted is the third blank — by Enoch and Elijah, who were taken up — up is the fourth blank — and did not descend into the underworld. Did Enoch descend into the underworld? He went for a walk with God and was no more. What about Elijah? A chariot and the whirlwind caught him up into heaven, not down into the grave. We looked at the Mount of Transfiguration. We have Moses and Elijah there. Christ didn't say, "You know what? You are down in the outer edge of hell. I haven't died and risen again yet. I'm going to drag you out of there and put you in some glory clothes and you can talk with me on the mountain here, but then I'm sending you right back down." It's balderdash. Elijah was taken up and did not descend into an underworld. And by the crucified thief who was with Christ in paradise that very day. Remember Jesus told the thief on the cross, "Today you'll be with me in paradise." That was the day He died and was put in the grave before His resurrection. He was an Old Testament saint because Christ had not yet risen again from the dead. To say that he was in the upper compartment of Hades — would Christ call that paradise? Christ was the best communicator ever. He was the Word of God made flesh. Would He call Hades paradise? Paradise is the conscious presence of the joy and pleasure at the right hand of God Almighty. Flip over on the back. Let's look at the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.

"There was a certain man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day, but there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores." Gross. "So it was that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.'"

"But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received good things and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted and you are tormented. But besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed so that those who want to pass from here to there cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.' Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, that you would send him to my father's house.'" Saying, "Take Lazarus and send him to be a witness to my family at least." And Abraham said to him, "They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them." And he said, "No, Father Abraham, but if one goes from the dead, they will repent." But he said to them, "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead." It's a beautiful parable that Christ Jesus used to teach the finality of death,

that there's no going back. Also, the severity of rejecting Moses and the prophets who testified of who? Testified of Jesus. To reject the testimony of Jesus consigns you to torment, to hell, right? But this is a parable, and parables are not to be taken literally in this sense. Some people will try to construct a cosmology of Hades, but it never says Abraham's bosom is in Hades. Not at all. It says that Lazarus was in the grave, right? In the Bible, in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, there are two very common words. One is Hebrew, one is Greek. That's used for the grave. And in the Old Testament, it's called sheol, S-H-E-O-L. In the New Testament, that word is Hades.

Many people say, "Well, this always means the grave." It's not true. That's why you need to know a little bit of Hebrew — look up a good biblical thesaurus. Both these words in both the Old Testament can have three distinct meanings, varied meanings. First of all, both sheol and Hades can speak of death in the abstract, the concept of the soul being separated from the body, right? Physical death. So sometimes sheol or Hades is speaking of death. Sometimes it's actually the physical grave itself when someone is laid in the dirt. It can be referred to in both the Old Testament, underneath sheol, and the New Testament as Hades. Also, the same words can refer to what we would call hell, a place of conscious, everlasting torment. Again, both sheol and Hades in the Old and the New Testament are used multiple different ways. Most commonly in the Old Testament, sheol is used of the grave, as in a physical burying place or a place where you go to be with your fathers, so to speak. In the New Testament, Hades is most often used as a stand-in for what we call hell, a place of eternal, conscious torment

from the very throne of God. So we have to be very careful when we try to construct things and we're not sloppy in our exegesis. But in a parable like this, let me give you an example. Okay, He says in verse 24, "Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue.'"

This is a parable. In reality, if this was a real man, the rich man was a real person, when he dies, death is a separation of the soul from the body, right? So it would be his spirit that would be in torment. Would he have a real tongue? Would he have need of water in that sense? No, because again, it's a parable and it's teaching us that there is suffering there, right? But it's not teaching us that we need to, from this, construct a whole theology of what they would call purgatory or limbo, the outer reaches of hell. And you can go through that parable and look at all the things that are speaking of body and physical torment, which they wouldn't have because they don't have that until the resurrection, right?

Also, let's look at 1 Peter 3:18 through 20, because this is a really important passage. As I mentioned, 1 Peter 3:18 through 20, and also Ephesians 4:7 through 10 is where Roman Catholics get the doctrine of the harrowing of hell — that Christ went and He preached to the spirits in between His death and His resurrection on Easter Sunday. And He took those who were in limbo, the Old Testament patriarchs, and saved them by bringing them — ushering them into His kingdom, He rescued them.

So you'll see why this is not right when we read this. 1 Peter 3:18 through 20, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient. And once the divine long-suffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is eight souls, were saved through water." And he goes on to talk about how water in baptism is the anti-type of Noah's ark. But in this passage, you read it briefly and quickly, you may think, "Well, it sounds like He went down and He preached to souls who are in prison." Look at it carefully. It says that, "Christ also suffered once for sins, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison."

The ESV, and many translations — I believe the NRSV says, "Who were now in prison." That "now" is supplied there. The idea is Christ went by the Spirit of God through the preaching of Noah to preach to those who were alive in Noah's day, who were rebels, but who are now in prison, right? Now confined to prison waiting for judgment. "Who were formerly disobedient as the divine suffering waited in the days of Noah." He's speaking of folks who were alive in Noah's day. Christ went to them through the Spirit and preaching. And we find in 1 Peter that the prophets — it was through the prophets that the Spirit of Christ who was in them was revealing the things of God to them, right? So what I'm getting at is, to take a passage like this that is somewhat murky — I'll give you that, it's not the clearest — but to construct a whole doctrine on that, especially one that stands in opposition to such clear passages as Enoch and Elijah being translated to heaven, and of Moses and Elijah appearing with Christ in the Transfiguration, and the thief on the cross with Christ saying, "Today you'll be with me in paradise" — you don't build a doctrine on the unclear. You do what's called the analogy of faith. You look at all the counsel of scripture and explain the unclear in light of the clear, okay?

Also Ephesians 4:7 through 10 — sometimes they will hang their hat on this. "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore He says, 'When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive and gave gifts to men.'" This is Christ's ascension. "When He went up to heaven, He gave gifts to men. He poured out His Spirit on us. Now this — He ascended — what does it mean? But that He also first descended to the lower parts of the earth," meaning in His incarnation. But they will interpret this as saying He descended into the lower parts of the earth, being Hades, right? "He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens that He might fill all things." That's a rather dubious interpretation again of that. So that's where they get it from if you're curious and I encourage you to study that on your own and be a Berean.

Look at 2 Kings 2:11. "And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven." He is indicative of where saints go — into the presence of God. Genesis 5:24. "And Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him." God took him. He didn't place him in hell, stash him there. God took him to His presence.

Application. Where? Where is the question. Where is the blank? Where is life and immortality brought to light? 2 Timothy 1:10 says that Jesus Christ abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, right? We read the Old Testament in light of the finished work of Christ.

Bible point number 8. "While the scriptures represent the intermediate state to be one of conscious joy" — joy is the blank — "to the righteous, and of conscious pain" — pain is the second blank — "to the wicked, they also represent the state to be one of incompleteness." Incompleteness is the third blank. First blank is joy, second blank is pain, the third blank is incompleteness. The perfect joy of the saints and the utter misery of the wicked begin — begin is the fourth blank — only with the resurrection and the last judgment.

We'll be looking at the return of Christ next week. Following that, Caleb will be bringing us a message on the resurrection. Following that we'll be looking at the last judgment. What it's saying is this — the intermediate state is conscious joy for the believer, conscious suffering, confinement, and torment for the unbeliever, but that's not complete. We're not meant to be apart from our body, right? There is completion coming and that happens in the resurrection and in the judgment. Revelation 20:15, "And anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." That torment will be even more intense than what they're feeling right now.

Application. "Can you fathom" — fathom is the blank — "can you fathom a love and joy that grows forever and ever?" Right now, Dawn and all those who've gone before us, my mother, my father, they're in heaven, they're in the presence of Christ, and they're experiencing His perfect joy, His perfect peace, His perfect love. But can you fathom that that's just the beginning? One day they're going to get resurrected bodies as well,

and one day at that point they're going to continue to grow, because we'll always be — even in a resurrected state — finite creatures, which means we're limited and growing and capable of expansion. God is not. He's infinite, right? So we have all eternity to know Christ more, to love Him more, and to grow closer in fellowship with Him, and how glorious that is going to be.