The Intermediate State (editing)

The Intermediate State 

In our various studies, we have sometimes shown that there is a period of time between death and resurrection of the dead in the last day. Many refer to this as "the intermediate state". The question is, however, are the dead conscious during this intermediate state? Those who believe that human soul is immortal and that it continues to be alive after death of the body do believe that during the intermediate state the dead are not really dead, but that they continue to be alive and conscious, and thus claim that it is only the physical body that dies, and that it is only physical body that will be raised in the last day. On the other hand, some claim that while the soul dies, the spirit continues to be alive and conscious after the death of the body. Thus many believe that either the soul or the spirit during the "intermediate state" is conscious, that it can think and feel. Some have even claimed that the dead know more while in this intermediate state than they knew while they were alive. What does the Bible actually reveal about the condition of the dead before they raised in the last day? ****** Below needs editing.

Do the scriptures declare that after death, the soul knows more than it did before its death? Look at Ecclesiastes 9:5: "The dead know not anything"; also the tenth verse: "There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in Sheol (the realm of death -- Sheol will be discussed later), where you are going." Then we look at the prayer of Hezekiah: "Sheol cannot thank you, death cannot praise you: those who go down in the pit cannot hope for your truth. The living, the one living, he shall praise you, even as I do this day." (Isaiah 38:18,19) Again the Psalmist tells us in the 146th Psalm 4th verse, that when a man dies, "he returns to his earth, and in that very day his thoughts perish." Does that look as if he knew more than he did before? In Psalm 6:4 we read: "Return, O Yahweh, deliver my soul: O save me for your mercies' sake." Then verse 5: "For in death there is no remembrance of you; in sheol who shall give you thanks?" Is it not clear then, that the soul during this intermediate state is in a condition of unconsciousness, waiting for the resurrection awakening?

The Sleep of Death 

It is only when we understand what death is that we can realize the beauty of that figure which is so often used throughout both the scriptures written before and after Jesus' arrival, the sleep of death. Our Lord, speaking to his disciples, said: "Our friend Lazarus is sleeping," and when his disciples did not understand him, "then Jesus said to them plainly: Lazarus is dead.' " (John 11:11-14) Death is likened to sleep because it is a state of unconsciousness to be followed by an awakening.

Perhaps, you, like so many of us, have had an experience where you have come home very tired and sleepy. You sit or lie down to rest somewhere. You shut your eyes then open them again, thinking to yourself: I was nearly asleep that time.' On looking at the clock however, you are surprised to see that you have been asleep for an hour! You thought you had simply closed my eyes for moment, and could hardly believe that any interval had elapsed. Why was that? Because the interval was a state of unconsciousness. You were asleep, and your sleep was a sound sleep because you were tired. It was as sound as death. That is the condition of the dead. When a person dies he closes his eyes, passes into a state of unconsciousness, and an interval elapses; it may be weeks, years, centuries, or even millenniums; but no matter how long, to that person the period is a complete blank. It is just like that hour of sleep mentioned above. In other words, to each one who is awakened on the resurrection day, it will be as if he had simply closed his eyes and the next moment opened them. That is the condition of the dead. They are completely unconscious. They "know not anything." -- Ecclesiastes 9:5.
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See our study: Under the Sun -- What Does It Mean?

Some would like for us to believe that when Jesus and others likened death to sleep, they only meant that they were no more active in the world that they left, but they insist that the dead are active while dead. The reality is that the Bible nowhere presents such an idea, although some read this idea into several scriptures, all of which we hope to address in other studies. Many, however, seek clever ways to explain away scriptures that directly show that the dead are unconscious. (Psalm 30:91; 115:17; 146:4; Ecclesiastes 9:10; Isaiah 38:18,19) They do this by reading added-on philosophy into those scriptures so as to deny their plain statements. They argue: "Nowhere does Scripture say that the soul of the departed one falls asleep. It was the person who fell asleep, not necessarily the soul." Thus they would separate the soul from the person. Yet Genesis 2:7 plainly states that "man became a living soul [Hebrew, nephesh, Strong's #5315]." 1 Corinthians 15:45 agrees with this. Before becoming becoming alive, the person was not a soul at all. Upon death, the soul is dead, not alive at all. Thus the Bible speaks of the soul dying and of "dead" souls (Ezekiel 18:4,20; See Leviticus 21:11; Numbers 6:6; 9:7 where the Hebrew word for "soul" -- nephesh -- is translated "body," in the King James Version, thus hiding the fact that the Bible speaks of dead souls.) While it is true that the Bible does not directly say that the soul sleeps, the Bible does say that the soul dies. Since Jesus and others referred to death as sleep, the soul therefore enters the state of inactivity spoken of in the scriptures cited earlier. However, nowhere does the Bible say that the souls of righteous ones enter into paradise or heaven at death.

There are those who, in trying to hold to the idea that we do not really die, argue, via imagining beyond what is actually written (1 Corinthians 4:6), that after Lazarus died, God knowing beforehand that after just a few days his son was going to raise his friend from the dead, kept his soul in a state of unconscious repose. Thus they claim that such an exception (and a few similar exceptions) would not prove the rule. An additional argument, again, which has to be assumed beyond what is written (1 Corinthians 4:6), is that Lazarus and others who were raised from the dead could have gone to heaven and yet were not permitted or not able to talk about their glorious experience. 

Of course, such reasoning does not do away with several facts: 1) No scripture speaks of the soul going to heaven at death. 2) Many scriptures speak of the soul dying at death. 3) Many scriptures describe death as a state of unconsciousness. 4) No scripture presents any idea that the human soul is inherently immortal. 5) One has to keep adding more and more into the scriptures beyond what is stated in order to have the scriptures harmonize with the "immortal soul/spirit" doctrines.

But what if Lazarus did go to heaven when he died? Would not Jesus actually have done him a disservice instead of a service to bring him back into the present evil surroundings? Or suppose Jesus had kept the soul of Lazarus in a state of unconsciousness so that he could not go to heaven, as has been suggested? Would not such interference have also been a disservice on behalf of Jesus? Either assumption would present, not only an addition to what God has revealed by means of His Holy Spirit but also an unreasonable act by Jesus.

But the "hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth." (John 5:28,29) Notice that Jesus did not say: "all that are in eternal bliss and in eternal torment," but, "all that are in the graves," the death-state. "Ah, yes," some will say, "that means the bodies of the dead, it does not refer to their souls; it means that when Jesus calls, the souls of the saved and of the lost will fly back and re-inhabit their bodies. It is the bodies which are to rise, for it is only the bodies which pass into the death-state." Actually, that was not what Jesus said. Again, such represents a spirit beyond what is written, which has to be imagined, assumed, and added to what is written. We have the united testimony of both science and the scriptures that the body a person dies with will not be resurrected in the "last day". Science demonstrates that the bodies are at death disintegrated into their various elements. The elements then may be recycled into plants or other substances. In turn, the plants may be eaten by man or beast, thus forming a part of a new body, etc. It is then manifestly impossible for the same body to rise. But we do not need to rely on the testimony of science alone. The apostle Paul in answering this question: "How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?" did not say: "That is a peculiar question! Why do you ask: How are the dead to be raised, and with what kind of BODY do they come'? Do you not know that the soul never dies, and that it is only the body which dies and requires to be resurrected?" No! What Paul did say was: "You foolish ones!...You do not sow that body that will be . . . but God gives it [the seed/grain of the new creature] a body as it has pleased him, and to every seed his own body." (I Corinthians 15:35-38) What could be plainer than that? It is not merely the body but the soul that dies, as we read in Isaiah 53:12, of the Messiah: "he has poured out his soul unto death." It is not the body, therefore, but the soul that is to be resurrected; and God shall give to each soul a body as it pleases him, according to what was sown in this lifetime.