In my last blog post we showed 3 false Christian conceptions to the afterlife. That is, what happens to a person when they die and before Judgment Day? Today we are going to give you what the Bible really says happens to a person after death. The Bible does say that chronologically following death comes the judgment (Heb 9:27) but it doesn’t say it immediately follows it. So where does a person go in between their personal death and the Final Judgment? There is something known as the Intermediate State. Let us look at how the Bible describes this place. 

The Nature of the Intermediate State

1.  It is temporary. That is why it is called the intermediate state. Nobody is in the final Heaven or Hell yet (more on that in Friday's blog post). When we die now we still experience torment or bliss (see point 5 below) but it is not Heaven or Hell. The souls of the departed are in this intermediate state until Judgment Day, when God will call all men out of the grave to the Judgment Seat and judge the nations (Matt 25:33ff). It is then and only then that we go to Heaven or Hell. 
   
   
2. The soul is in a state of bodilessness. That is, naturally man was created dualistic (body & soul union). Death is not part of the original creation and thus for the soul to be separated from the body is unnatural. But when we die our souls detach from our physical bodies. But this doesn’t mean we are without form or substance (2nd Kings 6:15-17; Matt 17:3ff). 
   
   
3.  The soul is the seat of consciousness. While on this earth our bodies are conscious. We have five senses to examine the world. But after death our bodies are no longer animate. In fact, this is the background for why the Bible describes death as sleep so much. It is metaphorical language describing the state of our physical bodies not our souls (Matt 17:3; Luk 16:19-31; Rev 6:9-11, et al.) 
   
   
4. We experience time. Notice that in Lk 9:30-31 Jesus’ death was future to Moses & Elijah. When Samuel was brought back from the dead (spiritually not physically) to talk to Saul he spoke with an awareness of time (1st Sam 28:19). There are those who debate about time and eternity. That is, they say that when we die we are not bound by earthly time anymore. But I believe this is an argument from silence at best for the Bible doesn’t say that. Furthermore, the few allusions we do get in the Bible seem to imply that people who have died are aware of earthly time tables. Even if they do not experience time according to earthly time (I think they do), they must still experience time in some sense. Timelessness is a quality only God does & can possess. Man is a created being and thus will always have the experience of a beginning. Timelessness by its very definition is without beginning or end. Therefore, man cannot possibly know what it is like to be timeless. 
   
   
5.  You are either in torment or bliss; there is not a third option. In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus tells us a story about two men who died. It does not matter if this is a parable or a real story for parables are supposed to communicate spiritual truths to us. One man went to bliss and the other to torment. 2nd Peter 2:9, Matt 25:31-33 (see also 25:34-46), John 5:28-29, et al. distinguish two groups of people. For those who are wicked this bodiless state is torment. For those who are righteous this bodiless state, while unnatural, is preferable to our current state of body/soul union on earth (2nd Cor 5:8; Phil 1:21-23). The reason is because while here we are still contaminated with sin and live in a sinful environment. But when we die we are in Paradise (Lk 23:43). This place, although wonderful, still has the presence of some sorrows (Rev 6:9-11; 21:4). But it is still better to be there with the Lord than here on earth. The reason is because ultimately we know our fate is then sealed to spend eternity in our final resting home (Heaven) when our souls are reunited with our glorified bodies and we are with God in eternity. 

In my next blog post we will discuss in further detail the location of the dead. There we will see that nobody goes immediately to Heaven or Hell upon death. Tune in Friday to learn more about the Intermediate State. 

What happens to us when we die? Well that is a loaded question isn’t it? I’m sure there are about 1000 different directions this blog post could go but I only want to focus on the Biblical one. That is, we are assuming for the sake of this post that the Bible is the Word of God. Therefore, what does the Bible say happens when someone dies? We all know that the Bible tells us there will be a Final Judgment Day (Mt 10:15; 11:24; 12:42; Jn 5:29; Acts 24:25; Rom 14:10; 2 Cor 5:10; Heb 9:27, et al.) But what happens if a person dies today?

There are two ways to look at it:
•    There is an Intermediate Place that people go and await the Final Judgment Day
•    There is no intermediate place and people immediately go to the Final Judgment Day

According to the second view there are three main camps

1. The Extinction/Re-Creation View—They deny that the soul can exist separate from the body. Therefore, man, in his entirety, goes extinct. At the Final Judgment God recreates man. Some examples of people who hold this view are the Jehovah Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventist. But the Bible teaches that man is dualistic in nature. That is, he is made up of both body & soul (aka spirit). When man dies his soul is the part of him that exhibits his consciousness (Lk 19:19-31; Rev 6:9-11). I would point out that Jesus told the thief on the cross that today he would be with him (Jesus) in Paradise. It is kind of hard to be with someone when you are both dead. 
2. The Soul Sleeping View—They teach that during the interim (between your death and Judgment Day) your soul continues to exist apart from the body but in a state of unconsciousness (aka sleep). That is, your soul has no awareness of its condition, surroundings, or passage of time. When you wake up it is the Judgment Day. So from your perspective you die and immediately arrive at Judgment Day when in actuality much time has passed. You could liken this to being put under anesthesia for an operation. This view began during the Reformation in reaction to the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory. As I stated above, the soul remains conscious after death (Lk 19:9-31; Rev 6:9-11). When the Bible references death as sleep it is a metaphor to describe the body not the soul (Dan 12:2). 
3. The instantaneous Resurrection View—As soon as you die you receive your glorified body. Some within this camp teach that you receive your glorified body and await Judgment Day. This group denies the soul’s ability to exist apart from a body. Another group in this camp teaches that when you die you are released from the bounds of time as we know it on earth. Therefore, from your perspective you immediately arrive at Judgment Day with your glorified body. But the Bible consistently connects our reception of the glorified body with Christ’s return (John 5:25-29; Phil 3:20-21; 1st Thess 4:16-17). Furthermore, dying does not release us from experiencing the passing of time. Rev 6:9-10 depicts first century martyrs as wondering how much longer until God avenges them. Jesus told a story that expresses two men who died and experienced time as we do on earth (Lk 19:19-31). Finally, it is impossible for created beings to become timeless. That is only an attribute God can possess. 

I find each of these views to fall short of the Biblical picture. In my next blog update I will post on what the Bible really teaches about the condition and location of those who have died before Judgment Day. 

I’ve heard people try to argue that Exodus 21:22-25 teaches that the unborn is not considered a full human. Before we hear their reasons let us actually read the text for ourselves: 

"If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she has a miscarriage, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman's husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide. "But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. 
(Exo 21:22-25)

I have underlined the important phrase. Here is the scenario: 

• Two men are fighting
• One accidently strikes a pregnant woman
• She has a miscarriage
• If there is no further injury to her
• Only a fine is given
• If she dies then the person who struck her shall die

But is this what Exodus 21 says? I don’t think so. Rather, there are good textual reasons to believe that Moses was speaking about a Premature Birth. 

1. The Hebrew word yeled is used for what comes from the womb following the fight. This word is never used except for a child who can live outside the womb. The Hebrew word for fetus is golem, which is only used on time in the Old Testament (Ps 139:16). 
2. The further injury doesn’t refer to the mother but to the child. The Hebrew verb yatza, the verb that refers to what happened to the child after the injury to the mother, ordinarily refers to live births (Gen 25:26; 38:28-30; Job 3:11; 10:18; Jer 1:5; 20:18). 
3. The word normally used for miscarriage, shakol, is not used here (see Gen 31:38; Exod 23:26; Job 20:10; Hos 9:14). This is why most translations say “premature birth” not “miscarriage in Exodus 21:25. 

Even if this were referring to a miscarriage (which it is not) it wouldn’t teach that the unborn is less than human. Notice that it speaks of a situation that involves an accident. Even in our society we recognize the difference between manslaughter and premeditated murder. It doesn’t refer to the value of life that was taken but in the culpability of the one who took the life. In other places within the Old Testament God established cities of refuge for those who killed someone by accident (see Num 35:6). 

Therefore, a better and more accurate way to understand Exodus 21:22-25 is as follows: 

• Two men are fighting
• One accidentally strikes a pregnant woman and causes a premature birth
• If this doesn’t cause any medical complications with the baby then a fine is still given 
• If this causes the death of the fetus/child then the man shall be killed 

So instead of teaching that the unborn child is something less than human this text actually teaches the exact opposite. The Lord considers the unborn as much a human as anyone else. 
 

One reason I believe in Christianity is because it speaks of reality closer than any other worldview. This isn't the only or even the main reason but it is one of the reasons. Even if Christianity is not true (I do not doubt Christianity) I am convinced that atheism is wholly false. That is because atheism contradict the real world at every turn. I try to point this out to skeptics all the time and I've learned a lot about how to deal with people. Here are four observations I've made about our culture. 

1. Understand our culture is hypocritically skeptical about history
   
   Have you ever noticed that modern man is very skeptical about what happened in history? Of course he isn't skeptical at all about the information we have in the Present. As if the present is some sort of infallible guide to truth. To our culture it seems as if the present contains the whole field of vision for truth. That is, if we believe it today then it must be true. Furthermore, they have the snobbery of believing that ancient man has nothing to teach us. But what I find most interesting is that this skepticism about history only goes back so far. Once you get back to the pre-historic days then somehow history becomes a matter of science and we all know science is infallible. Therefore, the study of dinosaurs is reliable but the study of the early church are ransacked with error. 
   
   
2. Realize they have a strong distrust of ancient text
   
   Modern man just cannot stomach the concept that the Bible has been copied. If it has been copied then assuredly it has to have been corrupted many times over. Admittedly this is a difficult topic to address not due to the evidence being in their favor but because of time. That is, we simply do not have the time, during those moments of objection, to sit down and teach them about textual criticism. At the same time, though, we can use their faith in science to our aide. They do call textual criticism a science. Therefore, we can ask the skeptic, "why should you doubt the science of textual criticism if their data findings conclude that the Biblical text has been preserved?". 
   
   
3. Any sense of sin is virtually lacking
   
   The Apostles went into the world of pagans to preach the Gospel. It was full of mystical religions who worshipped the dead, conjured up spirits, had ancestor worship, idol worship, gross immorality, etc... But at least they had a concept of moral obligations. That is why the Gospel was called "good news". For the pagans finally understood they could be truly forgiven for what they knew they had done wrong. I know it may seem weird to think about but please think about it for a minute. A person can be highly immoral in the Christian sense yet still have an understanding of a moral code. I've noticed this in my study on gangs. They are very wicked people. In fact, if women want to enter the gang they have to allow themselves to be raped by all the members as an initiation rite. Men sometimes have to kill an innocent person or allow themselves to be brutally beaten to show their loyalty. As wicked as this may be they still have a moral code. There are a set of rules that they still abide by. In our day and age America is forsaking the concept that morals even exist. As apologists we don't even have grounds to start on to talk about sin. We have to convince the world that sin, in any sense of the term, even exists first. They do not want to know if they can be acquitted for sin but whether God can be acquitted for creating such a world as this. 
   
   
4. We must learn the language of our audience
   
   Not too many Bible students have had the opportunity to study this out so I am just going to mention it here. But the New Testament authors actually took words from the contemporary culture and redefined them to fit what they were teaching. I think this is brilliant because it builds a bride of understanding. That is, we can take a concept that they do understand simply help show them the fuller truth of the nugget they seem to already agree with. This is why I try to stay away from using Christian-eze language when talking to non-church going people. That is language that is virtually only understood by Church people (atonement, propitiation, justification, sanctification). Don't get me wrong. We shouldn't ignore the concepts. I am only imploring you to speak of the concepts using words that make sense to your audience. If you cannot translate your theology into the common man's vernacular then you are too confused about theology to teach it. So instead of saying God "justifies" us, we can say God acquits us. When speaking of "God's wrath" I often use the illustration of a bounty hunter. We are criminals who are being tracked down by the bounty hunter known as God's wrath and He always catches his victim. But God has provided a means of payment to satisfy this bounty hunter and it is only through Jesus. Another word to stay away from is "faith" When our culture hears faith they think of a blind leap in the dark or believing in spite of the evidence. Instead I like the word trust because our audience understands it and it actually better defines the Greek word. 
   
   
   

If you keep these four things in mind it will help you to know your audience and present the case for Christ better.