Gloomy, stark, uncomfortable. Sometimes crowded. But almost always somber. Time dragged on. Minutes seemed like hours. On top of the discomfort of the chairs and the dreariness of décor was piled the anxiety and uncertainty about what awaited me beyond the waiting room.
Dr. Remey’s office was painted in the dark earth tones of the early Seventies. Even the pictures of circus animals on the walls were dark and foreboding. It was not a place that sparked my childhood joy. Especially since it would inevitably lead to a pasty, wooden tongue depressor and a shot in my arm.
Few relish the thought of spending time in the waiting room. And so, when we consider what theologians call the Intermediate State, the place where the souls of the dead await the return of Christ and the Resurrection, we must guard against thinking upon that existence as we think of the gloom of a waiting room. For the believer in Christ death, awaiting the resurrection is not a shady, dreary half existence as the ancient Greeks believed. Nor is it soul-sleep, annihilation, reincarnation or a second merit-based probationary period of purgatory.
While scripture speaks more fully of eternal life in the renovated New Heavens and Earth which follows the Resurrection and the Judgement, it does give us sufficient clarity about the present heaven to give us courage to face death and long for the life that immediately follows our death as we await the Resurrection.
The present heaven is no mere waiting room for free-range souls, it is a place of conscious life, of perfect holiness and happiness, fellowship with Christ and with all those who have gone before and of restful, productive life.
Yet despite the sweetness of life in the present heaven, it is not our final home. For the believer, the return of Christ and the resurrection and judgement ushers in even more glorious life in Immanuel’s land. And so, the present heaven is still a place of longing and unwavering faith. As the Westminster Confession describes it,
The souls of the righteous, being then made perfect in holiness, are received into the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies;
Paul, writing to encourage the Corinthians, gives us some important insights into the blessings of the present heaven.
For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens… So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. – 2 Corinthians 5:1, 8-9
What is the intermediate state, or the present heaven and hell? Where are they? What will believers and unbelievers experience? When does this intermediate state end? While Scripture does not answer all our questions, it does address these.
Join us as we examine 2 Corinthians 5:1-9 and what the Bible teaches about life immediately after death as we await the return of Christ and the resurrection. We meet on the square in Pottsville, right next to historic Potts’ Inn at 10:30 am for worship. Get directions here or contact us for more info. Or join our livestream on YouTube.
