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of the state of man after death 
and of the resurrection of the dead. This goes hand in hand 
with chapter 32 of The Last Judgment. So I want to read just chapter 
31, paragraphs one to three. Beginning in paragraph one, the 
bodies of men after death return to dust and see corruption. But 
their souls, which neither die nor sleep, having an immortal 
subsistence, immediately return to God who gave them. The souls 
of the righteous being then made perfect in holiness and are received 
into paradise, where they are with Christ and behold the face 
of God in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their 
bodies. And the souls of the wicked are cast into hell, where 
they remain in torment and utter darkness, reserved to the judgment 
of the great day. Besides these two places for 
souls separated from their bodies, the scripture acknowledgeth none. 
At the last day such of the saints as are found alive shall not 
sleep, but be changed, and all the dead shall be raised up with 
the selfsame bodies, and none other, although with different 
qualities, which shall be united again to their souls forever. 
The bodies of the unjust shall, by the power of Christ, be raised 
to dishonor. The bodies of the just, by His 
Spirit, unto honor, and be made conformable to His own glorious 
body. Amen. Well, these two particular 
chapters deal with what we call in theology, eschatology. And the word eschaton literally 
means last or final, and the word eschatology means the study 
of last things or the doctrine of last things. And when it comes 
to eschatology, we only usually associate it with millennial 
positions, whether somebody's premill or amill or postmill, 
but that's just a small sliver, a small part of the biblical 
doctrine of eschatology. When we look at eschatology broadly, 
we have two considerations. There's what's called individual 
eschatology, and then cosmic eschatology. In terms of individual 
eschatology, that is where the emphasis pretty much falls here, 
in terms of the future state of individual persons. And the 
particulars are involved with death, what's called the intermediate 
state and the resurrection. So we're dealing with, in this 
particular chapter, what's called the intermediate state. That's 
the period between death and the final judgment or resurrection. And with reference to cosmic 
eschatology, the study of the future state of the entire cosmos. 
So individual, death, intermediate state, resurrection, and then 
with reference to cosmic eschatology, it involves the rule of Christ. 
In fact, those millennial positions really are about the nature of 
Christ's rule in this current era, in this current state, what 
we call the session or the current session of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
How does he exercise that rule? When do we see sort of the consummation 
of that rule? That's where millennialism oftentimes 
is concerned. So it's the rule of Christ, as 
well the resurrection, the final judgment, and then the eternal 
state. So it looks to the consummation of all things. So individually 
we're gonna die, we're gonna either go be present with the 
Lord or go off into hell. We're gonna be raised again on 
that last day and then we will enter into that eternal state 
or that state of consummation. So you've got individual and 
then you've got cosmic. Now, oftentimes, people aren't 
really concerned about eschatology. They think, well, you know, it's 
so confusing in terms of these millennial positions. You'll 
oftentimes hear people describe themselves as pan-millennial. 
They just believe it's going to all pan out in the end. And 
I get that sentiment, and I get that sort of emphasis, because 
there is a lot of heat and little light at times in terms of the 
millennial debate and millennial discussion. But with reference 
to biblical eschatology, One has rightly observed that eschatology 
is in the garden prior to soteriology. In other words, what we see in 
the garden in Genesis 1 to 3 is ultimately realized by the last 
Adam, our Lord Jesus Christ. So there is a promise of a future 
state, better than the beginning, even embedded in Genesis chapters 
1 to 3. So there is a heavy emphasis 
on eschatology in the Bible. just whether premillennialists 
are wrong, or amillennialists are wrong, or anything like that. 
So there's a wealth of data in the Bible concerning eschatology. 
But as well, there is impact on Christian ethics. I've got 
my Bible turned to 1 John 3. And in 1 John 3, verse 1, it 
says, Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, 
that we should be called children of God. Therefore, the world 
does not know us, because it did not know Him. It says in 
verse 2, And then John says in verse 3, So there ought to be an impact 
on our Christian ethics in light of the coming of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. So again, it's not simply a question 
concerning the rule of Christ relative to what the Bible refers 
to as the thousand years or what we call the millennial kingdom. But it really does or should 
impact our ethics and the way that we live this life in this 
present evil age. As well, this doctrine provides 
great hope for believers. It provides great encouragement 
to the people of God, the doctrine of a final judgment. the doctrine 
of the exclusion of the wicked from the New Jerusalem that we 
find in Revelation 21 and 22. We live in a sin-cursed world. 
We live in a world where godlessness is celebrated, it's reveled in, 
it is amplified, it is all around us. There ought to be in the 
heart of the people of God a longing for that age wherein, or that 
place wherein righteousness dwells. So there is great hope for the 
believer in terms of looking forward to that coming consummated 
glory. As well, there's terror for unbelievers. 
The Apostle Paul says, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, 
we persuade man. Now, that terror is obviously 
comes to fruition at the final judgment and the casting away 
of the goats into the lake of fire, which was prepared for 
the devil and his angels. Now, I think at times there is 
this sense among us where, well, it shouldn't be fear that brings 
people into the kingdom of God. I love what Charles Haddon Spurgeon 
said. He said that God uses a whole 
host of men to accomplish his particular purposes. And sometimes 
it's the love of God that moves us into appreciating the glory 
of Jesus Christ. Other times it's the terror of 
the Lord that causes men to flee to Christ for that safe refuge. And so we ought never discount 
that if somebody comes to the Lord as a result of hearing concerning 
the age to come and the punishment that awaits the unbeliever, that 
God brings his people to himself is ultimately the end game. How he does that, it differs 
from person to person. Brockle, in his Christian's reasonable 
service, mentions that same sort of thing. There's several different 
ways that people come to an understanding of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. 
So there's different bait on different hooks that God uses 
in terms of bringing sinners unto himself through faith in 
the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul certainly acknowledges 
that when he says, "...knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, 
understanding what awaits them, we preach to them the fullness 
of God's truth." And as you go through the book of Acts, you'll 
see that Paul emphasizes things like the resurrection to come, 
the Areopagus on Mars Hill. In Acts chapter 17, he calls 
all, or he says that God calls all men to repent. And that he's 
going to judge all men by the man whom he's raised from the 
dead, even Jesus Christ our Lord. So he emphasizes that reality 
to the Stoic and Epicurean philosophers who didn't think in those categories, 
who didn't think of an age to come wherein there's either eternal 
bliss and blessedness or eternal woe and damnation. And so Paul 
emphasizes that reality. And then the final thing by way 
of introduction in terms of the significance is the recognition 
of God's plan. The recognition of God's plan. 
If we ask the Bible, what are you about? It's ultimately about 
God's plan to save His people from their sins in and through 
our Lord Jesus Christ. And so when we look at scripture, 
we notice that it's not just justification. in terms of the 
individual saint, there's also that growth in grace and there 
is that glorification. The plan of God involves the 
entirety of the Ordo Salutis. The plan of God is revealed in 
such comprehensive ways that the people of God, again, are 
given encouragement and are given strength and hopefully an appreciation 
for the sort of flow of Scripture. Christ is the The scope of scripture, 
everything's about Him in the Bible. It's not our best life, 
it's not our happiness and bliss, though that is a corollary to 
be sure. The Bible's ultimately about the triune God and His 
plan to save His people from their sins. So when we see protology, 
which is the doctrine of first things in the scripture, we then 
see eschatology, which is the doctrine of last things in the 
scripture, and we see the rhyme and the reason involved throughout 
the scripture. I think Beal said that Genesis 
1 to 3 is basically programmatic for the rest of the Bible. He 
says that the rest of the Bible is about Genesis 1 to 3. Again, 
Genesis 1 to 3 has soteriology of the doctrine of salvation, 
but it's definitely got eschatology and the way that God is going 
to bring his people unto himself. So as we look at now chapter 
31, as I said, it deals with what's called the intermediate 
state in paragraph 1. The intermediate state is that 
period between death and resurrection. And then in paragraphs 2 and 
3, the emphasis falls upon the final resurrection. Now, chapter 
32 amplifies and explores in more detail that actual, or the 
actual judgment day, or that last judgment. But notice, first 
of all, in terms of the intermediate state, there is a distinction 
between body and soul in man. In other words, man is a composite 
being. Man is not a simple being. If 
you go back to chapter 2 in the Confession of Faith, when it 
describes the nature of God, or the perfections of God, it 
gives us this three-fold emphasis that really does distinguish 
God from the creature. And in chapter two, it says in 
paragraph one that God is without body, he's without parts, he's 
without passions. So man obviously has a body. He has a corporeal or a materialness 
about him. And then it says that God is 
without parts. That's the doctrine of divine 
simplicity. God's not made up of things that were extant and 
came together to form God. God, all that is in God is God. He is simple. He is not a composite 
being. That's not the case with us as 
creatures. We are composite. We are constructed. We are made by God, and that 
making by God is seen in two aspects. You've got the material, 
which is the physical or temporal, and then you've got the immaterial, 
which is spirit or soul. Now, in the scriptures, you see 
spirit and soul used synonymously. There are some who teach what 
is called trichotomy, that man is three parts. That man is body, 
that he's soul, and that he's spirit. Typically, in the Reformed 
tradition, we teach that man is two parts. dichotomy. So man is material, and then 
he's immaterial. And that immaterial is synonymously 
referred to as spirit or soul. It's not the case that these 
are different components in man. So again, trichotomy, I think 
the Charismatics or Pentecostals seem to emphasize That particular 
approach, I think it fits with their theology somewhere down 
the road. I don't know. But dichotomy is 
the simple approach to scripture. We see, no pun intended there 
with simple, but we see that man is material and immaterial. 
And that's what the confession says. Notice, the bodies of men 
after death return to dust and see corruption. If you or I died 
today, they'd put us in the ground. I mean, somebody would put us 
in the ground. I don't know who, but they would put us in the 
ground. The bodies of men after death return to dust and seek 
corruption. Now notice, but their souls, 
which neither die nor sleep, having an immortal subsistence, 
immediately return to God, who gave them. So in this intermediate 
state, if you or I drop dead, the body goes into the ground, 
but the spirit goes to God most high. So we've got this composite 
nature of man that distinguishes us from the Creator, who is not 
composite. He is not made. He is rather 
a simple being. But as well, notice that with 
reference to the soul here, it says, which neither die nor sleep. That combats a lot of heresy 
in the Christian church, or professing Christian church, that has taught 
the doctrine of soul sleep. The Seventh-day Adventists, I 
think, teach that. Jehovah's Witnesses teach that 
as well. It seems to be in vogue amongst 
those sort of fringe elements that profess sort of Christianity, 
but the confession here does not affirm soul sleep, but rather 
it affirms the immortality of the soul. Now when it says that 
we have an immortal subsistence in terms of our soul, we need 
to understand that this is a derived immortality. Only God possesses 
an underrived immortality. God is immortal. definitionally. God is who he is. God is all, 
you know, from everlasting to everlasting. We are created by 
God and given an immortality. It doesn't extend backwards from 
everlasting, but it extends forward. So it's a derivative immortality 
But we need to understand it is an immortality. The soul does 
continue on. And this is something that most 
of the time, outside the Christian church, people don't consider. 
People don't think about that. They think in sort of materialistic 
terms, that all we see now, all we experience now, all we know 
now, is all there will ever be. Well, brethren, I think the Christian 
faith has a good response to that. There is a soul that shall 
never die. There is a soul that continues 
on, either again for eternal blessing or eternal damnation. And this is something that we 
need to emphasize and something that we need to preach and proclaim 
in terms of the gospel of our salvation. And so notice the 
confession says, So we've got death ultimately as a penal consequence 
of sin, and that death is also a temporary separation of body 
and soul. Hodge mentions that. So we've got death as a penal 
consequence of sin. Romans 6.23, the wages of sin 
is death. There's going to be that cessation 
of our physicality unless we are the generation alive when 
Jesus comes again in glory to judge the living and the dead. 
There is that potential. There is that possibility. I 
think that's what Paul's dealing with in 1st Thessalonians 4. 
He's not dealing with a secret rapture of the saints. He is 
dealing with the the idea, the supposition that there will be 
living human beings on that day when Jesus comes again in glory 
to judge the living and the dead. But for those of us who are not 
around on that day, there's going to be this separation between 
the body and the soul. So we move from a distinction 
between body and soul in the first section of paragraph one, 
now to a distinction between the righteous and the wicked. 
Notice, the souls of the righteous, being then made perfect in holiness, 
are received into Paradise, where they are with Christ, and behold 
the face of God in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption 
of their bodies. So you see, this intermediate 
state, not soul sleep, you don't go to some place and just have 
a dreamless sleep until Jesus comes again in glory. No, the 
body goes into the earth, the body goes into the ground, but 
the soul returns to God. And this is what's outlined here. 
And there are several passages in scripture that confirm this 
for us. Obviously, the thief on the cross, you can turn there, 
Luke chapter 23. Luke chapter 23, specifically 
at verse 39, Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed 
him, saying, If you are the Christ, save yourself and us. But the 
other answering rebuked him, saying, Do you not even fear 
God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed 
justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds. But this 
man has done nothing wrong. Then he said to Jesus, Lord, 
remember me when you come into your kingdom. A great expression 
of faith. This is a wonderful expression 
of faith. He didn't see Jesus walking on 
the water. He didn't see Jesus multiplying 
loaves and fish. He didn't see Jesus raise Lazarus 
from the dead. He saw Jesus bloody. He saw Jesus 
with a crown of thorns on his head. He saw Jesus hanging on 
that that cross as a criminal, as a malefactor. And yet, in 
spite of the blood and the gore, he says, Lord. He calls him Lord. And then he says, remember me, 
which acknowledges the mercy to be had in our blessed Savior, 
when you come into your kingdom. So then Jesus said to him, Assuredly, 
I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. It is 
a blessed reality. That thief, when he's taken off 
of the cross, his body goes into the ground, but his spirit goes 
to be with the Lord. His spirit is received into glory. The souls of the righteous, being 
then made perfect in holiness, are received into paradise, where 
they are with Christ, and behold the face of God in light and 
glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies. So intermediate 
state. This isn't the final state. We 
need to understand that. The Bible is not Gnostic. The 
Bible is physical. The reality is that God is not 
at war with our physicality. See, the Greeks and some ancient 
philosophers, I mean, the Greeks, there's a lot of different ways 
to do philosophy as the Greeks, but there was a type of teaching 
that was what was called Gnostic. And the Gnostics taught the primacy 
of the spirit, the primacy of the soul. They denigrated the 
physical. This is why John emphasizes, 
in 1 and 2 John, the physicality of the Lord Jesus Christ. He 
didn't just appear to be a man. He was actually a man. This is 
why at the end of Luke's Gospel, the Lord Jesus emphasizes that 
he's not a phantom. He's not an apparition. He's 
not a ghost. The Bible is not at war with our humanity, our 
physicality. God is at war with our sinfulness. 
And so when we consider Scripture, we need to understand that the 
intermediate state is just that. It's not the final state. It's 
not the redemption of the body. The fact that the body is going 
to be redeemed indicates God's blessing upon the physical. And 
so with reference to this, this man goes into the earth, but 
his spirit goes to be with Jesus in paradise. Turn to 2 Corinthians 
chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. The apostle emphasizes the same 
thing. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 1, for 
we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have 
a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal 
in the heavens. And then notice in verse 6, so 
we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in 
the body, we are absent from the Lord. 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." That same sort of an emphasis. The body goes into the grave. 
In that intermediate state, the spirit goes to be with the Lord. 
And on that final judgment, that day of resurrection, the Lord 
Jesus Christ will raise the bodies, reunite body and soul. They will 
stand in judgment and then enter into eternal blessing or to eternal 
damnation. Jesus emphasizes this in John 
chapter 5. The hour is coming and now is. 
It's the first resurrection that is spiritual in nature. But the 
hour is coming when all who are in the graves will hear the voice 
of the Son of Man and come forth. And then there's a blessing or 
a cursing. So John 5, Jesus emphasizes the 
same thing. Look at Philippians chapter 1. 
Philippians chapter 1, the Apostle Paul's experience in terms of 
his own life and in terms of his own ministry. beginning in 
verse 19. Now remember this is a prison 
epistle. Paul is in jail at the time that 
he writes Philippians. And as he writes Philippians, 
there is this potential in his mind that he could die. It's 
not as sure as it is in 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy, he knows that he's 
going to die. 2 Timothy was written later on. It's after he got out of the 
first imprisonment. He ends back up in prison at 
the time of Nero, when Nero was a wretch. Nero was a beast, and 
Nero was out to kill Christians. I mean, it was celebrated. It 
was just glory dead by that wretch. So in 2 Timothy, Paul knows that 
he's departing. I mean, that great swan song, 
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I've 
kept the faith, he knows that he's going to die. Philippians, 
it's in the background, it's not that he doesn't think he 
could die in this imprisonment, and so he speaks to that. So 
he says, I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through 
your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. According 
to my earnest expectation and hope, that in nothing I shall 
be ashamed. But with all boldness, as always, 
so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or 
death. What a great way to live. And 
especially verse 21, for to me to live is Christ and to die 
is gain. Not a lot of fear in a prison 
cell when that's your mindset. If I live on, Christ is glorified. If I die, I gain Christ. And then in verse 22, but if 
I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor. In other words, if he's allowed 
to preach another day, there's going to be blessing from God 
on that labor for the salvation of sinners and the sanctification 
of God's people. So if I live on in the flesh, 
this will mean fruit excuse me, from my labor, yet what I shall 
choose I cannot tell. For I am hard pressed between 
the two, having a desire to depart, and notice the next words, and 
be with Christ, which is far better. So he knows that his 
body will go into the grave, but his spirit will return to 
the Lord who gave it. being made perfect in holiness, 
received into paradise, where they are with Christ and behold 
the face of God in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption 
of their bodies. And then one final passage is 
in Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12, you have 
this contrast between the covenants, the contrast between Sinai and 
Zion, the contrast between the old and the new, which the Apostle 
has emphasized, the new is a better covenant founded on better promises 
that afford a better hope. And he deals with Sinai in verses 
18 to 21. And then notice in verse 22. 
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living 
God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of 
angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who 
are registered in heaven, to God the judge of all, notice, 
to the spirits of just men made perfect, To Jesus, the mediator 
of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaks 
better things than that of Abel." So when the confession underscores 
these truths, it's not making it up. It is a reality. When 
you and I die, our body goes to the grave, and our spirit 
returns to the Lord God Most High. Now that's assuming that 
we're saved by grace through faith in Jesus. If we're not 
saved by grace through faith in Jesus, there is an alternative, 
and the confession goes on. Notice in about the middle it 
says, and the souls of the wicked are cast into hell where they 
remain in torment and utter darkness reserved to the judgment of the 
great day. So the souls of the wicked are 
cast into hell where they remain in torment and utter darkness 
reserved to the judgment of the great day. There's a few proof 
texts here you can look at. Notice in Jude, the book of Jude, 
Jude 6 and 7. Jude 6, specifically in the angels 
who did not keep their proper domain but left their own abode, 
he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the 
judgment of the great day. As Sodom and Gomorrah and the 
cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given 
themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, 
are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal 
fire. So it's the angels and the Sodom 
and Gomorrah-ites. Those cities on the plain that 
God overthrew because of their sexual perversion. And then notice 
in 1st Peter, I'm sorry, 1st Peter chapter 3. I'm sorry, 2nd Peter is where 
we're at. 2nd Peter chapter 2. 2 Peter 
chapter 2, and I think here the emphasis is on Peter's encouragement 
to the people of God that God knows how to deal with his enemies. 
So notice in chapter 2 of 2 Peter, it says, verse 1, there were 
also false prophets among the people, even as there will be 
false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive 
heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on 
themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive 
ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 
By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words. For 
a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction 
does not slumber." Now notice in verse 4. If God did not spare 
the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered 
them into chains of darkness to be reserved for judgment, 
and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of 
eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood of the 
world of the ungodly, and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah 
into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example 
to those who afterward would live ungodly. and delivered righteous 
Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked. 
For that righteous man dwelling among them tormented his righteous 
soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds. 
Then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations 
and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment. And especially those who walk 
according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise 
authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. 
They're not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries. whereas angels 
who are greater in power and might do not bring a reviling 
accusation against them before the Lord." So Peter encourages 
the people of God with the reality that God knows how to deal with 
his enemies. Well, how does God deal with his enemies? In this 
intermediate state, the spirit departs and goes off into judgment 
while the body rests in hell, I'm sorry, in the grave, and 
it will be resurrected on that final day of judgment. Now, going 
back to the confession, notice this sort of anti-Roman Catholic 
polemic at the end of paragraph one. So it speaks of the blessedness 
of the righteous and the cursedness of the wicked, and then at the 
end it says, besides these two places, for souls separated from 
their bodies, the scripture acknowledgeth none. There's no other place. There's no third option. No tertian quid. No third thing 
that there is for people who die. Now, this specifically speaks 
concerning the alternatives offered up, again, by Roman Catholicism. And they actually have three. 
We usually think about purgatory alone. That's a third option, 
which obviously is not heaven or hell. There's actually two 
other options. One is called limbus patrum, 
so limbo for the fathers. And this is defined or described 
by David Dixon this way, in which the faithful who died before 
Christ's passion have been shut up as in a dark prison underground 
and being without torment and for the time wanting happiness 
have been kept close there until Christ's resurrection and ascension 
into heaven. So that's a limbo for the fathers. Limbo is sort of that in-between. 
I think typically the popular conception of limbo is dancing 
under that pole. But that's not the limbo that 
we're talking about. It's that sort of in-between. It's not heaven. It's not hell. 
It's a limbo. And then there's the doctrine 
of limbus infantum, which is limbo for infants. And again, 
David Dixon describes it this way, in which infants which die 
without baptism suffer also the eternal punishment, not of sense, 
but of loss. Now, in the Reformed tradition, 
it might be outside the Reformed tradition as well, but I'm familiar 
with the Reformed tradition, typically theologians make a 
distinction in terms of hell. With reference to hell, there's 
a two-fold punishment that one undergoes. So when it comes to 
hell, there's a punishment of sense. wherein God positively 
punishes the sinner in hell with wrath, with judgment, with torment. And then there's what's called 
the punishment of loss. And basically what the punishment 
of loss entails is that the sinner in hell is deprived of any good 
from God. So the sinner on earth eats steak, 
the sinner on earth has conjugal relations with his wife, or she 
does with her husband. There's many blessings involved 
in life in this world. But this punishment of loss will 
be the deprivation of all the goodness of God. Not the judgment 
of God, because God is the one who judges. So there's this two-fold 
sense of punishment, or two-fold punishment in hell. So with reference 
to this limbo for infants, he makes the distinction, according 
to Romanism, in which infants which die without baptism suffer 
also the eternal punishment, not of sins." So they're not 
positively tormented by the vindictive judgment of God or the retribution 
of God, but they do have that punishment of loss. They are 
deprived of all the goodness of God. And then, of course, 
the doctrine of purgatory. And the doctrine of purgatory, 
I'm not using Dixon here, but a Catholic encyclopedia that 
says, the place and state in which souls suffer for a while 
and are purged after death, hence the word purgatory. Every Catholic, 
at least when I grew up, had this idea that you were going 
to go to purgatory. There was not any sort of hope 
in yourself that you were going to bypass purgatory. That's just 
the way it was going to be. I don't know if that's the way 
others were raised, but in my mind, it seemed to be built into 
the system. There was going to be a purgatory. 
You just didn't know how long that purgatory was going to be. 
So the place and state in which souls suffer for a while and 
are purged after death before they go to heaven on account 
of their sins." So this is a very problematic doctrine in a whole 
host of ways, notwithstanding the obvious that it's not in 
the Bible. I mean, we've looked at these 
passages. It deals with the death of the righteous. It deals with 
the death of the wicked. There's no purgatory. If purgatory 
was a biblical doctrine, it would have been incumbent upon the 
authors of the Bible to say, hey, there's this time of purgation 
that you're going to have to go through. You're going to have 
to sort of deal with some of those sins on your own. And with 
reference to this doctrine, again, there's lack of any statement 
in the Bible. I think there might be something in the Apocrypha. 
Is that true? So the Apocrypha is a series 
of books that Roman Catholicism includes in the Bible. So there's 
these apocryphal books that apparently, I haven't read them or haven't, 
you know, don't know the proof text. for purgatory, but that's 
typically where they go when they want to sort of ground the 
doctrine of purgatory in the Bible. When we go through the 
chapter one of the Holy Scriptures, there's an anti-apocrypha statement 
in our confession. In other words, it recognizes 
the apocrypha, and I think Protestants, for the most part, the Reformed 
in particular, have said, there's nothing wrong with the apocrypha 
in terms of human writings. There are historical books, there 
are things that do show some light on things. But they're 
not on par with scripture. They're not to be received in 
the canon of scripture. So there's the lack of any statement 
in the Bible. As well, purgatory hinges upon 
a distinction in the sinfulness of man. You've got what's called 
venial sin and mortal sin in the Roman Catholic Church. Venial 
sin are the sort of garden variety ones that aren't so bad. And 
then the mortal sins are the really big ones. They're the 
humdingers. You know that, you know, and when you get into the 
distinction, it seems to me, as I recall, the mortal sin still 
is pretty much garden variety. Everybody's going to commit those 
particular sins. But it sort of hinges upon this 
venial mortal sin distinction. As well, the positive statement 
in terms of the thief on the cross, the positive statement, 
Revelation 14, 13, which we didn't look at, the righteous who cease 
from their labors, but In the grand scheme of things, the biggest 
problem with that particular doctrine is the repudiation of 
the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Either it's a once-for-all 
sacrifice by which we have forgiveness, either of our venial or our mortal 
sins, or it's not. If we have to supplement that 
work, if we have to add to that work, if we have to go into a 
period of purgatory for 10 years or 10,000 years or 100,000 years, 
however long it is, it is a repudiation of what Christ accomplished on 
the cross. Either he paid the debt, either 
he paid it all, or he didn't. And so it seems to me that this 
doctrine of purgatory, it's there for other reasons ecclesiastically. It was a moneymaker, or it has 
been a moneymaker in the life of the Roman Catholic Church. 
This was Luther's sort of first, you know, not first, but he saw, 
hey, this isn't right. You know, drop your coins in 
the box and it's going to atone for those or it's going to help 
those in purgatory. I remember being a young papist 
and I think we gave five bucks at church and we got to light 
a candle for the souls of those who were in purgatory. So it's 
been a money-making mechanism in the Roman Catholic Church. So there is a vested interest 
ecclesiastically, but soteriologically and theologically it does great 
damage to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. David Dixon again 
makes the observation, because Christ's satisfaction for the 
sins of believers is most full, complete and perfect, and does 
not need our imperfect satisfactions, whether for the fault or the 
punishment. Neither by our sufferings in 
purgatory is Christ's satisfaction applied to us. First, because 
our sufferings there cannot be an instrument for applying Christ's 
merit to us. For on God's part, we have the 
Word, sacraments, and the Spirit as means for applying His merits 
to us. On our part, we have faith. Was 
it ever heard in the Word of God that the Lord made use of 
exquisite torments for applying His grace? To apply mercy by 
the executing of justice? Is forgiving debt applied by 
exacting the debt? Shall pardon be applied by the 
punishing of us? It's a self-refuting doctrine. If you understand purgatory, 
it is a renunciation and a repudiation of the cross work of Jesus. We 
typically highlight those passages in the book of Hebrews where 
it identifies that Christ's sacrifice was once for all. That is not 
empty language. That is the reality. My little 
children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. 
But if anyone does sin, you have an advocate with the Father, 
even Jesus Christ the Righteous. What's that mean? It means apply 
to God through the Savior for forgiveness now. Not wait till 
Purgatory and all this stuff is gonna get, you know, sanitized 
from you. Purgatory, where all this stuff 
is gonna get washed away. Hodge says, one, it is nowhere 
taught in Scripture, Purgatory. Two, it is opposed to the teaching 
of Scripture as to the intermediate state. Three, it rests upon anti-Christian 
principles as to the efficacy of the atonement of Christ, as 
to the sin-expiating, that means removal of, and soul-purifying 
efficacy of temporary suffering, as to the sacrifice of the mass, 
and as to prayers for the dead, etc. So he highlights, it fits 
in with their theology. Well, it fits in with their ecclesiology 
in the way that they exercise this sort of control over the 
faithful in the Roman Catholic Church. So with reference to 
the intermediate state, it is that period between the death 
of the believer and the resurrection from the dead. Now, look at secondly, 
in terms of paragraphs two and three, That resurrection. Notice in paragraph 2, the saints 
are identified. At the last day, such of the 
saints as are found alive shall not sleep, but be changed. And 
again, I think that's what 1 Thessalonians 4 is about. 1 Thessalonians 4 
is oftentimes taken to teach a secret rapture of the church. 
You can turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. This is in what's 
called premillennial dispensationalism. So premillennial is the millennial 
scheme. But you need to know there's 
been historic premill. There's premillennialists in 
the early church, premillennialists in the fathers. In fact, Augustine 
was one who was anti-millennialism or anti-premill. And in Latin, 
it's called kiliastic or kiliasm. So kiliasm is the Latin form 
of millennialism. But then in the 1800s, there 
was a spin put on premillennialism, and that's called dispensational 
premillennialism. And the argument isn't that it's 
wrong because it came about in the 1800s. It's wrong because 
it's not biblical. It's wrong because it doesn't 
have exegetical grounding. It's wrong because it goes against 
what we find very clearly taught in scripture. Notice in 1 Thessalonians 
chapter 4 verse 13, So the Thessalonians, they were sort of an eschatologically 
minded group. They thought about these sorts 
of things. They thought about the coming of Jesus. They thought 
about, you know, what about my loved one who died? What if Jesus 
comes back? Do they miss the boat? Do they 
not get involved with the blessings associated with that second coming? 
Notice, he says, I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, 
concerning those who have fallen asleep. That's not the, you know, 
10 p.m. to 6 a.m. sleep. It's death. 
lest you sorrows as others who have no hope." This is typically 
where we get that passage. We grieve or we sorrow, but not 
like the world does. When our loved ones die, we're 
sorrowful. They're gone. They're absent. 
But we don't grieve like the world does because we know they're 
present with the Lord. And that encourages us and it 
gives us a great, great amount of joy. Now notice in verse 14, 
for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so 
God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus. Don't worry 
about them. They will be raised from the 
dead. They will come out of the ground. They will enter in to 
the consummate glory. Verse 15, for this we say to 
you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain 
until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those 
who are asleep. See what he's saying? If we happen 
to be alive when Jesus comes, it's not the case that the ones 
who are dead are going to be left behind. Notice in verse 
16, for the Lord himself will descend from heaven. I've always 
loved Al Martin when he sort of goes off against premillennial 
dispensationalism in this passage. Remember, it's the doctrine of 
a secret rapture. If you're not familiar with dispensationalism, 
they teach a secret rapture. You might have seen the bumper 
stickers on cars that say, in the case of the rapture, this 
car will be unmanned, or in the case of the rapture, this car 
will crash. In the case of the rapture, the 
pilot is going to destroy the plane because he's gone. He's 
raptured. There's even a website. I've never been able to figure 
out if it was a parody or not that was set up for pets. If 
you get raptured and your pets alone, this company will look 
after your pets. It has to be a parody. But L. Martin mentions that this is 
the loudest secret ever. The loudest secret ever. Listen. For the Lord Himself 
will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an 
archangel, and with the trumpet of God. That's the loudest secret 
ever. Three emphases on the nature 
of this coming of our Savior. And then notice, and the dead 
in Christ will rise first. So, the idea being with the Thessalonians, 
so if my departed husband or wife is lying in the earth and 
Jesus comes, I get caught up into the air, what's going to 
happen to them? Look at what Paul says. He says, 
the dead in Christ will rise first. In fact, your departed 
loved one is going to beat you in the sense of chronology. 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, therefore comfort one another with these words." So 
when it comes to this doctrine or when it comes to this particular 
statement, at the last day such of the saints as are found alive 
shall not sleep but be changed. And all the dead shall be raised 
up with the selfsame bodies, and none other, although with 
different qualities, which shall be united again to their souls 
forever." Our confession does here what the Apostles' Creed 
does, what the Nicene Creed does, and what the Athanasian Creed 
does. It shows the simplicity of biblical eschatology. It shows 
the simplicity of biblical eschatology. Guess what the next great event 
is? Jesus is going to come again in glory to judge the living 
and the dead. There's not this sort of, you know, parentheses. There's not this sort of, you 
know, removal of the Gentiles and the preeminence of the geopolitical 
Israel and all that sort of thing. Brethren, that's not what the 
scripture teaches. The parables of the kingdom don't show a big 
discontinuity between this age and the age to come. It shows 
this age and the age to come. That's the emphasis here. So 
you've got this intermediate state, which is followed up by 
what? The dispensational scheme? No. It's followed up by the last 
day. You've got the intermediate state, 
then you've got the last day. So those who are living at the 
return of Christ and those who are dead at the return of Christ 
are going to enjoy the selfsame benefits. But notice, it says, 
all the dead shall be raised up with the selfsame bodies and 
none other. So it's not that you go into 
the earth as, you know, Jim Butler and come out as John Doe. You know, six, five, big guns 
and, you know, glistening teeth and all that sort of thing. And 
with hair. Thank you, Rebecca. A big, thick 
mane of beautiful, lush hair. There is the self-same body involved. So the body raised is the self-same 
body that went into the ground. Jesus is paradigmatic. Jesus 
comes out of the grave glorified to be sure, but Jesus is recognizable. Jesus is able to lift up his 
hands and you see the pierce, the marks of the pierce. You 
see his side as he bids Thomas to reach forth his hand and touch 
that. Jesus is paradigmatic in terms 
of resurrection. His is a glorified body, ours 
will be a glorified body, but the self-same body is what comes 
out of the grave. So again, if you're looking for, 
you know, bigger guns and all that sort of thing, thicker air, 
that's not going to happen. You're going to go into the grave 
and come out of the grave with the selfsame body. The different 
quality speaks to the transformation of the body into the glorified 
state. So again, notice, with the selfsame 
bodies and none other, although with different qualities. What's 
one of those different qualities that we will have and that we 
long to have? We're not going to sin. That 
selfsame body that goes into the grave is going to come out 
with a different quality. We will be confirmed in righteousness. The people that celebrate an 
unbiblical notion of free will don't recognize that the bliss 
of heaven is ultimately not contingent upon our free will. We are confirmed 
in holiness. We are confirmed in righteousness. 
We are confirmed in a state better than the beginning. Adam was 
able to forfeit. Adam was able to fall. In Christ, 
we're not able to forfeit. We're not able to fall. That 
will be confirmed in the age to come. It is most glorious. So this self-same body will be 
raised, it will have different qualities, but notice, which 
shall be united again to their souls forever. So that's the 
resurrection of the dead for the righteous. But then the confession 
goes on to speak concerning the resurrection of the unjust. The 
bodies of the unjust shall by the power of Christ be raised 
to dishonor the bodies of the just by his spirit unto honor 
and be made conformable to his own glorious body." So the resurrection 
of the unjust, the bodies of the unjust shall, by the power 
of Christ, be raised to dishonor. So while the bodies of the righteous 
are raised by the spirit unto honor and conformable to his 
own glorious body, not so with the wicked. It is the opposite. So whatever the blessing involved 
with the believer in Christ, you need to see on the flip side 
the cursing involved with the unbeliever, the one who rejects, 
the one who despises, the one who lives as if there is no God, 
no heaven, no hell. And so the confession is pretty 
clear and pretty simple on biblical eschatology. And in conclusion, 
I mentioned that it finds truck with those earlier creeds. Listen 
to the Apostles' Creed. I believe the resurrection of 
the body and the life everlasting. Amen. Pretty simple. How about 
the Nicene? And I look for the resurrection 
of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen. You don't 
need a chart. You don't need prophecy conferences. 
You don't need the DVD set. You don't need the downloads. 
You simply need what scripture tells you very clearly. The Athanasian 
Creed. From whence he shall come to 
judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all men shall 
rise again with their bodies and shall give account for their 
own works. and they that have done good 
shall go into everlasting, life everlasting, and they that have 
done evil into everlasting fire. And then two passages to underscore 
the simplicity involved. Look at John 14. John 14. It's interesting and curious 
to me that eschatology always goes, or the debate on eschatology 
always goes to Revelation 20. And I'm not suggesting we shouldn't 
go to Revelation 20. There is a principle in hermeneutics 
that I think makes good sense. And that principle is take the 
clearer passages to help you with the not as clear. That seems 
right, doesn't it? When Paul speaks or alludes to 
baptism for the dead in 1 Corinthians 15, 29, we may not be able to 
discover what he meant, but we can know certainly what he didn't 
mean by taking the clear passages that speak to the baptism of 
living, breathing human beings that have believed the gospel. 
Well, the same is true with the book of Revelation. It's a highly 
charged, symbolic book. We're told in the very opening, 
Revelation 1, 1-3, the things signified. You've got two beasts 
in Revelation 13. You've got these bowls of wrath. 
You've got these seals. You've got all these things. 
You've got, you know, all these emphases. Revelation 20 itself 
You've got a spiritual being bound by a physical chain and 
cast into a bottomless pit by a particular angel. Again, not 
suggesting that we don't look at Revelation 20. But I am suggesting 
we look at Revelation 20 in light of very clear passages that tell 
us what's going to happen when Jesus comes again in glory. Look 
at John 14.1. Let not your heart be troubled. 
You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are 
many mansions. If it were not so, I would have 
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare 
a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, 
that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go, you 
know, and the way you know. Pretty simple, I go to prepare 
a place, if I go to prepare a place, I'm gonna come again and fetch 
you and bring you to that place. That's simple eschatology, brethren. I don't know why we are so enamored 
with the prophecy conferences and the DVD series and the downloads, 
I realize we're not doing DVDs anymore, but look at 1 Corinthians 
15, another very clear expression of what happens when Jesus comes 
again in glory. 1 Corinthians 15 20 But now Christ 
is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those 
who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, 
by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all 
die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in 
his own order, Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's 
at his coming. Then comes the end. Notice that 
connection. Christ at his coming. Then comes 
the end. What's going to happen when Jesus 
comes? Then comes the end. That's why I often say the next 
big event in eschatology is the second coming of Jesus. That 
doesn't mean there isn't going to be periods of revival and 
progress for the church. It doesn't mean there's not going 
to be periods of regression and Great persecution upon the church? Doesn't mean that those aren't 
part of the ebb and flow of redemptive history, but in terms of eschatology 
in the cosmic realm, the next big event is the second coming 
of the Savior. It's that clear. Then comes the 
end. And notice what it says. When 
he delivers the kingdom to God the Father. This is why I'm not 
pre-Mill. Because Jesus comes and then 
delivers up the kingdom to the Father. That means the kingdom 
was extant. He comes after this kingdom period. But again, I'm not at odds with 
premillennialists. You could be a premillennialist 
and be John Gill. So, you know, there's something 
obviously there. But then notice, then comes the 
end when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father. And then it's 
when he, or after he, puts an end to all rule and to all authority 
and power. For he must reign till he has 
put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed 
is death. For he has put all things under his feet. But when 
He says all things are put under Him, it is evident that He who 
put all things under Him is accepted. Now when all things are made 
subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject 
to Him who put all things under Him that God may be all in all. 
This is Christ as mediator. This isn't Christ as, you know, 
according to His divinity, you know, some sort of functional 
subordination. It's Christ as mediator. He's 
finished his mediatorial reign. He's presented that kingdom to 
the Father, and he submits to the Father in terms of mediation. 
But notice the flow of biblical eschatology. It's not hard. It's 
not difficult. We don't need any sort of, you 
know, diagrams. It's a pretty easy emphasis that 
we find in the Bible. So hopefully, this can help us 
to not fall prey to those very complicated systems that are, 
in many respects, far more confusing of the biblical data than it 
is helpful with reference to the biblical data. So I'll pray, 
and then if there's any questions, we can deal with those. Father 
in heaven, we thank you for the simplicity of scripture at the 
point of eschatology. We thank you as well for the 
emphasis on this. We know that there is a consummation. 
We know there is a glory that awaits us. And we know there 
is most blessed and wondrous things for the people of God. 
We thank you for including us by your grace, and we praise 
you for the gospel of our salvation. And again, we pray that you would 
bless it as it is preached throughout the earth today, and we pray 
through Christ our Lord.