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Chapter 31 of the State of Man 
After Death and of the Resurrection of the Dead. So I'll just read this short chapter 
and then we'll look at it in a bit more detail. Certainly 
not able to exhaust all of the ins and outs, but hopefully give 
us an overview of the topic at hand. 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, 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 acknowledges 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 last two chapters 
deal with the topic of eschatology. And eschatology simply means 
the study of last things, the doctrine of last things. And typically, eschatology is 
broken down into two larger categories. First, individual eschatology, 
and then secondly, cosmic eschatology. Individual eschatology deals 
with the state of the future with reference to individual 
persons, as the name might suggest. It refers to death, the intermediate 
state, and the resurrection to come. That's much of what is 
going on here in chapter 31. And then cosmic eschatology refers 
to the study of the future state concerning the cosmos, so the 
entire created order under God. It also involves the resurrection. It involves the rule of Christ, 
the final judgment, and the eternal state. Again, these are broad 
categories. There's a lot of things that 
could be fleshed out in terms of each. As well, the significance 
of eschatology. It's an important study for us 
because it's set forth so much in the Bible. The wealth of data 
in the Bible concerning eschatology demands our attention to this 
subject. In fact, in the Garden, eschatology precedes soteriology. When God gave the promise of 
life to Adam, that was referring to life with God. was referring 
to an eschatological promise. So, eschatology precedes soteriology. Soteriology is a means by which 
eschatology is confirmed or affirmed or secured by the doctrine of 
Christ. As well, what we view concerning 
the future impacts how we live now. Last week, in Hebrews 10, 
we saw a reminder that the past helps us to stand fast in the 
present and to look forward to the future. Well, what we understand 
about the future should impact us as well. If we think the world 
is necessarily going to hell in a handbasket, then we probably 
will be very little involved in seeking to preach the gospel 
or live for Christ or do those things that may impact the culture 
around us. But if we believe that God Most 
High is going to save a great multitude that no man can number, 
hopefully it promotes in us an evangelistic fervor and a desire 
to go out and share or declare the gospel. So the wealth of 
data in the Bible, the impact on ethics as well, the doctrine 
of eschatology affords great comfort and hope to the people 
of God. I hope just as we read these 
few paragraphs, your hearts to some degree are soaring at what 
is in your future. Should you die today, you enter 
into what the confession highlights here as the intermediate state, 
your soul goes to be present with the Lord. That's what happens 
when believers die, we get to be with Jesus. And then as well, 
there is this promise of a future resurrection from the dead, where 
body and soul will be reunited, we will be transformed according 
to His glorious body, and we will live and dwell and reign 
with Christ forever and ever and ever. As well, the study 
of eschatology ought to promote horror or terror for unbelievers. In fact, Paul understood this, 
and in 2 Corinthians 5.11, he said, knowing therefore the terror 
of the Lord, we persuade man. We ought to preach the wrath 
and fury and judgment of God. We ought to preach the eschaton 
for unbelievers. This is what your future is. 
The sin that you enjoy now, the idolatry that you engage in now, 
while it may provide some sort of passing pleasure, it will 
ultimately end in the ruin of your soul. So eschatology is 
very important even for the unbeliever. And then as well, when we understand 
eschatology, not that I think we'll ever understand it completely 
or wholly, but we have an appreciation for the plan of God as a whole. 
We need to see that the entirety of the Bible fits together. There 
is unity. It's not a bunch of disjointed 
things thrown together sort of haphazardly, but the Bible reveals 
God's plan of redemption through our Lord Jesus Christ to bring 
His people to that state of glory wherein they will dwell with 
Him forever and ever." And I think if we appreciate that, we will 
understand the particular trees in the forest and see how they 
serve the greater plan and purpose of God. So some reasons why we 
ought to study eschatology, we ought to be concerned about it. 
Notice what I didn't say. To gratify our vain curiosities, 
to promote foolish speculation on the part of the people of 
God. One of the closing applications I will suggest today is that 
we ought to recognize the simplicity of the biblical doctrine and 
the confessional doctrine of eschatology. Notice that in chapters 
31 and 32, there's not a chart There's not sort of a scheme, 
there's not sort of an identifying of, you know, Obama or Hillary 
as that man of sin or that antichrist or that beast of revelation. 
They don't engage in that sort of thing because overall biblical 
eschatology or what's going to happen in the future is quite 
simple. It really shouldn't cause us 
a great deal of frustration and concern We ought to realize that 
what the confession presents here, both in chapters 31 and 
32, is really it. We are going to die and then 
stand before God in judgment. That's about all we really need 
to know. Where Obama fits in the eschatological 
scheme of God is up to God. It's what does the scripture 
say concerning these truths and what must we believe to be considered 
orthodox. It's unfortunate that in some 
churches this has become a test of orthodoxy and that one can 
only be a member of a church if they hold to a peculiar form 
of eschatology. It just intrigues or baffles 
the mind that if you're not a dispensational premillennialist, you can't be 
a member at a dispensational premillennial church. I don't 
know where we ever got the idea that it's legit to elevate the 
doctrine of eschatology to a test of orthodoxy so that we must 
imbibe all of the intricate nuances that have only been around since 
about the mid-1800s. It really seems to be a horrible 
conclusion to come to with reference to our eschatology. If someone 
was a dispensational premillennialist and they wanted to join our church, 
they would be welcome because we believe in grace alone, through 
faith alone, and Christ alone. Now, we would advise them and 
tell them that we certainly differ on the law of God, and it may 
be to your consternation in the long run, but we're not going 
to bar a believer from membership in Christ's church because they 
have a different view of eschatology. There ought to be a charity in 
our hearts concerning those of us who disagree on various aspects. Nobody has it all figured out. 
There's no foolproof plan with reference to eschatology. Perhaps 
you're familiar with the most common terms with reference to 
eschatology. Amillennialism, premillennialism, 
and postmillennialism. All of those have problems. All 
of them have holes or chinks in the armor. I think the imperative 
for the interpreter is to find the one with the less chinks 
in the armor and realize that that's most likely the right 
answer. But we ought to be charitable 
to those who disagree. There were disagreements among 
those in the Westminster Assembly. No doubt there were disagreements 
among the particular Baptists. So what they did was they set 
forth those things most surely believed among us. And so while 
we may disagree, and we can disagree vociferously, you probably hear 
me disagree with dispensationalism quite a bit, we ought to realize 
that it's not that by which sinners are saved. It's not the imbibing 
of the doctrine of postmillennialism that somebody is saved, or amillennialism. It's grace through faith in Jesus 
Christ. Now certainly, I think as we 
appreciate the ministry of Christ, specifically the current session 
of Christ, that should have some bearing on our eschatological 
view. but hopefully you catch my drift. We need to be careful 
that we don't excise from the church blood-bought children 
of God because they hold a differing view on the end times than we 
do. Well, let's look at this particular chapter under two 
considerations as it is set forth. First, the intermediate state 
in paragraph 1, and then secondly, the final resurrection, paragraphs 
2 and 3. Now the intermediate state refers 
to that period between death and the resurrection. The period 
between death and the resurrection, as I suggested earlier, if you 
or I drop dead today, we enter into the intermediate state. 
It isn't the final resurrection yet. Christ hasn't returned. 
He hasn't ushered in the eternal state. So we are in this intermediate 
state wherein soul and body are separate for a period of time. 
only to be reunited again at the final resurrection of which 
this paragraph speaks to. But a couple of things we ought 
to observe with reference to the intermediate state. Note 
first the distinction between body and soul. Paragraph 1, 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." So the 
Confession starts off with a statement concerning what's called dichotomy. Man is composed of two parts. 
He is both material and immaterial, or as the Confession says, he 
is both body and soul. We need to understand that we 
are composite beings. We are composed. God put us together. He took the dust, He formed Adam, 
and then He breathed the Spirit into him. God is uncomposed. God is pure Spirit. God is simple. That means He is without parts. 
God is not composed of God parts, because then those God parts 
would be prior to God Himself, and there's nothing prior to 
God Himself. He is pure Spirit. He is uncomposite. He is a simple being, as our 
confession teaches, as the Bible as well always teaches. But man 
is different. We are composed. We are body, 
and we are soul. Notice specifically, with reference 
to the bodies of men, after death they return to dust and see corruption. That means that when your body 
goes into the grave, it will decompose. It means it will break 
down. It means that it will gradually 
deteriorate because it's not in a glorified state as of yet. Also, we need to appreciate that 
the soul continues on. Notice what the Confession says, 
"...but their souls, which neither die nor sleep, having an immortal 
subsistence, immediately returned to God who gave them." We need 
to understand here that the doctrine of soul sleep is here being countered. Some in the history of the Church 
taught the doctrine of soul sleep. In fact, I think I didn't have 
time to check this, but one of Calvin's first theological writings 
was against the doctrine of soul sleep. The modern Seventh-day 
Adventist Church teaches the doctrine of soul sleep. Notice 
the Confession does not teach the doctrine of soul sleep. because 
it goes through and presents the idea of what's called the 
intermediate state. And several verses of Scripture 
highlight the fact that souls do not sleep. If they are the 
righteous, they go to be in the presence of the Lord. If they 
are the unrighteous, they are cast away into suffering and 
into torment. And so there is no such thing 
as soul sleep. As well, we ought to appreciate 
a fundamental difference between God and man, with reference to 
the clause, having an immortal subsistence. We need to understand 
that our immortality is derived from God. It's not the same immortality 
that God has. God has it underived. He is, 
by definition, by the fact that He is God, He is most pure spirit, 
He is without body parts and passions, He is not derived. He didn't get that immortality 
from an immortality shop somewhere out in the universe. We are immortal, 
but we must understand that in its qualified sense. We come 
into being and then we'll never go out of being. It's not the 
case that from everlasting to everlasting, you know, we have 
been. That's not it. It is a derived 
immortality given to us by God Most High. And when we consider 
this particular section, we realize the cause of death, notice, the 
bodies of men after death return to dust. We need to reflect upon 
that for just a moment. Death is the penal consequence 
for sin. Romans 6, 23, the wages of sin 
is death. The last enemy to be defeated 
by Christ in 1 Corinthians 15, 20 to 28, is death. Death is imposed upon the creation 
because of the entrance of sin, and we need to appreciate that. 
While our spiritual lives have been secured by the work of Christ, 
nevertheless, the body does die. And in this intermediate period 
before the final resurrection, there is this temporary separation 
of body and soul. This is what is highlighted in 
that first statement in paragraph 1. Now notice as well the distinction 
between the righteous and the wicked. It goes on to say, 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 soul for 
the full redemption of their bodies. Isn't that a blessed 
reality? Isn't that a glorious thought 
when we consider that's our end if we should leave this world 
today? The souls of the righteous being then made perfect in holiness. Is that a beautiful concept that 
one day we will no longer sin? Isn't it a glorious thought that 
we will not weary in our service to God? When we see those saints 
before the throne in Revelation 7, they stand before the throne 
day and night ascribing salvation to God and to the Lamb who sits 
upon the throne. They don't need naps, they don't 
need refreshment, they don't need some sort of diversion. 
The Lord God is completely sufficient to satisfy the people of God 
throughout all eternity. Certainly the reason why we fall 
asleep in church now, or the reason why we can't open our 
eyes in the morning to read scripture or to pray, is because of this 
limitation. We have this remaining corruption, 
but there's a day coming when the souls of the righteous, being 
then made perfect in holiness, I think that ought to be a great 
encouragement for the people of God, to consider that there 
is a day coming when we will not sin, when we will be confirmed 
in righteousness, and we will no longer have that flesh lusting 
against the Spirit, and the Spirit lusting against the flesh, and 
the two of them contrary to one another, so that we don't do 
the things that we want. I just spoke to a man recently, 
he doesn't go to our church, and he's going through some particularly 
harsh, hard temptations, and one of the things that he says, 
I hate it, I absolutely hate that my mind goes this way." 
And I said, that's encouraging, that's something to take comfort 
from, because if you were a pagan or an unbeliever, you wouldn't 
hate it. You would pursue it, you would follow after it, and 
it would be something that would no longer plague you. You would 
just give in fully. I said, the fact that you have 
this hatred for it, and that you look forward to heaven, Oh 
yes I do, I can't wait to be in heaven where these temptations 
won't plague me anymore. The guy gets at least this portion 
of the confession. When they are made perfect in 
holiness. Notice, it goes on to say, are 
received in paradise where they are with Christ. They behold 
the face of God in light and glory and they are waiting for 
the full redemption of their bodies. So let's look at a few 
passages that affirm or confirm this whole idea of the intermediate 
state. Luke 23, the passages given in 
the Confession are very good in this particular section, so 
if I don't give you a whole bunch of others, then it's because 
these are fine and we don't need to go elsewhere. But just a few 
sample passages to teach the doctrine of the intermediate 
state. There is no soul sleep, that 
the soul of the righteous departs to go and be with the Lord Christ, 
to be perfect in holiness, to behold the face of God in light 
and in glory." Notice in 23, 43. Well, back in 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. And Jesus said 
to him, assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in 
paradise. There's no doctrine of soul sleep. This isn't the 
final resurrection, so it must be what's called the intermediate 
state. The thief who woke up that morning 
under the shadow of capital punishment, and that justly for his crimes 
against the state, was now going to enter into the paradise of 
God, to be with Christ, to behold the face of God in light and 
glory, to be perfected in holiness. This is the intermediate state. 
The thief entered in and understood that blessed reality. Notice 
in 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, several 
passages here speak to the intermediate state. 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. 
Doesn't sound like Paul is speaking only in the future, but he speaks 
to the fact that if we die now, we have a building from God, 
a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, that 
we will presently go occupied when we depart from this tent. 
It's fleshed out even further as we move through the context. 
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. Paul doesn't acknowledge soul 
sleep and he doesn't acknowledge some sort of third category. 
We're either in the body or we're with the Lord. Certainly, he 
means this whole idea that the body goes and sees corruption 
in the grave, but the soul departs and is present with Christ, perfect 
in holiness, beholding the face of God in light and glory. Philippians 1, verse 23. Beginning in verse 22, Paul says, 
If I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit 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 be with Christ, which is 
far better. So to depart means to be with 
Christ. It's not to depart, to go to soul sleep, and then someday 
to be with Christ. No, to depart from the body is 
to be present with Christ. So we see that the apostle affirms 
this concept, this doctrine, highlights the reality of the 
intermediate state. A passage we referred to in the 
last few weeks is in Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12, when the apostle 
encourages the people of God that they have not come to Mount 
Sinai, but they have come to Mount Zion. And notice how he 
describes Mount Zion, verse 22. 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, 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, to the spirits of just men made 
perfect. Probably you see in these passages 
where the Confession got these particular concepts that pull 
them right from Scripture. No soul sleep, but there is this 
period between the death of an individual believer and the final 
resurrection to come. And so the Bible upholds this 
doctrine of the intermediate state for the righteous. Notice 
that the Confession goes on to indicate what happens to the 
souls of the wicked, the latter part of paragraph 1. 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 acknowledges none." So you see, it not only 
deals with the state of the righteous, but it deals with the state of 
the unrighteous. So it reaffirms, or rather highlights 
for us, what goes on with reference to the wicked. 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. 
Exactly the opposite of what happens to the souls of the righteous. 
The souls of the righteous enter in, they are perfected in holiness, 
they are with Christ, they behold the face of God in light and 
glory, they enjoy all the benefits that Christ has wrought for them 
in their salvation, But for the wicked, it is the direct opposite. They are cast away. And there 
are several passages cited by the Confession in this regard. 
Notice in Jude 6 and 7. Jude 6 and 7. The context specifically is that 
Jude here highlights the damnable outcome for apostates in verses 
5 to 7. And he shines the light upon 
unbelieving or apostate Israel, he shines the light upon fallen 
angels in verse 6, and he shines the light upon Sodom in verse 
7. So note at verse 5, but I want to remind you, though you once 
knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land 
of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And 
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." And you can go to 2 Peter, 2 Peter chapter 2. Same idea going on. We see some 
dependence here between 2 Peter and Jude, verse 4. For 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 on the world of the ungodly, and turning the cities 
of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemn 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." Basically what Peter goes on to say, if 
God brought this judgment and preserved Lot, He is certainly 
able to preserve you in the midst of your current troubles, difficulties, 
and hardships. The idea is that the angels who 
sin are reserved for judgment, are kept in judgment. I believe 
that the parallel thought is that the sinners of Sodom and 
Gomorrah, those apostates in Israel, go and join them likewise. The souls of the unjust or of 
the wicked are cast into hell where they remain in torment 
and utter darkness reserved to the judgment of the great day. 
Notice in Revelation 14. Revelation 14. Verse 9, then a third angel followed 
them saying with a loud voice, if anyone worships the beast 
in his image and receives his mark on his forehead or on his 
hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, 
which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation. 
He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence 
of the holy angels and in the presence of the lamb. and the 
smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever, and they have 
no rest, day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and 
whoever receives the mark of his name." Now, some might say, 
well, that refers to the future. Well, there are some of us who 
believe that the beast spoken of in Revelation refers to Nero. And so those who died in the 
first century are those who reap the same consequence as the beast 
in that first century. So it's not something in the 
future. The souls of the unjust, the souls of the wicked rather, 
are cast into hell. where they remain in torment 
and utter darkness reserved to the judgment of the great day." 
So the confession takes up the disposition or the state, the 
intermediate state of both the righteous and the wicked. But 
notice at the end of paragraph 1, it excludes any other place. There's only heaven or hell. Besides these two places, the 
paradise of God or hell, for souls separated from their bodies, 
the Scripture acknowledges none. Now, there are several heresies 
or several things that oppose Scripture that the Confession 
is opposing in this particular statement. Remember, and I think 
Pastor Porter has presented this well throughout our studies in 
the Confession, Very often, when we read these documents, we notice 
that they're not only setting forth a positive affirmation 
of scriptural teaching, but they're also addressing errors that were 
extant in their time. In other words, they had to combat 
soul sleep, as we still do today. They had to combat the concept 
of another place, another destination for those souls who depart prior 
to the final resurrection. So there's a polemical edge to 
the confession. It's not only positively affirming 
what Scripture teaches, but it's also addressing those aberrations 
or those deviations from the Scripture. And so we need to 
focus on those. We need to understand what's 
in view. Now, there are, according to Dickson, there are four things. One of them is something I had 
never heard about. So not that because I hadn't 
heard, you probably hadn't. It was like this sort of meadow 
place that probably came from the Enid of, is it Homer? I mean, 
I don't know how many of you are inspired by that. I think 
the primary reference is the Roman Catholic errors concerning 
this disposition of souls who depart. They taught, or they 
teach, the doctrine of limbus patrum. You've probably heard 
of the doctrine of limbo. Limbo doesn't just mean that 
dance where there's a stick and you shimmy under it without touching 
it. Limbo is this sort of nebulous 
place, this sort of undefined place. It's neither heaven nor 
is it hell. You've probably heard of limbo 
in concert with infants, and they certainly teach that, which 
we'll look at in just a moment. But limbus patrum refers to limbo 
for the fathers, limbo for the pater. And Dixon describes it 
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 you see this idea that prior 
to the passion of Christ, every believer, the justified, were 
nevertheless kept in this limbus patrum. They were kept in this 
sort of undefined nebulous state. It wasn't heaven, it wasn't hell, 
but they were there and then released by Christ. That's probably 
how they understood 1 Peter 3. That's one of the proof texts 
in the Confession I did not read. There are a whole host of varying 
ideas of interpretation for 1 Peter 3. It would demand a full study. 
I'm just going to make a passing glance to it. I have an idea, 
at least what I think it teaches, but probably this is where they 
derive this. But this idea is refuted by several 
of the concerns that we've just seen. The thief went to be with 
Jesus, right? The thief went to be with God 
prior to the passion. As well, we see Enoch, Moses, 
and Elijah. They were not kept in this particular 
prison. They appeared to Jesus and the 
disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration. Enoch ascended in a whirlwind, 
not to some limbus patrum, but to the presence of God. Enoch 
walked with God and then he was not, for God took him. It doesn't 
say God threw him in the Limbus Patrum, God took him. The implication 
being, he took him unto himself. God was pleased with Enoch. If 
ever there was an impetus for us to walk with God, it's the 
case of Enoch. Remember his claim to fame was 
that he lived 365 years and had many sons and daughters. That 
should give us an impetus as parents living long lives to 
be faithful and walk with God. That's really what the scripture 
says concerning him. I mean, when you see Elijah taken 
up in the whirlwind, you kind of almost say, well, of course, 
I mean, this guy fought the prophets of Baal, this guy, and won. This 
guy, you know, he was an amazing man. He did all these mighty 
exploits for God. So when that chariot takes him 
up into heaven, it's not so surprising. But in the mundane, he had many 
sons and daughters. Enoch walked with God, and then 
he was not. Don't let there be any sort of 
frown upon the mundane in your life. Let Enoch be an encouragement 
to you. Encouraging Enoch. There you 
go. There's your alliteration for the day. So the doctrine 
of Limbus Patrum is argued against. Secondly, the doctrine of Limbus 
Infantum. in which infants which die without 
baptism suffer also the eternal punishment, not of sense, but 
of loss." Not of sense. It's not a conscious torment, 
but a loss of the presence of God. So, Limbus and Phantom deals 
with the state of infants who die in infancy. Now, of course, 
the Bible doesn't speak to either one of these things. The Bible 
gives us no warrant whatsoever to assume the presence of another 
disposition for souls who depart from this life. There's only 
two, and the Confession makes that clear, besides these two 
places. So it excludes limbus patrum, 
limbus infantis, but as well it excludes the concept of purgatory. And the doctrine of purgatory, 
according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, is 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. Now how many of 
us were raised Roman Catholic? I know for certain Cam and I 
Well, we always lived in light of that, didn't we? We always 
expected and knew that when we died and woke up, we would be 
in a place of suffering. We would hope that we'd get out 
and enter into the place of heaven, but we were drilled with this 
concept of purgatory. And this is a vital means or 
a tool in the hand of the Church of Rome to enslave and manipulate 
and really destroy the professing people of God, because by your 
works or by the merits of others, you can buy your way out of, 
for a time, purgatory. So let's say it's in your cards 
to spend a thousand years there. But if you pay some money, or 
you do certain things, or somebody else has stored up a bank of 
credits, and they want to apply it to your account, you might 
reduce that 1,000 years to a measly 800 years. So it's a system that's 
economic and does have ultimate profitability to the Church of 
Rome, but it has no biblical warrant. And remember the authors 
in the 17th century confessions are combating Rome. What was 
it that got Luther going on his pathway to reformation? Certainly it was Romans 1, 16 
and 17, but he also saw the abuses of the papal system, you know, 
the old jingle. that if you threw your coins 
in the coffer, then souls would be released. It was that sort 
of a concept, that if we did these things, we could help those 
souls in purgatory. And if we couldn't outside, well 
then those souls in purgatory could ultimately help themselves, 
because if they did in fact suffer purgation for 800 years, then 
alone would they be released and enter into joy and heaven. 
Well, as I said, this finds no substantiation in the Bible whatsoever. As well, it's built on an unbiblical 
distinction between mortal and venial sins. See, the sins that 
you're able to sort of get or to purge or to be purged of in 
purgatory is venial sin. At least when I was a kid, they 
taught that if you committed a mortal sin, that was it, you 
were done. But, you know, when we look at the Bible, there were 
mortal sins that were forgiven. I don't know, again, this might 
be foreign to some of you, but in the Catholic Church, they 
teach mortal sins and venial sins. Mortal sins are the biggies. 
Mortal sins are the ones that you commit and you don't get 
out of because you've committed a mortal sin. But then there's 
venial sins. They're not so bad. And those 
are the sins that we would go to purgatory for. That's an accurate 
depiction. But that's not biblical. There's 
no mortal, venial distinction. I like the Westminster Shorter 
Catechism. What does every sin deserve? 
Every sin deserves God's wrath and curse, both in this life 
and that which is to come. So Rome has a faulty doctrine 
of sin. They don't understand sin before 
a holy God. As well, we see the thief on 
the cross. There is no doctrine of purgatory. Certainly, if Christ was able 
to forgive the thief on the cross of all his sins, there was no 
need for him to go into purgatory and suffer, you know, however 
many units of purgation so that he could enter into paradise. 
It was that day. Now, some might say, well, maybe 
it was just the afternoon. I don't think the text reads 
that way, and I think the emphasis is not Well, you know, between 
two and three, you're going to have to go to purgatory. No, 
he's going to be with Christ or God in paradise. As well, 
the righteous cease from their labors. In Revelation 14, if 
you're still there, you may look specifically at verse 13. Then 
I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, right, blessed are the 
dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the spirit, 
that they may rest from their labors and their works follow 
them. I don't know how any concept 
of purgatory it could ever be described as rest. Now, as a 
kid, I never, you know, heard any detailed explanation of the 
horrors of purgatory in terms of the suffering, but I associated 
it with hell. It would be like hell, but it 
would end. Now, I don't know anybody that 
would describe hell in any sense as being rest. And yet, the seer, 
John, tells us that they may rest from their labors. But probably 
the biggest argument against this idea of purgatory is that 
it is a rejection of the atoning work of Jesus Christ. I mean, 
it's not the case that Jesus did, you know, his 80%, and so 
we've got to do the 20%. It's not even the case that Jesus 
did 99.999% and we must make up that .0001%. That's not the 
view of the cross that is presented to us in the Scripture. David Dixon explains, he says, 
because Christ's satisfaction for the sins of believers is 
most full, complete, and perfect, and doth 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 merits 
to us. In other words, my suffering 
in purgatory is not the way the Spirit applies the suffering 
of Christ to me. He says, 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? You know, He's reducing it to 
a reductio ad absurdum. How in the world can you imagine 
that God is applying mercy when He's inflicting punishment? How 
in the world is God forgiving debt when He's punishing or exacting 
punishment for a debt? It is to fly in the face of the 
scriptural presentation of the glory of the cross of Jesus to 
suppose that there is this purgatory necessary for the souls of the 
righteous to undergo a season of further punishment in order 
to be fit for communion with God. It is to relegate the work 
of Christ to, at best, a helpful aspect to our salvation, but 
not our salvation. It is what the saints in Revelation 
sing, salvation belongs to our God and to the Lamb who sits 
upon the throne. Jonah doesn't say in Jonah 2.9, 
salvation is of the Lord and on the part of those who suffer 
purgatory. God gets the glory for salvation. What would happen if we spent 
800 years, we finally make it into heaven, we're thinking we're 
here because of Christ and why? Because we went through 800 years 
of purgatory. That would be a reason why we 
could boast over the poor slob that hadn't made it yet or the 
guy that was in hell. Charles Hodge speaks to purgatory 
this way. One, it is nowhere taught in 
Scripture. Two, it is opposed to the teaching of Scripture 
as to the intermediate state as shown above. This is what 
we've considered in terms of the intermediate state. The righteous 
go here, the unjust go there, and there's no other place. And 
then he says, it rests upon anti-Christian principles as to the efficacy 
of the atonement of Christ, as to the sin-expiating and soul-purifying 
efficacy of temporary suffering, as to the sacrifice of the mass, 
and as to prayers for the dead, etc. So purgatory certainly works 
in the Roman scheme, but it's not scriptural, and it is anti-scriptural 
in its horrific approach to the cross of Jesus Christ. It is 
an affront to what the Bible says concerning the finished 
work of Jesus. So that's the intermediate state, 
paragraph 1. Notice paragraphs 2 and 3, the 
final resurrection. So you see the soul at death 
departs and is with Christ or is in hell. But the body will 
be raised again, joined to the soul, and then the righteous 
will go to heaven and the unjust will go to hell. So notice, specifically 
in paragraph 2, at the last day, you see that? There's a difference 
between our last day, let's say it's today or tomorrow, and the 
last day when Jesus Christ returns. The period between our last day 
and the last day is called the intermediate state. The intermediate 
state speaks to incompletion though. It's intermediate. There's 
something else. There's something greater. There's 
something bigger. There's something more grand 
in our horizon. And that's the final resurrection. That's the day of judgment. That's 
the last day. So at the last day, such of the 
saints as are found alive shall not sleep but be changed. 1 Corinthians 
15, 51 and 52. And all the dead shall be raised 
up with the self, same bodies. Job 19, 25 to 27. And none other. So Jim Butler 
is not going to be raised up Bastion Needles or Steel Lane. The body that goes into the grave 
is the body that comes out of the grave. Now, there will be 
a transformation vis-a-vis Philippians 3.21. We will be fit for the 
enjoyment of God throughout all eternity, but it's the same body 
that goes into the grave. There's a continuity. You're 
not going to come out, you know, Arnold Schwarzenegger in his 
prime. You're not going to have, you 
know, 21-inch biceps and be the guy that you always dreamed of 
being. You're still going to be you. 
But there'll be a transformation in terms of the Spirit completely 
controlling us. When it talks about a spirit 
body in 1 Corinthians 15, I don't think it means we can run our 
hands through it or there, you know, these little apparitions 
floating around on clouds. I think Waldron's right. That 
that spirit body means a body controlled fully and animated 
fully by the power of God's Holy Spirit. So it's not the case 
that we're going to be ethereal, that we're going to be plucking 
some cloudy harp, and that we're going to bounce around and just 
do these weird things. No, the body that goes in is 
the body that comes out. So if you want 21-inch guns, 
start now. Don't think that at the transformation, 
that's your lot in life. But you see the point. Self, 
same, bodies is what the confession teaches. And none other. Although 
with different qualities. This is what I've suggested. 
The body of Jesus went into the tomb. The body of Jesus came 
out of the tomb. He was recognizable. He was identifiable 
visually by the wounds in his hands and in his side and in 
his feet. But he was transformed. He was glorified. He had abilities 
in his body that he didn't do prior. I mean, we could do a 
whole study on that stuff. But what we need to appreciate 
is that the same body goes in, but when we come out, we will 
be transformed. And it goes on to say, which 
shall be united again to their souls forever. So you see soul 
presently intermediate state is with God, beholding His glory. And then at the resurrection, 
body and soul will be reunited, stand before God in judgment, 
the righteous will be changed. The dead shall be raised up with 
the selfsame bodies and none other, although with different 
qualities, and then will dwell with God in heaven for all eternity. That's the teaching of scripture, 
and that's the teaching of our confession of faith. and it's 
truly a glorious thing. Look at Job 19.25-27. It's a 
beautiful passage of scripture, one I hope brings encouragement 
to all of our hearts. Job 19.25-27. And the fact that this is an 
Old Testament passage, and probably in the oldest book in the Bible. Chronologically, it was written 
prior to Moses, most scholars believe. Doesn't mean that the 
events predate the creation, because that couldn't be. But 
it just means that Job is an ancient man, and look at what 
he says in 25. For I know that my Redeemer lives, 
and He shall stand at last on the earth, and after my skin 
is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God. Not in anyone else's flesh, but 
my flesh, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, 
and not another, how my heart yearns within me. And of course, 
1 Corinthians 15 is the most detailed teaching on this subject. Certainly we go into the grave 
as the persons we are, we come out of the grave as the same 
persons, but we are transformed. So 1 Corinthians 15, long chapter, 
you can look at that later if you're so inclined, but note 
in Philippians 3.21. Philippians 3, 21, speaking about 
the return of Jesus Christ, verse 20, Our citizenship is in heaven, 
from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus 
Christ, who will transform our lowly body, that it may be conformed 
to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is 
able even to subdue all things to Himself. It's a body equipped 
and furnished and enabled to worship God Most High, world 
without end. Amen. And then the confession 
deals with the resurrection of the unjust. Paragraph 3. The bodies of the unjust shall 
by the power of Christ be raised to dishonor. So again, it's the 
exact opposite of what the Confession asserts concerning the righteous. And there are several texts indicated 
there, Acts 24, 15. Paul affirms there that there 
is a judgment for the righteous and the unrighteous. And then, 
of course, John 5, 28, and 29. We should look at that one. John 
5, 28, and 29. And we should look at all of 
them, but you realize for time purposes, we don't look at all 
of them. 5, 28 and 29. Do not marvel at 
this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves 
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. Now, I realize persons look at 
passages like these and say, well, Jesus teaches works righteousness. There are people that do good. 
Well, we take these statements in the context of the larger 
scriptural data. The only reason we do good is 
because we've been justified freely by His grace. We'll see 
this when we get to Matthew 25 and the judgment, you know, when 
it speaks concerning the sheep and the goats. Do you understand 
they're already sheep and goats while they stand before Jesus? 
It's not like they become sheep or goats based on the testimony 
given. They're already that. They're 
already sheep, or they're already goats. That final judgment affirms, 
confirms, or validates what is already transpired. And then 
the persons are given eternal life, or joy in the presence 
of God, or cast away off into hell. Well, the Confession speaks 
to this. The bodies of the unjust shall, by the power of Christ, 
be raised to dishonor. They could have ended the paragraph 
there. I'm sure Dr. Renahan knows why they didn't, 
but it almost seems like they want to end on a positive note. 
I mean, they've already said this in paragraph two, but just 
so we don't forget, the bodies of the just, by His Spirit unto 
honor and be made conformable to His own glorious body. Let's 
never forget the reality that there are great and glorious 
things in the future for the people of God. Well, by way of 
conclusion or application, as I mentioned earlier, we ought 
to appreciate the simplicity of biblical eschatology. It has 
become an area of great confusion. It has become an area of great 
speculation and curiosity. It's become an area of great 
debate in the church of Jesus Christ. Again, I'm not against 
that debate. We ought to participate. We ought 
to fight for our position. But we ought to realize and appreciate, 
on the basis of passages like John 14 and 1 Corinthians 15, 
Jesus presents a very simple scheme concerning the end. And 
as well, the Confession highlights 1 Thessalonians 4. What Paul's 
dealing with in 1 Thessalonians 4 is not the secret rapture of 
the church. He is dealing with the concept 
of those who are already dead. And so he sets forth the teaching 
that when Christ comes, those who are in the graves shall be 
raised, and we who are alive when he comes will meet him in 
the air." It's not the doctrine of the secret rapture. It really... 
I mean, how could it be a secret? It comes about by the voice of 
the archangel and the sound of a trumpet. As Al Martin says, 
it's one of the loudest secrets in history. if it's a secret, 
because, I mean, it's marked by this public, you know, nature 
and this announcement. So, you know, that's a fundamental 
and foundational text, 1 Thessalonians 4, for the secret rapture, but 
it misses the point. Paul's dealing with the situation 
that people who had lost loved ones have asked the question, 
what's going to happen to them when Jesus returns? He says, 
when Jesus returns, they're going to be raised up And we who are 
alive when He returns, we're going to meet Him in the air. 
We're going to be with Jesus. That's the point. Not a secret 
rapture of the Gentile church so that the tribulation could 
come upon unbelieving Jews and, you know, initiate the return 
of Christ to earth to set up this millennial kingdom. Now, 
maybe that might be what's going to happen, though I highly doubt 
it, but 1 Thessalonians 4 doesn't teach it. Actually, I don't believe 
that's going to happen at all, what is taught in dispensationalism. 
But the simplicity of biblical eschatology, I think, is captured 
well in the early creeds of the Christian church, the apostles. 
Say, I believe, the apostles' creed, the resurrection of the 
body and the life everlasting. Amen. The Nicene Creed, and I 
look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the 
world to come. Amen. 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, and they that have done evil 
into everlasting fire. It's simple, isn't it? And note 
that the London Baptist Confession essentially says what those early 
creeds say. Now, with just a couple of minor 
changes, just a couple of tiny changes, the London Baptist Confession, 
the Savoy Declaration, and the Westminster Confession all say 
the same thing. They didn't take, you know, a 
special season to get out charts and graphs and detailed, you 
know, schemata to chart out or map out what's going to happen 
in the future. They affirm what the Confession 
says, the intermediate state and the final resurrection. We 
need to do the same. As well, we ought to appreciate 
what I'll call the anti-Gnosticism of the Bible and the Confession. 
I think there is incipient in us to have a Gnostic tendency. We talk about the soul, we talk 
about the spirit, we talk about us being in the presence of Christ, 
you know, with our soul. We're going to be with Jesus 
in our spirit and with our bodies. God is not against our bodies. 
God is not at war with nature. Again, Al Martin. He's at war 
with our sin. He has no problem with the body. 
The body is good. In Romans 8, it says that the 
creation yearns for this redemption, and the believer even, for the 
redemption of the body. The body is good. The Bible says 
the body is good. The confession affirms that the 
body is good. And the final resurrection underscores 
that the body is good. This is the intermediate state 
when the soul goes to be with the Lord. That's not the state 
of completion or absolute fruition. What the state of completion 
and absolute fruition is, is body and soul reunited together, 
enjoying God Almighty forever and ever. We need to guard against 
an incipient Gnosticism that somehow thinks, with some philosophers 
in the history of the world, that the body is a little bit 
less or a little bit not so good. No, the body is great. God created 
it. The problem isn't the body. The 
problem is the sin that we do with the body. So God is not 
at war with nature. He's at war with sin. Well, let 
us pray. Our Father, we thank You for 
Your Word and for its clarity concerning eschatology. I pray 
that these things would encourage our hearts, especially at the 
prospect at what awaits us when we die as individuals and when 
the final resurrection comes. We see that it's the presence 
of God Most High. And Lord, in many ways it's hard 
to even consider this or think through this because we are so 
tainted by our own remaining corruption and so earthly-minded 
at times, help studies like this, help texts like these to produce 
in us that hopefulness, that comfort, that encouragement. 
And as well, God, when we know the terror of the Lord concerning 
the outcome for the unjust, help us to persuade men. And even 
this morning and evening, God, may sinners who enter into this 
place be convicted by the power of the Spirit. May they be shown 
their sin, and may they be shown the sufficiency of Jesus Christ 
as that one atonement for sinners. And we pray through Christ our 
Lord. Amen.