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In this episode of The Reformed Brotherhood, hosts Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb begin their exploration of eschatology by addressing the intermediate state—what happens to believers between death and resurrection. Drawing from Scripture and Reformed confessions, they explain how the souls of Christians immediately pass into the presence of Christ upon death, while awaiting bodily resurrection. The hosts tackle common misconceptions about the afterlife, including soul sleep, purgatory, and the fusion of intermediate and eternal states. This foundational discussion establishes a biblical framework for understanding personal eschatology that brings comfort to believers facing mortality and grief.

Key Takeaways

• The intermediate state refers to the condition of souls between physical death and bodily resurrection at Christ's return.
• Immediate conscious presence with Christ is the experience of believers upon death, not a waiting period or unconscious state.
• The Westminster Confession teaches that "the souls of the righteous being then made perfect in holiness are received into the highest heavens where they behold the face of God in light and glory."
• No biblical support exists for purgatory, which undermines the sufficiency of Christ's work by suggesting additional purification is needed after death.
• The thief on the cross serves as a clear biblical example that believers go immediately to be with Christ upon death (Luke 23:43).
• Soul sleep theories that suggest unconsciousness after death contradict Scripture's teaching on the conscious intermediate state.
• The physical resurrection remains essential in Christian eschatology, as the soul will eventually be reunited with a glorified body.

Understanding the Intermediate State

The intermediate state is often misunderstood in contemporary Christianity. As the hosts explain, Reformed theology makes a crucial distinction between what happens to believers at death and what occurs at the final resurrection. When Christians die, their souls—the spiritual aspect of their being—immediately enter Christ's presence in a conscious state. This is not the final state, as our physical bodies remain in the grave awaiting resurrection, but it is a blessed condition where believers experience the joy of being with Christ.

The biblical foundation for this understanding comes from numerous passages, particularly Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8, where he states his preference "to be absent from the body and to be home with the Lord." Similarly, Jesus' promise to the repentant thief—"Today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43)—establishes the immediacy of the soul's entrance into Christ's presence after death. These texts undermine theories of soul sleep or post-mortem purification periods.

Why Purgatory Contradicts the Gospel

The doctrine of purgatory represents one of the most significant errors regarding the intermediate state. As the hosts discuss, purgatory presupposes that Christ's work is insufficient to fully sanctify believers at death. While proponents might argue that purgatory honors God's holiness, it actually diminishes Christ's finished work by suggesting that additional purification is needed before entering God's presence.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q.37) succinctly addresses this: "The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness and do immediately pass into glory." This reflects the biblical teaching that sanctification is completed at death for those in Christ. The notion that believers must undergo further purification fundamentally contradicts the gospel's emphasis on Christ's all-sufficient merit and imputed righteousness. As Jesse notes, purgatory suggests "what Jesus did was good enough for certain things but not all things," a position that undermines the completeness of Christ's redemptive work.

Memorable Quotes

The intermediate state is not like you transcend to different worlds. It just means between the time that you die and that your body is reunited with your soul. - Jesse Schwamb

I prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be home with the Lord... This is Paul making this clear line that Christian theology states from its very beginning, that death means the soul being with God present in conscience, aware. - Jesse Schwamb

What a theology here does is denies that Christ has the ability to make a person holy upon their death... To say that Christ can't instantly sanctify someone upon their death, that just seems blasphemous. - Tony Arsenal