The Intermediate State: Heaven

Errors regarding the intermediate state abound. We have discussed two of them, purgatory and soul sleep, but there are others, with theological surveys saying that some professing Christians believe in even such things as reincarnation. Scripture is clear that these ideas are false, giving us true teaching about what the intermediate state consists of. Today we will look at the intermediate state for those who die with faith in Christ: heaven.

Westminster Shorter Catechism 37 summarizes the biblical teaching when it says that “the souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves, till the resurrection.” For the believer, physical death represents the end of suffering and the transition of the soul into heaven, where Christ now sits at God’s right hand. Second Corinthians 5:1–10 tells us that to be away from our bodies is to be at home with the Lord Jesus Christ. Other passages make a similar point. The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 1:21–23 that death is a departure from this life to be with the Lord. This must refer to the soul’s going to be with Christ, for when people die, their bodies remain in their graves. (The exception is Christ, whose body was resurrected shortly after His death. The rest of us endure a longer period between our deaths and resurrection.)

Scripture tells us that we go to be with the Lord in a place called heaven, but it does not tell us very much about what life in the intermediate state of heaven will be like. Passages such as Revelation 6:9–11 speak of communication between God and the inhabitants of heaven, and Luke 16:19–31 describes communion between the departed saints (if indeed the parable is a picture of the afterlife, as many commentators argue). We do know that the intermediate state of heaven will be better than what we enjoy now on earth (Phil. 1:21–23).

Nevertheless, the intermediate state of heaven is not our final state even if it is better than what we have now. Best of all will be the life of our resurrected bodies, when God reunites body and soul at the last day. Dr. R.C. Sproul writes: “Life in the intermediate state is far better than life now, . . . because we are then in the immediate presence of Jesus. However, it is still not the best. The best will come at the final resurrection, when our souls will be united with our glorified bodies. We will live forever in that glorified state.”