[ 3 sq. ; Brit, and For. Lrang. lieriew, 18G8, p. 631 ; Lea, I nisi, of San rdntid < 'idUiarij, p. 432 sq. ; Hardwick, Bi^f- oniiallm ( si'c Iiul.) ; Picrcr, i'nir. Lex. s. v. (J. H. W.)
Intermediate State, a phrase employed to de- note the state or situation of disembodied souls during the interval between death and the resurrection. There have been several theories upon the subject. See Ha- des,
The condition of the soul after death cannot but be a subject of intense concern to every thoughtful mind. Pagan philosophers have groped in the dark for some clew to guide their aspirations after immortality, but have at best attained only surmises and conjectures. Of all the millions that have crossed the dread gulf which separates time from eternity, none have ever re- turned to bring tidings of what befell them the moment after they launched from the shores of mortality. Rev- elation alone has cast a ray across the mighty void, and its light has gradually grown clearer and more penetra- ting, until in the New Testament we are no longer left in any measure to doubt whether, '• if a man die, he shall live again." We rest assured that not only shall the soul survive the shock of dissolution, but the body also shall eventually join it in an endless reunion.
Still the question recurs. What will be the internal state and what the external circumstances of the spirit during the period between death and the resurrection ? Respecting this little is definitely said in the Scriptures, and it is therefore left for speculation to fill up the lack of information on this interesting theme, guided by such hints as are casually thrown out by the sacred writers, and such considerations as the ascertained na- ture and destiny of man afford,
I. The popidar sentiment or belief of Christians — ex- pressed rather in the form of hope than as a theory — appears to be that the righteous enter heaven immedi- ately after they pass away from this world. Such pas- sages as the Saviour's declaration to the dying thief, " This day thou shalt be v,i;h me in Paradise," and the parable of Dives and Lazarus, are thought especially to support this view; and hence believers have fearlesslj'^ cast themselves into the arms of death, expecting to awake the next moment in the full realities of everlast- ing glory.
Now we would not for all the world deprive dying j saints of a particle of the consolation which the Gospel is designed to yield, nor is it any part of our present purpose to Aveaken anticipations of the future rest in the bosom of any, however sanguine and impatient. But the known truth that a long — probably immense — in- terval of time will elapse between the decease of Chris- tians of the present age — and certainly of past centuries — and the revival of their bodies at the general judg- ment, is suffici^it to prove that they do not instantly pass from the Church militant to the New Jerusalem above. Let us calmly and logically consider what may be ascertained as to tlie experience and surroundings of the soul during this intermediate period. See Immor- tality.
The topic calls for a volume rather than an essay, and, as we must be brief, we make but two other pre- liminary remarks. The first is that we have not space here to discuss the above and kindred passages of the New Testament; but we direct the reader to professed commentaries for their exposition, and the solution of their bearing upon the point in question, contenting ourselves here with simply observing that they are figu- rative in their phraseology', and that, whatever they may mean, they cannot be intended to contradict the fact of a real space between death and the resurrection. Our other prefatory remark is, that as this is legitimate- ly debatable ground, no essential item of creed or or- thodoxy being involved in it, we ought not to incur any odium, theologictim of unsoundness in the faith should our discussion lead to new and surprising conclusions. This last remark is especially pertinent in view of the fact that even orthodox Christians in all ages have en-
INTERMEDIATE STATE 6
tertained very different views on this subject, as will appear from the following enumeration of opinions.
II. The theory of a state of .ileej), insensibility, or un- consciousness. It was taught as early as A.D. 248 by the Arabian Thnetopsychites, whom Origen combated. It was thought to be held by pope John XXII, and was disapproved by the University of Paris and pope Bene- dict XII. It was revived by the Swiss Anabaptists un- der the name of P.xijchopannydda, and was opposed by Calvin. And in later times it lias been started anew, in a form more or less distinct, by Jolin Hej'n, Wetstein, Sulzer, Keinhard, and Whately, and by a new sect in Iowa. The defenders of a state of unconsciousness pro- duce such texts as Psa. xvii, 15; 1 Thess. iv, 14. In opposition are cited 2 Cor. v, 8 ; Phil, i, 23 ; Matt, xvii, 3 ; Luke xvi, 23 ; xxiii, 43 ; Rev. vi, 9.
III. The theory of Purfjatory. That Christ preached to the souls detained in Hades, as the patriarchs or oth- ers, was held in the 2d and 3d centuries by Justin, Ire- nreiis, Tertidlian, and Clem. Alexandrinus. It was sup- posed to be warranted by 1 Pet. iii, 19; Acts ii, 27; liom. X, 7 ; Eph. iv, 9 ; Matt, xii, 31. The idea of a purgatorial tire is more or less obscurely hinted in the writings of Clem. Alexandrinus, Origen, and Augustine. But tlie complete scheme owes its paternity to Gregory the Great, who propounded it as an article of faith, along with intercessory masses for the dead ; finding a supposed warrant in 2 Mace, xii, 46. In opposition to the notion of a Purgatory, it may be said that it is a fiction borrowed from paganism ; that it is repugnant to reason and common sense; that it is contradictory to express assertions of Scripture (Heb. xii, 23 ; Rev. xiv, 13; xxii, 11); that it is subversive of the cardinal doc- trines of the Gospel, the atonement and justification by faith in Christ ; that it robs the Christian of evangel- ical peace and consolation ; and that it was unknown to ths primitive Church. Even Augustine, when he pray- ed for the increase of his deceased mother's happiness, denied the existence of any midille place. (So also Clem. Rom. lip. 2 ad Cor.) The article, "he descended into hell," was not admitted into the Apostles' Creed, nor those of the East, until the 5th century. It appeared first in the Creed of Ariminum, A.D.358,"and in that of Aquileia, A.D.381 (Rufinus,Z>e Symbol). See Wihon, Illustra- tions from Apost. Fathers, p. 108. Comp. Purgatory.