Our first parents being seduced by the subtilty and temptation of Satan, sinned in eating the forbidden fruit… By this sin they fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and so became dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body… From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual transgressions.
(Westminster Confession of Faith, Of the Fall of Man)
How long will you people turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?
Psalm 4:2
Throughout the course of human history, many, having rejected the One True God, have pursued delusions and false gods. In this chapter, we will begin by comparing three ways mankind has answered the following questions.
What is the state of men after death?
What becomes of the body and the soul?
We will conclude by examining to how the Westminster Confession of Faith, written in 1646 as a concise summary of the teachings of the Bible, answers these questions.
I. First, human beings have both a body and a soul.
As we have seen, human beings, created in the image and likeness of God, are creatures having both a material body and a non-material soul.
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Genesis 2:7
What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? What can anyone give in exchange for their soul? Matthew 16:25-26
Do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. Matthew 10:28
What happens to the body and soul of man after this mortal life?
Some falsely teach that after death the body ceases to exist never to live again, while the soul lives on eternally.
A. Gnosticism
Greek or gnostic dualism asserted that there is something inherently evil or imperfect about anything physical and therefore saw the body as an evil container for the pure soul. For the Gnostic, salvation ultimately meant redemption from the body when the soul is finally released from the prison house of the flesh.
“If the soul is to be in bliss it must be free of all contact with the body. (Porphyry, Quoted by Augustine, The City of God, Penguin Classics)
This gnostic concept is gaining traction in the popular culture today in an unexpected way. According to a recent poll by the Williams Institute, “one in five people between the ages of 13-17 identify as transgender.” Transgenders and their supporters believe that the pure self, the soul, may have been born in the wrong body. The object of transitioning to another gender is to free the soul from the wrong body. (williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu)
Perhaps you have heard gnostic philosophy in common cultural sayings:
Embrace your inner light.
Find bliss by following your heart.
Be true to yourself.
The truth lies within you.
People do not have souls, people are souls.
B. Eastern Religions
The Upanishads teach that there is only one single fundamental reality called Brahman, or god. Nothing exists that is not Brahman. If anything that is not god appears to exist it is simply Maya or an illusion. This means that you are an illusion. The goal of life after death is to be reabsorbed into the one. Your goal is to lose all distinction and all personality, comparable to a drop of water entering the ocean. Death ends the illusion of the individual body.
“Man is god’s temporary self-forgetfulness. The ultimate self is free from sin, free from death, and grief, free from hunger and thirst, which desires nothing and imagines nothing.” (Radakrishnan, The Philosophy of Hinduism, Niyogi Books)
After reading the “Tibetan Book of the Dead” John Lennon wrote the lyrics to “Tomorrow Never Knows”
Turn off your mind, Relax, float down stream
It is not dying, it is not dying.
Lay down your thoughts, surrender to the void
It is shining, it is shining
That you may see, the meaning of within
It is being, it is being
Why turn off your mind? Why lay down your thoughts?
“Thoughts of self is the sickness of the mind…For this selfless self there is neither mind nor objects.” (Yuan-men, Zen Master, Shambhala Publications)
Buddhist priest, Kobayashi Issa, taught his students that life was an illusion that passed as quickly as the morning dew. However, after the death of his child he wrote the following poem expressing the inconsistency of his worldview. His religion taught that the world is an illusion and yet he felt real pain at the loss of his daughter.
The world is dew
The world is dew
And yet…
And yet…
(Brief Poems, Word Press)
The late theologian, Francis Schaeffer, recounted a discussion he had in an Oxford University dormitory with a group of Hindu students. The students insisted that everything, including good and evil, was just an illusion. Rather than arguing the point, Schaeffer rose from his chair, picked up the boiling teapot from the hot plate, and held it up, feigning pouring it over the student’s head. Suddenly the student became a believer in real evil.
Like Kobayashi Issa, the students discovered that their philosophies sounded great until they ran headlong into God’s reality. The creation is not an illusion. Death is real. Evil is real.
C. New Age Philosophy
In 1993 James Redfield wrote The Celestine Prophesy, borrowing ideas from the Eastern and Gnostic religions, to teach how you may get in touch with the divine.
“As we all evolve toward the best completion of our spiritual missions we will move into ever higher energy states, ultimately transforming our bodies into spiritual form and uniting this dimension of existence with the afterlife dimension, ending the cycle of birth and death. As we continue to evolve spiritually our bodily state will continue to increase in vibration until we become purely spiritual beings here on earth. As this occurs we will live, not just in the physical dimension but in the afterlife dimension as well. The two dimensions unite as one ending death.”
“In death the soul is set free from the constraints of the physical world…In death we are reunited with our true selves.” (Dean Koontz, After Death, Thomas & Mercer)
In an interview, famed anthropologist, Jane Goodall explained,
“I am convinced, by certain experiences, that there is, indeed, a state of beingness that does not end with the physical death. My belief gives me an inner peace and brings meaning to my life.” (Living Philosophies, Doubleday)
In contrast to these views, the Biblical view is that the body is created good and has no inherent evil in its physical substance. Yet the body suffers from moral corruption just like the soul. Christianity, far from teaching redemption from the body, teaches redemption of the body.
II. Second, naturalism teaches that there is no soul but the elements of the body live on after death.
After death the body lives forever inasmuch as it decomposes and reenters the cycle of life.
The earth is a living organism, of greater size but probably no more complex than any other biological organism. We are the equivalent of cells within the body of that creature. (Lewis Thomas, The Lives of Cells, Penguin)
Naturalism appears to me to be the most direct and perhaps the only honest way to combine the best of religion and science. (Edward Wilson, Creation, W.W. Norton)
We are all made of stardust and connected to the vast cosmos… (Lawrence Krauss, A Universe From Nothing, Atria Books)
III. Third, perhaps a more pessimistic variety of naturalism teaches there is no soul and eventually even the elements of the universe will be destroyed.
After the death of the body there is nothing.
I’ve got this beautiful mind, and its going to die, and it’ll all be gone. I don’t believe that I’m ever going to heaven or hell. I think that when I die there will be nothingness. (Isaac Asimov, Living Philosophies)
Universe will end with the remaining black holes evaporating to nothing leaving eternal darkness. (Brian Cox, physicsforums.com)
Man must realize that he is an emanation of nothingness and that nothingness will devour his clever constructs. (Czeslaw Milosz, Living Philosophies)
IV. Fourth, Christianity teaches that after death, the soul is immortal, and the body will be raised to life.
After death the soul, having an immortal subsistence, neither dies nor sleeps. The body, which returns to dust, shall be raised again and given life.
Westminster Confession of Faith, (WCF) Chapter 32, Of the State Of Men After Death, and the Resurrection of the Dead:
A. WCF 32 I: The bodies of men after death return to dust, and see corruption;
For you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Genesis 3:19
For David, after he had served his own generation, by the will of God fell asleep, was buried with his fathers and saw corruption. Acts 13:36
Our present bodies are corruptible and will indeed decay or, in some instances be torn asunder or fragmented in death. (R.C. Sproul, The Last Enemy, Ligonier)
WCF: But their souls, which neither die nor sleep, having an immortal subsistence, immediately return to God who gave them.
Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:7
And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43
The souls of both believers and the reprobate continue after death conscious and active. (A.A. Hodge, Westminster Confession Commentary, Banner of Truth)
It has always been the firm conviction of the Church of Jesus Christ that the soul continues to live even after its separation from the body. (Louis Berkhoff, Systematic Theology, Eerdmans)
Though death brings rest to the soul and the Bible often refers to death by the euphemism of sleep, it is not proper to assume that in the intermediate state the soul sleeps or that we remain unconscious or in a state of suspended animation until the final resurrection. (R.C. Sproul)
WCF: The souls of the righteous, being made perfect in holiness, are received into the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God in the light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies;
I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne of the Lamb… Revelation 7:9
Everyone whose name is found written in the book – will be delivered…Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. Daniel 12:1-3
You will shine among them like the stars in the sky… Philippians 2:15; 3:20-21
The souls of believers are at their death made perfect and are immediately introduced to the presence of Christ and continue to enjoy bright revelations of God and the society of the holy angels. (A.A. Hodge)
The souls of the pious, having ended the toil of their warfare, enter into blessed rest, were in glad expectation they await the enjoyment of promised glory. (John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion)
The position of the Reformed Church is that the souls of believers immediately after death enter upon the glories of heaven. The soul of the believer, when separated from the body enters the presence of Christ. It is a state in which believers are truly alive and fully conscious. (Louis Berkhoff)
WCF: and the souls of the wicked are cast into hell, where they remain in torments and utter darkness, reserved to the judgment of that great day.
The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away…he called to him, “Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire. Luke 16:22-24
Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs. Acts 1:24-25 Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. Matthew 27:5
And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home, these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great day. Jude 6
To the sinner death is the beginning of utter misery, to the saint it is the usher into his real blessedness. (R.L. Dabney, Systematic Theology)
The souls of the reprobate are at once introduced into the place provided for the devil and his angels, and continue in utter misery. (A.A. Hodge)
The lot of the reprobate is doubtless the same as that which Jude assigns to the devils; to be held in chains until they are dragged to the punishment appointed them. (John Calvin)
WCF: Besides these two places for souls separated from their bodies, the Scripture acknowledgeth none.
It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. Hebrews 9:27
Mankind’s probation ends at death. Our ultimate destiny is decided when we die. There is no hope of a second chance of repentance after death, and there is no place of purging such as purgatory to improve our future condition. (R.C. Sproul)
Death is not to be regarded as a disaster, for the only thing that makes death evil is what comes after death. Those who must inevitably die ought not to worry overmuch about what accident will cause death, but about their destination after dying. (St. Augustine, City of God)
B. WCF 32 II: At the last day, such as are found alive shall not die, but be changed:
Behold I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the corruptible must put on incorruptible, and this mortal must put on immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
We who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. 1 Thessalonians 4:17
At the coming of Christ, the church will experience a rapture – being taken up in the air to meet Christ as he comes. The rapture will not be secret but open and manifest. It’s purpose will not be to whisk the elect away from the earth for a while until Christ returns for a “second” Second Coming. The purpose of the rapture is to allow the saints to meet Jesus in the air as he returns to be included in his entourage during his triumphal descent from heaven. (R.C. Sproul)
WCF: And all the dead shall be raised up with the self-same bodies, and none other, although with different qualities, which shall be united again to their souls for ever.
And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God. Job 19:26
So also in the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44
We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so these dying bodies will be swallowed up in life. 2 Corinthians 5:1-4, 8-9
The Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Philippians 3:20-21
All that has perished from the living body, or from the corpse after death, will be restored…clothed in incorruptibility and immortality. Even if through the savagery of the enemy it has been ground utterly into dust and scattered it cannot be withdrawn from the power of the Almighty Creator, ‘not a hair of it’s head will perish.” (St. Augustine)
At his command bodies will be restored to the vigor which they had lost. As to substance we shall be raised again in the same flesh we now bear, but the quality will be different. The corruptible body will not perish or vanish, but, having laid aside corruption, will put on incorruption. (John Calvin)
We know that when the soul leaves it the body is resolved into its original chemical elements, which are gradually incorporated with the shifting currents of matter on the surface of the earth, however, in spite of this flux, the real identity of our bodies is preserved. There are many changes in the material elements and form of the body between birth and death and yet the body remains one and the same throughout. The body of the resurrection will be in the same degree one with the body of death as the body of death is one with the body of birth. (A.A. Hodge)
C. WCF 32 III: The bodies of the unjust shall, by the power of Christ, be raised to dishonor.
There will be a resurrection of the dead, both the just and the unjust. Acts 24:15
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. John 5:28-29
To be consumed by death would be a light punishment if they were not brought before the Judge to be punished for their obstinacy, whose vengeance without end and measure they have provoked against themselves. (John Calvin)
The immortality of the Bible is that of the whole man, body and soul…the continuance of our consciousness, memory, mental, and personal identity, of the same soul in the same body. (R.L. Dabney)
The greatest and worst of all deaths is where death does not die. (St. Augustine)
WCF: the bodies of the just, by his Spirit, unto honor, and made conformable to his own glorious body.
As we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly man. 1 Corinthians 15:49
Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to his own glorious body. Philippians 3:20-21
Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing praises you who dwell in the dust. Isaiah 26:19
The body of the believer is to be made, ‘like unto Christ’s glorious body’ and as members of Christ, all that is essential to them will be ultimately preserved and brought to glorious resurrection. (A.A. Hodge)
What is needed for the soul’s life of bliss is not the escape from any kind of body but the possession of an imperishable body. And what imperishable body could be more fitting for their joy than the body in which, when it was perishable, they endured sorrow? (St. Augustine)
Death is the penalty of all who are born, yet it becomes the glory of those who are reborn. (St. Augustine)
Epitaph of Benjamin Franklin:
The body of B. Franklin, printer;
Like the cover of an old book,
Its contents torn out,
And stript of its lettering and building,
Lies here, food for worms.
But the work shall not be wholly lost;
For it will, as he believed, appear once more,
In a new and more perfect edition,
Corrected and amended.