The Intermediate State

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. The intermediate state. What does the word intermediate mean? Well, one of the definitions is it's referring to being between two points.

So intermediate, you're between two points. So the intermediate state is that time period in between a believer's death and their resurrection on the last day. The intermediate state in between. Alright, did I tell you to go back to 2 Corinthians chapter 5?

Alright, well go back there now. You should always have your thumb in the main passage or your bulletin or something to turn back there quick. Alright, look at 2 Corinthians 5, starting in verse 4, Paul says,.

For we who are in this tent grown, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now he who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the spirit as a guarantee.

And that's a reference to the Holy Spirit, who gives us the assurance of our salvation. So we have that guarantee. So we who are in this tent, our physical body, Paul says that we're doing what? We who are in this tent, we groan.

We're groaning, right? Some people, it's like when you get up in the morning, you get on your feet and you just groan. Some of us groan more than others. That is true. But it's not that we just want to die and be unclothed.

No, we want to be further clothed with something better, which is most likely a reference to our glorified, resurrected bodies that we will get at the end of the age. But how long do we have to wait? And what about those who die?

What about before then? And what about this doctrine of soul sleep? Who has at least heard that term, soul sleep? Okay, so almost all of you. So let's ask, is Abraham dead? Is his soul sleeping in the dust of the ground, in the grave until the resurrection?

You say, well, Abraham's special. Maybe it's just Christians who have died in centuries past that they've ceased to exist, sleeping in their graves until Christ returns. After all, right? After all, the Apostle Paul refers to death as what?

Sleep. Jesus, in John chapter 11, in referring to Lazarus, you know what he says in verse 11? Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him. So, this is where some people have formulated this doctrine, this idea of soul sleep.

Well, that's what Jesus says. That's what Paul says. Now, listen very closely. If you are listening say, Amen. Amen. Okay, the doctrine of soul sleep is taught by the Jehovah's Witnesses. The doctrine of soul sleep is taught by the Seventh-day Adventists.

Soul sleep is not taught by New Testament Christians. Did you hear that? While back after the death of Billy Graham, I saw a video where a Seventh-day Adventist leader did a provocative message titled, Billy Graham is not in heaven.

And, of course, that, you know, the shock value and the hook, okay, I want to hear what he's going to say. Preachers do that kind of thing sometimes. But he said, if you actually watched it, he said, Billy Graham is not in heaven.

And then he paused and he said, yet. He is, his soul is asleep. Billy Graham is not in heaven yet. He is in a state of soul sleep awaiting the resurrection on the last day. Now, any Christian who watched that, any Christian who knows anything, you know the Bible halfway, just a little bit, automatically they're going to think what?

Hey, wait a minute. Paul says, absent from the body, present with the Lord. What are you talking about? That's the first thing I thought when I heard it. Look at verses six through eight. Read it again.

So, we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. We understand that. We're not with the Lord now. We're at home in the body and we're groaning. We understand that.

Verse seven, we walk by faith, not by sight. So, this does require faith. Verse eight, we are confident, yes, well pleased, rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. So, here's the thing.

That Seventh-day Adventist leader, he knew that people would automatically go to this verse and say, I don't think that he's in a state of soul sleep. He's absent from the body, present with the Lord.

So, how did he get around that? He said, well, that's true. Billy Graham's next, yes, absent from the body, present with the Lord. So, that means Billy Graham's next conscious thought will be with the Lord.

See, absent from the body, present with the Lord. So, you see what he's trying to do? He's kind of twisting the words of Scripture to fit his own viewpoint. And then any Christian who knows the Bible should think, next, what is Luke 23, verse 43?

Say, hey, wait a minute. Jesus said to the dying thief, today you will be with me in Paradise. Not just that. He said, assuredly I say to you that today you will be with me in Paradise. Oh, wait, just kidding.

You're going to have to wait 2 ,000 years until I get back. Wrong. So, you see what people do? Those who teach false doctrines, they abuse words. So, we know what it's like in our day and age, how people abuse words.

And then they twist the Scripture into a pretzel, make it fit their viewpoint. I mean, Jesus could not have spoken any more clearly. Today, you will be with me in Paradise. How does he get around that?

So, where's the false teacher? What does he do? He abuses the word today. So, Jesus said, assuredly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise. See, I'm just speaking the words today. I say to you today, on this day, at some point you'll be with me in Paradise.

That's his argument. That you're going to have to go out of existence for a couple thousand years and then I will return to resurrect you. Are you kidding me? That's my response to that. Jesus did not have to point out to the dying thief that he was speaking the words on that day.

The thief already knew that. And besides, hanging beaten on the cross, being up all night, being scourged. Hanging on the cross, Jesus would have been suffering from asphyxiation. Every word that he spoke would have been laborious.

He is not going to be using a bunch of extra words to point out the obvious. It is absurd. Instead, what was Jesus doing? He was giving the dying thief the assurance of salvation. But more than that, on that very day, he would be with the Lord in Paradise.

So, soul sleep, listen to me say it, soul sleep is a false doctrine. And let's just look at verse 8 again for a few seconds and use our brain. We are confident, yes, well pleased, rather to be absent from the body to be present with the Lord.

So, if you are absent from the body, what are you? Present with the Lord. See, it's so simple. But what is it that's absent from the body? See, something has to be absent from the body. That's what that false teacher missed or didn't address.

Something has to be absent from the body. What is it? Our soul. Our spirit. That immaterial part of us at death is absent from the body. So, where does it go? Where does it go? See, the body is sleeping.

When Paul calls it sleep and Jesus calls it sleep, he is referring to the body. The soul goes to be with the Lord. Do you know what Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes chapter 12 verse 7? Referring to death, he said, Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

That's what happens. Now turn to Luke chapter 16 and this is where we will close. So you can rest assured that your loved ones who have died in faith, they are absent from the body. That's true. But they are present with the Lord even at this moment.

They are with Jesus in paradise. Death is called sleep only in reference to the body. And it should be obvious why. When somebody is sleeping, unless they're snoring, they look like they're dead. Right?

It's kind of obvious. But also, death is called sleep because for a believer, it's only temporary. Right? That body will wake up. It will rise again. It will be replaced. The tent will be replaced by a permanent building, eternal in the heavens.

So really, deceased believers are not really dead. They are alive. Their body sleeps. Their soul is in the presence of God. This is the intermediate state. And I will admit to you, I don't know exactly what's going on, what they're doing.

Okay? They don't have a body. So what state are they in? Their soul, their spirit, what are they doing? They're not walking the streets of gold. That's the eternal state, presumably. So there's a lot of things that maybe we're not really sure about.

But how are we sure about these things, about eternal things? Because we're sure because Jesus tells us. And he does tell us something here in Luke 16, starting in verse 19. What we're going to see is that believers are conscious and they're comforted.

Luke 16, verse 19. There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus. This is a different Lazarus, okay?

Full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom.

The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, Have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame.

His body's in the ground. What's being tormented? His soul. His spirit. Verse 25. But Abraham said, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted and you are tormented.

One final question. Did the angels carry the body of Lazarus to Abraham's bosom? No. They carried his soul. His spirit. As soon. Here's the point. As soon as Lazarus died, he was conscious and he was comforted.

Any believer who dies. They're conscious. They're comforted. You see, as human beings made in the image and likeness of God, we have been given eternal life through faith. That means life is eternal. It continues from this world into the next.

Therefore, we have nothing to fear. We have nothing to be anxious about. Nothing to fear. For we are confident. Amen. We are confident that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Let's close.

The Comfort of the Intermediate State for Believers

Father, we thank you for this amazing promise that the death, burial and resurrection of Christ is so powerful. It's powerful enough to sustain us forever and ever, giving us eternal life. Lord, if there's anyone listening, anyone here, anyone listening online or on the radio later on.

If they have never given their life to Christ, I pray that they would do it now. So that they would not end up like the rich man who was in torment in Hades. Lord, save the lost. We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen. Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Moores Corner Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, moorescornerchurch .com.

And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.