June 12, 2005

THE STATE OF THE DEAD

Revelation 21:4

 

   On a separate sheet accompanying today's bulletin you will find the paragraph on "The State of the Dead," recently removed from our Doctrinal Statement. You will also find the complete printed texts for all referenced Bible verses listed in that paragraph. This is to assist the reader to see whether or not these verses adequately explain and shed light on the doctrines stated in the paragraph.

   Even if the listed verses do not explain and support the doctrines stated, this does not necessarily mean they are false, nor does it mean that they cannot be supported by other Bible verses. It is an exercise worthy of our time to see what biblical support or disagreement can be found of the subjects covered here.

   Many books and tracts have been written covering the state of the dead. There is wide disagreement. The meanings of important words must be carefully searched out, not only by a dictionary, but by Bible usages, concordances and other language study helps.

   Care must be exercised as one considers the human spirit, soul, and body, the meaning of each, and their interrelationships. We must understand the relation of man to God Who created him, the fall in sin, and God's plan of redemption. Heaven and hell must be added to the list as well as mortality and immortality, corruption and incorruption. The list is not short as your study will soon confirm.

   Special care must be exercised to understand the meanings of all verses in their biblical setting. If God is speaking about resurrection, take care what ideas one deduces about "the state of the dead." For instance, the Lord answered the Sadducees about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that, God "is not the God of the dead, but...of the living" (Mark 12:27). Yet at the time of his remarks, these men had been dead most of 2,000 years. Was the Lord referring to them in their dead state or speaking of their future resurrection as a fact in the eyes of God? Was He describing a present state of dead believers? The Bible does not use terms that infest the writings of men on these subjects. The Bible speaks of the dead as asleep, yet says nothing about "soul sleep." The Bible does not know an"intermediate state.