Theological glossary · FaithLogic

Intermediate state

The condition of the dead between death and the resurrection — for believers, conscious presence with Christ while awaiting the resurrection body.

'Intermediate' between death and the final state.

Luke 16:19–31; 23:43 ('today you will be with me in paradise'); 2 Corinthians 5:1–9 ('away from the body and at home with the Lord'); Philippians 1:21–23 ('to depart and be with Christ'); Revelation 6:9–11 (souls under the altar); Hebrews 12:23.

Held across the traditions as a real but provisional condition; the Christian hope is finally bodily (the resurrection), not a permanent disembodied 'heaven'. The Western church developed the doctrine of purgatory for the imperfectly sanctified; the East speaks of a state of waiting and growth, and prays for the departed; Protestants generally reject purgatory.

Purgatory (Catholic) vs. its rejection (Protestant); 'soul sleep' (a minority view — the dead are unconscious until the resurrection) vs. conscious presence with Christ (the majority); the degree of continuity and experience.

Open in the glossary for related terms and the doctrines this concept appears in.