Of the State of Men after Death, and of the Resurrection from the Dead, XXXII:1

The bodies of men, after death, return to dust, and see corruption: but their souls, which neither die nor sleep, having an immortal subsistence, immediately return to God who gave them: the souls of the righteous, being then made perfect in holiness, are received into the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God, in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies. And the souls of the wicked are cast into hell, where they remain in torments and utter darkness, reserved to the judgment of the great day. Beside these two places, for souls separated from their bodies, the Scripture acknowledges none.

We have come finally to the Confession's penultimate chapter. As is typical of systematic treatments of Christian doctrine the final subject taken up is that of the last things. This brief chapter concerns itself with the fate of men upon death. All men see death. Their corruptible bodies decompose and return to the earth. But their souls, according to this statement, have "an immortal subsistance." This is a controversial assertion. The inherent immortality of the soul is a Platonic teaching and is not necessarily found in Scripture. It may be more in keeping with biblical thought to speak of the human soul as possessing an everlasting existance, which is not a native characteristic but is granted and sustained by God himself. In any event, the soul continues to exist after the death of the physical body. It does not die, neither does it sleep (in contradistinction to teachings from other traditions).

Instead, the soul has an eternal destiny, one of two. The souls of the righteous in Christ live in glorious perfection, having been thoroughly sanctified and made fit by God for his heaven. There they wait for the final redemption of their bodies and their recreation as glorified humans who will live and reign with Christ forever. The souls of the unrighteous, however, go to hell, the place prepared for Satan, his demons, and them. It is described as a place of "torments and utter darkness." And their status after the resurrection will be worse than it was before.

There is no other destiny after death. The Roman Catholic teachings on limbo and purgatory are not biblical and are therefore false. Similarly, the Scriptures do not speak of annihilation, an idea that unhappily has obtained some purchase amongst evangelical Protestants.

Tomorrow: The great hope of the Christian.