DEATH, THE INTERMEDIATE STATE, THE RESURRECTION AND THE FINAL DESTINY — page 6

THE INTERMEDIATE STATE

When physical death occurs, the soul and the spirit pass into an intermediate state. Just as death is a temporary condition for the body, so also is the condition of the spirit and the soul when outside the body. All who pass into this intermediate state will one day leave it. This state has also been called “the separated state” or “the unclothed state” (2 Cor. 5:4).

The Grave or Tomb (“Queber” or “Mnemeion”)

The guardian of the body, while the spirit and the soul are separated by death, is the grave. Even though many bodies have never been properly buried (some were eaten by animals, others were burned, etc.), even so, in Scripture, a dead body, in whatever state it may be, is seen as being in the grave.

The Old Testament Hebrew word for grave, or sepulcher, is “queber”. It is a literal or physical place – an actual burial place. In the case of Abraham, that burial place was “before Mamre” (Gen. 50:13). In the case of Saul and Jonathan, it was “in Zela, in the sepulcher of his father Kish” (2 Sam. 21:14). “Queber” is something that can be dug (Gen. 50:5), and a person's body is said to be placed in it (1 Kings 13:30; 2 Kings 13:21; Jer. 26:23).

In the New Testament, the Greek word for grave is “mnemeion”. It can be translated as “tomb” (Matt. 27:60; Mark 6:29) or “sepulcher” (Matt. 23:29; John 19:41).

The grave is a temporary place for corpses, for the Lord said: “Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out” (John 5:28 – TB). More will be said about this when we consider the resurrection.