DEATH, THE INTERMEDIATE STATE, THE RESURRECTION AND THE FINAL DESTINY — page 9

Paradise

The righteous in “sheol” or “hades” are in “paradise” with Christ (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:1-4; Rev. 2:7). “Paradise” means “the garden of delights” and describes the state of the righteous in heaven resting in ecstasy. The apostle Paul equates it with the “third heaven”, which is the immediate presence of God (2 Cor. 12:1-4).

The righteous in “paradise” would include all those who died in the faith, and also those who died in infancy and were below the age of understanding (2 Sam. 12:23; 1 Kings 14:13). The Lord said: “Their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 18:10). He used the word “angels” for their spirit outside the body. It is also used with Peter in Acts 12:15. While the soul and spirit of infants who depart are in heaven (paradise), they are not part of the Church of God. Those who make up the Church were sealed with the Spirit of God upon believing the gospel of their salvation (Eph. 1:13). This requires faith and some understanding of the message of the gospel. People of this class of infants who have departed would be among the friends “of the Bridegroom” (John 3:29). They will have a blessed portion with Christ in the resurrection and will reign with Him in the Millennium over the Earth.

It is said that the saints who are in “paradise” are “unclothed” (2 Cor. 5:4), and that they are also “with Christ, for that is far better” (Phil. 1:23; Luke 23:43). They are in heaven, but have not yet been glorified. They are waiting (as we are waiting on Earth) for the coming of the Lord. When He comes, He will bring about the first resurrection, at which time they (as well as we) will be glorified. Both the saints alive on Earth and the saints who have departed are waiting – the difference is that the departed saints are in a brighter waiting room in heaven. More will be said about this when we consider the resurrection.

The Jews believed that their ancestor Abraham was in the highest place of happiness. Therefore, when the Lord spoke of Lazarus being in “Abraham's bosom”, they clearly understood that He was referring to this state of happiness (Luke 16:22). This is a figurative term; there is no literal place in Abraham's bosom for the blessed righteous.

As mentioned earlier, the gospel shed much more light on the intermediate state than what the Old Testament saints had. Now we can speak more definitively about the righteous in that condition. Therefore, in the New Testament, the word “hades” almost disappears in application to the righteous. It is used only twice in that way: when speaking of the Lord when He was in the out-of-body state (Acts 2:27), and for the saints at the time of the first resurrection (1 Cor. 15:55 – Greek text). The reason for this is that, once we know specifically the condition of the saints as being in “paradise”, it is not necessary to use the vague and general term “hades”.

To illustrate this, we can speak of a person we know as having gone to Great Britain. But after we know exactly where he is, we speak of him at the specific place to which he went. We do not say only that the person is in Great Britain; we say that he is in London. Therefore, when we refer to believers who have departed from this world through death, we do not say that they are in “hades”, although they are. Christian understanding on this subject allows us to say that they are “with Christ” in heaven – in “paradise”.

Although the departed righteous are in an intermediate state, being separated from their body, their soul and spirit are in a fixed condition of blessedness in “paradise”. When they are resurrected and glorified in the first resurrection, they will continue throughout all eternity in that state of happiness.