Misconceptions Concerning the Afterlife

There is a myriad of false teachings about the afterlife. All of which rob man of the true hope offered by the Truth which declares everyone has the opportunity to have eternal life. In this lesson we will explore just as few of these more prominent beliefs.

Soul Sleep

Perhaps the greatest concerning the living saints in Thessalonica was “concerning those who have fallen asleep” (1 Th. 4:13b). “Asleep” is in reference to the death of the saints. Jesus used it in reference to the death of Jairius’ daughter (Matt. 9:24) as well as for His friend Lazarus (Jn. 11:11-13). The same phrase is used in conjunction with the martyrdom of Stephen. Pagans of the time even used “sleep” as a metaphor for “death.” In contrast, the New Testament writers never speak of a non-believer’s death as a “sleep.”

What Paul is saying here should not be taken as proof for the doctrine of soul sleep held by the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Seventh-day Adventists. This false concept of death holds that when a person dies his soul is in a state or condition of unconsciousness and will not be aware of anything until the future resurrection of the dead. Paul did not say that the soul went to sleep at death. Paul taught the Philippians that death is being with Christ. “For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” (Phil. 1:23). He wrote, “we are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8).

Annihilationism

Job asked if a man dies will he live again (14:14)? Atheists, obviously, say “No!” “There is no credible evidence that life survives the death of the body” (Humanist Manifesto II, p. 17). “Promises of immortal salvation or fear of eternal damnation are both illusory and harmful” (Ibid, p. 16).

Many denominations give many different answers that are contradictory with one another and the Bible. The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the soul of man is annihilated and therefore cannot be sent to hell. The denominations founder, Charles Taze Russell, wrote, “Many have imbibed the erroneous idea that God places our race on trial for life with the alternative of eternal torture, whereas nothing of the kind is even hinted at…” (Studies in the Scriptures, Volume 1: The Divine Plan of the Ages [Bible Students Congregation of New Brunswick, 1996, a reprint of the 1886 edition], p. 127). They further believe that “eternal torture is nowhere suggested in the Old Testament Scriptures, and only a few statements in the New Testament can be so misconstrued as to appear to teach it.” (The Divine Plan of the Ages, page 128). In their book, Let God Be True, they define what hell is. “The Bible hell is mankind’s ‘common grave’” (Let God Be True (New York: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1952), p. 92).

Universalism

The doctrine of universalism holds that every soul will be saved no matter how wicked they have been or what they believed. A loving God will never send a single soul to suffer in hell for eternity or even in purgatory temporarily. However, there are varying views on this belief. Those who hold to universalism find Biblical proof for this teaching in such passages as Acts 3:21 and Col. 1:20.

Universalism is rejected by Jesus who held that belief in Him was the only means of eternal life. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life…He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:16,36). This doctrine fails to explain why a just God will reward the wicked for eternity. Thus, it shows the life and death and resurrection of Christ to be no more than a meaningless gesture.

Purgatory

“What is purgatory” A place and state of temporary punishment after death…Who goes to purgatory? Those…1) who die while guilty of unrepented venial sins 2) who die without having done sufficient penance to pay the debt of the temporal punishment still due their past sins…Where do you go when you leave purgatory? To heaven to be with God…Can you help the souls in Purgatory? You can shorten their stay by having Masses said for them, praying for them and doing good works for them” (Catechism, 37-39).

Basically, it is a place for the purging of sins so that soul can migrate in time to heaven when purification is complete (Jessie Pergis, A Practical Catholic Dictionary, 179). Purgatory is therefore a temporary state of the soul to remove venial or lesser sins. While those guilty of mortal sins such as adultery or murder do not have a chance at purification. Those in purgatory cannot help themselves, but they can be aided by the faithful on earth. This can be accomplished by friends and relatives of the deceased paying for special masses with prayers offered for the dead and suffering soul in purgatory.

Although the only proof of Purgatory needed by the Catholic church is the authority of the church itself through its popes and church traditions, they do offer up passages of scriptures used to support this belief. Since they accept the Jewish apocryphal books as inspired, they appeal to 2 Maccabees 12:43-46. They even turned to other apocryphal books as evidence: Ecclesiasticus, Baruch with the Epistle of Jeremiah, The Song of Three Children, The Story of Susanna, The Idol Bel and the Dragon, The Prayer of Manasses, and I & II Maccabees. They also appeal to such New Testament passages as Matthew 12:31, 32; 1 Corinthians 3:11-15; and 2 Tim. 1:18.

The doctrine of purgatory is in direct conflict with the teachings of the Bible. One’s eternal destiny is sealed at death. “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27; see Lk. 16:26). Everyone will be judged by their one deeds done while they were alive. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” ( 2 Cor. 5:10; also see Ezek. 18:20; 33:12,13,18). Extra deeds of goodness do not transfer to another soul. No human has any excess good deeds beyond what he himself needs (Rom. 3:9-18,23; 1 Jn. 1:8-10; Js. 2:10; Lk. 17:10). God is not a respecter of persons by favoring the deeds and donations of the rich to shorten the time of loved ones in purgatory (Ac 10;34,35; Js. 2:1-9; 2 Cor. 8:12; Mk. 12:41-44).

Sins are only forgiven in this life not the next (2 Tim. 1:3; Js. 4:8; 1 Pet. 1:22; 2 Cor. 6:6; 1 Tim. 4:12). It is the blood of Christ alone which purges sin from the penitent, confessing soul of a saint (1 John 1:7). Purgatory is not found in the Bible, but is an addition to God’s Word (Rev. 22:18,19). Purgatory promotes moral laxity by the lost sinner and greed in the church in this life. Furthermore, “The Church does not pretend to know how much of Purgatory God remits by a partial indulgence of so many days, years, etc.” (Question Box, 1913 Ed., 413). “The Catholic Church does not pretend to know anything about the duration of the suffering of Purgatory” (Ibid., 567). Thank goodness there are no Catholic toll booths on the highway to heaven.

Death is not the end of it all. Hades, the abode of the dead, is prepared to hold both the good and evil of this world until judgment day. Although eternal punishment or reward has not been handed down by God at the Day of Judgment, yet there is a sense in which one’s destiny is sealed at the time of death. Paradise as a reward and blessing for the righteous and innocent. Tartarus as a punishment for the wicked. Where will you await final Judgment?

– Daniel R. Vess