Systematic Theology, by Louis Berkhof - New Leaven

in which believers are truly alive and fully conscious, Luke 16:19-31; I Thess. 5:10; a
state of rest and endless bliss, Rev. 14:13.
2. THE SCRIPTURAL REPRESENTATION OF THE STATE OF THE WICKED BETWEEN DEATH AND
THE RESURRECTION. The Westminster Catechism says that the souls of the wicked after
death “are cast into hell, where they remain in torments and utter darkness, reserved to
the judgment of the great day.” Moreover, it adds: “Besides these two places (heaven
and hell) for souls separated from their bodies, the Scripture acknowledgeth none.” 9
And the Second Helvetic Confession continues after the quotation cited above: “In like
manner, we believe that the unbelievers are cast headlong into hell, from whence there
is no return opened to the wicked by any offices of those who live.” 10 The Bible sheds
very little direct light on this subject. The only passage that can really come into
consideration here is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16, where hades
denotes hell, the place of eternal torment. The rich man found himself in the place of
torment; his condition was fixed forever; and he was conscious of his miserable plight,
sought mitigation of the pain he was suffering, and desired to have his brethren
warned, in order that they might avoid a similar doom. In addition to this direct proof
there is also an inferential proof. If the righteous enter upon their eternal state at once,
the presumption is that this is true of the wicked as well. We leave out of consideration
here a couple of passages, which are of uncertain interpretation, namely, I Pet. 3:19; II
Pet. 2:9.
B. THE DOCTRINE OF THE INTERMEDIATE STATE IN HISTORY.
In the earliest years of the Christian Church there was little thought of an
intermediate state. The idea that Jesus would soon return as Judge made the interval
seem to be of little consequence. The problem of the intermediate state arose when it
became apparent that Jesus would not at once return. The real problem that vexed the
early Fathers, was how to reconcile individual judgment and retribution at death with
the general judgment and retribution after the resurrection. To ascribe too much
importance to the former would seem to rob the other of its significance, and vice versa.
There was no unanimity among the early Church Fathers, but the majority of them
sought to solve the difficulty by assuming a distinct intermediate state between death
and the resurrection. Says Addison: “For many centuries the general conclusion was
widely accepted that in a subterranean Hades the righteous enjoy a measure of reward
9 Chap. XXXII.
10 Chap. XXVI.
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