Intermediate State of the Dead

Justin Martyr, The First Apology Direct teaching

For let even necromancy, and the divinations you practise by immaculate children, and the evoking of departed human souls, and those who are called among the magi, Dream-senders and Assistant-spirits (Familiars), and all that is done by those who are skilled in such matters —let these persuade you that even after death souls are in a state of sensation;

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book II Direct teaching

1. The Lord has taught with very great fulness, that souls not only continue to exist, not by passing from body to body, but that they preserve the same form [in their separate state] as the body had to which they were adapted, and that they remember the deeds which they did in this state of existence, and from which they have now ceased,—in that narrative which is recorded respecting the rich man and that Lazarus who found repose in the bosom of Abraham.

Arnobius, Against the Heathen Direct teaching

...re cast in, and being annihilated, pass away uselessly in everlasting destruction. For theirs is an intermediate state, as has been learned from Christ's teaching. They are such that, on the one hand, they may perish if they have not known God, and on the other hand be delivered from death if they have given heed to His threats and His offered favors. And to make known what is unknown, this is man's real death, this which leaves nothing behind. For what is seen by the eyes is only the separation of soul from body, not the final end, annihilation. This, I say, is man's real death, when souls that do not know God are consumed in long-protracted torment with raging fire, into which certain fiercely cruel beings shall cast them, beings who were unknown before Christ and brought to light only by His wisdom.

Athenagoras, The Resurrection of the Dead Direct teaching

and if reason does not find this happening either in this life (for the award according to merit finds no place in the present existence, since many atheists and persons who practice every iniquity and wickedness live on to the last, unvisited by calamity, while, on the contrary, those who have manifestly lived an exemplary life in respect of every virtue, live in pain, in insult, in calumny and outrage, and suffering of all kinds) or after death (for both together no longer exist, the soul being separated from the body, and the body itself being resolved again into the materials out of which it was composed, and no longer retaining anything of its former structure or form, much less the remembrance of its actions): the result of all this is very plain to every one — namely, that, in the language of the apostle, this corruptible (and dissoluble) must put on incorruption, 1 Corinthians 15:54 in order that those who were dead, having been made alive by the resurrection, and the parts that were separated and entirely dissolved having been again united, each one may, in accordance with justice, receive what he has done by the body, whether it be good or bad.

Athenagoras, The Resurrection of the Dead Supporting witness

For either death is the entire extinction of life, the soul being dissolved and corrupted along with the body, or the soul remains by itself, incapable of dissolution, of dispersion, of corruption, while the body is corrupted and dissolved, retaining no longer any remembrance of past actions, nor sense of what it experienced in connection with the soul.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book I Direct teaching

that is, the intermediate habitation. In this intermediate place, also, shall the souls of the righteous repose;

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book V Direct teaching

For as the Lord “went away in the midst of the shadow of death,” where the souls of the dead were, yet afterwards arose in the body, and after the resurrection was taken up [into heaven], it is manifest that the souls of His disciples also, upon whose account the Lord underwent these things, shall go away into the invisible place allotted to them by God, and there remain until the resurrection, awaiting that event;

Tertullian, De Anima (On the Soul) Direct teaching

...in the air with Arius? Or around the moon with the Endymions of the Stoics? No, you tell me, but in Paradise, where the patriarchs and prophets have already gone from Hades in the company of the Lord's resurrection. Then how is it that the region of Paradise, which was shown to John in the Spirit as being under the altar in Revelation 6:9, shows no souls there except the souls of the martyrs? And how is it that the very brave martyr Perpetua, on the day of her suffering, saw only her fellow martyrs there in the revelation of Paradise that she received? Is it not because the sword guarding the entrance allowed no one to enter except those who had died in Christ and not in Adam? A new kind of death for God, that is, the special death for Christ, is admitted into the receiving room of the dead, which has been specially changed and prepared to receive this newcomer. Notice, then, the difference between a pagan and a Christian in death. If you must give up your life for God, as the Comforter advises, it will not be in mild fevers and on soft beds, but in the sharp sufferings of martyrdom. You must take up the cross and carry it after your Master, just as He Himself taught you in Matt

Origen, De Principiis (On First Principles) Direct teaching

I think, therefore, that all the saints who depart from this life will remain in some place situated on the earth, which holy Scripture calls paradise, as in some place of instruction, and, so to speak, class-room or school of souls, in which they are to be instructed regarding all the things which they had seen on earth, and are to receive also some information respecting things that are to follow in the future, as even when in this life they had obtained in some degree indications of future events, although through a glass darkly, all of which are revealed more clearly and distinctly to the saints in their proper time and place.

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness

...n of the royal body of Christ, both in your churches and in the dormitories. At the funerals of the departed, go with them while singing, if they were faithful in Christ. For "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." And again, "O my soul, return to your rest, for the Lord has done you good." And elsewhere, "The memory of the just is with praises." Proverbs 10:7 And, "The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God." Wisdom 3:1 For those who have believed in God, although they are asleep, are not dead. For our Savior says to the Sadducees, "But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what is written, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? God, therefore, is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to Him." Exodus 3:6; Luke 20:38 Therefore, among those who live with God, even their very relics are not without honor. For even Elisha the prophet, after he had fallen asleep, raised a dead man who had been killed by the Syrian raiders. For his body touched the bones of Elisha, and he rose and came back to life. Now this would not have happened unless the body of Elisha had been holy. And chast

Justin Martyr, The Discourse to the Greeks Supporting witness

...t was deeply submerged, it returns to Him who made it. For it is fitting that it be restored to the state from which it departed, the state where every soul once was or is.

Tertullian, De Anima (On the Soul) Supporting witness

No, but in Paradise, you tell me, whither already the patriarchs and prophets have removed from Hades in the retinue of the Lord's resurrection.

Methodius, Oration Concerning Simeon and Anna Supporting witness

... Lord and Creator, to fashion us again to immortality. And You have graciously given us a return to Paradise by means of Him who separated us from the joys of Paradise. And by means of Him who has power to forgive sins (Mark 2:10), You have blotted out the handwriting that was against us (Colossians 2:4). Lastly, by means of Him who is a partaker of Your throne and who cannot be separated from Your divine nature, You have given us the gift of reconciliation and access to You with confidence, so that, by the Lord who recognizes the sovereign authority of none, by the true and almighty God, the subscribed sanction, as it were, of so many and such great blessings might make the justifying gifts of grace sure and unquestionable rights for those who have obtained mercy. And this very thing the prophet had announced before in the words: "No ambassador, nor angel, but the Lord Himself saved them; because He loved them, and spared them, and He took them up, and exalted them." And all this was not of works of righteousness which we have done (Titus 3:5), nor because we loved You. For our first earthly forefather, who was honorably entertained in the delightful dwelling of Paradise, despi

Hippolytus, Against Plato Direct teaching

And this is the passage about demons. But now we must speak about Hades, where the souls of both the righteous and the unrighteous are kept. Hades is a place in the created order, rough and under the earth, where the light of the world does not shine. And since the sun does not shine in that place, there must be continual darkness there. This place has been appointed, as it were, to be a guardhouse for souls. Angels stand there as guards, giving temporary punishments, according to each person's deeds, for different kinds of character. And in this place there is a certain area set apart by itself, a lake of unquenchable fire, into which we suppose no one has yet been thrown. For it has been prepared for the day appointed by God, when one sentence of righteous judgment will justly be applied to all. And the unrighteous, and those who did not believe God, who have honored as God the useless works of human hands, idols made by themselves, will be sentenced to this endless punishment. But the righteous will receive the incorruptible and unfading kingdom. Indeed, at present they are kept in Hades, but not in the same place as the unrighteous. For there is one descent to this place, at th

Origen, Commentary on Matthew Supporting witness

...you the keys of the kingdom of heaven," is spoken in a way consistent with the words, "The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). For he is worthy to receive from the same Word the keys of the kingdom of heaven, who is strengthened against the gates of Hades so that they do not prevail against him. He receives, as it were, as a prize, the keys of the kingdom of heaven, because the gates of Hades had no power against him, so that he might open for himself the gates that were closed to those who had been conquered by the gates of Hades. And he enters, as a temperate man, through an opened gate, the gate of temperance, by the key that opens temperance. And as a righteous man, he enters by another gate, the gate of righteousness, which is opened by the key of righteousness. And so it is with the rest of the virtues. For I think that for every virtue of knowledge, certain mysteries of wisdom are opened up to him who has lived according to virtue, corresponding to the kinds of the virtue. The Savior gives to those who are not mastered by the gates of Hades as many keys as there are virtues. These open an equal number of gates, which correspond to each virtue acc

Origen, Commentary on John Supporting witness

...en the Son of God takes flesh and bones, is one of His sandals. I think the other is the descent to Hades, whatever that Hades may be, and the journey with the Spirit to the prison. As for the descent into Hades, we read in Psalm 16, "You will not leave my soul in Hades," and as for the journey to the prison with the Spirit, we read in Peter's Catholic Epistle, 1 Peter 3:18-20, "Put to death," he says, "in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit; in which also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, which at one time were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God once waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared." He, then, who is able rightly to explain the meaning of these two journeys is able to untie the strap of the sandals of Jesus. He does this by bending down in his mind and going with Jesus as He goes down into Hades, and by descending from heaven and from the mysteries of Christ's deity to the coming that He necessarily made among us when He took on man, as His sandals. Now He who put on man also put on the dead, for Romans 14:9 says, "For this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living." This is why

Hippolytus, Exegetical Fragments Supporting witness

For this reason, the guards of Hades trembled when they saw Him, and the bronze gates and iron bars were broken. For look, the Only-begotten entered, a soul among souls, God the Word with a human soul. For His body lay in the tomb, not emptied of divinity. But just as, while in Hades, He was in His essential being with His Father, so He was also in the body and in Hades. For the Son is not confined by space, just like the Father, and He contains all things in Himself. But by His own will He lived in a body made alive by a soul, so that with His soul He might enter Hades, and not with His pure divinity.

Hippolytus, Against Plato Supporting witness

1. And this is the passage regarding demons. But now we must speak of Hades, in which the souls both of the righteous and the unrighteous are detained.

Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Supporting witness

What then? The souls of the pious remain in a better place, while those of the unjust and wicked are in a worse, waiting for the time of judgment.

Peter of Alexandria, The Genuine Acts of Peter Supporting witness

Whence, also, in Hades, as in the case of Lazarus and the rich man, they are spoken of as having a tongue, and a finger, and the other members;

Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies Direct teaching

And they maintain that the soul, when separated in the present life, (departs) into one place, which is well ventilated and lightsome, where, they say, it rests until judgment.

Victorinus, Commentary on the Apocalypse Supporting witness

For there is a place whither the souls of the just and the unjust are taken, conscious of the anticipated dooms of fixture judgment;

Novatian, Treatise Concerning the Trinity Supporting witness

For there is a place whither the souls of the just and the unjust are taken, conscious of the anticipated dooms of fixture judgment;

Lactantius, Connection to Acts 24:15 Supporting witness

For they who have not known God, since sentence cannot be passed upon them for their acquittal, are already judged and condemned, since the Holy Scriptures testify that the wicked shall not arise to judgment. Therefore they who have known God shall be judged, and their deeds, that is, their evil works, shall be compared and weighed against their good ones: so that if those which are good and just are more and weighty, they may be given to a life of blessedness; but if the evil exceed, they may be condemned to punishment.

Lactantius, Connection to Daniel 12:2 Supporting witness

For the sacred writings teach that the soul is not annihilated but that it is either rewarded according to its righteousness or eternally punished according to its crimes.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book II Supporting witness

that the souls of the righteous shall psychically repose in the intermediate place;—when they declare that like will be gathered to like, spiritual things to spiritual, while material things continue among those that are material, they do in fact contradict themselves, inasmuch as they no longer maintain that souls pass, on account of their nature, into the intermediate place to those substances which are similar to themselves, but [that they do so] on account of the deeds done [in the body], since they affirm that those of the righteous do pass [into that abode], but those of the impious continue in the fire.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book II Supporting witness

...al, will take the place of the Mother; that the souls of the righteous will psychically rest in the intermediate place—when they claim that like will be gathered with like, spiritual things with spiritual, while material things remain with material, they actually contradict themselves. They no longer maintain that souls enter the intermediate place because of their nature and similarity to these substances, but [that they do so] because of their actions [in the body], since they say that the righteous do indeed enter [that place], but the impious remain in the fire. For if it is because of their nature that all souls reach the place of enjoyment and all belong to the intermediate place simply because they are souls, as being of the same nature with it, then it follows that faith is entirely unnecessary, as would also be the descent of the Savior [to this world]. If, on the other hand, it is because of their righteousness [that they attain such a place of rest], then it is no longer because they are souls but because they are righteous. But if souls would have perished unless they were righteous, then righteousness must have the power to save the bodies also [that these souls inh

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book II Supporting witness

3. These men are entirely inconsistent when they claim that not all souls enter the intermediate place, but only those of the righteous do. They argue that the Mother produced three types of beings according to nature and substance: the first, emerging from confusion, fatigue, and fear, is material substance; the second, from impulsiveness, is animal substance; and the third, after seeing the angels who serve Christ, is spiritual substance. If the spiritual substance will inevitably enter the Pleroma due to its nature, while the material will stay below and be consumed by the fire within it, why shouldn't all animal substance go to the intermediate place, where they also send the Demiurge? What, then, will enter their Pleroma? They say souls remain in the intermediate place, while bodies, being material, will be consumed by the fire when reduced to matter. With the body destroyed and the soul in the intermediate place, no part of a person will be left to enter the Pleroma. The intellect of a person—mind, thought, and intention—is all part of the soul, and the emotions and actions of the soul have no existence apart from it. What part, then, will still be left to enter the Pleroma?