Paradise

Some people have been taught that the souls of the departed go straight to heaven where their final destiny is settled at once, and it is wrong to pray for them at that point.  On the other hand, it is a custom of catholic (Orthodox, Roman and Anglican) clergy to pray for someone for thirty days after they die.  If you don’t understand the Christian beliefs about death and life everlasting, it can be confusing.  After all, Jesus did not directly identify Paradise or Purgatory as a requirement for the transition between our death and everlasting life.

For fifteen centuries, Christians never thought that we should stop praying for our loved ones just because death intervenes.  We have always assumed we would not immediately be transformed into worthy residents of heaven.  Anyone who has not yet reached heaven still needs our prayers.  Teaching on this particular subject has been divided since the Reformation.  Just before the Reformation, a new, harsh practice arose in the church concerning Purgatory.  It involved a mechanical system detailing a Treasury of Merits and Indulgences.  It was tied to offerings contributed to the church.  The system quickly transformed into a money maker as people tried to purchase their loved ones way into heaven.

The commercialization of prayers and intercessions for the dead provoked such a violent reaction that many Christians lost all sense of distinction between the spiritual reality and the artificial system which had been added.  It resulted in many abandoning all thought of an Intermediate State after death.  This is what started the teaching that all souls went directly to heaven, and called for a stop to prayers for the departed.  The prejudices arising from such bitter strife within the church are difficult to dispel.  We do much better if we return to the practices of the early days before these errant practices began.

The Jews had several terms they used for the abode of departed souls – Sheol, Hades, Abraham’s Bosom, Paradise.  The most common was Hades which was translated as “hell” in the Authorized Version (King James).  Prior to the seventeenth century, the word “hell” simply meant the place of waiting souls.  Since, it has become associated with the place of eternal punishment.  The Apostles’ Creed states that Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried; descended into hell, and on the third day rose from dead.  You will note in the rubric on page 15 of our Book of Common Prayer that you can substitute “He went into the place of departed spirits” in place of “He descended into Hell.”  The Apostles’s Creed means neither the place of eternal punishment nor the place of eternal life.  It means the Intermediate State for departed souls which we usually call Paradise.

Jesus gave the thief on the cross a promise, “Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise.”  After His resurrection, Jesus said to Mary Magdalene, “I am not yet ascended to my Father.”  Jesus did not define Paradise explicitly but he clearly indicated that something exists between this world and the final blessedness of heaven.

The Early Church taught there are three stages of life.  First is the probationary stage in this world which is commonly called the “Church Militant.”  Second is the waiting stage in Paradise, commonly called the “Church Expectant.”  Third is the final completion in heaven, commonly called the “Church Triumphant.”  In the parable of Dives and Lazarus, Lazarus was carried into Abraham’s Bosom while Dives was in Hades.  We have already established that these are synonyms.  The parable indicates a difference in the condition for the two men but not necessarily a final judgment.  Our Lord did not return to the Father immediately after His crucifixion, but St. Peter says He preached the Gospel “also to them that are dead.”  Note, not all of Jesus’ teachings are in the Gospels.  He spent forty days with the Apostles teaching things that were only committed to writing in the Epistles.

The only sensible interpretation, and the one contained repeatedly in the writings of the early Church Fathers, is that those who died before our Lord came into this world were not to be deprived of the benefits of the Gospel.  This was the common teaching of the Church until it was obscured by the serious abuses of indulgences.  With our limited human understanding, it is difficult to define precisely what that stage entails.

It is a spiritual state and not a place in any sense of time or space.  Any reference to location is a figure of speech.  While we cannot anticipate anything like physical suffering, it is not an inactive, comatose condition.  The issue of communication with those who are on the other side is a complicated question.  It would be a spiritual contact and as such it would originate from the other side.  Séances and commands for the other side to react to the will of mere humans seem unlikely to be successful.

There are a number of positive terms we accept as part of life in Paradise.  Personal identity will be retained and we will be conscious of it.  When Christ told the thief they would meet in Paradise, it is assumed they could recognize each other.  Unfortunately, we must also assume that we would behave much as we did in this life, at least at first.  Actions make habits and habits make character and character makes destiny.  It is unlikely we would be transformed without our participation.

There will be further growth and progress in Paradise.  We just pointed out the necessity of change before we are fit for heaven.  Most of the wrongs committed in this life are the result of weakness, faulty judgment, or the pressure of difficult circumstances.  These may well be subject to correction in the clearer and cleaner atmosphere of Paradise.

In Paradise, there will be active service to be rendered to God.  It is not reasonable to assume that we would be expected to serve God in this world and then slip into a state of eternal sloth on the other side of death.  A freer and less restricted life should mean greater and keener service.  Our Lord commands us to love our fellowmen.  It would not be Paradise with love excluded, and with it comes the incentive to help one another.

In Paradise, we shall be with Christ.  We cannot tell what that may mean.  “Now we see through a glass, darkly;  but then face to face:  now I know in part;  but then shall I know even as also I am known.”  Our faith in Christ and our partial knowledge of Him in this life are the most ennobling elements of human experience.  We anticipate it will only get better when the veil is lifted.

Once in a while, we meet a personality whose presence is a benediction.  A spirit of harmony, confidence and goodwill prevails in the company of such a personality.  Multiply that experience indefinitely, and you get a slight foretaste of what it will mean to “be with Christ.”

It is only too human to want to know exactly what is in store for us.  We are simply not equipped to comprehend the spiritual realm which is why our Lord discussed it only in parables and metaphorical statements.  However, we can answer the question about prayers for the dead.  It was an accepted custom among the Jews.  We have no indication that Jesus disapproved the custom and he seems to have taken it for granted.  His early followers certainly practiced it.  In his epistle to Timothy, St. Paul prayed for a dead helper, Onesiphorus, “the Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day.”

The Communion of Saints is a cardinal doctrine of the Christian faith.  The Gospel tells us plainly that the separation of death is superficial and temporary.  The Kingdom of God is a spiritual realm that penetrates human life but extends far beyond it.  We pray for people in this earthly life.  What logical reason can there be for stopping it when death removes them from human sight?  We know nothing of their condition or needs but instinct tells us prayers for them are acceptable to God.

In our prayer for the whole state of Christ’s church, we read, “we also bless Thy holy Name for all Thy servants departed this life in Thy faith and fear;  beseeching Thee to grant them continued growth in Thy love and service.”  The Burial Office in our Book of Common Prayer contains, “Remember Thy servant, O Lord, according to the favour which Thou bearest unto Thy people, and grant that, increasing in knowledge and love of Thee, he may go from strength to strength, in the life of perfect service, in Thy heavenly kingdom.”