The Doctrine of Immortality (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1870. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER X. THE INTERMEDIATE STATE. "Man dieth. and wasteth away; yea, man giveth np the ghost, 1 and where is he J" (Job 14: 10.) To the Christian, indeed, all this doubt would be instantly removed, ii he found that the immortality of the soul- as a disembodied spirit- were revealed in the Word of God In fact however, No Such Doctrine Is Kbvbaled To us; the Christian's hope, as founded on the promises contained in the Gospel- is the resurrection of the body.--Bichard Whately, Archbishop of Dublin. There are several adverse theories entertained among Christians .concerning the state of the dead between death and the resurrection. It is the object of this chapter to show which of these is in agreement with the teachings of Scripture. The first theory is: That when a good man dies, his soul as a conscious entity goes immediately to heaven, where in the presence of Christ, the holy angels, and spirits of just men made perfect it remains in the most blissful state until the resurrection morning, when it will descend with Christ- as one of his saints, and re-enter its former body. 1 The Hebrew word signifies 'to expire, ' 'to die.' Wemyss translates the passage thus: "But when man dies, he moulders into dust; When the mortal expires--where is he?" "To give up the ghost, is to die, to yield up the breath orspirit; to expire."-- Webster. The intermediate state of the wicked soul is very different from this. Immediately upon becoming disembodied at death, it goes to hell, where in the society of demons and fallen angels, it remains in a state of hopeless misery until summoned to rejoin its body at the resurrection. The advocates of this theory rely chiefly for Scriptural support upon the following passages: Eccl. 12: 7; Matt. 22: 32; Luke 23: 43; Matt. 10: 28; Acts 7: 59;...