It is becoming trendy among many Evangelicals today to hold to a viewpoint of the Intermediate State where Heaven and Hell are not the only places the souls of men go to upon death. [1] There are multiple nuanced iterations of this view with differing details, but generally the view can be explained in the following way. The Hebrew word sheol, and the Greek word hades—functionally equivalent terms—are understood as referring to a location other than Heaven and Hell where all departed souls went upon death. Allegedly, this place was divided into two compartments, one for the damned and reprobate, the other for Old Testament saints where they were to await full redemption at the death and resurrection of Christ. Proponents refer to this latter compartment by biblical terms such as Abraham’s Bosom and Paradise. The area of this pit where the damned are is typically labeled as Hades, Sheol, or Tartarus and it is not the same place as Hell, Gehenna, or the Lake of Fire. Some say that this compartment will be cast into Hell on the final Day of Judgment at the end of time. This doctrine is called by the Romanists, the Limbo of the Fathers (Limbus Patrum). The existence of such a place is also assumed in aberrant views of the alleged descent of Christ into Hades. [2]

This notion of a third location, other than Heaven or Hell, for departed souls is problematic and unbiblical. It stands behind other errant views, such as Christ suffering in Hell after his death, the doctrine of soul sleep, Purgatory, and Annihilationism. Once the doctrine of Limbo has been dispelled, Heaven and Hell will be established as the only possible destinations for souls, whether under the Old Testament or now under the New.

John Calvin wrote “I know not how it came to pass that any should imagine a subterraneous cavern, to which they have given the name of Limbus [or Sheol and Hades by contemporary Evangelicals]. But this fable, although it is maintained by great authors, and even in the present age is by many seriously defended as a truth, is after all nothing but a fable.” [3]. Louis Berkhof states that this view of hades/sheol “can hardly be regarded by those who believe in the plenary inspiration of the Bible as an element of the positive teachings of Scripture, since it plainly contradicts the Scriptural representation that the righteous at once enter glory and the wicked at once descend into the place of eternal punishment.” [4] This is the case because:

1. There is no warrant in Scripture to interpret the terms sheol and hades as some sort of holding cell under the earth for Old Testament saints to await redemption by Christ. Much less is there any reason to believe that this place was divided with one section for the righteous and the other for the wicked—this idea, Berkhof rightly points out, “is borrowed from the Gentile conception of the underworld, and finds no support in Scripture” [5]

2. Scripture positively teaches that Old Testament saints were glorified and went into the blessed presence of God in Heaven upon their deaths. And that the wicked enter into eternal conscious torment upon their deaths. This also means that there is no reason why such a place as asserted should exist as a common receptacle for both the righteous and the wicked.

1. The Meaning of Sheol and Hades.

John Brown of Haddington explains the three ways the terms sheol and hades are used in Scripture: “Though sheol, or hades, sometimes means the place of the damned (Ps 9:17; Luke 16:23), yet, more frequently it means the grave or separated state of the dead (Job 21:13; Gen 37:35; Gen 42:38; 1 Kings 2:6; Ps 141:7), or, a state of terrible debasement and trouble (Isa 14:9, 11, 15, 19-20; Ps 18:5; Ps 116:3; Jonah 2:2).” [6] Notice that none of these meanings could be understood as a location for all deceased souls. When Scripture speaks of all men going to sheol/hades, it means that all men die and continue in that state until the resurrection. It does not ever refer to a common place for all deceased souls, righteous and unrighteous. As Geerhardus Vos wrote, “we do not need to show that hades or sheol never mean something that applies to both believers and the ungodly, but only that they do not mean a place where the souls of believers and the ungodly dwell or exist together. Every place where sheol-hades is meant locally, it indicates nothing other than the place of destruction, what we usually call Hell.” [7] Berkhof explains this well:

“Descent into sheol is threatened as a danger and as a punishment for the wicked (Ps. 9:17; 49:14; 55:15; Prov. 15:11; 15:24; Luke 16:23, hades). The warning and threatening contained in these passages is lost altogether, if sheol is conceived of as a neutral place whither all go. From these passages it also follows that it cannot be regarded as a place with two divisions. The idea of such a divided sheol is borrowed from the Gentile conception of the underworld, and finds no support in Scripture. It is only of sheol as the state of death that we can speak as having two divisions, but then we are speaking figuratively. Even the Old Testament testifies to it that they who die in the Lord enter upon a fuller enjoyment of the blessings of salvation, and therefore do not descend into any underworld in the literal sense of the word (Num. 23:5,10; Ps. 16:11; 17:15; 73:24; Prov. 14:32). Enoch and Elijah were taken up, and did not descend into an underworld, Heb. 11:5ff. Moreover, sheol, not merely as a state, but also as a place, is regarded as in the closest connection with death. If the Biblical conception of death is understood in its deep significance, in its spiritual meaning, it will readily be seen that sheol cannot be the abode of the souls of those who die in the Lord (Prov. 5:5; 15:11; 27:20).” [8]

It is not strange that one word can have two meanings, “As in English, “death” may mean either physical or spiritual death, so in Hebrew, “sheol” may mean either the grave or hell,” wrote Shedd. [9] The old covenant saints—who feared God and trusted in his covenant promise to redeem them by a Messiah—physically died and continue in the state of death until the resurrection, even as new covenant believers do (compare Hosea 13:14 with 1 Cor. 15:55). But they never died spiritually, their souls never went to sheol, only the wicked did and still do: “The wicked in a moment go down to sheol” (Job 21:13). “The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from sheol beneath” (Proverbs 15:24). Of “the men that have transgressed against God,” it is said that their “worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched” (Isaiah 66:24). In sum,

“To convert this bold personification of the “grave,” and the “worm,” which devour the bodies of God’s adversaries, into an actual underworld, where the spirits of all the dead, the friends as well as the enemies of God, are gathered, is not only to convert rhetoric into logic, but to substitute the mythological for the Biblical view of the future life.” [10]

Abraham’s Bosom.

Secondly, in Scripture, “Abraham’s bosom” is distinctly described as above and far away from the place of torment where the rich man was. “And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.” (Luke 16:22-23). Tertullian rightly observed:

“Hades is one thing, in my opinion, and Abraham’s bosom is another. Christ, in the parable of Dives, teaches that a great deep is interposed between the two regions. Neither could the rich man have ‘lifted up’ his eyes, and that too ‘afar off,’ unless it had been to places above him, and very far above him, by reason of the immense distance between that height and that depth.” [11]

And likewise Chrysostom: “Why did not Lazarus see the rich man, as well as the rich man is said to see Lazarus? Because he that is in the light does not see him who stands in the dark; but he that is in the dark sees him that is in the light.” [12]

Comparing this text with other scriptures, it is clear that “Abraham’s bosom” is a euphemism for Heaven: “And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers…” (Deut. 31:16). “But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” (Mat. 22:31-32). “many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” (Mat. 8:11). “But now they [i.e. the old covenant saints] desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.” (Heb. 11:16).

Paradise.

Thirdly, when the Lord Jesus Christ says to the thief, “Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43). He was not speaking of some compartment in Hades. Rather, “paradise” is equated with Heaven, as the Apostle Paul clearly states that one was “caught up to the third heaven… he was caught up into paradise…” (2 Cor. 12:2-4). And the exalted Christ says to the churches, “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God” (Rev. 2:7); and there is no doubt that the tree of life is in Heaven (Rev. 22:2, 14), not some unseen subterranean pit. Clearly, then, paradise is Heaven. Ambrose pithily wrote:

“Into paradise is an ascent, into hell a descent. Let them descend quick into hell [Ps. 55:15]. And therefore poor Lazarus was by the angels lifted up into Abraham’s bosom.” [13]

Lastly, one may ask, how is it that Revelation 20:14 can say that “death and [hades] were cast into the lake of fire”? Is Hell thrown into Hell? Answer: This means that death and the grave (i.e. the power and state of death) are finally and conclusively shut up in Hell forever, and are no longer a threat to God’s people, as Scripture elsewhere teaches: “Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor. 15:53-4), and “there shall be no more death” (Rev. 21:4). [14]

The Leiden Synopsis precisely concludes this point that there is no Scriptural warrant for “some place in the underworld that they have made up, a place where they imagine the souls of the fathers were detained before the death of Christ, and they give it the name “Limbo.” …[This] explanation is purely an invention of man’s imagination, because nowhere in Scripture can such a passage be found. And one cannot prove from any place in Scripture that the fathers who had died in the faith are being kept in prisons of subterranean hells.” [15]

Since we have previously posted on this, we will not belabor this point. For a more detailed defense of this position, see The Meaning of Sheol, Hades, and Hell by William G.T. Shedd and similarly, What Are Sheol & Hades? by Geerhardus Vos.

Not only is there no Scriptural warrant for the existence of a sheol/hades as described, there is also no need for such a place to begin with. This leads us to our second point.

2. Seven Reasons Old Testament Saints Went Directly To Heaven.

Leonard Rijssen (1636-1700) gives seven reasons that Old Testament saints were glorified and went into the blessed presence of God in Heaven upon death. [16] We will use his propositions for our headings, and then fill in his full scripture citations under each, occasionally supplementing extra verses.

1. Believers, when they die, enter into their rest or their salvation.

“The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.” (Isaiah 57:2).

“For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.” (Hebrews 4:3).

“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation” (Luke 2:29-30).

“The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.” (Proverbs 14:32).

2. The examples of those who were in Heaven, teach that the old covenant saints were not in Limbo/Sheol.

Enoch: “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” (Genesis 5:24).

Elijah: “And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” (2 Kings 2:11).

Abraham: “And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:11-12).

Moses: “And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.” (Mat. 17:3). “And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory…” (Luke 9:31).

Lastly, Lazarus: “And in hell [the rich man] lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.” (Luke 16:23).

3. After God called them out of this life, He received them into glory.

“Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.” (Psalm 73:24-25). “Moses and Elias, who appeared in glory…” (Luke 9:31).

“As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.” (Psalm 17:15).

4. The day of their death was better than the day of their birth, which would not be true, if they were excluded from salvation.

“the day of death [is better] than the day of one’s birth.” (Ecclesiastes 7:1b). “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Psalm 16:11).

5. Christ saved them by the power of His blood from the beginning of the world. [Christ applied His atoning redemption to them]

“Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Hebrews 9:25-26). “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8).

“the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8b). They are part of “the dead in Christ” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

6. They had remission of all their sins; therefore, nothing could exclude them from heaven.

“He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.” (Numbers 23:21).

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” (Psalm 32:1; cf. Romans 4:6-9).

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;” (Psalm 103:2-4).

“Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:18-19).

7. They were saved in the same way that we are.

“But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they [i.e. “our fathers” (v. 10)].” (Acts 15:11).

“Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” (1 Corinthians 10:1-4).

Furthermore, as an eighth proof, we may refer to how Scripture teaches that Jesus Christ was the Mediator, Advocate, and Intercessor for the old covenant saints just as much as he is for those in the new covenant. James Durham and Alexander Stewart demonstrate this in the following excerpts: Christ: The Intercessor of the Old Testament Church and Christ’s Intercession In The Old & New Testaments.

James Ussher (1581-1656) summarily shows how clear Scripture is that Old Testament saints went to Heaven to be with Christ upon their deaths rather than to some fictitious Limbo (often espoused under the biblical terms “Sheol” & “Hades” by some Evangelicals today):

“If none before our Saviour’s passion did ever enter into Heaven, whither shall we say that Elias did enter? The Scripture assureth us that he went up into Heaven (2 Kings 2:11). And of this Mattathias put his son’s in mind upon his death-bed, that “Elias being zealous and fervent for the law, was taken up into Heaven” (1 Maccab. 2:58). Elias and Moses both, before the passion of Christ, are described to be “in glory” (Luke 9:31). Lazarus is carried by the angels into a place of comfort, and not of imprisonment (Luke 16:22, 25). In a word, all the Fathers accounted themselves to be strangers and pilgrims in this earth, seeking for a better country, that is, an heavenly (Heb. 11:13-16), as well as we do (Heb. 13:14)—and therefore having ended their pilgrimage, they arrived at the country they sought for, as well as we. They believed to be saved through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, as well as we (Acts 15:11). They lived by that faith, as well as we (Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1:16-17). They died in Christ, as well as we (1 Thes. 4:16). They received remission of sins, imputation of righteousness, and the blessedness arising therefrom, as well as we (Rom. 4:6-9; Gal. 3:8-9). And the mediation of our Saviour being of that present efficacy that it took away sin and brought in righteousness from the very beginning of the world, it had virtue sufficient to free men from the penalty of loss as well as from the penalty of sense, and to bring them unto him in whose “presence is fulness of joy” (Ps. 16:11), as to deliver them from the “place of torment” (Luke 16:28), where “there is weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mat. 8:11-12).” [17]

Practical Application.

Why does this matter to Christians today? Orthodox doctrine on this subject is important for consistency with other doctrines. Unorthodox doctrine on the Intermediate State will tend to serve as a buttress to additional errors. The following are six areas which relate to this question:

1. Christology: who Christ is and what his offices are. “Since the Papists believed that Christ is only a Mediator according to the human nature, He could not have been a Mediator in the Old Testament.” [18] And this is how they explain why the existence of the Limbo of the Fathers was necessary to exist. Many Evangelicals who agree with the necessity of Limbo in the old covenant do not necessarily justify it by this poor Christology. In contrast, the Reformed and Presbyterian confess that “Christ, in the work of mediation, acteth according to both natures; by each nature doing that which is proper to itself (Heb 9:14; 1 Pet 3:18)…” (WCF 8.7; cf. WLC 38-40).

2. Soteriology: how God saves man. James Ussher summarizes the Papist view which is “not only that there is a Limbus Patrum, but that our Saviour also descended into Hell to deliver the ancient Fathers of the Old Testament; because before his passion, none ever entered into heaven.” [19] Modern Dispensationalism toes this dangerous line also, making a difference between the way of salvation in the Old vs the New Testaments. On the contrary, the orthodox confess: “The justification of believers under the Old Testament was, in all these respects, one and the same with the justification of believers under the New Testament (Rom 4:22-24; Gal 3:9, 13-14; Heb 13:8).” (WCF 11.6). “Although the work of redemption was not actually wrought by Christ till after his incarnation, yet the virtue, efficacy, and benefits thereof were communicated unto the elect, in all ages successively from the beginning of the world…” (WCF 8.6). Partakers of the Covenant of Grace have the “fruition of [God] as their blessedness and reward” (WCF 7.1).

3. Christ’s descent into Hades: Directly connected with this view Christologically and Soteriologically is the view that Christ descended into Limbo to bring the old covenant saints into Heaven. In contrast we confess that “Christ’s humiliation after his death consisted in his being buried; and continuing in the state of the dead and under the power of death till the third day, which hath been otherwise expressed in these words, ‘He descended into hell’ (1 Cor. 15:3-4; Ps. 16:10; Acts 2:24-27, 31; Rom. 6:9; Matt. 12:40).” (WLC 50).

4. Sacramentology: the means by which God conveys His grace to us. This follows logically from the previous three. Rather than believing the old covenant was based on works, we confess that the gospel was typified and exhibited even in the old covenant: “The sacraments of the Old Testament, in regard of the spiritual things thereby signified and exhibited, were, for substance, the same with those of the New (1 Cor 10:1-4).” (WCF 27.5). 

5. Individual Eschatology: The Roman doctrines of Purgatory, Limbo, etc. are directly tied to this question, against which we rightly confess:  “Besides these two places for souls separated from their bodies [i.e. Heaven and Hell], the Scripture acknowledgeth none.” (WCF 32.1). [20] Similarly, some will claim that the reprobate who die today continue to descend into Hades/Sheol rather than into Hell, and it is implied to be, or portrayed as, a place of less severe punishment than the Lake of Fire. [21] Furthermore, this doctrine tends to support Universalism and Annihilationism, as Shedd observes: “The proof that sheol does not signify hell would, virtually, be the proof that the doctrine of hell is not contained in the Old Testament; and this would imperil the doctrine of the final judgment. Universalism receives strong support from all versions and commentaries which take the idea of retribution out of the term sheol.”  [22]

6. Angelology and Demonology: This erroneous understanding of the Intermediate State for old covenant believers is often used to buttress and explain the erroneous view that Samuel’s spirit came back from the dead at the beck and call of a Necromancer in 1 Samuel 28. Many common folk believe that ghosts, the spirits of deceased people, are able to be present on earth, and would understand this passage to support that view. In contrast, the orthodox understand this event as expressed by Francis Turretin: “As to what is said of ‘Samuel raised by the witch’ (1 S. 28:12), it is certain this was not the true Samuel or his soul (whatever the son of Sirach [Eccl. 46:20] may say about Samuel prophesying after his death). Rather it was a specter of Satan because it is said to have been raised out of the earth (1 S. 28:13), while the souls of the saints are in heaven in the hand of God and not in the power of Satan.” [23]

Conclusion.

“The substance of the Reformed view, then, is, that the intermediate state for the saved is Heaven without the body, and the final state for the saved is Heaven with the body; that the intermediate state for the lost is Hell without the body, and the final state for the lost is Hell with the body. In the Reformed, or Calvinistic eschatology, there is no intermediate Hades between Heaven and Hell, which the good and evil inhabit in common. When this earthly existence is ended, the only specific places and states are Heaven and Hell. Paradise is a part of Heaven; Sheol, or Hades, is a part of Hell. A pagan underworld containing both Paradise and Hades, both the happy and the miserable, like the pagan idol, is “nothing in the world.” There is no such place.” [24]

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[1] This view is promoted by Samuel Renihan, “Crux, Mors, Inferi: A Primer and Reader on Christ’s Descent” (Independently published, 2021). James White and Steven Anderson both take a version of this position in their 2014 discussion. Anderson taking an heretical view that Christ burned in Hades, while White does not go to such an extreme. Doug Wilson also articulates a variation of this viewpoint. The popular webpage GotQuestions has numerous articles on this, see here and here.

[2] See here for a correct understanding of this phrase from the Apostles’ Creed.

[3] John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion 2.16.9.

[4] Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, p. 681.

[5] Berkhof, ibid., p. 685.

[6] John Brown of Haddington, Systematic Theology 4.3, p. 324.

[7] Geerhardus Vos, Reformed Dogmatics V.vi.8.

[8] Berkhof, ibid., p. 685-6.

[9] William G.T. Shedd, The Doctrine of Endless Punishment 2.2.

[10] Shedd, ibid.

[11] Tertullian, Against Marcion IV.34, ANF 3.406. It is true that Tertullian errs in other respects on this doctrine, for a more full analysis see James Ussher, Answer To A Jesuit, ch. 8.

[12] Chrysostom, Homilies on Dives and Lazarus. 

[13] Ambrose, On Psalm 48.

[14] cf. Francis Turretin, Institutes of Elenctic Theology XII.ix.4, vol. 3, p. .

[15] Synopsis of a Purer Theology 27.26-29, vol. 1, p. 313-4.

[16] J. Wesley White, A Translation with Introduction to A Summary of Elenctic Theology by Leonard Rijssen (2009).

[17] James Ussher, Answer To A Jesuit, pp. 240-241.

[18] J. Wesley White, A Translation with Introduction to A Summary of Elenctic Theology by Leonard Rijssen (2009), fn. 4, p. 248.

[19] Ussher, ibid., p. 238.

[20] A.A. Hodge comments on this place of our confession, “Our Standards declare that there is no foundation whatever, in Scripture, for the Romish doctrine as to the intermediate state of deceased men. The Papists hold that Hades or the underworld embraces several distinct regions, to which different classes of human souls are destined,” among which they include Limbus Patrum.

[21] For example, some say it is where unbelievers are merely “awaiting judgment” (Knowing The Bible on Luke 16:19-31) or “where the spirits of the departed continue in a shadowy and rather unhappy existence” (Gordon J. Wenham, Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 2, p. 430).

[22] The Meaning of Sheol, Hades, and Hell by William G.T. Shedd.

[23] Turretin, IET VII.v.6, vol. 1, p. 549. See here for more comprehensive explanations from Peter Martyr Vermigli and William Perkins.

[24] Shedd, ibid.