The Intermediate State of Unbelievers in Scripture

The intermediate state refers to the condition of souls between physical death and the final resurrection ^[8]. While the Bible does not offer extensive detail on the intermediate state of unbelievers, various theological traditions have developed understandings based on scriptural inferences. The term "unbeliever" in scripture generally denotes those who do not observe God's word or have no concord with Christ ^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]}.

Charles Hodge, in his Systematic Theology, describes the common Protestant doctrine regarding the intermediate state of believers: their souls are perfected in holiness at death and immediately pass into glory, while their bodies await resurrection ^[8]. However, for unbelievers, the understanding differs. Hodge notes that the patristic doctrine, influenced by Jewish thought, often held that all souls, after death, descended into Sheol, awaiting the Messiah's coming ^[10]. This view suggested a "dark, dismal, and uncomfortable" middle state for the wicked, characterized by "dismal apprehensions of the deserved wrath of God" ^[13]. This state is described as being "without light, rest, or any manner of refreshment," and without company other than "devils and such impure souls as themselves" ^[13].

Hodge further explains that this intermediate state for the wicked is not yet the final judgment or the full experience of hell. Instead, it is a period of waiting for Christ's second coming, at which point the final sentence will be pronounced ^[13]. This perspective suggests that the suffering experienced by unbelievers in the intermediate state is a foretaste of their ultimate condemnation, but not its complete manifestation. The question of whether this state is "less glorious and exalted" than the final state is also considered, with some traditions suggesting a semi-conscious, neither happy nor miserable state for all souls awaiting resurrection ^[11].

John Calvin, in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, distinguishes the fear of the wicked from that of believers. The wicked fear God not out of an unwillingness to offend Him, but because they know He is armed with power for vengeance and they expect His anger to fall upon them ^[7]. This dread of impending punishment aligns with the description of the intermediate state for unbelievers as one of "dismal apprehensions" ^[13]. Calvin also discusses how unbelievers lack certainty in the gospel, which prevents them from "winning Christ" ^[12].

Thomas Aquinas, from a Catholic Scholastic perspective, addresses aspects of unbelief. He considers whether unbelievers may have authority over the faithful, concluding that it should not be allowed as it could "provoke scandal and endanger the faith" ^[6]. He also discusses the nature of sin in unbelievers, stating that the "first movements of the sensuality in unbelievers" are not mortal sins if they do not consent to them, as sensuality itself cannot be the subject of mortal sin ^[9]. While these points do not directly describe the intermediate state, they inform the theological understanding of the spiritual condition of unbelievers during their earthly lives, which then shapes the understanding of their post-mortem experience.

The concept of an intermediate state for unbelievers, therefore, generally posits a period of conscious, though not final, suffering and apprehension of divine wrath, distinct from the ultimate judgment and eternal punishment that follows the resurrection ^[13]. This state is understood as a consequence of their earthly unbelief and rejection of God's word ^{[2, 12]}.

Sources

II Corinthians “II Corinthians 6:15 (Rotherham) — And what concord hath Christ with Beliar? Or what part hath a believer with an unbeliever?”
Psalms “I look at the faithless with loathing, because they don’t observe your word. -- Psalms 119:158”
I Corinthians “I Corinthians 14:22 (BSB) — Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers.”
King James Version “[KJV] 1 Corinthians 7:15 — But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.”
Isaiah “Isaiah 65:2 (DRC) — I have spread forth my hands all the day to an unbelieving people, who walk in a way that is not good after their own thoughts.”
theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Second Part of the Second Part (Secunda Secundae), Of Unbelief in General, Art. 10: Article: Whether unbelievers may have authority or dominion over the faithful? I answer that, That this question may be considered in two ways. First, we may speak of dominion or authority of unbelievers over the faithful as of a thing to be established for the first time. This ought by no means to be allowed, since it would provoke scandal and endanger the faith, for subjects are easily influenced by their superiors to comply with their commands, unless the subjects are of great virt”
CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 57: and the fear of believers there is a wide difference. The wicked do not fear God from any unwillingness to offend him, provided they could do so with impunity; but knowing that he is armed with power for vengeance, they tremble in dismay on hearing of his anger. And they thus dread his anger, because they think it is impending over them, and they every moment expect it to fall upon their heads. But believers, as has been said, dread the offense even more than the punishment. They are not alarmed 493 by the fear of punishment, as if”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 76: a state of existence which intervenes between death and the resurrection; and that the condition of the departed during that interval is, in some respects, different from that which it is to be subsequent to that event. It is not, therefore, as to the fact of an intermediate state, but as to its nature, that diversity of opinion exists among Christians. The common Protestant doctrine on this subject is that “the souls of believers are at their death, made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being sti”
theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, First Part of the Second Part (Prima Secundae), Of Venial Sin in Itself, Art. 5: Article: Whether the first movements of the sensuality in unbelievers are mortal sin? I answer that, It is unreasonable to say that the first movements of unbelievers are mortal sins, when they do not consent to them. This is evident for two reasons. First, because the sensuality itself could not be the subject of mortal sin, as stated above (Question [79], Article [4]). Now the sensuality has the same nature in unbelievers as in believers. Therefore it is not possible for the mere movem”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 78: § 3. Patristic Doctrine of the Intermediate State. Although the true doctrine concerning the state of the dead was, as has been shown, revealed in the Old Testament, it was more or less perverted in the minds of the people. The prevalent idea was that all souls after death descended into Sheol, and there remained in expectation of the coming of the Messiah. When He came it was expected that the Jews, or at least, the faithful, 734 would be raised from the dead, and made partakers of all the glories and blessedness of the Messiah’s reign. ”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 78: whether 739 there is a state intermediate between death and the resurrection in which believers are less glorious and exalted than they are to be after the second advent of Christ, but what is the nature of that state. Are believers after death with Christ? Do their souls immediately pass into glory? or, are they in a dreamy, semi-conscious state, neither happy nor miserable, awaiting the resurrection of the body. That this latter view was for a long time prevalent in the Church may be inferred, (1.) From the fact that this was the view o”
CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 23: of the gospel depends upon it; he merely says that unbelievers would have no certainty of the gospel, so as thereby to win Christ, were they not influenced by the consent of the Church. And he clearly shows this to be his meaning, by thus expressing himself a little before: “When I have praised my own creed, and ridiculed yours, who do you suppose is to judge between us; or what more is to be done than to quit those who, inviting us to certainty, afterwards command us to believe uncertainty, and follow those who invite us, in the f”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 78: or sempiternally.” The souls of the wicked at death do not go into hell, but into a middle state, “which state is dark, dismal, and uncomfortable, without light, rest, or any manner of refreshment, without any company but that of devils and such impure souls as themselves to converse with, and where these miserable souls are in dismal apprehensions of the deserved wrath of God.” “Secondly, That there is no immediate judgment after death, no trial on which sentence is pronounced, of neither the righteous nor the wicked, until Christ’s seco”

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