 | The Reverend Doctor Cathy Northrup was born in Ft. Meade, MD, and was raised in a variety of places in the United State and Germany, as her father was in Counter Intelligence with the Army. She graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Hamline University in St. Paul, MN, with a double major in English and Religion. She graduated from Georgetown Law Center in Washington, DC, and practiced law with the Federal Reserve Board for a number of years before attending Union Theological Seminaryin Richmond, VA. She graduated from Union, and served several churches in North and South Carolina, at the same time obtaining her Doctor of Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, NJ. Dr. Northrup is currently the Pastor/Head of Staff of First Presbyterian Church, Wichita, KS. She is married and has two black Labrador dogs who were rescued from abusive situations. You can contact Dr. Northrup at cnorthrup@firstpresbywichita.org or by phone at (316) 263-0248, ext. 26. |
Religion
2009-12-01 08:24:00
Souls - torment or happiness before Christ?
Question: When people died in the Old Testament, before our Lord came, was crucified and re-opened the gates of Heaven, where did their souls go? Were they in a place of torment or happiness?
Answer: You ask about where the souls of those who died before Christ went at their death. Your question also implies that you believe something changed about their “place” when Christ was raised from the dead.
Let me answer your question one step at a time. First, based on the Bible, Presbyterians believe that death is not the end of life. The Bible seems to say that after we die, we “sleep” until the resurrection, but we also believe that we will not be aware of this “sleeping,” this time passing, for it will seem to us that we will immediately be in the presence of God. We believe this because of Jesus’ words to the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” We find other places in the Bible to support this as well.
Second, again, based on the Bible, we believe that our physical body stops functioning at death, but that it will be resurrected again, as a spiritual or resurrection body, as Paul puts it. We also believe that when the physical body stops functioning, the soul also “sleeps.” We do not believe that souls are immortal, as the ancient Greeks did, and that our souls simply “go off” somewhere. They rest with our bodies.
Thus, the souls of those who died before Christ also rest with their bodies. Like those who die now, they await the resurrection.
Some incorrectly believe that the souls of those who died before Christ went to hell, as they had no opportunity to be saved, but the Bible as a whole does not support that. Others believe that the article in our creed “he ascended into hell” means that Christ freed these people from hell, but that is not what it means. Rather, “he ascended into hell” simply means that Jesus suffered all that a forsaken person would suffer.
