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Walking With Giants

Bible, Theology, Preaching

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  • Bible Commentary
    • Introductory
      • Types of Literature in the Bible
      • What is the shape of the Bible’s story?
      • The canon of Scripture
    • Old Testament
      • General
        • Historical difficulties of the Old Testament
        • The Old Testament story – chart
      • Genesis (intro)
        • Genesis 1
        • Genesis 2
        • Genesis 3
        • Genesis 4
        • Genesis 5
        • Genesis 6
        • Genesis 7
        • Genesis 8
        • Genesis 9
        • Genesis 10
        • Genesis 11
        • Genesis 12
        • Genesis 13
        • Genesis 14
        • Genesis 15
        • Genesis 16
        • Genesis 17
        • Genesis 18
        • Genesis 19
        • Genesis 20
        • Genesis 21
        • Genesis 22
        • Genesis 23
        • Genesis 24
        • Genesis 25
        • Genesis 26
        • Genesis 27
        • Genesis 28
        • Genesis 29
        • Genesis 30
        • Genesis 31
        • Genesis 32
        • Genesis 33
        • Genesis 34
        • Genesis 35
        • Genesis 36
        • Genesis 37
        • Genesis 38
        • Genesis 39
        • Genesis 40
        • Genesis 41
        • Genesis 48
        • Genesis 49
        • Genesis 50
      • Exodus (intro)
        • Exodus 1
        • Exodus 2
        • Exodus 3
        • Exodus 4
        • Exodus 5
        • Exodus 6
        • Exodus 7
        • Exodus 8
        • Exodus 9
        • Exodus 10
        • Exodus 11
        • Exodus 12
        • Exodus 13
        • Exodus 14
        • Exodus 15
        • Exodus 16
        • Exodus 17
        • Exodus 18
        • Exodus 19
        • Exodus 20
        • Exodus 21
        • Exodus 22
        • Exodus 23
        • Exodus 24
        • Exodus 25
        • Exodus 26
        • Exodus 27
        • Exodus 28
        • Exodus 29
        • Exodus 30
        • Exodus 32
        • Exodus 33
        • Exodus 34
        • Exodus 38
        • Exodus 40
      • Leviticus
        • Leviticus 8
        • Leviticus 9
        • Leviticus 10
        • Leviticus 13
        • Leviticus 16
        • Leviticus 17
        • Leviticus 18
        • Leviticus 19
        • Leviticus 20
        • Leviticus 25
        • Leviticus 27
      • Numbers
        • Numbers 1
        • Numbers 2
        • Numbers 3
        • Numbers 5
        • Numbers 6
        • Numbers 10
        • Numbers 11
        • Numbers 13
        • Numbers 14
        • Numbers 15
        • Numbers 16
        • Numbers 21
        • Numbers 22
        • Numbers 23
        • Numbers 24
        • Numbers 26
        • Numbers 27
        • Numbers 31
        • Numbers 32
        • Numbers 33
      • Deuteronomy (intro)
        • Deuteronomy 1
        • Deuteronomy 2
        • Deuteronomy 3
        • Deuteronomy 4
        • Deuteronomy 5
        • Deuteronomy 6
        • Deuteronomy 7
        • Deuteronomy 8
        • Deuteronomy 10
        • Deuteronomy 14
        • Deuteronomy 16
        • Deuteronomy 17
        • Deuteronomy 18
        • Deuteronomy 19
        • Deuteronomy 20
        • Deuteronomy 21
        • Deuteronomy 22
        • Deuteronomy 23
        • Deuteronomy 24
        • Deuteronomy 25
        • Deuteronomy 28
        • Deuteronomy 29
        • Deuteronomy 30
        • Deuteronomy 31
        • Deuteronomy 32
      • Joshua
        • Introduction
        • Joshua 1
        • Joshua 2
        • Joshua 3
        • Joshua 4
        • Joshua 5
        • Joshua 6
        • Joshua 7
        • Joshua 8
        • Joshua 9
        • Joshua 10
        • Joshua 11
        • Joshua 13
        • Joshua 23
        • Joshua 24
      • Judges (intro)
        • Intro
        • Judges 3
        • Judges 5
        • Judges 6
        • Judges 11
        • Judges 13
        • Judges 14
        • Judges 15
        • Judges 17
        • Judges 18
        • Judges 19
        • Judges 20
        • Judges 21
      • Ruth
        • Intro
        • Ruth 1
        • Ruth 2
        • Ruth 3
        • Ruth 4
      • 1 Samuel
        • 1 Samuel 1
        • 1 Samuel 2
        • 1 Samuel 3
        • 1 Samuel 4
        • 1 Samuel 5
        • 1 Samuel 6
        • 1 Samuel 7
        • 1 Samuel 8
        • 1 Samuel 9
        • 1 Samuel 10
        • 1 Samuel 13
        • 1 Samuel 14
        • 1 Samuel 15
        • 1 Samuel 16
        • 1 Samuel 17
        • 1 Samuel 18
        • 1 Samuel 19
        • 1 Samuel 20
        • 1 Samuel 21
        • 1 Samuel 24
        • 1 Samuel 25
        • 1 Samuel 26
        • 1 Samuel 27
        • 1 Samuel 28
        • 1 Samuel 29
        • 1 Samuel 30
        • 1 Samuel 31
        • 1 Samuel 34
      • 2 Samuel
        • 2 Samuel 1
        • 2 Samuel 2
        • 2 Samuel 5
        • 2 Samuel 7
        • 2 Samuel 8
        • 2 Samuel 9
        • 2 Samuel 11
        • 2 Samuel 12
        • 2 Samuel 13
        • 2 Samuel 15
        • 2 Samuel 16
        • 2 Samuel 18
        • 2 Samuel 21
        • 2 Samuel 24
      • 1 Kings
        • 1 Kings 2
        • 1 Kings 3
        • 1 Kings 4
        • 1 Kings 6
        • 1 Kings 7
        • 1 Kings 9
        • 1 Kings 10
        • 1 Kings 11
        • 1 Kings 12
        • 1 Kings 13
        • 1 Kings 18
        • 1 Kings 19
        • 1 Kings 21
        • 1 Kings 20
        • 1 Kings 22
      • 2 Kings
        • 2 Kings 2
        • 2 Kings 3
        • 2 Kings 4
        • 2 Kings 5
        • 2 Kings 6
        • 2 Kings 10
        • 2 Kings 15
        • 2 Kings 18
        • 2 Kings 19
        • 2 Kings 20
        • 2 Kings 22
        • 2 Kings 23
      • 1 Chronicles
        • Introduction
        • 1 Chronicles 3
        • 1 Chronicles 21
        • 1 Chronicles 29
      • 2 Chronicles
        • 2 Chronicles 4
        • 2 Chronicles 7
        • 2 Chronicles 11
        • 2 Chronicles 13
        • 2 Chronicles 17
        • 2 Chronicles 31
        • 2 Chronicles 32
        • 2 Chronicles 35
      • Ezra
        • Ezra 3
      • Nehemiah
        • Introduction
        • Nehemiah 2
        • Nehemiah 3
        • Nehemiah 8
        • Nehemiah 11
        • Nehemiah 12
        • Nehemiah 13
      • Esther
        • Introduction
        • Esther 1
        • Esther 2
        • Esther 3
        • Esther 4
        • Esther 5
        • Esther 6
        • Esther 7
        • Esther 8
        • Esther 9
        • Esther 10
      • Job – intro
        • Job 1
        • Job 2
        • Job 9
        • Job 22
        • Job 26
        • Job 26
        • Job 28
        • Job 38
        • Job 42
      • Psalms (intro)
        • Psalm 1
        • Psalm 2
        • Psalm 3
        • Psalm 4
        • Psalm 5
        • Psalm 6
        • Psalm 7
        • Psalm 8
        • Psalm 9
        • Psalm 10
        • Psalm 11
        • Psalm 12
        • Psalm 13
        • Psalm 14
        • Psalm 15
        • Psalm 16
        • Psalm 17
        • Psalm 18
        • Psalm 19
        • Psalm 20
        • Psalm 21
        • Psalm 22
        • Psalm 23
        • Psalm 24
        • Psalm 25
        • Psalm 26
        • Psalm 27
        • Psalm 28
        • Psalm 29
        • Psalm 30
        • Psalm 31
        • Psalm 32
        • Psalm 33
        • Psalm 34
        • Psalm 35
        • Psalm 36
        • Psalm 37
        • Psalm 39
        • Psalm 40
        • Psalm 41
        • Psalm 42
        • Psalm 43
        • Psalm 45
        • Psalm 46
        • Psalm 50
        • Psalm 51
        • Psalm 52
        • Psalm 53
        • Psalm 62
        • Psalm 65
        • Psalm 66
        • Psalm 68
        • Psalm 69
        • Psalm 72
        • Psalm 73
        • Psalm 77
        • Psalm 78
        • Psalm 79
        • Psalm 82
        • Psalm 84
        • Psalm 85
        • Psalm 86
        • Psalm 88
        • Psalm 89
        • Psalm 90
        • Psalm 91
        • Psalm 92
        • Psalm 93
        • Psalm 95
        • Psalm 98
        • Psalm 100
        • Psalm 102
        • Psalm 103
        • Psalm 104
        • Psalm 105
        • Psalm 106
        • Psalm 107
        • Psalm 110
        • Psalm 112
        • Psalm 113
        • Psalm 114
        • Psalm 116
        • Psalm 119
        • Psalm 121
        • Psalm 122
        • Psalm 123
        • Psalm 126
        • Psalm 130
        • Psalm 137
        • Psalm 139
        • Psalm 143
        • Psalm 147
        • Psalm 150
      • Proverbs (intro)
        • Proverbs 1
        • Proverbs 2
        • Proverbs 3
        • Proverbs 4
        • Proverbs 5
        • Proverbs 6
        • Proverbs 8
        • Proverbs 9
        • Proverbs 13
        • Proverbs 14
        • Proverbs 15
        • Proverbs 16
        • Proverbs 18
        • Proverbs 19
        • Proverbs 20
        • Proverbs 22
        • Proverbs 23
        • Proverbs 25
        • Proverbs 26
        • Proverbs 26
        • Proverbs 27
        • Proverbs 29
        • Proverbs 30
        • Proverbs 31
      • Ecclesiastes (intro)
        • Ecclesiastes 1
        • Ecclesiastes 2
        • Ecclesiastes 3
        • Ecclesiastes 4
        • Ecclesiastes 7
        • Ecclesiastes 8
        • Ecclesiastes 9
        • Ecclesiastes 10
        • Ecclesiastes 11
        • Ecclesiastes 12
      • Song of Songs (intro)
        • Song of Songs 1
        • Song of Songs 2
        • Song of Songs 3
        • Song of Songs 4
        • Song of Songs 5
        • Song of Songs 6
        • Song of Songs 7
        • Song of Songs 8
      • Isaiah (intro)
        • Isaiah 1
        • Isaiah 2
        • Isaiah 6
        • Isaiah 7
        • Isaiah 8
        • Isaiah 9
        • Isaiah 10
        • Isaiah 11
        • Isaiah 13
        • Isaiah 14
        • Isaiah 19
        • Isaiah 20
        • Isaiah 25
        • Isaiah 26
        • Isaiah 27
        • Isaiah 28
        • Isaiah 34
        • Isaiah 35
        • Isaiah 36
        • Isaiah 37
        • Isaiah 38
        • Isaiah 39
        • Isaiah 40
        • Isaiah 41
        • Isaiah 42
        • Isaiah 43
        • Isaiah 44
        • Isaiah 45
        • Isaiah 48
        • Isaiah 49
        • Isaiah 50
        • Isaiah 51
        • Isaiah 52
        • Isaiah 53
        • Isaiah 54
        • Isaiah 55
        • Isaiah 56
        • Isaiah 58
        • Isaiah 59
        • Isaiah 61
        • Isaiah 62
        • Isaiah 63
        • Isaiah 64
        • Isaiah 65
        • Isaiah 66
      • Jeremiah
        • Introduction
        • Jeremiah 1
        • Jeremiah 2
        • Jeremiah 5
        • Jeremiah 6
        • Jeremiah 7
        • Jeremiah 8
        • Jeremiah 11
        • Jeremiah 13
        • Jeremiah 18
        • Jeremiah 22
        • Jeremiah 23
        • Jeremiah 24
        • Jeremiah 26
        • Jeremiah 27
        • Jeremiah 28
        • Jeremiah 29
        • Jeremiah 30
        • Jeremiah 31
        • Jeremiah 33
        • Jeremiah 36
        • Jeremiah 40
      • Lamentations
        • Lamentations 1
      • Ezekiel
        • Ezekiel 1
        • Ezekiel 2
        • Ezekiel 3
        • Ezekiel 4
        • Ezekiel 8
        • Ezekiel 16
        • Ezekiel 18
        • Ezekiel 20
        • Ezekiel 23
        • Ezekiel 28
        • Ezekiel 30
        • Ezekiel 36
        • Ezekiel 37
        • Ezekiel 39
        • Ezekiel 43
        • Ezekiel 44
      • Daniel
        • Introduction
        • Daniel 1
        • Daniel 2
        • Daniel 3
        • Daniel 4
        • Daniel 5
        • Daniel 6
        • Daniel 7
        • Daniel 8
        • Daniel 9
        • Daniel 10
        • Daniel 11
        • Daniel 12
      • Hosea
        • Hosea – intro
        • Hosea 1
        • Hosea 2
        • Hosea 4
        • Hosea 6
        • Hosea 9
        • Hosea 11
        • Hosea 13
      • Joel (intro)
        • Joel 1
        • Joel 2
        • Joel 3
      • Amos
        • Introduction
        • Amos 1
        • Amos 2
        • Amos 3
        • Amos 4
        • Amos 5
        • Amos 8
        • Amos 9
      • Obadiah (intro)
        • Obadiah 1
      • Jonah – intro
        • Jonah 1
        • Jonah 2
        • Jonah 3
        • Jonah 4
      • Micah – intro
        • Micah 1
        • Micah 2
        • Micah 3
        • Micah 4
        • Micah 5
        • Micah 6
        • Micah 7
      • Nahum
        • Nahum 1
        • Nahum 2
        • Nahum 3
      • Habakkuk
        • Introduction
        • Habakkuk 1
        • Habakkuk 2
        • Habakkuk 3
      • Zephaniah
        • Zephaniah 1
        • Zephaniah 2
        • Zephaniah 3
      • Haggai
        • Haggai 1
        • Haggai 2
      • Zechariah
        • Zechariah 1
        • Zechariah 5
        • Zechariah 8
        • Zechariah 10
        • Zechariah 12
        • Zechariah 13
        • Zechariah 14
      • Malachi
        • Malachi 1
        • Malachi 2
        • Malachi 3
        • Malachi 4
    • New Testament
      • General
        • Introduction
        • Pseudonymity
        • Canonical Order of NT Books
        • Historical Difficulties
      • Matthew
        • Matthew 1
        • Matthew 2
        • Matthew 3
        • Matthew 4
        • Matthew 5
        • Matthew 6
        • Matthew 7
        • Matthew 8
        • Matthew 9
        • Matthew 10
        • Matthew 11
        • Matthew 12
        • Matthew 13
        • Matthew 14
        • Matthew 15
        • Matthew 16
        • Matthew 17
        • Matthew 18
        • Matthew 19
        • Matthew 20
        • Matthew 21
        • Matthew 22
        • Matthew 23
        • Matthew 24
        • Matthew 25
        • Matthew 26
        • Matthew 27
        • Matthew 28
      • Mark (intro)
        • Mark 1
        • Mark 2
        • Mark 3
        • Mark 4
        • Mark 5
        • Mark 6
        • Mark 7
        • Mark 8
        • Mark 9
        • Mark 10
        • Mark 11
        • Mark 12
        • Mark 13
        • Mark 14
        • Mark 15
        • Mark 16
      • Luke (intro)
        • Luke 1
        • Luke 2
        • Luke 3
        • Luke 4
        • Luke 5
        • Luke 6
        • Luke 7
        • Luke 8
        • Luke 9
        • Luke 10
        • Luke 11
        • Luke 12
        • Luke 13
        • Luke 14
        • Luke 15
        • Luke 16
        • Luke 17
        • Luke 18
        • Luke 19
        • Luke 20
        • Luke 21
        • Luke 22
        • Luke 23
        • Luke 24
      • John (intro)
        • John 1
        • John 2
        • John 3
        • John 4
        • John 5
        • John 6
        • John 7
        • John 8
        • John 9
        • John 10
        • John 11
        • John 12
        • John 13
        • John 14
        • John 15
        • John 16
        • John 17
        • John 18
        • John 19
        • John 20
        • John 21
      • Acts (intro)
        • Acts 1
        • Acts 2
        • Acts 3
        • Acts 4
        • Acts 5
        • Acts 6
        • Acts 7
        • Acts 8
        • Acts 9
        • Acts 10
        • Acts 11
        • Acts 12
        • Acts 13
        • Acts 14
        • Acts 15
        • Acts 16
        • Acts 17
        • Acts 18
        • Acts 19
        • Acts 20
        • Acts 21
        • Acts 22
        • Acts 23
        • Acts 24
        • Acts 25
        • Acts 26
        • Acts 27
        • Acts 28
      • Romans (intro)
        • Romans 1
        • Romans 2
        • Romans 3
        • Romans 4
        • Romans 5
        • Romans 6
        • Romans 7
        • Romans 8
        • Romans 9
        • Romans 10
        • Romans 11
        • Romans 12
        • Romans 13
        • Romans 14
        • Romans 15
        • Romans 16
      • 1 Corinthians (intro)
        • 1 Corinthians 1
        • 1 Corinthians 2
        • 1 Corinthians 3
        • 1 Corinthians 4
        • 1 Corinthians 5
        • 1 Corinthians 6
        • 1 Corinthians 7
        • 1 Corinthians 8
        • 1 Corinthians 9
        • 1 Corinthians 10
        • 1 Corinthians 11
        • 1 Corinthians 12
        • 1 Corinthians 13
        • 1 Corinthians 14
        • 1 Corinthians 15
        • 1 Corinthians 16
      • 2 Corinthians (intro)
        • 2 Corinthians 1
        • 2 Corinthians 2
        • 2 Corinthians 3
        • 2 Corinthians 4
        • 2 Corinthians 5
        • 2 Corinthians 6
        • 2 Corinthians 7
        • 2 Corinthians 8
        • 2 Corinthians 9
        • 2 Corinthians 10
        • 2 Corinthians 11
        • 2 Corinthians 12
        • 2 Corinthians 13
      • Galatians (intro)
        • Galatians 1
        • Galatians 2
        • Galatians 3
        • Galatians 4
        • Galatians 5
        • Galatians 6
      • Ephesians (intro)
        • Ephesians 1
        • Ephesians 2
        • Ephesians 3
        • Ephesians 4
        • Ephesians 5
        • Ephesians 6
      • Philippians
        • Philippians 1
        • Philippians 2
        • Philippians 3
        • Philippians 4
      • Colossians (intro)
        • Colossians 1
        • Colossians 2
        • Colossians 3
        • Colossians 4
      • 1 Thessalonians (intro)
        • 1 Thessalonians 1
        • 1 Thessalonians 2
        • 1 Thessalonians 3
        • 1 Thessalonians 4
        • 1 Thessalonians 5
      • 2 Thessalonians
        • 2 Thessalonians 1
        • 2 Thessalonians 2
        • 2 Thessalonians 3
      • 1 Timothy (intro to Pastorals)
        • 1 Timothy 1
        • 1 Timothy 2
        • 1 Timothy 3
        • 1 Timothy 4
        • 1 Timothy 5
        • 1 Timothy 6
      • 2 Timothy
        • 2 Timothy 1
        • 2 Timothy 2
        • 2 Timothy 3
        • 2 Timothy 4
      • Titus
        • Titus 1
        • Titus 2
        • Titus 3
      • Philemon
        • Philemon 1
      • Hebrews (intro)
        • Hebrews 1
        • Hebrews 2
        • Hebrews 3
        • Hebrews 4
        • Hebrews 5
        • Hebrews 6
        • Hebrews 7
        • Hebrews 8
        • Hebrews 9
        • Hebrews 10
        • Hebrews 11
        • Hebrews 12
        • Hebrews 13
      • James (intro)
        • James 1
        • James 2
        • James 3
        • James 4
        • James 5
      • 1 Peter (intro)
        • 1 Peter 1
        • 1 Peter 2
        • 1 Peter 3
        • 1 Peter 4
        • 1 Peter 5
      • 2 Peter (intro)
        • 2 Peter 1
        • 2 Peter 2
        • 2 Peter 3
      • 1 John (intro)
        • 1 John 1
        • 1 John 2
        • 1 John 3
        • 1 John 4
        • 1 John 5
      • 2 John
      • 3 John
      • Jude
        • Jude 1
      • Revelation (intro)
        • Revelation 1
        • Revelation 2
        • Revelation 3
        • Revelation 4
        • Revelation 5
        • Revelation 6
        • Revelation 7
        • Revelation 8
        • Revelation 9
        • Revelation 10
        • Revelation 11
        • Revelation 12
        • Revelation 13
        • Revelation 14
        • Revelation 15
        • Revelation 16
        • Revelation 17
        • Revelation 18
        • Revelation 19
        • Revelation 20
        • Revelation 21
        • Revelation 22

Category Archives: Last Things

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Mt 24:21; Rev 7:14 – ‘The great tribulation’

Walking With Giants Posted on February 21, 2026 by adminFebruary 22, 2026

Mt 24:21 — “For then there will be great suffering unlike anything that has happened from the beginning of the world until now, or ever will happen.”

Rev 7:13 ‘Then one of the elders asked me, “These dressed in long white robes—who are they and where have they come from?” 7:14 So I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation.…

Posted in Tough texts, Last Things, Uncategorized

Conditionalism: do the unsaved go to the grave and then cease to exist?

Walking With Giants Posted on November 22, 2025 by adminNovember 29, 2025

In recent decades, annihilationalism (the doctrine that the finally impenitent cease to exist, rather than that they suffer eternal conscious torment) has continued to gain ground in evangelical circles.

Over the past century, those committed to (or, at least, sympathetic towards) this doctrine include: Harold E. Guillebaud, Basil Atkinson, J. Stafford Wright, Norman Anderson, John Stott, John Wenham, Philip Edgecumbe Hughes, E. Earle Ellis, John Stott, F.F. Bruce, Michael Green, I. Howard Marshall, Stephen Travis, Edward Fudge, R.…

Posted in Hell, Intermediate State, Annihilationalism, Uncategorized

Basil Atkinson on conditional immortality

Walking With Giants Posted on November 21, 2025 by adminNovember 21, 2025

The redoubtable Cambridge scholar Basil Atkinson (1895-1971) may be said to have kick-started the revival of interest in annihilationalism/conditional immortality here in the UK.

John Wenham (in his autobiographical ‘Facing Hell’, p69) recalls an informal talk given by Atkinson in the mid-1930s.  The main ideas included the following:

1. The Bible nowhere teaches that man is immortal. This is a Greek idea.
2. God alone has immortality.
3. Immortality has been brought to light by the gospel.
…
Posted in Hell, Annihilationalism

Stephen Travis: the case for conditional immortality

Walking With Giants Posted on July 14, 2025 by adminAugust 4, 2025

In I Believe in the Second Coming of Jesus (2nd ed., 1988), Stephen Travis outlines the following case for conditional immortality (‘annihilationism’):-

First, immortality of the soul is a non-biblical doctrine derived from Greek philosophy. In biblical teaching man is ‘conditionally immortal-that is, he has the possibility of becoming immortal if he receives resurrection or immortality as a gift from God. This would imply that God grants resurrection to those who love him. but those who resist him go out of existence.…

Posted in Life after Death, Annihilationalism

Richard Baxter on the intermediate state

Walking With Giants Posted on June 22, 2025 by adminJune 25, 2025

Richard Baxter: The Saint’s Everlasting Rest (1650).  Abridged by Benjamin Fawcett (1759).

Baxter was suffering from a serious illness when he set down his thoughts on the blessedness of the life to come.

At the end of ch. 4, Baxter sets out his conviction ‘that the souls of believers do enjoy inconceivable blessedness and glory, even while they remain separated from their bodies.’

What can be more plain than those words of Paul? We are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at home, or rather sojourning in the body, we are absent from the Lord.…

Posted in Baxter, Richard, Intermediate State

The intermediate state

Walking With Giants Posted on May 16, 2025 by adminAugust 17, 2025

[Note: this article is a work in progress!]

The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;
Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of glory passes on his way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

(William Walsham How, ‘For All The Saints’)

Alone (so far as I am aware) among our better-known hymns, this one distinquishes between the restfulness of the Christian’s state immediately following death, and the ‘yet more glorious day’ of our Lord’s return and the ensuing resurrection of our bodies, the establishment of the new heavens and the new earth, and the completed triumph and eternal reign of God.…

Posted in Intermediate State, Death

The intermediate state – possible schema

Walking With Giants Posted on December 26, 2024 by adminAugust 5, 2025

Piecing together the (admitedly limited) biblical data on the intermediate state, Michael Bird proposes the following:

1. Prior to Christ’s ascension, all who died went to Sheol/Hades, which was divided into two parts, one compartment for the wicked and another compartment for the righteous.

2. After Christ’s descent to Sheol/Hades and with his ascension, Christ took with him into heaven all of the saints in the paradisal part of Sheol/Hades, while the wicked remain in Sheol/Hades waiting for judgment.

…
Posted in Life after Death, Intermediate State

Evaluating the ‘soul-sleep’ view

Walking With Giants Posted on December 22, 2024 by adminJanuary 13, 2025

The doctrine of ‘soul-sleep’ interprets the period between a believer’s death and final resurrection as one of uninterrupted unconsciousness.

Habermas and Moreland identify a number of problems with this view:

First, numerous biblical texts (e.g., Luke 23:43; Phil 1:23; 2 Cor 5:1-10) clearly teach that death is a transition into conscious enjoyment of the presence of Christ. How could Christ’s presence be enjoyed if one were asleep?

Second, some of these same Bible passages describe death as a gain because the deceased is with Christ.

…
Posted in Life after Death, Intermediate State

Do the dead pray for us, and should we pray for them?

Walking With Giants Posted on December 20, 2024 by adminDecember 22, 2024

Do the dead pray for us?

In Surprised by Hope, Tom Wright notes that there is no biblical warrant for supposing that the faithful departed are actively engaged in praying for us.  In particular,

We should be very suspicious of the medieval idea that the ‘saints’ can function as ‘friends at court’, so that, while we might be shy of approaching the King ourselves, we know someone who is, as it were, ‘one of us’, to whom we can talk freely and who will maybe put in a good word for us.

…
Posted in Intermediate State, Death

Lk 16:19-31 – What (if anything) does this story tell us about the afterlife?

Walking With Giants Posted on December 17, 2024 by adminJune 17, 2025

Lk 16:19 “There was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 16:20 But at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus whose body was covered with sores, 16:21 who longed to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs came and licked his sores.

16:22 “Now the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.…

Posted in Tough texts, Intermediate State

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