CHART: What Happens after death? Three Christian Views

The following is a chart I developed for teaching the three basic hypotheses that Christians have held for what happens in the "intermediate state" between Earthly life and final resurrection. Please note that the distinctly Christian Hope is NOT that we live in Heaven forever after we die. The distinctively Christian Hope is that in the End we are raised to share in embodied eternal life with Jesus Christ, whose resurrection is the Pattern for our final destiny. As the Apostle John says: "Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure." (1John 3.2-3)


Classical, Creedal Christianity has always agreed on this as our final destiny. As the Nicene Creed of 381 CE puts it: "We believe... in the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come". Where Christians of the East and West, Ancient and Modern have disagreed on is what happens to the individual from the time they die until the time they are raised to eternal life in the resurrection. In fact, it is an open debate over whether it is even correct to speak of "time" between these two events, once we die and step outside of the stream of History. Nevertheless, there are three basic models in Christian History for understanding this "intermediate state" between death and resurrection. These models are the Protestant Dualism of Heaven and Hell, the Catholic three-fold model of Heaven and Hell and Purgatory, and the Eastern Orthodox model of the afterlife being an encounter with the "Refining Fire" of God, which is experienced differently depending on how close to Christ one is.

Within these three basic models are dozens of sub-models and gradations, some allowing for universal salvation, some saying the majority of people who die will suffer in hell forever, some saying that the dead sleep until the resurrection, while others insisting that the saints who die are conscious and praying for those on Earth.

To access the chart, you can click on the JPEG above, or download a printable PDF here.

If you are interested in other Christian resources on view of life after death, here is a brief annotated bibliography:

• New Testament Scholar NT Wright talks about the Resurrection, and not heaven or hell, as our final destiny, in his book "Surprised by Hope"
• The Writings of ancient Greek theologians such as Origen, Theodore of Mopsuestia, Maximos the Confessor, and the Cappadocians (Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, and Basil of Caesarea)
• The Catechism of the Catholic Church on "The Life Everlasting" including a brief description of Purgatory.
• Anglican Divine William Law and many of the Cambridge Platonists
• "The Great Divorce" by C.S. Lewis
• "George MacDonald: 365 Readings" edited by C.S. Lewis
• "The Apostle's Creed" (chap. 10, 15) by William Barclay
• "I am a convinced universalist" Essay by William Barclay
• "The Last Word and the Word after That" by Brian McLaren
• "What about those who have never heard?" Edited by John Sanders
• "Four Views on Hell" Edited by William Crockett
• "Universal Salvation? The Current Debate" edited by Robin A. Parry
• "The One Purpose of God: An Answer to the Doctrine of Eternal Punishment" by Jan Bonda
• Catholic Theologian Hans Urs Von Balthasar in his book "Dare We Hope That All Men Be Saved?"
• Orthodox Bishop Kallistos Ware in his essay "Dare We Hope for the Salvation of All?"
• Evangelical Gregory MacDonald in his book "The Evangelical Universalist: The Biblical Hope That God's Love Will Save Us All".
• Evangelical Rob Bell in his book "Love Wins".

Finally, any reputable book on Systematic Theology will offer an exhaustive treatment on various Christian views of life after death. Clearly I am persuaded by the Eastern Orthodox tradition, and have strong leanings toward a Redemptive understanding of Hell and Universal Restoration in Christ. But I encourage you to go find systematic theologies from the major traditions-- Orthodox, Catholic, Reformed Protestant, Liberal Protestant, and others-- and read what they have to say, comparing and contrasting it with your understanding of what God is accomplishing in Jesus Christ.