THE WORLD BEYOND THE GRAVE AND AFTER LIFE

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

THE WORLD BEYOND THE GRAVE AND AFTER LIFE
By His Grace, Bishop Athenagoras Cavadas of
blessed memory.

From the moment of death, man ends for all time every effort for his salvation, for the betterment of his being, i.e.,his preparation in this world, which occurred by cooperation of man with Divine grace, ends. From the moment of faith, a new condition begins for the human being in which the future of the soul is now solely in the hands of God.

Since, therefore, the condition after death is, henceforth, A MATTER OF GOD, and man has NOTHING MORE TO DO (whatever he did was done in this life), there is no reason for God to reveal to man all that that shall transpire after his death. There is no reason why God should reveal to man all the details of the life which his soul will have in the other world. That would be information and knowledge about things which would not change in the least the condition of man just by knowing them form before he dies in his life on earth.

The essential and necessary information for him to know is that he has "AN IMMORTAL SOUL, that his existence shall continue after death," and that, "according to his cooperation with, or his neglect of, appropriation of his salvation, he will be rewarded after death or punished." That much is sufficient for him. And if this is not enough to make him careful, even if he knows all the details of the life after the termination of his human existence, it will not help him.

This is the indisputable truth of which Christ the Savior assures us with His "Parable of the Rich Man and Poor Lazarus." The unmerciful rich man being in "torment" after death, said to Abraham, "I beg you, Father, to send Lazaros to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment." He said to him, "If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead" [Luke 16:27-31].

In other words, if the impious and unbelievers on earth do not believe all that Holy Scripture says, that they will be punished after death for their wretchedness, then neither, again, if the dead would arise from their graves and tell them the details of the life beyond would they believe. The unbeliever and evil person, again, would doubt and reject the authenticity and sacredness of these books, just as he disregards the authenticity of the Holy Scripture. For this reason, in the Holy Scripture, we do not have a sufficient, definite, and clear teaching on this matter. And not only for our existence after death do we not have details, but neither even for the time in which the Final Judgment will occur do we have sufficient information, Our Savior Jesus Christ said: "But of that day and hour NO ONE KNOWS, NOT EVEN THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN, BUT THE FATHER ALONE" [Matthew 24:36].

At the GENERAL JUDGMENT during the SECOND COMING (Parousia) of Christ, all human beings will appear physically. Each soul, i.e., will appear in its body to be REWARDED WITH IT or TO BE PUNISHED WITH IT. From the many verses in the Holy Scripture which ASSURES US OF THIS, we offer the following as sufficient from the Second Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians:

"For we must ALL APPEAR BEFORE THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST so that
each one may receive good or evil according to what he has done in the body"
[2 Corinthians 5:10].

From the day of the death of a person UNTIL THE Second Coming, whose time is unknown even to the Angels, THE SOUL WILL EXIT WITHOUT A BODY. Nowhere in the Holy Scripture is it mentioned that the soul during this time will have a body. Even though after death until the Second Coming of hte Lord and the Final Judgment THE SOULS WILL HAVE NO BODY, THEY WILL BE BODILESS, IMMATERIAL SPIRITS. Holy Scripture teaches us that they will be in some place, in a definite space. In the Gospel according to Saint Luke, in the "Parable of the Unmerciful Rich Man and Poor Lazarus," we are given the information that there is a definite place in which the souls exist.

The New Testament calls the place to which the souls go and remain after death until the Second Coming, Hades. At times, the New Testament with the word, "Hades," characterises separately the place where the SINFUL SOULS are punished. But his is not alway the case. Generally, Hades, as is mentioned in many parts of the New Testament, IS THE SAME FOR THE GOOD AND EVIL SOULS, but IT IS DIVIDED INTO TWO PARTS. The one is called, "Place of Comfort," the other, "Place of Torment." The Place of Comfort is the place WHERE THE SOULS OF THE GOOD AND DEVOUT GO. The Place of Torment is THE PLACE WHERE THE SOULS OF THE EVIL AND IMPAIOUS ARE HELD.

Therefore, the souls exist after death in these two places, but also in different qualitative conditions until the Second Coming of the Lord Christ, i.e., in the Place of Comfort or in the Place of Torment. However, the kind and amount of reward for the good souls in Hades, as well as the kind and amount of punishment will be given to the good and evil souls at the Second Coming of Christ. Because then the FINAL JUDGMENT shall take place, and the Book of Life of such a person WILL BE OPENED AND THEIR DEEDS SHALL BE EXAMINED AND AUDITED.

During this TRANSIENT PERIOD of centuries until the Second Coming, THE GOOD SOULS WILL ENJOY ONLY A PART OF THE HAPPINESS (JOY) WHICH THEY WILL RECEIVE AT THE Last Judgment Day. And, in like manner, THE EVIL SOULS WILL BE PUNISHED BY ONLY A PART OF THE PUNISHMENT WHICH THEY DESERVE AND WHICH THEY WILL FULLY RECEIVE AFTER THE Last Judgment Day.

For the souls to know why they are being rewarded or why they are being punished, THEY MUST REMEMBER THEIR DEEDS WHICH THEY DID DURING THEIR LIFE ON EARTH. And, therefore, since they will remember the persons or the groups with which they were, in one way or another, related with those deeds, the souls will remember those persons which they benefited or harmed in their life on earth. And since they will remember those persons, they will certainly also remember THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH THEY PERFORMED THE GOOD OR BAD DEEDS AND THE TIME WHEN THESE OCCURRED HERE ON EARTH. Since the souls remember all these and know that they themselve did them as persons in life, without any doubt whatsoever, the souls will retain SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS in Hades. And having self-conscientiousness and remembering the person and conditions which continue to exist on earth, and especially remembering their relatives, the souls are concerned about them and continue to love them and desire to communicate with them.

Since, after death, the soul watches with concern over the dear ones who remain alive in this world, it is natural and logical to conclude that it also is aware of and is concerned about the souls of persons who were dear to it on earth but who died and went to Hades before it, or even after it went there. In other words, it is obvious from what has been said that there is communication among the souls of the dead with each other. Yet, an unanswered but very justifiable question still remains, the following: "Sure, our souls will communicate with each other in Hades when we all go there. But why does God take from our bosom loved ones in an UNTIMELY DEATH and literally break our hearts?"

[To be continued]

___________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George