Different Interpretations of the Afterlife

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Heaven, Hell & Purgatory as Actual Places

One interpretation of the afterlife is that heaven, hell and purgatory are actual places where a person goes after death.

In this interpretation of the afterlife, heaven, hell and purgatory are actual places where a person may go after death.
- In heaven, an individual experiences physical and emotional happiness.
- In hell, an individual experiences punishment.
- In purgatory, an individual experiences purification.

Saint Thomas Aquinas spoke of heaven as a beatific vision.
He described it as the state of eternal happiness when we come face to face with God.
- It is seen as a relationship of love, peace and joy, a time when those in heaven will live in perfect harmony and be at peace.

Christians also believe that at the end of time, the dead will be resurrected as Jesus Christ was.
God will bring Christians back to life physically. So, Christians believe in a literal, physical resurrection.
- It says in the Creed that: ‘We believe in the resurrection of the dead. And the life of the world to come.’
Jesus was raised from the dead in a physical body which could be touched and could eat food.
As such, the Blessed will physically rise from the dead.

The Biblical story of Lazarus and the rich man is a well-known parable of Jesus found in the Gospel of Luke.
Lazarus is a poor man who begged the rich man for help on numerous occasions. The rich man chose not to help Lazarus.
When the two men die, Lazarus ends up in heaven and the rich man ends up in hell.
- 'The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side [Heaven]. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades [Hell], where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.' (Luke 16)

In the book of Revelation, the image is of a ‘burning lake of fiery sulphur’.
The Catechism quotes, ‘Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell’.

Purgatory is seen to be a place of cleansing where people will have their sins forgiven.
Catholics on earth can pray for the sins of the deceased to be cleansed, in the hope they will end up in heaven.
In the Bible it states:
- ‘The purification is necessary because, as Scripture teaches, nothing unclean will enter the presence of God in heaven.' (Rev. 21:27)

Other interpretations of the afterlife see heaven, hell and purgatory as spiritual places or symbols.

The Catholic Church teaches about the immortality of the soul.
- This is the belief that after death our souls will either go to heaven, hell or purgatory.
The soul is often described as the non-physical essence of a person.

Pope John Paul II was an advocate of heaven as a spiritual state.
He explains that trying to work out which senses, if any, would work in heaven seems ridiculous.
- 'The 'heaven' or 'happiness' in which we will find ourselves is neither an abstraction nor a physical place in the clouds, but a living, personal relationship with the Holy Trinity. It is our meeting with the Father which takes place in the risen Christ through the communion of the Holy Spirit.'

Pope John Paul II's view implies that it is absurd to discuss physical senses being used in an afterlife.
The pope is the leader of the Catholic Church and is seen to be infallible.
Infallibility belongs in a special way to the pope as head of the bishops (Matt. 16:17–19; John 21:15–17).
- Papal infallibility is a doctrine that the pope cannot be wrong when teaching matters of faith or morality.
- This is because the pope acts as the supreme teacher of Roman Catholic theology.

If heaven is to be interpreted as a spiritual place, so then must hell.
Under this interpretation, hell would be seen as alienation from God which is punishment enough.
- Second Thessalonians 1:9 refers to hell as 'exclusion from the face of God.'
Under this interpretation, purgatory is seen as the continual mental struggle to achieve a state of perfection.
- It is not a physical place where the soul is purified by fire.

Another interpretation sees heaven, hell and purgatory as symbols of a person’s spiritual and moral life on Earth.
- This view would be held by those with little faith or belief in God.
Under this interpretation, heaven, hell and purgatory are seen to be a symbol of a person's life on Earth.
- Heaven may represent the individual's happiness. This would be both personal happiness and happiness in their interactions with people.
- Hell would represent an individual's torment whilst on Earth.

Dewi Zephaniah Phillips was an anti-realist about religious matters.
He did not believe in the actual existence of God.
Phillips would see purgatory in the same way.
- He would argue purgatory is a symbol of our difficult mental struggle to be perfect.
- But this relates to our struggle in this life, not in an afterlife for which there is no physical proof.