“Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”
Eze. 18:4
“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? …thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Cor. 15:55-57
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Subsections
Burning of Thomas Cranmer
Funerals
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Order of Contents
Articles 6+
May One Desire Death? 1
May One Contribute Anything Towards Death? 1
Soul-Sleep 5
Sins Forgiven After Death? 1
Particular Judgment at Death 2
Angels Carry Souls of Saints to Heaven upon Death 1
Latin 4
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Articles
1500’s
Calvin, John – 6. ‘Sin & Death’ in Instruction in Faith (1537) tr. Paul T. Fuhrman (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1949), pp. 22-23
Vermigli, Peter Martyr – The Common Places… (d. 1562; London: Henrie Denham et al., 1583)
pt. 2, ‘That Sin is the Cause of Death’ in 1. ‘Of Sin, especially Original, and of the Depraving of the Whole Nature of Man’, pp. 246-47
pt. 3, ch. 14, ‘Of Death, & of the Consolation of the Godly against the Same’, pp. 314-27
‘Of Mourning for the Dead’ 315
‘Of Burial’ 319
‘That Souls Loosed from their Bodies do Not Sleep’ 323
‘Of Wandering Spirits’ 326
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1600’s
Ames, William – ch. 15, ‘Bodily Death’ in The Marrow of Theology tr. John D. Eusden (1623; Baker, 1997), bk. 1, pp. 124-25
Ames (1576-1633) was an English, puritan, congregationalist, minister, philosopher and controversialist. He spent much time in the Netherlands, and is noted for his involvement in the controversy between the reformed and the Arminians. Voet highly commended Ames’s Marrow for learning theology.
Turretin, Francis – 5. ‘Is the fixed and immoveable end of the life of each man with all its circumstances so determined by the decree of God, that he cannot die in another moment of time or by another kind of death than that in which he does die? We affirm against the Socinians and Remonstrants.’ in Institutes of Elenctic Theology, tr. George M. Giger, ed. James Dennison Jr. (1679–1685; P&R, 1992), vol. 1, 4th Topic, pp. 322-29
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1700’s
à Brakel, Wilhelmus – ch. 100, ‘Concerning Death & the State of the Soul After Death’ in The Christian’s Reasonable Service, vol. 4 ed. Joel Beeke, tr. Bartel Elshout Buy (1700; RHB, 1992/1999), pp. 303-27
a Brakel (1635-1711) was a contemporary of Voet and Witsius and a major representative of the Dutch Further Reformation.
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1800’s
Hodge, Charles – A Brief Account of the Last Hours of Albert B. Dod (1845) 13 pp. Albert Dod was a professor of mathematics, a presbyterian theologian, and a friend of many of the Princeton theologians. Here is a wiki article on him.
Miller, Samuel – The Guilt, Folly & Sources of Suicide: Two Discourses Buy (1805)
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1900’s
Berkhof, Louis – Physical Death 4 long paragraphs in Systematic Theology (1950)
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Whether One May Desire Death?
Article
1700’s
Grove, Henry – An Inquiry in what Sense, and Upon what Grounds, Persons, who Naturally Dread Death, May Yet Desire Not to Live Always, being a Funeral Sermon occasioned by the Death of Mrs. Prudence Welman… (London, 1730) 49 pp.
Grove (1684–1738) was an English nonconformist, presbyterian minister, theologian and tutor.
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Whether One May Contribute Anything Towards his Own Death?
Article
1600’s
Hall, Joseph – 2nd Decade, Case 10, ‘Whether & How Far a Man May Act Towards his Own Death?’ in Cases of Conscience Practically Resolved Containing a Decision of the Principal Cases of Conscience of Daily Concernment & Continual Use Amongst Men: Very Necessary for their Information & Direction in These Evil Times (London, 1654)
Hall was a godly, Anglican bishop; he gets the answer right.
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Contra Soul-Sleep After Death
Articles
1500’s
Calvin, John – ‘On the State of Souls After Death’ in The Two Last Articles in A Short Instruction for to Arm All Good Christian People against the Pestiferous Errors of the Common Sect of Anabaptists (London: Daye, 1549), no page numbers
Some Anabaptists held the soul ceases to exist after death (until it comes back into being at the Resurrection) or that it continues to exist, but sleeps till the Resurrection. Calvin refutes both views.
Vermigli, Peter Martyr – ‘That Souls Loosed from their Bodies do Not Sleep’ in The Common Places… (d. 1562; London: Henrie Denham et al., 1583), pt. 3, ch. 14, ‘Of Death, & of the Consolation of the Godly against the Same’, pp. 323-26
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Latin
Articles
1600’s
Erni, Heinrich – Question 4 (4 pp.) in Five Questions Contra the Anabaptists: 1. On the Liberty to Preach; 2. On Justification; 3. On Participation with respect to the Grace of God; 4. On the Human Soul [Respecting Soul-Sleep After Death]; 5. On the Condition of Devils & Reprobates (Zurich, 1630)
Erni (1565-1639) was a reformed professor of philology, logic and theology at Zurich.
Voet, Gisbert – Appendices: (1) On Psychopannychia [Soul-Sleep] Syllabus of Theological Problems (Utrecht, 1643), pt. 1, section 2, tract 6 Abbr.
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Book
1500’s
Calvin, John – Psychopannychia [Soul-Sleep], in which is refelled the error of some impious ones that deeming the soul after death sleeps until the Last Judgment (Argentorati, 1545) 54 pp. no ToC
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There is No Offer for the Forgiveness of Sins After Death
See also ‘On Purgatory’.
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Article
1500’s
Musculus, Wolfgang – ‘Whether sins be forgiven also after death’ in Common Places of the Christian Religion (1560; London, 1563), ‘Remission & Forgiveness of Sins’, folio 245.b-247.b irregular page numbering
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On the Particular Judgment at Death
Article
1500’s
Beza, Theodore – pp. 20-21 in A Book of Christian Questions & Answers… (London, 1574)
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Latin Article
1600’s
Voet, Gisbert – (3) On a Particular Judgment of the Soul in Death, or After Death in Syllabus of Theological Problems (Utrecht, 1643), pt. 1, section 2, tract 6 Abbr.
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That Angels Carrys the Souls of Saints to Heaven upon Death
Mather, Increase – ‘When Godly Men Die, Angels Carry their Souls to Another & a Better World’ on Lk. 16:22 in Several Sermons Wherein is Showed, I. That Jesus Christ is a Mighty Savior... (Boston, 1715), pp. 93-126
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Latin Articles
1600’s
Voet, Gisbert
Syllabus of Theological Problems (Utrecht, 1643), pt. 1, section 2 Abbr.
tract 5, II. On Signs of the Times & Premonitions of Death
tract 6
1. On Death in General (on its Nature, Causes, Subject, Adjuncts, Properties, Miracles & Rare Events around it, & Premonitions of)
2. On Death in Specific, of the Pious & Impious
Appendices:
(1) On Mourning for the Dead
(2) On Honoring the Dead & of Burial
(3) On a Particular Judgment of the Soul in Death, or After Death
(2) Of Others Not Having Died, such as Enoch & Elijah
(3) Of those that Died Twice
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Select Theological Disputations (Utrecht, 1667 / 1669)
vol. 4
‘Of love [charitate] for the dead’ in 50. ‘On the Ten Commandments’, Preface, p. 789
vol. 5
‘An Epistolic Dissertation on the End of Life’ 1-137
This work is listed near the end of the table of contents, but is contained in the GB edition.
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“I, even I, am He, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive”
Deut. 32:39
“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.”
1 Thess. 4:14
[Peaceful ‘sleep’ is a euphemism for death for the believer in the N.T.]
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Related Pages
Bible Verses: Degrees of Reward in Heaven
Bible Verses on Degrees of Punishment in Hell
On the Renovation, New Heavens & Earth & Believers’ Eternal Home