The initial version of this study was presented to the Boards and controlling overseers of three prominent Mid-Acts Dispensational ministries on April 23, 2004. This paper was written because of a controversy that had developed in one of the three ministries, the one in which I actively served as a Board member. The controversy was about teaching regarding the “State of the Dead,” and, specifically, whether the Rich Man & Lazarus story told in Luke 16 in any way depicts the true, sound Biblical perspective about what happens to us when we die.

The initial section of this study deals with the Rich Man & Lazarus story itself. The study then proceeds to discuss how the Apostle Paul taught about the "state of the dead" and provides a stirring challenge for all those who seek to "follow Paul, even as he followed Christ." Click here for a PDF of this study.