Orthodox Forge

Eschatology and the After Life

How shall the body and soul of an evil person be reunited, given that he has not given himself a chance to return to God?

Q1418 · The Resurrected Body

It seems to me that they would blame one another. The soul would feel that the body with its desires has pushed the person as a whole to love the world, to refuse to return to God, and to be apathetic about encountering Him and accepting the divine grace that would have been capable of establishing the kingdom of God within that person. And the body would feel that the soul is responsible for the straying of the will, and for all the hatred towards others and denial of the grace of God the person has practiced. In this manner, the wicked person spends his life in conflict, even in hell. The body cannot stand the soul, and the soul cannot stand the body. They are in unceasing bitterness and under the condemnation of the doomed — yet they never perish.

In short, in Christ Jesus, love and eternal life prevail, even between the soul and the body; but in hell, bitter conflict prevails, even between the soul and the body.