There are other passages that speak of the "spirits of just men made perfect"
Hebrews 12:22-24 KJV But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
God bless.
Hebrews 12 [vs 23]
Let us look at the texts in the Light of the Word of God and continue with a little more context...:
But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, Hebrews 12:22
To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, Hebrews 12:23
And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than [that of] Abel. Hebrews 12:24
See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more [shall not] we [escape], if we turn away from him that [speaketh] from heaven: Hebrews 12:25
Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. Hebrews 12:26
According to the text [vs. 24], Paul is speaking again about the comparison of the Old and New Covenants, in that the New Covenant is more Glorious [and "speaketh better things than [that of ] Abel"].
Again, as Paul elsewhere does [Galatians 4], He uses the events at Mt. Sinai [Exoodus 19 and 24, "all that the Lord hath said we will do", promises of the people of their own strength to obey GOD, which elsewhere in Hebrews, are found with "fault" [Hebrews 8:8]] to represent the Old Covenant [vs. 18-21, "the mount that might be touched", etc] and the Heavenly Jersualem, which is Above, being free, to represent the New Covenant [vs. 22]. This comparison is again found in Galatians 4:24-26:
Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. Galatians 4:24
For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. Galatians 4:25
But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. Galatians 4:26
So in Hebrews 12:22, "unto the city of the living GOD, the heavenly Jerusalem" is the same as "Jerusalem which is above is free...the mother of us all" in Galatians 4:26. Thus we can directly see the parallels that Paul is making in each Letter between the two Covenants, of Old and New.
Let us also immediately notice that these of the "general assembly and church of the firstborn" are merely "written in heaven" [apogegrammenwn; meaning "1) to write off, copy (from some pattern);2) to enter in a register or records;a) spec. to enter in public records the names of men, their property and income;b) to enrol" (Strong's Concordance) ie written down, recorded, registered, enrolled, etc] and are not actually and/or physically present there yet, since the Great Resurrections have not taken place yet, either the special, First [before 1000 years] or Second [after 1000 years; Revelation 20].
We find this elsewhere in scripture, where those who are in Christ Jesus are recorded, written, etc in the Lamb's Book of Life, while those not in Christ Jesus are to be removed, blotted, etc from it:
"Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous." Psalms 69:28
"...whose names [are] in the book of life." Philippians 4:3;p
"...the book of life..." Revelation 3:5
"...written in the book of life of the Lamb..." Revelation 13:8;p
"...written in the book of life from the foundation of the world..." Revelation 17:8;p
"...the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life..." Revelation 20:12;p
"...found written in the book of life..." Revelation 20:15;p
"...they which are written in the Lamb's book of life..." Revelation 21:27;p
"And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things which are written in this book." Revelation 22:19
These church members need Christ Jesus as their "mediator" [vs 24] of the New Covenant.
Paul is describing the life of the Christian and their experience in the New Covenant in these Hebrew verses, not ethereal immortal incorporeals.
Jesus Christ clearly said:
In my Father's house are many
mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:2
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also. John 14:3
Jesus Christ bodily ["flesh and bones"] and physically ascended into Heaven to a very real place with real "foundations", a real city in Heaven, that even Abraham looked forward to, that "place" Jesus has gone to "prepare", and Abraham still awaits for in death [sleep] until His resurrection, in which Jesus said "I will come again", even as stated in Acts 1:11 "this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven":
"For he looked for a city which hath
foundations, whose builder and maker [is] God." Hebrews 11:10
"And the wall of the city had twelve
foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." Revelation 21:14
"And the
foundations of the wall of the city [were] garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation [was] jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;" Revelation 21:19
So as Paul says in Hebrews 12, a Christian comes to:
[1.] "to Mount Zion ... the city of the living God." [vs 22] Of which even Peter speaks the same of the Church on earth saying that they are, "lively stones, ... an spiritual house." [1 Peter 2:4-6], becoming a citizen of that Heavenly City, becoming part of the Temple of God.
[2.] "to an innumerable company of angels" [vs 22] of which explains the angelic ministry to the church here on earth in other verses, like "Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:" [Psalms 104:4] and "And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire." [Hebrews 1:7]
[3.] "to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven" [vs 23], which is still yet another description of the Body of Christ, the Church which is on this earth. Paul says basically the same elsewhere in Philippians 4:3, "And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and [with] other my fellowlabourers, whose names [are] in the book of life."
[4.] "to God the Judge of all" [vs 23], and parallels Pauls usage elsewhere in Hebrews by saying, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." [Hebrews 4:16] and "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." [Hebrews 7:25], so we must come to GOD the Father, through Christ Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, while He is still able to make intercession for us.
[5.] "to the spirits of just men made perfect" [vs 23], this not meaning immortal incoporeal beings, ghost-men-essences floating in Heaven [a platonic dualism, which scripture no where teaches], but rather is speaking of the kindred spirit of Christian and Christian. Paul contrasts those who are walking "after the flesh", with those who are now Christians and are walking "after the spirit" [Romans 8:5]. So, these are Christians fellowshipping with other Christians on earth, who have been transformed by the renewing of the mind, by the power of GOD, comparing spiritual things with spiritual, in their experiencing the New Covenant, as even Hebrews 10:14 [and context] shows, "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." This is referring to "born-again" Christians, washed in the Blood of the Lamb, having the New Covenant and Law [Ten Commandments of God] written upon the Heart [Jeremiah 31:31-33; Ezekiel 37:26-28 [and context]; Hebrews 8:8-10, 10:16].Also see, "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;" [Ephesians 4:23] and "...ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;" [Philippains 1:27;p]
The people who have died [wicked and righteous], remain in their graves together, in death, in sleep [and thus are "alive unto God"] since they have not died the Second Death.
"[There is]
no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; ..." Ecclesiastes 8:8
Then shall the
dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto
God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:7
His sons come to honour, and
he knoweth [it] not; and they are brought low, but
he perceiveth [it] not of them. Job 14:21
But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and
where [is] he Job 14:10
... well "Where is he?" [context]
Notice, the
"spirit shall return to God who gave it", that is
"gave it" to you/I for the time you/I we were allowed to be alive and once removed and returned back unto God, you/I no longer have "it" [spirit] [you/I no longer "retain" it] and are dead, in "sleep", the body returning unto dust which "thou" are, for out of "it" [dust] were we "taken", nothing but "dust and ashes" [Genesis 3:19, 18:27; etc].
For the Roman Catholic, listen to it stated every Ash Wednesday in Roman Catholic services:
"Remember man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return." - Roman Catholic Online Encyclopedia; "A"; "Ash Wednesday"
Said so many times, but never heard... I know...
We cannot retain the spirit, it is not ours, our life is derived from God's life, which is His.
There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit;
neither hath he power in the day of death: and
there is no discharge in
that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it. Ecclesiastes 8:8
