August 16, 2008

• What do you think happens to us after we die?

  What do I think happens to us after we die? Judgement.

  The bible tells us that after death comes the judgement.

  Revelation 20:11-15 KJV  (11)  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.  (12)  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.  (13)  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.  (14)  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.  (15)  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

  No one will escape this judgment.

  All will be there, small and great.

  The ultimate deciding factor of who goes into the lake of fire is the “book of life”. The ultimate deciding factor is how a person stands with Jesus Christ.

  Luke 12:16-20 KJV  And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:  (17)  And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?  (18)  And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.  (19)  And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.  (20)  But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

  Luke 16:19-31 KJV  There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:  (20)  And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,  (21)  And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.  (22)  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;  (23)  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.  (24)  And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.  (25)  But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.  (26)  And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.  (27)  Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:  (28)  For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.  (29)  Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.  (30)  And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.  (31)  And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

  When a person dies, their spirit is separated from their body. The body goes into the grave, but the spirit will depart and go to another location.

  Before the resurrection of Jesus, when a person died, their spirit went into a place in the center of the earth known as “Sheol” or, “  Hades”.

  Sheol is a Hebrew word, meaning sheol, underworld, grave, hell, pit. In the King James, the word is translated either “grave” (31 times), “hell” (31 times), or “pit” (3 times).

  David talked about this –
  Psalm 16:10 KJV For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

  In Sheol, there were two “compartments”, a place for the righteous and a place for the unrighteous.
  The place for the righteous is referred to as “paradise” or “Abraham’s bosom”.

  Jesus said to the thief on the cross,
  Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

  It was a place of comfort.
  The place for the unrighteous is called “hell” or “Gehenna”.

  It was a place of torment.
  When Jesus rose from the dead, we believe a change of destinations took place for the dead.
  We believe that Jesus took all those in “paradise” with Him to heaven.

  Eph 4:8-9 KJV Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. {9} (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

  All those who have trusted in Jesus and have died since the time of the resurrection will go immediately into heaven, to be in God’s presence.

  Paul wrote about what he expected to happen when he died –

  Phil 1:19-24 KJV For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, {20} According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. {21} For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. {22} But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. {23} For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: {24} Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

  He also said that to be “absent from the body” meant that a person was “present with the Lord”.

  2 Cor 5:8 KJV We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
  While a change took place for the “righteous”, the unrighteous still go to the same place, hell.

  There, they are waiting for the day when they will be brought back to life and stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment, and sent forever into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20).

  The Bible says,
  Heb 9:27 KJV And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

  Once you are dead it is to late to come to the Lord.

  Hell is not a pleasant place to be. It is not a big party.

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  • 7:44 pm
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