THE LINE: Hebrews 9:27
3 Observations in talking about LIFE AFTER DEATH. The bible may not tell us all we would like to know, but rest assured the Bible tells us all we need to know (& the rest, we will understand better by and by). We do need to let the Bible be our guide; too often we have let art, literature (Dante/Milton), folk tales and pure speculation guide us in leading to wild & inaccurate claims about life after death I must admit that there are honest and sincere disagreements between Christians about life after death. (Adrian Rogers and Herschel Hobbs). Tonight, we will not emphasize the points of disagreement; THE LAST THING OUR LORD JESUS wants to see when He returns is His children arguing over when He’s going to return!
People have always been interested in life after death, from the Egyptians and their elaborate burial preparations with the pyramids to the native americans and their happy hunting grounds to psychic research’s explorations of whether/not consciousness remains after death &.... it piques our interest.... where is my loved one and what is life like for him/her.... what will it be like for me?
Raymond Moody: LIFE AFTER LIFE: his book is a survey of those who had “death experiences” and then returned; from the survey, Moody listed a number of “conclusions”
a. many heard the news of their death
b. many had a feeling of peace and quiet, followed by a loud noise
and the sensation of being pulled through a tunnel
c. many viewed their own bodies; some met others, including
a “being of light”
d. some experienced a review of their life, and seemed to approach
a border before being told to turn back (not unlike SB pastor’s Don Piper’s experience, which he put in a book which was made into a film: 90 Minutes in Heaven)
ALTHOUGH MANY OF THESE FACTORS DIFFERED, ALMOST TO A PERSON THOSE SURVEYED WERE CERTAIN THEY WOULD SURVIVE BODILY DEATH And.... so do I....not because Raymond Moody’s book tells me, but because THIS BOOK tells me: HEBREWS 9:27.... there is an “AFTER THAT”.
Let’s look at our first section, LIFE ON EARTH
John 3:18: you are saved or lost based on what you do with Jesus after reaching the STAGE of accountability: it’s all about Jesus: we divide people into many categories, but with God there are only 2: LOST/SAVED; above/below; we come to our PHYSICAL DEATH, and no one is ON THE LINE.
Let’s look at our second section, LIFE AFTER DEATH, BUT BEFORE THE SECOND COMING
This entire segment is given various names, some of them biblical: Sheol, Hades, the place of shadows, the place of the departed, the valley of shadows.
2 Scripture passages cast light on this shadowy place
a. JOHN 11:25-26: life goes on after death
b. LUKE 16:25-26: DESTINY IS FIXED at death
LIFE ABOVE THE LINE.....
1. A place (John 14:1-3)
2. A place of happiness: (Lk 23:43)
3. A place of consciousness: Mt. of Transfiguration: Mt. 17
4. An incomplete place
LIFE BELOW THE LINE
1. A place (Matthew 25:41)
2. A place of torment (Luke 16:23)
3. A place of consciousness (Luke 16:28)
4. An incomplete place
SO, THE BIBLE DOES NOT TEACH reincarnation (Hindus), annihilationism (Jehovah’s Witness) or purgatory (Roman Catholic); there is no 2nd chance between death and the final judgment.
RETURN OF CHRIST
1. WHEN: Mark 13:32-33
2. HOW: Acts 1:11
Let’s look at our third section: LIFE AFTER DEATH AND AFTER THE SECOND COMING....
3. LIFE AFTER DEATH AND AFTER THE 2ND COMING
A. JUDGMENT: 1.2.7: YES
Revelation 20:11-15: BOOK/BOOKS: not decision, declaration
You can either be born once and die twice, or born twice and die once!
Where are you...tonight?
No one gets to Heaven by accident: by reservation only Rev.21:27
How long may men go on in sin; how long will God forbear
Where does hope end and where begins the confines of despair
One answer from the sky is sent-you who from God depart
While He does call today: REPENT, and harden not your heart