Salvation Made Plain – LESSON 6
What Happens At Death
1. Man Is Made Up Of Three Parts
We are still
talking about the thief on the cross. And we are still talking about Salvation. Now we are going to talk about his death. In order to understand Salvation, we have to
understand the make-up of people.
1 Thessalonians 5:23
(23) And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly;
If He is going
to do that wholly – what is He going to have to do?
And I pray God your whole spirit and
soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
Please notice
now, and memorize it correctly. Ninety-nine out of one-hundred people misquote this verse.
Here is the way they quote it:
I pray God your whole BODY, soul
and spirit.
But it isn’t that way. You see, we
are more interested in our body, than in our spirit. But God is more interested in your spirit, than your body. I didn’t say He is not interested in your body – but I did say God is more
interested in your Spirituality, than
in anything else. Can you believe that? You see – that is first.
|
SPIRIT
-- God- Consciousness |
|
SOUL
-- Self-Consciousness |
|
BODY
-- World- Consciousness |
It is like a three-storey house. We have
the basement, and we have the middle storey, and the upper storey. When Adam fell his spirit fell into his soul. In other words, he lost his upper storey. Do
you know what happened when you got saved? – You got your upper storey back. Your spirit got into
the place where it belongs.
Starting at the bottom storey. Your body
is in this world, and so in your body, you are conscious of the world
around you. Did you know that some people go to church in their spirit? I’m glad you didn’t come to church tonight in
your spirit. I’m glad you brought your body – because it’s awfully hard to
preach to spirits. I’m conscious of you, because you brought your body along tonight. And you are conscious
of me,
because I brought my body here.
Your soul is that part of you that gives
you self-consciousness. I am not primarily dealing with this – I just touch on it in passing. Do you
believe you have a soul? Let me illustrate this way: Do you ever talk to yourself? Don’t try and
tell me you don’t, because I won’t believe you. There isn’t one person who doesn’t
talk to him or herself some time or other. And the very fact that you talk to
yourself, is the proof that you have a soul. That’s you – your inner-self that nobody can
penetrate unless you let them. That inner you is very real. You all know about it, and you are conscious of yourself. Sometimes you
can’t stand up and do anything because you are so self-conscious.
But then there is another part of you called
your spirit. Your spirit is that part of you that gives you God-consciousness. When a man is
unsaved, his spirit is dead. And because his spirit is dead, he is not conscious of God. If you
want one proof of your Salvation, it is the fact that you are conscious of God.
I can’t even eat a cookie with tea,
without giving God thanks. It is only an illustration, but I’m conscious of God when I sit down at the
table. The first thing I think about when I get up in the morning is God. I’m not trying to be
super-spiritual – I’m simply telling you that one of the facts of a Christian is that he becomes conscious of God. His
spirit is made alive to God.
Here are a couple of verses that tell us
a bit about ourselves. Let’s read Romans 1:9.
As I read the whole verse, it reveals something about the personality of the apostle
Paul. I recall that for a period of time I had a secretary that was afraid of me. It took her
a year to tell me that she was afraid of me. I had never visualized that anybody
would ever be afraid of me. She worked for me for months with fear and trembling until
she got to know me.
To her, I was sort of a harsh, austere,
blunt, frank Irishman. I don’t know if
I’m Irish or not – but whatever it is, I’m a bad mixture. Paul had the same problem. He appeared
as though he was hard – but he wasn’t. I may appear hard, but God knows that down inside I have a tender heart. He has put it there. Paul
would say: “God bears me witness.”
Romans 1:9
(9) For God is my witness, whom I serve with my BODY.
No – you don’t serve God with your body.
It says:
(9) For God is my witness, whom I serve with my SPIRIT.
You may use
your hands, and you may use your lips – but if your heart
(which the Bible uses interchangeably with your spirit) is not in it, it is an abomination
to the Lord.
Colossians 3:17
(17) And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the
name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
The only service that is going to be rewarded is that service
which is done by your spirit. Your spirit
is in it, and your hands do it. Your spirit motivates, and your mouth
does it. Your spirit motivates, and your feet go.
Illustration
Some years ago
I was shingling a roof with brother Harold Hollands. He was over seventy years
of age. Can you imagine him running here and running there on the roof? He would say to me “I’m getting older in my body, but I’m not one minute older in my spirit.”
Our spirits are not getting old. My spirit is just as real and
just as alive and just as vibrant as it was thirty years ago. My body has trouble keeping up with my spirit. Praise God, my spirit
is alive and well. It is with your spirit
that you serve God – not outwardly – but from the inside-out. Man serves from the outside-in. God wants
you to learn from the inside-out.
It is with your spirit that you serve him.
From Hebrews we
learn something about soul and spirit
that you can’t find elsewhere in Scripture.
Hebrews 4:12
(12) For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper
than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder
of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart, (the
inner spirit).
It is not
unusual for the writer of Scripture to use a natural
illustration, to illustrate a spiritual truth. Do any of you have bones in your
body? What is in your bones? – Marrow. Is it
correct to say that they are not identical – but they are inseparable?
As the marrow is to bone, so is the soul to the spirit. God’s word is so Powerful that it can even divide
between soul and spirit.
Soul and
spirit, although they are not identical, they are inseparable.
Where the soul goes the spirit
goes. Where the spirit goes the soul
goes. The soul can leave the body, and when it leaves the
body, so does the spirit. Do you get the difference? Soul and spirit are not identical, but they are inseparable.
We said all that to say
this:
2. What Happens At Death?
James 2:26 The first part of the verse is all that we
want here.
(26) For as the body without the spirit is dead
That’s plain
enough, isn’t it? What happens at death? According to that verse – the spirit departs and the body
remains.
Genesis 25: 7-8
(7) And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life
which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years.
(8) Then Abraham gave up the ghost.
Don’t let that
old English word bother you. That doesn’t mean “Holy Spook.” We have
deteriorated so much in our language that when we read the word “Ghost,” we think of Halloween and spooks. So if it will help you get a new translation, the word “ghost” simply means “spirit.”
It is an old English word that means “spirit.”
Back to verse eight.
(8) Abraham gave up the ghost (spirit) and
died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his
people.
Isn’t that
wonderful! All I want you to see is that he gave up his spirit. What happened? – Physical
death. What happens in physical death? – Your spirit
departs.
God says so!
Now let’s go to
the New Testament.
Acts
(59) And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying,
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
Did Stephen
have his theology straight in keeping with the Bible? – Yes. What is he doing?
– He is dying. What is happening? – His spirit is departing. Where did his spirit go? – It went to
be with Jesus
because he was a believer. At death the spirit departs.
Man is made up
of Spirit, Soul
and Body. Now back to Genesis. We said the soul and
spirit are inseparable. Now we have to prove
that point in relationship to death.
Genesis 35: 18
(18) And it came to pass, as her soul was departing (for she
died).
It doesn’t say spirit, it says her soul.
And in case you didn’t understand what that means, in brackets it says (for she
died). This is talking about Rachel. What happened to Rachel when she died? – Her
soul departed. What happens when you die? When
Stephen died, his spirit departed. What happens at death? – The soul and spirit depart from the body. What is death basically? – Death is basically
separation. It
is the separation of the soul and spirit
from the body so that only the
body remains in death.
Now let me give
you one more example. The context of the Scripture is that there was a family
feud. People think that things have changed
so much, but there is no new thing under the sun.
Luke 12: 13, 15
(13) And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to
my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.
Somebody had
died and the inheritance was not being divided properly, so they were having a feud. When you die, all the stuff you have is only stuff. One rich man died and somebody said “how much did he
leave?” The answer was “everything!” It’s quite a leveler. The world wasn’t
any richer when you were born, and if you die, it
won’t be any poorer! You brought nothing into this world – and you won’t take a thing out. God says so!
They had an
argument. Look at what Jesus says:
(15) And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a
man’s life consisteth not in the
abundance of the things which he possesseth.
I wish we would
learn that in this day. Life is more
than houses and lands. Life is more than things. You can have everything
and be as poor as a church mouse (wherever that saying came from!)
Illustration
In 1966 a
friend introduced me as a Bible teacher to three of his millionaire friends
whose names were Frank, Bob and Frank. After an hour of talking, I was quoting:
James 5:1
(1) Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries
that shall come upon you.
Isn’t that a good verse for three millionaires!
That’s the verse that I used. Bob came to life and said: “Sir, I don’t know
anything about the Bible, but I’ve never heard anything that fits us better
than that!” He pointed to Frank and said ---“Take
Frank over here -- tomorrow if I said, Here are two tickets, fly to
Hawaii— Frank would
say So what, I’ve been there so often I hate the place!”
“Then I’d say to
Frank over here -- Here are two tickets, go to the Bayshore Inn
and get the best meal they have there. Frank would say, So what, I hate their food!”
He went on and
on. He said “You can only drive one
car at a time and you can only live in one
house at a time. You can only wear one
suit of clothes at a time, and you can only use one
refrigerator at a time.”
Here is what
that man said in the presence of millionaires,
and not one
said he was wrong! He
said “We three men have got so much money we can’t
enjoy anything!”
That is why God keeps so many of you poor. Did you know that? That’s right – He wants you to enjoy life! Do you know where people are committing suicide
more than any other place? – In
There is a
prayer that I pray all the time. “Lord, don’t make me too poor (and that is in the Bible) because if I am
too poor, I might steal. And Lord, don’t make me too rich, because if You make me too rich, I might
not trust in You. And my testimony of almost fifty years of ministry, is that
God has kept that Word for me. I’ve never been too poor, and I’ve never been too rich. And Praise the Lord – the kick hasn’t gone out of life for me! It’s just wonderful to see how God supplies.
Luke 12:16-20
(16) 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?
Notice all the I’s and
My’s.
(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.
Remember,
Ecclesiastes was written by the wisest
man who ever lived. Will you put your hand over your heart and while you are
feeling your heart, read:
Ecclesiastes 10:2
(2) A wise man’s heart is at his right hand;
but a fool’s heart at his left.
You will never forget that, will you! A wise
man’s heart is at his right hand – and you
have your hand over to the left. That was Solomon’s nice way of telling
everybody that they have been a fool
some time or other. God said “a
fool.” Nobody likes to be called a fool.
Back to Luke.
Luke 12:20
(20) But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night
thy soul shall be required of thee.
You said you had years – you haven’t even got tonight!! What is death?
– Physical death is God calling the spirit and God requiring
the soul. Now, if I am made up of spirit, soul and
body, and if at physical death the spirit
and soul depart, what then remains? – Only the body.
You may not
need it now, but some day you may need the comfort of that fact.
When your loved one departs, don’t forget – all that is there is the body. It is an empty
shell!
Illustration
One preacher was preaching a funeral service. (I feel sorry when things like this happen. I’ve had a
few duds happen to me
too.) He said, “A human being is like a
peanut, the nut is inside and at death you take out the nut and the shell remains.”
He said “Here before us the nut is gone.”
He had to dig himself out of that! I wouldn’t suggest that you conduct a funeral service that way – but there is truth in that. The nut is gone and the shell remains. That is all that is left when death comes.
3. Therefore, Only the Body Is Put Into the Grave
This is such a wonderful subject, because we start
talking about the Resurrection. Only the body is put into the grave. It doesn’t matter
if a man is poor.
It doesn’t matter if he is rich.
It doesn’t matter how much
he has.
I kind of like what the Quakers did. I don’t know if
they still do this, but they used to have special burial clothes. When death came, they put everybody in the same kind of clothes,
because they wanted everybody to remember that death is the common leveler. When death comes, the rich die like the poor, and the poor die like the rich. The healthy
die like the sick, and everybody is brought to a common level, and everybody
goes to a common grave.
In talking about death (In a few moments we will be applying this
to the thief
on the cross.) -- When the thief died he went some place. When Jesus died, He went some place. His body went to the grave, but the spirit and soul
went some place else
– and we are going to talk about that. But at the moment, we are still talking
about the fact that only bodies
go to the grave.
I don’t think I can emphasize that too much.
When you stand before the body of a loved one in the
casket, it becomes a great comfort when you know that there is nobody there. It is an empty house. Regarding a house
that somebody moves out of – when a tenant moves out of the house and the house
is there, that doesn’t mean it is the end of the tenant does it!
If you can look at death as that tenant (the one who resided there)
– the tenant has moved out, and the house remains. You have to do something with the house
so you put it in a grave. If the Lord tarries, some day a preacher will stand
over our
empty shell and say “Dust to
dust, earth to earth and ashes to ashes” and we too will go to a common grave.
I cannot talk about death and leave out this wonderful
part of Christianity. It is part of our Hope of Salvation. I’m talking now
about Resurrection.
John 5: 28
(28) Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are
in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth:
From the natural standpoint I marvel. There is nothing more
mind-expanding, and is too big for me, than the doctrine of bodily Resurrection. It is no wonder that Jesus
started out -- “Marvel not.”
What a tremendous fact. Every man and every person who has ever lived
and died is going to be Resurrected.
Do you dare believe that! Jesus
said it! Both the good and the bad, both the saved and the lost, are going to
be Resurrected.
There is going to be a bodily Resurrection of everyone who ever died. That is a
statement from God’s Word.
Paul had a problem with the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 15: 12
(12) Now if Christ be preached that
he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
I want to show you two things. Some of the Corinthians
were saying that there would be no Resurrection. That’s why this chapter was
written. In verse 35 he deals with another problem. They questioned the Resurrection and then he said:
1 Corinthians 15: 35
(35) But some man will say, How are
the dead raised up? And with what body do they
come?
Paul, by the Spirit, says fool!
It’s kind of hard looking at all these Scriptures that call us fools; but
if you don’t believe in the Resurrection,
God says “Fool!” Do you know why he says “Fool?” He gives an illustration:
1 Corinthians 15: 36-38
(36) Thou fool, that which thou
sowest is not quickened, except it die.
(37) And that which thou sowest,
thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of
wheat, or of some other grain.
(38) But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
I’m glad for that passage. What is the Resurrection likened to? – To
sowing – to planting.
Illustration
How many of you people have planted potatoes? Have you
ever noticed – if you keep potatoes long enough, they get shriveled up?
I just dug potatoes for my son-in-law back in
I don’t know anything that looks more like old people than a shriveled potato. If they stay
around long enough, they really get shriveled up. But what do you do in the spring? – You cut
them up and you put pieces
in the ground. Do you know that when they bury me, they
are not
going to bury a whole
body either?
In 1944 a doctor took my tonsils out. I don’t know
where they put them. Four years ago, I went into the Burnaby hospital and they
took out my gallbladder, and I don’t know where they disposed of it. One fellow
said he is sure it didn’t
happen, because I have more gall now, than I had before!
Back in the days of the war, I had a problem. We had a
wonderful preacher come to town, to the United Church. His name was Gregson and
he was from
When he started preaching in the early spring, he had
a church full
of people – and by June he had all of six people left. That fellow was preaching the Gospel. He was so fiery that they wouldn’t listen to
him, and in three months they asked him to leave.
After he left they got a new preacher directly from the CEMETERY! When this fellow came out, he had his beard
and his pipe, and they really loved
him. He smoked
just a little, but not too much. He drank just a little, but not too much. He swore just a little, but not too
much. And he danced
just a little, but not too much. You see – everything they did – he did, and they really loved him. If you get a preacher
who does everything you
do – you will never get under conviction
will you! Well, they
never got under conviction.
He was only there a few weeks, and somebody died in
his church. That’s a problem
when you are raised in a small home town. I was raised in this
So I had to preach this funeral service in the
He said “Doesn’t
it bother you that a boy goes out in an airplane, and he is shot down, and one
part of him lands in the ocean, and another part of him goes elsewhere, and
they can’t find any part of his body?”
Well, I didn’t get bothered at all. You don’t have to
bury a whole
potato to get a whole
potato back. You put a piece
in the ground – and from a little piece, you get a brand new one.
Illustration
In 1938 I pitched bundles. The rust had hit
Saskatchewan, and the Marquis wheat was hit with rust. It was worse than feed wheat. It was light as a feather, and as black as a black shoe. I never saw
wheat like it. It was horrible!
In 1939 my Dad said “we will take some of that wheat,
and we will sow it and see what happens.” The rains were just right, and the
crop was wonderful.
There wasn’t any rust, and can you believe it – that black wheat that we put
into the ground in the month of May, was harvested in September and it was #1 Hard Red Northern Wheat.
God gave the black shriveled up wheat a brand new body. And God says that is what the Resurrection is.
And more
than that – God says if you sow
potatoes you get
potatoes back. When you sow peas, you get peas back, and when you sow carrots,
you get carrots back.
Aren’t you glad God made carrots orange and not green,
and peas green and not orange? Isn’t it amazing? – It doesn’t matter what color
the soil
is. You can have red
soil and get the carrots to come out the right color. And you can have black soil and have the peas come
out the right color.
Peas produce peas, and I’m foolish enough to believe
that when you put a body
in the ground – you are going to get a body back. And it is not going to be a part of one either. If God
can take a piece of a potato and give back a brand new whole potato – so is the Resurrection
from the dead. It is sown in weakness, and it is raised in power. It is sown in dishonor, and it is raised
in Glory. It is sown a natural body, and it is raised a Spiritual body.
And to every seed its own body – why? – Because now is Christ risen from the dead
and become the first fruits of those who slept (1 Corin.
4. Where Do the Soul and Spirit Go At The Time of Death?
We now go back to our jump-off passage in Luke, and we
follow the steps, one-by-one.
Luke 23:43
(43) And Jesus said unto him (the dying thief) Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with
my BODY.
No – it doesn’t say
that. Your body is not you!
You live in your body.
Jesus said;
Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt
thou be in the GRAVE.
No – it doesn’t say that.
Jesus did say:
Today shalt thou be with me in PARADISE.
Notice that word
Some of the things I am going to say to you now, the
Jehovah Witness people know better
than most evangelical Christians. And that is sad.
Psalm 16: 9-10
(9) Therefore my heart is glad, and
my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.
Notice the words “my flesh” and “rest.”
(10) For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy
One to see corruption.
In your Strong’s or Young’s concordance, look up the
word “Hell,” and it will show you that Hell (in the English Bible) is
the translation of at least five different words. In the margin in your Bible
the word “Hell” is “Sheol.” Thou wilt not leave my soul in Sheol. Sheol is the Hebrew word translated by the translators as – “Hell.” The Hebrew word for “Hell” is “Sheol.” In
Psalm 16, who is the Psalmist talking about?
What is it referring to?
Acts
(31) He (David) seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that
his soul was not left in hell.
The Old
Testament was written in Hebrew.
The New
Testament was written in Greek.
This
word Hell
is Hades.
It is Greek for the same word. It is a quotation from Psalm 16.
Where did Jesus go when He died? Where did His soul go? – in Luke he said He went to Paradise. But in Psalms and Acts, it
said He went to Sheol/Hades. So I make my first conclusion – Paradise must be in Sheol/Hades – wherever that is – because
Jesus’ body did not see corruption, but His soul was not left in Hades. Doesn’t that make
sense? – it had to go
to Hades in order to leave
Hades.
I am talking about the believing thief going to
Psalm 16 – to Sheol.
Acts 2 – to Hades.
The one is Hebrew, the other Greek – for the same word.
And what does Sheol/Hades mean? – It means the spirits departed for the
place of departed spirits.
So Sheol/Hades is the place of departed spirits. The grave is the place for departed bodies.
Death Before The Resurrection Of
Christ
… … … j
Unsaved Savior Saved
|
Grave
Place
for All
physical bodies at death ……… l |
Sheol / Hades – All spirits (Saved
and Unsaved) along
with their souls--- went to Sheol / Hades. … … … Luke 16:
19-31 Sheol/Hades is made up of two
parts k ÿÿ Matt. |
L L
|
HELL Place of Torments Place of the Lost Thief Place for Unbelievers … r
|
G U L F |
PARADISE Place of Comfort. Place of the Saved Thief Place of Jesus. Place for Believers …… mno |
Death Now – After The Resurrection Of Christ
Spirits of all believers go up to Heaven to be with
Jesus.
… … kpq
+
All physical bodies go to the grave.
… … … l
Spirits of all unbelievers go down to Hell.
… r
When Christ
died, His body was put in the grave. The grave is in the surface of the earth. Both the bodies, of the saved
thief, and the lost thief, went to the grave. All their bodies
went to the grave. But the spirit
and soul did not
go to the grave – it went to Sheol (or in the New Testament translation – Hades.)
Turning to
Matthew, I think this verse of Scripture is not
properly used. I think there is a great Truth
here that is often missed.
Matthew 16: 17
(17) And Jesus answered and said unto him (Peter) Blessed
art thou Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but
my Father which is in heaven.
(18) And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon
this rock I will build my church;
Do you believe
you are in the Church? Are you sure you are in
the Church? What does it say about it?
(18) and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it.
What do you
learn about Hades from that verse? – Hades has gates – not gate, but plural
– gates. And “gates” implies at least two. You can’t have gates
without having at least two. Hades has gates.
There is one
word that I want you to see in Luke. It
is the word “certain.”
Luke 1:5
(5) There was in the days of Herod the king of
Do you believe
he was a real man?
Do you believe he really lived?
He is even named – a certain priest.
Luke 5:12
(12) And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold
a man full of leprosy.
Who wrote Luke?
– Dr. Luke.
His language is the language of a doctor.
When he talks about a leper he says: “the man is full of it.” Have you ever heard a doctor say “He’s full of cancer?” That’s a doctor’s
language. But will you notice – he was in “a certain
city.”
Do you believe this story really
happened? You wouldn’t say “certain city” if it wasn’t “a certain city!”
Luke 5:17
(17) And it came to pass on a certain day as
he was teaching.
Now you have “a
certain man,” you have “a certain city,” and you have “a certain day.”
Luke 7: 2
(2) And a certain centurion’s servant,
who was dear unto him, was sick and ready to die.
Do you believe
that this was a real story? “A certain
centurion” – are you getting it? There
is no fiction
here. It is “a certain centurion.”
Luke 7:41
(41) There was a certain creditor which
had two debtors.
Again, notice
the word certain. Do you believe this is a real story? – Or is this fiction? If this is fiction you are charging Jesus
with telling a lie – because Jesus said there was “a certain debtor.” Isn’t it wonderful He didn’t give his name! The
Lord didn’t reveal who was in debt. And if you
get in debt, He won’t tell anybody either.
Luke 8:2
(2) And certain women, which
had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of
whom went seven devils
Luke 8: 22
(22) Now it came to pass on a certain day, that
he went into a ship
Luke 8: 27
(27) And when he went forth to land, there met him out of
the city a certain man.
I hope, when you read Luke next time, you will read it
with this in mind.
Luke 9: 57
(57) And it came to pass, that as they went in the way, a certain man said
unto him
Luke 10: 25
(25) And behold a certain lawyer stood up
Luke 10: 30
(30) And Jesus answering said, A certain man went
down from
Did that story
really happen? If Jesus said “a certain man” went down
– that is what he did! I’ve been there. Jerusalem
is 2500 feet above sea level and
Luke 10: 38
(38) Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into
a certain village.
(Bethany)
Luke 11: 1
(1) And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place,
Luke
(16) And he spake a parable.
Have you ever
had someone tell you these parables are not true? – That they are only stories of
fiction. I’m trying to prove that that’s not true. Do you see what I’m getting at? What do we have here? – A parable – a certain rich man.
Luke 13: 6
(6) He spake also this parable; a certain man had a
fig tree.
Luke 14: 2
(2) And, behold, there was a certain man
Luke 14: 16
(16) Then said he unto him, A certain man made a
great supper.
Luke 15: 11
(11) And he said, A certain man had two
sons:
When we hear
about the prodigal son, I think too often we think it is a story of fiction. The prodigal son was a real boy. A certain
man had two sons and the one turned out to be
the prodigal.
Luke 16: 1
(1) And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man.
I’ve taken you
as quickly as I can, through the first fifteen chapters of Luke. Do you get
what I’m getting at? – These are certain
stories. Are you going to change now, when you get to this chapter?
Luke 16: 19
(19) There was a certain rich man.
You better
believe it. It’s not fiction. This is the most sobering passage in the
New Testament.
(19) There was a certain rich man, which
was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
Let me say this
in passing – the beggar wasn’t saved because he was poor, nor was the rich man lost because he was rich. The poorness
and richness had nothing to do with it. Jesus is telling us what
happened. A man had everything, but near him was a certain beggar named Lazarus. Isn’t this Grace?
I don’t know for sure, the name of the rich
man. God didn’t tell me. Why? – Because this man went to Hell. I’m glad I don’t know who goes to Hell, and I’m glad
the Lord knows them that are His. As long as He knows me, I’m happy about that. It’s not my
part to go around and tell people they are going to Hell, – that is God’s part.
Luke 16: 20
(20) And there was a certain beggar named
Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores
Illustration
Every time I read this, I think of myself. I think about 1946 or 1947.
I got Ragweed poisoning. It was some of the worst days of my life. I went through a Job’s
experience. I broke out from the top of my head to the soles of my feet with
sores, and every crevice of my body was broken and bleeding.
I couldn’t stand a sheet on me, and I tried every quack’s remedy that there could
be. One quack said if you put on tar
ointment, it would take out the itch, so I tarred myself from head to foot. I
think we had to destroy the sheets. I could hardly stand them on me.
When the doctor in Pangman saw me, he swore he
couldn’t find a place to put a needle into me. He said “the only thing I know
to do for you, is put you on Strychnine.”
And so I started on milk and Strychnine – one drop with milk for breakfast, and one drop with milk for lunch, and one drop with milk for supper. And the next
day, two
drops three times a day. He said “Increase it by one drop until your ears start to
ring so loud that you know something is wrong.” I got up to the eleventh
day. On the eleventh day I took thirty-three drops of Strychnine.
The doctor said “Now if you quit you will die, so you’ve got to back off.” So from eleven, I went to ten drops and
so forth. I put in twenty-two days on the diet of Strychnine and milk and I’m
still here! I don’t know if it was the Strychnine, or what it was, but I got
rid of the stuff, and I’ve never had an allergy since. So I praise the Lord for
that. I didn’t like the treatment,
but I tell you, I know what it is like to be full of sores.
Luke 16: 21
(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.
Here is Lazarus and he is full of sores. It says the only
friends he had were the dogs. The dogs came and licked his sores. Sometimes
a man’s best friend is his dog.
All he could eat were the crumbs from the rich man’s table, and the rich man
treated him like a dog.
If he had anything on the table he didn’t want, he threw it to the poor man. Lazarus
lived on garbage.
Jesus told us about it because He knew about it.
Luke 16: 22
(22) And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom,
Think of it – the angels were Pallbearers. He didn’t have a
funeral. He didn’t have money for a casket. And there is not one word about
what they did to his body. Maybe the dogs ate it. That wouldn’t be unusual.
The Lord tells us that the angels
came and took Lazarus.
Illustration
I was in the Surrey hospital about nine years ago,
when I first came out to Surrey. Sister
Johnson, the blind lady who now sits on the back seat on Sunday morning, was in
the hospital. I think she had been operated on at least a half a dozen times.
I went in one day, and that dear soul who was
completely blind and
couldn’t see anything with her natural eyes, was so happy!
She was almost bouncing out of bed.
She said “Brother Pritchard, I saw the angels.” Can you imagine a woman who couldn’t see, talking about seeing. She said “They came in and lined up at the end of
my bed and I saw
them there.” That day she was so happy, that I could not doubt her testimony. With her blind eyes she saw Heavenly Creatures, and she was so happy, you couldn’t doubt her testimony.
Lazarus saw the angels. Can you imagine angels for Pallbearers! There
wasn’t anybody else to accompany him. Death is not the Coming of the Lord! Don’t let anybody tell you
that death is the Coming of the Lord. Death is the going of the believer to be with the Lord. The believer goes. Isn’t it wonderful to know from this story – if
you go, you won’t have to go alone.
Do you know who is going with you? On the basis of this story, there isn’t one
saint who has departed, who has gone alone. The angels have come to accompany him!
Luke 16: 22
(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.
The rich
man died, and he had a big funeral. He was buried. Everybody talked about this rich man, but
Jesus
pulled back the curtain. Here is the curtain being drawn back, and the only One who can do it is the Lord, Who has come from the other side. He’s
pulling back the curtain. What curtain? – the curtain on the other side. There is another side to death.
Brother Odegard, a dear senior brother, used to come
back and visit us in
Somebody said “the rich man died. And Lazarus died,
and left the land of the dying. Yes, that’s right – he didn’t leave the land of the living. When Lazarus died, he left
the land of the dying, to go to the land of the living. This is not the land of the living, -- Heaven
is the land of the living.
Lazarus went from the land of the dying,
to be in the land of the living.
So if I die, don’t cry over me. All it is – is the
nut is gone and the shell
remains. And Praise God, I don’t have to live in this shell forever.
Luke 16: 23-26
(23) And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham
afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Well Lazarus died. And the rich man died. The
Scripture says “in Hell.” The word is “Hades.”
They are the same word. Lazarus died and went to Hades, and the rich man died and went to Hades.
So learn this – Everybody who died – both the living (that is the Christian—the believer) and
the unbeliever,
went to Hades before
the cross. But there is more
(24) And he cried and said, Father Abraham
Why is Abraham in here? – There is another Scripture in
Galatians that says Abraham is the father of all. Abraham is the father of the faithful. If you have the faith of Abraham, you are saved. And if you haven’t got the faith of Abraham,
you are not saved – because Abraham is the father of all believers.
That’s why it is called Abraham’s
bosom. Lazarus had faith and he went to be with Abraham.
(24) And he cried and said, Father
Abraham (that reveals he was a Jew) 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 receivest 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 hence.
Now look back to the chart and notice k.
What is Sheol/Hades?
It is a place in the heart of the earth. It is the place of departed
spirits, and it has gates
– plural. Do you see where the gates come in now? You have one gate that leads to Hell. And there is another gate that leads to
When the rich man died he went to Hades – to the place of torment. When Lazarus died he went to Hades – but he went to the place
of comfort. That’s what
5. When Jesus Died, He Went Down To Paradise
When Jesus died, He went down.
Ephesians 4: 8-9
(8) 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?
Where was
When Jesus died, He didn’t go straight to Heaven – He
went down
to Paradise. Before He went upstairs, He went downstairs. Before He ascended, He first descended. And what did He do? – He
went through the gate of Paradise.
And who was in
They couldn’t go to Heaven yet. Why not? – it is
impossible
for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin, so they couldn’t go to Heaven until Jesus came. Jesus came – and by His blood He took away their sin and He took down the gate of Paradise in Hades. The captives were imprisoned in
And that’s where they are now. Praise the Lord – He emptied it. And what did Matthew say?
– “The gates of hell will not prevail against the Church.”
What does it mean when a Christian dies today? – He doesn’t go down – he goes up.
Praise the Lord – the gate of Hades will never close on you. You depart to be with Christ.
We are now talking about the subject: Where did the spirit and soul of the Lord Jesus go at the time of his death? We
have already talked about His body.
And we have talked about the body of the dying thief. And now we are talking about the Person of the Lord Jesus.
When Jesus died He went down to Paradise. Let’s go back again to:
Ephesians 4: 8-9
(8) 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?
Notice it does not say he descended into the grave. Before Jesus went to Heaven,
He went down.
Matthew 12: 39-40
(39) But he answered and said unto
them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there
shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
(40) For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the GRAVE.
No – it says in the HEART OF
THE EARTH.
Before Jesus went to Heaven He went down to Hades. Where was Hades? –
It was in the heart of the earth. The soul and Spirit of Jesus went there
at the hour of His death. And He was there for three days and three nights.
1 Peter 3: 18-22 is one of those Scripture passages
that I suppose is more difficult, and it has created
problems, on many occasions, for some people at least.
1 Peter 3: 18-22
(18) For Christ also hath once suffered for sins.
He has once for all and forever suffered for sins.
And I repeat: the only atoning suffering that ever
was done for sin or will ever be done for sin was done by Jesus Christ on the Cross. Have you got
that straight? Will you always remember that!
Cain has been suffering in Hell for thousands of years, but he is no closer to redemption now than he was when he started. Man cannot put away sin by his suffering. The only suffering that puts away sin
is the suffering of the Savior.
Look at it again
1 Peter 3: 18-19
(18) For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might
bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.
I want you to notice the last word of the verse. The
last word is “Spirit” – with a capital S. Will you not agree with me that it is talking
about the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is referred to at the end of verse 18.
(19) By which
What does that mean?
Does it not mean “by the Spirit?” Spirit – the last word in verse 18.
(19) By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
That’s an interesting passage. Where did people go who died during the
flood? – They went to Hades.
What is it called here? – It is called a prison.
What did we learn from Matthew
Before I go on with this difficult portion, I want you
to observe what we read from the Old Testament. Peter is taking us back to the
days of the flood
– to the days of Noah
– to the days when the
Genesis 6: 3 Get the connection here.
(3) And the Lord said (back before the flood) My Spirit shall not always strive with man.
Some of us are quite surprised to find where that
verse fits. My question to you is this: Was the Spirit of God dealing with those who lived in the
days of the flood? Was the Spirit of God dealing with men before Noah went into the
Who was doing the preaching to those people? What I’m getting at is: If you don’t know the
problem
you won’t see the answer!
You’ve got to know
the problem
to see
the answer.
There are those who teach that Christ went down and preached in Hell. I want to show you that that’s NOT what it is saying at
all. The Spirit
preached.
Let’s go back to 1 Peter 3: 20. Genesis says the Spirit was striving. When did the Spirit preach?
1 Peter 3: 20-22
(20) Which sometime were
disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah,
while the
(21) The like figure whereunto even
baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh,
but the answer of a good conscience toward God) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
(22) Who is gone into heaven
Now let me go over that again. The Spirit was preaching in the days of
Noah to those who were (when Peter wrote) now in Hades. Those spirits were disobedient. The Spirit of Christ was preaching to them during the
days of the building of the Ark.
While Noah was building the
Some people ask about the heathen who have never heard the
Gospel. What about people in other ages and dispensations, before
Christ came? I think this is a beautiful verse:
John 1: 9
(9) That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
The Light of Christ shines on the pathway of every human being, some time or other. And I’m glad for that. When the Judgment
Day comes, every man will be without excuse. There will be no man
with an excuse on the Judgment Day, because the Light shines across the path of every man.
Hebrews 11:7
(7) By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved
with fear (of God), prepared an
Was Noah’s preaching in vain? Only eight people got saved. Everyone who did
not listen
to him – everyone who did not heed the Spirit (preaching through Noah) was condemned. The preaching of the Gospel
either saves
people or condemns
people. Every time a man hears the Gospel, there is always a result. Noah, by his preaching,
condemned the world.
Where are those Antediluvians today? What did the flood take away?
Matthew 24: 37-39 It says regarding the flood:
(37) But as the days of Noe were,
so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
(38) For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and
giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
(39) And knew not until the flood
came, and took them all away.
Now my question – Did the flood take the bad people away, or did the flood take the saved people away? The flood took
the ungodly
away.
2 Peter 2:5
(5) And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher
of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
They were condemned by the preaching of Noah.
And when Peter wrote his Epistle where were those Antediluvians? – They
were in Hades.
Then he goes on to apply the waters of Noah as a picture of two
things:
… A picture of Baptism
… And a picture of the Resurrection
That event of the flood took away the ungodly, but the same water that took away the ungodly, lifted Noah up and saved him. To the one, the flood was the saver of death unto death. To Noah, it was a saver of life unto life.
But the passage of Peter does not
teach that Jesus went
down to Hades to preach. It was the Spirit preaching in the days of
Noah. And where are those people now? – They rejected the preaching -- they are in Hades.
What did Jesus say in:
John 19: 30
(30) When Jesus therefore had
received the vinegar, he said, It is finished.
John 4: 34
(34) Jesus saith unto them, My meat
is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
I want you to think with me,
that on the cross Jesus finished
the work of Redemption. And He did not go down into Hades to work – He went down into Hades to
REST,
because His Work was finished!
Now let’s put some things together. Before His
crucifixion, Jesus made reference to “three days,” a number of times. Read Matthew 12 again:
Matthew 12:40
(40) For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the
whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the
heart of the earth.
That statement is very definite.
John 2:19
(19) Jesus answered and said unto
them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will
raise it up.
In verse 21 we are told that
he spake of the Temple of His body.
Historically, the Roman Church has made much of “Good
Friday.” In fact, in my younger days, they had made much of every Friday, having their people
eat fish on that day. Why? – Because of the traditions of the Church and Church fathers. So it is
because of tradition,
Friday has been set apart by religion.
Mark
(13) Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition
Jesus said to the religious Pharisees of His day: “You
make the word of God of none effect through your tradition.” So we set aside tradition, and look at the Scriptures.
John 19:31 It
was after Jesus had died on the cross.
(31) The Jews therefore, because it
was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the
Sabbath day (for that Sabbath day was a high day) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken (to hurry their death) and that they might be taken away.
Does that verse not teach that that Sabbath was not the ordinary one? It was a SPECIAL Sabbath. The regular Sabbath was the last day of the week.
Matthew 28:1
(1) In the end of the sabbath, as
it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to
see the sepulchre.
Matthew 28:6
(6) He is not here: for he is risen.
If Jesus had been crucified on Friday, and had risen before
sunrise on Sunday, He did not
spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth as predicted. In a
Jewish home, the regular Sabbath does not begin at
sunrise, but rather at sun-down
on Friday. This is so to this very day!
Genesis 1:5, 8 The
days are numbered from evening to the morning.
(5) And the evening and the morning
were the first day.
(8) And the evening and the morning
were the second day.
According to Matthew 27:46 it was the ninth hour of
the day, (or 3p.m. in the afternoon) when Jesus died. And in order to fulfill Scripture it must have been on WEDNESDAY.
So from sundown Wednesday to sundown Thursday, there
was one day and one night.
From sundown Thursday to sundown Friday, would be one day and one night.
From sundown Friday until sundown on Saturday would be
one day and one night.
We have already noted that it was very early the first day of the week that the
women were told he had already risen from the dead.
So we conclude that Jesus spent three days and three nights in Hades, where He rested after his finished Work. And the saved thief was with Him. If He
had died on Friday,
such would be impossible!
We also learn from these Scriptures, that the body was not the Person of Jesus. For when Christ
died His Spirit
departed to Hades
and His body
was placed in the tomb.
Bodies, not spirits, go to the grave.
Where
did Jesus spend his three days? – His body was in the grave, but He
was in Paradise
in Hades. Was He working down there? –
NO He wasn’t – He was RESTING.
Ephesians 4: 8
(8) Wherefore he saith, When he
ascended up on high, he led captivity captive,
What did Jesus do at the end
of his rest period? – He broke away the gates of Hades – the Paradise section. And what did He do? – He
took everybody who was in it (from Adam to Abraham to David, to the thief on
the cross.) What did He say to the thief on the cross? – “Today
you will be with me in
Where
was
And now where is Abraham, and where is Isaac? – They
are in Heaven.
How did they get there? – By Jesus Christ. How are you going to get there? There is no hope for
anyone apart from Jesus. It was Jesus Who took them to Heaven, and its going to be Jesus who takes you to Heaven, if you are going to get there.
6. His Resurrection Moved Paradise
What I am showing you is His Resurrection moved Paradise. 2 Corinthians 12:1 is
written after
the Resurrection. You must keep that in mind. Before the Resurrection, things were different than they are since the Resurrection.
2 Corinthians 12: 1-4
(1) It is not expedient for me
doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
Don’t miss any words here, because they are important!
(2) I knew a man in Christ
Is he talking about a Christian here? If you are in Christ, you know where you are at! He is not talking about an unbeliever.
(2) I knew a man in Christ about fourteen years ago
There are those who believe that Paul is talking about
himself.
If you go back to the stoning of Lystra in Acts 14, it would date about the
same time.
(2) (whether in the body, I cannot
tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
Some people will try and teach you that there are seven Heavens. There are not. The only time a man gets into seventh heaven, is when he falls
madly in love with a woman! That’s
the seventh heaven!
When it comes to the Bible, there is
j The heaven that you can see.
k And the heaven of the vast expanse – the
firmament.
l And then the Heaven of God’s
abode.
Three heavens. When you get to the third one, you won’t find a higher
one than that – because that’s God’s Heaven.
(3) And I knew such a man (whether
in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
I find this most intriguing. People have asked me “Do
you think this man was dead or alive?” My answer is a simple one – “How in the world can I tell you, when he didn’t know himself! Doesn’t it say – only
God knows?”
What does it mean “in the body?”– Alive physically. What does it
mean “out of the body?”– Dead
physically. You are either in
it or out
of it. And Praise God, when a tenant moves out of the house, that’s not the end of the tenant. Isn’t this glorious! If he
went to Heaven in
his body, it didn’t hinder him one little bit. And greater still – if he went without it, he didn’t miss it. It
didn’t make any difference – in
it or out
of it.
(4) How that he was caught up into
Where was he caught up when
he was caught up to Heaven? – He says he was caught up to
That explains:
Ephesians 4: 8
(8) He led captivity captive, he
gave gifts unto men.
He transported Paradise from the heart of the earth, to Heaven.
7. Believers Now, At The Time Of Death, Go Up To Heaven
2 Corinthians 5: 1
(1) For we know that if our earthly
house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
One translation says if the tent of our sojourn be taken down. It’s not always exciting to live in a tent is it! Aren’t you glad your
body isn’t
a permanent
house! What you are in now
is likened to a tent
– and one of these days you are going to fold up your tent, and you are going
to move out
of your tent into a permanent
house. Right now all you are living in is a mud house! God put His hand on some mud – it’s a mud house.
Illustration
My sister went
to Africa some years ago, and for years they had to live in mud houses. They were so glad, when the time came, when
they got some cement, so they
could make a permanent dwelling.
All we are
living in now are mud
houses. I lived on the prairies for a while, and a lot of buildings there are
made of wood. There were a lot of those buildings that
you had to put a lot of
paint on. The reason you painted up the wood
houses was to keep them from looking too dilapidated
– to keep them from falling apart.
Some women
paint up their faces gloriously – but all they are doing is advertising that their mud house doesn’t look good enough without it! So this is
what I say: “If your mud house is falling apart – if it doesn’t look
presentable – go ahead – there is nothing wrong with painting it up well. Keep it together the best you can –
because one of these days it is going to fall apart.
I always tell
young fellows when they get caught up with somebody who is well-painted “Don’t catch those girls in the rain – because when you catch them in the rain, they are going to reveal who they really are.
2 Corinthians 5:2
(2) For in this we groan, earnestly
desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
Do you remember the story of the Transfiguration? –
Matthew 17. Moses had been dead for 1500 years. Elijah had been taken to Heaven
from the earth, at least 700 years prior to that – and in Matthew 17 they both appeared. And they must have
appeared in bodies—because
Peter and James and John saw
them. You can’t see spirits.
And more than that, they had not had their Resurrected bodies yet, because nobody will
have his Resurrected body until the Lord comes. So what does that teach? It teaches
that between death and Resurrection
– for a believer – there is an intermediate body.
Somebody says “I can’t believe in an intermediate body.” Oh can’t you? You should have seen me 63 years ago. Can you
believe that there are some fellows in this room that I held in my arms one
day. I wouldn’t do it now.
You’ve got to believe in intermediate bodies, because even in this life God has given you
intermediate bodies. There is a body that is adaptable to babyhood. There is a body that is
adaptable to youth.
There is a body that is adaptable to adulthood and old age. We have all kinds of bodies that have
changed even in this
life. If God can do that here,
I have no question – between death and Resurrection, that there is a body. But it’s not the final body. There won’t be a final body until the Resurrection.
2 Corinthians 5: 6-8
(6) Therefore (because of what we know and because God has given us
the earnest of the Spirit) we are
always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
(7) (For we walk by faith, not by sight)
(8) We are confident, I say, and
willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
What happens to a believer now? – He goes home. Is there anything more wonderful than to
believe that? The word that describes Heaven for the believer is “home.”
Every time I go home, I introduce myself to my wife
and to my family, because nobody knows me at home – NO. When you are at home, you know everybody. Part of home, is being where your kinfolk are.
Again, I appeal to Matthew 17. Elijah and Moses appear,
and John and James are in their flesh bodies just like we are – they haven’t been changed one little
bit. And when Moses
appeared, they knew
Moses. Had they ever seen him in the flesh? – No – yet they knew him. Did they know Elijah? They never saw him before – but they knew Elijah.
When we are on the other side, we are not going to be as stupid as we are on this side. I praise God when we
get home,
we are going to know
everybody – because home is home, and one thing about home is that you know where you are. When I am at
home I know how to act. I don’t have to take any lessons on how to hold my cup
and fork and spoon. I know
how to act because I’m home.
One of these days we are going to be home. What a day of rejoicing!
Philippians 1: 21, 23
(21) For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain
We really don’t believe it. God’s word says
to die
is gain,
if you are a believer.
(23) For I am in a strait betwixt two,
having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better.
Illustration
I read about a drunken Texan who walked into a tent,
and he heard these people singing about going to Heaven when they die. He
pulled out his two shooters, turned around, and staggering in front of
everybody, said “Who wants to go to Heaven?”
He is pointing his revolver at everybody. Nobody took him up on it. But the
fact is still this: the Bible says that to depart and be with Christ is not only better – but far better. Would to God that we believe it! Heaven is better
than this.
Before the resurrection, the devil had the power of death.
Hebrews 2:14
(14) Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh
and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Since the resurrection, Christ has the
keys.
Revelation 1:18
(18) I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell (Hades) and of death.
Don’t ever miss that verse!
Romans 14: 9
(9) For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived,
that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
The keys of death are no longer in the hands of the devil. The keys of death are in
the hands of the Lord. If
I die before the next class – will you tell everybody the Lord took him. It isn’t going to
be the devil
who is going to take me – the Lord
is going to take me.
Enoch walked with God and he was not. God took him. And the Lord is going to take every believer one way or the other. If he
doesn’t take you by death
– he is going to take you by Rapture
– but you are going to go some day.
8. Old Testament Saints Could Not Go To Heaven
Why
couldn’t they go to heaven?
Hebrews 10:4
(4) For it is not possible that the
blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Old Testament saints only had their sins covered by the blood of bulls and
goats. It was not possible for the blood of bulls and
goats to take away sins. It was only the blood of Jesus that could take away sins.
Revelation 21: 27
(27) And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh
abomination, or maketh a lie; but they
which are written in the Lamb’s
book of life.
In order to be fit for Heaven, one’s sins must be taken completely away. And the only way that
can be done, is having the blood of Christ applied to our life. When that is done, our name is written
in the Lamb’s book of life.
Who is the Lamb?
John 1: 29
(29) The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Old Testament saints could not go to Heaven because their sins were only covered. They were not taken away. But Jesus went to the cross and took away
our sin. Our sin is not covered, it has been taken away and put into the
9. Hell Will Also Be Moved
Revelation 20: 14
(14) And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Hades had two parts – Paradise and Hell. Hell is going to be removed because the earth is going to be removed.