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Heaven, Hell, or Nothing? |
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As we neared the end of 1999 and we were getting ready for that momentous year of 2000, we were told about who was the greatest person in the last century and what the most momentous event had been. Now, I want to ask you a question to consider. What do you think was the greatest event that has taken place on earth since creation?
Was it the birth of Christ? How many of you think it was the
birth of Christ? 1) Some would argue that surely the birth of Jesus was most important because if He had not been born we wouldn’t have a Saviour today. 2) Others may say it was most important that Jesus should die for our sins or we would perish. 3) Still others would say that the resurrection was the most important for without the resurrection we would have no hope beyond the grave! This is a little like asking you: "Which is the most important: your head or your heart?" Both are vital, and so it is with the question we have just discussed However the resurrection of Christ was the key event in His life that proved He was whom He claimed to be —- The Son of God, the Messiah. And that His sacrifice had been accepted by His Father in our behalf. It was his resurrection that proved that He had gained the victory over death. In the Book of Revelation He said: "I am He who lives, and was dead,
and behold; I am alive forevermore, Amen. When asked by the religious leaders of his day to give them a sign that He was what He claimed to be, He said that the only sign that He would give them was His resurrection. Notice exactly what He said: "So the Jews answered and said to Him, What sign do you show to us, since you do these things? Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." John 2: 18,19 He spoke of this sign repeatedly. He said that He would be killed and that He would rise from the dead on the third day. The religious leaders took note of what He predicted and when He was slain they went to the Roman rulers and said to them: "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, After three days I will rise. Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse that the first." Matthew 27: 63,64 They were afraid that somehow the body would disappear and it would seem that Christ had been raised. The next verse says that Pilate sent a guard and they sealed the stone that covered the mouth of the cave with a Roman seal. Now no one could take His body. No one except His Father. Early Sunday morning while it was yet dark a brilliant angel descended from Heaven and rolled back the stone that covered the door of that tomb and He called Christ forth. The risen Saviour stepped forth the victor over death, the mighty conqueror. The soldiers were struck down as dead men by the glory of that one angel. The story of His resurrection was the driving power of the early Christian church, as the Romans had no hope beyond the grave. The only thing that they knew was that the grave was a deep, dark pit out of which no one could hope to have life. Now the Christians had a message of hope —there was a life to be had beyond the grave. The catacombs under the city of Rome show the difference between the pagan’s death and that of the Christians. Notice the epitaphs on the burial place of the tombs of those who died in pagan hopelessness. Over and over again is inscribed these words of sorrow: Goodbye forever or Goodbye for eternity. Now, notice what the inscriptions are on the tombs of the Christians: Goodbye until we meet again or Goodnight until the morning. Their tombs were inscribed with hope and courage, looking forward to the resurrection day. "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death." Revelation 1:18 There is no real hope for the future beyond death unless Christ is not our personal Saviour. Paul clearly states that if there is no resurrection then there is no future for the Christian. Notice what He said: "If the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen, And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished." 1 Corinthians 15:16 - 18 But to understand why He says what He did, we must understand what the Bible teaches about death itself. When God created man it was never His intention that anyone would ever die. After God created Adam He took inventory of what He had made and the Bible tells us in Genesis l:32 that everything was not only very good, it was perfect! There was no death, sickness or sorrow on Planet Earth before Adam and Eve’s fall. You will recall what God told mankind: "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’" Genesis 2: 16, 17 The next chapter of the story is not so happy. The tragic story is recorded for us in the Book of Genesis, Chapter 3. The Devil, using the serpent as his medium, appeared to Eve and tempted her to disobey God and eat of the forbidden tree. When Eve explained that God had told her not to eat of the fruit of that tree lest she die, the serpent said, "Ye shall not surely die." (vs.4.) This is the first lie recorded in the Bible about death! Eve chose to believe the Devil and ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God was forced to separate Adam and Eve from the Tree of Life because: "...the man has become as one of us, to know good and evil." "...And now lest he put out his hand and also take of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever— therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken." Genesis 3:22, 23 Death came upon mankind because he was separated from God, the source of life and the Tree of Life. God told Adam at this time: "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; For dust you are, and to dust you shall return." Genesis 3: 18, 19 Here is the key to understanding what death is all about and what God intends to do to save us from eternal separation from Him. The Bible says that man would return to the dust from which he was taken. Notice how Adam was created by God: "And the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." Genesis 2:7 God took the elements of the earth and made a body for man. But man, at that point was only a corpse. It took something more to make him a living being. It says here that God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul. Consider an equation like this: Body + Breath = A Living Soul
or That is what the Wise man said in Ecclesiastes, "Then the dust will return to the
earth as it was, and the spirit will
return to God This is essentially the same thing that the Book of Job, the first of the Bible Books to be written has to say about death. Job says: "As long as my breath is in me, and the breath of God in my nostrils, my lips will not speak wickedness." Job 27: 3 You will notice that he says all the while the breath of God is in my nostrils. That is what God put in his nostrils when He created man. Let’s take a look at another text. "Do not put your trust in princes,
nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. His spirit departs, he returns to
his earth; in that very day his plans perish." King David introduces something new here. He says that when the breath leaves the body and it returns to the earth that the conscience part of man or his thoughts perish! This harmonizes with what Solomon said: "For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished." Ecclesiastes 9:5,6 He knows nothing! Nothing? NO, nothing! This is in keeping with what the Psalmist wrote, that the dead are not in heaven praising God. Then where are they, you will ask. David makes it quite clear: "The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go
down into silence." "But man dies and is laid away; Indeed he breathes his last and where is he? But man dies and is laid away; Indeed he breathes his last and where is he?... So man lies down and does not rise, till the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor be roused from their sleep. Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, that You conceal me until Your wrath is past, that You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!" Job 14:10,12,13 Here we have it from God’s own Word that man dies and lies down in the grave and does not rise until the resurrection day. Notice how He describes this: "If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, till my change comes. You shall call, and I will answer You." Job 14: 14, 15 It is interesting to notice that Job tells us: "If I wait, the grave is mine house." Job 17:13.KJV You will notice that Job used the term sleep in talking about death. That’s the same thing that other Bible writers say: David wrote: "Consider and hear me, O Lord my God; enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death." Psalm 13:3 David was afraid of sleeping the sleep of death, he wanted to live! Daniel tells about the dead who will be raised just before the coming of Christ: "And, many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt." Daniel 12:2 One of the most comforting truths in God’s Word is that when a person dies he or she rest quietly, undisturbed by the problems of life until the call of the Lifegiver. Is it any wonder that the Bible likens death to a sleep? The prophet Nathan told King David what would happen to him his time to die would come. "When thy days be fulfilled,... thou shalt sleep with thy fathers." 2 Samuel 7:12 Jesus Himself called death a sleep. He used the same descriptive term to describe the death of His dear friend, Lazarus. There was a home in Bethany that Jesus often visited, the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. One day when Jesus and His disciples were out by the Jordan River He received an urgent message from his three friends in Bethany that Lazarus was very ill, but Jesus stayed where He was two more days. Then Jesus said, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up." John 11:11 The disciples were pleased, they said if he sleeps he will get well! Then Jesus made it very plain, "Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe, Nevertheless let us go to him." They went their way to Bethany where the family lived. As they approached the city, Martha came running to meet them, weeping, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." John 11:21 No doubt she was right! But, Jesus had a plan. He said, "Your brother will rise again." Now, notice carefully Martha’s response: "...I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." John 11:24 Martha assured Jesus that she expected to see Lazarus in the resurrection at the end of the world. However, Jesus was about to give a dramatic preview of that event. Jesus then said plainly to all of us: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live." John 11:25 As Jesus came to Lazarus tomb, John tells us that Jesus Wept! He was not weeping for His friend Lazarus. He knew he was going to raise him to life. He was weeping for the grief the family and friends were experiencing and for all those through the ages who would sorrow and grieve when they lost loved ones. Jesus asked that the stone sealing the entrance be taken away. Concerned by such a request, Martha objected: "...But, Lord...by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." John 11: 43 Yes, it had been four days, Jesus waited at the Jordan two days and they were two days walking to Bethany. But, the stone was rolled away, and Jesus cried out in a loud voice, LAZARUS COME FORTH! Someone has said it was well that Jesus specified He was speaking only to Lazarus; otherwise every grave on Planet Earth would have opened! What a day that must have been for the three friends in Bethany! What rejoicing and joy. Friends, that was an exciting day in Bethany, but that was only a small preview of the glory and excitement that will occur when Jesus comes again and all the graves of His other friends who have accepted Him as their Saviour are opened and they rise to meet Him in the air! This is the message of comfort that the apostle Paul shared with the early Christians: "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope!" 1 Thessalonians 4:13 Paul tells us what Jesus will do when He comes the second time: "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead
in Christ will rise first." Paul describes in detail the events that will occur when Jesus comes: "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall
all be changed — in a moment, in the twinkling of an
eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the
dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." Then Paul tells how we will be changed: "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written Death is swallowed up in victory." 1 Corinthians 15:53-55 Jesus had told the disciples that all would be raised from the grave. "Do not marvel at this; for the
hour is coming in which all who are in the graves
will hear his voice and come forth —-those who have done
good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the
resurrection of condemnation." Think for a moment, if people went to either heaven or hell at death, why would there be any need for the resurrection of either the righteous or unrighteous? Why would Jesus make this statement as He comes back the second time? "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work." Revelation 22:12 It seems so plain! When people die they sleep in the grave and rest from their labors and troubles until Jesus comes. What is He coming for? He is coming to resurrect and be reunited with all of those who have accepted His sacrifice in their behalf. Jesus also comes to welcome those who are His faithful followers at that time. Just listen to this good news! "Then we who are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the
Lord." We have seen that all of the saved will have a glorified body just like Jesus and they receive immortality (eternal life) so that they will be sinless, deathless and glorified with the Lord forever. Someone will say, What about the thief on the cross? Let’s see what the Bible really teaches about that thief and the promise Jesus gave him. Jesus was crucified between two thieves so that they might identify him with the criminal element. The Book of Mark says that at first both of the thieves taunted Jesus and said that if He really had power that He should deliver Himself and them. Then, one of the thieves became repentant and called out for salvation. He said, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom. And Jesus said to him, assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." Luke 23:42,43 Did Jesus mean that that very day He and the thief would be in paradise or did he promise that day that He and the thief would be in paradise when He comes to set up His kingdom on earth. You see, there were no punctuation marks in the Greek Bible. No commas, no paragraphs, etc. It wasn’t until several centuries later that punctuation marks were added to the Bible. Look what happens to the meaning of this text if you move the comma: "And Jesus said to him, assuredly, I say to you to today, you will be with Me in paradise." Let’s take a look at the internal evidence given in the Bible as to what happened in the next few hours. First of all, let us ask the question: Was Christ in Paradise that day? The Bible tells us that He died on that day, Friday, and was buried in a borrowed tomb. On Sunday morning Jesus appeared to Mary and she wanted to worship Him but He restrained her because He had not yet ascended to heaven. Listen to what He said: "I have not ascended to My Father." John 20:l7 This was Sunday morning and He said He had not ascended to His Father yet! He could not have been in Paradise on Friday! The Bible tells us that the thief was not in Paradise on Friday either. John 19:31-33 says: "Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for the Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs." Here we see that they broke the legs of the two thieves so they couldn’t escape, but they did not break Jesus legs because He was already dead on Friday. So, neither Christ nor the thief was in Paradise on Friday. The evidence is clear, the comma was misplaced by those who put in the punctuation. Jesus paid the price for our redemption and restoration. The greatest gift that Go d can give to mankind is eternal life, victory over death! All other gifts are meaningless without it! And it is yours for the taking! Your decision is the greatest decision you will ever make; your eternal future depends upon it! This priceless gift of eternal life is promised to everyone who accepts Christ as his Saviour and Lord. And the cost? Only a surrendered heart. A heart cleansed and changed. A proud selfish heart made new at the foot of the cross. Christ made it all possible at Calvary. What more could He do? And eternal life can be yours if you want it enough. Because He lives, we have a glorious hope—a hope beyond the grave!
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