Participants:
Series Code: RAD
Program Code: RAD170014A
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00:01 What does the future hold?
00:02 Where can we find certainty in a world of uncertainty? 00:05 The book of Revelation provides helpful answers for today, 00:09 tomorrow, and forever. 00:11 Join Mark Finley, author and world renowned speaker on a 00:15 journey into the future with 00:23 The book of Revelation provides penetrating 00:26 insight into the future. 00:28 It reveals the plans of God. 00:31 It unmasks the plans of Satan. 00:33 And one of the Devil's greatest deceptions has to 00:37 do with Spiritualism. 00:38 It has to do with the impersonation of our dead loved 00:43 ones by evil spirits. 00:44 We're going to study that in this presentation, 00:47 and give you hope, and confidence to face the future. 00:52 Let's pray. Father in Heaven, thank You so much that Jesus 00:57 is our hope, that Jesus is our security, 01:01 that Jesus is our refuge, and that truth is greater than all 01:07 the deceptions of Satan, and that the Word of God will 01:10 beat back falsehood. 01:12 Open our minds to understand Your truth. 01:15 In Christ's name, Amen. 01:17 My topic during this presentation is 01:23 One of Satan's deadliest delusions has to do with what 01:28 happens when you die. 01:30 There are many different ideas about what happens 01:34 when a person dies. 01:35 And the question also is, 01:41 A hope that goes beyond the tomb? 01:44 A hope that pierces the darkness of night? 01:51 What takes place five minutes after death? 01:56 Is it heaven? Is it hell? Is it nothingness? 02:01 If we went out and took a survey about what happens when you die, 02:06 and if we asked five different people, one might say, 02:10 Oh when you die, nothing. 02:12 That's it. It's the grave. 02:13 You go into the grave, the ground, and you stay there. 02:17 Somebody else might say, Well, you're reincarnated to a 02:20 variety of life forms. 02:22 Somebody else might say, Well, when you go to die you go 02:25 immediately to heaven, or you go to hell. 02:28 Somebody else might say, when you die you rest until 02:31 the coming of Christ. 02:32 The real answer to the problem of death, of course, 02:35 must be found in the Bible. 02:37 We can have a variety of opinions about death, 02:40 but what Scripture says is authoritative, 02:44 because the author of life reveals secrets about death. 02:55 Many Christians are quite confused about that point. 02:58 Sometimes you'll go to a funeral and the preacher will say, 03:02 Well, your dead loved ones are up in heaven 03:04 looking down upon you. 03:06 Then a few paragraphs later in the sermon he will say, 03:09 Well, your dead loved ones will be resurrected when Jesus comes. 03:13 And you sit out there confused. 03:15 Where are they? Some say, Well, there is kind of a spirit being 03:20 up in heaven, but that spirit being has to be reunited with 03:23 the body when it's resurrected. 03:25 But then you say, If the spirit lives in heaven, what is it? 03:29 Does it have eyes? Does it have hands? 03:31 And why does it need to be reunited with the body if it's 03:34 already up there for hundreds of years? 03:36 The Bible is much simpler than that, much plainer than that, 03:40 and much less confusing. 03:42 And we're going to study in this presentation to answer 03:47 the mystery of death. 03:48 Now to understand death we really have to understand this 03:51 idea of immortality. 03:56 See, if you have an immortal soul that wings its way 04:00 to heaven after you die, why would you need a resurrection 04:04 of the body anyway? 04:05 So we have to look at what does the Bible 04:07 teach about immortality? 04:09 Do we have it now? Will we have it in the future? 04:12 Do we have an immortal soul? 04:13 Is the thing called the soul immortal? 04:16 What is the soul? And what about the resurrection 04:19 that the Bible teaches about? 04:23 Now the truth of the matter is we can find the answers. 04:26 We find answers deeply embedded in Scripture. 04:30 We find answers in the Word of God. 04:33 The book of Revelation helps us to understand 04:37 the mystery of death. 04:38 You go to Revelation, the Revelation of who everybody? 04:41 Jesus Christ. And Scripture says in 04:57 Christ was alive, crucified on the cross, went into the grave, 05:02 but was resurrected from the dead. 05:05 It was at that point that He said, I'm going to My Father. 05:08 Remember Mary tried to cling to His feet and He said, 05:11 Touch Me not. I'm ascending to the Father. 05:13 So you have the idea of death, rest in the tomb over Sabbath, 05:18 resurrection, Jesus ascending to heaven. 05:21 But notice what Jesus says, 05:24 Hades the grave. Now notice, this is incredibly good news. 05:29 The death is not some locked up tomb prisoned in the earth. 05:33 Jesus said, I have the keys. 05:35 You need not fear death. 05:36 Why don't we need to fear death? 05:39 First, Jesus already experienced it, and He already 05:43 conquered the grave. 05:44 Death is a defeated foe. 05:48 Every time Jesus faced death, Jesus won, and death lost. 05:54 Every time Christ faced the grave He came out victorious. 06:00 And He demonstrated His power over the grave by raising from 06:05 the dead many who had died in New Testament periods of time: 06:11 children and adults. 06:13 Why don't we need to fear death? 06:15 Because Christ has conquered the grave. 06:17 He went into the grave and came out. 06:19 And because He has the keys to the grave, death is an unlocked 06:23 mystery through Jesus. 06:25 The Bible also teaches that one day He will come again, 06:29 and one day the dead in Christ will be resurrected. 06:33 You remember 1 Thessalonians 4: 16. 06:36 It talks about the coming of Jesus. 06:39 The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, 06:42 with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God: 06:44 and the dead in Christ will rise first:... 06:47 We need not fear death. 06:49 Jesus is coming again! 06:50 We can see our loved ones again. 06:58 Does the Bible teach that the soul is immortal? 07:02 Well, let's go back to the book of Genesis, 07:05 because if we understand how God created the human race, 07:08 we could also understand about what happens when we die. 07:13 So let's go back to Genesis. The Bible says, 07:30 Now notice what the Bible does not say. 07:32 The Bible does not say that God put an immortal soul in human 07:38 beings when they were created. 07:39 What does it say? God formed man, God fashioned man, 07:45 God shaped man out of what? the dust of the earth, 07:50 and man became a living soul, as God breathed His life 07:55 giving breath into it. 07:57 We might look at it this way: dust, that's the dust of the 08:01 earth that God created man from, and God's Spirit breathed into 08:07 man creates a living soul. 08:09 Or we could say it this way: the elements of earth, 08:13 plus God's breath, equals a living being. 08:16 See, in the Bible, the soul is not something put into a human 08:21 being that is immortal, but in the Bible a human being is a 08:26 living soul: the body, plus the breath, equals a living soul. 08:31 So in the Bible part of the time the word soul is used it is used 08:36 as something I am: I am the product of body and breath. 08:42 I am a living soul, a living being, a living personality. 08:48 A living soul simply means a living being, 08:53 or a living personality. 08:55 A living being, living soul, means a living person. 08:59 It means an individual who's thinking, 09:02 functioning, and breathing. 09:08 Look what the Bible says very clearly. 09:27 So can the soul die everybody? 09:29 What does the Bible say? 09:30 The soul that does what? sins. 09:33 How else might you read that passage? 09:35 Same way we read Genesis 2:7. 09:38 The person, the living being that sins, is going to die. 09:43 So let's go back to Genesis again. 09:45 You remember? God created man out of the dust of the ground, 09:47 breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. 09:50 Man became a living what? soul, or being, 09:52 or personality: person. 09:54 The soul who sins; what's going to happen to them? 09:57 They're going to die. 09:58 So here the Bible is very plain. 10:01 The word soul simply can mean in the Bible: living being. 10:11 Two thirds of the time the Bible uses the term soul, 10:15 it's for life. One third is for person. 10:20 Sometimes the Bible talks about the soul as something we are: 10:24 the product of body, and breath. 10:26 Sometimes the Bible uses the term soul as something we have; 10:30 two thirds of the time in fact. 10:32 But it's never that we have an immortal soul. 10:35 We have life. We have life. 10:38 A good example of that is found in 10:54 Then He goes on to say, Verse 26. 11:06 So in the earlier verse it talks about losing your life, 11:10 Then in this verse it talks about losing your soul. 11:13 It talks about preserving your life, or preserving your soul. 11:20 So when the Bible talks about soul, 11:21 it can be talking about life. 11:23 So what happens when we die? 11:24 When we die our life is no more. 11:28 So the Bible never talks about soul in the 11:32 sense of immortal soul. 11:34 In fact, the Bible uses the term soul 1600 times. 11:38 How many was that? did you get it? 1600 times. 11:42 Never once does it put the word immortal with soul. 11:46 Never once does it link those two things together. 11:50 Wouldn't you think if human beings had an immortal soul 11:54 that at least it would be linked once together in Scripture? 12:00 It is never linked together. 12:13 In fact, the Bible is always speaking about Jesus as the 12:17 One who is immortal. 12:30 Immortality is something that God has. 12:33 Job 4:17 says, Shall mortal man be more just than his maker? 12:39 We are mortal. Romans 2:7, 8 says, We seek for immortality. 12:45 1 Corinthians 15:51 says, We put on 12:49 immortality when Christ comes. 12:51 So we are mortal, we seek for immortality, we put it on 12:56 when Christ comes. 12:57 Only Jesus, only God the Father, the Son, 13:01 and the Holy Spirit have immortality. Now notice, 13:12 Who's that? the King of kings, and Lord of lords? 13:14 Who is that? that's Jesus, of course. 13:18 What's the word everybody? what's that word? 13:25 So God alone has immortality. 13:28 Now look, if I alone have my Bible, what does that mean? 13:35 If I say, I am the only one; I alone have my Bible. 13:38 It means you don't have it, right? 13:39 It means that it's my exclusive possession. 13:42 So when it says God alone has immortality, it means that 13:48 nobody else has it. We seek for it. 13:50 We look for the day that we'll be clothed with 13:53 immortality when Jesus comes. 13:55 But according to the Bible God alone, His Son Christ, 13:59 and the Holy Spirit are the only ones that have immortality. 14:02 Where'd this idea of the immortality of 14:04 the soul come from? 14:05 Where did it come from, my friends? 14:13 In ancient writings of Strabo, called Geographica, 14:20 Strabo says this; talking about the Son. He says, 14:34 He's speaking about Christians who've drifted away from Christ, 14:39 who have reaccepted Greek philosophy. 14:42 And he says, They invent fables after the manner of Plato, 14:47 such as the immortality of the soul. 14:48 The Greeks believed that the soul was immortal, 14:52 and it would leave the body at death. 14:54 Also this idea of the immortality of the soul can be 14:58 traced back to the Babylonians, can be traced back to 15:01 the Egyptian culture. 15:03 Many pagan cultures had this idea. 15:05 But the Bible constantly taught that, indeed, the soul was not 15:14 something that was immortal. 15:15 It's something we are. 15:16 The product of body and breath. 15:19 God created man out of the dust of the ground, 15:22 breathed into his nostrils the breath of the spirit of life. 15:26 Man becomes a living being, a living soul. 15:28 Or the soul represents our life. 15:31 We die, we no longer breathe, that life is over. 16:10 That's an amazing statement from one of the early church fathers, 16:14 who clearly understood that the Scriptures teach that death is 16:20 but a rest, a sleep, until the resurrection, 16:23 that there is nothing like the immortality of the soul 16:26 found in the Bible. 16:28 It rather comes from Greek philosophy. 16:35 And if you accept the idea of the immortality of the soul, 16:41 then that leaves you very open, very vulnerable to spiritualism. 16:45 The book of Revelation speaks of spiritualistic delusions in the 16:50 last days of Earth's history. 16:52 And the Devil is preparing men and women through a false 16:55 understanding, or a misunderstanding of death. 16:59 The Devil is preparing men and women through that 17:02 misunderstanding of death on the idea of the immortal soul. 17:09 The Devil can use these ideas about death to lead us down 17:13 the pathway of destruction. The Bible says in 17:26 You see, Spiritualism says this, that there's an immortal soul 17:29 that leaves the body at death, and then under the right 17:32 conditions that this immortal soul, this being that has died 17:37 and it still lives, can communicate with the living. 17:39 But the Bible says death is but a sleep till the resurrection. 17:44 It says, just like the cloud disappears and vanishes, 17:47 the person who goes down to the grave is not going to come up. 17:56 The Bible says that the person who dies can't 17:58 return to his house. 17:59 One night I was in the Philippines sharing these 18:04 marvelous truths from the Word of God, 18:05 the truth that death is but a rest, the truth of the marvels 18:09 of the resurrection, the truth that when you die you cannot 18:12 return to your house. 18:14 A Philippino Army officer came to our meetings. 18:18 His wife had died a number of years before. 18:22 One night there was a great storm, and as he went home after 18:28 the meeting the storm got more furious. 18:31 The shutters on his house were blowing, the wind was blowing, 18:35 the rain was pouring down. 18:36 And as he lie in his bed unable to sleep, 18:39 he looked up, and he saw a form. 18:41 He told me the story later. 18:43 And as he saw this form, it was the form of his wife. 18:47 She looked more beautiful than ever before. 18:50 She reached out and said, Oh, darling, hug me. 18:53 And he looked up, and he remembered our meetings, 18:56 that the Bible does not teach an immortal soul. 18:58 He remembered our meetings that when you die you can no longer 19:02 come back to your house; that you will not return. 19:04 And he looked up and he said, I know, 19:07 because he remembered Revelation. 19:09 He remembered the spirits of demons would try to deceive. 19:13 He said, I know you're not my wife. 19:15 I know you're a demon. 19:16 In the name of Jesus Christ, be gone! 19:19 And he said, right before his eyes, she turned into a vicious 19:24 demon and was gone. 19:26 You see, my friends, this is more than some 19:29 academic exercise. 19:31 But as you understand what the Bible really teaches about 19:35 death, as you understand what the Bible teaches about the 19:39 immortal soul, God will protect you in the crisis. 19:43 That's why it's so vital to understand these truths 19:46 about the book of Revelation. 19:47 See, Oliver Lodge, an English spiritualist, put it this way: 20:03 Spiritualism is dependent on the idea of the immortal soul. 21:01 The teachings of Oliver Lodge, that spiritualist from England, 21:06 are still impacting America and Europe today. 21:11 They still are influencing scores and scores of teens 21:17 today, preparing the world for the overwhelming surprise 21:22 that the Devil is bringing upon the world through spiritualism. 21:26 When you turn away from the Word of God, when you turn away 21:30 from the clear teachings of His Word, it prepares you for the 21:35 deceptions of the Devil. 21:36 The book of Revelation reveals the plans of God. 21:40 The book of Revelation unmasks the plans of Satan. 21:55 Safe in the arms of Jesus. 21:58 That's the message that Jesus gives to us in the Bible. 22:03 More than fifty-three times in the Bible 22:07 death is mentioned as a sleep. 22:14 Jesus, through the Apostle Paul, is going to tell us 22:17 the mystery of death. 22:18 He's going to solve that mystery. 22:20 We shall not all... What everybody? 22:24 We shall not all what? sleep. 22:34 Now let's pause here. 22:35 When you die, it's just as secure as sleeping 22:41 in the arms of Jesus. 22:42 You die and you just rest. 22:45 There's no pain, there's no suffering, and notice there's 22:49 no passing of time. It says, 22:55 When you fall asleep what's the next thing that you know? 23:00 You wake up, right? 23:01 I've been standing on the great platforms of the world, 23:05 in stadiums, and in auditoriums, and gymnasiums, 23:09 and churches for about fifty years. 23:11 And when my children were very young, we'd bring 23:15 them to the meetings. 23:16 And very often, I remember my boy particularly, 23:19 my wife sometimes would take a blanket and put it by the side 23:23 of the stage, because he'd love to watch me. 23:25 And she would sit next to him. 23:27 And he'd have a little comfortable bed. 23:28 And he'd fall asleep when Daddy was preaching. 23:31 That's okay for my son to fall asleep when I'm preaching, 23:34 but you'd better not! 23:35 But anyway, he'd fall asleep. 23:37 After the meeting he'd be sleeping away, and I would pick 23:41 him up and we'd bring him to the car. 23:43 We were in New England in those days: Massachusetts, 23:45 Connecticut, Rhode Island where it snowed a lot. 23:48 And maybe the roads were icy, I don't know, and we'd be going 23:51 home, and maybe a truck comes by us, and I'd dodge it. 23:53 You know, he doesn't know anything about that. 23:55 He's sleeping. I'd lay him in his little crib. 23:57 The next morning my wife and I would go in to see our son. 24:01 And I'd say, Son, how are you doing? 24:02 And he's bright eyed, and he looks up and he says, 24:05 Daddy, are we still at church? 24:07 You still preaching? 24:08 I'd say, Well, son, I preach long, but not that long. 24:10 You see, he didn't know anything about the 24:14 passage of time, did he? 24:15 What did he know? He just knew that his dad was preaching. 24:20 He fell asleep, and the next thing he knew he woke up. 24:23 So that's all death is. 24:25 Nothing to be feared. 24:27 If you're a believer, we simply fall asleep, and we rest. 24:31 The next moment, the next instant, the next conscious 24:35 thinking moment we see Christ coming. 24:48 So we're changed in a moment, in an instant; 24:50 changed from mortality to immortality, to receive these 24:55 glorious new bodies in Christ. 25:11 So notice what He's breathing into him. 25:13 It's the breath of life. 25:17 What is this breath that God breathes into it? 25:25 Death is nothing more than creation in reverse. 25:34 When we die. 25:39 Now notice it doesn't say the soul will return 25:41 to God who gave it. 25:43 This is where many people make a big mistake. 25:44 They think the soul and the spirit are the same thing. 25:47 They are not. The spirit is nothing more than the breath 25:51 that God breathed into us initially. 25:59 So God breaths His breath, or His spirit into us. 26:02 What goes back to God? the power of God that He has given 26:06 us to sustain life. 26:11 in the Bible. The soul is something that we are. 26:14 We are the product of body and breath. 26:17 The soul has to do with our life. 26:20 The spirit is the breath of God that sustains, 26:23 or gives us that life. 26:26 When God breathed into it, we lived. 26:29 When He breathed into that body we lived. 26:31 If He wouldn't have breathed His life into it we 26:33 would not have lived. 26:34 So the breath of life, the spirit of life, the life-giving 26:38 force, energy of God enables us to live. 26:42 Every breath we take is dependent 26:45 on the very life of God. 26:47 When we die we go back to the earth. 26:50 The breath goes back, or spirit goes back to Him, 26:53 and we await in sleep that resurrection. 27:09 They are one in Scripture. 27:13 The Bible teaches in fact that... Look at 27:20 Often there's something called Hebrew parallelism. 27:23 God says something in the first verse, He explains it in the 27:27 latter part of that verse. Notice: 27:35 Same thing. Breath equals spirit. 27:38 Can you say that? The breath equals what? spirit. 27:41 So somebody says explain it and make it plain. 27:45 So let's suppose that the light bulb represents our body. 27:50 So this represents our body, or we're created out of the 27:54 dust of the ground. 27:56 Let's suppose the electricity represents the 27:59 spirit, or the breath. 28:01 So somebody turn on the light; throw the switch. 28:04 There we go, thank you very much. 28:06 Okay, so when the power comes through the power cord, 28:11 representing the breath of spirit to the light bulb, 28:14 what happens? There is illumination. 28:16 So to have illumination what do you need? 28:19 Do you need just power in the cord? no. 28:21 You need what? a light bulb. 28:23 But if you just have a light bulb, 28:24 do you have illumination? no. 28:25 You need power. The Spirit represents the power. 28:30 The light bulb is represented by the body. 28:36 Now, if you turn off the power... 28:40 Please turn off the power. Thank you. 28:42 Okay, if you turn off the power, what happens? 28:44 The electricity goes back to the power house. 28:48 What happens to the bulb? 28:51 It no longer has illumination. 28:54 When a person dies the Spirit goes to God, the body, 29:00 represented by the light bulb, is buried in the earth, 29:03 and the person's true life is hid with Christ in God. 29:08 They no longer exist as a living soul. 29:13 They no longer exist as a living being. 29:16 That which goes back to God is not something that thinks. 29:20 It's not something that feels. 29:22 It's not something that some conscious entity, 29:34 ...any thought processes going on in death? The Bible says, 29:42 That's the Spirit of God. 29:45 That is his body. 29:50 So if there was some immortal soul, which the Bible doesn't 29:53 teach, that went back to God, what would happen to 29:57 the thought processes? they would continue. 29:59 But the Bible says the thought processes do what? 30:15 How much do the dead know, everybody? 30:17 How much do they know? 30:18 They know what? That's right, the dead know not anything. 30:22 The Bible continues: 30:27 If a person went immediately to heaven, they would have to 30:30 have love to love God. 30:32 They would notice, if they went immediately to hell, 30:36 they would have hatred or envy. 30:38 But the Bible says, The living know that they shall die, 30:42 but the dead know how much? 30:44 The dead don't know anything. 30:46 Every emotion is ceased. Why? 30:49 Because they're resting, resting until Jesus comes, 30:53 resting till they receive their final reward, 30:57 resting until the resurrection of righteousness, 31:01 or the resurrection of unrighteousness. 31:09 And the Bible writers mention this, as we've described 31:12 it mentioned it already over fifty different times. 31:16 Let me give you some examples. 31:27 What did David believe about death? 31:31 He believed that it was a sleep. 31:33 He believed that it was a rest until the coming of Christ. 31:38 We find this throughout the entire Old Testament. 31:42 Jesus taught as well, that death was a sleep. 31:46 Jesus taught as well, that death was a rest. 31:50 There was an occasion where Jesus' friend died: Lazarus. 31:56 And Lazarus had become very, very sick previous to that. 32:01 And Jesus got word that Lazarus was sick. 32:06 Jesus waited before going. 32:08 He waited a couple days, and by the time He got there, 32:11 since there was a journey, He was in Galilee, and Lazarus was 32:14 in Bethany, it was four days. 32:16 This is a time that Jesus was four days 32:19 late, but right on time. 32:20 You know, why didn't Jesus wait? 32:22 Why did Jesus wait, rather? 32:24 Why didn't Jesus just go to Lazarus? 32:27 Because He wanted to work a miracle that was greater than 32:29 healing sickness; He was going to work a miracle of raising 32:32 Lazarus from the dead. And so, 32:38 They come to Jesus and they say, Jesus, 32:41 Your friend Lazarus is sick. And Jesus says, 32:48 Well, they thought, Wait a minute, if Lazarus is sleeping, 32:51 he's going to get well. 32:52 This is not to death. 32:54 Yet Jesus said, Our friend, Lazarus, does what? 32:57 Our friend Lazarus does what? 32:59 Our friend Lazarus is sleeping. 33:02 They thought, This is good news! 33:05 Because if you're sick, and you sleep, maybe the fever breaks. 33:09 Maybe the sickness is over. 33:11 And then Jesus said, 33:19 And then Jesus makes it plain. 33:26 So they clearly understood. 33:28 Now how did Jesus treat death? 33:31 What did Jesus say to His closest followers? 33:35 Did He say to them, Now don't worry at all about Lazarus, 33:40 because sure he is dead, but he has this immortal soul, 33:43 and it's gone up to heaven? 33:45 Not at all. No such teaching in the Bible. 33:48 And Jesus certainly didn't believe that. 33:51 He simply said, Lazarus is sleeping. 33:54 And then Jesus said, Lazarus is what? Lazarus is dead. 33:58 So Christ then went to the home of Mary and Martha. 34:03 And as He talked to the sister of Lazarus, 34:12 And she said, Oh, Lord, if You had been here 34:15 he wouldn't have died. 34:16 And I know he's going to rise again in the last day. 34:18 Here this sister of Lazarus, who got her religion directly 34:25 from Jesus, Mary said, I know he's going to rise the last day 34:31 in the resurrection. 34:33 Jesus looks at her and recognizes that she understands 34:40 the truth about death. 34:43 She believed that her faithful brother would rise 34:48 in the resurrection. 34:49 She did not believe that he was up in heaven 34:52 looking down upon her. 34:53 She learned her religion directly from Jesus, 34:57 and she believed in the resurrection. 34:59 When? at the last day. 35:01 All the great men and women of faith in the Old and New 35:05 Testament believed that. 35:07 Remember what Paul said there, writing to Timothy? 35:11 He said, My life is being poured out, and I wait the righteous 35:18 Judge, who will have the crown of life for me in the last day. 35:23 Paul believed that Christ was going to come again, 35:26 and that he, if he died in that Roman prison, that he would be 35:31 resurrected in the last day. 35:32 All believers believe that. 35:34 John believe it, exiled on the Island of Patmos. 35:37 Paul believed it, Mary believed it, Martha believed it, 35:41 Jesus taught it. 35:42 So Mary and Martha were crying, not because they thought Lazarus 35:49 was up in heaven, but because the pain, and the agony of 35:52 separation from him until the resurrection at the last day. 36:04 In other words, though that person dies, though they go into 36:07 the grave, they are going to live again. 36:10 They will be resurrected from the dead. 36:12 That death will not hold its victims. 36:15 The grave will not keep its victims. 36:18 That death is not a long night without a morning. 36:21 The tomb is not simply a dark hole in the ground. 36:26 So Jesus said, If you believe, your brother is 36:30 going to live again. 36:32 To demonstrate His power over death, to demonstrate His power 36:37 over the grave, to demonstrate His ability over death, 36:42 Jesus comes to that grave, and Jesus says, 36:45 Lazarus, come forth! 36:49 And Lazarus comes out of the grave, rises to new life. 36:54 He had been in that grave four days. 36:58 Now look, my friend, Lazarus comes out of the tomb. 37:01 New life! Jesus says to those who see him, 37:06 Loose him and let him go. 37:07 He was all bandaged up with the grave clothes. 37:10 Life is pulsating through his body. 37:12 There's a new smile on his face. 37:15 There's a new sparkle in his eyes. 37:16 There's a new spring in his step. 37:18 I can just imagine he comes and he embraces Christ. 37:22 Now look, if what some people believe is true,... 37:27 And now you have to notice Jesus didn't say, Lazarus, come down. 37:30 Jesus said, Lazarus, come forth! 37:33 If what some people believe is actually true,... 37:38 You know, if I were Lazarus what I'd have done? 37:41 I'd have done this: if I were up in heaven for four days, 37:44 rejoicing in glory, if I were fellowshipping with the angels, 37:49 if I were eating from the tree of life, and Jesus said, 37:53 Come down! I would have yelled back from Heaven if I were 37:56 Lazarus, Nothing doing, Lord. 37:59 I'm not coming. You just called the wrong name, Lord. 38:02 You just called the wrong person. 38:03 I'm up here in glory. 38:05 I'm rejoicing in the kingdom of God. 38:07 I am not coming back. 38:09 If anybody could have given a testimony about life after death 38:12 it would have been Lazarus. 38:15 If he were up in glory think of the books he could have written 38:18 that would have been sold throughout the Middle East, 38:20 throughout Jerusalem on life after death. 38:23 But Lazarus had nothing to say. Why not? 38:26 Because he wasn't in glory, he was resting, sleeping there in 38:30 the tomb, resting like every believer will rest until the 38:35 coming of Jesus with no pain, no suffering, no heartache, 38:39 no sorrow, no death; resting. 38:41 The Bible says in 38:49 Somebody says, Pastor Mark, I like to think of my 38:52 mother up in heaven. 38:53 I like to think of her looking down at me. 38:55 It just gives me comfort. 38:57 Would it be comfort for a mother up in heaven if her son was 39:04 drafted off to war, and the enemy captured him, 39:08 and tortured him, and gouged out his eyes, gouged out his 39:12 tongue, and tortured him mercilessly? 39:15 Could that mother be happy in heaven? 39:16 Well, what about a mother up in heaven looking down, 39:19 and here's her little five year old, and he's kicking a ball, 39:22 and he kicks it out in the street, and the car screeches, 39:25 doesn't see the boy, crushes him. 39:27 And the boy's a quadraplegic for the rest of his life. 39:30 Would that mother up in heaven be happy? 39:32 Or think of fathers in heaven seeing their daughters beaten 39:37 brutally by some angry man. 39:40 Isn't God's plan so much better, my friend? 39:44 Our loved ones in heaven don't see children that have gone 39:49 astray, gotten involved in drugs and alcohol. 39:52 Our mothers and fathers are not up there in heaven looking 39:57 down upon the conflicts in families, and the wars on earth. 40:02 Our fathers and mothers are not up in heaven. 40:16 Now all the heartache is over. 40:18 Now all the disappointments are over. 40:21 You see, my friend, God's way is so much better. 40:25 We are sheltered in His arms, in that perfect sleep. 40:30 Our true life, the record of our life is hid with Christ in God. 40:34 He, this all powerful, infinite God knows our identity. 40:39 It is in His hands. 40:41 Our bodies go to the earth. 40:43 The life, the breath, goes back to God. 40:46 There is no conscious existence. 40:49 We rest until Christ comes, and the next moment we see Him 40:55 coming down the corridors of the sky. The Bible says, 41:07 If you went up to heaven when you died, 41:09 you'd at least praise the Lord, right? 41:10 Wouldn't that be what you were doing? 41:12 But the Bible says, The dead praise not the Lord. 41:16 Fifty-three times death is a sleep in the Bible. 41:19 1600 times the Bible uses the word soul; 41:23 never uses immortal soul. 41:24 The Bible says in that very day their thoughts perish. Ps. 6:5. 41:28 Psalm 115:17 in the Bible says, The dead praise not the Lord. 41:32 Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6. The living know that they shall die, 41:36 but the dead know not anything. 41:38 The Bible is very plain. 41:41 God's plan is so much better than human tradition. 41:44 The immortality of the soul comes in 41:46 through Greek philosophy, and according to Revelation, 41:49 will be preparing the world for an overwhelming deception. 41:53 The Bible says that the works of the dead follow them. 41:59 It says that those that die in Christ have 42:03 works which follow them. 42:05 You know, when a father or mother dies, and they've taught 42:09 their children about the things of Jesus, those children have 42:13 that inclination for Christ in their hearts, that inclination 42:17 for Christ in their lives. 42:19 And they have that desire to follow Christ, 42:23 and the works of the parents still follow them. 42:26 And one day that child will be making choices to follow Christ, 42:31 because of an influence of their parents, will be in heaven with 42:36 Jesus, and their parents to rejoice forever and ever, 42:39 and ever, and ever. 42:40 God's Word is so plan. 42:42 God's Word is so clear about this subject of death. 42:47 But somebody says, Pastor Mark, wasn't there the story of Jesus 42:54 and the story of the thief on the cross who died? 42:58 And didn't the Bible indicate that he would be in 43:03 heaven with Christ? 43:04 Well, look, when you have text, after text, after text that 43:10 talks about the second coming of Christ, when you have passage 43:13 after passage in Scripture that talks about the return of 43:17 Christ, you do not take one Bible text out of context 43:22 regarding the thief on the cross and throw out these clear texts 43:26 on the coming of Christ, that talk about the 43:28 resurrection of the body. 43:30 So you say, but Pastor Mark, help us to understand about the 43:34 text on the thief on the cross. 43:35 Didn't Jesus say, You will be with me in Paradise today? 43:40 Remember well that Jesus is hanging on the cross. 43:45 There's a thief on the left, thief on the right. 43:47 One thief says, If You're the Son of God, 43:50 come down from the cross. 43:52 Jesus, hanging there with nails through His hands, 43:57 with blood running down His wrists, with a crown of thorns 44:00 upon His head, looks like He cannot save anybody. 44:06 The other thief turns to Christ and he says, Lord, remember me 44:12 when You come into Your kingdom. 44:14 Nobody has asked that question. 44:18 Nobody has made that request. 44:21 Nobody has made that appeal genuinely, and sincerely, 44:26 and been turned away by Christ. 44:29 Now you'll recall that Christ died on the cross on Friday. 44:34 He rested in the tomb on Sabbath. 44:36 He was resurrected from the dead on Sunday. 44:41 And you will also remember that Mary comes to Him on Sunday 44:47 morning, after the resurrection, falls at His feet, 44:51 and what does Jesus say? 45:02 She thinks he's the gardener, and says to him, Sir, if you've 45:05 carried Him away, if you've taken My Lord away, 45:09 please tell me where He is. 45:12 Tell me where you've laid Him, and I'm going to take Him away 45:15 and give Him a proper burial. 45:17 And what does Jesus say to her? 45:19 Jesus says, Mary, Raboni, which is to say teacher, don't cling 45:26 to Me, for I have not ascended to the Father. 45:28 But go to My brethren and say, I am ascending. 45:31 Present tense, right now, to Your Father and Mine. 45:34 My Father and Your Father, and My God and your God. 45:37 What does Jesus say to Mary on Sunday? 45:40 I have not yet what? ascended to the Father. 45:44 How could Jesus have said to the thief on Friday that they 45:50 would be together in paradise if Christ had not ascended yet 45:55 to the Father on Sunday morning? Certainly 46:03 So what was really going on there? 46:05 Jesus is hanging on the cross, and what does He say? 46:08 He says, I say unto you today, you will be with Me in paradise. 46:13 You see, it all depends on where you put the 46:15 comma in that passage. 46:16 If you put the comma after the word today, it's clear. 46:21 If you put it before, it's a little fuzzy. 46:24 If you quote the text this way: I say to you, today you'll be 46:28 with me in paradise. 46:29 It appears that Jesus would be in paradise with 46:32 the thief that day. 46:33 But if you say, I say to you today, comma, 46:36 I say to you today, comma, you will in the future be with Me 46:40 in paradise, it makes so much more sense. 46:42 You say, how do you know where to put the comma? 46:44 Well, first, there were no commas in the original text. 46:47 That did not come until the 1300's, much later. 46:52 But look, you don't take a misplaced comma, and throw out 46:56 fifty-three texts that say that death is but a sleep; 46:58 throw out all the texts that talk about the resurrection. 47:03 And you don't deny Scripture when Jesus Himself says that 47:07 He did not ascend to the Father until Sunday. 47:13 when He said to the thief... 47:14 Here's what He meant. 47:15 He said, I say to you today, this day that I'm 47:19 dying on the cross; this day that there's nails in My hands; 47:24 this day that there's a crown of thorns upon My head; 47:27 this day that it doesn't look like I can save anybody. 47:29 I say to you this day, I make that declaration that I will be 47:34 resurrected from the dead. 47:35 I will ascend to the Father. 47:37 I will remember you. 47:38 I will remember you when I come into heaven and paradise. 47:41 And Jesus says that to you. 47:43 When you say, Lord, remember me. 47:46 Remember me and all my guilt. 47:49 Remember me in all my shame. 47:51 Remember me, Father. 47:54 Remember me, dear Jesus. 47:57 Touch my heart, Oh Holy Spirit. 48:00 I feel convicted I must come to You. 48:02 Remember Me, Jesus says. 48:04 I accept you My child. 48:07 I'll forgive you, My child. 48:09 I'll change your life, My child. 48:11 You will be with Me in Paradise. 48:13 You need not fear death, because I have conquered the grave. 48:31 Jesus gives us victory over sin. 48:34 Jesus gives us victory over the grave. 48:37 Jesus gives us victory over death. 49:04 Have you lost some loved one by death? 49:06 some father, some mother? 49:09 You still miss your dad, and your mom. 49:13 My father and mother have both passed away. 49:16 Near as I travel the world, I have an international 49:21 cell phone, and I, every place I would go I'd take out my 49:25 cell phone and call my dad. 49:27 And even now I find myself reaching into my pocket 49:31 at times for that cell phone. 49:33 You see, my dad and I had a very close bond, 49:36 very close relationship. 49:38 He led me to Jesus Christ. 49:41 He led me to the Savior. 49:44 He shared the Word of God with me. 49:47 I miss him. I long for that day that Jesus will come. 49:51 Have you lost some husband or wife, some father or mother, 49:56 some sister or brother, some son or daughter? 50:01 They're not lost. If they're a believer in Christ they are 50:06 resting where they can never be lost. 50:09 Their true life, the record of that life, their identity, 50:13 is hid with Christ in God. 50:15 They are resting from the pain, the heartache, 50:20 the sorrow, the tears of life. 50:22 They know no passage of time. 50:24 The next thing they will know is the coming of Jesus Christ 50:29 in the clouds of heaven. 50:31 And as Jesus comes, that little baby, mamma, will be put 50:37 in your arms again. 50:38 She'll reach up and hug your face again. 50:43 You can look into the eyes of that child. 50:46 One day, once again, that son or daughter long lost by death, 50:54 will be reunited with you. 50:55 One day that father or mother will embrace you again. 51:00 One day Jesus Christ will come. 51:03 And one day the sorrow and heartache of earth will be over. 51:08 Would you like to put your hand in the hand of Christ right now? 51:12 Would you like to say, Jesus, pass me not, O gentle Savior? 51:17 Lord, I'm coming to You. 51:20 Lord, I want to see my father again. 51:23 I want to see my mother again. 51:25 I want to see my son again, and my daughter again. 51:29 I want to be caught up in that glorious joy when Jesus comes, 51:35 and live forever with them through all eternity. 51:39 Listen as Celestine sings, Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior. 51:54 Pass me not, O gentle Savior. 52:02 Hear my humble cry. 52:08 While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by. 52:26 Let me at Thy throne of mercy, find a sweet release. 52:40 Kneeling there in deep contrition, help my unbelief. 52:54 Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. 53:10 While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by. 53:29 Trusting only in Thy merit, would I see Thy face? 53:43 Heal my wounded, broken spirit, save me by Thy grace. 53:58 Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. 54:12 While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by. 54:26 Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. 54:41 While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by. 54:58 Here is the incredibly good news. 55:02 He will not pass you by. 55:07 Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. 55:13 The thief on the cross, in his dying breath, said Lord, 55:21 remember me, remember me when You come into Your kingdom. 55:27 And Jesus gave the thief, that day, 55:31 the assurance of eternal life. 55:34 When the thief woke up that morning, he had no idea that 55:40 his whole life would be changed that day. 55:42 When he trudged up Golgotha's hill with Christ he had no idea 55:48 that his life would be changed that day. 55:51 And when they drove nails through his hands, 55:54 and he writhed in agony. 55:56 He had no idea that his life would be changed that day. 56:00 But in that moment, under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, 56:06 God spoke to him, and he accepted the 56:10 gift of eternal life. 56:11 Right now God is speaking to you. 56:14 Right now God is talking to your life. 56:17 Maybe you had no idea that you would turn on 56:20 Three Angels' Broadcasting. 56:21 But the Spirit is speaking to you. 56:24 You can accept Christ right now. 56:27 Through an act of your will you can say, Jesus, I am yours. 56:32 That choice changed the thief's life. 56:37 And that choice will change your life right now as we pray. 56:44 Father in Heaven, thank You so much that You're 56:48 moving by Your Spirit. 56:50 Thank You so much that You're touching hearts 56:52 through these programs. 56:54 Thank You so much that somebody right now is coming to Christ, 56:58 and finding in Jesus security, and hope, and salvation. 57:02 I pray for that person right now. 57:05 May the Spirit move powerfully in their life, 57:08 and change them forever. 57:11 In Jesus' name, Amen. 57:13 Thank you for joining us for Revelation's 57:17 Ancient Discoveries. 57:19 This journey through Revelation is a journey to know 57:23 Christ more deeply. 57:24 It's a journey to follow Jesus more closely. 57:27 It's a journey from time to eternity. |
Revised 2018-05-02