Revelation of Hope (Pacleb)

Can the Dead Speak to Us?

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. Taj Pacleb

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Series Code: ROHB

Program Code: ROHB000010


00:39 Our message is entitled, "Can the Dead Speak to Us?"
00:42 In this topic we're going to expose from God's word
00:45 the devil's deadly deceptions,
00:48 lovely lies and confusing counterfeits.
00:52 And friends, the reason why this is important
00:54 because there's many different ideas
00:56 and there's a lot of confusion about what happens at death.
01:00 Many people believe that when a person dies
01:02 they become a spirit or they go
01:05 and wander around through this world
01:07 looking for a resting place.
01:08 They go to the spirit world or they become a ghost
01:11 or they go on live with their ancestors
01:13 that have passed away before.
01:15 Other people believe that when a person dies
01:18 they are reincarnated into another form of life
01:23 or they come back to give messages to the living.
01:26 Many eastern religions like Buddhism and Confucianism
01:29 and Hinduism believe in reincarnation.
01:32 They reincarnated into another form of life
01:34 whether it be a human life or even an animal life,
01:36 depending on the karma,
01:38 depending on how you lived your life in that lifetime.
01:41 Most Christians however believe that when a person dies
01:44 they go straight to heaven or hell
01:46 and then there are others who believe that
01:47 they go to a mid place call purgatory.
01:50 Then there are others who believe that
01:51 when you die you go into the ground,
01:53 the grave and there you rest until the resurrection of Jesus,
01:58 the resurrection when Jesus comes.
02:00 And then there are a lot of others
02:01 who don't believe in life after death.
02:03 Atheist who said that there's no such thing,
02:05 that all we have is this life
02:06 and after we die that's it, the end.
02:10 So we see that there's a lot of confusion
02:12 even in the Christian world
02:14 about where people go when they die
02:16 and what exactly happens after death.
02:19 So with all these conflicting ideas
02:20 the question we need to answer tonight
02:22 is what really happens when a person dies?
02:25 Can the dead speak to us
02:26 and can the living communicate with the dead?
02:29 You see, since the very beginning of time
02:31 Satan tried to confuse man about death.
02:33 In fact, did you notice that his very first lie
02:36 that Satan told was concerning what happens at death.
02:40 God said to Adam and Eve, do not partake of this fruit
02:43 for in the day that you eat thereof
02:46 you shall surely, what?
02:48 Die.
02:49 God made it clear that sin result in death not life.
02:55 But then the serpent came
02:56 and said something different than what God said.
02:59 Notice what Genesis 3:4, 5 says,
03:02 "And the serpent said unto the woman,
03:03 ye shall not surely die."
03:07 Here Satan puts a question mark where God had placed a period.
03:10 God said you are going to die but the serpent said,
03:12 you won't surely die.
03:14 Well, what's gonna happen then?
03:16 It continues.
03:18 "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof,
03:20 then your eyes shall be" what?
03:23 "Opened, and ye shall be as gods,
03:26 knowing good and evil."
03:27 Here Satan contradicts the word of God,
03:30 he says, "You won't surely die."
03:32 In other words, you will die but not surely
03:35 but rather your eyes are gonna be open.
03:36 You are gonna be like God,
03:38 you gonna know more just like God.
03:40 In others, Eve, death is not as bad
03:42 as God has made it out to be.
03:45 Eve, you will die but not surely.
03:48 You see, Eve's death is simply one phase of existence
03:52 to much higher exalted phase of existence.
03:55 You see, when you die your body may die
03:57 but your soul will live on in consciousness,
03:59 your eyes are going to be open.
04:02 In other words, Eve, you are gonna see things
04:04 that you've never seen before.
04:07 Death is not the end.
04:09 The body dies but the soul lives in a state of conscious.
04:12 You will be just like God knowing good and evil.
04:17 And friends, this is the origin
04:19 of the doctrine of the immortal soul.
04:22 The doctrine of the what?
04:24 The teaching that says that when you die your body dies
04:27 but your soul lives on in consciousness
04:31 because the soul is immortal.
04:32 That's exactly what the serpent was saying
04:35 as he lied to our first parents.
04:38 And by the way friends,
04:39 almost every religion believes in this doctrine,
04:42 the doctrine of the immortal soul.
04:44 And how do I know that?
04:45 You see, it will be hard for me to find someone
04:48 that is willing to walk through a cemetery,
04:50 12'o clock midnight on Friday 13.
04:55 Do you know, why people are not comfortable doing that?
04:58 Because everyone knows
04:59 that the people in the cemetery are dead
05:02 but maybe not surely dead.
05:06 They are not sure.
05:07 They are dead-- they died but maybe not surely dead.
05:12 They believe-- most people believe
05:13 that the dead are conscious
05:16 or they are able to communicate and scare the living.
05:20 And friends, this is the original spiritualism,
05:23 this is the devil's doctrine.
05:24 In fact, I want you to notice the Fox sisters-- in New York,
05:28 they are the ones that began
05:30 to hear sounds of rapping's and other things
05:33 and this was the birthplace of modern spiritualism.
05:35 And the basic fundamental foundational
05:38 belief in spiritualism is that there is no death
05:42 and there are no dead.
05:45 In other words, your body dies
05:47 but your soul lives on in consciousness
05:49 that you will not surely die.
05:54 This is the foundational principal
05:55 of all pagan religions.
05:56 In fact, notice what this one spiritualist said
05:59 in a book about spiritualism,
06:02 "The fundamental principle of spiritualism
06:04 is that human beings survive"
06:06 what? "Bodily death.
06:08 And that occasionally, under conditions
06:10 not yet fully understood,
06:11 we can communicate with those who have gone before."
06:14 So what are the foundational principals
06:15 of spiritualism Satanic worship
06:18 is that when a person dies they do not really die.
06:23 They survive bodily death.
06:25 And friends, this belief paves the way
06:29 for demons in disguise to come to deceive people.
06:32 And friends, they acknowledge
06:33 that this is the devil's doctrine
06:35 and they even quote the serpent
06:38 as the originator of this doctrine.
06:40 I want you to notice
06:41 what another spiritualist have to say,
06:42 "Spiritualism says that the dead know more than" who?
06:48 "Then the living.
06:49 'And the serpent said unto the woman,
06:51 you shall not surely die.'
06:53 In this, as in many other Bible passages,
06:56 the Devil told the truth and the Lord is in error."
07:00 You see, those who believe in spiritualism
07:01 they acknowledge that this came directly from the serpent.
07:05 That when the serpent said, you won't surely die,
07:07 that he was actually telling the truth.
07:10 And friends, while this may sound shocking to us
07:14 did you know that almost every Christian church
07:16 is saying the exact same thing.
07:21 How do I know? Well, friends, think about it.
07:23 What do most Christians believes happens when a person dies?
07:26 Where did they go?
07:28 Straight to heaven or hell, isn't that right?
07:31 And friends, if that were true,
07:33 if it's true that when we die we go straight to heaven or hell
07:36 then that would mean
07:37 that the dead know more than the living.
07:42 Because, if you died and went straight to heaven
07:44 that means you would know
07:45 more than just what took place in this world,
07:48 you would also know what's taking place in heaven.
07:50 In Revelation 1:18 Jesus said,
07:53 "I am He that lives, and was dead,
07:55 and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen.
07:58 And have the keys of hell."
08:00 That's the Greek word Hades which means the grave.
08:03 What is it mean? Grave.
08:05 In other words, I have the keys
08:06 of the grave and of death.
08:07 In other words, friends, if anyone knows that happens
08:10 when a person dies surely it would be Jesus
08:12 because He experienced that first hand.
08:14 He died and rose again therefore He can tell us clearly
08:17 what really happens when a person dies.
08:19 Can you say, amen?
08:20 And so now we go to the words of Jesus in the Bible
08:23 to find out what really happens at death.
08:26 And so here's what I am gonna do tonight.
08:28 Before we can understand the mystery of death
08:32 we first must understand the equation of life.
08:38 Before we can understand the mystery of death
08:40 we first must understand what?
08:42 The equation of life.
08:43 And only when we can--
08:44 when we can understand the equation of life
08:46 that is how God made us and what man made of,
08:50 when we can understand that clearly
08:52 it's only then that we can truly understand
08:55 what exactly happens when a person dies.
08:57 And so this is what we are going to do tonight.
08:58 We are gonna put the topic of death
09:00 on the side for a moment
09:02 and we're gonna pick up this topic
09:03 about how God made us, the equation of life.
09:07 And then we can understand that clearly,
09:09 we'll pick up death
09:10 and then we will make a logical congruent sense.
09:13 Are you with me, yes or no?
09:15 So I want you to notice now how did God make us?
09:18 What is the creation equation of life?
09:22 The Bible tells us in Genesis 2:7,
09:24 that God did not create us by speaking us into existence.
09:28 He created all things by His word except for man.
09:31 When it came to man He got in His hands and knees
09:34 and He formed us out of the dust
09:35 and the reason why is because action speaks louder than words.
09:39 God wanted the human race to realize that we are special
09:42 and we are not like the other animals
09:43 like evolution calls as man to think.
09:45 Notice what it says in Genesis 2:7,
09:48 "And the Lord God formed man of the" what?
09:52 "The dust of the ground, and breathed into his" what?
09:56 "Nostrils the breath of life,
09:59 and man became" man, what is that word?
10:03 "Became a living soul."
10:06 Friends, this is the creation equation of man,
10:09 it is essential for us to break this down
10:11 and understand it clearly before we can understand death.
10:15 How did God make us?
10:17 He took the dust of the earth to form the body of man
10:21 and after He got that body together
10:24 He then breath into the nostrils of man the life giving breath
10:29 and when He combines His breath with the dust,
10:33 when He brought these two elements together,
10:35 the Bible says that man became a living soul.
10:40 I emphasize the word became
10:42 because it does not say that man was given a soul,
10:45 man became a soul.
10:47 Man, what? Became.
10:49 Because what is a soul?
10:51 The soul is simply the combination of the dust
10:54 and the breath of the God.
10:55 Here it is friends, the creation equation of man.
10:57 You can write this down, God took the dust,
11:01 He added His life giving breath
11:03 and as a result these two things equal a living soul.
11:07 And friends, a living soul is simply a living person.
11:11 Note very carefully friends, that man was not given a soul
11:15 as if the soul is type of spiritual entity inside of you
11:19 but it says that man became a living soul
11:23 because of the dust and the breath
11:25 man became a living soul.
11:27 Is that's clear so far would you please say, amen?
11:29 Now here's what's important tonight.
11:32 The confusion about death
11:35 lies in the confusion of terminology.
11:38 The confusion of death lies in the confusion of what?
11:41 Terminology, in other words
11:42 what words means the definition of words.
11:45 And so is we can define terms,
11:48 if we can define words clearly from the Bible
11:51 then the confusion of death
11:52 is going to be dispelled from our minds.
11:55 And so this is what we're gonna do.
11:57 We want to find out what exactly is the soul?
12:00 What exactly is the dust
12:02 and what exactly is the breath?
12:04 Let's first start with the soul.
12:05 What is the soul?
12:07 Many people think that soul is something inside of you
12:09 that flees your body at death and lives in a state
12:13 of consciousness and immortality.
12:15 But friends, let's find out
12:16 what the Bible tells us about the soul.
12:18 If you look at the word soul in the original Hebrew language
12:21 it's the word Nephesh.
12:22 Can you say that? Nephesh.
12:24 And the word Nephesh literally means
12:26 a living being, person or creature.
12:29 In other words, you don't have a soul inside of you
12:32 but you are a soul.
12:34 Man became a living soul.
12:36 Notice how the Bible uses the word soul
12:38 in the Book of Acts 2:41,
12:42 this is on the day of Pentecost.
12:43 Peter preached, 3,000 people are baptized
12:46 but notice what it says,
12:48 Acts 2:41 "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized,
12:52 and that day about three thousand souls
12:55 were added to them."
12:56 Now the Bible tells us 3,000 souls were added,
12:58 does that mean that 3,000 spiritualistic entities
13:00 entered inside of people?
13:02 What is it mean when it says 3,000 souls
13:04 were added to them?
13:05 It simply means 3,000 people.
13:07 Three thousand people were baptized
13:08 and became members of the church.
13:10 Have you ever used the expression,
13:12 "oh, you poor soul."
13:14 Oh, you poor soul, have you ever said that before?
13:16 What do you mean when you say you poor soul?
13:18 Are you talking about something inside of the person
13:20 or are you talking about the person?
13:23 You are talking about the person
13:24 and that's how the Bible uses this word,
13:26 it's referring to the person, the living being.
13:29 In fact you can also right down
13:30 Acts 7:14 and Acts 27:37
13:33 and over and over again in the Bible
13:35 a soul is not something that you have,
13:37 it is something that you are.
13:39 Not something that is in you, but something that is you.
13:41 And if this is clear would you please say, amen?
13:44 So we are souls.
13:46 Now the next question is this, can the soul die?
13:50 Satan says no, you won't surely die.
13:52 Your soul is going to continue living in immortality.
13:55 But can the soul die?
13:57 Oh, all you have you do is ask the question, can you die?
14:01 So if you are a soul and if you can die,
14:04 can the soul die yes or no?
14:06 And that's exactly the Bible teaches.
14:07 Notice what it says in the Book of Ezekiel 18:4, write it down.
14:11 And by the way friends, you are about to get
14:13 at least 40 scriptures tonight from Genesis to Revelation
14:16 so that we can have a clear understanding.
14:18 We are not gonna build a doctrine one or two verses
14:20 but what the entire Bible has to say
14:23 concerning this topic.
14:24 Can you say, amen? Amen.
14:25 And that's the only way we can know what truth is.
14:27 Look at all other verses, put then together
14:28 and compare them and read the context.
14:31 And so notice the Bible is clear, the soul dies.
14:33 Ezekiel 18:4, "Behold, all souls are Mine,
14:37 as the soul of the father,
14:38 so also the soul of the son is Mine,
14:40 and the soul that sins, it shall live forever."
14:44 Is that what it says? Does the soul live forever?
14:47 The soul that sin, it shall die.
14:50 Why, because the wages of sin is death.
14:53 And how many have sinned
14:54 and fallen short of the glory of the God?
14:56 All have sinned therefore all of us
14:58 are subject to death.
15:00 You see friends,
15:01 man is not immortal, man is mortal.
15:04 Subject to death because of sin
15:07 and the soul is referring to you and me
15:10 not something that is inside of you.
15:12 In fact notice, this same verse in other translations
15:16 make the soul or pointing out that the soul
15:18 is talking about the whole person.
15:20 Notice in today's English version,
15:21 the verse in Ezekiel 18:4 says,
15:23 "The person who sins is the one who will die."
15:26 Why, because the soul is the person.
15:28 In the living Bible it says,
15:29 "It is for man's own sin that he will die."
15:32 Because the soul, that's you.
15:34 And then in the New American Standard Bible,
15:36 "The soul (person) who sins will die."
15:41 What is the soul?
15:42 It's simply you, not something in you
15:44 but it is you.
15:46 And if that's clear would you please say, amen?
15:48 In fact in the King James Bible
15:50 he uses the word soul over 1,600 times
15:53 but never once you finds the expression
15:55 the immortal soul in the Bible
15:57 because the soul is not immortal
15:59 only God is immortal.
16:01 In fact, notice in 1 Timothy 6:15, 16 the Bible says,
16:06 "The King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, Who only hath" what?
16:12 And that word immortality means can not die.
16:14 Who is the only one that can not die?
16:16 God, friends.
16:17 Why, because He has life in Himself.
16:20 He's the source of life.
16:22 But man, friends, derives his life from God.
16:26 You see, our life
16:28 is not something that we have in ourselves,
16:30 it is only a gift from God.
16:32 But remember what the serpent said to Eve,
16:34 if you sin you will be like God
16:38 and God is immortal.
16:40 In other words, if you sin you are gonna be immortal.
16:42 And if you are immortal then you don't need God
16:45 and that's exactly what Satan wants people to believe
16:48 in this doctrine of the immortal soul
16:50 that most pagan, all pagan in fact
16:52 and most Christian churches believe and teach.
16:56 And so let's walk through this together as we review.
16:59 We are taking our time with this
17:00 so we can have a clear understanding.
17:02 What is the creation equation of man?
17:04 God took the dust of the ground
17:07 to form the body, the physical body of man
17:10 and then breathe into the nostrils
17:13 His-- what? Breath, His life giving breath.
17:16 So when God took the dust
17:17 He added His breath.
17:19 These two things together equals a living soul
17:23 which is simply a living person.
17:26 If it's clear so far would you please say, amen?
17:29 Now here' the next question, and everything hinges on this.
17:32 Friends, listen, this is where the confusion creeps in.
17:34 Here' the question,
17:36 is the breath a part of the soul?
17:41 Yes or no?
17:42 Listen to the question,
17:44 is the breath a part of the soul?
17:47 Yes or no? Yes, at least 50%, right?
17:51 We all agree that the breath is at least a part of the soul.
17:56 But now here's the next question,
17:58 is the breath the same thing as the soul?
18:04 Is the breath the same thing as the soul?
18:08 Yes or no? The answer is no, friends.
18:11 And that's' where the confusion creeps in.
18:13 Many people think that the breath
18:15 and the soul are synonyms but its not.
18:19 The breath is a part of the soul
18:21 but it is not the soul,
18:24 you are the soul and I am the soul.
18:27 The breath is simply a part of us.
18:28 And so now the next question is this,
18:30 what is the breath of life? What is the breath?
18:35 Let's take a look at the Bible,
18:36 in the Book of Job 27:3, the Bible says,
18:39 "All the while my breath is in me, and the" what?
18:43 "Spirit of God is" where?
18:45 But what did God breath into the nostrils of man?
18:47 His breath.
18:49 But this says the spirit of God is in my nostrils.
18:51 Do you know why?
18:52 Because the breath and the spirit are synonyms.
18:56 What God breath into our nostrils
18:58 was His life giving breath or His life giving spirit?
19:02 In fact, notice another one, in the Book of Job 33:4,
19:05 the Bible says, "The spirit of God hath made me"
19:09 what hath made us?
19:10 The spirit.
19:11 "And the breath of the Almighty
19:13 hath given me" what?
19:15 "Life."
19:16 And so we find that the word breath
19:18 and the word spirit and the word life are synonyms.
19:21 God gave to the ball of clay--
19:24 I mean, the form of clay of our body
19:26 he gave a life by giving us the spirit
19:28 or His breath in out nostrils.
19:30 In fact, if you were to look up the word breath
19:32 in the original Hebrew it's the word Ruwach.
19:35 Can you say that? Ruwach.
19:37 You go to kind of bark it out, Ruwach.
19:39 And it literally means the spirit, breath, or the wind.
19:43 So what is the breath?
19:44 It's simply the spirit or it's the spark of life.
19:47 2 Corinthians 3:6 says,
19:50 that the spirit gives what?
19:53 So the breath or the spirit is the spark of life.
19:55 It's what cause the form that of a body
19:58 that clay, the dust to come to life.
20:00 Now that we understand the origin of life,
20:04 now we can understand the mystery of death.
20:06 You know why?
20:07 Because death is simply the life in reverse.
20:12 Notice what the Bible says happens when a person dies.
20:15 It says in the Book of Psalm 104:29, write it down.
20:19 "Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled,
20:21 thou takest away their" what?
20:23 "Breath," and what happens?
20:25 "They die, and return to their dust."
20:29 And so here we find three parts,
20:31 the breath, the soul and the body.
20:34 The bible tells us that when the breath
20:36 and the body separate we die.
20:39 The souls simply dies,
20:41 the body decomposes and goes back to dust when that happens.
20:45 In fact, notice another one, in the Book of Ecclesiastes
20:47 they says the same thing but little bit different.
20:49 Ecclesiastes 12:7 says,
20:52 "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was
20:55 and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."
20:58 When you die your body decomposes,
21:00 it goes back to dust.
21:02 The spirit goes back to God who gave it.
21:04 But does that mean that you back to God?
21:06 Are you the spirit? No, you are not the spirit.
21:09 What are you?
21:10 You are the soul,
21:11 the spirit is just a spark of life.
21:12 It's the breath.
21:14 The breath goes back to God who give it,
21:15 you know why, because there is no breath,
21:17 there is no life outside of God.
21:19 It simply goes back to the source,
21:20 but as for you, the soul, you simply die.
21:26 And I noticed another one, in Psalms 146:3, 4,
21:30 the bible says, "Put not your trust in princes,
21:33 nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
21:35 His breath goes forth."
21:37 What happens when breath separates from the body?
21:39 "His breath goes forth, and he returns to his earth,
21:43 in that very day his thoughts" what?
21:46 "Perish."
21:47 So the bible tells us
21:48 that when the breath separates from the body
21:50 the souls simply dies.
21:51 The body decomposes from ashes to the ashes
21:53 and from dust to dust, right?
21:56 The breath goes back to God,
21:57 the life giving energy of God
21:59 and the soul simply perishes, it simply dies.
22:02 And then noticed another one in James 2:26,
22:05 it says that, "The body without the spirit is simply" what?
22:08 "Dead."
22:09 So there is no life, when the breath
22:11 and the body separate the soul simply dies.
22:14 It goes to the grave.
22:15 In fact, we can say it like this,
22:17 the body minus the breath
22:19 or separate from the breath of the life equals a dead soul
22:24 which is simply a dead, what?
22:26 Person. Person.
22:27 In fact, let me illustrate it like this.
22:28 If that's clear would you please say, amen?
22:30 Oh, but it's going to get clearer, don't worry.
22:32 What is that on the screen?
22:33 Now friends, tell me,
22:35 does the light bulb have light in
22:36 and of itself, yes or no?
22:38 No, it's just a shell, right?
22:40 In the same way this body is just a shell.
22:43 We do not have life in ourselves.
22:45 This body is just a shell, it's gonna turn to dust.
22:48 But what happens when we take the shell of the light bulb
22:51 and connect it to the power source?
22:53 What happen when we connect the shell to the power source?
22:56 We now have light.
22:59 In the same way when you connect the body,
23:00 the shell with the power source that breath of God,
23:04 that the spirit of God, we have a life.
23:07 We have a soul, a living soul.
23:10 That's what happens.
23:11 Now what happens when we disconnect the shell
23:16 from the power source?
23:17 What happens when we disconnect the shell from the power source?
23:20 The light simply goes out, right?
23:24 In the same way,
23:26 when this body is separated from the breath of God,
23:27 the soul the light simply goes out.
23:31 Now here is the next question,
23:32 where did the light go?
23:35 Where did it go?
23:36 Did it go to some light heaven
23:38 or light hell or light purgatory?
23:40 Where it go, friends? It's simply ceases to exist.
23:46 What happen is the electrical current goes back to the source
23:49 and now all you have is the shell
23:51 and where is the light?
23:52 It simply gone, it ceases to exist.
23:54 Well, what needs to happen in order for the light
23:56 to turn back on again, in the light bulb scenario?
23:58 We have to reconnect the shell with the power source
24:03 and as we do this, the light turns back on again.
24:07 And that's what death is like.
24:09 When the breath in the body separates
24:12 the light of your soul ceases to exist
24:16 except in the memory and the mind of God.
24:22 He, friends, is the keeper of our soul
24:26 and He has the power
24:27 to resurrect our soul back to life, how?
24:30 By reconnecting the body and the breath together,
24:34 but when would He reconnect the--
24:35 when He's gonna turns on the light again?
24:37 Not at death but when He comes again
24:39 at the resurrection, its then
24:41 that the soul will be raised back the life.
24:44 Can you say, amen? Amen.
24:45 Notice what it says in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17,
24:48 "For the Lord himself shall
24:49 descend from heaven with a shout,
24:51 with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God
24:53 and the dead in Christ shall" what?
24:56 "Rise first.
24:58 Then we which are alive and remain
25:00 shall be caught up together
25:02 with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord" where?
25:05 "In the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
25:08 The Bible tells us that when a dies they go into the grave
25:10 and they remain there until the resurrection.
25:14 When the trump sounds, when the Lord Jesus comes,
25:16 the dead in Christ shell rise,
25:18 and then those who are living in the last days,
25:20 we who are alive will remain will be caught up with them
25:23 in the clouds to meet Jesus in the air.
25:25 On the great gathering in the morning
25:27 the trumpet is gonna sound,
25:28 the Lord is gonna give a shout, and it's gonna be so loud
25:31 that those who are sleeping in the graves are gonna wake up
25:33 and just like popcorn, popping on a shot stove
25:36 they are going to burst out of their tombs
25:38 and they are gonna ascend to meet the Lord in the air.
25:40 And its then that the soul in going to receive
25:42 a brand new immortal body,
25:45 a new computer you can say, to put the hard drive in.
25:48 And in 1 Corinthians 15:52, 53, the Bible says,
25:51 "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
25:53 at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound,
25:56 and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
26:00 and we shall be changed,
26:01 for this corruptible must put on incorruption,
26:04 and this mortal must put on" what?
26:06 "Immortality."
26:07 Friends, when does the soul receive its immortality?
26:10 Not at death but at the resurrection,
26:13 at the last trump, when Jesus comes again
26:16 its then that we're going meet Him in the air.
26:19 And friends, don't miss that,
26:21 the Bible says, the dead in Christ are gonna rise,
26:23 then those who are living in the last days
26:25 will be caught up to meet them in the air
26:27 which shows that Jesus,
26:28 when He comes again is not gonna step foot on planet earth.
26:31 We're going to rise up to meet Him in the air.
26:34 And that's the reason why they say to you,
26:35 the Christ is in the desert, you know that that's not Christ.
26:38 If He's in the secret chamber, you know that, that's not Him,
26:41 because when He comes, we got to meet Him in the---
26:44 Friends, that one of verse will save you
26:45 a lot of deception in the last days,
26:47 will spare you from deception in the last days.
26:50 Now friends, think about it,
26:52 let's say it was true
26:55 that when you die you go straight to heaven.
26:57 Let's say, husbands, you die and you go to heaven,
27:01 and from heaven you looking down upon the earth
27:05 and you see your wife and her heart is broken
27:09 because she doesn't have you with her anymore.
27:11 And she's weeping, her heart is broking,
27:13 she's so sad she misses you so much
27:16 and you just want to comfort her but you can't.
27:20 And you see her crying but as the years go on
27:25 suddenly she's not crying anymore.
27:29 Not as much as she used to at least.
27:32 And the few years after that goes by
27:34 and then you see your wife get remarried
27:39 and now she is sleeping with another man.
27:43 Friends, there's nothing wrong getting married
27:44 if you are a widow, the bible says you can.
27:47 But if it's true that you die, you go to heaven
27:49 and you see your wife has been with other man,
27:51 could you be happy in heaven in watching that?
27:53 Would you be at peace?
27:55 Absolutely not, that would be torture, amen.
28:00 And praise the Lord that that is not true,
28:02 that that's not how it's like.
28:05 What about parents?
28:06 Parents, let's say you die, you go to heaven.
28:07 From heaven you are looking down upon world,
28:09 you see your children and you see them doing drugs.
28:12 You see them wasting their lives.
28:14 Parent's, could you have peace in heaven
28:16 seeing the children waste their lives in the world?
28:19 Not at all, right?
28:20 But friends, heaven is a place of peace.
28:22 Heaven is a place where there is no tears,
28:23 no worry, no sorrow.
28:25 But if you are in heaven, you would have all of that
28:27 watching the terrible things that are taken in this world.
28:30 You see friends, you wouldn't find peace.
28:34 And praise God,
28:35 that the truth is so much better than the counterfeit.
28:38 Can you say, amen? Amen.
28:40 The truth is that when Jesus comes
28:41 the dead in Christ will rise
28:43 and then we which are alive, will be called with then
28:46 and we are gonna go to heaven together
28:48 at the same time to experience the surprise
28:51 and the bliss and the joy of heaven together.
28:54 You see, friends, your loved ones are all in a better place.
28:57 But if they were in heaven
28:58 that would not be a better place seeing you suffer.
29:01 The better place that your love ones are at
29:02 is in the grave resting and waiting
29:05 for the second coming of Jesus Christ
29:07 so that we can go to heaven together after same time.
29:11 And friends, if that's clear would you please say, amen?
29:13 It gets clear friends, don't worry,
29:14 we are gonna have more scriptures.
29:16 Notice what it says in Acts 2:34,
29:19 on the day of Pentecost Peter preached and he said,
29:21 "For David did not ascent into the heavens."
29:24 Now friends, if anyone should die
29:25 and go to heaven surely it would be David,
29:26 because David was a man after God's own heart.
29:28 But Peter said, David is a not in heaven.
29:31 Well, where is he, Peter?
29:32 In Verse 29, "Men and brethren,
29:34 let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David,
29:37 that he is both dead and buried,
29:40 and is tomb is with us to this day."
29:43 We find brother and sisters,
29:44 that David as well as the other saints,
29:45 they died and they are buried in the grave
29:48 and they are waiting the resurrection
29:49 when Jesus comes again.
29:51 Now friends, we do know that there are some saints
29:54 that are in heaven today but none of them died
29:57 and went straight to.
29:58 Who is the first one we know that he is in heaven today,
30:01 the first person that went to heaven
30:02 that we know of?
30:03 His name is Enoch. Did Enoch die?
30:06 No, he was translated without seeing death.
30:10 God took him.
30:11 And the other person that was translated
30:12 without seeing death is Elijah, caught up in the fiery chariot.
30:16 He's in heaven, we know for sure
30:18 but we also know that there was another man
30:20 that's in heaven that did die, what is his name?
30:22 Moses.
30:24 We know that Moses did die,
30:25 the Bible is clear about that
30:27 and we know that Moses is in heaven today.
30:29 And the reason why we know that is
30:30 because in the Book of Matthew Chapter 17,
30:32 on the Mount of Transfiguration
30:34 we find Moses and Elijah speaking with Jesus
30:37 showing very clearly that they are in heaven today.
30:41 But Moses died but I want you to consider that
30:43 Moses did not die and go straight to heaven.
30:46 Moses died and was buried and he was resurrected,
30:50 resurrected early but still resurrected.
30:53 And the reason--
30:54 the way in which we know this is in two verses.
30:56 Notice, write them down, look it up when you get home.
30:58 In Jude 1:9, in this passage we find the Lord Jesus
31:03 arguing with Satan over the deceased body of Moses.
31:08 And then the Bible says that the Lord rebuked him
31:10 which implies that the Lord would resurrect Moses.
31:13 Satan was saying, you can't resurrect him, he is a sinner.
31:16 But the Lord rebuked him and the Lord resurrected him.
31:19 And we also see that in Romans 5:14, write it down,
31:22 the bible says in Romans 5:14 that from Adam--
31:26 it says that death reigned from Adam to Moses.
31:30 Death reigned from when? From Adam to Moses.
31:33 Which shows that after Moses death no longer reigned.
31:36 Do you know why?
31:37 Because Moses was the first one
31:39 that was resurrected from the grave.
31:41 Now here's the next question,
31:42 is there any consciousness in death?
31:44 In other words, when a person dies
31:45 and go to the grave are they there waiting
31:47 and just so bored out of their minds
31:49 and just can't wait for the resurrection.
31:51 Is that how it's like? Well, let's find out.
31:53 One day Jesus was teaching the disciples
31:55 when He received news that his friends Lazarus
31:57 was sick unto death.
31:58 He wasn't dead yet, he was sick.
32:00 Jesus did not go immediately to heal him.
32:02 He remained in the same place for two days.
32:04 And during that time period
32:05 the Bible says that Lazarus died from his sickness.
32:09 And then notice what Jesus said to the disciples,
32:11 in John 11:11-14.
32:14 Please write it down, very important verse,
32:16 "Jesus said unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleeps,
32:20 but I go that I may awake him out of sleep.
32:23 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well."
32:26 In other words, Jesus why you gonna wake him up,
32:27 he's sick, he need to get his rest.
32:30 He's doing good in sleeping.
32:32 And then notice,
32:33 "Howbeit Jesus spoke of his death,
32:37 but they thought that he had spoken
32:38 of taking of rest in sleep.
32:40 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is" what?
32:45 "Dead."
32:46 So how did Jesus like in death too?
32:47 To that of sleep.
32:49 And friends, sleep is a good thing, is that right?
32:51 You see, many times we look upon death
32:53 is something that is so terrible
32:55 but friends, in reality in God's mind
32:57 whenever His saints die they were just sleeping.
33:00 That's what it is.
33:02 The death experience is like that of sleep.
33:06 And so now Jesus was gonna go
33:08 to resurrect Lazarus from the grave
33:10 to awaken him out of his sleep
33:12 and as He goes there
33:13 he meets the grieving sisters of Lazarus,
33:16 Mary and Martha.
33:17 They fall on His feet and they began to say, Jesus,
33:20 if you'd have been here our brother would have not died.
33:23 Their heart is broken,
33:24 they are moaning the loss of a loved one.
33:26 And I want you to notice how Jesus is comforting
33:28 those who sawed because they lost the loved one.
33:30 In John 11:23, 24, Jesus said unto her,
33:35 don't worry, your brother is in heaven right now.
33:38 They are walking on the streets of God,
33:39 they are singing with the angels,
33:41 they are in a better place,
33:42 they are suffering anymore.
33:43 They are in heaven, don't worry, don't cry.
33:45 Did Jesus say that? No.
33:47 Did He comfort the grieving sisters of Lazarus
33:50 the same way many ministers are comforting love ones today?
33:54 He didn't say that he was in heaven.
33:55 Why, because he was not in heaven
33:56 even though he was a righteous man.
33:58 How did Jesus comfort the grieving
34:01 loved ones of the deceased?
34:04 "Thy brother shall rise again."
34:07 Friends, what was the hope that Jesus gave?
34:09 The resurrection.
34:11 Friends, if you want to comfort someone
34:12 that has lost a loved one,
34:14 the hope is not saying that they are in heaven
34:16 because that's not true.
34:18 The hope is the resurrection. Your brother shall rise again.
34:21 And you see, Martha understood the topic of death.
34:24 Notice what she said, "I know that he shall rise again
34:27 in the resurrection at the last day."
34:31 So they were clear about what exactly happens
34:33 when a person dies.
34:35 And so now Jesus--
34:36 you know, Martha thought that
34:38 she had to wait till the resurrection of the last day
34:39 but Jesus has more in mind than that.
34:41 She wanted a healing
34:43 but Jesus would come to give a resurrection.
34:45 And so He goes to the place where Lazarus was laid
34:48 and then as He sees the mourners amongst the tomb
34:51 we find then the shortest verse in the Bible, only two words.
34:56 But these two words speak volumes
35:00 about the God that we serve tonight
35:03 that is touched by human sorrow.
35:05 And I am so grateful
35:06 that our God can turn sorrows into sweet joy.
35:09 Can you say, amen? Amen.
35:10 And so listen, if you've lost a loved one,
35:11 if your heart is broken God understands your pain.
35:15 God knows what it's like, friends.
35:17 You may feel like no one understands
35:20 but you have a God in heaven that does understand
35:22 and He wants to take your sorrow and your pain
35:25 and He wants to give you His sweet joy,
35:27 assurance and hope tonight.
35:30 Can you say, amen? Amen.
35:32 And then Jesus commands the people to remove the stone
35:36 and they began to protest, Lord,
35:38 he's already been dead four days,
35:39 by this time he's stinking.
35:41 Jesus says, remove the stone.
35:42 They removed the stone and then the life giving God
35:46 called into the place of the dead.
35:48 He said three words, Lazarus, come down.
35:54 Is that what Jesus said?
35:56 Did Jesus said, Lazarus, come down
35:58 as if Lazarus was in heaven?
36:00 No, friends, because he wasn't up there.
36:03 He said, "Lazarus, come forth."
36:06 Because where was he? In the grave.
36:09 And friends, when the word of God
36:11 mixed up with that dead body,
36:14 that living word had the power to do exactly
36:17 what it said would do and Lazarus came to life.
36:20 He came forth from the tomb and they removed the bandages.
36:23 And then Lazarus began to testify
36:25 and he began to say, Jesus,
36:28 why did you have to bring me back down to this world?
36:30 I was having such a good time in heaven,
36:32 I was singing with the angels,
36:34 I was walking on the streets of God,
36:35 I was having a wonderful time.
36:36 Why you have to bring me back down here to this world?
36:38 Why did you do this, Jesus?
36:40 Is that what Lazarus said? No.
36:41 Did Lazarus give any report
36:43 that he was in heaven, yes or no?
36:44 No. Why?
36:45 Because he wasn't there, he was in the grave
36:48 awaiting the resurrection after second coming of Christ.
36:51 You see, death in the Bible in God's mind is simply sleeping.
36:56 The death of the saints,
36:57 it's the sleep that last till the resurrection.
36:59 In fact, notice another example,
37:00 write this one down, in the Book of Acts 7:60,
37:04 it's the story of Stephen the deacon who was preaching.
37:07 And as he was preaching he's giving his last sermon.
37:09 The people won't like what he's saying,
37:11 and I hope you cannot relay with that.
37:13 They don't like what he's saying so much that they rush upon him
37:16 and they began to stone him.
37:18 And the Bible says that as Stephen was being stoned
37:21 that he fell asleep.
37:22 Now how do you read that?
37:23 Steven is getting stoned
37:24 and he says, well, I feel kind of tired,
37:26 let me just take a nap real quick.
37:27 Is that what happened?
37:29 What it mean when he says he was stoned
37:30 and he fell asleep?
37:31 It simply means that he died, why?
37:34 Because death is simply sleep.
37:36 And friends, you can find this over
37:37 50 times all throughout the Bible.
37:39 In fact, I am gonna give you handout
37:40 that has all of those scriptures
37:41 so that you can see for yourself.
37:43 Now here's the next question,
37:45 is there any consciousness in the sleep of death?
37:48 Sometimes we go to sleep but we don't get any rest
37:51 but we are gonna see that the sleep of death
37:53 is a totally dreamless, unconscious sleep.
37:56 Notice what it says in Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6,
38:00 please write it down.
38:01 It says, for the living know that they shall die
38:05 but the dead know more than the living.
38:07 Is that what it says?
38:08 How much do the dead know, folks?
38:10 "The dead know not anything,
38:12 neither have they any more a reward
38:13 for the memory of them is forgotten.
38:15 Also their love, and their hatred,
38:17 and their envy, is now perished
38:18 neither have they any more a portion for ever
38:21 in anything that is done under the sun."
38:23 The Bible says that when a person dies
38:24 they are totally unconscious,
38:26 they have no feelings, no thoughts, no desires,
38:29 their love and hatred are all perished.
38:32 They don't know anything, friends.
38:33 It's a dreamless unconscious sleep.
38:35 And therefore, you don't have to worry
38:37 about the dead coming back to haunt you.
38:41 Friends, the dead people can't hurt you,
38:44 only living people can hurt you, isn't that right?
38:47 You should be afraid of the living
38:48 more than the dead friends,
38:50 because the dead know not anything.
38:51 And then notice in verse 10, the Bible says,
38:54 "Whatsoever thy hand finds to do,
38:56 do it with thy might, for there is no work,
38:59 nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom,
39:02 in the grave, whither thou goest."
39:05 In other words for those who die
39:08 they don't know, a thousand years could go by
39:12 but they don't know it.
39:13 Death is like pressing pause on a person's life.
39:17 Let's say you are listening to a song
39:20 on your iPod or your CD player
39:22 or your cassette player or you're A Track
39:24 or your record whatever you use,
39:26 you are listening to a song and you press pause,
39:28 what's gonna happen?
39:30 The song is gonna stop but does time stop, yes or no?
39:32 No, time continues on.
39:35 And let's say you do something for an hour
39:36 or day or a year or you know 10 years
39:40 and you go back to that iPod--
39:42 assuming you have batteries and it's still running
39:46 and now you press play, what's gonna happen?
39:49 It's gonna start but where is it going to start from?
39:52 Right where you left off.
39:55 Death is like pressing pause,
39:58 1,000 years could go by before the one that died
40:02 is as if they died and the very next thing they know
40:05 is the resurrection.
40:07 So it's not as if they are in the grave
40:09 tweeting their thumbs just bored out of their minds.
40:12 They died and the very next thing
40:14 is the resurrection of Jesus Christ
40:16 and that's good news.
40:17 Can you say, amen? And where did they start?
40:20 Right where they left off
40:21 and that's why every single day
40:22 and every moment of every day
40:24 we need to give our heart to Jesus
40:25 and let Him be the keeper of our souls.
40:27 Can you say, amen? Amen.
40:29 Because the death probation is closed.
40:31 Now some people might be ask, you know wondering,
40:34 what about near death experiences
40:37 where a person died and they claim to have consciousness,
40:40 they heard a voice, they saw a bright light
40:42 and they saw things and heard things
40:45 and God said it wasn't their time,
40:46 what about that?
40:48 Well friends, listen,
40:49 modern medical science has shown
40:51 and explained near death experiences.
40:53 They have shown a person's heart can stop beating
40:56 and their pulse can stop, they may not be breathing.
40:59 But friends, you are not dead until your brain is dead.
41:03 And in a moment when a person falters
41:05 between life and death they did not die yet
41:09 because once there's no death there's no conscious,
41:11 there's no reality, there's nothing
41:13 to know or hear or see.
41:16 And friends, in the moments
41:18 where a person falters between life and death
41:21 the brain can still function
41:22 but because of lack of oxygen
41:24 the brain can actually hallucinate.
41:27 And hallucination is a mental illusion
41:29 that is perceived as reality.
41:32 Altered psycho-chemistry
41:34 can create illusionary experiences in our mind
41:37 and this is not reality
41:39 it simply precede reality,
41:42 not actual reality.
41:44 And drugs are major factor in this
41:47 in causing these different illusions.
41:49 And friends, modern science have shown
41:51 that the simulation of the right angular gyrus,
41:54 that's an organ of the brain.
41:55 The stimulation of that specific organ
41:58 can actually produce an out of body illusion.
42:01 Not a real experience, it's just an illusion.
42:05 And so those who felt like they died
42:07 and their soul left their body, they did not really die.
42:10 It was all in the brain,
42:11 it was an illusion, it was a hallucination.
42:13 It wasn't an actual reality, it was a perceived reality.
42:17 And friends, let me make it clear,
42:18 I truly believe that God can work in those situations
42:21 and perhaps impress upon that person's mind
42:23 that he is not yet dead, that's it's not their time yet
42:26 and can give them comforting thoughts and what not.
42:28 God surely can work but friends,
42:30 you can be sure that devil will work as well.
42:33 The devil can work and give someone
42:35 a false impression.
42:36 And so we have to test all things not by an experience
42:40 but by the word of God.
42:41 Can you say, amen? Amen.
42:42 And most of these experiences are neutral.
42:45 They are neither good nor bad.
42:47 They are neither of God or of Satan,
42:49 it's just a chemical reaction in the brain
42:52 by altered psycho-chemistry, it's an illusion,
42:55 its precede reality and not actual reality.
42:59 You see, every earthly experience
43:01 must be tested by the Bible.
43:03 And friends, the word of God
43:04 is more real than our perceived reality.
43:07 Can you say, amen? Amen.
43:08 And so that's how we understand near death experiences.
43:10 The person did not really die,
43:12 it was near death experiences not death experiences.
43:16 And if that make sense would you please say, amen?
43:18 Now notice the next verse in Psalms 115:17,
43:22 the Bible says, "The dead do not praise the Lord."
43:25 Friends, if I die and went to heaven
43:27 you won't be able to stop me from praising God, amen.
43:30 But the Bible says, the dead do not praise the Lord, why?
43:33 Because they are in the grave,
43:34 totally unconscious, waiting the resurrection.
43:36 Notice another one, Psalms 6:5,
43:39 "For in death there is no remembrance of thee,
43:41 in the grave who shall give thee thanks?"
43:44 Those who die and are in the grave
43:45 cannot give God thanks
43:47 because they are sleeping, waiting the resurrection.
43:49 So who's gonna give God thanks then?
43:51 The living, you and I while we have life.
43:54 Isaiah Chapter 39,
43:56 excuse me, Isaiah 38:18, 19,
43:58 the Bible says, "For the grave cannot praise thee,
44:01 death cannot celebrate thee,
44:02 they that go down into the pit
44:04 cannot hope for thy" what?
44:06 "Truth."
44:07 There goes purgatory, friends.
44:08 Purgatory does not exist.
44:10 Once a person dies they can't hope for truth.
44:14 They can't hope for a second chance.
44:16 Probation is closed upon their life
44:19 and that's the reason
44:20 why we must make a decision right now
44:23 while we have life to live it for Jesus Christ.
44:27 It says, "The living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day."
44:31 You see friends, what we do we must do it now
44:33 while the blood is flowing warm in our veins
44:36 and while we still have breath.
44:37 Let us use it to live and honor and glorify
44:40 and worship and praise our God.
44:42 Can you say, amen? Amen.
44:43 Oh brothers and sisters,
44:44 you need to show people love right now
44:46 while they can appreciate it.
44:48 Young people you need to give flowers
44:50 to your parents right now
44:51 while they can see them, smell them,
44:54 touch them and enjoy them
44:55 because no matter how many flowers you bring
44:57 at the funeral they can't see or smell it.
45:00 We need to apologies to those
45:01 who we have done wrong right now
45:03 because no matter how many times at the cascade
45:05 you say, I am sorry, I am sorry,
45:08 I didn't mean it, I am sorry.
45:10 They can't hear you, friends.
45:12 What we do, we must do it right now
45:15 before it is too late.
45:16 Can you say, amen? Amen.
45:18 And so now we know what happens at death.
45:19 The next question is this,
45:21 how do the false doctrines of the immortal soul
45:24 creep within the Christian church?
45:26 How is it that almost every Christian church today
45:30 believes exactly what the serpent said to Eve
45:33 in the Garden of Eden, the doctrine of immortal soul?
45:35 Where did it come from?
45:36 Let me tell you, friends,
45:37 it came from the same place
45:39 that Sunday worship came from.
45:41 It came from paganism
45:42 creeping within the Christian church.
45:45 You see the doctrine of the immortal soul
45:47 was a pagan belief.
45:49 Notice what one historian had to say.
45:50 William Gladstone, he made it clear.
45:52 Now "The Pagan doctrine of the immortality
45:54 of the human soul
45:55 crept into the back door of the church."
45:58 You see, the Egyptians believed in these teaching,
46:00 the Babylonians, the Grecians,
46:02 the Romans, Satanists also believe
46:04 and many Christians also believe it.
46:06 And it crept within the church
46:08 but friends, how many of you are thankful
46:10 for the truth tonight?
46:12 Jesus said, you shall know the truth
46:14 and the truth shall set you free.
46:17 We don't have to be confused
46:18 by the counterfeits of the antichrist.
46:20 We don't have to be seduced
46:21 by the lies of the serpent.
46:24 As long as we stick to the Bible
46:26 there is safety and there is security.
46:28 Amen. Amen.
46:29 Now friends, some of you might be wondering,
46:31 well, what about the thief on the cross?
46:34 What about the parable of the rich man and Lazarus?
46:37 What about when Paul said, absent from the body
46:39 and present with the Lord?
46:40 What about the Witch of Endor?
46:41 What about baptism for the dead?
46:43 What about this verse and that verse?
46:44 You see friends, there are a few verses
46:46 that seem to indicate the opposite
46:49 of what all the verses said in the Bible.
46:52 There are few scripture that seem to indicate
46:53 that there is consciousness in death.
46:55 But friends, what are you gonna built a doctrine on?
46:58 If you have 50 verses saying something
47:01 very clearly about a topic
47:03 and then you have five or six verses
47:04 that say something that seems to contradict
47:06 are you gonna build your doctrine on
47:08 five or six verses or the majority of the verses?
47:11 The majority, right?
47:13 And then you study these few other verses
47:15 in light of what the entire Bible has to say
47:17 and you'll find that a contextual
47:19 careful study of the verses
47:21 shows that the Bible is in complete
47:22 harmony with each other.
47:24 And so there are few verses
47:25 that seem to indicate the opposite,
47:26 rich man and Lazarus,
47:28 absent in the body present with the Lord.
47:29 And friends, we don't have the time
47:30 to go through all of them tonight
47:32 but I am gonna give you about 11 page handout
47:34 that explains each one of those verses in detail
47:37 and in context and you will see
47:39 that the Bible is in complete harmony with itself.
47:42 Can you say, amen? Amen.
47:43 But let's do one--
47:44 since we still have few more minutes,
47:46 let's take the story about the thief on the cross.
47:50 Here Jesus was dying and two thieves--
47:52 and one of the thieves said to Jesus,
47:53 remember me when You come into Your kingdom.
47:56 The thief was not asking to go to heaven that day.
47:58 Remember me when you come into Your kingdom.
48:00 When would Jesus come in His kingdom?
48:01 At the second coming.
48:02 Now Jesus responds to this thief and He says,
48:06 "Assuredly I say to you,
48:08 today you will be with" who?
48:11 "Me" where? "In paradise."
48:13 So people read this and they say,
48:14 the thief went to paradise that day,
48:16 he died and went to heaven.
48:18 But I want you to notice, look at it carefully.
48:19 Who did Jesus say the thief would be with in paradise?
48:23 You will be with me in paradise.
48:26 But here's the problem, friends.
48:28 Jesus did not go to paradise that day.
48:31 So it's impossible for the thief to be with Jesus
48:35 in paradise on that day,
48:36 if Jesus Himself wasn't there that day.
48:39 Do you see the problem, yes or no?
48:41 So how do we understand this?
48:43 Remember, Jesus died on that day
48:44 that He was-- His boy was placed in the tomb
48:46 and He was resting in the tomb on the Sabbath.
48:49 And then the early Sunday morning,
48:50 the first day of the week He resurrected
48:52 and even on that resurrection day
48:54 Mary met Him in the garden and in John 20:17,
48:57 "Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me,
49:00 for I have not yet ascended to My Father."
49:04 So even on the day of the resurrection
49:05 he had not yet gone to paradise,
49:07 not yet gone back to the Father that day.
49:10 So how do we understand this?
49:11 It seems to be a contradiction, doesn't it?
49:14 Well, here's how we understand it.
49:15 It all lies in a little comma.
49:18 You see in the original language of the Bible
49:20 Hebrew and Greek it does not have punctuation marks
49:23 that we have in English.
49:24 When the translators translated Bible
49:26 from Greek and Hebrew into English language
49:28 they had to add punctuation marks
49:30 so that we can make sense of it.
49:32 Now friends, punctuation marks makes a huge difference
49:36 in the structure of the sentences.
49:38 Let me give you an example of this.
49:39 Notice this sentence with me on the screen,
49:41 "A woman, without her man is lost."
49:44 Question, who is lost in the sentence?
49:48 Is the man lost or is the woman lost?
49:50 How many of you say the man is lost?
49:53 How many of you say the woman is lost?
49:56 How many of you are lost?
50:00 Well, all depends on where you put the comma.
50:03 So notice, we put the comma right here
50:05 after the word her and reads,
50:06 "A woman without her," who's lost?
50:10 "Man is lost."
50:12 But notice what happens when we move the comma
50:14 to after the word man.
50:15 It now reads, "A woman without her man, is lost."
50:20 Who's lost in that sentence? Is the woman.
50:22 Friends, does a comma make a huge difference?
50:25 And by the way some people say
50:26 that the comma has to be inspired.
50:29 The commas cannot be inspired, you know why?
50:31 Because in Acts 19:12
50:33 the comma is in the wrong place in that passage.
50:35 And in that passage handkerchiefs can get sick.
50:39 How many of you believe in sick handkerchiefs?
50:43 There's no such thing as sick handkerchiefs, right?
50:45 But if commas are inspired
50:46 then you have to believe in sick handkerchiefs
50:48 because in Acts 19:12 you look it up on our own,
50:50 the comma is in the wrong place.
50:52 And so now we go back to this passage in Luke 23:43,
50:56 "And Jesus said to him, Assuredly, I say to you,
51:01 today you will be with Me in Paradise."
51:04 That's where the comma is in your Bible.
51:06 But notice what happens when we move the comma
51:08 to after the word today,
51:10 it now has a totally differing meaning.
51:12 It reads, "Assuredly, I say to you today,
51:17 you will be with Me in Paradise.'"
51:21 That's where the comma belongs, friends.
51:24 In other words, Christ was saying to the thieves,
51:25 today, right now when we were dying
51:26 and hanging on these crosses.
51:28 Right now what it seems like
51:30 I can't save anyone, right now today,
51:33 I am giving you the promise,
51:35 I am giving you the assurance
51:36 that you will be with Me in paradise.
51:38 In other words friends,
51:40 the promise was given on that day
51:42 but it was not fulfilled on that day.
51:45 Well, when will the promise be fulfilled?
51:48 When the Lord Jesus comes in His kingdom
51:50 just like the thief asked Him,
51:52 remember me when You come in Your kingdom.
51:55 Now few more questions before we close,
51:57 people will ask, well, does God ever send
52:00 the dead back to the loving to communicate messages to them?
52:03 Notice what it says in Job 7:9, 10,
52:05 "As the cloud is consumed and vanishes away,
52:07 so he who goes down to the grave shall come up no more.
52:11 He shall return no more to his house,
52:13 neither shall his place know him anymore."
52:16 The Bible is clear friends, that when a person dies
52:19 they never come back to the house,
52:22 they never come back to communicate messages
52:24 from God to the living.
52:25 But some people say, but my husband comes
52:28 and visits me on our anniversary,
52:30 it looks like him, it sounds like him.
52:32 My father died long back ago
52:34 but I feel his presence in my house,
52:36 it has to be them.
52:37 But the Bible says it's not. Oh, who can it be then?
52:42 They are the spirits of devils working miracles.
52:49 And friends, Satan is so cruel
52:52 that he impersonates our deceased lovers.
52:54 He is so cruel to mess with our feelings,
52:58 but simply we say but
52:59 when we talk about things that only we know about.
53:02 Well, friends, the devil knows the secret things
53:03 that we have verbalized.
53:05 He can manipulate our sense to deceive us.
53:08 He has done this in the past.
53:09 You remember the story of the Witch of Endor?
53:11 The witch supposedly brought up the prophet Samuel
53:14 and King Saul thought that it was Samuel
53:16 but a friend, that wasn't Samuel,
53:17 that was the demon in disguised
53:19 and King Saul was deceived by the demon.
53:22 He has done this in the past
53:24 and he's doing it right now
53:25 with this apparition of the Virgin Mary.
53:27 Friends, that's not Mary, it's a demon in disguise
53:30 deceiving sincere people into believing
53:33 that God is talking to them but friends, it's not.
53:38 And we're gonna see these things intensifying
53:40 more and more and Satan is so cruel, friends,
53:43 to mess with our emotions.
53:45 There's a story of a missionary couple
53:48 who are missionaries in Africa.
53:49 They had a little baby girl.
53:52 When she was a toddler
53:53 she accidentally ate a poisonous plant and she died.
53:57 The parent's hearts was broken.
53:59 They had to bury her in a little cascade.
54:01 Can you imagine losing a little girl?
54:04 And after the funeral service was finished
54:06 the mother shared the story how she was at home
54:09 in her little girl's bedroom
54:11 and she was crying and weeping,
54:12 mourning of the loss of her little girl,
54:14 missing her so much.
54:16 And as she was crying
54:17 suddenly she hears the front door open.
54:19 And she hears little steps running down the hall.
54:21 She sees the bedroom door open
54:23 and before her very eyes her little girl
54:26 ruining up to her, jumping in her lap,
54:27 throwing her arms around her neck
54:29 saying, "Mommy, mommy, it's me, it's me, mommy.
54:31 It's okay, don't cry. It's okay."
54:33 And that mother said it looked like her,
54:35 it sounded like her, it smelled like her
54:38 and she wanted it to be true
54:39 but this mother knew what the Bible said about dead
54:41 and she knew that her little girl
54:43 was sleeping in the grave
54:44 and even though it was difficult and hard,
54:46 that mother found the faith to call upon Jesus
54:49 and she said to the apparition,
54:50 "In the name of Jesus Christ leave me,
54:53 you are not my daughter," and instantly the baby vanished.
54:58 Satan is cruel, friends, to mess with our emotions.
55:03 Friends, as we close tonight
55:05 if you are dabbling into the realm of spiritualism
55:08 whether it be looking into crystal balls
55:12 or perhaps witchcraft, magic, white or black,
55:17 ouija board, Psychic, tarot cards, horoscopes
55:21 or the things like eastern mediation,
55:23 contemplated prayers
55:25 and this false counterfeit spiritual formation
55:27 that is creeping within many evangelical churches today.
55:31 If we are dabbling into these things
55:33 we are gonna be deceive, friends.
55:34 But maybe we are not partaking of it,
55:36 maybe we are being entertained by it,
55:38 maybe we are watching it on the TV
55:40 and Harry Potter and Twilight,
55:41 all of these things certain Walt Disney films
55:44 that confuse our children's mind
55:46 about what happens when a person dies.
55:48 If you are dabbling into these things
55:49 you are preparing your mind to be deceived, friends.
55:53 But tonight you don't have to deceive.
55:56 Truth is too clear to be confused.
55:59 And now as we close, last question,
56:03 why is it so important
56:05 that we know the truth about death?
56:08 Because friends, spiritualism is gonna
56:10 deceive you and destroy you but more than that
56:14 the reason why it's so important
56:15 to know the truth about this topic
56:18 is because the false doctrine of the immortal soul
56:20 is a direct attack on Calvary.
56:25 How so?
56:26 Let me explain,
56:28 if it's true that when a man dies
56:30 he doesn't really die, he is immortal
56:33 then that means when Jesus became man
56:35 and when Jesus died that He really didn't die.
56:41 He just went through the motions.
56:45 And if that's the case we have no hope.
56:47 Furthermore, John 3:16 says,
56:51 shall we say it together?
56:53 "For God so loved the world,
56:56 that He gave His only begotten Son,
57:00 that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,
57:05 but shall have everlasting life."
57:07 What kind of life? Everlasting.
57:10 Friends, everlasting life
57:12 is the same thing as immortal life.
57:15 If the soul is immortal
57:17 that means we already have everlasting life.
57:20 And if we already have everlasting life
57:23 then why do we need to believe in Jesus?
57:26 If we are immortal we don't need Jesus.
57:30 And that's exactly what Satan wants people to believe.
57:33 But friends, the fact that we are mortal,
57:36 subject to death because of sin
57:39 shows me tonight that I need Jesus.
57:46 Do you need Jesus? Yes.
57:49 There's no life out of Jesus, friends.
57:52 Soon Jesus is gonna come again
57:55 and when He comes families that has been separated
57:58 by death are gonna be reunited in life.
58:01 Don't worry, you are gonna see your loved ones again.
58:04 We have a few members of our team
58:07 that just lost their dad about a month ago.
58:10 Don't worry twins, you will see your father again.
58:13 It's gonna be a great family reunion.
58:15 God is gonna wipe away all the tears from your eyes.
58:19 Death itself is going to die.
58:23 Babies who have died in infancy
58:26 will be placed back into their parent's arms.
58:29 Oh, what a happy day
58:32 when I see my father-in-law again.
58:34 Oh, what a happy day it's going to be.
58:37 Friends, Jesus is only gonna come back for those,
58:39 He's coming back for those who have accepted
58:40 His death on the cross in their place.
58:44 He died and rose again.
58:46 How many of you want to say, Lord Jesus,
58:48 may you be my resurrection and my life, take my heart,
58:53 fill me with the hope of your soon coming.


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Revised 2014-12-17