What Happens the Moment We Die | Dr. John Ewart

Hey everybody, this is Pastor John Ewart from Inglewood

Baptist Church in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina.

Thank you so much for tuning into our podcast.

You're going to hear from God today as we share from his word

about important issues facing your life that can guide you

according to the Bible. So thank you for joining this

session. For those listening online,

thank you so much. This is actually session 3 of

the Heaven, Hell and the Hereafter series.

If you haven't listened to the first two sessions, I encourage

you to go back. We talked about the eternality

of God. How do we wrap our brains around

this concept of eternal, which is hard for our human brains?

And then secondly, last session we talked about some false paths

to eternity, A lot of isms that are out there that do not lead

you to where the Bible would want you to go.

Tonight we're going to talk about an interesting subject.

And it's, it's not without some controversy and some differing

opinion and differing interpretations.

So you may not agree with everything I'm going to say

tonight. That's OK Probably, maybe, could

be, might not be, you might be a heretic, but we'll see.

Some of these are secondary and tertiary doctrinal issues, but

there are some key pieces that you better believe, and so we'll

walk through all that together. You should have a handout for

that, or you can download one online.

The one thing that is certain that we know is that death is

certain. The latest statistic I could

find, and it changes often, probably daily, is that about

120 million people die. Excuse me, 120 people die every

minute. 60 million people die every year in the world.

So every single minute that goes by, that's another 120 people or

more. There's a countdown clock that

you'll find in the missions hall that will off talk about the

lostness of the world. And when you think about that, a

lot of those 120 people who just died in the last minute when I

was kidding about Woodstock, many of them did not know Jesus.

And so we have a job to do, and it's an urgent job.

It's a timed job. And time is running out for

another 120 and another 120 and another 120.

But all of us at some point are going to face this.

Ben Franklin is the guy who gets credit by saying that.

Yeah. And nothing can be certain

except death and taxes. And, and so we recognize that

this is a reality. And so we we want to face this.

And of course, as believers, we face this with a very different

perspective than what a non believer might face it.

A job in Job 1414 asks if a man dies, shall he live again?

And and that's part of what we want to talk about.

Hebrews 927 is a verse that we've already used in this

series, but it's as just as it it is appointed for man to die

once, and after that comes judgement.

And so there there are a lot of questions, stories, opinions,

interpretations about death and what happens after death.

The world obviously has a pluralistic opinion about it

all. We talked about that in the last

session. But from a biblical perspective,

human beings are made-up of two parts.

And this is really important to remember.

In fact, it's vital to understand this because this is

part of how part of the way we deal with eternity.

We have both a material part, that's the physical part that's

decaying. It's a part of a fallen

creation. And, and you know, if those of

you who have not gotten older yet is coming for you and, and

it will finally catch up to you. It's in, it is, it is

inevitable, and so we live in a fallen decay in creation, and

our material body is a part of that.

And so it's a material part. But then there's an immaterial

part of us. And I'm going to use the word

spirit and soul interchangeably for this session.

There are various teachings that might try to differentiate

between the spirit and soul, and down the road, if we need to get

into that, we can for this session.

It would be fine for us to put those two pieces together.

So the immaterial part of us, which is often not recognized by

the secular world, to be honest with you, although even in many

secular belief systems, the idea of a spiritual nature is there.

It may just be a form of energy to some, and but we recognize

that there is that part of us that's very real.

So when a human being physically dies, his or her immaterial part

departs from the material part. So there's a separation that

occurs. In fact, the New Testament Greek

word for death literally means separation.

And so it points this out very clearly, that you are separated

at that point. And at the moment of death, then

man's spirit or soul separates from the body.

And you see this happening in Scripture.

You'll see people talk about this in Acts Chapter 7.

Acts 7 · chapter mention

Stephen prayed, Lord, Lord Jesus receive my spirit on the cross.

In Luke chapter 23, while Jesus is on the cross, he prays Father

Luke 23 · chapter mention

into your hands. I commit my spirit.

He's not committing his physical body.

His physical body did not leave at that point.

They took it off the cross, put it in a tomb for a couple of

days, and we're going to talk about that in a minute.

But so the body goes to the grave and will decay normally,

except in the case of of Christ, which is absolutely unique.

But for all the rest of us, the body will decay, but the Spirit

lives on. But here's a key.

This is a temporary state. And this is where the varying

opinions start to form. Various interpretations of

Scripture will start coming into play.

So when we die and we're separated body from Spirit,

there's a temporary state of things.

And then there'll be a brand new resurrected reunion later, which

we'll talk about in a moment. So let's talk about this because

not everybody thinks through this or has thought of this.

And so some people wrongly assume that immediately upon the

moment of death that you're going to receive your

resurrected body. And that's not really what the

Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that comes

later and so that sometimes throws people.

That's not the view of Scripture there.

There is an in between state, a state of existence.

But it's really important that you listen carefully to this, a

state of existence in between the time our mortal bodies die

and the time we receive our resurrected bodies in the

future. But but this is never presented

as soul sleep, that that doctrine doesn't exist in

Scripture. This is a very conscious state.

You're very much alive. You're very much aware.

It's hard for us sometimes because we're so attached to

this. We think this is who we are, and

this is not who you are. This is but a body or shell of

clay that will return to the dust.

And so who you really are lives on.

You'll be more alive as a believer.

Let me just talk about believers for a minute.

In your spiritual state with Christ, with God, in a very real

conscious way. So sleep is often a

misinterpretation of some English translations.

They draw a doctrine from it. And I'll talk about that a two

or three times because there's some folks in our church who are

dealing with some people who believe in soul sleep and we've

been having a conversation about that.

There's a specific group of people who might come knocking

on your door or others who believe in soul sleep.

And so because the word sleep is often translated from in from

the Greek into English that way, it's actually a word for death.

And this leads to the confusion. But contextually, it's very

clear that it's referring to dying and not some some state of

sleep or suspended animation or unawareness.

So we're just going to throw so sleep out the window.

That's not what we're going to talk about tonight.

So for the believer, death involves his or her spirit

departing from the physical body and immediately going into the

presence of the Lord. So apart are absent from the

body and present with the Lord, which we'll use that verse again

later and we'll talk more about that in a minute.

Now some people disagree with what I just said and then one of

the reasons they disagree is because time and eternity is so

different. And so even though in our

timeline that we're working on, I die sometime second coming

doesn't happen till later and we know we're going to get a

resurrected body at that point. But from my perspective, in

heaven, time doesn't exist. So it all seems to happen all at

once. And I've heard that idea and,

and maybe that's true. The problem is there's just

nowhere in scripture that would say that.

And so I can't necessarily say that that's the truth.

And there is some evidence for something else, and I'll show

you that. So absent from the body present

with the Lord Ecclesiastes. Solomon put it this way in

Ecclesiastes 12/7. And the dust returns to the

earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

So often at funerals you're you'll hear kind of the, the

dust to dust, ashes to ashes kind of concept.

It's one of those verses that would point to that kind of

thing. In a similar way, then the for

the unbeliever, all right now we're talking about the person

who doesn't trust in Christ. So for the unbeliever, at the

moment of death, the immaterial, the the soul or the spirit also

departs from the material body and immediately goes to a place

of suffering again with complete conscious awareness.

But they are also not in their permanent state yet.

There's a, there's a different place that many would hold to.

So we're going to take a look at this and see where we land.

I want us to look at four different really time periods, 4

different phases of time, 4 different time periods.

That'll help us kind of see the different, what happened to Old

Testament people, what happens to New Testament people, what

happens to us today, those kinds of ideas.

So first we're going to look at in the beginning, before sin

with Adam and Eve, and then what happened in the Old Testament

after the fall, after sin, after Genesis 3, all the way through

the Gospels, but before the cross and the resurrection.

What happened to those people when they died then in the New

Testament, after the cross and before and after the

resurrection. And that's their own purpose

that way, because we got three days to talk about that.

We'll have to talk about specifically what was Jesus

doing during those three days. That's a a matter of a lot of

interpretation and, and, and various opinions.

And then we're going to look at the in eternity in the final

state of things. OK, everybody with me.

All right, so let's break this down.

S 1st in the beginning, before sin with Adam and Eve.

Now you've got to recognize that in the beginning they they had

not sinned. They were in a sinless place at

that point until they've made a wrong choice.

And so they would have lived forever in paradise in the

presence of God. And when you read the book of

Genesis, you'll see that one of the issues of judgement that

needed to come as they needed to separate them them from the tree

of life. So they wouldn't live forever in

the in the state they were in after they sinned.

God actually was redeeming them by kicking them out.

And sometimes it might seem harsh, but He was actually being

gracious by doing that. And so God told them in Genesis

217 that if they disobeyed, they would surely die.

And they did, and they would. God always keeps His promises.

And so sin, you got to think about this.

The wages of sin is what death. And so we recognize that death

is a price that gets paid because of sin.

And so that happens. Romans 512 actually clarifies

this. Therefore, just as sin came into

the world through one man and death through sin, and so death

spread to all men because all sinned, so because of our sinful

nature, because we all sin. And by the way, in the Romans

series this coming Sunday morning, we're going to talk a

lot about this and how we all sin.

Because of that, we're all now facing the wage.

We're all facing the price. There's a price to be paid

because we're all sinners. And so death is part of that

wage. So in the beginning, it was

different for that brief moment of time.

You had a couple of chapters in there.

That's about as long as humanity could wait before, before,

before sin stepped in. Then the second phase, and this

is a little more complicated in the Old Testament after Genesis

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3, all the way through the Gospels, but before the

cross and the resurrection, especially before the

resurrection. Alright, so there's a

distinction that's going to be made between the righteous and

the wicked throughout these passages.

Malachi chapter 3, verse 18 says this.

Malachi 3:18

Then once more you shall see the distinction between the

righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and

one who does not serve him. So there's going to be a

distinct judgment that we see take place here.

The just are going to live by faith.

That's Habakkuk 24. In fact, you've got to recognize

the role of faith in Old Testament salvation and often we

don't do that. We get hung up on the law, we

get hung up on the Tabernacle, on the temple, and we see that

as the only way to redemption and salvation.

But you need to read Hebrews 11 sometime for by faith, this is

how they in fact, Genesis 15-6 says Abraham believed he faith

in God. And so faith is still a way that

we approach God. And in fact it says, and he

believed the Lord and he counted it to him as righteousness.

And so we're still in a faith-based system because of

grace. Ephesians 289 has always been

true. It it just Christ Jesus and and

our knowledge of him came later, but we're still seeing salvation

happen this way. So.

So you have to believe in what you're doing, even in the law,

even in your sacrifices along the way.

There's a faith to the animal sacrifice of the Tabernacle or

temple. Anyway, now there's several

opinions about what comes next. You have words like Sheol and

Hades. Now sometimes these get used

interchangeably. So literally, linguistically,

sheol is a Hebrew word and it's the general abode of the dead.

It's the place of the dead. The dead go to Sheol.

Hades is Greek, and in the New New Testament it's always used

for a place for the wicked, which is always kind of

interesting, even though there's going to be different people who

don't use it that way. It gets quite confusing

sometimes when you're reading some, including the rabbis.

Jewish rabbis would say that Hades contains 2 compartments,

and this is a fairly common interpretation and belief that

that the place of the dead in the Old Testament times had two

different sections. And there's a couple reasons why

they believe this. Scripturally 1 is paradise with

us? Use the word paradise or another

word, for it is the bosom of Abraham.

That phrase is only used one time in the Bible.

You have the Abraham's bosom or paradise, and then the other

place is a place of conscious agony and usually it's just

going to be called Hades or Sheol and it's a place of

torment, right? Other interpreters are simply

seeing this as heaven and hell. They don't see this in the same

way. So recognize that there's some

secondary and tertiary interpretations.

The primary points are that believers are going to be

present with the Lord. Unbelievers are not.

That's primary. The in between state, especially

during the Old Testament, really doesn't affect you.

Does it? Say no, you're not alive then.

OK, so this is an interesting conversation and an interesting

study, but it really doesn't have impact on your life today,

right? So don't let this become a

primary issue for you. All right?

Everybody say Amen. We're going to get primary

issues in a minute for today, I promise.

But for those who believe in this, a primary New Testament

story is the rich man and Lazarus.

And so I'm going to read this to you.

I think it's worth it. And so you got to remember, and

I'm not saying that's what this is because it doesn't say that,

but in the context of Luke chapter 16, Jesus is teaching in

Luke 16 · chapter mention

parables. So is Jesus simply sharing a

parable or is he actually sharing the reality?

Was there really a person named Lazarus?

Was there really a a rich man or not?

Or is this simply a parable? OK, that doesn't change the

principles that were to learn from it.

But but and and and he doesn't call it a parable.

He he few verses before he it's very clear it's a parable.

He gets to this story doesn't say that, but he's been parable

parabolizing this whole time. So we're not sure.

So here's verse 19. I do think there's some true

principles that we learn from this, and I, I believe in these

principles strongly. There was a rich man who was

clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously

every day. There is a word you ought to

work into your conversation tomorrow sumptuously.

If it rains later tonight, we'll refer to some sumptuous

nourishing of the earth. Right, All right.

And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with

sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich

man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and

licked his sores. The poor man died and was

carried by the angels to Abraham's side.

Here we get this idea of the bosom of Abraham.

Right, a different translation. The rich man also died and was

buried and in Hades being in torment, he lifted up his eyes

and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.

And he called out, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and

send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my

tongue, for I'm in anguish in this flame.

But Abraham said, child, remember that you and your

lifetime received your good things and Lazarus and like

manner bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in

anguish. And besides all this, between US

and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who

would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross

from there to us. And he said, then I beg you,

Father, to send him to my Father's house, for I have 5

brothers, so that he may warn them lest they also come into

this place of torment. And of course Jesus goes on to

say, basically, if they're not going to pay attention to

scripture and prophets, why would they listen to them?

And so we see this image in this context, but we do see a couple

of things that are really true and seem to be evident, whether

this is an in between state, whether this is heaven or hell,

even though the word Hades is clearly used.

And at this point in time, remember we're pre cross, pre

resurrection. But to think about the idea of

here are a couple of truths, and this gets borne out in other

stories that I promise I'll point out to you later.

Here are a couple of things that I believe are absolutely true.

After we die, there is conscious awareness.

We are very much there. We are very much aware.

We're not in some weird other state.

We know where we are and we are aware that we are there.

The other thing is, is that if you notice, we do not lose

recognizable identity. And this is significant to me,

the fact that they are known. Lazarus is still Lazarus.

Abraham is still Abraham. The rich man is still rich man.

And that's going to be borne out in other passages.

I'll show you later. So I really do believe this is

an obvious truth. We will know each other after

death. We will know who we are.

And we we're going to talk about our resurrected bodies here in a

little bit. So we may not, we're not going

to look exactly the same way. We're going to look better.

Hey, thank you very much. Thank you very much.

But but we're going to know each other and that and that and

again, you got to and you got to come back to this truth.

Who we really are is not this. See, that's not who we are.

And so we're going to, we're going to have a recognizable

identity with who we really are, which is going to be wonderful.

All right. Now, I promise we're not leaving

some of these principles behind. I'm going to come back, I'm

going to circle a little bit later on, but let me just move

on in the timeline just for a couple of minutes.

So the third phase that we would want to take a look at is during

the New Testament, after the cross and before and after the

resurrection. This is where some real

interesting interpretations and differences of opinion come into

play. I actually think this is pretty

cool conversation. Cool.

That's a Hebrew word for sumptuous.

The penalty of sin is paid in full, right?

Jesus pays for us on the cross. God's wrath is justified.

We're going to talk more about that in our Roman study.

John 1930 says when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said

to tell us die. We translated as it is finished.

A better translation would have been the debt is paid

completely, thoroughly, fully. Nope, no more is owed because

that's what the word really means.

And he bowed his head and gave up his what spirit?

Once again we see the separation of the material from the

immaterial, right? Romans 325, whom God put forward

as a propitiation by His blood to be received by faith.

This was to show God's righteousness because in His

divine forbearance He had passed over former sins.

So Jesus declares victory over sin and his death.

This becomes important because in His death he's actually

victorious over the wage of sin, right?

And thus we're going to see the resurrection in a couple of

days. Death can't hold him.

Jesus is beyond death. Jesus has defeated the wage.

He's paid the price. We can't do that, but he could.

Then there are varying interpretations about what

happened next before the what was Jesus up to for three days?

That's a matter of a lot of discussion and you some of these

will be the well, this is some of you know, oh, this is exactly

what he was doing. And others will say, I've never

heard that in my life. So let's dive into a couple

passages. First, Peter 3 is a common one

for Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the

unrighteous that he might bring us to God being put to death in

the flesh. So he's died on the cross,

tracking with me, but made alive in the spirit in which he went,

and proclaimed to the spirits in prison.

Who, where? Why Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure

of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, when He

ascended on high, he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts

to men. In saying He ascended, what does

it mean but that He also He had also descended into the lower

regions, the earth. He who descended is the one who

also ascended, far above all the heavens, that he might fill all

things. So either Jesus descended into

the earth, into Sheol, into Hades the grave.

I'm going to put all those pieces, all those three together

for this right now and preach victory to those who rebelled.

Some would say this. There are other passages that

suggest this, that he preaches to the fallen angels, He

preaches to the wicked, and then he leads the righteous from

Abraham's bosom out with him. So Paradise is now relocated

into the presence of God and no longer a compartment of Hades.

How many of you have ever heard that before?

Some of you thank you very much. How many of you have never heard

that before? Thank you very much.

Or these verses simply represent His general work of salvation

for those of us who are buried in sin, who are now free and LED

out by His grace. And you'll have scholars on both

sides of that puzzle. What did He really do?

The problem with the second view is, what do you do with these

verses? And so there's some interesting

things to think about. Remember what He said to the

thief on the cross next to him in Luke 2343.

Truly, I say to you, when you'll be with me, where in paradise?

Not later, not some other time, but as soon as you die, He would

be with Jesus. Matthew chapter 27 is also an

Matthew 27 · chapter mention

interesting passage, and I'm just going to throw this in

because I just find it fascinating.

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up his

spirit. And behold, the curtain of the

temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook,

and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and

many bodies of the Saints who had fallen asleep were raised

and coming out of the tombs. After his resurrection, they

went into the holy city and appeared to many, so there were

some who came back to life. It's interesting to me how

little we seem to make of this passage.

I hear very few sermons or lessons about this incredible

miracle, and yet I imagine that they had quite an impact.

I, I, I don't, I'm not sure what you would do.

Could you imagine grandpa knocking on your door one night?

I would just think that this was a bigger deal than sometimes we

make it. And then later on in the next

verse, verse 54, when the centurion and those who were

with him keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and

what took place, they were filled with all and said truly,

this was the Son of God. And so a lot happened in these

moments of his death prior to his resurrection.

A lot of miraculous things were happening.

There are passages in the Scripture also that talk about

their passages, for example, in Jude and other places to where

there seemed to be certain demons and certain really nasty

unclean spirits that were chained up in an even deeper,

darker places, so to speak, because God would not allow them

to be unleashed upon us. They were, they were too nasty

for us. So you can research some of

this, but again, that's not what affects us today.

So let's talk more about that. So for us today, let me just

start in 2nd Corinthians 5, I mentioned one of these verses

earlier in a different translation.

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is

destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with

hands eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan,

longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting

it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this

tent we groan, being burdened, not that we would be unclothed,

but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal

may be swallowed up by life. So we are always upset.

No, He, he who has prepared us for this very good thing is God,

who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

So we are always of good courage.

We know that while we are at home in the body we are away

from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.

Yes, we are of good courage and would rather be away from the

body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or

away, we make it our aim to please Him.

For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ so

that each one, they receive what is due for what He has done in

the body, whether good or evil. And again, another translation

to verse 8 is that that one you're more familiar with, to be

absent from the body, to be present with the Lord.

So there's this clear evidence that the moment we die, we are

in a conscious state in the presence of the Lord.

Now I don't believe we're in our permanent state yet because I

don't believe we've received our resurrected body yet.

But again, depending upon what you want to view as time and

eternity, you can say, well, all that happens all at the same

time. And as soon as we die, the

second coming has already happened or is happening.

And because time doesn't really exist and so we're on a whole

different wavelength. I can't my brain, they can't do

that. So I'm still running on the line

a little bit. So another passage is

Philippians one for me to live as Christ and to die as gain.

If I'm to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for

me. Yet which I shall choose I

cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the

two. My desire is to depart and be

with Christ, for that's far better.

The the word depart here is actually a nautical term.

It it's the ship's mooring to untie the boat, so to speak.

He, he wants to be set loose so he can sail directly to God and

he'd do that immediately. And again, just like Jesus said

to the thief on the cross today you'll be with me.

So those believers who die now go straight into the presence of

God, consciously, identifiably, etcetera.

I'll talk more about that in a minute.

But what about non believers who die now?

At the moment of death, non Christians go as spirits to a

place of suffering, full conscious awareness, and there

they await their future resurrection and judgment at the

great White throne. Now one of the reasons I believe

in this other place is the fact that when I read the Book of

Revelation there seems to be these steps that are taking

place. Second Peter 29 says, then the

Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep

the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgement.

So final judgement hasn't happened yet.

And this word keep in that translation.

A different translation of Second Peter 29 would have the

word hold and the word hold its present tense or keep it's

present tense, which means it's continuous.

So God is keeping them there and continuously keeps them there,

which is one of the reasons why I think there's an in between

time between the final state of things and so he's keeping them

there. And this wording is basically

like prisoners guarded non-stop, waiting for judgement, waiting

for the trial, so to speak. And so we see this happening to

those who don't know him. Now, from this, you can imagine,

along with the Book of Maccabees and the Apocrypha, how the

Catholic Church comes up with certain purgatory ideas.

But that idea is not supported in Scripture in the sense that

that's not, you know, that believers are not sent to a

place of suffering or a place of holding.

They're immediately in the presence of the Lord.

They just don't have their final bodies yet, but they're very

much there. Whereas those who don't know him

are being kept. And then finally, let's look at

in eternity. In other words, what's the

final? What's the final look going to

look like? So our glorification is going to

also involve the future redemption of our bodies, so to

speak, not, not just like this one.

This will turn to dust. But in First Thessalonians 4 you

know this passage. But we do not want you to be

uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you

may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, Even so,

through Jesus God will bring with him those who have fallen

asleep. For this we declare to you by a

word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until

the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen

asleep. For the Lord Himself will

descend from heaven, and with a cry of command, with the voice

of an Archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God, and

the dead in Christ will rise first.

Then we who are alive who are left will be caught up together

with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

And so we will always be with the Lord.

Now some people would actually see this passage as an

interpretation of the Ephesians passage where He descended.

That actually what that's talking about is the second

coming, not necessarily the three days between the cross and

the resurrection. So you understand, they're

different viewpoints that come into play here.

But what we see here is the return of Jesus and beyond.

And we're going to talk a whole lot more about that later

sessions, I promise. In fact, then very next session,

we're going to talk about what's heaven like and who all's going

to be there. So we're going to, we're going

to really work through what is heaven all about?

What does it look like to the best of our our our language

abilities and our comprehension abilities, as well as who's

going to be there and unfortunately who's not.

So Jesus returns literally and visibly to earth.

That is a primary doctrine you need to believe in a bodily

return of Jesus Christ and those who have fallen asleep.

Again, this simply means those who have already died before his

return. This is not referring to soul

sleep. Go back to original language,

original meanings. It becomes clear and and we're

going to experience these new bodies, we're going to be

raised. In fact, Paul talks about this

more thoroughly in First Corinthians 15.

So in First Corinthians 15, he really does breakdown for us

several things that we need to see.

First of all, he basically gives an explanation of our glorified

bodies, verse 35. But someone will ask, how are

the dead raised? With what kind of body do they

come? I mean, it's pretty clear, you

know, I mean, he's getting pretty straightforward.

For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for

humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another

for fish. There are heavenly bodies and

earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind and

the glory of the earthly is of another.

In other words, this is not going to be the same.

This is different. Acts 26, eight says, why is it

thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

So this is not a, this is not an effort, this is nothing.

This is not hard for Him. He's going to restore us.

Then we see in verses 42 through 44 kind of about the excellence

of these glorified bodies, and I'm going to give more

descriptions later, but here it says, so it is with the

resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable.

What is raised is imperishable. We're going to have an

imperishable body. It is sown and dishonored.

It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness.

It is raised in power. It is sown in natural body.

It is raised a spiritual body. If there's a natural body,

there's also a spiritual body. We're going to be different.

We're going to be eternal in this body.

Philippians 3 reminds us that our citizenship is in heaven,

and from it we await A Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will

transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body by the

power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

I mean, he is the Creator. This is no power, no problem to

recreate us in a new way, and we're going to be like Him.

We're going to talk more about what that means specifically in

a minute. Verses 47 through 49, we see an

example as he's comparing the first Adam and Jesus.

Talking about Jesus and Adam, he says the first man was from the

earth, a man of dust. The second man is from heaven,

as was the man of dust. So also are those are those who

are of the dust. And as is the man of heaven, so

also are those who are of heaven.

Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall

also bear the image of the man of heaven.

That's that's I like that. We're going to dust off our old

dusty self first. John 32 says, Beloved, we are

God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared.

See, we're not there yet, but we know that when he appears, we

shall be like him because we shall see him as He is.

So we're going to be a whole lot more like Jesus after the

resurrection. Verses 51 through 53, we kind of

see, there's this exchange that takes place.

How does this happen? So behold, I tell you a mystery.

This is the theme verse for all church nurseries.

We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.

It's an old joke. I need a rim shot.

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet.

For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised

imperishable, and we shall be changed.

For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and

this mortal body must put on immortality.

So we're going to be completely different.

FF Bruce, who's a famous theologian commentator, he wrote

this, he said the glorifying of believers is their ultimate and

complete conformity to the image of God's Son.

We're we're more back to pre Genesis 3 than we've ever been

before to where we're bearing the very image of God himself.

I'm not saying we're going to be just like that, but I'm just

saying closer. So change from perishable to

imperishable. So let's be a little more

specific. So our body according to these

passages is going to be more like the resurrected Christ.

So all we can do is study him and learn from him and also see

some other passages to say this is this looks like this is what

we're going to be like. We we noticed that that

Philippians passage will transform our lowly body to be

like his glorious body by the power that he that enables him

even to subject all things to himself.

So we're going to be more like in first John 32 again, beloved,

we are God's children now and what we will be has not yet

appeared, but we know that when he appears, we shall be like

him. We also recognize that he had a

visible and recognizable body. This goes back to this other

statement I was making before about the rich man and Lazarus.

We do not lose our identity in eternity.

We will know each other, I believe with all of my heart.

You're going to recognize those who have gone on before you.

Now our relationships will be different.

We're going to talk about that later.

The relationships in heaven are different.

There's no marriage. There's things like that that

are different. Better if you can imagine, but

we're still going to see folks and I think I can prove that not

only with these passages, but also with a couple of others.

So Luke 24 says see my hands and my feet, that is I myself touch

me and see for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see

that I have. There was no question that was

Jesus after the resurrection. They saw him.

Paul writes in First Corinthians 13 For now we see in a mirror

dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part then I shall

know fully even as I have been fully known.

So even as I've been fully known, I'm still going to be

known. But I also think there are a

couple of other stories that people often don't think about.

Who is on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus,

Moses and Elijah. How do you know they were still

Moses? They were still Elijah.

And so we see throughout Scripture that even those who

have died are still known. It was still Moses, it was still

Elijah, and they were recognized.

Again, the rich man of Lazarus story seems to point to the same

thing. I have no other evidence to to

say something else. And so the evidence of Scripture

would say that we will be known. We're also going to be free from

present limitations. Again after the resurrection,

their eyes open, they recognized him and he vanished from their

sight. He also can appear through

locked doors. John 20 says on the evening of

that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked

where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and

stood among them and said to them, Peace be with you.

Then verse 26, eight days later, his disciples were inside again

and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked,

Jesus came and stood among them and said, peace be with you.

Now, I'm not saying that one of the things we want to do after

we die in heaven is to go through locked doors, but it's a

testimony that we're just made of different stuff.

We're just different. It's a completely different type

of existence. This is an eternal and glorious

body. Again, in 2nd Corinthians 5, we

know that if our, if the tent that is our earthly home is

destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with

hands, eternal in the heavens. Or again out of first

Corinthians 15, sown in dishonor, raised in glory, sown

in weakness, raised in power. And so we recognize that this is

a, a glorious eternal body that will last forever.

I've mentioned this to you before.

Not everybody has thought of this or agrees with me, but this

is also this is also why people will endure punishment forever

in hell, because they too are going to receive a different new

body, and so an incorruptible body forever free from sin,

sickness and sorrow. And this ought to give you hope.

So it is with the resurrection of the dead.

What is sown as perishable? What is raised is imperishable

or revelation, a verse. We often share it.

Certain times of grief. He will wipe away every tear

from their eyes and death shall be no more.

Now don't rush past that. What doesn't exist anymore?

The wage is paid. Sin will not be a part of our

future. We have been saved from the

penalty of sin if we believe in Jesus.

We are constantly being saved from the power of sin and our

daily life and our discipleship one day from the presence of sin

itself. We won't.

We wouldn't in our current state even understand how to do how to

do that. We wouldn't be able to

comprehend perfection. We're going to need a new body.

We're going to need a new ability to be able to live in a

sinless place, in a sinless state.

He'll wipe away every tear from their eyes.

And death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning

nor crying nor pain anymore. For the former things have

passed away. Now let me clear up a couple of

things. I found that sometimes even the

the things that might be obvious to some or not learned that

Sunday. I'll leave that alone.

You don't get to become an Angel, sorry.

You don't get to sit on a cloud with little wings strumming on a

harp. You don't get to do that.

Another thing I'm going to say, which is not in your notes, but

I'm going to say it, and I'll say it again in a couple weeks

when we get to hell. Satan also doesn't run Hell.

Get that in your head. Satan and his demons are not

down there stirring up a pot and watching the gates to Hell as as

Dante was wrong. That is not how it works.

Satan himself will be cast into hell.

I like saying that out loud. The Bible actually says that

we'll judge angels. It's always interesting to me

because Paul's writing to the Corinthians when he writes this,

writing to believers from extremely Pagan backgrounds,

most of them in First Corinthians 63.

Do you not know that we are to judge angels?

How much more than matters pertaining to this life.

So we're going to recognize, we're going to talk about angels

and we'll start talking about them next week.

Why are they? Who are they, what are they and

what do they do? And these incredible messenger

servants of God are going to also be there with us.

Again, First Corinthians 15 says this.

It says, But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through

our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers,

be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the

Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

But whenever I do a study like this, it always makes me want to

ask the question, So what? How should that change?

How should any of this change the way I behave tomorrow, What

I believe, what I think, what I love, and what I fear?

How should this affect my life here and now?

There's got to be more to these studies than simply, oh, that's

interesting to study that I want to know about demons or I want

to know about angels. I find people overtly fascinated

by such things, when in fact we ought to be fascinated by Jesus

and what he's done for us and how that ought to affect what I

do and what I think and what I say and what I believe.

So for me, whenever I review this again and I walk through

these passages again, I, I, I, I'm thankful for a God who even

from the beginning knew this was going to happen and created a

plan of grace anyway and suffers and sacrifices himself for me.

And then in victory goes. And maybe he does go proclaim to

those and takes them out of Hades.

And maybe he'd, he, he, he, he's going to.

But I know this, he's going to get me one day.

I know that part. My prayer is, is that I'd like

to meet him in the air, but if I die first physically, I'll still

be with him. And one day or that day

immediately or later, depending upon how time works in heaven

and eternity, I'm going to be made different and new.

And So what that helps me to think through is the fact that

when my back hurts like it has over the last few days or I have

to get an injection in my eye because of my diabetes and I

can't see out of my right eye and it feels like somebody's

punched me in the face like it has the last few days.

You know what? Big deal, big deal.

Hey, first of all, many of you are suffering far more than I

ever would, but I don't want to make light of your suffering or

what you're going through, but also just put it into

perspective. Put it into perspective because

one day it's all going to end. One day it's all going to end.

And I guess what bothers me is I want everybody to enjoy that.

And we're surrounded by people. I was hearing about people

today, specific people today, who do not believe.

I don't want them to miss out. Martyn Lloyd Jones, the preacher

theologian, said a man who has his eye on his future state of

glorification will spend his time in preparing himself for

it. So the more we think about home,

real home, the more I really do think about what that's going to

be like. And next week, we're going to

hit it hard. I've been reading in the Book of

Revelation, just trying to wrap my head around what John was

trying to wrap his head around, frankly.

And the words that he had to put into language to describe the

undescribable to to, to, to compare them to gems and to

compare them to metals and to compare them to earthly things.

Because that was the only thing he could do.

That was the best he could do. And yet it's more just recognize

this is not you and this is not home.

And one day, one day we'll go there if you believe.

And I believe that beyond any shadow of a doubt.

And I look forward to seeing others there.

I look forward to reuniting and learning from them if I need to.

Maybe we know it all already, you know, Maybe there is no

question to ask in heaven. But I wouldn't mind strolling

along with Moses. I wouldn't mind walking along

the the sea of glass before the throne with Paul.

But I really want to see Jesus. And I guess sometimes it bothers

me because I think to myself, when that happens, I want to run

and I want to thank him. And that's what I'll do because

that's what I think we're all going to do.

I mean, the 24 elders are doing it.

The heavenly beasts are doing it.

That's what we're going to do. But here's what makes me pause.

Now, hear me before we go. Why am I not doing that right

now? Why am I not more appreciative

right now? Because I can run to him right

now and thank him and appreciate him and honor him and glorify

him for what he's done. I don't have to wait.

You don't have to wait. We can do that here.

And part of what? Part of what I think sometimes

we miss because we misrepresent what this is, this stuff up on

the stage in this thing that we call a worship service.

Sometimes I think we miss it. And I was reminded of this the

other day when I was, I was listening to someone talking

about the Tabernacle and they were describing it as, as, as

God gave this to Moses. Now, this wasn't Scripture.

This is just somebody talking about it.

God gave this a Moses and, and, and in a small way, this is,

this is a symbol, this is a representation of heaven on

earth. Here's God presence.

God's presence is going to dwell in this holy of holies, this

place. And see, I, I just believe.

And maybe I have too high a view of the church.

I don't know, maybe, maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like that's

what we're supposed to do every time we're in here.

This isn't about whether he's saying OK.

This isn't about whether that was too loud.

This isn't about whether that was too bright.

This ought to be about did I come to say thank you?

Did I come to praise and to bring glory to a king who gave

me life? And who's going to give me a

better life? I mean, what if?

What if I have to fear? What can mere man do to me?

Imperishable, glorious, known. Hmm.

Forever and ever and ever. Father, thank you for forever.

Lord, we're people of the dust, and sometimes we act like it.

Father, sometimes we forget and we act dirty.

We act dusty. And Father, sometimes we're just

out for what we want for ourselves.

Lord, I want that fruit off that tree.

I know you told me I couldn't. That's the only one I want.

That's what I want. That's what I want.

So I should have it. I deserve it.

It's what I want. We forget.

So Father, I pray that we don't just study about heaven.

I pray that we don't just study about eternity.

I pray that we don't just study about you.

But Father, I pray that you move in our hearts changes make us

more like you. Even now.

Even now, I know one day we're going to be, we're going to get

bodies that are more like the resurrected Christ.

But why not right now? In our spirits, Father, in our

souls, in our hearts and our minds.

Make us more like you now. And Father, when we come to this

place, this is just a building. This is just a place.

But Father, it becomes more because you're already here and

we don't have to invite you to join us here.

That's so dumb. You're already here.

You're inviting us to join you. What a privilege.

You didn't have to do that. And Father, there was a time

when the veil separated and we, we couldn't, Lord, man couldn't

just come. But the veil was torn.

Access was given, commanded, expected.

And so, Father, forgive us. Forgive us, Father, when we

forget. Help us to remember forever and

ever and ever. And we saw you high and lifted

up, and even the seraphim bowed and worshipped you.

Who are we not to do the same? Thank you Father, in Christ's

name, Amen. God bless you all.

Thank you all. It's a little bit early, so be

nice to the children. Thank you so much for listening

today, and I also hope that you'll go to

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Thank you once again.