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Bible Basics Lesson Fourteen: Heaven and Hell

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Bible Basics Lesson Fourteen: Heaven and Hell Bible Basics Lesson Fourteen: Heaven and Hell MEMORY VERSE: “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation” (Hebrews 9:27-28). INTRODUCTION An extremely anxious man went to his dentist for a root canal surgery. He was brought into the operation room and made comfortable in the reclining dental chair. The dentist injected numb- ing agent around the patient’s tooth and then left the room for a few minutes. When the dentist returned he found the patient standing by the tray of dental equipment. “What are you doing?” inquired the dentist. The patient replied, “I’m taking out the instruments I don’t like!” It seems there are a lot of people who like to “pick and choose” the parts of the Bible teachings they like and throw away or ignore those parts they don’t like. A lot of folks love the idea of heaven. In fact several polls over the past few years have shown that most Americans believe in heaven (86% in a 2007 Gallup poll). Most think they are going there, after all heaven’s going to be a great place! But on the other hand, many do not believe there is a hell. In another poll (Barna, 2009) only half of one percent (0.5%) believed they would go to hell. Hell is not a popular idea. There are even “preachers” who proclaim that a loving God would not condemn humans to hell. Paul told the elders of the Ephesian church that he had declared the whole council of God or all of God’s purpose (Acts 20:25-30). Our goal must be to know the whole council of God. We cannot pick and choose. It is not what we “want” or what we “think” that counts—it is what God says in His Word. We cannot get rid of the verses that we don’t like. IS THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH? As the writer of our memory verse in Hebrews tells us, we will all die, but he goes on to say that after this life there is a “judgment.” Most of us never think about what happens after we die. Some- times at the death of a friend or family member, we may think about it. But for the most part, we rarely think about it. Many would have us believe that this life is all there is. Death is the end—we live and die and that’s all there is. Many people want to believe that at the end of this life then there is nothing. That way they don’t have to answer for the life they are living. Some religions teach that after death we are reborn to live another lifetime—over and over again. This gives comfort to think that we have a “do-over” so we can get it “right” the next time, but this is not taught in the Bible. Often – at funerals – people will comfort one another with words like these: “They’ve gone to a better place,” or “He’s gone over to the other side,” or she’s “gone home.” Statements like that reflect a hope for a future where we’ll see our loved ones after death. It’s comforting to believe in a future existence where we’ll live forever, because, in our heart of hearts, everybody knows death isn’t good. We frequently feel that our loved ones shouldn’t have died. We don’t want to die. But we’re all going to. As our memory verse tells us, we are all appointed to die—one time—and then we will face a judgment before God (Hebrews 9:27-28). Bible Basics #14, page 1 The apostle Paul assured the Corinthian Christians that there was life after death. In 1 Cor. 15:51-55, he said, “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imper- ishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imper- ishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’‘ Where, O death, is your sting? Where, O grave, is your victory?’” Earlier in that chapter Paul said that our physical life was like a seed. When a seed is planted (buried) it will sprout and grow into a new plant (1 Cor. 15:35-37). When this life is over then we face the judgment and we enter into a new existence: eternity. During this life we are making a choice about where we will spend eternity and once we die our choice is finalized. We don’t have another rebirth to try again, no second chance. Jesus died and was raised so that we may have that inheritance (1 Peter 1:3-4). But as Peter tells us in 2 Peter 2, those who do not follow Christ will be cast into hell. THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS Jesus told a parable about a poor man named Lazarus and an unnamed rich man in Luke 16:19- 31. Some believe this was an actual event while others say this was just a parable. But in either case we can learn a good lesson. Both Lazarus and the rich man die. The rich man went to Hades, but the poor Lazarus was taken to “Abraham’s Bosom.” So the rich man was in the grave (or Hades) and Lazarus was with Abraham. The Greek language used the word “bosom” to refer to 1> the physical arms or chest of another person or 2> the practice of reclining and eating meals in close proximity to other guests. So a person would recline physically close to the side or chest of another person during a meal. It was considered an honor to lie at the “bosom” of the master of the feast (John 13:23). Abraham’s Bosom has been interpreted to mean the abode of the righteous dead. Several Jewish apocryphal writings before Christ refer to the bosom of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, which refers to a division in Hades where the righteous dead were separated from the unrighteous. The Book of Enoch divides Sheol into four realms. So when interpretiting a parable, we must be careful not to make every detail in the story too literal, we should look for the main point. In this parable, there was a great divide, or gulf, between Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man was in torment and Lazarus was being comforted. The rich man asked that Abraham send Lazarus to help him or at least to send a messager back to his family—but there was nothing else to be done. The point of this parable was NOT to prove that there is a place where the dead are kept until the judgment; the point was NOT to prove that the dead would be conscious after death and before the judgment. These must be proved from other scriptures. The point of the parable WAS to show that what we did in this life will determine our eternal fate—our eternal destiny cannot be changed after we die. We cannot purchase salvation or be re- deemed after death. The Bible does not teach that there is a purgatory. What is important is that we believe and obey now—while we live. Jesus died for our sins, but we must accept Christ and live for him during our life here on earth. WHERE WILL WE BE AFTER DEATH AND THE JUDGMENT? Many beleive that our spirits go to Hades after death and that Hades is divided into Paradise, or Abraham’s Bosom, for the righteous dead, and the unrighteous will go to Tartarus (2 Peter 2:4) where the angels who sinned are cast and who will be held there until they are judged. This is the Bible Basics #14, page 2 horrible place where the rich man was. There was a chasm or gulf between the two places. Our spirits will remain there in a conscious state until the judgment. Others believe that our spirits enter into a state of unconscious “sleep” and will remain that way until the resurection and judgment. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 speaks of death as a “sleep.” But this was a common euphemism for death. (NOTE: a euphemism is a word or expression substituted for a word that is considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.) So Paul is simply talking about dying and not about entering a state of sleep. Jesus in Matthew 25:31-46 presents a picture of a grand judgment day when we will all be judged. That judgment may be a grand, “formal” event—the finality of judgment that will come at the end of this earth. Paul indicates that the judgment, or “day of the Lord,” will come to each of us unexpectedly just like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:1-4). Paul tells us that Christ will return and will bring those Christians who have died (“fallen asleep”). This would indicate that they were with Christ before he comes back.
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