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THE AFTER-LIFE
"And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it ... And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged ... And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:11, 12, 15
I. Is there life after death?
A. The question is as old as the Bible itself. Job 14:14 "If a man die, shall he live again?"
B. Both the Old and New Testaments give clear indication that there is,
indeed, a life after death.
1. Many Old Testament scriptures make reference to a life after death.
Job 19:25-27 "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine
eyes shall behold, and not another..."
Psalms 16:9, 10 "... my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell..."
Isaiah 5:14, 15 "Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure; and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled."
Isaiah 14:9 "Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth..."
2. Jesus spoke of a life after death. Matthew 5:21, 22, 29; 16:18; 23:33; 13:41, 42 Mark 9:43-48; 10:30 Luke 16:19-31; 23:43; 20:34-36 John 11:23-25; Revelation 1:18
3. The early church did also. 2 Corinthians 5:6, 8, 9 Philippians 1:21, 23, 24; 3:11, 1 Thessalonians 5:9, 10, 2 Peter 1:12-15
C. God is not a God of the dead, but of the living. Matthew 22:29, 31-33; Luke 20:37, 38; Romans 14:7-9
1. The account of the transfiguration. Matthew 17:1-13 (Moses' death & burial are recorded in Deut 34:5-7.)
2. The translations of Enoch and Elijah. Genesis 5:22, 24 with Hebrews 11:5, 2 Kings 2:11
II. Is there consciousness after death?
A. When scripture speaks of "death," it does not mean that the spirit of a man has ceased to exist. Rather, it refers to the time at which the spirit has left the body.
1. It is the spirit that makes alive. Job 14:10 "But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?" James 2:26 "... the body without the spirit is dead ..."
a. In the different accounts of deaths recorded in scripture,it clearly states that the spirits departed from their bodies and returned to God.
Ecclesiastes 12:7
(1) Jesus commended His spirit to God and died. Luke 23:46
(2) At the time of his martyrdom, Stephen cried out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Acts 7:59; 8:1, 2
(3) In giving birth to Benjamin, Rachel's "soul was in departing ... and she died" in childbirth. Genesis 35:18
(4) "Abraham gave up the ghost (spirit) and died." Genesis 25:8
(5) "And Isaac gave up the ghost (spirit) and died ..." Genesis 35:29
(6) "And Ananias ... fell down and gave up the ghost (spirit) ... and(they) buried his body." Acts 5:5, 6
(7) "Then fell she (Sapphira) down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost (spirit): and the young men came in and found her dead." Acts 5:10
b. When a person is raised from the dead, therefore, his spirit returns to the body from which it had departed at the time of death.
(1) Elijah prayed for the widow's son, and "the soul of the dead child came into him again, and he revived." 1 Kings 17:22
(2) When Jesus raised Jairus' daughter, "her spirit came again, and she arose straightway." Luke 8:55
2. Scripture teaches that the spirits of men are fully conscious after separation from the body at death.
a. They can speak. Isaiah 14:9-11; Ezekiel 32:21
b. They can cry. Matthew 8:11, 12; Matthew 13:42, 50; Matthew 22:13 Luke 16:24-31; 13:28; Revelation 6:9-11
c. They can hear. John 5:25; 1 Peter 3:18-20; 4:6
d. They can see. Luke 16:23; John 8:51-54, 56
e. They can feel pain. Luke 16:23, 24 Revelation 20:10 ("torment" = Greek basanizo, meaning "to vex with great pain" – as Matthew 8:29)
f. They have memory. Luke 16:28
B. Death does not mean extinction. The words "perish," "destroy," and "lost" in the King James Version are all used for the same Greek word apollumi, meaning "that which is no longer useful." It is also used in Matthew 9:17; 10:6; etc.
C. That there is consciousness after death may be proven by the following examples in scripture.
1. Samuel and the witch of Endor. 1 Samuel 28:3, 11-16, 19
2. The transfiguration on the mount. Matthew 17:3 (Luke 9:30)
3. The rich man and Lazarus. Luke 16:19-31
4. The thief on the cross. Luke 23:42, 43
III. If the spirit of man is conscious after death, why does scripture repeatedly refer to death as "sleep"?
A. Scripture speaks of death as "sleep" only in its reference to the physical body (not the spirit) of man. In a sense, it appears that,when dead, the body is "asleep." See 1 Kings 1:21; 2 Kings 10:35; 16:20; 2 Chronicles 27:9; Job 14:12; Psalms 13:3; Jeremiah 51:39,57; Daniel 12:2; Matthew 27:52; Mark 5:39; Luke 8:52-55; John 11:11-14; Acts 13:36; 1 Corinthians 15:6, 51, 20; 1 Thessalonians 4:14; 5:9, 10.
B. The reason there is no knowledge, wisdom, worship, or praise in the grave (see Psalms 6:5; 88:10-12; 115:17; 146:4; Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; Isaiah 38:18 – scriptures used by promoters of the "soul-sleep" doctrine) is that the intelligence of man is not in the body, which, in the grave returns to dust (Ecclesiastes 3:20) – but in the spirit (1 Corinthians 2:11), which returns to God (Ecclesiastes 3:21; 12:7).
IV. What about "ultimate reconciliation"?
A. The doctrine of eternal judgment is one of the most basic teachings of scripture. Hebrews 6:1, 2
1. "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."
Hebrews 9:28
2. Scripture gives adequate support to prove the duration of the
punishment as eternal: "for ever and ever."
Isaiah 33:14; 66:24; Matthew 18:8; 25:41, 46 Mark 3:29; 9:43-46, 48; 10:43-49; 2 Thessalonians 1:9 2 Peter 2:17; Jude 6, 7, 13 Revelation 14:11; 19:20; 20:10; 21:8
a. The same word (aionos) that describes the eternity of God (Revelation 4:9,10; 5:14; 10:6; 15:7; 1 Corinthians 15:26; etc.) is used to describe the
punishment of the wicked. Matthew 25:41, 46
b. The devil, false prophet, and all unbelievers will be "cast into the lake of fire and... tormented day and night for ever and ever" (Revelation 20:10, 15). The Greek word "basanizo" (here translated "torment") means, literally, "to vex with great pain." It was this time of "torment" that the demons feared had already come upon them in Jesus' day (Matthew 8:29).
B. 1 Corinthians 15:22 does not speak of a "universal salvation." It refers to those who are,as it says, "in Christ."
C. The doctrine of "ultimate reconciliation" denies the very character and integrity of God. God is merciful, but He is also just. "Behold therefore the goodness and the severity of God." (Romans 11:22).
V. What will hell be like? Is there a real hell-fire?
A. Total separation from God. Matthew 25:41 2 Thessalonians 1:9
B. "Great furnace." Matthew 13:41, 42, 49, 50 Revelation 9:1, 2
C. "Bottomless pit."Isaiah 14:15 Revelation 9:1, 2; 20:1-3
D. "Fire." Isaiah 33:14; 66:24; Matthew 5:21, 22; 13:41, 42, 49, 50; 18:8; 25:41 Mark 9:43-49; 10:43-49; Luke 16:24; Jude 7 Revelation 14:10; 19:20; 20:10, 14, 15; 21:8
E. "Torments." Luke 16:23-25, 28 Revelation 14:10, 11
F. "Wailing and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 13:41, 42; Luke 13:28
G. Decaying worm. Isaiah 66:22 Mark 9:44, 46, 48
H. Eternal: "for ever and ever." Exodus 34:7; Isaiah 33:14; 66:24; Daniel 12:2 Matthew 18:8; 25:41, 46 Mark 3:29; 9:43-46, 48; 10:43-49 2 Thessalonians 1:9; 2 Peter 2:17; Jude 6, 7, 13 Revelation 14:11; 19:20; 20:10; 21:8
I. "Outer darkness." Matthew 8:12; 22:13
J. "Mist of blackness (or, darkness)." 2 Peter 2:17; Jude 13
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