JUST AFTER DEATH, WHAT THEN? A. We live life as though we will be here forever, yet we occasionally come face-to-face with death.

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1 1 JUST AFTER DEATH, WHAT THEN? A. We live life as though we will be here forever, yet we occasionally come face-to-face with death. B. It s easy to ignore the certainty of death & the reality of some type of existence beyond the grave. C. In this lesson, we will see what the Scriptures teach about life after death. I. WE ARE COMPOSITE CREATURES A. Bodies composed of physical elements (Gen 2:7). B. A living force like the animals (1:20, 21, 24, 2:7). C. Spiritual dimension. Zech 12:1 Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, & forms the spirit of man within him: Eccl 3:21 Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, & the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? Eccl 12:7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, & the spirit will return to God who gave it.

2 2 D. There are several Hebrew & Greek words used to identify various facets of our being: 1. nephesh ruach neshamah leb basar 2. psyche pneuma nous soma sarx a. Sometimes used interchangeably & sometimes not. b. Translated by many English words: 1) soul spirit breath wind heart; 2) mind self body flesh 3. We need to be careful about conclusions we draw from these words, so that our understanding of the use of a word in one passage does not conflict with its usage in another passage. For example: a. Sarx as sinful nature in the NIV (Ecc 7:29; Matt 18:3; 19:14). b. The Watchtower doctrine that the soul or spirit cannot exist independently of the body (Acts 23:8; Gen 35:18; 1 Kgs 17: soul is only life breath ).

3 3 II. CONSCIOUS EXISTENCE AFTER DEATH A. Examples: 1. The burning bush (Exo 3:14-15; Lk 20:37-38; Rom 4:16-17). 2. The souls of the martyrs (Rev 6:9-11). 3. One caught up to the 3 rd heaven (2 Cor 12:2-4). 4. Stephen s statement to Christ (Acts 7:59). 5. Soul delivered from Sheol (Psa 86:13). B. The Bible defines death as separation not extinction. Jas 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. Spiritual death is a separation of the soul from God due to sin. Ezek 18:20 The soul who sins shall die. Why? Isa 59:2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; & your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. III. THE PLACE OF CONSCIOUS EXISTENCE AFTER DEATH A. Hades (Lk 16:19-31; vs. 23).

4 4 1. The unseen realm of the dead; the receptacle of disembodied spirits. 2. A place containing two regions: a. A place of comfort & peace, called the bosom of Abraham, meaning near; in the presence of (cf. Jn 1:18). 1) Also called paradise (Lk 23:43), where Jesus went after death (Acts 2:27, 29, 34); not heaven because after His resurrection he told Martha that He had not returned to His Father (Jn 20:17). b. A place of tormenting flames. 2 Pet 2:4, 9 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to HELL (Tartarosas or Tartarus not Gehenna) & delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment 9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations & to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, Jude 6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. Deut 32:22 (?) 3. Hades is a place where the souls of all people who die are taken to await the Lord s return & the resurrection. John 5:28-30 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which ALL who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth -- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, & those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

5 5 1 Cor 15:35, 38 But someone will say, How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come? 38 But God gives it a body as He pleases, & to each seed its own body. (15:42-49) That body is described as incorruptible, glorious, powerful, spiritual, bearing the image of a heavenly man like the Lord. Does this describe the resurrected bodies of those who have done evil? No. Not completely. Paul is describing the resurrected bodies of those who died in Christ. 4. Jesus predicted that His death & entrance into the Hadean realm would not prevent Him from building the church (Matt 16:18). a. Through Jesus death & departure from Hades (at His resurrection), He rendered powerless him who had the power of death (Heb 2:14; 1 Cor 15:26, 54-57), which explains His declaration (Rev 1:18) 5. What will happen to Hades? Rev 20:14 Death & Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. [After the judgment it will be disposed of having served its purpose.] IV. THE DURATION OF HEAVEN & HELL (Gehenna) A. In the context of punishment for the soul after death the Scripture uses terms like:

6 6 1. Eternal judgment (Heb 6:2). 2. Everlasting destruction (2 Thess 1:9). 3. Eternal fire (Jd 7). 4. Everlasting, hell fire ; Greek gehenna (Matt 18:8-9). B. In order to lessen the severity of God s judgment against evildoers, some are teaching that the fire is eternal, but the punishment is not. Matt 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul & body in hell. The parallel passage will help to clarify. Luke 12:4-5 And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, & after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! Matt 13:30, Let both grow together until the harvest, & at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, First gather together the tares & bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered & burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, & they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, & those who practice lawlessness, 42 & will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing & gnashing of teeth. 1. Thinking logically, what is there to fear in non-existence? a. W. E. Vine destroy is a loss of well-being NOT of being; ruin & loss NOT extinction. b. Joseph Thayer agrees; destroy is to devote or give over to eternal misery.

7 7 C. What does the Scripture say about the duration of Heaven & Hell? Mk 9:43-44 (Isa 66:24) hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched 44 where Their worm does not die & the fire is not quenched. 1. This is a description of a fire that forever burns, but will not fully consume. Matt 25:41 Then He will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil & his angels: Matt 25:46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. 2. The same Greek word aionon is used to describe the duration of life in heaven & of punishment in hell or gehenna. Rev 20:10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire & brimstone where the beast & the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day & night forever & ever. Rev 21:8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, & all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire & brimstone, which is the second death (separation from God after being in His presence on the Day of Judgment.). Rev 22:5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever & ever. [THE SAME WORDS ARE USED TO DECRIBE THE DOOM (or PUNISHMENT) OF THE EVIL AND THE GLORY (or REWARD) OF THE RIGHTEOUS.]

8 8 CLOSING A. God gives us life on the earth to prepare our spirits for an eternal abode. B. When we die, our bodies go into the grave while our conscious spirits enter Hades where we await the coming of Christ, which will mark the end of time & the final judgment. C. At His coming, a resurrection will unite an eternal spirit to an immortal body that has been prepared for either eternal life or eternal death. D. We then face Christ in judgment & receive the pronouncement of our eternal sentence, & then are consigned to our eternal abode. (2 Pet 3:11-18)