It Is Written

Beyond the Inevitable

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: John Bradshaw

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Series Code: IIW

Program Code: IIW001319


00:07 It has stood the test of time, God's book, the Bible.
00:17 Still relevant in today's complex world.
00:22 It Is Written, sharing hope around the globe.
00:36 In 1981 the writer William Saroyan said something that I
00:40 believe most everybody can relate to.
00:44 Saroyan had cancer and knew that it wouldn't be long
00:47 before he died.
00:49 In an interview with an associated press he said this,
00:51 he said, 'Everybody's got to die, but I always believed that
00:56 an exception would be made in my case.' And then he said,
01:01 'now what?' Now, there's a question when it comes
01:06 to death, Now what?
01:09 You know the Bible says that people would live three score
01:12 and ten and that we know is about 70 years.
01:15 These days a lot of people do a little better than that.
01:18 In Japan, average life expectancy is about
01:23 82 and 1/2 years.
01:24 Now, statistics vary depending on whose statistics you read.
01:27 The list might be a little bit different but it's generally
01:30 accepted that Japan has the longest life expectancy
01:32 than any country in the world.
01:34 Eighty-two and a half years or there abouts.
01:37 In Spain or Sweden average life expectancy is 81.
01:40 In Singapore, you can expect to live about 80 years old.
01:45 Now in Vanuatu in the South Pacific that number changes.
01:49 Average life expectancy there 70.
01:52 In Ghana, West Africa, average life expectancy is 60.
01:58 In Cameroon is 50.
02:00 And in Swaziland the average life expectancy is almost 40.
02:07 But no matter how long you are going to live or expect to live,
02:11 there is always that question that is going to have to be
02:15 answered one day.
02:16 After death, Now what?
02:20 You know, when God created Adam and Even in the Garden of Eden,
02:23 he didn't create them to die.
02:24 He created them to live forever.
02:28 And even after sin came into the world and brought death
02:30 with it, Adam still managed to live to be 930 years old.
02:36 Now his son Seth lived to be 912.
02:39 Seth's son Enos lived to be 905.
02:43 Methuselah died in the year of the flood in Noah's day,
02:48 lived to be 969 years old.
02:51 That's almost a thousand years.
02:53 A millennium.
02:54 But even Methuselah had to answer the question, 'Now
02:58 what?' I am sure you've heard that old saying
03:03 that says that in this world there are only two sure things,
03:05 'death' and 'Taxes'.
03:07 Now, a lot of people has managed to cheat on their taxes,
03:09 but unless your name is Elijah or Enoch,
03:13 there is no way in this world you are going to be able
03:18 to cheat 'death'.
03:21 I'm here at Mount Hope Cemetery in College Place
03:24 Washington.
03:25 It's a beautiful place.
03:27 I've been here many, many times.
03:29 When I lived in College Place Washington, I would often come
03:32 to Mount Hope Cemetery just to, to walk around.
03:36 As a church pastor in this area, I officiated many,
03:39 many funerals.
03:41 A lot of which ended up here at Mount Hope Cemetery.
03:45 Usually in a poignant gathering around somebody's final, very
03:49 peaceful resting spot.
03:52 This is a serene place.
03:55 It's a calm place.
03:58 It's a place to remember, a place to think.
04:02 Like cemeteries everywhere, Mount Hope Cemetery tells a lot
04:07 of stories, a lot of very interesting stories.
04:11 Now really, in all reality, the stories told here
04:15 are usually very brief.
04:17 On the average grave marker you will find the decease's name
04:22 and someway there, a year of birth and then
04:23 a year of death.
04:27 Sometimes a brief comment, and that's about it.
04:31 In fact, the stories usually contained in that hyphen,
04:34 that's between the year of birth and the year of death.
04:39 If you look around a cemetery like this one, you will see
04:41 that many people lived a good long time.
04:43 A lot of people here lived to be one hundred years old
04:47 or longer.
04:49 And as you look around you'll find who died in their nineties
04:52 and in their eighties.
04:53 Good long lives.
04:55 And there are those who died in their seventies.
04:57 That is less than the average U.S.
05:00 life expectancy of Seventy eight point six.
05:04 There are those who died in their sixties and fifties.
05:06 We would agree that's just too early.
05:08 Some they died in their forties.
05:11 Some in their thirties, in their twenties, and then there are
05:15 those who died even younger.
05:18 In fact, there are graves scattered throughout this place
05:21 and, just over here is a cluster of graves where infants, small
05:26 children rest, just days or weeks old.
05:32 And that's always a tragedy.
05:36 No matter how long a person lives, there is that question
05:40 that waits to be answered.
05:42 After death, 'Now what?' So how can we find
05:46 a satisfactory answer to that question?
05:51 How can we face with confidence the inevitability,
05:57 which is death?
05:59 I'll talk with you about that, just a moment.
06:05 Planning for your financial future is a vital aspect
06:08 of Christian stewardship.
06:09 For this reason, It Is Written is pleased to offer free
06:11 planned giving and estate services.
06:14 For information on how we can help you, please call
06:17 1.800.992.2219.
06:21 Call today or visit our special website,
06:24 www.hislegacy.com.
06:33 Death is an invader.
06:35 The Bible calls it an enemy.
06:38 And nobody is immune to it.
06:40 No matter what your standing or your accomplishments
06:43 in this life.
06:44 Elvis Presley died at the age of forty two.
06:47 President John F. Kennedy was forty-six when he died.
06:50 Fame and fortune couldn't prevent death when coming
06:52 to John Lennon died at the age of forty.
06:55 Princess Diana was only thirty-six years old
06:58 when she died.
06:59 Death is no respecter of persons.
07:02 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
07:03 was thirty-nine years old when he was gunned down in a motel
07:06 in Memphis, Tennessee.
07:09 Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, all were only 27
07:11 when they died.
07:15 You can be a president or a pauper, famous or infamous.
07:20 A saint or a sinner, and death is going to come.
07:26 And then the question is asked, 'Now what?' Some Australian
07:31 aboriginals believe that when a person dies,
07:33 the spirit goes off to a spirit world, that person goes to
07:36 the spirit world and the spirit comes back to guide
07:40 the living through life in this world.
07:42 New Zealand Maori mythology teaches that when a person dies,
07:46 the spirit goes to the northern most part of that country
07:49 therefore departing from there and returning to their
07:53 ancestral homeland.
07:54 I had a conversation with a lady from India who told me that
07:57 in her culture, death is viewed as merely an extension of life.
08:02 The next stage as it were.
08:05 Look at the tombs of ancient Egypt.
08:07 And you will see that they testify the ancient Egyptians
08:11 put a lot of care, put a lot of thought into what happened
08:15 after a person died.
08:18 Greek mythology taught that the souls of the dead,
08:19 some of them at least would ferried across
08:24 the River Styx in or to Hades.
08:28 In the ancient Norse believed a variety of things might
08:31 happen when a person died.
08:32 Among them that those who were killed in combat might
08:34 go on and inhabit Valhalla, the hall of the slain.
08:41 But one thing we know is certain.
08:44 They can't all be right.
08:46 But what all these cultures have in common is that they all
08:50 believe 'death' is not the end.
08:54 They all believe something happens beyond
08:58 one's final breath.
08:59 William Saroyan's 'Now What?' question gets answered.
09:04 The late actress Marlene Dietrich said once, 'when
09:08 you're dead, you're dead.
09:10 That's it.' But that's not what most cultures and peoples
09:14 have taught down through the ages.
09:16 It seems as though as if most people an innate sense,
09:19 that there is something beyond one's final breath.
09:24 Does the Bible teach us what happens after a person dies?
09:26 Yes it does.
09:28 And to clearly understand where the Bible is coming from on
09:30 this, let's look at a well know case study.
09:33 Lazarus was a dear friend of Jesus.
09:36 He was the brother of Mary and Martha.
09:40 They, who were also friends of Jesus.
09:43 They lived in Bethany, about 2 miles outside Jerusalem,
09:45 and Lazarus died.
09:47 Four days after Lazarus died, Jesus came to Bethany.
09:52 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming to town, got up
09:55 and ran to meet Jesus.
09:58 And when she saw Jesus she said, 'Lord, if you had been here,
10:02 my brother would have not died.' You see, she had great
10:05 faith of Jesus ability to bless and to heal.
10:09 And she had an idea that death need not be the end
10:13 for her brother.
10:15 She said to Jesus, 'Even now, I believe whatever you ask
10:17 of God, God will give it to you.' It was,
10:20 it was a prayer if you like.
10:25 And Jesus said this to Martha; he agreed with her that death
10:31 was not the end.
10:34 He said, 'Martha, your brother shall rise again.' You see,
10:39 Jesus told very clearly that after death, there would be
10:43 a resurrection.
10:44 As a matter of fact, Jesus told in the bible that there would
10:48 be two resurrections.
10:49 I want you to know something, only one of them you want
10:55 to be part of.
10:56 I'll tell you more about that in a moment.
10:59 In Matthew 4:4 the world of God says, It Is Written, 'Man
11:06 shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds
11:08 from the mouth of God.' Every Word is a one minute bible base
11:11 daily devotional presented by Pastor John Bradshaw
11:16 and designed specially for busy people like you.
11:18 Look for Every Word on selected networks or watch it on line
11:22 every day on our website, It Is Written dot com.
11:27 Receive a daily spiritual boost, watch Every Word, you'll be
11:31 glad you did.
11:32 Here is a sample.
11:41 You'll see in a football game a kicker's shot JUST missing,
11:45 or in baseball a player's swing for the fence is caught
11:47 by an outfielder on the warm-up track.
11:50 Nearly, but not quite.
11:53 Now, nothing too serious when it's
11:54 just a game, but what if it's your eternal
11:56 destiny? The apostle Paul appealed to King Agrippa,
12:00 knowing Agrippa believed what Paul had been teaching about
12:02 the Scriptures.
12:04 And Acts 26:28 records some of the saddest words
12:06 in the Bible.
12:07 "Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You almost persuade me
12:11 to become a Christian."
12:13 Almost persuaded, but totally lost.
12:15 If you're on the fence, if you're wondering,
12:17 if you're trying to decide what to do with God,
12:20 with the Bible, I pray you won't be almost
12:23 persuaded - but totally persuaded to follow Jesus
12:26 and accept everlasting life.
12:28 I'm John Bradshaw for It Is Written.
12:30 Let's live today by Every Word.
12:36 Cemeteries like this are usually peaceful places.
12:38 For some people cemeteries are painful places,
12:41 because they represent love ones lost, life gone.
12:46 Something precious that has been taken away.
12:51 Not long ago I officiated in a funeral service for a 12
12:52 year old boy who was laid to rest here in this cemetery.
12:57 He died after a rather tragic turn of events.
13:01 And you can imagine, it was a very, very said affair.
13:03 However, I can tell you this.
13:04 That funeral services was colored by hope.
13:08 Very real hope.
13:13 Because it was known that one day is going to be
13:15 a resurrection.
13:16 Now, Jesus comment on this directly.
13:17 Speaking to a crowd of people one day he said this words which
13:20 are recorded in John chapter 5, verses 28 and 29.
13:25 Jesus said, 'Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming
13:29 in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his
13:32 voice and shall come forth.
13:35 They that have done good unto the resurrection of life,
13:39 and they that have done evil unto the resurrection
13:43 of damnation.' Two resurrections,
13:46 one you want to be in.
13:50 that's the resurrection to life, the other,
13:55 the resurrection of damnation.
13:57 Now, without going into all of the details about
13:59 the resurrection of damnation just now, it's pretty obvious
14:03 that that's not a resurrection that you or I would want
14:05 to be in.
14:07 two resurrections.
14:09 And there we have the answer to the 'Now what?' question.
14:14 There is going to be a resurrection one day.
14:20 Now, let's go back to the story of Lazarus.
14:22 Jesus had told Martha, Your brother, Lazarus,
14:27 shall rise again.
14:29 Now, Jesus and Martha are joined by Mary outside Bethany.
14:33 And Jesus says to them, 'I am the resurrection and the life.
14:40 He who believes in me, even though that person was dead,
14:44 that person shall live again.
14:48 Jesus gave them very real hope.
14:52 That there'll no only be a resurrection one day,
14:55 but a resurrection that anybody who chooses to accept God's
15:00 great gift can participate in.
15:03 Jesus then says, take me and show me where Lazarus
15:06 is laid, where he is buried.
15:08 So they went to Lazarus's graveside.
15:10 Now, Lazarus wasn't buried in a cemetery like this.
15:13 He was buried in the equivalent of that age.
15:18 In fact, when they go to Lazarus grave they discovered Lazarus
15:22 was buried unsurprisingly in a cave, in a tomb.
15:25 And in front of that cave, a large stone had been rolled
15:27 for what I think pretty obvious reasons.
15:29 Jesus then made a radical request.
15:33 He said, take away the stone from in front of the grave.
15:36 The people protested, oh, you don't really want us to do
15:39 that.
15:41 Now, I can understand why they protested for experience.
15:45 I attended a funeral service for a man who had been dead
15:47 like Lazarus for four days.
15:49 This was in a place where embalming was not practiced.
15:52 Let's just say it wasn't pretty.
15:57 I can understand why they did not want to stone rolled away.
16:00 But Jesus was insistent, take away the stone.
16:02 And they did.
16:04 And then Jesus to the amazement of everybody around addressed
16:08 Lazarus, he cried out and he said, Lazarus, Come forth!
16:14 Have you ever wonder what the people in that group
16:16 that day were thinking?
16:18 He's asking to get up and walk out of a cave?
16:23 What's he thinking?
16:25 Jesus said, Lazarus, come forth.
16:27 And then to the amazement of everybody who looked on,
16:31 clad in grave cloths, Lazarus walked out of that tomb.
16:36 They took the grave cloth off him and Lazarus who had been
16:40 dead was very much alive.
16:41 Now, we don't know how long Lazarus lived after that
16:48 resurrection whether short of long, the bible doesn't say.
16:51 But we know he lived.
16:52 And we can be certain he was glad to have his life
16:56 given back to him.
16:57 We can be certain that his family was glad
17:03 to receive him again.
17:05 And we can be 100 percent certain that the people looking
17:07 on were absolutely amazed.
17:09 Lazarus had been raised from the dead.
17:12 This was a foreshadowing of what will happen one day.
17:17 Jesus said in John 5 there'd be two resurrections.
17:21 The one we want to be in is the resurrection to life.
17:26 How can we be certain that we can have a place
17:29 in the resurrection to life.
17:31 I'll tell you how in just a moment.
17:34 It is written is dedicated to sharing the gospel
17:38 around the world.
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17:48 I invite you to visit our web site,
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18:08 Visit out website itiswritten.com today.
18:15 One of the most difficult things a person can be called upon
18:19 to experience is the death of a love one.
18:21 Extremely difficult.
18:23 But even in the midst of that, God does not leave us without
18:26 hope.
18:29 God offers us very real hope that one day there will be
18:33 a resurrection.
18:35 In the Bible we have the story of Lazarus, the dear friend
18:38 of Jesus.
18:39 The brother of Mary and Martha, who after he'd been dead
18:42 for four days, was raised from the dead when Jesus called out
18:45 to him and said, 'Lazarus, come forth!' There are many other
18:49 stories in the bible dealing with resurrections as well.
18:52 In the world of God we have the widow of Nain who had her son
18:57 given back to her from the dead through the power of Jesus.
19:04 Then there is the twelve-year-old daughter
19:07 of a man named Jairus.
19:09 Again, Jesus intervened, turned death back into life.
19:14 And the man was able to receive his beloved daughter again.
19:18 Also in the bible in the book of Acts, there is the story
19:21 of a man named Eutychus who fell asleep and fell out of a third
19:24 floor window down to the ground and he died.
19:30 Now, he didn't fall asleep because the preacher Paul
19:34 was a boring preacher.
19:36 He fell asleep because it'd been a long day
19:38 and he was simply tired.
19:39 But the preacher Paul went down to the ground where Eutychus
19:43 laid and God worked through Paul.
19:45 The power of God worked through the great apostle and Eutychus
19:49 came back from the dead.
19:51 And then there is a remarkable story.
19:53 You read about this in the book of 2 kings and chapter 13.
19:57 A man was on his way of being buried.
20:00 And that, because there was an invasion taking place
20:02 a marauding army approaching town,
20:06 his family just very hurriedly just put his body
20:09 in the nearest available tomb.
20:11 It happened to be the tomb of Elisha.
20:13 And this man's body went into that tomb, and then touch
20:18 the bones, it was put so close to the bones of Elisha, I guess
20:22 touching the bones of Elisha, and because he touched the bones
20:27 of the dead prophet, this man came back to life.
20:30 Can you imagine the surprise of the family; in fact can you
20:32 imagine the surprise of the dead man coming back to life,
20:36 discovering he was in a tomb.
20:38 Just one of many.
20:40 There are other stories besides in the world of God.
20:43 I am not suggesting for a moment I don't want you
20:46 to misunderstand me.
20:48 I am not suggesting for a moment that these people are raised
20:50 to immortality.
20:51 They weren't.
20:52 They were raised to life, and they lived again,
20:53 presumably, we expect, they died again.
20:57 So they are called upon to experience being
21:02 resurrected twice.
21:04 God says there is going to be a resurrection.
21:08 Ttwo resurrections, one the resurrection
21:10 of damnation.
21:12 But the one that we are most interested today, the one we
21:14 want to be a part of, should not we be alive when Jesus returns
21:17 to this earth is the first resurrection, the resurrection
21:21 to life.
21:22 Okay, so how can you be certain that you can participate
21:27 in the resurrection to life?
21:30 It's this simple.
21:32 1 John 5: 12 says, 'he, or she that have the Son, have life.'
21:39 It goes on to say that he or she who have not the Son of God,
21:43 hath not life.
21:45 If you posses Jesus Christ by faith, if you believe in Him
21:49 as your personal Savior, as your Lord, if you would yield
21:54 your life to Him and invite Jesus to live his life in you,
22:01 then you have the Son.
22:01 And the world of God says that if you have the Son,
22:04 you have life.
22:06 That's life in this world and should you die, life
22:10 in the world to come.
22:14 Because you would have faith in the One the bible calls
22:17 the resurrection and the life.
22:18 You can live in hope today.
22:19 You don't have to fear death.
22:21 I don't know too many people that embrace death gladly,
22:24 I am not say we are to do that.
22:25 But you don't have to fear death, because there is hope
22:26 beyond death.
22:27 I've spoke to people who've looked death
22:29 straight in the eye, knowing that they were going to die
22:37 with peace in their hearts.
22:38 Why were they able to do that?
22:39 Is not that they were glad to be leaving, of course
22:41 they were going to miss their family and their
22:43 love ones.
22:44 But here is what they knew.
22:47 They knew that one day there would be a resurrection.
22:49 The resurrection to life.
22:52 And they knew that because they had faith in Jesus Christ,
22:57 they would participate in that very resurrection.
23:01 They were able to die in faith; they were able to die in peace.
23:06 I read a story just the other day about a man in South Africa
23:09 who apparently died.
23:11 He had I think a terrible asthma attack.
23:14 His family presume that he was dead and they took him
23:17 to the local mortuary.
23:18 He was put in the refrigerator drawer in the mortuary.
23:22 About 21 hours later, mortuary staff was horrified
23:26 and in fact they were terrified.
23:28 They were panic stricken.
23:30 From a drawer in a mortuary they heard yelling, and shouting
23:35 and screaming.
23:36 It was loud.
23:37 And they panicked.
23:38 They fled, they bolted out of the mortuary and out
23:42 into the streets.
23:43 They went and found the local police and said you need to come
23:46 down to the mortuary where there is something strange
23:48 going on there.
23:49 I feel sorry for the police how sometimes they get
23:50 the rough jobs.
23:52 They were brought to the mortuary to investigate
23:53 this terrible happening.
23:55 Screaming and yelling coming from a drawer where there should
24:00 have been absolute silence.
24:02 They went to the mortuary, opened up the drawer and found
24:06 the dead man very much alive.
24:10 Now, he was dehydrated, he was suffering from hypothermia,
24:13 but he was very much alive.
24:14 He was brought out of there, he was treated, and he was given
24:17 back to his family and he recuperated and he did well.
24:24 Of course the man wasn't really dead.
24:27 We could say back from the dead because he was presumed dead.
24:30 The truth is a mistake had been made, and he'd been alive
24:34 all along.
24:35 Well, one day, Jesus is going to come back to this earth,
24:38 and those who were really dead and died in faith in Christ,
24:42 died with Jesus as their Savior, are going to participate
24:47 in the resurrection of life.
24:50 Cemeteries like this one all over the world are going to be
24:54 scenes of intense activity.
24:57 As grapes open up and as the bible says,
25:00 the dead in Christ rise.
25:02 Should you pass away before Jesus returns to this earth,
25:04 you can have very real hope today.
25:07 Because one day there is going to be a resurrection.
25:12 A resurrection of the just, a resurrection to life.
25:14 You can be part of that resurrection by knowing now
25:18 that Jesus truly is yours and that you truly are His.
25:21 Let's pray.
25:25 And tell Christ today that we want to be His.
25:29 Our Father in heaven, we thank you today that you don't leave
25:32 us without hope in this world, that there is hope in Jesus,
25:37 and we thank you today that death doesn't remove our hope.
25:40 We are grateful that we can know that one day there is going
25:42 to be a resurrection and that those who have chosen
25:45 to accept your gift of life and have chosen to accept
25:49 your Son Jesus as Lord and Savior, are going
25:52 to participate in the resurrection of life.
25:56 Lord if is not your plan that Jesus comes back
25:57 while we are still alive on this earth, then we want
26:01 to tell you right now that we want to be in
26:04 the resurrection to life.
26:05 We want to be with you throughout all eternity.
26:07 And so today we choose Jesus and we choose life,
26:09 and we thank you for future assurance that we can experience
26:12 here now.
26:18 We thank you in Jesus name, amen.
26:33 The Mystery of Death is a book that will help you discover
26:36 the truth of the afterlife.
26:37 Death, whenever it happens,
26:40 is a tragedy and people wonder what happens next.
26:47 In this week's free book, the Mystery of Death,
26:49 Pastor Bradshaw explores this often misunderstood subject
26:52 and provides answers directly from the Bible.
26:56 Just call 1.800.253.3000 and ask for the book
26:59 The Mystery of Death.
27:01 You can call any time, day or night.
27:02 If the line is busy, please keep trying.
27:05 You can also request this free book by writing to
27:08 It Is Written, Box O, Thousand Oaks
27:10 California 91359 and we will mail a copy
27:13 to your address in North America.
27:15 Please note this free book is limited to the supply
27:18 on hand.
27:19 For immediate access, you can download a free
27:20 electronic version of the book The Mystery of Death from
27:24 our website itiswritten.com.
27:31 It Is Written is a faith-based ministry made possible by
27:33 viewers like you.
27:34 Thank you for your letters and your continued support.
27:44 Thank you for joining me today.
27:45 I am looking forward to seeing you next time.
27:47 And until then, please remember, It Is Written, man shall not
27:52 live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds
27:56 from the mouth of God.


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Revised 2015-02-05