Participants: Pr. Stephen Bohr
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000027
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00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth,
00:15 from the 3ABN Worship Center and the Fresno Central Church. 00:19 Truths That Matter with Stephen Bohr. 00:22 Well good morning, and welcome to Anchors Of Truth. 00:26 This fourth in the series is being presented on this 00:30 beautiful Sabbath morning. 00:31 And it's about the state of the dead. 00:34 Danny, I think the title of it is, 00:38 The Inward Outworking, part 1. 00:41 Part 2 will be this afternoon, so make sure that 00:45 you want to tune in and be a part of part 2 this afternoon. 00:50 But Danny, the state of the dead. 00:51 You know, more people are interested in death 00:55 and what happens when a person dies, right now 00:58 than I've ever seen anywhere in the world. 01:01 Well we ought to be because the Bible says that 01:03 there's once appointed a time for every man to die. 01:05 And then we need to know what happens after that. 01:07 Right? 01:08 But I'm so amazed, in 1982, Melody and her mother 01:12 were going into town. 01:14 And just a few blocks from the house, they were hit by a car. 01:16 And her mother was killed in the accident. 01:19 And I had well meaning people call me immediately, 01:23 people from other denominations, called me and said, 01:25 "You know, we're sorry to hear about your wife's death, 01:27 but we know that God needed another beautiful angel voice 01:31 for the angel choir, so He took her." 01:33 And, you know, that always amazed me. 01:35 I said, do people really think God is in the business of 01:39 reaching down and taking out a mother of an 11 year old child, 01:42 and a wife, and taking them to heaven because 01:45 He's bored with His angel choir? 01:46 There has to be some truth, there has to be something solid 01:49 that we can anchor in Jesus. 01:51 Because I don't want to serve a God like that if 01:54 He's that kind of God. 01:55 I want to know what is life all about 01:58 and what happens when you die. 02:00 You know, this teaching may have caused more children 02:04 to absolutely hate God than any other teaching. 02:08 Because people get the wrong idea about what happens 02:12 when a person dies. 02:14 Danny, we've seen a great deal of things that are taking place 02:19 involving the supernatural, a lot of literature 02:23 that's being written. 02:24 Recently, a lady wrote a book that is one of the best sellers. 02:29 And I heard from one of my friends that this person, 02:33 the writer of this book, began coming to the 02:36 Seventh-day Adventist Church and began studying the Sabbath, 02:41 the state of the dead, what happens when a person dies. 02:45 And they have gone back now, and in the later edition 02:48 they have changed the theology in the book 02:52 that they have written. 02:53 It was one of the best sellers on the internet, 02:57 this particular book has been. 03:00 So truth is important. 03:02 People want to know the truth. 03:04 They need an anchor, an anchor of truth. 03:06 And thus your series. 03:07 They really want to know, what happens when I die? 03:10 Do I go immediately to heaven? Do I go immediately to hell? 03:14 Is there a period of time in which we're asleep? 03:19 What is the real truth about death? 03:21 And tonight, we are going to be really, I believe, 03:25 or this morning, privileged to listen as Pastor Stephen Bohr 03:30 brings us the truth about what happens when a person dies. 03:35 And people deserve to know the truth, Jim. 03:38 And that's what I love about 3ABN. 03:40 We have an opportunity to reach the world with Bible truth. 03:44 You can argue with Jim, you can argue me, 03:46 you can argue with Pastor Stephen Bohr. 03:48 But do you really want to argue with the Bible? 03:50 So what we're praying is that no matter what you believe, 03:53 in your past, and what you think you believe, 03:55 just be open, listen to Pastor Bohr as he's teaching us, 03:59 bringing us the word of God. 04:01 And allow, all of us, to allow the Holy Spirit 04:03 to really work and rule and reign in our lives. 04:07 And if there's truth we need to accept today, 04:09 we're praying if you need that truth, you'll find it. 04:12 Right now, I'm going to ask you if you'll sing that song 04:14 I love so much that you wrote, Heaven Means Home To Me. 04:39 I'm longing for a place I've never been, 04:47 but it's a place that I call my home, 04:57 where the Son is the light in the midst of the night. 05:06 Heaven means home to me. 05:16 Heaven means home to me. 05:26 Where Jesus is, I want to be. 05:33 There's no dying up there, this old earth can't compare. 05:43 That's why heaven means home to me. 06:02 Well I've heard of a beautiful city above, 06:11 with streets that are paved with pure gold. 06:20 But my eyes are fixed on Jesus, my King. 06:29 That's why heaven means home to me. 06:39 Heaven means home to me. 06:49 Where Jesus is, I want to be. 06:56 There's no dying up there, this old earth can't compare. 07:06 That's why heaven means home to me. 07:15 What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see, 07:24 and I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace. 07:33 When He takes me by the hand 07:38 and leads me through that Promise Land, 07:43 what a day, glorious day that will be. 07:52 There's no dying up there, this old earth can't compare. 08:00 That's why heaven means home to me. 08:23 Shall we pray. 08:25 Wonderful loving heavenly Father, 08:29 what a privilege it is to call You Father. 08:32 We thank You today for the privilege of coming boldly 08:36 to the throne of grace to ask for understanding, 08:41 to ask for the willingness to hear Your voice speaking 08:47 through Holy Scripture. 08:49 I ask Lord, that You will through Your power, 08:52 remove any preconceived idea, any preconceived notion that 08:56 we have, that You will help us to hear Your voice 09:00 speaking through Scripture. 09:02 We thank You Father for hearing our prayer, 09:04 for we ask it in Jesus' name, amen. 09:10 A few years ago, I held a series of evangelistic meetings 09:15 in a small town in the state of New Mexico. 09:20 One evening, as I usually do during an evangelistic series, 09:24 I preached a sermon on the state of the dead. 09:28 I argued from the Scriptures that when a person dies, 09:33 they remain unconscious in the grave totally and completely 09:39 until Jesus returns to call them forth from the tomb unto life. 09:45 After the meeting, an elderly gentleman 09:49 very dignified looking came up to me and very respectfully 09:56 said something like this, "Sir, the problem with you Adventists 10:03 is that you choose a text here and a text there 10:08 that seem to prove your doctrines. 10:11 But you ignore passages that openly contradict 10:16 your point of view." 10:19 And then he mentioned several of the texts that are usually used 10:24 to try and prove that the soul of man leaves 10:29 at the moment of death. 10:31 Among those texts that he used was the story of the 10:35 rich man and Lazarus in Luke chapter 16. 10:39 He mentioned the passage of the apostle Paul in 10:42 2 Corinthians 5 where the apostle Paul speaks about 10:45 being absent from the body and present with the Lord. 10:48 He also used the text that speaks about the dead 10:52 standing before God. 10:54 Now that is found in Revelation 20 and verse 12. 10:58 He referred to the souls crying from under the altar, 11:03 which is found in Revelation 6 verses 9 through 11. 11:06 And of course, he mentioned the thief on the cross 11:09 where Jesus apparently said, "Verily, verily I say to you, 11:13 today you will be with Me in paradise." 11:15 That's Luke 23 verse 43. 11:18 He also mentioned the experience of the witch of Endor 11:21 as evidence that it is possible for the dead to 11:24 communicate with the living. 11:25 And of course, that story is in 1 Samuel chapter 28. 11:29 He also referred to Philippians chapter 1 verses 21 to 24 11:33 where the apostle Paul had the desire to depart and 11:37 to be with Christ. 11:38 Now of course, he mentioned also the texts that speak of 11:41 everlasting fire as well as Christ preaching to the 11:45 spirits in prison. 11:46 This man knew his Bible. 11:49 He might have brought up other texts that I don't remember 11:52 at this moment, but I do remember that he mentioned 11:55 these texts that I brought to view, probably among others. 12:00 So then and there at that very moment, I decided 12:04 that it was not sufficient to use the texts that Adventists 12:08 usually use to prove the state of the dead doctrine. 12:12 Not that they're bad texts, they're very good texts. 12:16 Like for example, Ecclesiastes 9 verse 5 12:19 where it says, "The living know that they will die, 12:22 but the dead know not anything." 12:24 That's an excellent verse. 12:25 And the verses that we use in our evangelism 12:28 are excellent verses. 12:30 But we have to come to grips with these difficult texts. 12:34 Because people that come to our meetings are going to ask 12:38 about these difficult verses. 12:41 And so in the course of many years, prayerfully 12:45 and very carefully, I decided that I would study each one 12:49 of these passages or each one of these verses 12:51 to try and determine what these verses were truly teaching. 12:56 I decided to come to grips with the difficult texts 12:59 on the state of the dead as well as the difficult texts 13:03 on the doctrine of hell. 13:05 As I studied these, I discovered something very interesting. 13:09 And it is, that none of these passages or verses 13:13 are actually teaching what most Christians think 13:17 that these passages or verses are teaching. 13:20 In fact, I discovered after a careful study of these 13:24 passages and verses that not one single verse or passage 13:29 teaches a conscious existence of the soul during 13:34 the interim of death. 13:37 After many many years, I decided that it would be 13:39 good to document these studies that I had done in the 13:43 course of several years. 13:44 And so I prepared a series of lectures which are 13:48 available on DVD. 13:49 And the title of that series is, 13:51 Misunderstood Texts On The State Of The Dead. 13:55 There in 12 lectures, I deal extensively and meticulously 14:00 with these passages and verses that people bring to view 14:04 to try and prove that when a person dies, 14:07 their soul or their spirit leaves the body 14:10 and goes to exist in heaven or in a different sphere. 14:15 Now in our next two studies together, today and the 14:19 next one tomorrow, we are going to actually study 14:23 one passage that I did not cover in that series, 14:29 Misunderstood Texts On The State Of The Dead. 14:31 There are several that I didn't cover in that series 14:33 that I've still been studying on. 14:35 I'm referring to the passage that we find in 14:37 Hebrews chapter 12 and verses 22 to 24. 14:42 And so I invite you with me to turn to Hebrews 12 14:45 verses 22 to 24. 14:49 And we'll read the passage and then what I want to do is 14:52 talk a little bit about the historical context of the 14:55 book of Hebrews, what the writer of the book of Hebrews is 15:01 wanting to say to those who are the recipients of his book. 15:05 It says there in Hebrews 12 verse 22, 15:08 "But you," that is the Hebrews, "have come to Mount Zion 15:13 to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. 15:18 You have come to thousands upon thousands 15:22 of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, 15:28 whose names are written in heaven. 15:30 You have come to God, the judge of all men, 15:34 to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, 15:38 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the 15:43 sprinkled blood that speaks a better word 15:47 than the blood of Abel." 15:49 This is the passage that we want to carefully take a look at, 15:53 particularly the part of the passage that speaks about 15:57 "the spirits of righteous men made perfect." 16:02 What is meant by that expression, 16:04 "the spirits of righteous men made perfect." 16:07 Now before we can understand what that expression means, 16:10 and on a larger scale, what this entire passage means, 16:14 we have to comprehend why the author of the book of Hebrews 16:19 wrote this book to the Hebrews. 16:22 Now I personally believe that the apostle Paul is behind the 16:26 writing of the book of Hebrews. 16:27 There's a debate in the scholarly world whether 16:30 it was Paul or whether it wasn't Paul. 16:32 In my talk today, I'm going to refer to the book of Hebrews 16:36 as having been written by the apostle Paul. 16:40 Now what problem was the apostle Paul dealing with 16:44 in the book of Hebrews? 16:46 The fact is that if you read the book carefully, 16:50 you discover that the Hebrews, were Jews of course, 16:55 and they were about to give up Christianity. 16:59 They had accepted Christianity, but they were at the point 17:02 of giving it all up. 17:04 Basically, as you examine the book, the Hebrews or the Jews 17:10 who had become Christians were saying this, 17:12 "Before becoming Christians, we had the glorious city of 17:17 Jerusalem with its resplendent temple, the priesthood, 17:23 the fathers, the covenants, the promises. 17:27 We had all of these blessings, all of these things. 17:30 And what do we have now since we became Christians? 17:34 All we have is nothing but opposition and persecution. 17:40 So is it really worthwhile?" 17:43 So the apostle Paul decided that he would write this book 17:46 to encourage them not to give up Christianity 17:49 and to return to Judaism, but to persevere 17:53 in the Christian faith. 17:56 He explained to them that what they had when 17:59 they were Jews was good. 18:01 But he also explained that what they had now as Christians 18:06 was actually better than what they had. 18:08 In other words, the conquest was not that back there it was bad 18:12 and now it was good. 18:13 No, what they had was good. 18:15 But what they have now as Christians was much better. 18:19 And the basic argument of the book is that the Old Testament 18:24 system could not save the sinner because it dealt with the 18:28 blood of animals and it had only mere human intercessors. 18:34 But he says, the new system actually has the blood of 18:38 Jesus Christ and the God-man who bridges the gap 18:43 between heaven and earth. 18:45 In other words he's saying, "Don't go back to the shadows. 18:48 We have the reality now. 18:50 Don't go back to the blood of animals. 18:52 We have the blood of Christ. 18:53 Don't go back to mere human intercessors. 18:56 Now you have a religion of an individual who is God 19:01 and man who can represent you before God." 19:05 Now we want to take, in the light of this historical 19:08 background, we want to take a look at this passage 19:11 in Hebrews 12 and verses 22 through 24. 19:14 However, before we do, I need to say something about the 19:19 language in which the book of Hebrews was written. 19:21 Of course, probably all of us know that the book of Hebrews 19:26 was written in Greek. 19:27 It was not originally written in English, obviously. 19:31 And because it was written in Greek, we're going to have to 19:34 take into account certain aspects of the grammar 19:38 of this passage in the original language; 19:41 in the Greek language. 19:43 We're also going to have to take into account the context 19:47 of this passage within the book of Hebrews. 19:50 In other words, where does this passage fit within the argument 19:54 of the book of Hebrews. 19:55 And so we're going to have to take into account the context 19:58 and certain elements of the grammar that we find 20:02 in these verses. 20:03 Now go with me once again to Hebrews 12 20:06 and verses 22 to 24. 20:08 And I'm going to read through this and stop at certain points 20:12 to underline the grammar that we find in these verses. 20:19 And by the way, I'm reading from the New International Version 20:22 which is a better translation than the King James. 20:26 I didn't say it's a better version. 20:28 I said it's a better translation in this passage. 20:31 Now it says there in verse 22, "But you," that is the Hebrews, 20:36 "have come to Mount Zion." 20:41 Now that verb, "have come," is what is called a perfect tense. 20:47 Do you know what a perfect tense is? 20:49 Basically it means an action that began in the past 20:53 and it endures in the present. 20:55 "You have come" means that they came at a certain point 20:59 and they are still there. 21:03 So we need to remember that this is a perfect tense. 21:07 It's an action that began in the past and that endures 21:10 and continues in the present. 21:12 And so it says, "But you," that is the Hebrews, "have come 21:15 to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, 21:19 to the city of the living God." 21:22 So notice, the apostle Paul here is speaking about the Hebrews 21:26 and he's not saying, "you will come." 21:29 He's not saying simply that you came. 21:31 He says, "you have come." 21:33 You came at a certain point and you are still, what? 21:36 And you are still there. 21:38 Now notice once again, "But you have come to Mount Zion, 21:43 to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. 21:46 You have come..." 21:48 By the way, that's not actually in the original. 21:52 The NIV adds it but it's understood that really it is 21:55 a continuation of the perfect tense. 21:57 "You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels 22:02 in joyful assembly..." 22:04 So notice that they've come into the presence of angels, 22:07 of thousands upon thousands of angels. 22:10 Then it says, "...to the church of the firstborn, 22:13 whose names are written in heaven." 22:16 Now there, the New International Version does not capture 22:20 the tense of the verb. 22:22 Because really, the verb in Greek says, and this is 22:26 very important, "You have come to the church of the firstborn, 22:29 whose names have been written in heaven." 22:34 That's an important nuance. 22:36 It's not that they are written in heaven. 22:38 But at some point in the past, their names were written 22:41 in heaven and they still are written in heaven. 22:45 Are you with me? 22:46 Very very important point. 22:47 It's not translated correctly in most versions. 22:50 But it is in the perfect tense. 22:52 It's the same tense as we found at the beginning of verse 22, 22:57 expect at the beginning of verse 22, 22:59 it's an active perfect tense and here it is a 23:02 passive perfect tense. 23:03 But it is still a perfect tense. 23:05 So once again, "But you have come to Mount Zion, 23:10 to the heavenly Jerusalem, to the city of the living God. 23:14 You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels 23:18 in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, 23:21 whose names 'have been' written in heaven." 23:25 They were written at a certain point and they are still written 23:28 when the apostle Paul is writing. 23:29 He continues saying, "You have come to God, 23:33 the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men..." 23:39 And then once again, for some reason, the NIV and most 23:43 modern version don't translate the verb properly. 23:46 Really what it says in the Greek is, 23:49 "To the spirits of righteous men who have been made perfect." 23:55 Once again, it is a perfect tense. 23:57 It's something that took place in the past and the results 24:02 endure unto the present. 24:04 Are you understanding what a perfect tense is? 24:06 In other words, at some point their names were, what? 24:08 Their names were written in heaven, and when the 24:10 apostle Paul is writing, their names are still, what? 24:13 Their names are still written there. 24:16 And so he says, "You have come to God, the judge of all men, 24:21 to the spirits of righteous men made perfect..." 24:27 Which a better translation is, "have been made perfect." 24:30 "...to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, 24:34 and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word 24:38 than the blood of Abel." 24:40 Now I need to explain that the expression, 24:42 "than the blood of Abel," is not in the original Greek. 24:48 It's an assumption on the basis of the translators. 24:52 We'll come back to that in our second lecture, 24:54 lecture number three in this series. 24:57 Now there are certain things we need to notice about this then. 25:01 This passage is saying that these individuals, 25:04 at some point in the past, came to Mount Zion. 25:07 Their names, at some point past, were registered in heaven. 25:13 And the spirits of just men made perfect were made perfect 25:17 at some point, and that endures in the present. 25:21 It's very important to study the grammar of this passage 25:24 because it determines the meaning of the passage. 25:28 Now, you'll notice here that when it speaks about the 25:32 church of the firstborn, it's not saying that the 25:36 church of the firstborn is in heaven. 25:39 It says that the church of the firstborn, what is in heaven? 25:44 This is very important. 25:45 Their names are what? 25:48 Their names are written in heaven. 25:50 In other words, it's not that they are personally in heaven. 25:53 Their names are written in heaven. 25:56 Let me ask you, is it possible for a person to be on earth 25:59 and to have their name written in heaven? 26:02 Absolutely. 26:03 In fact, this identical word is used, for example, 26:08 in Luke 2 verses 3 and 5 when Jesus and His parents 26:13 went to Bethlehem where their names were written 26:18 in the books of record of Rome. 26:20 In other words, it has to do with names written in a book. 26:24 Not with individuals being present there personally. 26:28 Notice also Luke chapter 10 and verse 20 where this 26:31 same word is used. 26:32 It's referring to names. 26:34 The church of the firstborn is not in heaven at this point. 26:37 The church of the firstborn have come to the heavenly kingdom, 26:42 but they are not personally there. 26:44 They are there because they are, what? 26:46 Because their names are written in the heavenly book. 26:49 Notice Luke chapter 10 and verse 20. 26:52 "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits 26:58 are subject to you." 26:59 Jesus is speaking about the evil spirits. 27:01 He says to the disciples, "Don't boast or rejoice that 27:05 the spirits are subject to you." 27:06 "But rather rejoice because your names..." What? 27:10 "...are written in heaven." 27:12 Question, were the disciples on earth at that point? 27:15 Yes they were. 27:16 What was in heaven? 27:17 It was only their names that were in heaven. 27:19 So was there a certain sense in which they were in heaven? 27:22 Yes or no? Absolutely. 27:24 Their names were there, but they were not personally there. 27:28 And that's what Hebrews 12:22-24 is saying. 27:31 It's telling us that the church of the firstborn were written 27:35 in heaven, not that they were physically present there. 27:40 Now there's this interesting phenomenon 27:42 in Hebrews chapter 12. 27:44 And that is, that the people of the Old Testament period 27:48 dwelt in old Jerusalem with its literal temple 27:53 and it's animal blood with mere human intercessors. 27:59 But the apostle Paul is saying that in the New Testament period 28:02 the citizens are citizens of the New Jerusalem. 28:06 They focus on the heavenly temple, they have the blood 28:10 of Jesus, and they have Jesus as an everlasting intercessor. 28:17 Now how is it that the church of the firstborn can be in 28:21 heaven and yet at the same time be on earth? 28:25 It's very simple. 28:27 Go with me to Philippians chapter 3 and verses 20 and 21. 28:31 Philippians chapter 3 and verses 20 and 21. 28:35 You say, "You can't be in two places at the 28:37 same time, can you?" 28:38 Of course you can. 28:40 You say, "Well, are we omnipresent?" 28:42 No, there is a certain sense in which we are in heaven 28:45 and there's another sense in which we are on earth. 28:48 Now notice Philippians chapter 3 verses 20 and 21. 28:50 Here the apostle Paul says, "For our citizenship is in heaven." 28:59 Let me ask you something. 29:00 Do you suppose that it's recorded here in the 29:03 United States that I'm a citizen of the United States? 29:06 Yes. 29:07 What happens when I travel, for example, to South Africa? 29:09 Is my name written here? 29:11 I'm not physically here, but am I here in a certain sense 29:14 because my name is here? 29:16 Absolutely. 29:17 So he says, "For our citizenship is in heaven, 29:19 from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, 29:22 the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body 29:26 that it may be conformed to His glorious body, 29:28 according to the working by which He is able even to subdue 29:32 all things to Himself." 29:35 Let me ask you, can we drink of the water of life even today? 29:39 Does the Bible say that we can come and drink from the 29:42 river of the water of life? 29:44 Absolutely. 29:45 Does the Bible say that we can now partake of the 29:47 manna in heaven while we're on earth? 29:50 Yes, but in a spiritual sense and not in a physical sense. 29:53 Later on we'll do it physically when we're there in person. 29:56 But now we do it spiritually. 29:58 Notice also Ephesians chapter 2 and verses 4 through 6. 30:03 Here the apostle Paul is going to say that we are in heaven. 30:05 Now notice how the apostle Paul explains that we are in heaven. 30:09 Ephesians chapter 2 and verses 4 through 6. 30:13 Here the apostle Paul says, "But God, who is rich in mercy, 30:17 because of His great love with which He loved us, 30:22 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive 30:26 together with Christ, by grace you have been saved..." 30:30 And now notice, "...and raised us up together, and made us 30:35 sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." 30:41 Are we sitting in heaven today? 30:43 According to the apostle Paul, are we sitting in heaven today? 30:47 Of course. 30:48 But not physically. 30:50 Where are we physically? 30:52 Well, I think you're here tonight. 30:54 I can see you, your body is here. 30:56 But is there a sense in which you are in heaven? 30:59 Yes, because if you are in Christ, in Jesus you are 31:04 seated where? 31:05 You are seated in heaven. 31:07 In other words, what the apostle Paul is saying 31:10 in Hebrews chapter 12 is that the Hebrews have come to the 31:14 heavenly Jerusalem, the Hebrews have come to the joyful assembly 31:18 of the angels, they have come to the place where the names of 31:22 righteous people are written. 31:23 They are there spiritually, but they're here, what? 31:27 But they're here physically. 31:28 Let me read you an interesting statement from Ellen White 31:31 where she relates the church on earth with the church in heaven. 31:36 This is Counsels To The Church pages 240 and 241. 31:40 This is a beautiful statement. 31:41 She says: 32:41 And so can we be in two places at the same time? 32:44 Certainly. 32:46 Our names are written where? 32:48 In heaven. 32:49 We are in Jesus. In Him we are in heaven. 32:52 Spiritually speaking. 32:53 But on earth, we are physically here, we are personally here. 32:58 Are you understanding that the Hebrews were not actually 33:01 physically in heaven? 33:02 That's obviously clear because the apostle Paul is writing 33:05 this book to them on earth. 33:07 Now with this background in mind, we can answer 33:11 three very important questions. 33:13 Two of these questions we're going to answer tonight. 33:17 And the other question we are going to leave to answer 33:21 in our next study. 33:23 These are the three questions. 33:26 Who are these spirits? 33:28 I'm talking about the "spirits of righteous men." 33:31 Who are these spirits of righteous men? 33:36 Secondly, who are these righteous men 33:39 that are spoken of here? 33:41 And number three, what is meant by the fact that these spirits 33:46 of righteous men were made perfect? 33:49 So three questions that we're try and answer. 33:52 Number one, who are these spirits 33:55 or what are these spirits? 33:56 Number two, what does it mean that they are righteous men? 34:00 And number three, what is meant by the expression 34:03 that these spirits of righteous men were made perfect? 34:10 Let me share with you, before we answer the first two questions, 34:13 what the classic Protestant view is? 34:17 You see, most Protestants will use this passage 34:19 and they'll say that the "spirits of righteous men 34:23 made perfect" are the souls of the departed that are in heaven 34:27 and they're singing anthems to God. 34:29 That's the classic Protestant view. 34:32 And I don't believe that view does honor to the context, 34:36 to the grammar, or the meaning of the passage, 34:38 as we'll study it together. 34:39 Now I found a book that expresses the classic 34:43 Protestant view in a succinct very easy to understand way. 34:47 I'm quoting from Robert Morey in his book, 34:51 Death And The Afterlife, page 213. 34:54 This is what he says about this passage. 34:56 "In this glorious picture described by the author, 35:01 the earthly saints join in the worship which resounds 35:06 from the myriad of angels and disembodied spirits 35:10 of fellow saints who have departed this life. 35:14 These saints were justified through faith while on earth 35:17 and are now perfected and completed in heaven. 35:21 That the author is describing the blessed condition of 35:24 departed saints who now worship God before the throne 35:27 is so clear that we must agree with the commentators 35:31 that it cannot be questioned or doubted." 35:33 I beg his pardon. 35:34 It can be questioned and doubted. 35:36 He continues saying, "The conditionalists..." 35:39 Which are Adventists, we believe in the conditional 35:41 immortality of the soul. 35:42 He says, "The conditionalists have never adequately 35:46 dealt with the grammar and syntax of this passage." 35:49 And that's why I decided that I would deal with the grammar 35:52 and the syntax. 35:53 So he continues saying, "The conditionalists have 35:55 never adequately dealt with the grammar 35:57 and syntax of this passage, because the spirits of 36:01 justified men now perfected who are worshiping at God's throne 36:05 are obviously conscious souls of believers 36:09 during the intermediate state." 36:13 Is the classic Protestant view clear in your mind? 36:16 The idea is that these are the souls of the departed that are 36:20 in heaven and are worshiping and they're praising God 36:23 in the presence of the angels. 36:25 Now we want to ask first of all, the question and try to 36:29 answer it; what are these spirits of righteous men? 36:33 As I mentioned, it is generally believed that the spirit of man 36:37 is an invisible entity inside man that leaves the body 36:42 at the moment of death and continues living 36:45 independently of the body. 36:47 But the question is, is this a biblical reality? 36:53 You see, folks, we need to understand a little bit 36:57 in a more broader sense what it meant by the word "spirit". 37:02 As I mentioned before, we are here personally 37:06 and physically on earth. 37:07 But in another sense, we are in heaven. 37:10 Our names are written in heaven. 37:11 And does God keep a record of our self identity 37:16 and a record of our lives in the heavenly books? 37:19 He most certainly does. 37:20 So we are in two places. 37:21 We are personally on earth, but in heaven we are contained 37:25 in a written biography, if you please. 37:30 Now why is this important? 37:32 Because I believe, and I'm going to prove it from Scripture, 37:35 that really what the "spirit" means in this case 37:39 is the life record of the individual that is contained 37:43 in the heavenly records or is contained in the heavenly books. 37:47 In other words, it is the character or the 37:49 self identity of the person who is walking and living on earth 37:53 that is preserved in heaven in the heavenly books. 37:56 That is what is meant by the word "spirit". 38:00 In other words, the spirit is not some invisible entity 38:03 that can live independently of the body. 38:06 The spirit is simply, God gives the body the ability to function 38:10 through the breath of life or the spirit of life. 38:12 And with that spirit, we form our character 38:15 or we form our self identity which God preserves 38:18 in the heavenly records. 38:19 Are you understanding me? 38:20 Now let's notice three biblical passages and then I want to 38:24 read you an amazing statement from the 38:26 writings of Ellen White. 38:27 The first example, Luke 8 verses 52 to 55. 38:31 Luke 8 verses 52 through 55. 38:34 This is speaking about the daughter of Jairus. 38:37 Jairus had a daughter and she had died. 38:39 And let's pick up the story beginning at verse 52. 38:43 Jesus comes to the home and He's going to resurrect this girl. 38:46 It says, "Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, 38:51 'Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.' 38:55 And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead." 38:59 Was this girl dead, yes or no? 39:01 She was absolutely dead. 39:02 Verse 54, "But He put them all outside, took her by the hand 39:07 and called, saying..." 39:08 And I want you to notice, if I read wrongly, 39:11 please correct me, okay. 39:12 Because you know, I need glasses at this point. 39:15 And I don't have my glasses on. 39:17 So if I read wrongly, please correct me, okay. 39:19 So verse 54, "But He put them all outside, 39:22 took her by the hand and called saying, 'Little girl, arise.' 39:27 Then the spirit returned..." 39:33 Is that correct? 39:36 It doesn't say, "the spirit returned." 39:38 It says, "her spirit returned." 39:43 Do you know what a possessive pronoun is? 39:45 It means, the spirit that belonged to her. 39:49 Not just the breath of life, but her spirit. 39:52 And so it says in verse 55, "Then her spirit returned, 39:56 and she arose immediately. 39:57 And He commanded that she be given something to eat." 40:02 Notice also Acts chapter 7 verses 59 and 60. 40:06 This is referring to the stoning of Stephen. 40:08 Acts 7 verses 59 and 60. 40:12 It says here, "And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on 40:17 God and saying, 'Lord Jesus, receive the spirit.'" 40:26 Yea, it doesn't say, "receive the spirit." 40:28 He's not says, "just receive my breath." 40:31 He's saying, receive what? "My spirit." 40:35 Once again, a possessive pronoun. 40:38 Did Stephen have a spirit? 40:40 He most certainly did. 40:41 What was that spirit? 40:43 It was the record of his life. 40:44 Let me ask you, when Stephen resurrects, 40:47 who's going to resurrect? 40:48 Is God simply going to give him the breath of life 40:52 or is he going to give him his self identity 40:54 while he was alive? 40:56 He's going to return to him who he was during his life. 40:59 It's going to be Stephen who resurrects, because with the 41:01 breath, God is going to return the record of his life. 41:05 So it says in verse 60, "Then he knelt down and cried out 41:08 with a loud voice, 'Lord, do not charge them with this sin.' 41:12 And when he had said this, he fell asleep." 41:16 Let's notice our third example, Luke 23 and verse 46. 41:20 This is speaking about the death of Jesus Christ. 41:23 Luke 23 and verse 46. 41:27 Jesus is on the cross, He's about to die. 41:31 And it says there in Luke 23 verse 46, 41:35 "And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, 41:39 'Father, into Your hands I commend the spirit.'" 41:44 No, He doesn't say "the spirit." 41:46 He says, "I commend," what? "My spirit." 41:49 "Having said this, He breathed His last." 41:52 When Jesus resurrected, was He still Jesus? 41:55 Did He remember His disciples? 41:57 Did He remember all of the experiences that 42:00 He'd had with His disciples? 42:01 So let me ask you, what was it that God returned to 42:04 Jesus Christ when He resurrected Him? 42:06 He returned to Him, not only the ability or capacity to breathe, 42:11 but He also returned with His breath, who He had been 42:14 during His life because a record of His life had been preserved. 42:18 Now let me read you an amazing statement from Ellen White, 42:20 this woman who had only two and a half years 42:22 of primary education. 42:24 But she was instructed by the Holy Spirit. 42:27 This is from the book, Maranatha, 42:29 a devotional book, page 301. 42:32 She says: 42:42 God doesn't have to rescue every little particle of matter 42:44 to make us all over again. 42:46 She continues saying: 43:03 What is the spirit? 43:05 "The character of man," she says, "returns to God 43:09 and there is preserved." 43:11 Then she says: 43:18 So does God keep a record of the character 43:20 in the heavenly books? 43:21 What is He going to return with the breath of life? 43:24 He's going to return the self identity that He has 43:27 kept in the books. 43:29 She continues saying: 44:04 Isn't that a remarkable statement? 44:05 She understood very well what the spirit was. 44:08 The spirit is simply the life record of the person. 44:11 And by the way, when you have the breath of life, 44:13 you're still writing your character, aren't you. 44:15 But when you breathe your last, what happens? 44:18 Your record is complete. 44:20 And God keeps the record of your life. 44:22 When He comes to resurrect you, if you should die before 44:25 Jesus comes, what is He going to do? 44:27 He's going to give you the ability to breathe again. 44:29 But not only the ability to breathe. 44:32 Along with that, He's going to give to you who you were 44:35 while you were, what? 44:37 While you were alive. 44:39 Now let me read you another remarkable statement 44:41 from Ellen White. 44:42 In this case, she's speaking about the wicked 44:45 after the millennium. 44:47 She's not talking about the righteous who will come forth 44:50 from the grave when Jesus returns. 44:52 She's speaking about the wicked who will come from the graves 44:55 after the thousand years. 44:57 But in principle, she's dealing with the same idea that 45:01 God preserves our identity in the heavenly books. 45:04 This statement is from The Great Controversy, page 664. 45:08 The Great Controversy, page 664; a remarkable statement. 45:12 Speaking about those outside the Holy City, she says: 45:39 So what happens in death with your character? 45:41 Does God transforms your character after death? 45:43 No, she says, "In death these experienced no change." 45:49 She continues: 46:01 Are you understanding what she's saying? 46:03 In other words, when you died, you had a certain thought 46:07 about a certain individual. 46:08 You know, you're thinking maybe about going to steal something 46:14 from somebody and in the process, you know, you had 46:16 a heart attack and you died. 46:17 You know what's going to happen when the wicked person wakes up? 46:20 He's going to be thinking about stealing that thing, 46:23 because he picks up exactly where he left off. 46:27 Why? Because when God returns the breath, 46:30 He returns also, what? 46:31 He returns the record of the life that He keeps 46:34 in the heavenly books. 46:36 Now don't misunderstand me. 46:38 There is nothing that is living in heaven. 46:40 There's no spirit that's roaming around singing praises to God. 46:43 It's simply the, dare I say, the electronic record of our lives 46:48 that God is going to input into a new body when He resurrects 46:52 us from the dead. 46:53 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 46:55 So the spirit simply is the breath of life 46:59 that we use to form our character while we are alive. 47:03 And at the moment of death, the record is complete 47:07 and God saves our spirit, or our record, in the heavenly books. 47:12 So I hope that you understand what the word "spirits" means. 47:16 It means, the characters. It means, the life record. 47:20 And you're saying, "Well why would the life record 47:23 of the righteous have to be made perfect?" 47:26 Doesn't it say, "the spirits of righteous men made perfect?" 47:31 Why would the spirits of righteous men have to 47:34 be made perfect? 47:36 If the spirit is the character, why would their character, 47:39 why would the record of their life have to be made perfect? 47:43 Well, you won't understand this unless you come 47:45 to the next lecture. 47:46 But now we have to deal with one final thing 47:48 in our lecture today. 47:50 And that is the question of who the righteous are. 47:54 Incidentally, it does not say in Greek, 47:58 "the spirits of righteous men." 48:02 The word "men" is added by the translators. 48:04 Really it says, "the spirits of the righteous made perfect." 48:08 And the translators simply assumed that the word 48:10 "men" belongs there. 48:11 But it includes men and it includes women. 48:14 And we're going to find why that is important. 48:17 Now, who are these righteous? 48:21 Well all we have to do is look at the previous chapter 48:24 in the book of Hebrews. 48:27 All we have to do is go back to chapter 11. 48:29 And chapter 11 tells us who these righteous beings are, 48:32 who these righteous persons are. 48:35 You see, Hebrews chapter 11 is called the "honor roll" 48:38 of the Old Testament. 48:40 It has all of the Old Testament heroes in it. 48:43 For example, it has Abel, it has Enoch, it has Noah, 48:48 it has Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, 48:54 Gideon, Barack, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, 48:59 and also the prophets. 49:01 In other words, the righteous that are being spoken of in 49:04 chapter 12 whose spirits need to be made perfect 49:07 are the heroes that are mentioned 49:10 in Hebrews chapter 11. 49:11 Is that clear in your mind? 49:13 It's very very important that we realize this, that the spirits 49:16 of the righteous are the spirits of Old Testament people. 49:24 The previous chapter tells us that. 49:26 It's not talking about New Testament Christians. 49:29 In fact, the apostle Paul is saying that the Hebrews 49:32 who are alive at that time, they have come to where 49:35 the spirits of righteous men have been made perfect. 49:39 So are they a separate group? 49:41 Obviously, they are a separate group. 49:43 Now the question is, how were these heroes 49:48 actually made righteous? 49:51 How are we made righteous? 49:54 Well the fact is that we're made righteous by, what? 49:57 By faith. 50:00 Hebrews 11 verse 4 tells us that Abel was righteous 50:08 because he offered a better sacrifice. 50:11 Hebrews 11 verse 7 tells us that Noah became the heir 50:17 of righteousness by faith. 50:20 In fact, the word faith is used 24 times in the book of Hebrews 50:24 to describe the heroes that you have from the Old Testament. 50:27 So how were these heroes made righteous? 50:30 They were made righteous by what? 50:32 By faith. 50:33 That's where we get the expression, 50:34 righteousness by faith. 50:37 In other words, all of these Old Testament heroes 50:39 were made righteous by faith. 50:45 Now we need to ask the question. 50:49 What is meant by the need to make the spirits, or the 50:54 characters or the life record, of these individuals perfect? 51:00 We know that this list of honorable citizens from the 51:06 Old Testament were made righteous by faith. 51:09 But at the same time, we know that their life record somehow 51:14 needed to be made, what? 51:16 Needed to be made perfect. 51:19 Now if you read Hebrews 11 verses 33 to 38, 51:23 you're going to notice the emphasis on the word faith. 51:27 All of these Old Testament heroes, they were made 51:30 righteous by faith. 51:31 They did all of these great feats by faith. 51:34 So summarizing what we've studied so far. 51:38 The apostle Paul is contrasting the Old Testament religion 51:43 with the New Testament religion. 51:45 He's saying the Old Testament religion was good. 51:49 It had the blood of animals, it had mere human intercessors. 51:54 But could this system really forgive sin? 51:57 Could it really cleanse the record of sin in the 52:01 lives of the people legally? 52:03 No, because the blood of bulls and goats cannot, what? 52:06 Cannot take away sin. 52:10 And so the apostle Paul says, but the New Testament system, 52:13 the Christian system is so much better. 52:16 Because it has the blood of Jesus Christ 52:20 that can remove sin. 52:21 And it has Jesus Christ as the intercessor. 52:24 He's God and He's man, and He can bridge the gap 52:28 between heaven and earth. 52:30 In other words, He is a powerful eternal intercessor. 52:34 That's the contrast that the apostle Paul is drawing. 52:38 And then he says in Hebrews chapter 12 that there's a 52:42 group of individuals who are righteous, because they're the 52:46 spirits of righteous people, that need to be made, what? 52:51 That need to be made perfect. 52:54 Now immediately the question is, why would the spirits 52:58 or why would the life record of the Old Testament saints 53:01 need to be made perfect? 53:06 Or need to be perfected, if you wish. 53:11 You say, "Well, I sure would like to know that. 53:13 I sure would like to know why the Old Testament saints 53:16 needed to be made perfect." 53:19 Now let me give you a little inkling about what we're 53:21 going to study in our next lecture so that you're appetite 53:24 is wetted and you will come to listen to the next lecture. 53:27 We're going to talk about what it means to be made perfect. 53:31 That word or that expression, "to be made perfect," 53:34 is not speaking about moral perfection. 53:37 It's not speaking about, you know, being morally blameless 53:41 before the law of God. 53:43 The expression, "made perfect," in the books of Hebrews, 53:46 is used many many times with regards to Christ. 53:50 And it's also used many many times with regards to 53:53 the heroes from the Old Testament, as well as the 53:57 people who were living in the days when 53:59 the apostle Paul wrote. 54:01 And basically, the expression, "made perfect," means, 54:05 to be qualified or to be able to do something 54:11 which that person was not able to do before. 54:15 Do you realize that in the book of Hebrews, 54:17 the expression, "made perfect," is used even of Jesus Christ? 54:22 It says there in Hebrews that Jesus was made perfect 54:25 through His sufferings. 54:26 It's not talking about moral perfection, 54:28 because Jesus did not need to be morally perfect. 54:31 Because He was already morally perfect. 54:33 What it means is that through His sufferings 54:35 and through His death, He was made qualified 54:39 to be able to save human beings. 54:41 Did Jesus have to die, did He have to shed His blood in order 54:44 to be qualified to save human beings? 54:46 Absolutely. 54:47 Let me ask you. 54:48 Was anyone during the Old Testament legally saved? 54:55 I said legally saved. 54:57 We're going to find in our next study that no one in the 55:00 Old Testament period was legally saved. 55:03 Because the blood of bulls and goats cannot what? 55:08 Cannot take away sin. 55:10 And so in the Old Testament period, you have all of these 55:13 sacrifices that could not make the believer perfect. 55:18 The apostle Paul is going to say, "What does that mean, 55:20 that these sacrifices could not make the believer perfect?" 55:23 Not talking about moral perfection. 55:25 What he's saying is, that these sacrifices 55:28 could not really wipe out, what? 55:31 The record of sin. 55:34 In other words, all of the sins were registered in the books. 55:38 Yes, they were forgiven on the basis of the promise. 55:41 They believe in Jesus Christ, they trusted in Him. 55:44 And Jesus said, "I will come someday to pay for those sins." 55:48 But those sins during the Old Testament, were not 55:51 legally paid for, because only the blood of Jesus could 55:54 pay for those sins. 55:55 Are you following me? 55:56 And so, to be made perfect means that the record 56:00 is going to be, what? 56:02 Now the record, that which happened by faith 56:05 as the Old Testament saints looked forward 56:07 to the sacrifice of Christ, when Jesus dies, 56:10 Jesus says, "Now your record is clean 56:14 because My blood can remove sin." 56:18 Are you with me? 56:19 And so really what the apostle Paul is saying, not that 56:23 there are these disembodies spirits that are hovering 56:26 around in heaven singing with the angels. 56:28 There's no reference to that in this passage at all. 56:31 It's simply saying that the life record of these individuals 56:36 which had the record of sin, because the blood of 56:39 bulls and goats cannot take away sin, was actually 56:42 legally wiped away and cleaned when Jesus died on the cross. 56:47 Because that which pointed to Jesus had already taken place. 56:52 The shadows had given way to the reality. 56:55 How many of you are understanding what I'm saying? 56:57 Now in our next lecture, I'm going to prove that to you. 57:01 We're going to go through all of the references that's in Hebrews 57:03 that speak about being made perfect; 57:05 as they apply to Jesus and as they apply to believers as well. 57:09 And we'll see that this passage is not teaching what most 57:12 Protestants think that this passage is teaching. 57:15 You see, we have not believed in cunningly devised fables. 57:19 We are founded firmly upon the solid rock of God's word. 57:24 Let's pray. 57:26 Father, we thank You for this magnificent passage 57:32 that shows what the hope of the Old Testament believers was, 57:36 who set it in Christ just like our hope, 57:38 only they looked forward and we look backwards. 57:41 They were saved by the blood of Jesus in expectancy, 57:45 while we are saved by the blood of Jesus 57:47 that has already been shed on the cross. 57:50 We ask, Lord, that You will use this presentation 57:53 and the one tomorrow to reach out to those millions 57:57 of Protestants and Catholics who perhaps have looked 58:00 at this passage superficially and don't understand it, 58:03 that they might see that this passage is not talking about 58:06 spirits of the departed, it's really speaking about 58:09 the life record that is dealt with once and for all 58:12 because Jesus has died on the cross. 58:15 We thank You, Father, for having been with us this evening. 58:18 We thank You for hearing our prayer. 58:19 For we ask it in Jesus' name, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17