Participants: John Lomacang (Host), John Stanton
Series Code: HCL
Program Code: HCL100017
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00:01 Hello friends. Grab your Bible and a friend
00:03 and sit back as we explore God's Word together 00:05 on this edition of House Calls. 00:23 Welcome back to the best place on earth at this hour. 00:27 That's why I'm here. 00:29 And I don't... I don't have the only conviction of that reality. 00:33 I think my friend does too. 00:35 What's your name by the way? Johnny. 00:38 John and John. We are in the seat together. 00:41 We are ready to rightly divide the word of truth. 00:44 Thank you for joining us on House Calls. 00:46 We always appreciate you tuning-in in our audience. 00:49 Share this with your friends. Let them come to your house 00:52 or get them a 3ABN dish or get them on the Internet 00:55 so that they can also benefit from some of these questions 00:58 we answer and some of the topics we enjoy communicating to you. 01:01 So thank you for tuning in. 01:03 But we do like to pray before we do even go into the Bible. 01:06 And John is the man of prayer on the air. 01:10 Let's do that. Gracious Father, what a blessing 01:13 it is to be able to come before You and trust You 01:16 that You will be here to lead and guide us through 01:18 into all truth. We just pray for our listeners 01:21 and our viewers here as they participate in the program 01:24 with us. We thank them for their questions. 01:27 We thank you also for inspiring a desire for us to know 01:30 the Word, to study Your Word. 01:32 We just pray that You will advance the knowledge 01:35 of the truth here today. In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. 01:39 Thank you so much. 01:41 You know, I hold in my hand two sheets of paper 01:43 here that has on it our Top Ten Counterfeits. 01:47 And we really enjoyed sharing those in our former program 01:51 and we have some more to cover today. 01:53 And I think we have enough for some upcoming programming. 01:56 John worked on this. The Top Ten Counterfeits 01:59 The devil is really trying to pull us in these last days 02:02 on things that really are going to divert our attention 02:06 away from things that God is calling us to. 02:08 So that's what our program is about today. 02:10 And, um... But we also have Bible questions. 02:14 And I know that many of you send your Bible questions in. 02:16 We look at the Internet and see how diligent you are. 02:19 So if there are any questions you have that may come to mind 02:22 during the topic today and you want to send those to us 02:24 send those questions to: housecalls@3abn. org 02:27 That's: housecalls@3abn. org 02:31 and we'll go ahead and download those questions 02:33 and try to get them answered as soon as we possibly can. 02:36 But I'd like to give you an opportunity, John, to share 02:39 what our first question is for today. 02:40 Sure. Someone wrote in here... 02:44 It's deSheryl. deSheryl. 02:48 And writing in about a witnessing opportunity 02:53 with somebody who is attending a Sunday church. 02:56 And it says: "The issue is the Lord's Day 03:00 as described in Revelation 1 verse 10. " 03:04 OK. "After God had guided me about the Sabbath truth in 2005 03:08 in studying with the Prophecy Code with Amazing Facts 03:11 and even upon God having me study with an online teacher 03:14 from the Amazing Facts website 03:16 I just knew this was the seventh-day Sabbath. 03:19 But upon praying to God in my response to this soul 03:23 I was guided this isn't the first day of the week 03:26 or the seventh day but a period of judgment. 03:28 I was guided to the Vine's Expository Dictionary 03:32 which I was... There I researched the Lord's 03:36 or the word day. My prayer is that you can give me 03:39 some insight that you have studied this before 03:42 and that it might be similar insight as to what I found. " 03:46 Anyway... So basically the question is 03:49 on the use of the word day there in the Greek. 03:53 And we find that the word day there 03:56 is hemera: H-E-M-E-R-A in the Greek. 04:02 And it is not the typical word used for day 04:07 mostly in the Bible. 04:08 It's simply just describing the word day. 04:11 And what I have found is hemera is used 04:14 when it's talking about, 04:17 it's being a little more descriptive than just the day. 04:20 OK. Like in a figurative form it might be a period of time. 04:24 You know, an era or an age. 04:27 And where it's translated "a day" it's this word 04:30 hemera. And then in a literal form 04:34 it seems also that there are occasions where it is 04:37 talking about a part of a day 04:41 like dusk to dawn - OK - or you know this inclusive 04:45 reckoning issue where if it's part of a day it's the whole day 04:49 hemera is used. 04:51 And sometimes it also could be just referring to a single day. 04:55 And so there are various translations of it. 04:58 And in some cases it's talking about, you know, 05:01 when you're reading the scriptures and prophecy it says 05:03 "until the coming of THAT DAY when Christ appears. " 05:06 Well that term would be... the word would be hemera used there. 05:10 And so it clearly is more descriptive 05:15 than the typical word day. 05:16 OK. But it does not mean that it doesn't involve a specific day. 05:22 All right then. And he seems to be saying that he's impressed 05:25 that it does not involve a specific day. 05:28 But the context of the verse seems to suggest that 05:31 it is definitely a single part of a day at least - 05:35 OK - in its literal form. 05:37 Revelation 1:10. 1:10. I'll read this here. 05:40 I'll read starting in verse 9. 05:42 "I John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation 05:45 and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ 05:48 was on the island that is called Patmos 05:51 for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 05:55 I was in the spirit on the Lord's Day 05:59 and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet saying" 06:04 and it goes on to describe what Jesus said to him there. 06:07 Clearly John is describing 06:11 an instance when he went into the spirit - 06:14 the spirit of a prophetic vision - 06:17 - and the Lord described, gave His testimony to him 06:21 on that occasion. 06:23 So however we define hemera in this 06:27 it is a specific instance where he went into vision. 06:31 Right. And if we're using that 06:33 hemera to describe more than a day or an instance 06:37 or part of a day, that makes his vision awfully long. 06:41 Now we don't find any occasion in the Bible 06:44 at least in scripture where a vision of somebody 06:46 or being given to someone lasted for an extended period 06:50 of time that would be denoted in like our use of the word age 06:53 or era, you know, for a long, long extended period of time. 06:58 So those are just some thoughts on an interpretation. 07:02 Good hermeneutical approach to this verse 07:04 and in pairing that up with other uses of that Greek word. 07:08 OK. And thank you very much on that, John, because 07:10 the writer's suggestion here is not that it's a big 07:13 time period, but John is narrowing it down 07:16 to the Lord's Day. That's why some of the Bible commentators 07:20 who understand that as a specific time period, 07:24 have tried to apply it to the wrong time period 07:27 like the first day of the week. Um-hmm. 07:29 Because the word hemera does... we're probably 07:34 not enunciating it like a Hebrew person would. 07:37 Hemera. Greek person. Greek person would. 07:40 OK. And so, umm, but it's a specific timeframe. 07:45 And I think you've done very well on that. 07:48 I don't think there's anything more that needs to be added 07:50 to that. OK. "I have a short question for you. 07:55 The Holy Spirit we receive is the Holy Spirit 07:59 of God the Father or the Holy Spirit of Jesus? 08:03 Thanks and God bless you. " 08:06 Let's go to Matthew chapter 4. 08:10 Matthew chapter 4. Want you to see something. 08:17 And why am I in Habakkuk? Here we are. OK. 08:20 Made a big turn and I ended up in Habakkuk. 08:22 OK. Actually it's the ending of Matthew chapter 3 08:27 is where I am. 08:31 In verse 16 it says... the Bible says: 08:35 "And Jesus when He had been baptized came up immediately 08:39 from the water. And behold the heavens were opened to Him 08:43 and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove 08:47 and lighting upon Him. " 08:49 It's the Spirit of God 08:50 when we receive the Spirit of God. 08:52 Now one of the things you have to keep in mind here 08:55 when you start defining well who does this Spirit belong to 08:58 the Bible says "God is a Spirit 09:01 and those who worship Him must worship Him 09:03 in spirit and in truth. " 09:04 That's in John. Let's go to John now, the book of John. 09:09 Let's see that there. 09:12 And I'll tell you exactly what verse that is. 09:15 I believe that's John 4:23? 09:19 OK. 09:22 John 4 verse 23. 09:26 OK, yeah. It says here clearly: John 4 verse 23 and 24: 09:32 "But the hour is coming and now is when the true 09:34 worshiper will worship the Father in spirit and in truth 09:37 for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 09:40 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him 09:44 in spirit and truth. " 09:45 So yes, it's the Spirit of God. 09:48 And you find in Matthew 09:50 the dove that was lighting on Him: 09:53 the Spirit of God descended upon Him in the form of a dove. 09:57 So the Holy Spirit that we receive is the Spirit of God. 10:02 Now the reason why we say this is because 10:04 here in... the word Jesus is used in the form of 10:09 when Jesus was on the earth. 10:10 So not that He had a Spirit He sent after you 10:16 because He said: "It's necessary, it's expedient that 10:19 I go away. And if I do not go away 10:21 the Comforter will not come. " 10:23 John chapter 16. Also John chapter 13. 10:27 So the Holy Spirit... the Father, the Son, 10:29 and the Holy Spirit. Separate entities. 10:31 But when we receive the Holy Spirit in our lives 10:33 we receive in a various form. 10:37 We receive the Holy Spirit in various ways. 10:39 One of them is: once the Holy Spirit works on our hearts 10:42 to lead us and convict us of truth and to convict our hearts 10:46 away from error. That's one. 10:48 That's the work of the Holy Spirit. 10:50 But when we receive the Lord into our lives, 10:55 when we accept Christ as our personal Savior, 10:58 we receive the fruits of the Spirit: 11:03 love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, meekness, patience. 11:06 But when we grow and mature 11:08 then the gifts of the Spirit are active in our lives. 11:11 One: the convicting work of the Spirit. 11:13 Secondly, the fruits of the Spirit 11:15 or the fruit of the Spirit. 11:16 And thirdly, the gifts of the Spirit. 11:19 But it's all the Holy Spirit working. 11:21 And the Holy Spirit is also the One that seals us 11:23 to the day of redemption. 11:25 The One that seals us, preparing us for eternal salvation. 11:28 Any points on that, John? No, I think that's good. 11:31 OK. What else do you have? 11:33 Moving right through here today. Yeah. 11:34 this is a question from someone who is... 11:38 was born and raised a Seventh-day Adventist 11:41 and she's studied prophecy for quite a few years 11:45 and she has this question. 11:46 She says this kind of puzzles her. 11:48 and her name is Sandy. 11:51 OK. "First, I understand the 2300 days starts in 457 BC" 11:55 and then she adds "when Ezra begins to govern. 12:00 But Daniel 9:25 says from the time to rebuild Jerusalem. 12:05 Are these not two different things: 12:07 rebuilding and governing? " 12:09 The second question is: "Why is there little... 12:14 little SDA literature on Ezekiel 12:16 and how can I learn more about chapter 38 12:18 'Gog and Magog? ' " 12:20 We'll make a comment about that but we'll answer the first 12:22 question. Um, you know, I don't find a reference 12:27 where 457 BC is when Ezra began to govern. 12:30 457 BC is the date that Artaxerxes, um, 12:36 issued his degree to restore and build Jerusalem. 12:39 In fact, Daniel 9:25 says it's from the time 12:44 not to rebuild Jerusalem but to the time of the command 12:48 to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. 12:50 So the event really that the prophecy is pointing to 12:53 is this command. And the command is kind of confusing 12:57 by some because they look at the various rulers 13:01 in Babylon during that time. 13:03 You had of course Cyrus. 13:08 You have Darius mentioned. 13:12 You have... Before Babylonian captivity you have Belshazzar 13:18 mentioned. But as far as decrees, you have 13:23 Cyrus, you have Darius, and you have Artaxerxes. 13:26 OK. And the reason we believe 13:30 the Bible points clearly to the Artaxerxes decree - 13:33 is found in Ezra chapter 6 verse 14. 13:37 And if you notice, there's a little bit of twist 13:40 added to this verse with regard to this decree 13:43 and it's where it originated from. 13:47 OK. It says in Ezra 6:14 "So the elders of the Jews 13:51 built... " Notice: built what? 13:53 "the temple. " And so they're building... 13:56 rebuilding Jerusalem and its temple. 13:59 "And they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai 14:02 the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. 14:04 And they built and finished it... " listen to this... 14:07 "according to the commandment of the God of Israel. " 14:13 So who's behind the one... who's the one behind 14:17 them going back and rebuilding? 14:20 God - of Israel... The God of Israel. 14:22 "And according to the command of Cyrus, 14:26 Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. " 14:29 Notice all three of them are included there. 14:32 And so what you would assume 14:35 and not just what history records is 14:38 that Artaxerxes provided that decree 14:41 that would return not only Jerusalem to being rebuilt 14:47 but to being inhabited, OK? 14:50 And so that is why this command to restore and rebuild 14:53 Jerusalem as a whole including its walls 14:56 was given finally by Artaxerxes 14:59 the third king in the order of these three and their decrees. 15:02 OK. And that was 457 BC. 15:05 That's right. And when you begin with that date, John, 15:08 one of the things we find out is that the prophecy fits 15:10 perfectly: 457 BC the Bible talks about how 15:15 seven weeks and three score and two weeks. 15:17 And so it breaks it down very clearly. 15:19 Seven weeks... that's 49 years. So if you begin 457 BC 15:22 you go to 408 BC and you find clearly 15:25 in 408 BC Jerusalem was finished. 15:27 Then you have three score. From 408 BC you have 15:30 three score and two, so you follow that all the way through 15:33 to the prophecy. And everything in the prophecy 15:36 fits when you begin with the decree of Artaxerxes. 15:38 But when you build with... when you begin with Cyrus 15:41 and Darius - who were contributors to the building 15:43 of the temple and the wall - the prophecy never matches. 15:46 That's why... Which is why people lose sight of the 15:48 day/year principle and they kind of abandon everything. 15:51 And that's why one of the counterfeits we're going to 15:53 talk about today exists: 15:54 because people begin with the wrong date. 15:56 But I also want to point out that Nehemiah was 15:58 the governor, not Ezra. 15:59 Ezra was a priest. 16:01 And so they said: "When Ezra began to govern. " 16:03 Ezra was actually the priest - 16:06 right - and the scribe. Nehemiah was governor 16:09 during the time when Artaxerxes was king. 16:12 So hopefully that gave an answer to that. 16:15 Yeah. We appreciate Sandy's question. 16:17 Um, we're kind of doing pretty good here today. 16:21 "Dear Mr. John Lomacang... " 16:25 Don't get many of those. 16:27 "First I would like to say I enjoy the program. 16:29 It does answer my questions. 16:31 Programme... the way it's spelled it's a British country. 16:35 "In the book of Revelation it talks about the Tree of Life 16:39 being there for the healing of the nations. 16:41 I know that there will be... 16:43 I know that there will be no sicknesses in heaven, 16:49 so what healing is this referring to? " 16:52 OK, the healing that's being talked about there 16:56 the word for healing doesn't just mean, 16:59 getting over an illness... it also means mending. 17:02 Another word for healing is the word atonement. 17:05 But atonement not in the sense of covering one's blood 17:08 or covering one's sin with blood 17:10 but a mending... at-one-ment. 17:13 And at the Tree of Life in the New Jerusalem 17:16 is where all the nations that are split on the earth... 17:19 you notice how we are in four corners of the earth 17:22 as it were as the Bible uses the phrase loosely there... 17:25 we are all over the world. 17:26 But that one Tree of Life is where we are going to 17:28 all gather together. And that's what the healing of the nations 17:33 is talked about. As a matter of fact, 17:35 that Tree of Life has properties in it 17:38 like it did in the Garden of Eden. 17:39 It gives us vitality, but it's not going to be the place 17:42 that we go to get a healing from a cold 17:45 or from the flu because there won't be any sickness, 17:48 any sorrow, any suffering, any death in the New Jerusalem. 17:51 Any points on that, John? No, that's great. Wow! 17:54 We are just knocking them out here today. 17:55 We're like... It's probably, you know, it's God's intention 17:57 for us to cover the actual topic maybe some more. 18:01 Yeah. So we can get into that. 18:02 You know one thing I did say that I might do here with my 18:04 last question was comment on Gog and Magog. 18:06 Yes. People might be hanging on "well he was supposed to 18:09 comment on that. " OK, 18:11 you know, a lot of emphasis... some give a lot of emphasis 18:15 to the prophecy in Ezekiel 38 18:19 Gog and Magog and what that all means in terms of 18:23 its prophetic fulfillment of the book of Revelation. 18:26 And I think it's probably a little more simple than 18:29 what some make it out to be. But Gog and Magog were 18:31 clearly enemies of Israel. 18:33 Right. And in the last days spiritual Israel - 18:38 God's church, His remnant church - will have its share 18:40 of enemies. And, a lot of the judgments that come 18:45 from God after the attack by Gog and what happened 18:49 in Ezekiel 38 there also are connected in with 18:54 stuff that will happen at the end of time. So Ezekiel 38 18:57 also points down to the time of Revelation as well. 19:01 But Gog and Magog are more of a reference to just the 19:03 battle that is occurring between the enemy of God's church 19:07 and God's church. Exactly. That's all it is. 19:10 It's not talking about any specific location like in the 19:12 valley of Megiddo where people think that all of the world 19:15 is going to gather there and fight. Russia is going to be... 19:18 and China is going to be... And there's going to be 19:20 this antichrist... another one of the counterfeits 19:25 we're going to talk about today. 19:26 But simply it's talking about those two enemies of 19:29 God's people: Gog and Magog. 19:31 And you find that also in I Chronicles 1 19:35 "The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, 19:40 Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras. " 19:46 So these sons were enemies 19:51 of the people of God: Gog and Magog. 19:53 That's all it's simply meaning. 19:55 And,I think that's just the nutshell of it right there. 19:59 I think we're desiring to get right to our topic, 20:03 what do you think? Let's jump into it. 20:04 We covered a couple of them last time. Yeah. 20:07 So we've only done 1 and 2. Yes. 20:09 And so now we're getting into our third. Hopefully, our fourth 20:12 as well. Maybe even a fifth here in this program. 20:15 We're not intending to go in-depth 20:17 exhaustive on any of these topics specifically. 20:20 In fact, we've probably done programs on most of them 20:23 in an exhaustive way. 20:25 But it is a way to recap and understand how they all 20:28 kind of fit together in the overall scheme... setting up 20:33 and plans, tactics of the enemy for these last days 20:36 to deceive the world. And what we're talking about 20:38 actually, John, is the fact that all of these things are 20:41 in place already. Satan has been building arsenals 20:45 for thousands of years. 20:47 And in these last days now, this is the stage of implementation. 20:50 That's what we're talking about today. But before we 20:52 dive into our Bible topic today I want to remind our viewers 20:55 and our listeners of those who have any questions... 20:57 if you have any more questions about things we talked about 21:00 here today... you can send those questions to: 21:09 And we'll try our best to respond to those questions. 21:12 But thank you for all you do for the ministry of 3ABN 21:16 and also for this particular program. 21:19 Now John, what parts of these ten top... 21:23 Top Ten Counterfeits are we going to cover today? 21:25 Well, we began last time with Satan's attack on the 21:30 Word of God. That's right. 21:32 And whether that be keeping people from the Word 21:35 or when they get into the Word getting people to lose, 21:39 basically taking its credibility away, 21:43 its immutability away, 21:45 and spiritualizing it... whatever it may be. 21:48 He's trying to just make sure that the Word of God 21:51 is not read for what it is: God's Word to us. 21:54 That's right. And then the second one we spoke a little bit 21:57 about which is the masking or the... 22:03 not masking but the hiding of him behind, you know, 22:07 the Great Controversy. What he really is all about. 22:09 That he's not so evil, and then if people do think of him 22:12 as evil he kind of goes off the other side of it where 22:15 he starts to show that he's an ugly big red-colored beast 22:19 and you don't want to meet him because when you do 22:22 you know it's him. And we unfolded that, you know, 22:24 really he's trying to appear actually as an angel of light 22:28 to deceive - hmm - not to look like that. 22:30 He's perfectly happy with Hollywood portraying him 22:33 as this evil-looking beast. 22:35 OK. And he's just as also happy to... for people to think 22:38 that he doesn't even exist, too. 22:40 So that's the other part of the deception. 22:42 So there's several things he's doing and building up toward 22:44 this. Now we'll talk a little bit today about spiritualism 22:49 and, you know, what happens in the state of death. 22:53 Because if correctly understood 22:56 I believe that we are safe with regard to a lot of these 23:01 deceptions at the end of time. 23:02 But if not correctly understood what it opens up 23:06 is for the enemy now obscured... Now people, you know, 23:09 people don't know really what his tactics are, 23:11 what he's really trying to do. 23:13 Now he can begin to communicate to them in such a way - 23:16 that either be directly or not - 23:20 but in a way communicate to them his principles, 23:25 his ways, what he's trying to do to set up that last deception. 23:28 And so we're going to look at some of the angles, 23:31 the aspects of this specifically: 23:34 immortality of the soul, 23:35 that the soul lives forever. 23:37 Behind that, of course, you have the theory that 23:39 well "we're actually godlike. " 23:42 Being taught right now today in the New Age Movement. 23:46 And some other things that he's doing. 23:48 But we know that this... there's a lie. 23:50 We talked about a lie being told in the garden way back when 23:53 to take away confidence in the Word of God, you know. 23:56 Implying there: "Did God really say? " 23:59 And he did that with Christ, you know, as well 24:01 as he tempted Him on the top of the temple. 24:03 That, you know... "Just cast Yourself down... " 24:07 "Didn't God say? " And, you know, he obscures... 24:10 He kind of twists that a little bit 24:11 to use for his own advantage. Well, he also told another lie 24:15 in the very beginning which is very important for us 24:19 to us to understand was his intent from the very beginning 24:22 at least to confuse people on this subject. 24:24 He asked Eve, 24:28 he told Eve in response to her saying that if she 24:31 ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil 24:34 that she would die. His response was... 24:37 What is it? 24:38 "You will not surely die 24:41 but God knows that you will become like... 24:45 gods. " In essence... but like Him. 24:47 And so not... It doesn't say that she wholeheartedly 24:53 accepted that but she was curious enough 24:56 to step forward into sin. Yeah, I heard somebody once say 25:00 "the immorality of the soul led to the belief 25:03 in the immortality of the soul. " Yeah. 25:06 Satan came and in in a very immoral way 25:08 because he is... he is not one that stands by the moral law 25:12 of God. But he brought this immoral proposition. 25:16 We often think of the word immoral in a sense of 25:18 promiscuity or sexuality. 25:21 But, the immorality there 25:23 is that he misrepresented God. 25:26 And so therefore this lie was easy to be able to plant: 25:30 "You will not surely die. " 25:32 God said "You will surely die? " 25:34 Satan said "You will not surely die. " 25:35 So at the very outset of the topic we want to just go ahead 25:37 and throw this question out there. 25:39 I don't know what your beliefs are. 25:41 I don't know what your convictions are. 25:42 You may think that people die and go to heaven. 25:44 We're going to cover that and try to make it very clear 25:47 that people don't die and go to heaven. 25:48 and there are some things that as I studied this topic 25:51 recently... I presented this topic at one of our... 25:53 one of our Camp Meetings how important it is 25:56 to help people see that truly this is a topic 25:59 that has solid scriptural foundation. 26:03 So there's no need to try to figure out 26:05 "Do we go to heaven right away? " 26:07 "Do we wait for the resurrection? " 26:09 What is the case? But at the very outset let me just ask 26:12 the question: who do you think was telling the truth? 26:15 Was God telling the truth or was Satan telling the truth? 26:18 Well you know for the Christian that'll be a slam dunk 26:23 of an answer... God was telling the truth. 26:26 But on the same note if you believe that God was 26:29 telling the truth then you cannot come to the conclusion 26:32 that you really don't die. 26:34 You have to come to the conclusion that you do die 26:36 when the time comes for us to be laid to rest. 26:40 And when we say die, we mean die as a created being 26:43 which means you cease to exist. Exactly. 26:46 That's what dying means! That's all it means. 26:48 You know where it says John 3:16... 26:49 you know, clear evidence there. 26:52 Believing in Christ so that you will not perish. Right. 26:55 Perish is completely cease to exist. 26:57 Right. And so some will say: "Well your body dies. " 27:00 No, we're talking about die. The whole part... everything. 27:02 Um, God made man from the dust of the ground 27:06 and then breathed into his nostrils the breath of life 27:08 and he became a living being, he became a person. 27:11 Well that person in all its entirety ceases to exist 27:15 when it dies. Yes. And that's what God was saying 27:18 would happen with anyone who held onto, who practiced 27:22 sin and rebellion. 27:24 And the devil said: "No! No, you won't really die. 27:27 You'll go on living forever. " 27:29 And we'll see some of the things that happen in that. 27:31 Now we've got ask ourselves the question 27:33 as we springboard into this topic: why would Satan 27:36 want to develop this kind of teaching? 27:41 OK. OK. 27:43 Why? You know, God clearly restricts him 27:47 from just appearing as Satan along with his demon hosts 27:51 on this earth and battling it out physically. 27:53 Right. So the only way 27:57 that Satan can communicate and can mislead is through 28:00 false teachings, through error, 28:02 and leading people to do things that they wouldn't normally do. 28:06 And how does he do that? I believe this: spiritualism. 28:11 Misunderstanding of death and the nature of man 28:14 is key to his creating inroads or giving him a channel. 28:19 I think it's very telling: the word "channeling. " 28:22 You know that word... how it's used. 28:23 We give him a channel whereby which he can communicate 28:26 with men. And also where he can also smear God's character. 28:30 So we're not just talking about the original lie - 28:33 spiritualism and the state of the dead - we're talking about 28:36 also the smear campaign against God because he also adds 28:38 to that very thing this idea of eternal torment. 28:41 Which is a fourth counterfeit as well. Yes. 28:44 Yeah, we definitely have connected. 28:45 We'll get to that one too. 28:47 And so we see that there is a lie here. 28:48 And where the problem comes in a lot of times, friends, is this: 28:52 when people read the King James version 28:54 they fail to realize that when the word "soul" is used there 28:58 the word "soul" is not talked about in the sense of 29:00 an additional man. Right. 29:02 A lot of people think that the soul is something that was 29:05 inserted into man when God created him. No. 29:09 God inserted the breath of life. That's right. 29:12 God did not insert another person. 29:16 So man became a living being. 29:19 That's why I like the way the New King James and the NIV 29:22 put it. We just simply came to life. That's it. 29:26 It's like putting... I was looking recently, John, 29:28 and buying batteries. 29:30 And, you know I do model airplane flying. 29:33 And sometimes we get out to a field there and 29:36 our regular batteries on our chargers die because 29:38 they're small and they're just very limited in strength. 29:42 So we often buy batteries like a small car battery 29:44 or motorcycle battery or lawnmower battery 29:48 'cause it lasts all day long when you charge it. 29:50 You know the airplanes just can't draw all that current. 29:53 And, I looked at a motorcycle battery. 29:57 It was nice and small but the guy said 29:59 the problem with the motorcycle battery is you have to put 30:01 the core in it... You have to put the core in it 30:05 then you have to put the acid fluid mixture in it 30:08 or else it wouldn't work. 30:10 And I thought about that and I said: "Wow! 30:12 Kind of like the way God made man. " 30:15 He formed him from the dust of the ground. 30:18 Then He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life 30:22 and man came alive 30:24 in the same way the core and the fluid there. 30:26 And a forensic pathologist said to me... 30:29 He said: "When we say 'man became a living soul' " 30:32 he said "if you only had an idea of what actually happened" 30:36 he said "the physiological connections made 30:40 in the dynamic creative power that was inside of man" 30:44 because they deal with life from a cellular level. 30:48 They go all the way down to the sinew of the bones. 30:50 They look at that whole thing. He's a forensic pathologist. 30:53 And he says: "When we do autopsies, I mean, we're going 30:55 so... we're going into so much depth 30:58 that it was not just as simple as just putting breath in a 31:00 man's body. " But God had done so much on the inside 31:04 that when He gave us the spark of life, 31:06 when He connected those... when He connected the power 31:08 of life, man was ignited internally. Right. 31:12 That's a key point there, too. 31:15 You have the doc... I mean, was a doctor. 31:16 That's a key point because 31:19 when God created man, He created someone very special, 31:21 unique, different from others. 31:23 That's right. And it wasn't the breath that was different. 31:27 It was what He created from the dust of the ground 31:30 that was different. You know, we... 31:32 It's the conversation that's such with regard to souls... 31:35 putting souls in bodies today 31:37 to the point where that was the unique part. 31:40 That's the functioning part; that's the part that 31:42 makes you think. And I ask: "Well what's the brain for? " 31:45 You know, if our soul is what's in there thinking 31:49 and apart from the body, from the brain, it can continue on 31:52 doing what it's doing, then what are all the cells? 31:54 What are all the retention of information 31:56 and the connections, the axons that connect the brain? 31:59 the superhighway that connects all the different cells to 32:03 different things? That's right. It's fascinating! 32:06 That's what was unique. And you segued... 32:09 you handed it right to me. I know, you're a doctor's kid. 32:12 You handed it right to me. Listen to this: 32:14 Genesis 7 verse 15... speaking of those 32:17 animals that entered the ark: 32:19 "And they went into the ark to Noah two by two 32:23 all flesh in which was the breath of life. " 32:27 Look at this further... verse 29... or 21: 32:30 "And all flesh died that moved on the earth" - 32:34 this is talking about the results of the flood - 32:37 "birds and cattle and beasts of every creeping thing 32:40 that creeps on the earth and every man 32:41 all in whose nostrils was the... " What? 32:45 Breath. "breath of the spirit of life. " 32:48 In other words, what was put into man 32:52 was the same life-giving power that was put into the animals. 32:57 That's right. Now it was not the same way. 33:00 We don't find any specific instances where God 33:02 breathing the breath of life into the nostrils of animals. 33:05 Right. But the point here being that 33:08 the breath of life that was given is life-giving power 33:11 from God that ignites the cellular structure, 33:15 that ignites the body to be able to function. 33:17 As it ignites man, it ignites animals, 33:21 birds, whatever it may be, there is no soul 33:25 put into these things. We are the same as animals 33:29 when it comes to life. Right. And the difference... 33:32 I'm glad you said that because man was created in the image 33:35 of God... animals were not. 33:37 Man was formed from the dust of the ground. 33:39 Animals were not. Animals were just called into existence. 33:42 God said: "Let there be... " and the birds 33:44 and the creeping things and the animals 33:46 and the fish all came into being. 33:48 But God did something special. So when you said that 33:50 what is inside a man - what man is made of - 33:52 we are in fact created in the image of God. 33:55 But this whole ideology that we have something other than 33:58 the breath of God... In Job 27 verse 3 34:02 he says: "All the while my breath is in me 34:04 and the spirit of God is in my nostrils. " 34:06 So when we die, death is the opposite of life. 34:10 It's not the continuance of life somewhere else. 34:12 If a battery in my flashlight dies, I don't put it 34:15 in another flashlight somewhere else for it to burn. 34:18 It just doesn't fit in the real world 34:20 in the same way it doesn't fit in the spiritual world. 34:22 Life is life. Death is death. 34:26 Death is not another kind of life. 34:29 And when you think about that, we have to really 34:31 break that down. Death is not life in another form. 34:34 Death is not life in another place. 34:37 I don't know where we get that idea from. 34:39 Death means death. Look at this: 34:42 two fingers... no fingers. Zero... one. 34:46 The opposite all together. 34:47 Well, and when you have someone burning in hell forever 34:50 being kept alive, not only are you making God a torturer - 34:53 we'll deal with that issue here shortly - 34:55 but you're saying that they have eternal life. 34:59 In hell, granted, but it's still eternal life. 35:02 Look at Psalm 146. 35:04 Verse 4? Verse 4. OK, go for it. 35:07 "His spirit departs; he returns to his earth. In that very day 35:12 his plans or thoughts perish. " 35:15 That's describing the King James version. 35:17 That's right. So the exact reverse occurs 35:19 from the creation of Adam and man 35:22 when we die. The exact opposite occurs. 35:25 And notice... So that spirit - which is the breath - 35:28 that's right - returns. In fact, I believe 35:30 if I'm right the Revised Standard Version uses 35:35 breath here. As a matter of fact even the King James version says 35:39 "His breath goes forth; he returns to his earth. " 35:43 And I want to stop and not run past that. 35:45 "In that very day his thoughts perish. " 35:49 You want to get that. Let's look at that. 35:51 "His breath goes forth... " It goes forth where? 35:54 Let's ask the question. 35:56 When a balloon... when you open a balloon 35:59 where does the air go? 36:01 Goes out. It mixes with all the other air. 36:04 And this sounds strange but in the very same way 36:09 when our breath goes forth - 36:11 you've got to get this - our breath is not taking 36:13 a piece of us or taking John the invisible version of John 36:18 to heaven or the soul version of John to heaven 36:21 because you've got to read the rest of the text. 36:23 "His breath goes forth; HE 36:26 returns - RETURNS - to his earth. " 36:31 We go back to where we came from. 36:33 We don't go back to heaven 36:35 because we didn't come from heaven. 36:37 God came from heaven. We are going to get there eventually 36:41 but we don't get there at death. 36:43 As a matter of fact, I was doing this topic and... 36:46 and I made it very clear because when Jesus talked to His 36:49 disciples He made it very clear to them 36:52 that where He's going they can't even go. 36:55 As a matter of fact, I'm looking at my notes here - 36:57 I got so excited about this topic. 36:59 Here it is: John chapter 7 verses 33 and 34. 37:04 I'm going to read it for you. 37:06 You can write it down or turn there with me. 37:08 John chapter 7 verses 33 and 34: 37:11 "Then Jesus said to them: 37:13 'I shall be with you a little while longer... ' " 37:17 So where is Jesus going to go? 37:19 "then I go to Him who sent Me. " 37:22 That is, to the Father. 37:24 But get this: 37:25 "You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am 37:30 you cannot come. " 37:32 You can't get there... you can't go there. 37:35 So the big question is, if we ever have any hope of going 37:38 to heaven: how are we going to get there? 37:41 But don't miss the text. He says: "Where I am 37:44 you cannot come. " But that's why we always read 37:47 John chapter 14 verse 3 that says: 37:50 "And I go and prepare a place for you 37:51 and I will come again and receive you to Myself 37:54 that where I am there you may be also. " 37:57 Notice the "where I am. " Exactly. 37:59 And... and there's an order of things. Right. 38:02 There's Christ preparing a place for us now - 38:04 that's right - and those who die they fall asleep in Jesus 38:08 and they wait as Job describes in chapter 14. 38:11 "I wait till my change comes. " 38:13 OK! All right. And then at the time - 38:17 the appropriate time - Jesus comes back, 38:18 calls His saints forward, and we return 38:22 or we go to heaven for the first time... all of us together. 38:25 In fact, I'm looking for this verse here. 38:28 I Corinthians. You can look up the other one there. 38:30 I Corinthians chapter 15? Yeah. 38:32 I Corinthians 15. Yeah, you're looking at it - verse 23. 38:36 OK, go for it. "Each one in his own order 38:39 Christ the first fruits... " 38:41 Well read the verse right before that. 38:42 Yeah, you're right, 'cause it's got the context of death there. 38:45 "For as in Adam all die 38:48 even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 38:52 But each one in his own order. 38:54 Christ the first fruits... " In other words, Christ goes first. 38:57 "Afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. " 39:00 Those who belong to Christ at His coming. 39:02 At His coming... not before that - right - 39:04 but when He comes back as He said in John chapter 14. 39:08 You know, what's amazing about this, John, is 39:11 to believe... There's a dear lady in this funeral 39:15 that I did recently here - OK - that said, 39:17 came up to me afterward. She said: "You know, I'm a 39:19 Christian and I understand what you were saying 39:20 but I still believe... I still believe that 39:24 there are Christians, there are people that they go to heaven. " 39:26 They need to pray the Thomas prayer. 39:27 And I'm thinking: "You know what? We are determined 39:30 to hold onto traditions - 39:33 Lies! - and the philosophy that go back to 39:36 mysticism and Greek theology and other things that, you know, 39:40 were from secular arenas, that were Satanic actually. 39:43 Yeah, Neo-Platonism. We hold onto these Satanic 39:47 teachings, his deceptions, just to hold onto traditions 39:50 in our church when we don't even realize 39:52 that these false teachings have come into the church 39:54 and we've bought them hook, line, and sinker. 39:58 And... And the confusion starts because of a couple few verses 40:04 that are quoted from pastors that appear to say 40:08 to call into question: "Does the soul really die? " 40:12 And you know what? That is Satan. He is twisting the Word. 40:17 Because you have to... You may find 2 or 3 texts 40:20 that might appear to say that maybe someone goes to heaven 40:24 before Christ comes back to get them - 40:26 hmm - but you have to ignore 40:29 hundreds of texts that say very clearly 40:34 that it's not possible. Right. You really have to 40:37 say to yourself... Have to ignore hundreds that say 40:39 you can't to adopt those 2 or 3 that might indicate 40:43 a question as to whether or not they do. 40:46 That twists things. 40:48 One of the examples, for example, is 40:51 Ecclesiastes 9 verse 5. 40:53 "For the living know that they will die 40:55 but the dead know not anything. 40:58 Also their love and their hatred and their envy 41:02 is now perished. Nevermore will they have a portion 41:05 forever in anything that is done under the sun. " 41:08 Then verse 10... Ecclesiastes 9 verse 10. 41:11 "Whatsoever your hands find to do, 41:14 do it with your might. " And get this part: 41:16 "For there is no work 41:18 nor knowledge nor wisdom 41:22 in the grave... " And get this: 41:24 "where you are going. " 41:27 Can a text be so clear? Yeah. 41:29 "Where you are going. " 41:32 Because the big question is: "What happens and where do we go 41:34 when we die? " We go to the grave 41:36 "where you are going. " 41:38 The grave Job said, and you just said that a moment ago, 41:41 "The grave is my house. 41:43 If I wake, the grave is my house. 41:45 I'll make my bed in dust. " 41:48 But pastor, you know, I'm reading the Bible 41:51 and I... clearly it says "to be absent from the body 41:55 is to be present with the Lord. " 41:56 Let me hit that on the head, OK? 41:58 You know? I mean, I can see that. It says right here. Look. 42:01 II Corinthians chapter 5. "I'm well pleased, " Paul said, 42:05 "to be absent from the body and to be present 42:07 with the Lord. " See! When I leave my body 42:10 I go to be with the Lord. " 42:11 So how are you going to answer me? 42:12 Oh, that's an easy one. 42:14 Matter of fact, friends, let's go ahead and read that together. 42:16 I'm excited about that one. I did some homework on that 42:19 and I really appreciate what the Bible says about it. 42:21 It's so clear... It's so clear it's clear. 42:25 It's so clear you can see it. 42:26 It's so clear it's clearer than my glasses. 42:29 Besides I need to clean these glasses. 42:31 These are over-the-counter cheap glasses. 42:34 There was a time when these things were fashion statements. 42:36 Now they are necessities. OK, here we are: 42:38 I Corinthians... Well, II Corinthians 5... 42:43 There's one in I Corinthians 5 but let's go to 42:45 II Corinthians 5 and we're going to see the story. 42:48 And what you have to notice - what you must notice, brethren - 42:52 is that nowhere in the verse at all do you find 42:56 death talked about. 42:59 Nowhere is death even mentioned as the avenue to heaven. 43:05 Jesus made it very clear: 43:07 you go to the grave and you wait there. 43:09 OK. I'm going to read the whole story. 43:10 And we're going to break it down because this is one that I like 43:12 to... You're going to have to do it quickly because we're... 43:14 verses 6 to 8: 43:16 All right. OK. Are you ready? Here we go. 43:20 But we have to... but we have to read the whole story 43:24 and then we end at verse 8, OK? 43:26 "For we know... " verse 1 of chapter 5 II Corinthians: 43:32 "For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, 43:37 is destroyed we have a building from God. 43:41 A house, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. " 43:47 So you have to ask yourself initially: 43:48 the tent which is speaking of the body - right - 43:52 when that mortal body... 'cause that's all we have 43:56 is mortality. We don't have an immortal body. Right. 43:58 When we have a mortal, corruptible body, 44:01 when we lose that one - it's destroyed - 44:02 Paul seems to be indicating here that we have 44:06 a better one for us. 44:10 You want to see what the better one is talked about here? 44:12 I Corinthians chapter 15. 44:14 He says... I Corinthians chapter 15 44:18 and I'm going to go ahead and read it very clearly here. 44:20 Verse 40: "There is also a celestial body 44:26 and terrestrial body. But the glory of the celestial 44:30 is one and the glory of the terrestrial is another. " 44:33 Now here's the other one: 44:35 Verse 44: 44:38 Verse 42... "So also is the resurrection of the dead. 44:43 The body is sown in corruption and is raised in incorruption. " 44:46 It's raised. There you go. 44:48 There's got to be a resurrection to have an incorrupted body. 44:51 Exactly. And it does make it very clear - verse 47: 44:54 "The first man was of the earth made of dust. 44:57 The second Man is the Lord from heaven. " 44:59 "As was... " verse 48 of I Corinthians 15... 45:03 "As was the man of dust 45:06 so also are those who are made of dust. 45:09 And as the Heavenly Man, so also are those who 45:14 are heavenly. AND as we have borne the image of the man 45:19 of dust we shall also bear the image of the Heavenly Man. " 45:24 And that's when he talks about "we shall not all sleep 45:27 but we shall all be changed. " 45:28 But let's get back to "absent from the body. " 45:30 Going to go through this very quickly. 45:31 Back to II Corinthians chapter 5. 45:34 So John is saying... So Paul is saying here 45:36 "Yes we have this earthly house. 45:38 It's going to be removed one day. " 45:39 But what's the present condition? 45:41 Look at verse 2 of II Corinthians chapter 5. 45:43 "For in this we groan: earnestly desiring to be clothed 45:48 with our habitation which is from heaven. " 45:50 That's our greatest desire. 45:51 We just really want this eternal body. 45:53 That's what we want more than anything else. 45:55 But notice, let's go on further. Verse 3: 45:57 "If indeed having been clothed we shall not be found naked. 46:02 For we who are in this tent groan... " 46:06 That's the problems and challenges of this life. 46:08 "being burdened. Not because we want to be unclothed 46:13 but rather clothed, that mortality may be swallowed 46:18 up by life. " OK. And you know what, John? 46:21 In the New American Standard... 46:23 the New Living Translation... 46:24 could I read that verse one more time? 46:26 You're going to make a comment. Don't lose your thought, 46:27 but I'm going to read verse 4 again. 46:29 In the New Living Translation second edition 46:32 they make it so clear. 46:33 "While we live in these earthly bodies we groan and sigh. 46:38 But it's not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies 46:42 that clothe us... "Rather we want to put on 46:45 our new bodies so that these dying bodies 46:48 will be swallowed up by life. " 46:50 And you know... And just to further that, 46:52 there is no place in scripture anywhere in the Bible 46:56 that says that somebody is in spirit form. 47:00 A person, an individual, is in a spirit, immortal form. 47:03 Nowhere. Not one. Not one. 47:05 It just doesn't happen. There are stories of Enoch, 47:08 Moses, and Elijah: specifically individuals who were taken 47:12 to heaven... each in a different way. 47:14 But they were taken in the immortal, incorruptible 47:19 body form... their heavenly body form. 47:22 Because without the body they don't exist. 47:25 So... So now here's the answer. 47:27 Thank you for that. Here's the answer. 47:29 Now let's go ahead and read the verses that are the question. 47:33 Verse 5 of II Corinthians 5: 47:36 "Now He who has prepared for us this very thing is God 47:39 who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. " 47:42 Notice: this is the guarantee we have. 47:45 We don't get it at death; 47:46 we get this at the coming of the Lord. 47:48 Watch this... here is the key: 47:50 "Therefore we are always confident 47:52 knowing that while we are at home in the body 47:55 we are absent from the Lord. 47:56 We walk by faith, not by sight. " 47:59 Why does it say: "we walk by faith, not by sight? " 48:01 Because one day our faith will become sight. 48:04 Right now we are walking by faith. 48:05 We have a guarantee that that's what's going to be 48:07 but right now it's just a statement of faith. 48:09 And here's the point. Verse 23: 48:12 "We are confident yes, well pleased rather, 48:15 to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. " 48:18 What Paul is in essence saying is that while we are at home 48:21 in this life with all the troubles, we never look 48:23 forward to the day when we will be present with the Lord. 48:26 If we are comfortable - let me just paraphrase it this way 48:28 as he says it here - if we are comfortable being in this form, 48:32 if this is the last stop for us, 48:35 we'll never be absent from this body... 48:38 we'll never be present with the Lord. " 48:40 And that's the distinguishing part there. 48:43 If you're absent from the Lord it doesn't mean you're not 48:46 abiding in Him. It simply means you're absent in proximity. 48:51 That's it. You're not in heaven where He resides. 48:55 Right. And to be present with the Lord in verse 8 48:58 when you finally get rid of your mortal body 49:01 you will live in heaven to be in His presence. 49:04 That's all this is talking about. 49:06 It's not talking about an immediate transition 49:09 from being absent or shedding the body to being... 49:11 to appearing before the Lord. 49:13 It doesn't even mention death in that respect. Not at all. 49:16 As a matter of fact, Philippians 3 49:19 Paul makes this clear. And by the way, 49:21 I Corinthians 15 Paul already addressed the entire issue 49:23 of death and the resurrection in I Corinthians chapter 15. 49:26 He wrote a second letter, and the second letter is this 49:30 passage people often use to try to confuse 49:32 the entire ideology. 49:34 But here's what Paul further says in Philippians 3:20-21. 49:37 Because friends, one day we are going to be immortal. 49:40 One day we are going to be absent from the body: 49:43 this mortal, corruptible body that dies. 49:45 The one with grey hair 49:47 someone who reminded me so fittingly had. 49:49 The one with contact lenses. 49:50 We are going to be absent from this decaying, dying body. 49:54 One day we will be, but here's when it's going to happen. 49:57 Look at Philippians 3 verses 20 and 21: 49:59 And read that for us, John. Don't rush through it. 50:01 Do you have it? Or should I go ahead and read it? 50:03 You read it, I don't have it. OK. 50:05 I'm going to walk through it very quickly. 50:07 Philippians 3 verses 20 and 21. 50:10 Here is the beautiful pattern that the Lord has set for us: 50:16 "For our citizenship is in heaven 50:18 from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior 50:23 the Lord Jesus Christ. " 50:25 And get this... read verse 21, John. 50:28 "Who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed 50:32 to His glorious body according to the working 50:35 by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. " 50:39 He's going to transform our lowly bodies - 50:41 this terrible body - that it may be conformed to His glorious 50:44 body. We are waiting for Him to do that. 50:48 We are not in heaven where He is doing this. Right. 50:50 That's why it says our citizenship is there. 50:53 We're not there yet! Our citizenship is there. 50:55 That's why Paul says: "From which we also 50:58 eagerly wait for the Savior the Lord Jesus Christ. " 51:01 We're waiting for Him. He's there... we're waiting for Him. 51:04 And that's where Job says "until my... " He's waiting for 51:07 his change to come - There you go! - 51:09 change from mortality to immortality. 51:12 And that always includes the bodily change... 51:14 never just a transitional spirit. 51:17 So this is important to remember: 51:19 we've got a multitude of other texts to cover - 51:21 right - on this subject that we can't fit into this program. 51:24 But it does get us one place. 51:27 You're wanting to read another one, aren't you? 51:29 Just one more. But just go ahead. 51:32 No is the answer. 51:35 But this helps us to move to the next subject which is 51:38 very much related. Because those who believe that the soul 51:42 is immortal, that it exists forever 51:44 and can be separate from the body, 51:47 also believe that the soul is going to... 51:51 per... or to suffer throughout eternity in the fires of hell. 51:56 Right. And that God Himself will keep them alive 52:00 in their spirit form to be tortured in hell forever. 52:05 Now, this is where we get into our next, our fourth... 52:08 fourth of our Top Ten Counterfeits. 52:13 OK. The devil is running a smear campaign on God's character. 52:17 That's right. He's been trying from the very beginning 52:20 to get God to appear what He is not. 52:23 That He is harsh and exacting. 52:25 That He... In fact, even in our insurance terms we call these 52:29 disasters "acts of God. " 52:32 When people die, we say "God took him or her. " 52:36 All these things we connect... the devil's connected with God. 52:39 It's as somehow God wants us to die 52:41 or wants to... people to suffer. 52:45 And that is simply not the case! 52:48 OK. And so the reason why it's connected to this immortality 52:52 of the soul is because we make out God to be a torturer. 52:56 Because the definition of torture is keeping alive 52:59 to administer pain. Right? Right. 53:01 That's right. That's the definition of torture. 53:03 When you keep someone alive to administer pain or inflict pain 53:07 on purpose on somebody. And that's what God would be. 53:10 We even as Americans don't ever want to be perceived as 53:14 torturers. No, we don't. And yet we assign, relegate God 53:17 to being a torturer of souls in hell forever 53:21 if they don't follow Him. 53:22 Matter of fact, I want to just hit two texts very quickly - 53:25 go ahead - that shows that the soul is not an eternal property. 53:27 Ezekiel 18:4: "The soul who sins shall die. " 53:32 Boom. I just gave the last part of that. 53:35 "All souls are mine. The soul of the father, 53:36 the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins shall die. " 53:40 Boom. Point: the soul can die. 53:42 That's the first point. But now this is the passage, John. 53:45 Remember we just read II Corinthians 5 53:48 which is a favorite passage. "Absent from the body. " 53:50 That's the one that people like to twist. 53:51 Here's another one that people like to use, 53:54 and this one actually is the worst text to try to use 53:57 to try to talk about the soul being eternal. 53:59 This is the worst text to use to try to make the soul out 54:02 to be something eternal. And here's the part that they like: 54:05 Matthew 10:28. 54:07 Matthew 10 verse 28. 54:09 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot 54:13 kill the soul. " They stop right there and say: 54:17 "See, the soul can't die. " 54:19 Keep reading. You want to read the second half for me, John? 54:22 Just so they can get a change of voice? 54:24 "But rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul 54:28 and body in hell. " 54:30 Can the soul be destroyed? Absolutely. OK. 54:33 Soul and body. Now what does that mean if the soul and body 54:36 are talked about as separate here? 54:37 This means the conscious part of man, 54:40 the record of man, the intelligence of man - 54:43 the wholeness of man - the wholeness... everything 54:46 is destroyed. There is no... nothing surviving 54:50 that destruction. The lake of fire... 54:52 nothing is going to survive that. 54:53 That's why the Bible says, that they will be as though they 54:58 had not been. " That's right. 55:00 In other words, what ever happened to so and so? 55:01 Who? They'll be as though they had not been. 55:04 The soul and the body will be destroyed in hell. 55:07 That means the conscious, the intelligence. 55:09 But today the reason why it says "don't fear those 55:12 who are able to kill the body... " 55:13 Some people have been hung, burned at the stake, 55:17 head cut off, but they will come forth in the resurrection 55:20 because man does not have the ability to stop you from coming 55:24 forth in the resurrection. Only God can do that! 55:27 They can kill you now. They can destroy your mortality - 55:29 right - who you are, but they cannot destroy 55:33 everything you are in Christ 55:35 because that is the whole person and that is what's referred to 55:37 here in the soul. They can't keep you from 55:39 receiving the gift of immortality. 55:41 They could kill you now. They could dissect. 55:44 They could do all kinds of torturous things, but they can't 55:46 stop you from coming forth in the resurrection. 55:48 But they also quote this text from Revelation 20 verse 10. 55:51 "The devil who deceived them were cast into the lake of fire 55:53 and brimstone where the beast and false prophet are. 55:56 And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. " 55:58 OK. So what is this referring to? 56:02 "They are tormented day and night forever and ever. " 56:04 Some call it everlasting - torment - fire. 56:09 Or eternal torment or, you know, whatever different words 56:13 are used to describe this thing here. 56:16 OK. But it's not what it appears. 56:17 Well, let's hit that one on the head. 56:19 in the very same way you read in the Bible 56:21 that Sodom and Gomorrah... Jude chapter 1, there's only 56:24 one chapter - "As Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around 56:27 them in similar manner to these 56:29 having given themselves over to sexual immorality 56:32 gone after strange flesh are set forth as an example 56:36 suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. " 56:40 Notice eternal fire talked about there. 56:41 But when you go to Genesis where the story is talked about 56:44 in Genesis chapter 19 you see clearly there 56:46 Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed. Right. 56:50 OK. So here is the point, brethren. 56:52 Unless you have eternal life, you can't burn eternally. 56:56 "The wages of sin is death; 56:58 the gift of God is eternal life. " 56:59 And eternal life is not a gift to the wicked. 57:03 And the fire that is "unquenchable" 57:05 is unquenchable not because it lasts forever but because 57:08 it cannot be put out. By us. 57:11 We cannot put it out; it's unquenchable. 57:12 You cannot quench it. But when its done its work 57:15 it will go out. Right! It's eternal fire 57:18 in that its effects are eternal not that it lasts forever. 57:22 Not the process. This is how the devil uses it. 57:25 The devil takes these things and he counterfeits them. 57:27 He twists them to benefit him 57:29 in his attack against God Himself and His character 57:33 and people within the church... There are ministers today that 57:36 have bought it and they teach it. 57:38 That's right. They're saying to you that you need eternal 57:40 life or else you're going to burn forever, they're saying 57:41 you'll have eternal life in hell or eternal life in heaven. 57:44 No, you'll have... You'll be separated from God forever 57:47 or you'll be with God forever. 57:49 There is no middle ground. Eternal life is a gift 57:52 to only one class of people. And today 57:54 you can receive eternal life by making Jesus Christ 57:57 the Lord of your life. Friends, make that decision today. 58:00 God bless you. |
Revised 2014-12-17