Participants: Pr. Taj Pacleb
Series Code: ROHB
Program Code: ROHB000010
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00:39 Our message is entitled, "Can the Dead Speak to Us?"
00:42 In this topic we're going to expose from God's word 00:45 the devil's deadly deceptions, 00:48 lovely lies and confusing counterfeits. 00:52 And friends, the reason why this is important 00:54 because there's many different ideas 00:56 and there's a lot of confusion about what happens at death. 01:00 Many people believe that when a person dies 01:02 they become a spirit or they go 01:05 and wander around through this world 01:07 looking for a resting place. 01:08 They go to the spirit world or they become a ghost 01:11 or they go on live with their ancestors 01:13 that have passed away before. 01:15 Other people believe that when a person dies 01:18 they are reincarnated into another form of life 01:23 or they come back to give messages to the living. 01:26 Many eastern religions like Buddhism and Confucianism 01:29 and Hinduism believe in reincarnation. 01:32 They reincarnated into another form of life 01:34 whether it be a human life or even an animal life, 01:36 depending on the karma, 01:38 depending on how you lived your life in that lifetime. 01:41 Most Christians however believe that when a person dies 01:44 they go straight to heaven or hell 01:46 and then there are others who believe that 01:47 they go to a mid place call purgatory. 01:50 Then there are others who believe that 01:51 when you die you go into the ground, 01:53 the grave and there you rest until the resurrection of Jesus, 01:58 the resurrection when Jesus comes. 02:00 And then there are a lot of others 02:01 who don't believe in life after death. 02:03 Atheist who said that there's no such thing, 02:05 that all we have is this life 02:06 and after we die that's it, the end. 02:10 So we see that there's a lot of confusion 02:12 even in the Christian world 02:14 about where people go when they die 02:16 and what exactly happens after death. 02:19 So with all these conflicting ideas 02:20 the question we need to answer tonight 02:22 is what really happens when a person dies? 02:25 Can the dead speak to us 02:26 and can the living communicate with the dead? 02:29 You see, since the very beginning of time 02:31 Satan tried to confuse man about death. 02:33 In fact, did you notice that his very first lie 02:36 that Satan told was concerning what happens at death. 02:40 God said to Adam and Eve, do not partake of this fruit 02:43 for in the day that you eat thereof 02:46 you shall surely, what? 02:48 Die. 02:49 God made it clear that sin result in death not life. 02:55 But then the serpent came 02:56 and said something different than what God said. 02:59 Notice what Genesis 3:4, 5 says, 03:02 "And the serpent said unto the woman, 03:03 ye shall not surely die." 03:07 Here Satan puts a question mark where God had placed a period. 03:10 God said you are going to die but the serpent said, 03:12 you won't surely die. 03:14 Well, what's gonna happen then? 03:16 It continues. 03:18 "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, 03:20 then your eyes shall be" what? 03:23 "Opened, and ye shall be as gods, 03:26 knowing good and evil." 03:27 Here Satan contradicts the word of God, 03:30 he says, "You won't surely die." 03:32 In other words, you will die but not surely 03:35 but rather your eyes are gonna be open. 03:36 You are gonna be like God, 03:38 you gonna know more just like God. 03:40 In others, Eve, death is not as bad 03:42 as God has made it out to be. 03:45 Eve, you will die but not surely. 03:48 You see, Eve's death is simply one phase of existence 03:52 to much higher exalted phase of existence. 03:55 You see, when you die your body may die 03:57 but your soul will live on in consciousness, 03:59 your eyes are going to be open. 04:02 In other words, Eve, you are gonna see things 04:04 that you've never seen before. 04:07 Death is not the end. 04:09 The body dies but the soul lives in a state of conscious. 04:12 You will be just like God knowing good and evil. 04:17 And friends, this is the origin 04:19 of the doctrine of the immortal soul. 04:22 The doctrine of the what? 04:24 The teaching that says that when you die your body dies 04:27 but your soul lives on in consciousness 04:31 because the soul is immortal. 04:32 That's exactly what the serpent was saying 04:35 as he lied to our first parents. 04:38 And by the way friends, 04:39 almost every religion believes in this doctrine, 04:42 the doctrine of the immortal soul. 04:44 And how do I know that? 04:45 You see, it will be hard for me to find someone 04:48 that is willing to walk through a cemetery, 04:50 12'o clock midnight on Friday 13. 04:55 Do you know, why people are not comfortable doing that? 04:58 Because everyone knows 04:59 that the people in the cemetery are dead 05:02 but maybe not surely dead. 05:06 They are not sure. 05:07 They are dead-- they died but maybe not surely dead. 05:12 They believe-- most people believe 05:13 that the dead are conscious 05:16 or they are able to communicate and scare the living. 05:20 And friends, this is the original spiritualism, 05:23 this is the devil's doctrine. 05:24 In fact, I want you to notice the Fox sisters-- in New York, 05:28 they are the ones that began 05:30 to hear sounds of rapping's and other things 05:33 and this was the birthplace of modern spiritualism. 05:35 And the basic fundamental foundational 05:38 belief in spiritualism is that there is no death 05:42 and there are no dead. 05:45 In other words, your body dies 05:47 but your soul lives on in consciousness 05:49 that you will not surely die. 05:54 This is the foundational principal 05:55 of all pagan religions. 05:56 In fact, notice what this one spiritualist said 05:59 in a book about spiritualism, 06:02 "The fundamental principle of spiritualism 06:04 is that human beings survive" 06:06 what? "Bodily death. 06:08 And that occasionally, under conditions 06:10 not yet fully understood, 06:11 we can communicate with those who have gone before." 06:14 So what are the foundational principals 06:15 of spiritualism Satanic worship 06:18 is that when a person dies they do not really die. 06:23 They survive bodily death. 06:25 And friends, this belief paves the way 06:29 for demons in disguise to come to deceive people. 06:32 And friends, they acknowledge 06:33 that this is the devil's doctrine 06:35 and they even quote the serpent 06:38 as the originator of this doctrine. 06:40 I want you to notice 06:41 what another spiritualist have to say, 06:42 "Spiritualism says that the dead know more than" who? 06:48 "Then the living. 06:49 'And the serpent said unto the woman, 06:51 you shall not surely die.' 06:53 In this, as in many other Bible passages, 06:56 the Devil told the truth and the Lord is in error." 07:00 You see, those who believe in spiritualism 07:01 they acknowledge that this came directly from the serpent. 07:05 That when the serpent said, you won't surely die, 07:07 that he was actually telling the truth. 07:10 And friends, while this may sound shocking to us 07:14 did you know that almost every Christian church 07:16 is saying the exact same thing. 07:21 How do I know? Well, friends, think about it. 07:23 What do most Christians believes happens when a person dies? 07:26 Where did they go? 07:28 Straight to heaven or hell, isn't that right? 07:31 And friends, if that were true, 07:33 if it's true that when we die we go straight to heaven or hell 07:36 then that would mean 07:37 that the dead know more than the living. 07:42 Because, if you died and went straight to heaven 07:44 that means you would know 07:45 more than just what took place in this world, 07:48 you would also know what's taking place in heaven. 07:50 In Revelation 1:18 Jesus said, 07:53 "I am He that lives, and was dead, 07:55 and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen. 07:58 And have the keys of hell." 08:00 That's the Greek word Hades which means the grave. 08:03 What is it mean? Grave. 08:05 In other words, I have the keys 08:06 of the grave and of death. 08:07 In other words, friends, if anyone knows that happens 08:10 when a person dies surely it would be Jesus 08:12 because He experienced that first hand. 08:14 He died and rose again therefore He can tell us clearly 08:17 what really happens when a person dies. 08:19 Can you say, amen? 08:20 And so now we go to the words of Jesus in the Bible 08:23 to find out what really happens at death. 08:26 And so here's what I am gonna do tonight. 08:28 Before we can understand the mystery of death 08:32 we first must understand the equation of life. 08:38 Before we can understand the mystery of death 08:40 we first must understand what? 08:42 The equation of life. 08:43 And only when we can-- 08:44 when we can understand the equation of life 08:46 that is how God made us and what man made of, 08:50 when we can understand that clearly 08:52 it's only then that we can truly understand 08:55 what exactly happens when a person dies. 08:57 And so this is what we are going to do tonight. 08:58 We are gonna put the topic of death 09:00 on the side for a moment 09:02 and we're gonna pick up this topic 09:03 about how God made us, the equation of life. 09:07 And then we can understand that clearly, 09:09 we'll pick up death 09:10 and then we will make a logical congruent sense. 09:13 Are you with me, yes or no? 09:15 So I want you to notice now how did God make us? 09:18 What is the creation equation of life? 09:22 The Bible tells us in Genesis 2:7, 09:24 that God did not create us by speaking us into existence. 09:28 He created all things by His word except for man. 09:31 When it came to man He got in His hands and knees 09:34 and He formed us out of the dust 09:35 and the reason why is because action speaks louder than words. 09:39 God wanted the human race to realize that we are special 09:42 and we are not like the other animals 09:43 like evolution calls as man to think. 09:45 Notice what it says in Genesis 2:7, 09:48 "And the Lord God formed man of the" what? 09:52 "The dust of the ground, and breathed into his" what? 09:56 "Nostrils the breath of life, 09:59 and man became" man, what is that word? 10:03 "Became a living soul." 10:06 Friends, this is the creation equation of man, 10:09 it is essential for us to break this down 10:11 and understand it clearly before we can understand death. 10:15 How did God make us? 10:17 He took the dust of the earth to form the body of man 10:21 and after He got that body together 10:24 He then breath into the nostrils of man the life giving breath 10:29 and when He combines His breath with the dust, 10:33 when He brought these two elements together, 10:35 the Bible says that man became a living soul. 10:40 I emphasize the word became 10:42 because it does not say that man was given a soul, 10:45 man became a soul. 10:47 Man, what? Became. 10:49 Because what is a soul? 10:51 The soul is simply the combination of the dust 10:54 and the breath of the God. 10:55 Here it is friends, the creation equation of man. 10:57 You can write this down, God took the dust, 11:01 He added His life giving breath 11:03 and as a result these two things equal a living soul. 11:07 And friends, a living soul is simply a living person. 11:11 Note very carefully friends, that man was not given a soul 11:15 as if the soul is type of spiritual entity inside of you 11:19 but it says that man became a living soul 11:23 because of the dust and the breath 11:25 man became a living soul. 11:27 Is that's clear so far would you please say, amen? 11:29 Now here's what's important tonight. 11:32 The confusion about death 11:35 lies in the confusion of terminology. 11:38 The confusion of death lies in the confusion of what? 11:41 Terminology, in other words 11:42 what words means the definition of words. 11:45 And so is we can define terms, 11:48 if we can define words clearly from the Bible 11:51 then the confusion of death 11:52 is going to be dispelled from our minds. 11:55 And so this is what we're gonna do. 11:57 We want to find out what exactly is the soul? 12:00 What exactly is the dust 12:02 and what exactly is the breath? 12:04 Let's first start with the soul. 12:05 What is the soul? 12:07 Many people think that soul is something inside of you 12:09 that flees your body at death and lives in a state 12:13 of consciousness and immortality. 12:15 But friends, let's find out 12:16 what the Bible tells us about the soul. 12:18 If you look at the word soul in the original Hebrew language 12:21 it's the word Nephesh. 12:22 Can you say that? Nephesh. 12:24 And the word Nephesh literally means 12:26 a living being, person or creature. 12:29 In other words, you don't have a soul inside of you 12:32 but you are a soul. 12:34 Man became a living soul. 12:36 Notice how the Bible uses the word soul 12:38 in the Book of Acts 2:41, 12:42 this is on the day of Pentecost. 12:43 Peter preached, 3,000 people are baptized 12:46 but notice what it says, 12:48 Acts 2:41 "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized, 12:52 and that day about three thousand souls 12:55 were added to them." 12:56 Now the Bible tells us 3,000 souls were added, 12:58 does that mean that 3,000 spiritualistic entities 13:00 entered inside of people? 13:02 What is it mean when it says 3,000 souls 13:04 were added to them? 13:05 It simply means 3,000 people. 13:07 Three thousand people were baptized 13:08 and became members of the church. 13:10 Have you ever used the expression, 13:12 "oh, you poor soul." 13:14 Oh, you poor soul, have you ever said that before? 13:16 What do you mean when you say you poor soul? 13:18 Are you talking about something inside of the person 13:20 or are you talking about the person? 13:23 You are talking about the person 13:24 and that's how the Bible uses this word, 13:26 it's referring to the person, the living being. 13:29 In fact you can also right down 13:30 Acts 7:14 and Acts 27:37 13:33 and over and over again in the Bible 13:35 a soul is not something that you have, 13:37 it is something that you are. 13:39 Not something that is in you, but something that is you. 13:41 And if this is clear would you please say, amen? 13:44 So we are souls. 13:46 Now the next question is this, can the soul die? 13:50 Satan says no, you won't surely die. 13:52 Your soul is going to continue living in immortality. 13:55 But can the soul die? 13:57 Oh, all you have you do is ask the question, can you die? 14:01 So if you are a soul and if you can die, 14:04 can the soul die yes or no? 14:06 And that's exactly the Bible teaches. 14:07 Notice what it says in the Book of Ezekiel 18:4, write it down. 14:11 And by the way friends, you are about to get 14:13 at least 40 scriptures tonight from Genesis to Revelation 14:16 so that we can have a clear understanding. 14:18 We are not gonna build a doctrine one or two verses 14:20 but what the entire Bible has to say 14:23 concerning this topic. 14:24 Can you say, amen? Amen. 14:25 And that's the only way we can know what truth is. 14:27 Look at all other verses, put then together 14:28 and compare them and read the context. 14:31 And so notice the Bible is clear, the soul dies. 14:33 Ezekiel 18:4, "Behold, all souls are Mine, 14:37 as the soul of the father, 14:38 so also the soul of the son is Mine, 14:40 and the soul that sins, it shall live forever." 14:44 Is that what it says? Does the soul live forever? 14:47 The soul that sin, it shall die. 14:50 Why, because the wages of sin is death. 14:53 And how many have sinned 14:54 and fallen short of the glory of the God? 14:56 All have sinned therefore all of us 14:58 are subject to death. 15:00 You see friends, 15:01 man is not immortal, man is mortal. 15:04 Subject to death because of sin 15:07 and the soul is referring to you and me 15:10 not something that is inside of you. 15:12 In fact notice, this same verse in other translations 15:16 make the soul or pointing out that the soul 15:18 is talking about the whole person. 15:20 Notice in today's English version, 15:21 the verse in Ezekiel 18:4 says, 15:23 "The person who sins is the one who will die." 15:26 Why, because the soul is the person. 15:28 In the living Bible it says, 15:29 "It is for man's own sin that he will die." 15:32 Because the soul, that's you. 15:34 And then in the New American Standard Bible, 15:36 "The soul (person) who sins will die." 15:41 What is the soul? 15:42 It's simply you, not something in you 15:44 but it is you. 15:46 And if that's clear would you please say, amen? 15:48 In fact in the King James Bible 15:50 he uses the word soul over 1,600 times 15:53 but never once you finds the expression 15:55 the immortal soul in the Bible 15:57 because the soul is not immortal 15:59 only God is immortal. 16:01 In fact, notice in 1 Timothy 6:15, 16 the Bible says, 16:06 "The King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, Who only hath" what? 16:12 And that word immortality means can not die. 16:14 Who is the only one that can not die? 16:16 God, friends. 16:17 Why, because He has life in Himself. 16:20 He's the source of life. 16:22 But man, friends, derives his life from God. 16:26 You see, our life 16:28 is not something that we have in ourselves, 16:30 it is only a gift from God. 16:32 But remember what the serpent said to Eve, 16:34 if you sin you will be like God 16:38 and God is immortal. 16:40 In other words, if you sin you are gonna be immortal. 16:42 And if you are immortal then you don't need God 16:45 and that's exactly what Satan wants people to believe 16:48 in this doctrine of the immortal soul 16:50 that most pagan, all pagan in fact 16:52 and most Christian churches believe and teach. 16:56 And so let's walk through this together as we review. 16:59 We are taking our time with this 17:00 so we can have a clear understanding. 17:02 What is the creation equation of man? 17:04 God took the dust of the ground 17:07 to form the body, the physical body of man 17:10 and then breathe into the nostrils 17:13 His-- what? Breath, His life giving breath. 17:16 So when God took the dust 17:17 He added His breath. 17:19 These two things together equals a living soul 17:23 which is simply a living person. 17:26 If it's clear so far would you please say, amen? 17:29 Now here' the next question, and everything hinges on this. 17:32 Friends, listen, this is where the confusion creeps in. 17:34 Here' the question, 17:36 is the breath a part of the soul? 17:41 Yes or no? 17:42 Listen to the question, 17:44 is the breath a part of the soul? 17:47 Yes or no? Yes, at least 50%, right? 17:51 We all agree that the breath is at least a part of the soul. 17:56 But now here's the next question, 17:58 is the breath the same thing as the soul? 18:04 Is the breath the same thing as the soul? 18:08 Yes or no? The answer is no, friends. 18:11 And that's' where the confusion creeps in. 18:13 Many people think that the breath 18:15 and the soul are synonyms but its not. 18:19 The breath is a part of the soul 18:21 but it is not the soul, 18:24 you are the soul and I am the soul. 18:27 The breath is simply a part of us. 18:28 And so now the next question is this, 18:30 what is the breath of life? What is the breath? 18:35 Let's take a look at the Bible, 18:36 in the Book of Job 27:3, the Bible says, 18:39 "All the while my breath is in me, and the" what? 18:43 "Spirit of God is" where? 18:45 But what did God breath into the nostrils of man? 18:47 His breath. 18:49 But this says the spirit of God is in my nostrils. 18:51 Do you know why? 18:52 Because the breath and the spirit are synonyms. 18:56 What God breath into our nostrils 18:58 was His life giving breath or His life giving spirit? 19:02 In fact, notice another one, in the Book of Job 33:4, 19:05 the Bible says, "The spirit of God hath made me" 19:09 what hath made us? 19:10 The spirit. 19:11 "And the breath of the Almighty 19:13 hath given me" what? 19:15 "Life." 19:16 And so we find that the word breath 19:18 and the word spirit and the word life are synonyms. 19:21 God gave to the ball of clay-- 19:24 I mean, the form of clay of our body 19:26 he gave a life by giving us the spirit 19:28 or His breath in out nostrils. 19:30 In fact, if you were to look up the word breath 19:32 in the original Hebrew it's the word Ruwach. 19:35 Can you say that? Ruwach. 19:37 You go to kind of bark it out, Ruwach. 19:39 And it literally means the spirit, breath, or the wind. 19:43 So what is the breath? 19:44 It's simply the spirit or it's the spark of life. 19:47 2 Corinthians 3:6 says, 19:50 that the spirit gives what? 19:53 So the breath or the spirit is the spark of life. 19:55 It's what cause the form that of a body 19:58 that clay, the dust to come to life. 20:00 Now that we understand the origin of life, 20:04 now we can understand the mystery of death. 20:06 You know why? 20:07 Because death is simply the life in reverse. 20:12 Notice what the Bible says happens when a person dies. 20:15 It says in the Book of Psalm 104:29, write it down. 20:19 "Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled, 20:21 thou takest away their" what? 20:23 "Breath," and what happens? 20:25 "They die, and return to their dust." 20:29 And so here we find three parts, 20:31 the breath, the soul and the body. 20:34 The bible tells us that when the breath 20:36 and the body separate we die. 20:39 The souls simply dies, 20:41 the body decomposes and goes back to dust when that happens. 20:45 In fact, notice another one, in the Book of Ecclesiastes 20:47 they says the same thing but little bit different. 20:49 Ecclesiastes 12:7 says, 20:52 "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was 20:55 and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." 20:58 When you die your body decomposes, 21:00 it goes back to dust. 21:02 The spirit goes back to God who gave it. 21:04 But does that mean that you back to God? 21:06 Are you the spirit? No, you are not the spirit. 21:09 What are you? 21:10 You are the soul, 21:11 the spirit is just a spark of life. 21:12 It's the breath. 21:14 The breath goes back to God who give it, 21:15 you know why, because there is no breath, 21:17 there is no life outside of God. 21:19 It simply goes back to the source, 21:20 but as for you, the soul, you simply die. 21:26 And I noticed another one, in Psalms 146:3, 4, 21:30 the bible says, "Put not your trust in princes, 21:33 nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. 21:35 His breath goes forth." 21:37 What happens when breath separates from the body? 21:39 "His breath goes forth, and he returns to his earth, 21:43 in that very day his thoughts" what? 21:46 "Perish." 21:47 So the bible tells us 21:48 that when the breath separates from the body 21:50 the souls simply dies. 21:51 The body decomposes from ashes to the ashes 21:53 and from dust to dust, right? 21:56 The breath goes back to God, 21:57 the life giving energy of God 21:59 and the soul simply perishes, it simply dies. 22:02 And then noticed another one in James 2:26, 22:05 it says that, "The body without the spirit is simply" what? 22:08 "Dead." 22:09 So there is no life, when the breath 22:11 and the body separate the soul simply dies. 22:14 It goes to the grave. 22:15 In fact, we can say it like this, 22:17 the body minus the breath 22:19 or separate from the breath of the life equals a dead soul 22:24 which is simply a dead, what? 22:26 Person. Person. 22:27 In fact, let me illustrate it like this. 22:28 If that's clear would you please say, amen? 22:30 Oh, but it's going to get clearer, don't worry. 22:32 What is that on the screen? 22:33 Now friends, tell me, 22:35 does the light bulb have light in 22:36 and of itself, yes or no? 22:38 No, it's just a shell, right? 22:40 In the same way this body is just a shell. 22:43 We do not have life in ourselves. 22:45 This body is just a shell, it's gonna turn to dust. 22:48 But what happens when we take the shell of the light bulb 22:51 and connect it to the power source? 22:53 What happen when we connect the shell to the power source? 22:56 We now have light. 22:59 In the same way when you connect the body, 23:00 the shell with the power source that breath of God, 23:04 that the spirit of God, we have a life. 23:07 We have a soul, a living soul. 23:10 That's what happens. 23:11 Now what happens when we disconnect the shell 23:16 from the power source? 23:17 What happens when we disconnect the shell from the power source? 23:20 The light simply goes out, right? 23:24 In the same way, 23:26 when this body is separated from the breath of God, 23:27 the soul the light simply goes out. 23:31 Now here is the next question, 23:32 where did the light go? 23:35 Where did it go? 23:36 Did it go to some light heaven 23:38 or light hell or light purgatory? 23:40 Where it go, friends? It's simply ceases to exist. 23:46 What happen is the electrical current goes back to the source 23:49 and now all you have is the shell 23:51 and where is the light? 23:52 It simply gone, it ceases to exist. 23:54 Well, what needs to happen in order for the light 23:56 to turn back on again, in the light bulb scenario? 23:58 We have to reconnect the shell with the power source 24:03 and as we do this, the light turns back on again. 24:07 And that's what death is like. 24:09 When the breath in the body separates 24:12 the light of your soul ceases to exist 24:16 except in the memory and the mind of God. 24:22 He, friends, is the keeper of our soul 24:26 and He has the power 24:27 to resurrect our soul back to life, how? 24:30 By reconnecting the body and the breath together, 24:34 but when would He reconnect the-- 24:35 when He's gonna turns on the light again? 24:37 Not at death but when He comes again 24:39 at the resurrection, its then 24:41 that the soul will be raised back the life. 24:44 Can you say, amen? Amen. 24:45 Notice what it says in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17, 24:48 "For the Lord himself shall 24:49 descend from heaven with a shout, 24:51 with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God 24:53 and the dead in Christ shall" what? 24:56 "Rise first. 24:58 Then we which are alive and remain 25:00 shall be caught up together 25:02 with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord" where? 25:05 "In the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 25:08 The Bible tells us that when a dies they go into the grave 25:10 and they remain there until the resurrection. 25:14 When the trump sounds, when the Lord Jesus comes, 25:16 the dead in Christ shell rise, 25:18 and then those who are living in the last days, 25:20 we who are alive will remain will be caught up with them 25:23 in the clouds to meet Jesus in the air. 25:25 On the great gathering in the morning 25:27 the trumpet is gonna sound, 25:28 the Lord is gonna give a shout, and it's gonna be so loud 25:31 that those who are sleeping in the graves are gonna wake up 25:33 and just like popcorn, popping on a shot stove 25:36 they are going to burst out of their tombs 25:38 and they are gonna ascend to meet the Lord in the air. 25:40 And its then that the soul in going to receive 25:42 a brand new immortal body, 25:45 a new computer you can say, to put the hard drive in. 25:48 And in 1 Corinthians 15:52, 53, the Bible says, 25:51 "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, 25:53 at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, 25:56 and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, 26:00 and we shall be changed, 26:01 for this corruptible must put on incorruption, 26:04 and this mortal must put on" what? 26:06 "Immortality." 26:07 Friends, when does the soul receive its immortality? 26:10 Not at death but at the resurrection, 26:13 at the last trump, when Jesus comes again 26:16 its then that we're going meet Him in the air. 26:19 And friends, don't miss that, 26:21 the Bible says, the dead in Christ are gonna rise, 26:23 then those who are living in the last days 26:25 will be caught up to meet them in the air 26:27 which shows that Jesus, 26:28 when He comes again is not gonna step foot on planet earth. 26:31 We're going to rise up to meet Him in the air. 26:34 And that's the reason why they say to you, 26:35 the Christ is in the desert, you know that that's not Christ. 26:38 If He's in the secret chamber, you know that, that's not Him, 26:41 because when He comes, we got to meet Him in the--- 26:44 Friends, that one of verse will save you 26:45 a lot of deception in the last days, 26:47 will spare you from deception in the last days. 26:50 Now friends, think about it, 26:52 let's say it was true 26:55 that when you die you go straight to heaven. 26:57 Let's say, husbands, you die and you go to heaven, 27:01 and from heaven you looking down upon the earth 27:05 and you see your wife and her heart is broken 27:09 because she doesn't have you with her anymore. 27:11 And she's weeping, her heart is broking, 27:13 she's so sad she misses you so much 27:16 and you just want to comfort her but you can't. 27:20 And you see her crying but as the years go on 27:25 suddenly she's not crying anymore. 27:29 Not as much as she used to at least. 27:32 And the few years after that goes by 27:34 and then you see your wife get remarried 27:39 and now she is sleeping with another man. 27:43 Friends, there's nothing wrong getting married 27:44 if you are a widow, the bible says you can. 27:47 But if it's true that you die, you go to heaven 27:49 and you see your wife has been with other man, 27:51 could you be happy in heaven in watching that? 27:53 Would you be at peace? 27:55 Absolutely not, that would be torture, amen. 28:00 And praise the Lord that that is not true, 28:02 that that's not how it's like. 28:05 What about parents? 28:06 Parents, let's say you die, you go to heaven. 28:07 From heaven you are looking down upon world, 28:09 you see your children and you see them doing drugs. 28:12 You see them wasting their lives. 28:14 Parent's, could you have peace in heaven 28:16 seeing the children waste their lives in the world? 28:19 Not at all, right? 28:20 But friends, heaven is a place of peace. 28:22 Heaven is a place where there is no tears, 28:23 no worry, no sorrow. 28:25 But if you are in heaven, you would have all of that 28:27 watching the terrible things that are taken in this world. 28:30 You see friends, you wouldn't find peace. 28:34 And praise God, 28:35 that the truth is so much better than the counterfeit. 28:38 Can you say, amen? Amen. 28:40 The truth is that when Jesus comes 28:41 the dead in Christ will rise 28:43 and then we which are alive, will be called with then 28:46 and we are gonna go to heaven together 28:48 at the same time to experience the surprise 28:51 and the bliss and the joy of heaven together. 28:54 You see, friends, your loved ones are all in a better place. 28:57 But if they were in heaven 28:58 that would not be a better place seeing you suffer. 29:01 The better place that your love ones are at 29:02 is in the grave resting and waiting 29:05 for the second coming of Jesus Christ 29:07 so that we can go to heaven together after same time. 29:11 And friends, if that's clear would you please say, amen? 29:13 It gets clear friends, don't worry, 29:14 we are gonna have more scriptures. 29:16 Notice what it says in Acts 2:34, 29:19 on the day of Pentecost Peter preached and he said, 29:21 "For David did not ascent into the heavens." 29:24 Now friends, if anyone should die 29:25 and go to heaven surely it would be David, 29:26 because David was a man after God's own heart. 29:28 But Peter said, David is a not in heaven. 29:31 Well, where is he, Peter? 29:32 In Verse 29, "Men and brethren, 29:34 let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, 29:37 that he is both dead and buried, 29:40 and is tomb is with us to this day." 29:43 We find brother and sisters, 29:44 that David as well as the other saints, 29:45 they died and they are buried in the grave 29:48 and they are waiting the resurrection 29:49 when Jesus comes again. 29:51 Now friends, we do know that there are some saints 29:54 that are in heaven today but none of them died 29:57 and went straight to. 29:58 Who is the first one we know that he is in heaven today, 30:01 the first person that went to heaven 30:02 that we know of? 30:03 His name is Enoch. Did Enoch die? 30:06 No, he was translated without seeing death. 30:10 God took him. 30:11 And the other person that was translated 30:12 without seeing death is Elijah, caught up in the fiery chariot. 30:16 He's in heaven, we know for sure 30:18 but we also know that there was another man 30:20 that's in heaven that did die, what is his name? 30:22 Moses. 30:24 We know that Moses did die, 30:25 the Bible is clear about that 30:27 and we know that Moses is in heaven today. 30:29 And the reason why we know that is 30:30 because in the Book of Matthew Chapter 17, 30:32 on the Mount of Transfiguration 30:34 we find Moses and Elijah speaking with Jesus 30:37 showing very clearly that they are in heaven today. 30:41 But Moses died but I want you to consider that 30:43 Moses did not die and go straight to heaven. 30:46 Moses died and was buried and he was resurrected, 30:50 resurrected early but still resurrected. 30:53 And the reason-- 30:54 the way in which we know this is in two verses. 30:56 Notice, write them down, look it up when you get home. 30:58 In Jude 1:9, in this passage we find the Lord Jesus 31:03 arguing with Satan over the deceased body of Moses. 31:08 And then the Bible says that the Lord rebuked him 31:10 which implies that the Lord would resurrect Moses. 31:13 Satan was saying, you can't resurrect him, he is a sinner. 31:16 But the Lord rebuked him and the Lord resurrected him. 31:19 And we also see that in Romans 5:14, write it down, 31:22 the bible says in Romans 5:14 that from Adam-- 31:26 it says that death reigned from Adam to Moses. 31:30 Death reigned from when? From Adam to Moses. 31:33 Which shows that after Moses death no longer reigned. 31:36 Do you know why? 31:37 Because Moses was the first one 31:39 that was resurrected from the grave. 31:41 Now here's the next question, 31:42 is there any consciousness in death? 31:44 In other words, when a person dies 31:45 and go to the grave are they there waiting 31:47 and just so bored out of their minds 31:49 and just can't wait for the resurrection. 31:51 Is that how it's like? Well, let's find out. 31:53 One day Jesus was teaching the disciples 31:55 when He received news that his friends Lazarus 31:57 was sick unto death. 31:58 He wasn't dead yet, he was sick. 32:00 Jesus did not go immediately to heal him. 32:02 He remained in the same place for two days. 32:04 And during that time period 32:05 the Bible says that Lazarus died from his sickness. 32:09 And then notice what Jesus said to the disciples, 32:11 in John 11:11-14. 32:14 Please write it down, very important verse, 32:16 "Jesus said unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleeps, 32:20 but I go that I may awake him out of sleep. 32:23 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well." 32:26 In other words, Jesus why you gonna wake him up, 32:27 he's sick, he need to get his rest. 32:30 He's doing good in sleeping. 32:32 And then notice, 32:33 "Howbeit Jesus spoke of his death, 32:37 but they thought that he had spoken 32:38 of taking of rest in sleep. 32:40 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is" what? 32:45 "Dead." 32:46 So how did Jesus like in death too? 32:47 To that of sleep. 32:49 And friends, sleep is a good thing, is that right? 32:51 You see, many times we look upon death 32:53 is something that is so terrible 32:55 but friends, in reality in God's mind 32:57 whenever His saints die they were just sleeping. 33:00 That's what it is. 33:02 The death experience is like that of sleep. 33:06 And so now Jesus was gonna go 33:08 to resurrect Lazarus from the grave 33:10 to awaken him out of his sleep 33:12 and as He goes there 33:13 he meets the grieving sisters of Lazarus, 33:16 Mary and Martha. 33:17 They fall on His feet and they began to say, Jesus, 33:20 if you'd have been here our brother would have not died. 33:23 Their heart is broken, 33:24 they are moaning the loss of a loved one. 33:26 And I want you to notice how Jesus is comforting 33:28 those who sawed because they lost the loved one. 33:30 In John 11:23, 24, Jesus said unto her, 33:35 don't worry, your brother is in heaven right now. 33:38 They are walking on the streets of God, 33:39 they are singing with the angels, 33:41 they are in a better place, 33:42 they are suffering anymore. 33:43 They are in heaven, don't worry, don't cry. 33:45 Did Jesus say that? No. 33:47 Did He comfort the grieving sisters of Lazarus 33:50 the same way many ministers are comforting love ones today? 33:54 He didn't say that he was in heaven. 33:55 Why, because he was not in heaven 33:56 even though he was a righteous man. 33:58 How did Jesus comfort the grieving 34:01 loved ones of the deceased? 34:04 "Thy brother shall rise again." 34:07 Friends, what was the hope that Jesus gave? 34:09 The resurrection. 34:11 Friends, if you want to comfort someone 34:12 that has lost a loved one, 34:14 the hope is not saying that they are in heaven 34:16 because that's not true. 34:18 The hope is the resurrection. Your brother shall rise again. 34:21 And you see, Martha understood the topic of death. 34:24 Notice what she said, "I know that he shall rise again 34:27 in the resurrection at the last day." 34:31 So they were clear about what exactly happens 34:33 when a person dies. 34:35 And so now Jesus-- 34:36 you know, Martha thought that 34:38 she had to wait till the resurrection of the last day 34:39 but Jesus has more in mind than that. 34:41 She wanted a healing 34:43 but Jesus would come to give a resurrection. 34:45 And so He goes to the place where Lazarus was laid 34:48 and then as He sees the mourners amongst the tomb 34:51 we find then the shortest verse in the Bible, only two words. 34:56 But these two words speak volumes 35:00 about the God that we serve tonight 35:03 that is touched by human sorrow. 35:05 And I am so grateful 35:06 that our God can turn sorrows into sweet joy. 35:09 Can you say, amen? Amen. 35:10 And so listen, if you've lost a loved one, 35:11 if your heart is broken God understands your pain. 35:15 God knows what it's like, friends. 35:17 You may feel like no one understands 35:20 but you have a God in heaven that does understand 35:22 and He wants to take your sorrow and your pain 35:25 and He wants to give you His sweet joy, 35:27 assurance and hope tonight. 35:30 Can you say, amen? Amen. 35:32 And then Jesus commands the people to remove the stone 35:36 and they began to protest, Lord, 35:38 he's already been dead four days, 35:39 by this time he's stinking. 35:41 Jesus says, remove the stone. 35:42 They removed the stone and then the life giving God 35:46 called into the place of the dead. 35:48 He said three words, Lazarus, come down. 35:54 Is that what Jesus said? 35:56 Did Jesus said, Lazarus, come down 35:58 as if Lazarus was in heaven? 36:00 No, friends, because he wasn't up there. 36:03 He said, "Lazarus, come forth." 36:06 Because where was he? In the grave. 36:09 And friends, when the word of God 36:11 mixed up with that dead body, 36:14 that living word had the power to do exactly 36:17 what it said would do and Lazarus came to life. 36:20 He came forth from the tomb and they removed the bandages. 36:23 And then Lazarus began to testify 36:25 and he began to say, Jesus, 36:28 why did you have to bring me back down to this world? 36:30 I was having such a good time in heaven, 36:32 I was singing with the angels, 36:34 I was walking on the streets of God, 36:35 I was having a wonderful time. 36:36 Why you have to bring me back down here to this world? 36:38 Why did you do this, Jesus? 36:40 Is that what Lazarus said? No. 36:41 Did Lazarus give any report 36:43 that he was in heaven, yes or no? 36:44 No. Why? 36:45 Because he wasn't there, he was in the grave 36:48 awaiting the resurrection after second coming of Christ. 36:51 You see, death in the Bible in God's mind is simply sleeping. 36:56 The death of the saints, 36:57 it's the sleep that last till the resurrection. 36:59 In fact, notice another example, 37:00 write this one down, in the Book of Acts 7:60, 37:04 it's the story of Stephen the deacon who was preaching. 37:07 And as he was preaching he's giving his last sermon. 37:09 The people won't like what he's saying, 37:11 and I hope you cannot relay with that. 37:13 They don't like what he's saying so much that they rush upon him 37:16 and they began to stone him. 37:18 And the Bible says that as Stephen was being stoned 37:21 that he fell asleep. 37:22 Now how do you read that? 37:23 Steven is getting stoned 37:24 and he says, well, I feel kind of tired, 37:26 let me just take a nap real quick. 37:27 Is that what happened? 37:29 What it mean when he says he was stoned 37:30 and he fell asleep? 37:31 It simply means that he died, why? 37:34 Because death is simply sleep. 37:36 And friends, you can find this over 37:37 50 times all throughout the Bible. 37:39 In fact, I am gonna give you handout 37:40 that has all of those scriptures 37:41 so that you can see for yourself. 37:43 Now here's the next question, 37:45 is there any consciousness in the sleep of death? 37:48 Sometimes we go to sleep but we don't get any rest 37:51 but we are gonna see that the sleep of death 37:53 is a totally dreamless, unconscious sleep. 37:56 Notice what it says in Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 38:00 please write it down. 38:01 It says, for the living know that they shall die 38:05 but the dead know more than the living. 38:07 Is that what it says? 38:08 How much do the dead know, folks? 38:10 "The dead know not anything, 38:12 neither have they any more a reward 38:13 for the memory of them is forgotten. 38:15 Also their love, and their hatred, 38:17 and their envy, is now perished 38:18 neither have they any more a portion for ever 38:21 in anything that is done under the sun." 38:23 The Bible says that when a person dies 38:24 they are totally unconscious, 38:26 they have no feelings, no thoughts, no desires, 38:29 their love and hatred are all perished. 38:32 They don't know anything, friends. 38:33 It's a dreamless unconscious sleep. 38:35 And therefore, you don't have to worry 38:37 about the dead coming back to haunt you. 38:41 Friends, the dead people can't hurt you, 38:44 only living people can hurt you, isn't that right? 38:47 You should be afraid of the living 38:48 more than the dead friends, 38:50 because the dead know not anything. 38:51 And then notice in verse 10, the Bible says, 38:54 "Whatsoever thy hand finds to do, 38:56 do it with thy might, for there is no work, 38:59 nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, 39:02 in the grave, whither thou goest." 39:05 In other words for those who die 39:08 they don't know, a thousand years could go by 39:12 but they don't know it. 39:13 Death is like pressing pause on a person's life. 39:17 Let's say you are listening to a song 39:20 on your iPod or your CD player 39:22 or your cassette player or you're A Track 39:24 or your record whatever you use, 39:26 you are listening to a song and you press pause, 39:28 what's gonna happen? 39:30 The song is gonna stop but does time stop, yes or no? 39:32 No, time continues on. 39:35 And let's say you do something for an hour 39:36 or day or a year or you know 10 years 39:40 and you go back to that iPod-- 39:42 assuming you have batteries and it's still running 39:46 and now you press play, what's gonna happen? 39:49 It's gonna start but where is it going to start from? 39:52 Right where you left off. 39:55 Death is like pressing pause, 39:58 1,000 years could go by before the one that died 40:02 is as if they died and the very next thing they know 40:05 is the resurrection. 40:07 So it's not as if they are in the grave 40:09 tweeting their thumbs just bored out of their minds. 40:12 They died and the very next thing 40:14 is the resurrection of Jesus Christ 40:16 and that's good news. 40:17 Can you say, amen? And where did they start? 40:20 Right where they left off 40:21 and that's why every single day 40:22 and every moment of every day 40:24 we need to give our heart to Jesus 40:25 and let Him be the keeper of our souls. 40:27 Can you say, amen? Amen. 40:29 Because the death probation is closed. 40:31 Now some people might be ask, you know wondering, 40:34 what about near death experiences 40:37 where a person died and they claim to have consciousness, 40:40 they heard a voice, they saw a bright light 40:42 and they saw things and heard things 40:45 and God said it wasn't their time, 40:46 what about that? 40:48 Well friends, listen, 40:49 modern medical science has shown 40:51 and explained near death experiences. 40:53 They have shown a person's heart can stop beating 40:56 and their pulse can stop, they may not be breathing. 40:59 But friends, you are not dead until your brain is dead. 41:03 And in a moment when a person falters 41:05 between life and death they did not die yet 41:09 because once there's no death there's no conscious, 41:11 there's no reality, there's nothing 41:13 to know or hear or see. 41:16 And friends, in the moments 41:18 where a person falters between life and death 41:21 the brain can still function 41:22 but because of lack of oxygen 41:24 the brain can actually hallucinate. 41:27 And hallucination is a mental illusion 41:29 that is perceived as reality. 41:32 Altered psycho-chemistry 41:34 can create illusionary experiences in our mind 41:37 and this is not reality 41:39 it simply precede reality, 41:42 not actual reality. 41:44 And drugs are major factor in this 41:47 in causing these different illusions. 41:49 And friends, modern science have shown 41:51 that the simulation of the right angular gyrus, 41:54 that's an organ of the brain. 41:55 The stimulation of that specific organ 41:58 can actually produce an out of body illusion. 42:01 Not a real experience, it's just an illusion. 42:05 And so those who felt like they died 42:07 and their soul left their body, they did not really die. 42:10 It was all in the brain, 42:11 it was an illusion, it was a hallucination. 42:13 It wasn't an actual reality, it was a perceived reality. 42:17 And friends, let me make it clear, 42:18 I truly believe that God can work in those situations 42:21 and perhaps impress upon that person's mind 42:23 that he is not yet dead, that's it's not their time yet 42:26 and can give them comforting thoughts and what not. 42:28 God surely can work but friends, 42:30 you can be sure that devil will work as well. 42:33 The devil can work and give someone 42:35 a false impression. 42:36 And so we have to test all things not by an experience 42:40 but by the word of God. 42:41 Can you say, amen? Amen. 42:42 And most of these experiences are neutral. 42:45 They are neither good nor bad. 42:47 They are neither of God or of Satan, 42:49 it's just a chemical reaction in the brain 42:52 by altered psycho-chemistry, it's an illusion, 42:55 its precede reality and not actual reality. 42:59 You see, every earthly experience 43:01 must be tested by the Bible. 43:03 And friends, the word of God 43:04 is more real than our perceived reality. 43:07 Can you say, amen? Amen. 43:08 And so that's how we understand near death experiences. 43:10 The person did not really die, 43:12 it was near death experiences not death experiences. 43:16 And if that make sense would you please say, amen? 43:18 Now notice the next verse in Psalms 115:17, 43:22 the Bible says, "The dead do not praise the Lord." 43:25 Friends, if I die and went to heaven 43:27 you won't be able to stop me from praising God, amen. 43:30 But the Bible says, the dead do not praise the Lord, why? 43:33 Because they are in the grave, 43:34 totally unconscious, waiting the resurrection. 43:36 Notice another one, Psalms 6:5, 43:39 "For in death there is no remembrance of thee, 43:41 in the grave who shall give thee thanks?" 43:44 Those who die and are in the grave 43:45 cannot give God thanks 43:47 because they are sleeping, waiting the resurrection. 43:49 So who's gonna give God thanks then? 43:51 The living, you and I while we have life. 43:54 Isaiah Chapter 39, 43:56 excuse me, Isaiah 38:18, 19, 43:58 the Bible says, "For the grave cannot praise thee, 44:01 death cannot celebrate thee, 44:02 they that go down into the pit 44:04 cannot hope for thy" what? 44:06 "Truth." 44:07 There goes purgatory, friends. 44:08 Purgatory does not exist. 44:10 Once a person dies they can't hope for truth. 44:14 They can't hope for a second chance. 44:16 Probation is closed upon their life 44:19 and that's the reason 44:20 why we must make a decision right now 44:23 while we have life to live it for Jesus Christ. 44:27 It says, "The living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day." 44:31 You see friends, what we do we must do it now 44:33 while the blood is flowing warm in our veins 44:36 and while we still have breath. 44:37 Let us use it to live and honor and glorify 44:40 and worship and praise our God. 44:42 Can you say, amen? Amen. 44:43 Oh brothers and sisters, 44:44 you need to show people love right now 44:46 while they can appreciate it. 44:48 Young people you need to give flowers 44:50 to your parents right now 44:51 while they can see them, smell them, 44:54 touch them and enjoy them 44:55 because no matter how many flowers you bring 44:57 at the funeral they can't see or smell it. 45:00 We need to apologies to those 45:01 who we have done wrong right now 45:03 because no matter how many times at the cascade 45:05 you say, I am sorry, I am sorry, 45:08 I didn't mean it, I am sorry. 45:10 They can't hear you, friends. 45:12 What we do, we must do it right now 45:15 before it is too late. 45:16 Can you say, amen? Amen. 45:18 And so now we know what happens at death. 45:19 The next question is this, 45:21 how do the false doctrines of the immortal soul 45:24 creep within the Christian church? 45:26 How is it that almost every Christian church today 45:30 believes exactly what the serpent said to Eve 45:33 in the Garden of Eden, the doctrine of immortal soul? 45:35 Where did it come from? 45:36 Let me tell you, friends, 45:37 it came from the same place 45:39 that Sunday worship came from. 45:41 It came from paganism 45:42 creeping within the Christian church. 45:45 You see the doctrine of the immortal soul 45:47 was a pagan belief. 45:49 Notice what one historian had to say. 45:50 William Gladstone, he made it clear. 45:52 Now "The Pagan doctrine of the immortality 45:54 of the human soul 45:55 crept into the back door of the church." 45:58 You see, the Egyptians believed in these teaching, 46:00 the Babylonians, the Grecians, 46:02 the Romans, Satanists also believe 46:04 and many Christians also believe it. 46:06 And it crept within the church 46:08 but friends, how many of you are thankful 46:10 for the truth tonight? 46:12 Jesus said, you shall know the truth 46:14 and the truth shall set you free. 46:17 We don't have to be confused 46:18 by the counterfeits of the antichrist. 46:20 We don't have to be seduced 46:21 by the lies of the serpent. 46:24 As long as we stick to the Bible 46:26 there is safety and there is security. 46:28 Amen. Amen. 46:29 Now friends, some of you might be wondering, 46:31 well, what about the thief on the cross? 46:34 What about the parable of the rich man and Lazarus? 46:37 What about when Paul said, absent from the body 46:39 and present with the Lord? 46:40 What about the Witch of Endor? 46:41 What about baptism for the dead? 46:43 What about this verse and that verse? 46:44 You see friends, there are a few verses 46:46 that seem to indicate the opposite 46:49 of what all the verses said in the Bible. 46:52 There are few scripture that seem to indicate 46:53 that there is consciousness in death. 46:55 But friends, what are you gonna built a doctrine on? 46:58 If you have 50 verses saying something 47:01 very clearly about a topic 47:03 and then you have five or six verses 47:04 that say something that seems to contradict 47:06 are you gonna build your doctrine on 47:08 five or six verses or the majority of the verses? 47:11 The majority, right? 47:13 And then you study these few other verses 47:15 in light of what the entire Bible has to say 47:17 and you'll find that a contextual 47:19 careful study of the verses 47:21 shows that the Bible is in complete 47:22 harmony with each other. 47:24 And so there are few verses 47:25 that seem to indicate the opposite, 47:26 rich man and Lazarus, 47:28 absent in the body present with the Lord. 47:29 And friends, we don't have the time 47:30 to go through all of them tonight 47:32 but I am gonna give you about 11 page handout 47:34 that explains each one of those verses in detail 47:37 and in context and you will see 47:39 that the Bible is in complete harmony with itself. 47:42 Can you say, amen? Amen. 47:43 But let's do one-- 47:44 since we still have few more minutes, 47:46 let's take the story about the thief on the cross. 47:50 Here Jesus was dying and two thieves-- 47:52 and one of the thieves said to Jesus, 47:53 remember me when You come into Your kingdom. 47:56 The thief was not asking to go to heaven that day. 47:58 Remember me when you come into Your kingdom. 48:00 When would Jesus come in His kingdom? 48:01 At the second coming. 48:02 Now Jesus responds to this thief and He says, 48:06 "Assuredly I say to you, 48:08 today you will be with" who? 48:11 "Me" where? "In paradise." 48:13 So people read this and they say, 48:14 the thief went to paradise that day, 48:16 he died and went to heaven. 48:18 But I want you to notice, look at it carefully. 48:19 Who did Jesus say the thief would be with in paradise? 48:23 You will be with me in paradise. 48:26 But here's the problem, friends. 48:28 Jesus did not go to paradise that day. 48:31 So it's impossible for the thief to be with Jesus 48:35 in paradise on that day, 48:36 if Jesus Himself wasn't there that day. 48:39 Do you see the problem, yes or no? 48:41 So how do we understand this? 48:43 Remember, Jesus died on that day 48:44 that He was-- His boy was placed in the tomb 48:46 and He was resting in the tomb on the Sabbath. 48:49 And then the early Sunday morning, 48:50 the first day of the week He resurrected 48:52 and even on that resurrection day 48:54 Mary met Him in the garden and in John 20:17, 48:57 "Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, 49:00 for I have not yet ascended to My Father." 49:04 So even on the day of the resurrection 49:05 he had not yet gone to paradise, 49:07 not yet gone back to the Father that day. 49:10 So how do we understand this? 49:11 It seems to be a contradiction, doesn't it? 49:14 Well, here's how we understand it. 49:15 It all lies in a little comma. 49:18 You see in the original language of the Bible 49:20 Hebrew and Greek it does not have punctuation marks 49:23 that we have in English. 49:24 When the translators translated Bible 49:26 from Greek and Hebrew into English language 49:28 they had to add punctuation marks 49:30 so that we can make sense of it. 49:32 Now friends, punctuation marks makes a huge difference 49:36 in the structure of the sentences. 49:38 Let me give you an example of this. 49:39 Notice this sentence with me on the screen, 49:41 "A woman, without her man is lost." 49:44 Question, who is lost in the sentence? 49:48 Is the man lost or is the woman lost? 49:50 How many of you say the man is lost? 49:53 How many of you say the woman is lost? 49:56 How many of you are lost? 50:00 Well, all depends on where you put the comma. 50:03 So notice, we put the comma right here 50:05 after the word her and reads, 50:06 "A woman without her," who's lost? 50:10 "Man is lost." 50:12 But notice what happens when we move the comma 50:14 to after the word man. 50:15 It now reads, "A woman without her man, is lost." 50:20 Who's lost in that sentence? Is the woman. 50:22 Friends, does a comma make a huge difference? 50:25 And by the way some people say 50:26 that the comma has to be inspired. 50:29 The commas cannot be inspired, you know why? 50:31 Because in Acts 19:12 50:33 the comma is in the wrong place in that passage. 50:35 And in that passage handkerchiefs can get sick. 50:39 How many of you believe in sick handkerchiefs? 50:43 There's no such thing as sick handkerchiefs, right? 50:45 But if commas are inspired 50:46 then you have to believe in sick handkerchiefs 50:48 because in Acts 19:12 you look it up on our own, 50:50 the comma is in the wrong place. 50:52 And so now we go back to this passage in Luke 23:43, 50:56 "And Jesus said to him, Assuredly, I say to you, 51:01 today you will be with Me in Paradise." 51:04 That's where the comma is in your Bible. 51:06 But notice what happens when we move the comma 51:08 to after the word today, 51:10 it now has a totally differing meaning. 51:12 It reads, "Assuredly, I say to you today, 51:17 you will be with Me in Paradise.'" 51:21 That's where the comma belongs, friends. 51:24 In other words, Christ was saying to the thieves, 51:25 today, right now when we were dying 51:26 and hanging on these crosses. 51:28 Right now what it seems like 51:30 I can't save anyone, right now today, 51:33 I am giving you the promise, 51:35 I am giving you the assurance 51:36 that you will be with Me in paradise. 51:38 In other words friends, 51:40 the promise was given on that day 51:42 but it was not fulfilled on that day. 51:45 Well, when will the promise be fulfilled? 51:48 When the Lord Jesus comes in His kingdom 51:50 just like the thief asked Him, 51:52 remember me when You come in Your kingdom. 51:55 Now few more questions before we close, 51:57 people will ask, well, does God ever send 52:00 the dead back to the loving to communicate messages to them? 52:03 Notice what it says in Job 7:9, 10, 52:05 "As the cloud is consumed and vanishes away, 52:07 so he who goes down to the grave shall come up no more. 52:11 He shall return no more to his house, 52:13 neither shall his place know him anymore." 52:16 The Bible is clear friends, that when a person dies 52:19 they never come back to the house, 52:22 they never come back to communicate messages 52:24 from God to the living. 52:25 But some people say, but my husband comes 52:28 and visits me on our anniversary, 52:30 it looks like him, it sounds like him. 52:32 My father died long back ago 52:34 but I feel his presence in my house, 52:36 it has to be them. 52:37 But the Bible says it's not. Oh, who can it be then? 52:42 They are the spirits of devils working miracles. 52:49 And friends, Satan is so cruel 52:52 that he impersonates our deceased lovers. 52:54 He is so cruel to mess with our feelings, 52:58 but simply we say but 52:59 when we talk about things that only we know about. 53:02 Well, friends, the devil knows the secret things 53:03 that we have verbalized. 53:05 He can manipulate our sense to deceive us. 53:08 He has done this in the past. 53:09 You remember the story of the Witch of Endor? 53:11 The witch supposedly brought up the prophet Samuel 53:14 and King Saul thought that it was Samuel 53:16 but a friend, that wasn't Samuel, 53:17 that was the demon in disguised 53:19 and King Saul was deceived by the demon. 53:22 He has done this in the past 53:24 and he's doing it right now 53:25 with this apparition of the Virgin Mary. 53:27 Friends, that's not Mary, it's a demon in disguise 53:30 deceiving sincere people into believing 53:33 that God is talking to them but friends, it's not. 53:38 And we're gonna see these things intensifying 53:40 more and more and Satan is so cruel, friends, 53:43 to mess with our emotions. 53:45 There's a story of a missionary couple 53:48 who are missionaries in Africa. 53:49 They had a little baby girl. 53:52 When she was a toddler 53:53 she accidentally ate a poisonous plant and she died. 53:57 The parent's hearts was broken. 53:59 They had to bury her in a little cascade. 54:01 Can you imagine losing a little girl? 54:04 And after the funeral service was finished 54:06 the mother shared the story how she was at home 54:09 in her little girl's bedroom 54:11 and she was crying and weeping, 54:12 mourning of the loss of her little girl, 54:14 missing her so much. 54:16 And as she was crying 54:17 suddenly she hears the front door open. 54:19 And she hears little steps running down the hall. 54:21 She sees the bedroom door open 54:23 and before her very eyes her little girl 54:26 ruining up to her, jumping in her lap, 54:27 throwing her arms around her neck 54:29 saying, "Mommy, mommy, it's me, it's me, mommy. 54:31 It's okay, don't cry. It's okay." 54:33 And that mother said it looked like her, 54:35 it sounded like her, it smelled like her 54:38 and she wanted it to be true 54:39 but this mother knew what the Bible said about dead 54:41 and she knew that her little girl 54:43 was sleeping in the grave 54:44 and even though it was difficult and hard, 54:46 that mother found the faith to call upon Jesus 54:49 and she said to the apparition, 54:50 "In the name of Jesus Christ leave me, 54:53 you are not my daughter," and instantly the baby vanished. 54:58 Satan is cruel, friends, to mess with our emotions. 55:03 Friends, as we close tonight 55:05 if you are dabbling into the realm of spiritualism 55:08 whether it be looking into crystal balls 55:12 or perhaps witchcraft, magic, white or black, 55:17 ouija board, Psychic, tarot cards, horoscopes 55:21 or the things like eastern mediation, 55:23 contemplated prayers 55:25 and this false counterfeit spiritual formation 55:27 that is creeping within many evangelical churches today. 55:31 If we are dabbling into these things 55:33 we are gonna be deceive, friends. 55:34 But maybe we are not partaking of it, 55:36 maybe we are being entertained by it, 55:38 maybe we are watching it on the TV 55:40 and Harry Potter and Twilight, 55:41 all of these things certain Walt Disney films 55:44 that confuse our children's mind 55:46 about what happens when a person dies. 55:48 If you are dabbling into these things 55:49 you are preparing your mind to be deceived, friends. 55:53 But tonight you don't have to deceive. 55:56 Truth is too clear to be confused. 55:59 And now as we close, last question, 56:03 why is it so important 56:05 that we know the truth about death? 56:08 Because friends, spiritualism is gonna 56:10 deceive you and destroy you but more than that 56:14 the reason why it's so important 56:15 to know the truth about this topic 56:18 is because the false doctrine of the immortal soul 56:20 is a direct attack on Calvary. 56:25 How so? 56:26 Let me explain, 56:28 if it's true that when a man dies 56:30 he doesn't really die, he is immortal 56:33 then that means when Jesus became man 56:35 and when Jesus died that He really didn't die. 56:41 He just went through the motions. 56:45 And if that's the case we have no hope. 56:47 Furthermore, John 3:16 says, 56:51 shall we say it together? 56:53 "For God so loved the world, 56:56 that He gave His only begotten Son, 57:00 that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, 57:05 but shall have everlasting life." 57:07 What kind of life? Everlasting. 57:10 Friends, everlasting life 57:12 is the same thing as immortal life. 57:15 If the soul is immortal 57:17 that means we already have everlasting life. 57:20 And if we already have everlasting life 57:23 then why do we need to believe in Jesus? 57:26 If we are immortal we don't need Jesus. 57:30 And that's exactly what Satan wants people to believe. 57:33 But friends, the fact that we are mortal, 57:36 subject to death because of sin 57:39 shows me tonight that I need Jesus. 57:46 Do you need Jesus? Yes. 57:49 There's no life out of Jesus, friends. 57:52 Soon Jesus is gonna come again 57:55 and when He comes families that has been separated 57:58 by death are gonna be reunited in life. 58:01 Don't worry, you are gonna see your loved ones again. 58:04 We have a few members of our team 58:07 that just lost their dad about a month ago. 58:10 Don't worry twins, you will see your father again. 58:13 It's gonna be a great family reunion. 58:15 God is gonna wipe away all the tears from your eyes. 58:19 Death itself is going to die. 58:23 Babies who have died in infancy 58:26 will be placed back into their parent's arms. 58:29 Oh, what a happy day 58:32 when I see my father-in-law again. 58:34 Oh, what a happy day it's going to be. 58:37 Friends, Jesus is only gonna come back for those, 58:39 He's coming back for those who have accepted 58:40 His death on the cross in their place. 58:44 He died and rose again. 58:46 How many of you want to say, Lord Jesus, 58:48 may you be my resurrection and my life, take my heart, 58:53 fill me with the hope of your soon coming. |
Revised 2014-12-17