Participants: Lonnie Melashenko
Series Code: VOPS
Program Code: VOPS000014
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00:31 King Charles II once stood before a group of scholars
00:37 at a meeting of the Royal Society of England. 00:39 And he proposed this question to his August assembly, 00:42 "Gentlemen, if I place upon these weigh scales 00:47 a pail of water weighing in all 10 pounds 00:51 and then I place in this water five live fish, 00:56 each weighing one pound. 00:59 Why is it the scales still remain at precisely ten pounds? 01:04 Well, the wise men heatedly debated the matter, 01:06 trying to solve the king's question. 01:08 One suggested, "Well, your Highness, 01:11 fish have a great number of air sacs 01:12 which buoy them up and perhaps this is the answer." 01:16 And another muttered something about a theoretical vacuum 01:20 and others propounded theories of "ungravitating gravitation." 01:23 And finally the king's voice just silenced their discussion, 01:26 he said, "Gentlemen, gentlemen, you're all mistaken. 01:30 When one places five one-pound fish 01:34 in a pail of water weighing ten pounds, 01:37 the scales must necessarily read 15 pounds. 01:41 Your failure to answer my question discloses the fact 01:44 that you place too much confidence in me, your king." 01:49 Well, you know, ladies and gentlemen 01:51 all too often we tend to accept statements 01:55 without asking the right questions. 01:58 In fact millions today accept 02:00 what someone else has told them, 02:02 without personally analyzing the facts for themselves. 02:06 And this is probably more true in the realm of religion 02:10 than anywhere else. 02:12 For example, let me ask you a question. 02:14 What happens to a person when he dies? 02:20 Nine out of ten people will reply 02:22 what they have been told. 02:25 Well, if you're good you go to heaven. 02:27 And if you're not so good you might go to another place. 02:31 But what about the dead? 02:33 Ladies and gentlemen tonight we find ourselves 02:36 in a psychic Cinerama about the dead. 02:39 Television is full of it. "Beyond and Back." 02:43 Movies about life after death. 02:44 Chilling thrillers like "The Sixth Sense" 02:47 which got six Oscar nominations. 02:50 Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer 02:52 in "What Lies Beneath." 02:55 Or one of the most viewed programs on the Syfy Channel, 02:58 "Crossing Over with John Edwards." 03:02 A psychic who claims to be able to communicate with the dead 03:06 and relay messages to grieving relatives. 03:09 In fact even the soaps are into it. 03:12 Tune in tomorrow for the "Days of Our Lives" 03:15 when psychics will tell you what your lost loved one 03:18 is trying to communicate. 03:21 Spirit medium James Van Praagh 03:24 communicates with the dead on television. 03:26 In fact his book is entitled, "Talking to Heaven: 03:29 A Medium's Message of Life after Death." 03:32 Folks, we're having a veritable explosion of life 03:35 after death phenomena. 03:37 In fact it is so popular, 03:39 I personally pulled this out of the Los Angeles Times 03:42 one day headlines in the second section. 03:47 "Contacting the Dead? It's Become a Lively Business." 03:53 And let me quote, the gentleman who write says, 03:56 "After 12 years of not hearing from my dad, 04:00 I was starting to get worried. 04:01 I mean, just because he's been dead 04:02 the whole time doesn't mean he can't stay in touch. 04:06 With so many talented psychics running around, 04:08 including several who have their own television shows, 04:11 the lines of communication should be wide open. 04:16 You know, as well as I do the televisions 04:18 "Entertainment Tonight" has attempted to contact 04:21 actor Robert Blake's slain wife. 04:25 And people are even trying now 04:27 after death contacts with psychic dogs. 04:34 Now what is death? Is it as final as it seems? 04:39 Or is there something beyond this vale of tearful good-byes? 04:45 Believe it or not my wife Jeannie enjoys 04:47 an unusual pastime even here in Carolina 04:50 she's gone to look at some of the cemeteries. 04:53 She likes visiting and looking 04:54 at the epitaphs of the old tombstones. 04:58 Well, a number of years ago 04:59 there was an epitaph on a tombstone 05:01 that was a little bit different it said this, 05:03 "Stop, my friend, as you go by. 05:07 As you are now, so once was I. 05:10 As I am now, you soon shall be. 05:14 So prepare yourself to follow me." 05:18 Well, someone with clever poetry gift, 05:21 piece of chalk at this little sub epitaph, 05:26 "To follow you I'm not content. 05:29 Until I know which way you went." 05:32 Amen, amen. 05:34 Well, today more than ever 05:37 people believe in life after death. 05:39 I was gonna bring an article I forgot to bring, 05:40 it's USA Today, we all know about that magazine. 05:43 USA Today just recently reported 05:45 that one out of three Americans believe that they have 05:49 personally communicated with a dead loved one. 05:53 You see the idea that the dead 05:54 are not truly dead is what leads 05:57 men and women to pound on the door of the unseen 06:00 and try to communicate with the dead. 06:02 In fact you can't go to the supermarket 06:04 to checkout counter 06:05 with all the tabloids there claming, 06:07 "Elvis is talking with Priscilla again." 06:11 Or, Jackie Onassis or John-John 06:13 or someone is trying to get through. 06:14 All of the psychic movements are built on one concept 06:18 that the dead aren't dead, 06:21 therefore they are able to transmit messages. 06:26 Now I'd like to submit tonight that this theory 06:28 that the dead are actually alive 06:31 in some other form and in some other place 06:33 that is either true or it's untrue, right? 06:37 It cannot be both. 06:39 Tonight we're going to test the Bible's formula 06:41 for re-discovering truth to the max 06:44 comparing Scripture with Scripture 06:46 as the Bible says, 06:47 here a little and there a little. 06:48 Let's examine the evidence and then decide. 06:51 Are the dead really alive? 06:55 If this claim is true, 06:56 it is the grandest and sweetest truth 06:58 that ever could come to a mourning loved one. 07:01 But if it's not true, then it's a shameless fraud 07:06 promoted in the name of life's tenderest memories, 07:10 even in the name of religion. 07:13 Now what I want to share tonight, 07:14 I want to say in the tenderest sympathy. 07:17 Because all of us know of a mound somewhere 07:21 that guards the form of someone who was once dear to you. 07:25 So to begin I want you to read from the screen, 07:28 this passage from Job 14:14. 07:30 This is the question we're raising tonight 07:32 all together out loud. 07:33 "If a man dies, shall he live again? 07:38 All the days of my hard service 07:41 I will wait, till my change comes." 07:48 What do those words mean? 07:51 Well, I want to share a Bible principle with you 07:53 for the clearest and best Bible answer on any subject, 07:57 it's always best to go back 07:59 to the very beginning in the scripture 08:01 what Bible scholars call "the law of first mention," 08:06 So let's turn to the only dependable 08:08 source of information about the other side of death. 08:12 Way back in the beginning in the Garden of Eden, 08:14 when God made Adam and Eve, what were the conditions there? 08:19 Well, the conditions were the terms 08:22 Adam and Eve "Go for it! 08:24 It's yours. 08:25 Garden of Eden obey and live forever." 08:28 Notice this is Genesis 2:16, 17. 08:32 "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 08:36 'Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat of it. 08:40 But of the tree of the knowledge 08:43 of good and evil you shall not eat of it, 08:47 for in the day that you eat of it, 08:48 what did God say? 08:50 You shall surely die." ' Who said that? 08:55 Did he tell the truth? Yes, he did. 08:58 But billions and billions of men 09:00 and women don't believe that. 09:02 They believe no, you live on. 09:05 God said, "You will," what? "Die." 09:08 Now stay with me now, because notice what happens 09:10 in the next passage Genesis 3:1-4. 09:15 "Now the serpent was more cunning 09:19 than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. 09:22 And he said to the woman, now can snakes talk? 09:26 All right, who was this? Satan. 09:28 Satan, already masquerading through the supernatural. 09:33 Notice the sneer to he says, "Yeah." 09:38 Eve did God say, Has God said indeed, 09:42 "You shall not eat of every tree 09:44 of the fruit of the garden? 09:45 And the woman said to the serpent, 09:47 Oh, we may eat the fruit of the garden of the trees 09:50 but of the fruit of the tree 09:51 which is in the midst of the garden, 09:54 God says, 'You shall not eat of it, 09:57 nor shall you touch it, lest you,"' what? 10:00 "Die." Did she have it correct? 10:02 Yes, clear as a bell. 10:05 Then the serpent said to the woman, 10:07 "You will not surely die." 10:11 Subtle but direct contradiction. 10:14 In fact it's Satan's first lie on earth recorded in the Bible 10:18 and men and women have been believing it ever since. 10:22 God said, "Don't disobey you will die." 10:26 Satan said, "Oh, no, don't worry, be happy. 10:30 You don't really die." 10:33 But what actually in fact happened. 10:37 Notice this Genesis 3:22, 23. 10:41 "Then the Lord God said, 'Behold, the man has become 10:45 like one of Us, to know good and evil. 10:47 And now, lest he put out his hand 10:49 and take also of the tree of life, 10:51 and eat, and live forever' 10:53 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden 10:56 to till the ground from which he was taken." 11:01 So death not life came upon humankind. 11:05 Notice Genesis 3:24, "So He drove out the man, 11:10 and He placed cherubim 11:11 at the east of the Garden of Eden, 11:13 and a flaming sword which turned every way, 11:16 to guard the way to the tree of life." 11:20 Because they chose to separate themselves from God, 11:24 the source of life and the tree of life, 11:27 the punishment was not more life, it was death. 11:32 Genesis 3:19 God said, okay, "In the sweat of your face 11:37 you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, 11:42 for out of it you were taken, 11:44 For dust you are, and to dust you shall return." 11:51 Now ladies and gentlemen 11:52 it is crystal clear from Genesis to Revelation, 11:55 it's consistent in the Bible that the wages of sin is dust. 12:01 But Satan said in Genesis 3:5, verse 5, 12:05 "Your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, 12:12 knowing good and evil." 12:14 You won't die. 12:16 Maybe something like transmigration of the soul. 12:18 Reincarnation or nirvana or some sort of new awareness 12:22 or Hollywood says, "You become an angel." 12:26 Now ladies and gentlemen 12:27 please we're not playing games tonight. 12:30 Friend, you want truth on this subject, don't you? 12:32 Amen. 12:33 I want you to read this next with me 12:35 because I believe it is the clearest text 12:37 in all of the Bible on the subject. 12:39 Ecclesiastes 9:5. 12:41 I want to hear all of those young people out there. 12:43 Read with me all together. 12:44 "For the living know that they will die 12:48 but the dead know, "how much? 12:50 "Nothing." 12:52 Ninety five percent of our Christian friends 12:55 were never taught this. 12:57 You were taught the dead know everything. 13:02 That they're up there watching you quarrel 13:04 over the money they left behind. 13:08 Do you know where that concept came from? 13:11 It came from Plato and Aristotle 13:14 and was introduced into Christendom 13:16 during the apostasy of the Dark Ages, 13:18 there's not a word in the Bible that tells you 13:21 that you go to heaven or hell at death. 13:25 I know this is stunning, 13:27 but you're here because you're sincere. 13:30 Verse by verse let's continue. Someone says, Lonnie. 13:34 Lonnie, "My mother died a Christian. 13:36 Isn't she an angel now?" 13:39 Well, friend to die a Christian is the only way to die 13:41 but she's not an angel. 13:43 Because listen, the dead know how much? 13:46 Nothing. Nothing. 13:48 Notice the rest of the text verses 5 and 6 in Ecclesiastes, 13:52 "...and they have no more reward, 13:55 for the memory of them is," what? 13:57 "Forgotten. 13:58 Also their love, their hatred, 13:59 and their envy have now, " what? 14:01 "Perished, Nevermore will they have a share 14:04 in anything done under the sun." 14:07 By the way let me insert a little parenthesis here 14:10 not try to take a crack 14:11 at anybody's particular translation of the Bible. 14:13 But this is why a paraphrase 14:16 is a little bit dangerous to try to teach Bible truth. 14:20 You see a paraphrase as much as I like them 14:23 for devotional reason and so easy to read. 14:25 That is just one man's opinion 14:28 of what he thinks the Bible might say. 14:31 This is the text that we just read 14:33 that Mr. Kenneth Taylor in his "Living Bible" 14:37 he put an asterisk 14:39 at the bottom of the page for that text. 14:41 And he said, you know, "Solomon must have been 14:43 discouraged or ill when he wrote this, 14:45 "because it does not agree with my Baptist theology. 14:50 Now folks, I want to know what the Bible says, don't you? 14:53 Amen. Praise the Lord. 14:55 The Bible says the dead know how much? 14:57 Nothing. 14:58 Folks they are not moving the shoes 15:00 around in Aunt Sue's closet who died 45 years ago, 15:04 they're not doing that. 15:06 They're not setting the clock on the mantel at the hour 15:10 that Uncle Harry died 46 years ago. 15:14 Bible says they have nothing to do 15:16 with anything done under the sun. 15:19 Psalm 115:17 David says, 15:22 "The dead do not praise the Lord, 15:25 n`or any who go down into silence." 15:29 The Psalmist says again in Psalm 146:4, 15:32 "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth, 15:37 in that very day his thoughts," what? 15:40 "Perish." 15:43 You say my Lonnie, that's a strong statement. 15:47 But now I want to turn to Ecclesiastes 12, 15:50 where I believe we read the clearest verse 15:52 in all of the Bible on this subject. 15:54 But I want you to notice that Solomon 15:57 the wise man is talking poetically. 16:00 Now he is the one who gave us all of the proverbs. 16:02 He is a very brilliant person, wisest man who ever lived. 16:05 And he's talking in poetry about our life span 16:08 begins from childhood goes on to teenage youth 16:11 finally it's a senior citizen. 16:13 I want you to notice in Ecclesiastes 12:1 he says, 16:16 "Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, 16:21 before the difficult days come when in the day 16:25 when the keepers of the house tremble," 16:28 and see this, "and strong men bow down, 16:33 and when the grinders cease because they are few," 16:37 see the teeth are following out now. 16:39 "And those that look out the windows grow dim, 16:42 " isn't beautiful? 16:43 See he is growing older and older 16:44 and he says, "and desire fails. 16:47 And for man goes to his eternal home, 16:51 and mourners go about the streets." 16:53 See he's dying now. 16:55 But now comes one of the plainest verses 16:57 in all of the Bible. 16:58 I want you to repeat it out loud with me, everyone. 17:01 "Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, 17:06 and the spirit will return to God who gave it." 17:11 You say, what Lonnie 17:12 that's exactly what I thought it said. 17:14 The spirit returns to God see. 17:19 May I say kindly that is not what you think it says. 17:24 This isn't talking about Christians or good people. 17:29 This is saying all spirits return to God 17:33 whether it's good or bad or wicked or evil or Judas or 17:36 and you haven't been taught that. 17:38 You have been taught Christians go to heaven 17:41 and others go to some other place. 17:43 You see how shallow and misled we've been? 17:47 Notice, "Then shall the dust return to the earth, 17:52 " that's the body. 17:54 "And the spirit return to God." 17:59 Now this word spirit, 18:01 you don't have to be a Greek and Hebrew scholar 18:02 but let me tell a little bit about it. 18:04 This word spirit means 18:07 simply wind or breath, 18:13 ruach. 18:15 It's the word in the Hebrew which simply means air. 18:18 In the New Testament it's translated pneuma 18:21 from which we get our word pneumonia. 18:23 Okay or pneumatic tires 18:25 which is talking about air in our tires or wind. 18:29 That's simply the spark of life that goes back to God 18:33 whether you are saint or a sinner or your dog 18:35 or your brother's fish that's died. 18:37 This is not something you see that can sing that goes back 18:41 because the vocal chords are in the grave. 18:44 It's not something that can love 18:45 because the heart is in the grave. 18:47 It simply the "spark of life" that goes back. 18:52 I know that your minds are whirling. 18:55 But hold on, 18:56 couple more scriptures will help clear it up. 18:58 Let's go back again to the beginning 19:00 and let's see how God created us in the first place. 19:03 In Genesis 2:7 it says, "And the Lord God formed man 19:11 from the dust of the ground, 19:13 and breathed into his nostrils" the what? 19:18 Ruach. 19:19 "See the breath of life, and man became a living being." 19:25 It doesn't say he was given a soul, 19:28 it says, he became a soul, he became a person. 19:32 Now watch carefully Genesis 2:7. 19:35 "The Lord God formed man from the dust." 19:38 Can you see him there? 19:40 He's shaping him here and it's got it all made, 19:42 perfect in every part. 19:43 In fact it looks like he's sleeping there 19:46 on a little tuft of grass. 19:48 He is complete in every part, he has a brain in his head, 19:51 but it isn't thinking, he has a body, 19:53 but it isn't moving, he has a heart in his chest, 19:55 but isn't beating, he even has blood in his veins, 19:57 but it isn't not flowing yet. 20:00 He's ready to live, he's ready to love, 20:02 he's ready to act but he isn't living, 20:04 he's isn't loving, he isn't acting yet. 20:07 "The Lord God formed man and breathed into his nostrils 20:13 the ruach, the wind or that spark of life 20:17 and man became a living, loving, acting individual." 20:23 Now when he dies, the two simply separate. 20:28 The body becomes dust again 20:31 and that spark of life goes back to God 20:34 whether you are saint or a sinner. 20:36 And ladies and gentlemen that is the only thing 20:38 that the Bible teaches from Genesis to Revelation. 20:42 Anything else is from the Dark Ages. 20:46 I want you to consider little equation 20:48 my young friends here tonight. 20:49 A mathematical equation something like this. 20:52 Body + Breath = A Living Person. 20:59 Amen. 21:00 Now at death you simply subtract the Living Person 21:08 take away the Breath, we've just got a Corpse. 21:14 I want to illustrate that 21:15 with little different here tonight with this light. 21:20 When you take a lamp, 21:22 there is a filament in there in a bulb, okay. 21:25 When you unite that bulb in that filament with electricity 21:31 and you turn the switch on, suddenly you have light. 21:38 Where did this light come from? 21:41 Did it just now come down from heaven? 21:44 Come from a hot place. 21:46 Now where does that light come from? 21:49 The intelligent union of that filament 21:52 and the electricity running through this cord here. 21:55 Now when you disconnect the electric power 22:00 from that light bulb, 22:03 say where did that light just go? 22:05 Where did the light go? 22:09 It didn't go anywhere. It went out we say. 22:14 It just cease to exist because you don't have 22:17 those two elements together anymore. 22:19 The light just ceases to exist. 22:22 When the Lord God formed man and breathe into his nostrils 22:26 he became a light, a person. 22:32 When the light goes out and he dies, 22:36 those two key elements are simply separated 22:38 until the resurrection, 22:39 when all will be restored again. 22:42 In fact Psalm 146:3, 4 King David says, 22:47 "Do not put your trust in princes 22:49 or in a son of man, in whom there is no help. 22:52 His spirit departs, he returns to his earth, 22:56 in that very day his plans or his thoughts perish." 23:01 His breath leaves, the body returns to the earth. 23:05 And any consciousness, any part of man 23:07 that's conscious perishes, goes out. 23:11 In fact David makes it quite clear in Psalm 115:17, 23:15 "The dead praise not the Lord, 23:18 nor any who go down into silence." 23:22 Well, someone says but then Lonnie, 23:25 where are we when we die? 23:28 Let's look at Job again 14:12, 13. 23:33 "So man lies down and does not rise. 23:38 Till the heavens are no more, they will not awake 23:41 nor be roused from their sleep. 23:43 Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, 23:46 that You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, 23:48 that You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!" 23:53 And it's clear as a bell from God's Word, 23:56 man dies, he lies down in the grave 23:58 and he doesn't rise again until Resurrection Day. 24:02 Job 14:15 he says, "You shall call, 24:06 oh, I will answer You." 24:09 Job tells us in Chapter 17:13. 24:13 "If I wait, the grave is mine house. 24:17 I have made my bed in the darkness." 24:20 Oh, but friend on Resurrection morning, 24:22 Jesus says, Revelation 1:18, 24:25 "I am He who lives, and was dead, 24:29 and behold, I am alive for evermore. 24:31 And I have the keys of Hades and of Death." 24:35 You see, friend, our only hope for the future is Jesus. 24:40 The coming day of the resurrection. 24:42 In fact Paul, the Apostle says, if there is no resurrection, 24:47 there is no future, there is no hope for anyone. 24:51 1 Corinthians 15:16-18, Paul says, 24:55 "For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen, 25:00 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile, 25:04 you are still in your sins! 25:05 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Jesus have perished." 25:12 Have you noticed in our study so far 25:14 that the Bible writers repeatedly use the term 25:17 "sleep" in talking about death? 25:21 Psalm 13:3, David wrote: "Consider and hear me, 25:26 O Lord, lest I sleep the sleep of death." 25:31 See David was afraid of sleeping 25:32 the sleep of death, and maybe nobody waking him up. 25:36 Daniel says that the dead wake up 25:40 at the second coming of Jesus. 25:42 Daniel 12:2 he says, "And many of those 25:45 who sleep in the dust of the earth 25:47 shall awake, some to everlasting life, 25:50 some to shame and everlasting contempt." 25:55 In fact Jesus Himself called death a sleep. 26:01 You may remember that one day Jesus and His disciples, 26:04 they got an urgent cell phone call, 26:06 Jesus, Lazarus, your friend, he is ill, he is dying, 26:10 come quick and come at once. 26:12 But, you know, the Bible is interesting there 26:13 in the Book of John that Jesus, instead of making a sick call, 26:16 He intentionally stayed right where He was for two more days 26:20 and Lazarus his good friend died. 26:22 The two sisters had to bury him. 26:25 Well, the disciples were absolutely shocked. 26:27 Why would Jesus dilly-dally for two days 26:30 before going to visit some of His best friends, 26:32 going to the funeral? 26:34 Notice in John 11:11 it says, 26:36 then Jesus said "Our friend Lazarus," what? 26:41 "Sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up." 26:46 What did Jesus call death? Sleep. 26:50 You see the point? He didn't call death a reward. 26:54 He didn't call death a punishment. 26:56 He simply called it a sleep. 26:59 Now the disciples were grown men 27:01 and they were also ministers, pastors. 27:03 I know when a person is sick in the hospital in ICU 27:07 and they're sleeping, I don't go and wake up them 27:09 because that's the best thing they need is some rest. 27:12 So they were very puzzled about this. 27:14 In John 11:12, 13, 14, 15 says, "Then His disciples said, 27:18 'Lord, if he sleeps he will get well!'... 27:23 Then Jesus said to them plainly,"' What? 27:26 "Lazarus is dead. 27:29 And I am glad for your sakes 27:31 that I was not there, that you may believe. 27:34 Nevertheless let us go to him." 27:36 You know the story they went to Bethany. 27:38 Martha hears that Jesus is coming, 27:40 comes running out to meet Him. 27:41 It says there in verse 21 and 22. 27:44 "Oh, Lord, Lord, if You had been here, 27:46 my brother would not have died," 27:49 Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.' 27:55 " Now I want you to notice carefully 27:56 Martha's response in verse 24. 27:59 Oh, Lord, "I know that he will rise again 28:02 in the resurrection at the last day." 28:06 But Jesus was about to give 28:08 a dramatic preview of that event. 28:11 And He said, 'Martha, 28:13 "I am the resurrection and the life. 28:17 Roll away the stone." 28:20 Martha objected and said, verse 39, 28:22 "But, Lord, by this time there is a bad odor, 28:25 he's been dead there four days." 28:28 Roll away the stone. They rolled away the stone. 28:32 And Jesus, the Bible says He wept 28:35 but then He called out with a loud voice, 28:37 "Lazarus, come forth." 28:42 He didn't say, friend, Lazarus up there in heaven 28:45 by My Father and the angels, I'm very sorry, 28:48 your family wants you down here 28:50 to crawl into this old body again, 28:51 you got to have to come. 28:53 He didn't say come down. 28:55 He did not say, Lazarus, down there 28:56 in the other place come on up. 28:58 He simply said, Lazarus, come out. 29:03 Because Lazarus hadn't gone anywhere, 29:05 but what a day of rejoicing 29:07 for those three friends in Bethany. 29:09 But friends, that was only a little small preview 29:13 of the glorious excitement when Jesus comes and He opens 29:16 all of the graves of His other friends forever. 29:19 Amen. 29:21 I've told you before that just a couple of summers ago, 29:23 Jeannie and I were with Voice of Prophecy team, 29:25 we're in Thessaloniki over in Macedonia in Greece. 29:30 It was July, 2001 and that's what Paul wrote 29:32 to those early Thessalonian Christians, 29:34 in fact that's one of the first books 29:35 in the New Testament that was written. 29:38 They needed some comfort 29:39 because some of their brand new converts had died 29:43 and somehow they got the impression 29:45 that Jesus was gonna comeback 29:46 in their lifetime before anybody died. 29:49 So now they were so concerned and sad, now what? 29:53 Paul comforts them by saying in 1 Thessalonians 4:13. 29:58 "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, 30:01 concerning those who have fallen asleep, 30:03 lest you sorrow as others who have no hope." 30:07 Listen, Paul says. 30:08 Here's what Jesus does at the second coming, verse 16. 30:12 "For the Lord Himself will descend 30:15 from heaven with a shout, 30:17 with the voice of the archangel, 30:18 and with the trumpet of God. 30:20 And the dead in Christ will rise first." 30:25 How will that take place? 30:26 Well, over in 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52, 54, 30:30 he says, "Behold, I'll show you a mystery. 30:32 We shall not all sleep, 30:35 but we shall all be changed in a moment, 30:38 in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. 30:40 For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised 30:43 incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 30:47 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, 30:51 and this mortal has put on immortality, 30:54 then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: 30:58 'Death is swallowed up in victory.'" 31:03 You know, Jesus had told his disciples 31:06 that one day everyone would be raised from the grave. 31:11 John 5:28, 29, "Marvel not at this, 31:16 for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves 31:20 will hear his voice and come forth, 31:23 those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, 31:27 and those who have done evil, 31:28 to the resurrection of condemnation." 31:31 Now we'll talk about those two separate resurrections 31:34 a week from Friday night and don't miss that. 31:37 But may I have your eyes for a moment. 31:40 I want you to put on you thinking caps, 31:44 just kind of forget what you've been taught 31:47 about any particular theory or concept just remove yourself 31:50 but I want you to just ask and answer three questions. 31:55 Number one, do you folks here tonight 31:57 believe in the resurrection? 32:01 Of course if you're a Christian, 32:03 it's our only hope. 32:05 My question. 32:06 Why would we need resurrection 32:10 if we've already gone through our reward at death? 32:15 If we go to heaven at death, do we need to comeback down 32:20 and crawl in our body and be raised up again? 32:24 Folks, that is driving thinking people out of the church. 32:29 Just raising some questions here, so you're thinking. 32:32 A second question. 32:33 Do you folks believe in the judgment? 32:36 Yes. 32:37 Of course, Bible speaks, 32:39 we talked about at the Last Day Judgment, 32:42 Great White Throne Judgment. 32:43 You know, I'm so glad 32:44 that Jesus has something to do with the judgment. 32:47 I don't know about you but I'm gonna need 32:48 a lot of mercy in the judgment. 32:50 How about you? Amen. 32:52 But listen. 32:54 Why would we need a judgment in the last day 32:59 if we've already gone to our reward at death? 33:02 Aren't we already judged? 33:06 Does God need to send an imp of hell down there 33:08 in the last day of the judgment, 33:10 down to the hot place, tap someone on the shoulder 33:12 who's been burning for 460 years, 33:15 12 months, 9 days and 2 hours. 33:18 To tap him on the shoulder and say, 33:21 friend, you ought to come up to the judgment bar 33:23 to see whether you ought to be here or not? 33:28 Folks, that makes mockery of the Bible. 33:31 And it's why intelligent people 33:32 are leaving the church by the thousands. 33:36 But you see the dedicated Christian 33:37 will get down on their knees with their Bible open 33:40 and they will study this out, 33:41 to go to our discover Bible text. 33:43 They'll get that lesson that's given out tonight 33:45 and you won't walk out angrily, no matter how sweet 33:48 the idea of momma up there looking down on us. 33:52 Folks, isn't the reason for the last judgment 33:56 to determine what our rewards will be? 33:59 Amen. 34:01 Question number three, I'm just asking questions. 34:05 Do you folks here tonight 34:06 believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ? 34:08 Amen. Amen. 34:10 Now I'm going to repeat a text 34:12 that you all know if you're Christians 34:14 and I don't want you to repeat it, 34:15 I don't want you to whisper out loud, okay. 34:18 Because you've said it so many times, you may have missed it. 34:21 In John 14:1-3 Jesus said, 34:24 "Let not your hearts be troubled, 34:27 you believe in God, believe also in Me. 34:30 In My Father's house are many mansions, 34:33 if it were not so, I would have told you. 34:37 I go to prepare a place for you. 34:41 And if I go and prepare a place for you, 34:44 I will come again to receive you on to Myself 34:50 that where I am, there yee may be also." 34:56 Amen. 34:57 The only reason Jesus is coming back 35:00 is because He does not have one of us with Him tonight. 35:04 Some of us have repeated that text for 30 years 35:06 and we haven't seen it until now. 35:08 Remember, "Line upon line, precept upon precept." 35:12 Revelation 22:12 says, "And behold, 35:16 I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, 35:22 to give every one according to his work." 35:25 You see everyone's reward is at the resurrection. 35:29 We sleep until the resurrection morning. 35:33 Jesus said in Luke 14:14 write this text down, 35:36 "Thou shalt be recompensed 35:39 at the resurrection of the just." 35:42 Everybody you see is gonna be rewarded 35:45 at the same time, not at death. 35:49 That loved one who may have died a few years ago 35:51 in a tragic automobile crash, a Christian. 35:55 Jesus will wake him up. You know what? 35:58 His thoughts will pick up right where they left off. 36:01 And he'll reach for the wheel. 36:03 See there's no sense 36:04 of the passing of time and death. 36:07 This is the most thrilling message of the Bible 36:10 to bring comfort that you can possibly find 36:12 and it takes away the sting of death. 36:17 Now we're ready to answer some questions. 36:20 Someone says, "Lonnie, it sounds so reasonable, 36:22 it sounds so clear. 36:23 But didn't Jesus Himself promise the thief 36:28 that he would be with Him in Paradise that very day? 36:33 That's our next text. 36:35 You know and you remember that 36:36 Jesus was crucified between two thieves. 36:39 They cursed Jesus, "If You're the Son of God, 36:42 deliver Yourself and us." 36:44 But you remember that one of those 36:45 two thieves repented, 36:46 didn't he and he called out for salvation." 36:48 In Luke 23:42 and on, "Then he said to Jesus, 36:55 'Lord, would you remember me 37:00 when I die? 37:02 Notice what he said. 37:05 He said, "Lord remember me when you come in Your kingdom, 37:09 the thief had it right. 37:12 And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly or verily, verily, 37:15 I say to you, today, 37:19 you will be with me in Paradise. 37:23 You say, "That's what I thought it said. 37:26 And I can understand you've been taught 37:30 that the thief was promised paradise that very day. 37:36 Was he? 37:38 Does this one verse contradict every other verse 37:41 that we've laid out tonight the clear ones from the Bible. 37:44 Remember, if one verse and scriptures we're studying 37:46 kind of gets out of line with the plain Bible teaching, 37:49 there might be something wrong 37:50 with our interpretation of that verse, is that fair? 37:54 Did Jesus mean that very day 37:57 He and the thief would be in paradise? 38:00 I'm going to make some very serious statements, 38:02 then you'll decide whether or not I'm right. 38:06 By the way it's a fascinating story 38:08 how we got our Bible. 38:10 When I went to college I'd first started out 38:12 I was gonna take dentistry 38:13 but I went into theology and I was amazed to discover 38:15 that in the original Greek manuscripts 38:17 we require to trans-- you know, 38:19 to translate from them in English. 38:21 In those earliest manuscripts they did not used punctuation, 38:26 they did not have spaces between words. 38:28 All the words ran together. 38:29 In fact, in the earliest manuscripts 38:30 the words go this way, 38:31 they write this way and then, you know, 38:33 we start at one side of the page 38:34 we read and go back this side. 38:35 They, you read this way in the early Greek. 38:38 They were no paragraphs, 38:39 they were no commas, no periods. 38:41 In fact you'll find out that it wasn't 38:43 till the 13th century in the University of Paris 38:46 that punctuation marks were added 38:47 to make it easier to read and I'm so glad 38:49 that Robert Stephanos did it one day 38:51 when he was riding on horse back. 38:53 Imagine how he got to fill the periods 38:55 and commas in the wrong place. 38:59 But they weren't any of those 39:00 in the original manuscripts none. 39:03 Now, occasionally we know after studying now 39:06 that a comma happen to get in the wrong side of a word. 39:11 But you see that's why God gave us 39:13 a plan to detect any irregularities. 39:15 We compare scripture with scripture, 39:17 Isaiah 28:10 says, "Precept upon precept, 39:20 line upon line, here a little, there a little." 39:22 To make sure we get it right. 39:24 And we happened to know that for example in Acts 19, 39:27 a comma got on the wrong side of the word there, 39:31 out of place in the King James Version. 39:33 He's talking about Paul healing people, 39:35 but it says this in verse 12. 39:37 They brought unto the sick handkerchiefs. 39:41 Well, handkerchiefs don't get sick. 39:43 Brought unto the sick handkerchiefs comma, 39:46 but that's no problem we know the comma 39:47 got on the wrong side of the word there. 39:49 It should be they brought unto the sick, 39:51 handkerchiefs blessed by the Apostle Paul 39:53 and people have touched them got well and so forth. 39:56 Now my question is. 39:58 Could the comma have gotten on the wrong side 40:00 of this word today in this passage 40:02 when Jesus promised the thief he would go to paradise? 40:08 Take the sentence like this. 40:12 Johnny says, the teacher is a fool. 40:16 Now if I move the comma this way, 40:18 Johnny, says the teacher, is a fool. 40:26 Changes the entire meaning of that sentence doesn't it? 40:28 Look what happens to the meaning of this text 40:30 if you simply move the comma where it should be Luke 23:43. 40:35 "And Jesus said unto him the thief, 40:37 assuredly, I say unto you today. 40:41 You will be with me in Paradise." 40:46 I say unto you today when everything looks hopeless, 40:48 I tell you today when my own disciples 40:50 have forsaken me and fled 40:52 when it doesn't look like I have a Kingdom, 40:53 I promise, I make the promise today 40:56 you will be with me in paradise. 40:59 How do I know this is right? 41:01 Because folks the thief didn't die that day. 41:07 That's why Jesus Himself by His own admission said, 41:11 He didn't go to paradise until three days later. 41:14 How could He have possibly been 41:15 with the thief in paradise on that Friday? 41:18 I want you to hold on because there is an answer, 41:20 I made some very bold statements 41:21 and let's examine them from the evidence, okay. 41:24 Folks the Bible plainly says that the Jews 41:27 would never permit a victim of crucifixion 41:30 to remain on the cross on the Sabbath 41:33 especially a high holy day like Passover 41:35 and so they would break their legs 41:37 so they couldn't escape, 41:38 they would haul them off to the dump Gehenna 41:41 and then they would drag them back 41:42 and put them on the cross after the weekend. 41:44 In fact Josephus the historian says 41:45 that the thieves lived for three weeks 41:48 until the birds finally finished them off. 41:51 Now what is your Bible say? 41:52 John 19:31-33 it says, "Therefore, 41:55 because it was the Preparation Day, 41:58 that the bodies should not remain 41:59 on the cross on the Sabbath 42:01 for that Sabbath was a high day, 42:03 the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, 42:06 and that they might be taken away." 42:08 See? 42:09 To the dump, so they wouldn't escape. 42:12 Then it says the soldiers came 42:14 and broke the legs of the first 42:15 and the other who was crucified with Him. 42:17 But when they came to Jesus 42:19 and saw that He was already dead, 42:21 they did not break His legs." 42:24 You see folks, you don't die 42:25 from crucifixion in just three hours. 42:28 But Jesus did die not from the nails, 42:33 Jesus died of a broken heart. 42:35 He died because of my sins, your sins 42:39 but the thieves didn't die that day. 42:41 So how could he possibly have gone 42:42 to heaven to be with Jesus? 42:46 Now the next scripture settles it. 42:48 Three days later, on Sunday morning, 42:51 three days later, 42:52 we read these words every Easter in John 20. 42:55 "Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, 42:58 and as she wept she saw two angels, 43:02 "and she turns around and remembers 43:03 she sees the gardener standing there it says, 43:06 and did not know that it was Jesus. 43:08 Jesus said to her, ''Woman, why are you weeping? 43:13 Whom are you seeking?" 43:14 She recognized, was ready to through her arms around Him. 43:16 But He said, "touch me not." 43:19 Or if some translations say, "Do not cling to me 43:22 for I've not yet ascended to my father." 43:27 Well, the father lives in paradise, 43:30 three days later on Sunday morning, 43:32 Jesus, by His own admission, 43:33 stated He had not yet ascended to His Father. 43:36 How could He have been there with the thief on Friday? 43:40 See, friend, listen, 43:41 the next scripture is absolutely thrilling. 43:44 The good news of the gospel is the glorious climax 43:47 and grand finale of the second coming of Jesus Christ, 43:50 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17. 43:52 "For the Lord Himself will descend 43:54 from heaven with a shout, 43:55 with the voice of the archangel, 43:57 and with the trumpet of God. 43:58 And the dead in Christ will rise first." 44:00 Right where you put them. 44:03 Then it says, "We who are alive 44:04 and remain shall be caught up together with them 44:06 in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air 44:09 and thus we shall always be with the Lord." 44:12 Amen. Listen, can I have your eyes? 44:15 Tongue cannot tell it, pen cannot portray it, 44:18 the hope that this brings to the human heart 44:20 when the Lord Jesus comes down through these Eastern skies, 44:23 past constellations of unnumbered universe systems, 44:26 down to a planet that spat on Him, 44:28 but one that He couldn't forget. 44:30 And as He nears the earth, 44:31 He shouts with a voice of thunder, 44:33 "Awake! Awake! 44:36 Ye that sleep in the dust of the earth! 44:37 Arise to everlasting life! And your dead too will live." 44:43 All at the same time they all receive immortality, 44:46 just like Jesus. 44:47 Sinless, deathless, glorified forever. 44:50 Friend, that is the Bible, pure and simple. 44:53 And it's our only safeguard 44:55 against spiritualism and the occult, 44:57 purported miracles, and prime time soaps. 45:01 And today's kaleidoscope of the psychic Cinerama 45:03 masquerading all around us. 45:05 "Arise to everlasting life!" 45:07 The voice of Jesus breaks every tomb 45:10 and your loved ones come forth with eternal youth. 45:13 Folks, no news at all, the Bible is more thrilling 45:16 because that day is not far distant. 45:19 Tonight I would like to have you pray 45:21 the same prayers the thief did. 45:23 "Lord, would you remember me 45:24 when You come into Your kingdom." 45:25 Would you repeat that with me? 45:27 "Lord, remember me when You come into your kingdom." 45:30 Friend, eternal life is yours if you want it 45:33 because He that has the son has eternal life. 45:37 Amen. 45:38 A very meaningful symbol was sculptured 45:41 on an old English tombstone. 45:44 There carved in the granite is the representation of a door. 45:48 And in the door there is a lock and in the lock, a key. 45:52 Holding the key is the hand of an angel. 45:54 And his other hand is held up to shade his eyes 45:56 and he's steadily gazing upward toward heaven. 46:00 And beneath the engraving 46:01 are these profound words sculpted, 46:05 "Till He Come." 46:09 The message is clear. 46:11 When Jesus comes the angel will throw the-- 46:14 turn the key, open wide the door 46:17 and our loved ones will be united. 46:20 Listen as Joey and Benny fill to sing. 46:27 Because He lives 46:32 I can face tomorrow 46:38 Because He lives 46:42 All fear is gone 46:46 Because I know, I know 46:52 He holds the future 46:56 And life is worth the living 47:01 Just because He lives 47:07 And life is worth the living 47:11 Just because 47:15 He lives 47:22 I want to thank you for coming tonight. 47:23 Remember Friday night, 47:25 important message "The Elijah Message." 47:28 Tonight, we'd like to meet you at our hospitality centre. 47:30 Remember as we go friend, God really does love you. 47:37 Good night. |
Revised 2014-12-17