Death, andWhat Happens Next

A public Bible presentation

Ecclesiastes 9:1-10

Hymns 51, 142, 158a

Death, andWhat Happens Next

A public Bible presentation

London, Ontario

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Where Is The Answer?

• Our own feelings or intuition?

• Anybody else’s feelings or intuition?

• The views of religious leaders, councils, synods?

• How do we know if we/they are right?

• Authority: the Bible!

Death, and What Happens Next

• Death• The common idea(s)

• The word itself

• The nature of human life

• How and why death happens

• What next• The concept of the soul

• The first and worst lie

• The Bible description of life after death

• The true hope of the Bible

Death: What the Dictionary says

• "the permanent end of all functions of life in an organism or some of its cellular components." (Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. ©2009, HarperCollins Publishers.)

• "the end of life; the total and permanent cessation of all the vital functions of an organism." (Dictionary.com Unabridged. ©2014, Random House, Inc.)

• "the end of the life of a person or organism; the destruction or permanent end of something." (Oxford English Dictionary. ©2014, Oxford University Press)

• "a permanent cessation of all vital functions : the end of life." (Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language. ©2014, Merriam-Webster, n.d.)

• "the total cessation of life processes" (Encyclopaedia Brittanica. ©2014)

Death: What the Churches Teach

• "the separation of man from God ... As spiritual life is conscious existence in communion with God, so spiritual 'death' is conscious existence in separation from God." (Vine's Expository Dictionary of the New Testament)

• "Death is separation. A physical death is the separation of the soul from the body. Spiritual death, which is of greater significance, is the separation of the soul from God." (S. Michael Houdmann, gotquestions.org)

• "Spiritual death is separation from God. The scriptures teach of two sources of spiritual death. The first source is the Fall, and the second is our own disobedience. ... During our life on the earth, we are separated from God's presence. Through the Atonement, Jesus Christ redeems everyone from this spiritual death." (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, www.lds.org)

Death: What the Churches teach

• "In truth, however, the concept of death as used in the Bible does not mean nonexistence; rather, it means 'separation.' ... the biblical picture of death revolves around the concept of separation, rather than nonexistence." (Kyle Butt, Apologetics Press)

• "For those who die in Christ, death is union with the Lord. ... death will be an absolutely thrilling experience!" (Wayne Jackson, Christian Courier)

However…

• "Death may be simply defined as the termination of life. ... It is the dissolution of 'our earthly house of this tabernacle' (2 Corinthians 5:1) ... The grave is represented as 'the gates of death' ... Death is the effect of sin (Hebrews 2:14), and not a 'debt of nature.' It is but once (9:27), universal (Genesis 3:19), necessary (Luke 2:28-30)."

(M.G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897.)

However…

• "Unlike the Greeks, who largely understood a person as a soul entrapped in a body, the ancient Hebrews depicted the person as a psychosomatic (body-soul) unity. When this body-soul union failed in death, the Hebrews did not visualize the escape of the soul from the body, but the actual death of the self. ... The New Testament assumed the Old Testament concept of body-soul unity and the late Old Testament and intertestamentalconcept of resurrection. Unlike Greek philosophers who downplayed the significance of death by emphasizing the immortality of the soul, the biblical writers affirmed that death is real. ... The doctrine of resurrection is an affirmation that even the realm of the dead belongs to God and that death is overcome only at His gracious command."

(Butler, Trent C., Holman Bible Dictionary, published by Broadman & Holman, 1991.)

Death: What the original words mean

• Hebrew = ‘muwth’ (Strongs # H4191)

• Greek = ‘thanatos’ (Strong’s # G2288)

• Both mean identically the same thing as the English word ‘death.’• Permanent end of life

• Complete cessation of all vital functions

• Destruction, termination

• Both have specific literal reference to the body

• Sometimes used figuratively: conclusion, exclusion, darkness, vanity, meaninglessness, hopelessness, worthlessness, indifference

What the Bible says

• How human life began (how man was made):"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:7)

• "soul" = animals too! Anything that breathes.

• Translated "living being" (NIV, RSV, NASB, HCSB, )

• Translated "living person" (NLT); "living creature" (NEB, YLT)

• KJV translates the same term "living creature" (Gen. 1:21, 24)

What the Bible says

Process and result:

• "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:17)

• Literally: ‘dying thou shalt die’ (Hebrew)

• Dying = process = mortality, corruption, sinfulness in nature

• Die = end result = complete cessation of all vital functions, total end of existence, permanent dissolution of being

What the Bible says

Death is the reverse of creation:

• "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." (Genesis 3:19)

• "Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust." (Psalm 104:29)

• "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." (Psalm 146:4)

The Pattern

•Creation:Dust Body + Breath Life

•Death:Life – Breath Body Dust

What about "the soul"?

Everything the Bible saysabout immortal souls…

. . . . .

. . . . .

. . . . .

Everything the Bible saysabout immortal souls…

. . . . .

• "Immortal" occurs only once – refers to the Father (1 Timothy 1:17)

• "Immortality" something only God has (1 Tim. 6:16), something to "seek for" (Romans 2:7), something to "put on" at a future resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:50-54)

• Never with the words "soul" or "spirit" or in connection with man.

Where did it come from?

• Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words –"The Hebrew system of thought does not include the combination or opposition of the ‘body’ and ‘soul’ which are really Greek and Latin in origin"

• Jewish Encyclopedia –"The belief that the soul continues its existence after the dissolution of the body is… nowhere expressly taught in Holy Scripture… The belief in the immortality of the soul came to Jews from contact with Greek thought and chiefly through the philosophy of Plato"

Where did it come from?

• Plato (428-348 B.C.) – Phaedo• "Be of good cheer and do not lament my passing… When you lay me down in my grave, say

that you are burying my body only, and not my soul"• "Death is merely the separation of the soul and body"• Soul is immortal and indestructible• Immortal soul, once freed from the body, rewarded for good deeds or punished for evil

• Tertullian (155-220 A.D.) – "I may use the opinion of Plato, when he declares‘Every soul is immortal.’ "

• Origen (185-254) – Admirer of Plato and believed in immortality of soul

• Augustine (354-430) – "fused the religion of the New Testament with the Platonic tradition of Greek philosophy" (Encyclopaedia Brittanica).

• Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) – soul is a conscious intellect, cannot be destroyed

What the Bible says

• Souls are mortal, subject to death & destruction, from which they can be saved or delivered.• "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4)• "Deliver my soul from the sword" (Psalm 22:20)• "None can keep alive his own soul" (Psalm 22:29)• "If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the King of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live"

(Jeremiah 38:17)• "Joshua took Makkedah, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof he utterly

destroyed, and all the souls that were therein" (Joshua 10:28 – also 30, 32, 35, 37, 39)• "And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed

etc…" (Acts 3:23)• "Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul

from death" (James 5:20)• "every living soul died in the sea" (Revelation 16:3)• Also Job 7:15; Psalm 78:50; Isaiah 55:3; Ezekiel 3:19; Matthew 10:28

What the Bible says

• "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the traditions of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ" (Colossians 2:8)

• "making the word of God of none effect through your tradition"(Mark 7:13)

• "The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine… They shall turn away their ears from the Truth, and be turned unto fables"(2 Timothy 4:3-4)

• "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there be a falling away first… And for this cause shall God send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie"(2 Thessalonians 2:3-11)

The first and worst lie!

• "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."(Genesis 3:4-5)

•Hebrew: ‘dying you shall not die’

The first and worst lie!

• "In essence, the moment we die, our spirit and soul go to be with the Lord. … After their physical death, believers gain eternal life. … The dead body appears to be asleep when it is separated at death from the spirit and soul of the believer. The spirit and soul, which are eternal, are united with Christ at the moment of the believer's death" (Mary Fairchild, christianity.about.com)

• "We see ourselves quietly closing our eyes with a look of peace on our face and our lips curled in a half smile. Then our serenely closed eyes are filled with the radiance of a white light … as we effortlessly float on a stream of light leading us into the heavenly realm." (Clifford James, www.theearlychurch.com)

The first and worst lie!

• "No, the soul does not cease to exist after death. … we continue on after death." (Matt Slick, Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry)

• "Every human being enters the world possessed with endless existence. … Since the soul of man never dies, then we may say that the dead are alive. … The death of the body is the gateway into a fuller and larger life into which the soul passes. … No man is ever dead when his body lies dead! … When we move out of this tabernacle, the real man will leave the body and enter into the presence of the Lord." (Lehman Strauss, bible.org)

What the Bible says

• Man is mortal:• "mortal man" (Job 4:17)

• "this mortal" (1 Corinthians 15:53-54)

• "our mortal flesh" (2 Cor. 4:11)

• "your mortal body" (Romans 6:12)

• "your mortal bodies" (Rom. 8:11)

What the Bible says

• Man’s life is nothing:• "Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. He cometh forth like

a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not."(Job 14:1-2)

• "For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again." (Psalm 78:39)

• "he remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more." (Psa. 103:14-16)

• "Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away." (Psa. 144:4)• "For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then

vanisheth away." (James 4:14)• "All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than

nothing, and vanity." (Isaiah 40:17)• "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing" (Daniel 4:35)

What the Bible says

• The intelligent, thinking, feeling part of man does not live beyond the death of the body:• "For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee

thanks?" (Psalm 6:5)• "The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence."

(Psa. 115:17)• "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts

perish." (Psa. 146:4)• "They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore

hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish."(Isaiah 26:14)

• "For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth." (Isa. 38:18)

What the Bible says

• The intelligent, thinking, feeling part of man does not live beyond the death of the body:• "For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing,

neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished"…"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10)

What about heaven and hell?

• Heaven is the exclusive dwelling place of God the Father, and for the time being, Jesus Christ

• Jesus will return from heaven to earth to reward those whom he judges to be his faithful followers; nobody will be rewarded in heaven

• Hell is a bad translation – 'grave' is better; 'hidden place' is literal

• There is no such place as a subterranean lair of evil

• There is no such thing as eternal fiery torment; death is the punishment for sin

What the Bible says

• The wicked will perish:• "But the wicked shall perish" (Psalm 37:20)• "so let the wicked perish at the presence of God" (Psa. 68:2)• "For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish" (Psa. 73:27)• "he that speaketh lies shall perish" (Proverbs 19:9)• "By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed"

(Job 4:9)• "All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust" (Job 34:15)• "they that strive with thee shall perish" (Isaiah 41:11)• "except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3)• "Thy money perish with thee" (Acts 8:20)• "For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law" (Romans 2:12)• "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish" (2 Thessalonians 2:10)• "shall utterly perish in their own corruption" (2 Peter 2:12)

What the Bible says

• "whosoever believeth in him should not perish" (John 3:16)Logically then, whosoever does not believe in him will perish.

• "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already" (John 3:18 - two verses later!)

• "he that believeth not the Son shall not see life" (John 3:36)

• "He that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:16)

The condemnation

• "They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish." (Isaiah 26:14)

• "Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he? He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night."(Job 20:7-8)

Is there no hope for humankind?

• For most, no:"I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again."(Ecclesiastes 3:18-20)

Is there no hope for humankind?

• What makes the difference:"Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish. ... For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him. ... Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish."(Psalm 49:11-12, 17, 20)

• "Understandeth not" what???

The true Bible hope

• "there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust." (Acts 24:15)

• "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25)

• "the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." (John 5:28-29)

The true Bible hope

• "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." (John 10:28)

• "As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him." (John 17:2)

• "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." (1 John 5:11)

• "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."(Revelation 20:6)

The true Bible hope

• "Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner." (Proverbs 11:31)

• "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." (Matthew 5:5, quoting Psalm 37)

• "For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." (Psalm 37:9-11)

The true Bible hope

• "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."(1 Corinthians 15:50-52)

The true Bible hope

• "even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." (Romans 8:23)

• "Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you." (2 Corinthians 4:14)

• "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:3-4)

• "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." (1 John 3:2)

The true Bible hope

• "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."(Daniel 12:2-3)

Which way will you choose?

• "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." (Romans 8:13)

• "For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." (Galatians 6:8)

• "In the way of righteousness is life: and in the pathway thereof there is no death." (Proverbs 12:28)

• "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

Summary

• Only in the Bible can we find the truth about life and death.

• When our breath is taken away, we return to dust; we know nothing, our thoughts and feelings perish, our personality is gone, we cease to exist.

• No part of us survives death; nothing exists after death.

• Bible's message clear: there is eternal life, salvation from death, for those who believe the truth about Christ and obey his commands

• Our only hope is resurrection and glorification when Jesus returns.

Thank you for your time!

Death, andWhat Happens Next

A public Bible presentation

London, Ontario

Sunday, March 16, 2014