We're here at Bethchurin. It
simply means, House of Gates.
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In the 2nd century A.D. when
the Jewish leaders were buried,
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they were buried
here in the catacombs.
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After the burial, the
gates were put across.
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So there we have
it. Beth meaning house,
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and Churin, meaning gates.
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Well, maybe you didn't even
know that there were catacombs
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in Israel, did you? They're
interesting, aren't they?
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In fact, there's a lot of
very interesting burial customs.
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So many people have
different ideas about burial.
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For instance, in India,
the Hindus cremate their dead
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put them on a funeral
pyre and then light the fire
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and burn the body completely.
The Tibetans have rather a
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gruesome method of disposing of
the dead, very practical, really
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because out there in
Tibet on the roof of the world,
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it is very stony, very
hard ground and who wants to
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dig a grave in a place
like that? And so what they do,
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is they have special men
appointed who will cut the body
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into pieces, and then
they throw them to the birds.
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In fact, that is what
the Parsees do. You know
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the Parsees who originally
came from Persia, driven out by
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the Muslim invasion. And
they worshiped fire and water
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and the earth, the elements.
They don't like to desecrate
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these things. And so they have
a system whereby they have a big
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round tower. They call it a
tower of silence. And then they
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place the naked body inside
this tower on an iron grating
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and of course the vultures
come down in about 10 minutes.
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All that's left is
the bones. That's all.
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Of course the Muslims
believe in burial and a form of
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resurrection. And so
there's some very magnificent
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Muslim burial places, for
instance, you're all familiar
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with the Taj Majal, where Shah
Jahan buried his beautiful wife,
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Mumtaz Mahal, many
years ago. And that's a
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magnificent monument.
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And then of course the
ancient Greeks believed in the
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preservation of the
soul. So did the Egyptians.
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In fact, they had a
very interesting custom.
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They had what they call
this- they called a ushamti.
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Its a little figure, about
this big or sometimes smaller
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sometimes bigger, and
this figure carried a flail
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and a sickle over his
- in his arms, you see.
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The idea is, put one of these
in your burial place and this
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fellow's will be animated in
the life to come and he will do
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all your farm work for you. So
different people had different
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customs, different ideas
about what happens when you die.
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And of course Christians have
their own ideas about this, too.
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You go to a Christian cemetery
and they will read on the
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tombstones where so
and so has gone to heaven.
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And most Christians believe
you ought to go to heaven or
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go to hell when you die
your soul leaves the body.
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Well, what's it
all about anyway?
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What does happen when you die?
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Does the soul leave the body
and go to heaven or wherever?
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The best answer that we can get,
of course, is from the bible.
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Because, after all, that's God's
answer. God ought to know what
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happens when you do die. So
we need to consult the bible,
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to find out just what is
involved in death. What happens,
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Where are you 10 minutes after
you die. Well, I'll tell you
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one thing that you can get
from the bible. The very first
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message is this. You don't
need to be afraid of dying.
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This is not actually the tomb
of Jesus Christ. Its the tomb of
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Herod's family. But its very
like it. And you can imagine
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Jesus Christ, stepping out
of this tomb and coming back to
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life. He'd been dead.
Really dead. Yet here he is
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back to life again. Well
what would you like to ask him?
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I'm sure there's a lot of people
who would like to ask him,
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Jesus, what's it like to die?
What's it feel like to be dead?
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Actually here's somebody who's
been through the experience.
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No use asking a preacher or
asking somebody who hasn't been
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through the experience. Ask
somebody who's been through it.
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And Jesus has, and he gives us
the answer. You know what it is?
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It's found in Revelation,
chapter 1 and in verse 17.
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Where he said, I fell at His
feet as dead, but he laid his
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right hand on me, saying to me,
Do not be afraid. I am he who
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lives and was dead, and
behold, I'm alive forevermore.
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So the right message that
Jesus Christ has been through
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the experience of death,
the message he has for us is,
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Don't be afraid. It's only
a sleep. Don't worry about it.
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And why don't we need to worry?
Because he says, I have the keys
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of Hades and of death,
that is of the grave and death.
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He's got the keys. He can open
the door. He can let you out.
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So, nobody needs to be afraid
of dying, when you know that
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Jesus Christ has been through
it. He says, don't be afraid.
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And he's got the
keys to let you out again.
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At the moment, we are
visiting the church of Lazarus.
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Actually the tomb of Lazarus
is just up the lane a little bit
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Well, I say the tomb of Lazarus,
It's really not his tomb.
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In fact, it's not even a tomb.
It's more likely to be a water
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system. But anyway, it reminds
us of the story of Lazarus.
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And it's a very dramatic story.
Jesus Christ was down the other
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side of the river Jordan
when the message came to him
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that his friend Lazarus was
sick. He waited another 4 days
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and then he said to his
disciples, Our friend Lazarus
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sleeps, but I go
that I may wake him.
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Well his disciples said, If he's
sleeping that's a good thing
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But Jesus said in John
11, verse 14, Lazarus is dead.
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I want you to notice that he
referred to death as a sleep.
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And really that's what death
is, just like going to sleep.
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That's why you don't need to be
afraid of dying. You know, when
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you see a little baby lying
in it's cot, you don't get all
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excited and say, Hey,
this baby isn't doing anything.
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No, its sleeping and you know
that its going to awaken out of
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sleep. And so when people die,
they don't need to be afraid
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of dying, because its just
a sleep. And you're going to
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awaken out of that sleep. in
fact in Psalm 17 and in verse 15
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the writer said, As for
me, I will see your face
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in righteousness. I shall be
satisfied when I awake in your
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likeness. So David was
quite satisfied to go to sleep
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in death and then just
awaken out of that death. And so
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nobody needs to be afraid of
dying. But what about the soul?
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In the meantime, what happens
to that. Let me read to you
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the bible definition of a
soul. I'm reading in Genesis,
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chapter 2, and verse 7, where
there's a record of the creation
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of man. It says, And the Lord
God formed man of the dust of
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the ground. That is, made
his body. And breathed into his
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nostrils the breath of life,
- Breath of life and spirit are
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equal terms in biblical record.
And man became a living being,
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or a living soul - same thing.
Now let me illustrate it on
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the board. God, first
of all made man's body.
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And then he breathed into his
nostrils the spirit of breath of
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life, and man became
a living soul. Alright.
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Now, when a man dies, what
happens? Just the opposite.
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In Psalms 146, and in
verses 3 and 4, it says,
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Do not put your trust in princes
nor in a son of man in whom
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there is no help. His spirit
departs. He returns to his
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earth. In that very day
his thoughts perish. Alright,
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You see what has
happened then, when a man dies?
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He was a living soul. His spirit
left and all that was left
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was the body. And you know
the old funeral prescription,
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ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
All that was left was the body.
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So, what was the result? Well,
we have here in Ecclesiastes,
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chapter 9, and in verse 5. For
the living know that they will
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die, but the dead
know not anything.
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How can you, if its just a dead
body? Well, you might say, Well,
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where did the soul go
to? Surely it went somewhere.
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Not necessarily. Let
me illustrate it this way.
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Now, we have a light in this
room, and it has a glass bulb,
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and metal filament and its
got electricity flowing through
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is. So we have light. But
now, let me just reach over and
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flick the switch off.
Now the light's gone off.
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Where did it go? Did it go out
the window, or under the table,
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or where did it go? It didn't
go anywhere. We simply turned
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it off. Now, that's the
way it is with the living soul,
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the human being. Its
alive, its got all the elements,
00:11:03.39\00:11:06.26
the material elements, but
God switches it off. And so
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life ceases to exist, and
all you have left is the human
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body. Now this comes as a
bit of a surprise to some people
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when they raise the question,
but listen, doesn't the bible
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teach that the soul is immortal?
that it cannot die? No,
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that's not what the bible
teaches. Listen, I'm reading in
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Ezekiel, chapter 18, and
in verse 4, Behold, all souls
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are mine. The souls of the
father as well as the soul of
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the son is mine. Listen,
The soul who sins shall die.
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That's plain enough, isn't it?
The soul that sins shall die.
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So the soul can die. But at
the resurrection, again we get
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back to the creation formula.
In other words, body plus spirit
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or breath of life
equals a living soul again.
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This is the valley of Gehenna.
This is where all the rubbish
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from Jerusalem was dumped.
They brought it out of the dung
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gate over there and dumped
it into the valley here, and
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of course the maggots got
to work and the fires were
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smoldering all the time. Jesus
Christ referred to this where he
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referred to the place
where, their worm dieth not,
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and their fire is not quenched.
Now this also is probably
00:12:22.98\00:12:27.75
the valley of dry bones. Ever
read about that in the book of
00:12:27.78\00:12:30.56
Ezekiel? Interesting. Chapter
37 And the hand of the Lord came
00:12:30.59\00:12:34.67
upon me and brought me
out in the Spirit of the Lord
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and set me down in the midst
of the valley and it was full of
00:12:37.23\00:12:40.48
bones. Apparently there had
been some battle and a lot of
00:12:40.51\00:12:44.41
people got killed and their
bodies were just dumped down
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here and the vultures had
picked their flesh, and so
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just a lot of dry bones are
lying around. And so God said to
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Ezekiel, Prophecy to
these bones and say to them,
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Oh, dry bones, hear the word
of the Lord. Fancy bones hearing
00:12:59.35\00:13:03.80
the word of the Lord. You see
bones can listen if God speaks.
00:13:03.83\00:13:06.75
So I prophesied as I
was commanded and as I
00:13:06.78\00:13:10.15
prophesied, there was a
noise and suddenly a rattling,
00:13:10.18\00:13:12.22
and the bones came together,
bone to bone. All the bones
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gathered together and they're
all fitted up as nice skeletons.
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But then, that wasn't the end.
Indeed as I looked, the sinews
00:13:18.11\00:13:23.54
and the flesh came upon them
and the skin covered them over,
00:13:23.57\00:13:26.11
but there was no breath in them.
Here they were, beautifully made
00:13:26.14\00:13:30.25
bodies, remade, and they looked
alright but they were still dead
00:13:30.28\00:13:35.42
but there was no breath in
them. Alright, what comes next?
00:13:35.45\00:13:38.22
Then he said to me, Prophecy
to the breath. So I prophesied
00:13:38.25\00:13:43.26
as he commanded me and breath
came into them and they lived,
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and stood upon their
feet an exceeding great army.
00:13:46.31\00:13:50.04
Now, can you see the process?
Creation was the body plus the
00:13:50.07\00:13:54.60
breath of life, and
it became a living soul.
00:13:54.63\00:13:56.98
At death, the living person
died, the breath of life left,
00:13:57.01\00:14:03.28
and only the body was
there. Now again, you've got the
00:14:03.31\00:14:05.75
reversal of this process, you
see? And so here is a picture
00:14:05.78\00:14:09.43
of the resurrection.
Now some people might say,
00:14:09.46\00:14:12.48
That's all very well; but,
what if there are no bones left?
00:14:12.51\00:14:14.96
Suppose a fellow has been eaten
by a tiger or he's been burned
00:14:14.99\00:14:18.27
in the fire. There are just
no bones left. You don't need to
00:14:18.30\00:14:21.57
worry about that. You see
God is not dependent upon the
00:14:21.60\00:14:25.30
original atoms from which we
are made. He can use other atoms
00:14:25.33\00:14:28.71
and remake us just
exactly as we were originally.
00:14:28.74\00:14:32.17
Job voiced this thought in
chapter 19, verse 25, he says
00:14:32.20\00:14:37.21
I know that my redeemer lives,
and He shall stand at last
00:14:37.24\00:14:42.25
on the earth. And after my
skin is destroyed, this I know
00:14:42.28\00:14:46.97
that in my flesh I shall see
God. It doesn't matter if your
00:14:47.00\00:14:50.58
body is destroyed. God
can re- make it just the same.
00:14:50.61\00:14:53.57
And so the hope of people in
this world is the future mortal
00:14:53.60\00:14:59.95
life as a result of the
resurrection. Paul described
00:14:59.98\00:15:04.13
this in 1 Thessalonians
chapter 4, and in verse 16,
00:15:04.16\00:15:07.96
where he says, For the Lord
himself will descend from heaven
00:15:08.00\00:15:11.04
with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel and with the
00:15:11.07\00:15:13.93
trumpet of God, and the
dead in Christ shall rise first.
00:15:13.96\00:15:17.42
What a great day that will be!
But listen, I just want to tell
00:15:17.45\00:15:20.17
you something. There's
going to be two resurrections.
00:15:20.20\00:15:23.34
Did you know that? Well, you
better accept it because that's
00:15:23.37\00:15:26.55
what Jesus Christ said in John
chapter 5, and in verse, 28.
00:15:26.58\00:15:31.17
He said, Do not marvel at this,
for the hour is coming in which
00:15:31.20\00:15:35.38
all that are in the
graves will hear His voice.
00:15:35.41\00:15:38.43
It doesn't matter whether you
believe it or not, whether you
00:15:38.46\00:15:41.62
are ready or not, you're
going to hear that voice.
00:15:41.65\00:15:43.74
And then, he says, They shall
come forth, those who have done
00:15:43.77\00:15:48.07
good to the resurrection of
life, and those who have done
00:15:48.10\00:15:52.07
evil to the
resurrection of damnation.
00:15:52.10\00:15:54.67
Its terribly important you come
up in the right resurrection,
00:15:54.70\00:15:58.04
Isn't it? I'm
sure we all want to be
00:15:58.07\00:16:01.17
in the right resurrection.
Sometimes people get involved
00:16:01.20\00:16:04.43
in spiritualism and they're
quite certain they've seen
00:16:04.46\00:16:07.40
a soul or a spirit. Others
believe it's all an illusion
00:16:07.43\00:16:11.63
an maybe there is illusion and
trickery practiced. But things
00:16:11.66\00:16:15.62
do happen and sometimes
some quite frightening things.
00:16:15.65\00:16:18.75
We'll be coming to grips with
this issue in our next program
00:16:18.78\00:16:22.65
where we visit Endor where
the first recorded spiritualist
00:16:22.68\00:16:26.59
séance in history took place.
00:16:26.62\00:16:28.49