>>Bill: Neil Simon, who wrote
The Odd Couple and Barefoot in
00:00:02.30\00:00:06.66
the Park, was asked on the Dick
Cavett Show whether making a lot
of money concerned him.
00:00:06.66\00:00:12.63
The studio went dead silent when
Simon answered, "No, what does
00:00:12.63\00:00:18.16
concern me is
the fear of dying."
00:00:18.16\00:00:22.53
ANNOUNCER: It has
stood the test of time.
00:00:35.00\00:00:37.73
God's book: the Bible,
00:00:38.53\00:00:41.23
still relevant in
today's complex world.
00:00:42.36\00:00:45.66
It Is Written,
00:00:46.36\00:00:48.56
sharing the messages
of hope around the world.
00:00:50.13\00:00:55.50
The fear of death
and dying isn't uncommon.
00:01:02.73\00:01:05.30
Most of us fear
death to some degree.
00:01:05.30\00:01:10.23
In fact, the fear of death
is so common that it has spurred
00:01:10.23\00:01:15.13
multiple research projects and
intrigued everyone from scholars
to religious leaders around
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the world.
00:01:18.76\00:01:21.43
Some interesting findings have
emerged from studying the fear
00:01:21.43\00:01:26.13
of death. For example, women
have generally shown more fear
of death than men, perhaps
00:01:26.13\00:01:30.70
because women are more likely
to admit to and discuss their
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fears. There is conflicting
research about fear of death in
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young people versus the elderly.
00:01:39.76\00:01:42.36
While most researchers will
argue that young people fear
00:01:42.36\00:01:46.80
death more than the elderly, one
study done with dying people in
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Taiwan and published in the
Journal of Pain and Symptom
Management showed that the
00:01:51.93\00:01:56.86
fear of death actually didn't
lessen with increased age.
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Interestingly, the same study
showed that patient's fear of
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death decreased after they were
admitted to hospice care likely
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a result of the education
and emotional/spiritual support
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patients receive
from the hospice team.
00:02:17.40\00:02:19.76
So what is it about
death that has us so scared?
00:02:19.76\00:02:25.60
Fear of death is broken down
into specific fears - according
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to the experts: Fear of Pain and
Suffering - many people fear
that they will meet death with
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excruciating pain and suffering.
00:02:37.43\00:02:41.20
This fear is common in many
healthy people and is seen often
00:02:41.20\00:02:45.33
in patients dying of cancer
or other painful diseases.
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Fear of the Unknown - death is
the ultimate unknown--no one has
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survived it to tell us
what happens afterward.
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It's in our human nature to want
to understand and make sense of
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the world around us but death
can never be fully understood
while we are still alive.
00:03:03.60\00:03:08.46
That is an interesting
statement, I don't agree with
the experts, because
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when I ask the Bible, I find
that there is someone who has
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died and come back to tell
us all about death - look at
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Revelation 1: 18 You see, we
don't have to grope around in
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the dark. Jesus has
died, and He came back.
00:03:49.46\00:03:54.03
Let's go to Him for some answers
- and when it comes time to die,
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time to close your eyes for the
last time you'll know what to
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expect. I think you'll be
surprised at how much the Bible
00:04:05.03\00:04:11.06
actually says on this subject.
00:04:11.06\00:04:13.76
And it's going to take some
effort on your part as we go
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through the Bible.
00:04:16.33\00:04:18.60
We need to be willing to
separate ourselves from the
subject long enough to
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let God do some explaining.
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So I'll ask of you not to jump
to conclusions and we simply Ask
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the Bible what happens
to someone when they die?
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Here's how Jesus described death
in one of the most compassionate
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scenes in the Bible, John 11: 11
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Jesus compares death to a
sleep - so I asked myself - why?
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You make your way through the
Bible you are going to see that
00:05:03.46\00:05:08.86
the Bible compares death to
a sleep in almost 60 verses.
00:05:08.86\00:05:12.80
Why has God chosen to compare
death to sleep - over and over
00:05:12.80\00:05:16.46
again in the Bible?
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I started digging a little bit
deeper, I started to find some
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answers in the scriptures -
In Ecclesiastes 12:7 we have the
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formula for
death: It's very simple.
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When you die, the spirit returns
to God, and your body, which is
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made of dust, decomposes
and goes back to the earth.
00:05:51.93\00:05:55.96
"For dust thou art, and
unto dust shall you return.
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" It's one of the most basic
statements and ugly truths in
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scripture. That's what
the book of Ecclesiastes says.
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The dust returns to earth, and
the spirit - small "s" - returns
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to God. This isn't the
only place you find that same
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formula. If you go to the book
of Genesis, for example, you
find the reverse process
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being described when God
first created life: Genesis 2: 7
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Let me make a bold suggestion.
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And then we'll
test it with the Bible.
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They're the same formula.
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Genesis 2:7 and Ecclesiastes
12:7 are two sides of the same
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coin. Is it possible that the
"breath of life" of Genesis 2: 7
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is the same as "spirit" of
Ecclesiastes 12: 7 Let's look at
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Job 27: 3 Let me
ask you a question.
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How can the spirit
be in Job's nostrils?
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It's because in the Bible
sometimes the word spirit refers
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to a spirit being like the Holy
Spirit or angels, but sometimes
it refers simply to our
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breath.
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At least in Ecclesiastes 12:7
and Job 27:3, the spirit is not
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a ghost - it is
the breath of life.
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It's the life giving principle
that only God can give.
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Look at Psalm 146: 3 - 4
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The Bible says when you die - in
Ecclesiastes it says your body
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goes back to the dust and
the spirit goes back to God.
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Here's the formula again.
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The breath goes forth and the
body becomes dust but David adds
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one more important thought.
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The day you die,
your thoughts perish.
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You stop thinking.
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That is what the Bible says.
00:08:48.03\00:08:49.56
Now think about it.
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If, when you die, you
immediately at that moment pass
into the presence of
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God, don't you think you
might have some thoughts?
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Now I know for a fact that this
is a new way of thinking for a
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lot of people.
00:09:05.40\00:09:07.20
This isn't what
you've always been told.
00:09:07.20\00:09:10.40
We've always been told that when
we die, our "ghost" floats away
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somewhere.
00:09:12.10\00:09:14.36
And we've always been told that
the "spirit" is our ghost - but
00:09:14.36\00:09:16.86
the Bible doesn't say that.
00:09:16.86\00:09:19.30
The spirit is our breath,
and we are a living soul.
00:09:19.30\00:09:23.70
So then what
happens when we die?
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When you take a light bulb and
turn it into a socket, and add
00:09:27.70\00:09:34.00
electricity, what do you get?
00:09:34.00\00:09:35.60
Light.
00:09:35.60\00:09:37.43
If you take away the
electricity, the light goes out.
00:09:37.43\00:09:40.73
Now here's the important
question: where did the light
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go? It didn't go
anywhere, did it?
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It simply ceased to exist.
00:09:45.53\00:09:49.36
Now follow me carefully,
because I don't want to be
00:09:49.36\00:09:53.56
misunderstood. According to the
Bible, we are a combination of
dust and breath - which makes a
00:09:53.56\00:09:59.73
living soul.
00:09:59.73\00:10:03.96
It's like a light bulb
plus power creates light.
00:10:03.96\00:10:09.16
But when you take away the
breath, the gift of life - where
00:10:09.16\00:10:13.66
do we go? Nowhere.
00:10:13.66\00:10:16.23
We die.
00:10:16.23\00:10:17.83
We cease to exist.
00:10:17.83\00:10:19.76
Look at Psalm 115: 17
00:10:19.76\00:10:23.66
Don't you think you might praise
God that you actually made it?
00:10:33.10\00:10:37.93
The fact is you don't
go to heaven right away.
00:10:37.93\00:10:41.60
The first thing that
happens is that you die.
00:10:41.60\00:10:44.40
You go to the grave.
00:10:44.40\00:10:46.66
And that's how I know that the
psychics don't have the answers
00:10:46.66\00:10:49.46
- because they can't talk
to the dead - the dead have no
00:10:49.46\00:10:53.86
thoughts. They
can't talk to you.
00:10:53.86\00:10:55.70
Job 7: 9 - 10
00:10:55.70\00:10:59.93
The Bible says that
when you die, that's it.
00:11:13.73\00:11:17.00
If somebody says they're
communicating with the dead,
they're either lying
00:11:17.00\00:11:23.30
or they're deceived - because
God says the dead don't come
00:11:23.30\00:11:26.43
back. They're dead.
00:11:26.43\00:11:28.23
They don't know
anything: Ecclesiastes 9: 5 - 6
00:11:28.23\00:11:42.43
When you're dead, you're dead.
00:11:58.46\00:12:03.96
That's what the Bible teaches.
00:12:03.96\00:12:06.96
Let me prove it to you.
00:12:06.96\00:12:09.83
In the eleventh chapter of John,
some people came to Jesus to
00:12:09.83\00:12:14.36
tell Him that one of His friends
was very sick - and before Jesus
can get to Him, he dies.
00:12:14.36\00:12:21.96
John 11: 11 - 14
00:12:21.96\00:12:25.76
The disciples didn't know that
Lazarus was dead yet - and Jesus
00:12:58.26\00:13:01.63
said, "Lazarus is sleeping.
00:13:01.63\00:13:03.96
" "Jesus, that's great - if
he's sleeping, he's going to get
00:13:03.96\00:13:07.03
better. " But that's
not what Jesus meant.
00:13:07.03\00:13:11.93
He was trying to tell them that
Lazarus was sleeping the sleep
00:13:11.93\00:13:16.90
of death. I would encourage you
to check your Bible carefully -
it calls death a sleep.
00:13:16.90\00:13:21.83
It doesn't say that people are
whisked off to heaven, it
doesn't say that people
00:13:24.36\00:13:27.50
are whisked off to hell,
it says that they're sleeping.
00:13:27.50\00:13:31.90
And that's because when we
die, we sleep until Jesus comes.
00:13:31.90\00:13:35.73
And that's exactly what Lazarus'
sister believed: John 11: 23 -
00:13:35.73\00:13:41.10
24 When you
die, you fall asleep.
00:13:57.20\00:14:02.00
What seems like just a moment
passes - and when you open your
00:14:02.00\00:14:06.70
eyes again, you
see Jesus coming.
00:14:06.70\00:14:09.43
And that is what the
Bible teaches about death.
00:14:09.43\00:14:12.86
And that has been the hope
of Christians for 2000 years.
00:14:12.86\00:14:16.76
Try to find a description of
an immortal soul - I promise you
00:14:16.76\00:14:24.00
you're not going to find it.
00:14:24.00\00:14:26.16
In fact, the Bible says that
only one person is immortal.
00:14:26.16\00:14:32.20
Do you know who?
00:14:32.20\00:14:34.43
1 Timothy 6: 15 - 16
00:14:34.43\00:14:40.36
Only God is immortal.
00:14:56.36\00:14:59.00
You and I are not.
00:14:59.00\00:15:00.66
We're going to die.
00:15:00.66\00:15:03.50
We are living souls now, but
when we die, we go back to the
00:15:03.50\00:15:09.00
dust. In fact, you may not know
it, but the Bible is very clear
that a soul can die:
00:15:09.00\00:15:15.00
Ezekiel 18: 4
00:15:15.00\00:15:18.06
The Bible teaches that
the wages of sin is what?
00:15:30.20\00:15:33.30
Death.
00:15:33.30\00:15:35.80
And here the Bible says that the
soul that sins is going to die.
00:15:35.80\00:15:40.46
And you wait in your grave
until the resurrection morning.
00:15:40.46\00:15:46.36
Let me share something with you.
00:15:46.36\00:15:49.96
This book in my hand is "A Study
of the Christian Hope - Life and
00:15:49.96\00:15:57.86
Death. " The
foreword says the following:
00:15:57.86\00:16:03.23
In one of his lighter moments,
Benjamin Franklin penned his own
00:19:20.80\00:19:28.26
epitaph. He didn't profess to be
a born-again Christian, but it
seems that he must have
00:19:28.26\00:19:33.33
been influenced by Paul's
teaching of the resurrection.
00:19:33.33\00:19:37.30
Here's what he wrote:
00:19:37.30\00:19:38.80
The Bible says that our
citizenship is in heaven.
00:20:11.30\00:20:14.90
We may have to fall asleep
before Jesus comes, but the
resurrection morning
00:20:14.90\00:20:20.36
is coming.
00:20:20.36\00:20:21.73
Things change, plans fail You
look for love on a grander scale
00:20:26.03\00:20:35.20
Storms rise, hopes fade
00:20:37.46\00:20:43.03
And you place your
bets on another day
00:20:44.23\00:20:49.06
When the going gets tough
00:20:50.13\00:20:52.90
When the ride's too rough
00:20:53.73\00:20:56.13
When you're just not sure enough
00:20:57.16\00:21:01.33
Jesus will still be there
00:21:02.26\00:21:07.60
His love will never change
00:21:08.56\00:21:11.10
Sure as the steady rain
00:21:12.00\00:21:14.76
Jesus will still be there
00:21:15.66\00:21:20.80
When no one else is true
00:21:21.73\00:21:24.16
He'll still be loving you
00:21:25.06\00:21:29.10
When it looks
like you've lost it all
00:21:30.26\00:21:33.56
And you haven't got a prayer
00:21:34.60\00:21:37.50
Jesus will still be there
00:21:38.36\00:21:45.36
Time flies, hearts turn
00:21:56.26\00:22:01.06
A little bit wiser
from lessons learned
00:22:02.20\00:22:07.63
But sometimes, weakness wins
00:22:08.60\00:22:14.03
And you lose your
foothold once again
00:22:15.16\00:22:19.86
When the going gets tough
00:22:20.83\00:22:23.60
When the ride's too rough
00:22:24.60\00:22:27.16
When you're just not sure enough
00:22:28.36\00:22:31.83
Jesus will still be there
00:22:32.76\00:22:38.40
His love will never change
00:22:39.40\00:22:41.80
Sure as the steady rain
00:22:42.70\00:22:45.50
Jesus will still be there
00:22:46.36\00:22:51.40
When no one else is true
00:22:52.23\00:22:54.63
He'll still be loving you
00:22:55.60\00:22:59.06
When it looks
like you've lost it all
00:23:00.96\00:23:04.30
And you haven't got a prayer
00:23:05.26\00:23:08.50
Jesus will still be there
00:23:09.30\00:23:15.76
Jesus will still be there
00:23:19.10\00:23:23.76
His love will never change
00:23:24.83\00:23:27.20
Sure as the steady rain
00:23:28.13\00:23:30.93
Jesus will still be there
00:23:31.76\00:23:37.13
When no one else is true
00:23:37.93\00:23:40.46
He'll still be loving you
00:23:41.33\00:23:45.16
When it looks
like you've lost it all
00:23:46.40\00:23:50.23
And you haven't got a prayer
00:23:51.13\00:23:53.76
Jesus will still be there
00:23:54.56\00:24:01.46
When it looks
like you've lost it all
00:24:03.13\00:24:06.23
And you haven't got a prayer
00:24:07.16\00:24:10.16
Jesus will still be there
00:24:10.96\00:24:22.63
>>Bill: Let us pray.
00:24:33.23\00:24:36.23
Gracious, loving Heavenly Father
we thank you for the clarity of
00:24:36.23\00:24:37.66
scripture, we thank you for the
truth that those that die wait
in the grave for the
00:24:37.66\00:24:40.30
Gracious, loving Heavenly Father
we thank you for the clarity of
00:24:40.30\00:24:42.86
scripture, we thank you for the
truth that those that die wait
in the grave for the
00:24:42.86\00:24:47.63
resurrection morning.
00:24:47.63\00:24:50.00
I pray that you comfort those
that have lost a loved one, that
00:24:50.00\00:24:53.96
you clear our minds of mythology
and falsehood and that you speak
00:24:53.96\00:24:58.43
clearly to our hearts.
00:24:58.43\00:25:01.06
Bless each and every viewer
I pray in Jesus name, Amen.
00:25:01.06\00:25:06.26
We would like to make a couple
of resources available to you so
00:25:23.76\00:25:26.96
that you can continue
your study on today's topic.
00:25:26.96\00:25:31.10
The first is a study guide that
is available for download on our
00:25:31.10\00:25:35.93
web site at
www.itiswrittencanada.ca.
00:25:35.93\00:25:40.46
The other is a special edition
of the magazine "Signs of the
00:25:40.46\00:25:44.06
times" which has as it's topic
"what happens when you die".
00:25:44.06\00:25:49.06
This is our gift to you, here is
the information you need to get
00:25:49.06\00:25:53.80
your copy. I want to
thank you for joining us.
00:26:53.26\00:26:56.73
I'm glad that we had this
opportunity to spend this time
00:26:56.73\00:27:00.96
together. You know, you can go
to our web sit
www.itiswrittencanada.ca.
00:27:00.96\00:27:06.06
There you can see anyone of
these programs, in fact, all or
00:27:06.06\00:27:10.06
our program are archived there
-- you can watch them at you
00:27:10.06\00:27:14.23
leisure. You can also send us
a prayer request - every morning
00:27:14.23\00:27:19.26
the staff gather at our office
and they pray over all of the
requests that we receive
00:27:19.26\00:27:23.86
by mail, by email
and over the web site.
00:27:23.86\00:27:28.40
You can also send a donation
to It Is Written if you feel so
00:27:28.40\00:27:30.76
impressed to do so.
00:27:30.76\00:27:33.26
You can do that right from
the web site knowing that every
00:27:33.26\00:27:36.00
dollar you send is used to
keep this ministry on the air.
00:27:36.00\00:27:41.06
You can also visit our youtube
channel all our programs are
00:27:41.06\00:27:44.66
there also --
youtube.com/IIWCanada and you
can follow us on twitter.
00:27:44.66\00:27:49.43
I'll be praying that the good
Lord will allow us the privilege
00:27:49.43\00:27:52.26
of being back
together again next week.
00:27:52.26\00:27:55.10
You know it won't be
the same if you're not here.
00:27:55.10\00:27:57.93
Until then remember, it is
written, man shall not live by
00:27:57.93\00:28:03.63
bread alone, but by every word
that proceeds from the mouth of
00:28:03.63\00:28:07.86
God. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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