What does the future hold? 00:00:01.36\00:00:02.70 Where can we find certainty in a world of uncertainty? 00:00:02.73\00:00:05.83 The book of Revelation provides helpful answers for today, 00:00:05.87\00:00:09.44 tomorrow, and forever. 00:00:09.47\00:00:11.37 Join Mark Finley, author and world renowned speaker on a 00:00:11.41\00:00:15.41 journey into the future with 00:00:15.44\00:00:17.25 The book of Revelation provides penetrating 00:00:23.05\00:00:26.52 insight into the future. 00:00:26.55\00:00:28.82 It reveals the plans of God. 00:00:28.86\00:00:31.19 It unmasks the plans of Satan. 00:00:31.23\00:00:33.50 And one of the Devil's greatest deceptions has to 00:00:33.53\00:00:37.07 do with Spiritualism. 00:00:37.10\00:00:38.47 It has to do with the impersonation of our dead loved 00:00:38.50\00:00:43.14 ones by evil spirits. 00:00:43.17\00:00:44.81 We're going to study that in this presentation, 00:00:44.84\00:00:47.51 and give you hope, and confidence to face the future. 00:00:47.54\00:00:52.15 Let's pray. Father in Heaven, thank You so much that Jesus 00:00:52.18\00:00:57.29 is our hope, that Jesus is our security, 00:00:57.32\00:01:01.36 that Jesus is our refuge, and that truth is greater than all 00:01:01.39\00:01:07.00 the deceptions of Satan, and that the Word of God will 00:01:07.03\00:01:10.57 beat back falsehood. 00:01:10.60\00:01:12.17 Open our minds to understand Your truth. 00:01:12.20\00:01:15.24 In Christ's name, Amen. 00:01:15.27\00:01:17.24 My topic during this presentation is 00:01:17.27\00:01:20.51 One of Satan's deadliest delusions has to do with what 00:01:23.91\00:01:28.12 happens when you die. 00:01:28.15\00:01:30.19 There are many different ideas about what happens 00:01:30.25\00:01:34.12 when a person dies. 00:01:34.16\00:01:35.52 And the question also is, 00:01:35.56\00:01:37.53 A hope that goes beyond the tomb? 00:01:41.36\00:01:44.30 A hope that pierces the darkness of night? 00:01:44.33\00:01:48.57 What takes place five minutes after death? 00:01:51.61\00:01:56.48 Is it heaven? Is it hell? Is it nothingness? 00:01:56.51\00:02:01.32 If we went out and took a survey about what happens when you die, 00:02:01.38\00:02:06.22 and if we asked five different people, one might say, 00:02:06.25\00:02:10.66 Oh when you die, nothing. 00:02:10.69\00:02:12.19 That's it. It's the grave. 00:02:12.26\00:02:13.70 You go into the grave, the ground, and you stay there. 00:02:13.73\00:02:17.10 Somebody else might say, Well, you're reincarnated to a 00:02:17.13\00:02:20.47 variety of life forms. 00:02:20.50\00:02:22.70 Somebody else might say, Well, when you go to die you go 00:02:22.77\00:02:25.74 immediately to heaven, or you go to hell. 00:02:25.77\00:02:28.44 Somebody else might say, when you die you rest until 00:02:28.48\00:02:31.11 the coming of Christ. 00:02:31.15\00:02:32.48 The real answer to the problem of death, of course, 00:02:32.51\00:02:35.48 must be found in the Bible. 00:02:35.52\00:02:37.29 We can have a variety of opinions about death, 00:02:37.32\00:02:40.52 but what Scripture says is authoritative, 00:02:40.56\00:02:44.33 because the author of life reveals secrets about death. 00:02:44.36\00:02:49.20 Many Christians are quite confused about that point. 00:02:55.40\00:02:58.61 Sometimes you'll go to a funeral and the preacher will say, 00:02:58.64\00:03:02.08 Well, your dead loved ones are up in heaven 00:03:02.11\00:03:04.41 looking down upon you. 00:03:04.45\00:03:06.01 Then a few paragraphs later in the sermon he will say, 00:03:06.05\00:03:09.75 Well, your dead loved ones will be resurrected when Jesus comes. 00:03:09.78\00:03:13.15 And you sit out there confused. 00:03:13.19\00:03:15.09 Where are they? Some say, Well, there is kind of a spirit being 00:03:15.12\00:03:20.00 up in heaven, but that spirit being has to be reunited with 00:03:20.03\00:03:23.60 the body when it's resurrected. 00:03:23.63\00:03:25.73 But then you say, If the spirit lives in heaven, what is it? 00:03:25.77\00:03:29.54 Does it have eyes? Does it have hands? 00:03:29.57\00:03:31.41 And why does it need to be reunited with the body if it's 00:03:31.44\00:03:34.81 already up there for hundreds of years? 00:03:34.84\00:03:36.75 The Bible is much simpler than that, much plainer than that, 00:03:36.78\00:03:40.88 and much less confusing. 00:03:40.92\00:03:42.55 And we're going to study in this presentation to answer 00:03:42.58\00:03:47.09 the mystery of death. 00:03:47.12\00:03:48.46 Now to understand death we really have to understand this 00:03:48.49\00:03:50.99 idea of immortality. 00:03:51.03\00:03:52.36 See, if you have an immortal soul that wings its way 00:03:56.36\00:04:00.40 to heaven after you die, why would you need a resurrection 00:04:00.44\00:04:04.14 of the body anyway? 00:04:04.17\00:04:05.57 So we have to look at what does the Bible 00:04:05.61\00:04:07.74 teach about immortality? 00:04:07.78\00:04:09.38 Do we have it now? Will we have it in the future? 00:04:09.41\00:04:12.11 Do we have an immortal soul? 00:04:12.15\00:04:13.75 Is the thing called the soul immortal? 00:04:13.78\00:04:15.98 What is the soul? And what about the resurrection 00:04:16.02\00:04:19.15 that the Bible teaches about? 00:04:19.19\00:04:21.36 Now the truth of the matter is we can find the answers. 00:04:23.79\00:04:26.90 We find answers deeply embedded in Scripture. 00:04:26.93\00:04:30.50 We find answers in the Word of God. 00:04:30.53\00:04:33.47 The book of Revelation helps us to understand 00:04:33.50\00:04:37.04 the mystery of death. 00:04:37.07\00:04:38.77 You go to Revelation, the Revelation of who everybody? 00:04:38.81\00:04:41.84 Jesus Christ. And Scripture says in 00:04:41.88\00:04:44.95 Christ was alive, crucified on the cross, went into the grave, 00:04:57.16\00:05:02.06 but was resurrected from the dead. 00:05:02.10\00:05:04.97 It was at that point that He said, I'm going to My Father. 00:05:05.00\00:05:08.70 Remember Mary tried to cling to His feet and He said, 00:05:08.74\00:05:11.37 Touch Me not. I'm ascending to the Father. 00:05:11.41\00:05:13.31 So you have the idea of death, rest in the tomb over Sabbath, 00:05:13.38\00:05:18.31 resurrection, Jesus ascending to heaven. 00:05:18.35\00:05:21.12 But notice what Jesus says, 00:05:21.15\00:05:22.52 Hades the grave. Now notice, this is incredibly good news. 00:05:24.95\00:05:29.19 The death is not some locked up tomb prisoned in the earth. 00:05:29.22\00:05:33.40 Jesus said, I have the keys. 00:05:33.43\00:05:35.10 You need not fear death. 00:05:35.13\00:05:36.73 Why don't we need to fear death? 00:05:36.77\00:05:39.37 First, Jesus already experienced it, and He already 00:05:39.40\00:05:43.00 conquered the grave. 00:05:43.04\00:05:44.54 Death is a defeated foe. 00:05:44.57\00:05:47.98 Every time Jesus faced death, Jesus won, and death lost. 00:05:48.01\00:05:54.02 Every time Christ faced the grave He came out victorious. 00:05:54.05\00:06:00.02 And He demonstrated His power over the grave by raising from 00:06:00.06\00:06:05.93 the dead many who had died in New Testament periods of time: 00:06:05.96\00:06:11.03 children and adults. 00:06:11.07\00:06:13.20 Why don't we need to fear death? 00:06:13.23\00:06:14.97 Because Christ has conquered the grave. 00:06:15.00\00:06:17.14 He went into the grave and came out. 00:06:17.17\00:06:19.24 And because He has the keys to the grave, death is an unlocked 00:06:19.27\00:06:23.88 mystery through Jesus. 00:06:23.91\00:06:25.71 The Bible also teaches that one day He will come again, 00:06:25.75\00:06:29.52 and one day the dead in Christ will be resurrected. 00:06:29.55\00:06:33.29 You remember 1 Thessalonians 4: 16. 00:06:33.32\00:06:36.39 It talks about the coming of Jesus. 00:06:36.42\00:06:39.39 The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, 00:06:39.43\00:06:42.13 with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God: 00:06:42.16\00:06:44.83 and the dead in Christ will rise first:... 00:06:44.87\00:06:47.40 We need not fear death. 00:06:47.44\00:06:49.20 Jesus is coming again! 00:06:49.24\00:06:50.91 We can see our loved ones again. 00:06:50.94\00:06:53.61 Does the Bible teach that the soul is immortal? 00:06:58.51\00:07:02.78 Well, let's go back to the book of Genesis, 00:07:02.82\00:07:05.15 because if we understand how God created the human race, 00:07:05.19\00:07:08.59 we could also understand about what happens when we die. 00:07:08.62\00:07:13.60 So let's go back to Genesis. The Bible says, 00:07:13.63\00:07:17.20 Now notice what the Bible does not say. 00:07:30.35\00:07:32.48 The Bible does not say that God put an immortal soul in human 00:07:32.51\00:07:38.32 beings when they were created. 00:07:38.35\00:07:39.69 What does it say? God formed man, God fashioned man, 00:07:39.72\00:07:45.06 God shaped man out of what? the dust of the earth, 00:07:45.09\00:07:50.40 and man became a living soul, as God breathed His life 00:07:50.47\00:07:55.74 giving breath into it. 00:07:55.77\00:07:57.11 We might look at it this way: dust, that's the dust of the 00:07:57.14\00:08:01.91 earth that God created man from, and God's Spirit breathed into 00:08:01.94\00:08:07.02 man creates a living soul. 00:08:07.05\00:08:09.72 Or we could say it this way: the elements of earth, 00:08:09.75\00:08:13.42 plus God's breath, equals a living being. 00:08:13.46\00:08:16.73 See, in the Bible, the soul is not something put into a human 00:08:16.76\00:08:21.80 being that is immortal, but in the Bible a human being is a 00:08:21.83\00:08:26.74 living soul: the body, plus the breath, equals a living soul. 00:08:26.77\00:08:31.84 So in the Bible part of the time the word soul is used it is used 00:08:31.87\00:08:36.91 as something I am: I am the product of body and breath. 00:08:36.95\00:08:42.78 I am a living soul, a living being, a living personality. 00:08:42.82\00:08:48.62 A living soul simply means a living being, 00:08:48.66\00:08:53.46 or a living personality. 00:08:53.50\00:08:55.76 A living being, living soul, means a living person. 00:08:55.80\00:08:59.60 It means an individual who's thinking, 00:08:59.63\00:09:02.47 functioning, and breathing. 00:09:02.50\00:09:04.27 Look what the Bible says very clearly. 00:09:08.61\00:09:11.78 So can the soul die everybody? 00:09:27.43\00:09:29.33 What does the Bible say? 00:09:29.36\00:09:30.70 The soul that does what? sins. 00:09:30.73\00:09:33.13 How else might you read that passage? 00:09:33.17\00:09:35.80 Same way we read Genesis 2:7. 00:09:35.84\00:09:38.47 The person, the living being that sins, is going to die. 00:09:38.51\00:09:43.11 So let's go back to Genesis again. 00:09:43.14\00:09:45.01 You remember? God created man out of the dust of the ground, 00:09:45.08\00:09:47.88 breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. 00:09:47.95\00:09:50.19 Man became a living what? soul, or being, 00:09:50.22\00:09:52.85 or personality: person. 00:09:52.89\00:09:54.42 The soul who sins; what's going to happen to them? 00:09:54.49\00:09:57.23 They're going to die. 00:09:57.26\00:09:58.59 So here the Bible is very plain. 00:09:58.63\00:10:01.56 The word soul simply can mean in the Bible: living being. 00:10:01.60\00:10:06.57 Two thirds of the time the Bible uses the term soul, 00:10:11.07\00:10:15.68 it's for life. One third is for person. 00:10:15.71\00:10:20.25 Sometimes the Bible talks about the soul as something we are: 00:10:20.32\00:10:24.25 the product of body, and breath. 00:10:24.29\00:10:26.62 Sometimes the Bible uses the term soul as something we have; 00:10:26.65\00:10:30.69 two thirds of the time in fact. 00:10:30.73\00:10:32.49 But it's never that we have an immortal soul. 00:10:32.53\00:10:35.53 We have life. We have life. 00:10:35.56\00:10:38.40 A good example of that is found in 00:10:38.43\00:10:41.00 Then He goes on to say, Verse 26. 00:10:54.45\00:10:57.55 So in the earlier verse it talks about losing your life, 00:11:06.80\00:11:10.30 Then in this verse it talks about losing your soul. 00:11:10.33\00:11:13.47 It talks about preserving your life, or preserving your soul. 00:11:13.50\00:11:17.87 So when the Bible talks about soul, 00:11:20.38\00:11:21.71 it can be talking about life. 00:11:21.74\00:11:23.08 So what happens when we die? 00:11:23.11\00:11:24.61 When we die our life is no more. 00:11:24.65\00:11:28.55 So the Bible never talks about soul in the 00:11:28.58\00:11:32.02 sense of immortal soul. 00:11:32.05\00:11:34.16 In fact, the Bible uses the term soul 1600 times. 00:11:34.19\00:11:38.16 How many was that? did you get it? 1600 times. 00:11:38.19\00:11:42.10 Never once does it put the word immortal with soul. 00:11:42.13\00:11:46.17 Never once does it link those two things together. 00:11:46.20\00:11:50.17 Wouldn't you think if human beings had an immortal soul 00:11:50.21\00:11:54.61 that at least it would be linked once together in Scripture? 00:11:54.64\00:12:00.32 It is never linked together. 00:12:00.35\00:12:01.95 In fact, the Bible is always speaking about Jesus as the 00:12:13.70\00:12:17.40 One who is immortal. 00:12:17.43\00:12:18.80 Immortality is something that God has. 00:12:30.15\00:12:33.68 Job 4:17 says, Shall mortal man be more just than his maker? 00:12:33.72\00:12:39.25 We are mortal. Romans 2:7, 8 says, We seek for immortality. 00:12:39.29\00:12:45.69 1 Corinthians 15:51 says, We put on 00:12:45.76\00:12:49.76 immortality when Christ comes. 00:12:49.80\00:12:51.47 So we are mortal, we seek for immortality, we put it on 00:12:51.50\00:12:55.97 when Christ comes. 00:12:56.00\00:12:57.34 Only Jesus, only God the Father, the Son, 00:12:57.37\00:13:01.04 and the Holy Spirit have immortality. Now notice, 00:13:01.08\00:13:03.28 Who's that? the King of kings, and Lord of lords? 00:13:12.22\00:13:14.12 Who is that? that's Jesus, of course. 00:13:14.16\00:13:16.73 What's the word everybody? what's that word? 00:13:18.49\00:13:20.56 So God alone has immortality. 00:13:25.50\00:13:28.20 Now look, if I alone have my Bible, what does that mean? 00:13:28.24\00:13:35.34 If I say, I am the only one; I alone have my Bible. 00:13:35.38\00:13:38.48 It means you don't have it, right? 00:13:38.51\00:13:39.91 It means that it's my exclusive possession. 00:13:39.95\00:13:42.75 So when it says God alone has immortality, it means that 00:13:42.78\00:13:48.12 nobody else has it. We seek for it. 00:13:48.16\00:13:50.66 We look for the day that we'll be clothed with 00:13:50.69\00:13:53.46 immortality when Jesus comes. 00:13:53.50\00:13:55.86 But according to the Bible God alone, His Son Christ, 00:13:55.90\00:13:59.03 and the Holy Spirit are the only ones that have immortality. 00:13:59.07\00:14:02.24 Where'd this idea of the immortality of 00:14:02.27\00:14:04.41 the soul come from? 00:14:04.44\00:14:05.77 Where did it come from, my friends? 00:14:05.81\00:14:07.28 In ancient writings of Strabo, called Geographica, 00:14:13.95\00:14:20.36 Strabo says this; talking about the Son. He says, 00:14:20.39\00:14:24.33 He's speaking about Christians who've drifted away from Christ, 00:14:34.94\00:14:39.61 who have reaccepted Greek philosophy. 00:14:39.64\00:14:42.51 And he says, They invent fables after the manner of Plato, 00:14:42.54\00:14:47.02 such as the immortality of the soul. 00:14:47.05\00:14:48.62 The Greeks believed that the soul was immortal, 00:14:48.65\00:14:52.69 and it would leave the body at death. 00:14:52.72\00:14:54.66 Also this idea of the immortality of the soul can be 00:14:54.69\00:14:58.56 traced back to the Babylonians, can be traced back to 00:14:58.59\00:15:01.60 the Egyptian culture. 00:15:01.63\00:15:02.96 Many pagan cultures had this idea. 00:15:03.00\00:15:05.73 But the Bible constantly taught that, indeed, the soul was not 00:15:05.77\00:15:14.04 something that was immortal. 00:15:14.08\00:15:15.44 It's something we are. 00:15:15.48\00:15:16.81 The product of body and breath. 00:15:16.85\00:15:18.98 God created man out of the dust of the ground, 00:15:19.01\00:15:22.38 breathed into his nostrils the breath of the spirit of life. 00:15:22.42\00:15:26.15 Man becomes a living being, a living soul. 00:15:26.22\00:15:28.82 Or the soul represents our life. 00:15:28.86\00:15:31.23 We die, we no longer breathe, that life is over. 00:15:31.26\00:15:35.86 That's an amazing statement from one of the early church fathers, 00:16:10.77\00:16:14.87 who clearly understood that the Scriptures teach that death is 00:16:14.90\00:16:20.18 but a rest, a sleep, until the resurrection, 00:16:20.21\00:16:23.18 that there is nothing like the immortality of the soul 00:16:23.21\00:16:26.72 found in the Bible. 00:16:26.75\00:16:28.48 It rather comes from Greek philosophy. 00:16:28.52\00:16:32.62 And if you accept the idea of the immortality of the soul, 00:16:35.72\00:16:41.10 then that leaves you very open, very vulnerable to spiritualism. 00:16:41.13\00:16:45.30 The book of Revelation speaks of spiritualistic delusions in the 00:16:45.33\00:16:50.71 last days of Earth's history. 00:16:50.74\00:16:52.27 And the Devil is preparing men and women through a false 00:16:52.31\00:16:55.91 understanding, or a misunderstanding of death. 00:16:55.94\00:16:59.05 The Devil is preparing men and women through that 00:16:59.08\00:17:02.15 misunderstanding of death on the idea of the immortal soul. 00:17:02.18\00:17:05.45 The Devil can use these ideas about death to lead us down 00:17:09.69\00:17:13.63 the pathway of destruction. The Bible says in 00:17:13.66\00:17:17.13 You see, Spiritualism says this, that there's an immortal soul 00:17:26.31\00:17:29.74 that leaves the body at death, and then under the right 00:17:29.78\00:17:32.21 conditions that this immortal soul, this being that has died 00:17:32.25\00:17:37.35 and it still lives, can communicate with the living. 00:17:37.39\00:17:39.72 But the Bible says death is but a sleep till the resurrection. 00:17:39.75\00:17:44.36 It says, just like the cloud disappears and vanishes, 00:17:44.39\00:17:47.50 the person who goes down to the grave is not going to come up. 00:17:47.56\00:17:51.03 The Bible says that the person who dies can't 00:17:56.34\00:17:58.47 return to his house. 00:17:58.54\00:17:59.87 One night I was in the Philippines sharing these 00:17:59.91\00:18:04.05 marvelous truths from the Word of God, 00:18:04.08\00:18:05.78 the truth that death is but a rest, the truth of the marvels 00:18:05.81\00:18:09.25 of the resurrection, the truth that when you die you cannot 00:18:09.28\00:18:12.69 return to your house. 00:18:12.72\00:18:14.06 A Philippino Army officer came to our meetings. 00:18:14.09\00:18:17.99 His wife had died a number of years before. 00:18:18.03\00:18:22.20 One night there was a great storm, and as he went home after 00:18:22.23\00:18:28.57 the meeting the storm got more furious. 00:18:28.60\00:18:31.71 The shutters on his house were blowing, the wind was blowing, 00:18:31.74\00:18:35.28 the rain was pouring down. 00:18:35.31\00:18:36.88 And as he lie in his bed unable to sleep, 00:18:36.91\00:18:39.61 he looked up, and he saw a form. 00:18:39.65\00:18:41.72 He told me the story later. 00:18:41.75\00:18:43.75 And as he saw this form, it was the form of his wife. 00:18:43.79\00:18:47.26 She looked more beautiful than ever before. 00:18:47.29\00:18:50.56 She reached out and said, Oh, darling, hug me. 00:18:50.59\00:18:53.60 And he looked up, and he remembered our meetings, 00:18:53.63\00:18:56.67 that the Bible does not teach an immortal soul. 00:18:56.70\00:18:58.63 He remembered our meetings that when you die you can no longer 00:18:58.67\00:19:02.17 come back to your house; that you will not return. 00:19:02.20\00:19:04.91 And he looked up and he said, I know, 00:19:04.94\00:19:07.41 because he remembered Revelation. 00:19:07.44\00:19:09.84 He remembered the spirits of demons would try to deceive. 00:19:09.88\00:19:13.72 He said, I know you're not my wife. 00:19:13.75\00:19:15.35 I know you're a demon. 00:19:15.38\00:19:16.72 In the name of Jesus Christ, be gone! 00:19:16.75\00:19:19.15 And he said, right before his eyes, she turned into a vicious 00:19:19.22\00:19:24.59 demon and was gone. 00:19:24.63\00:19:26.46 You see, my friends, this is more than some 00:19:26.49\00:19:29.30 academic exercise. 00:19:29.33\00:19:31.23 But as you understand what the Bible really teaches about 00:19:31.27\00:19:35.24 death, as you understand what the Bible teaches about the 00:19:35.27\00:19:39.24 immortal soul, God will protect you in the crisis. 00:19:39.27\00:19:43.14 That's why it's so vital to understand these truths 00:19:43.18\00:19:46.21 about the book of Revelation. 00:19:46.25\00:19:47.58 See, Oliver Lodge, an English spiritualist, put it this way: 00:19:47.62\00:19:51.79 Spiritualism is dependent on the idea of the immortal soul. 00:20:03.00\00:20:09.04 The teachings of Oliver Lodge, that spiritualist from England, 00:21:01.12\00:21:06.03 are still impacting America and Europe today. 00:21:06.06\00:21:11.40 They still are influencing scores and scores of teens 00:21:11.43\00:21:17.64 today, preparing the world for the overwhelming surprise 00:21:17.67\00:21:22.38 that the Devil is bringing upon the world through spiritualism. 00:21:22.41\00:21:26.15 When you turn away from the Word of God, when you turn away 00:21:26.18\00:21:30.95 from the clear teachings of His Word, it prepares you for the 00:21:30.99\00:21:35.06 deceptions of the Devil. 00:21:35.09\00:21:36.76 The book of Revelation reveals the plans of God. 00:21:36.79\00:21:40.56 The book of Revelation unmasks the plans of Satan. 00:21:40.60\00:21:44.33 Safe in the arms of Jesus. 00:21:55.88\00:21:58.68 That's the message that Jesus gives to us in the Bible. 00:21:58.71\00:22:03.89 More than fifty-three times in the Bible 00:22:03.92\00:22:07.19 death is mentioned as a sleep. 00:22:07.26\00:22:09.06 Jesus, through the Apostle Paul, is going to tell us 00:22:14.16\00:22:17.10 the mystery of death. 00:22:17.13\00:22:18.93 He's going to solve that mystery. 00:22:18.97\00:22:20.74 We shall not all... What everybody? 00:22:20.77\00:22:24.14 We shall not all what? sleep. 00:22:24.17\00:22:26.01 Now let's pause here. 00:22:34.45\00:22:35.78 When you die, it's just as secure as sleeping 00:22:35.82\00:22:41.59 in the arms of Jesus. 00:22:41.62\00:22:42.96 You die and you just rest. 00:22:42.99\00:22:45.13 There's no pain, there's no suffering, and notice there's 00:22:45.16\00:22:49.10 no passing of time. It says, 00:22:49.13\00:22:51.93 When you fall asleep what's the next thing that you know? 00:22:55.00\00:23:00.11 You wake up, right? 00:23:00.14\00:23:01.58 I've been standing on the great platforms of the world, 00:23:01.64\00:23:05.15 in stadiums, and in auditoriums, and gymnasiums, 00:23:05.18\00:23:09.68 and churches for about fifty years. 00:23:09.72\00:23:11.65 And when my children were very young, we'd bring 00:23:11.69\00:23:15.26 them to the meetings. 00:23:15.29\00:23:16.62 And very often, I remember my boy particularly, 00:23:16.66\00:23:19.56 my wife sometimes would take a blanket and put it by the side 00:23:19.59\00:23:23.26 of the stage, because he'd love to watch me. 00:23:23.30\00:23:25.40 And she would sit next to him. 00:23:25.43\00:23:27.27 And he'd have a little comfortable bed. 00:23:27.30\00:23:28.74 And he'd fall asleep when Daddy was preaching. 00:23:28.77\00:23:31.67 That's okay for my son to fall asleep when I'm preaching, 00:23:31.71\00:23:34.44 but you'd better not! 00:23:34.48\00:23:35.81 But anyway, he'd fall asleep. 00:23:35.84\00:23:37.85 After the meeting he'd be sleeping away, and I would pick 00:23:37.88\00:23:41.42 him up and we'd bring him to the car. 00:23:41.45\00:23:43.35 We were in New England in those days: Massachusetts, 00:23:43.39\00:23:45.75 Connecticut, Rhode Island where it snowed a lot. 00:23:45.79\00:23:48.02 And maybe the roads were icy, I don't know, and we'd be going 00:23:48.09\00:23:51.39 home, and maybe a truck comes by us, and I'd dodge it. 00:23:51.43\00:23:53.70 You know, he doesn't know anything about that. 00:23:53.73\00:23:55.76 He's sleeping. I'd lay him in his little crib. 00:23:55.80\00:23:57.77 The next morning my wife and I would go in to see our son. 00:23:57.80\00:24:01.54 And I'd say, Son, how are you doing? 00:24:01.57\00:24:02.90 And he's bright eyed, and he looks up and he says, 00:24:02.94\00:24:05.31 Daddy, are we still at church? 00:24:05.34\00:24:07.04 You still preaching? 00:24:07.08\00:24:08.41 I'd say, Well, son, I preach long, but not that long. 00:24:08.44\00:24:10.75 You see, he didn't know anything about the 00:24:10.78\00:24:14.35 passage of time, did he? 00:24:14.38\00:24:15.72 What did he know? He just knew that his dad was preaching. 00:24:15.75\00:24:20.79 He fell asleep, and the next thing he knew he woke up. 00:24:20.82\00:24:23.83 So that's all death is. 00:24:23.86\00:24:25.53 Nothing to be feared. 00:24:25.56\00:24:27.13 If you're a believer, we simply fall asleep, and we rest. 00:24:27.16\00:24:31.93 The next moment, the next instant, the next conscious 00:24:31.97\00:24:35.77 thinking moment we see Christ coming. 00:24:35.80\00:24:38.57 So we're changed in a moment, in an instant; 00:24:48.32\00:24:50.95 changed from mortality to immortality, to receive these 00:24:50.99\00:24:55.46 glorious new bodies in Christ. 00:24:55.49\00:24:57.69 So notice what He's breathing into him. 00:25:11.84\00:25:13.88 It's the breath of life. 00:25:13.91\00:25:15.24 What is this breath that God breathes into it? 00:25:17.85\00:25:21.62 Death is nothing more than creation in reverse. 00:25:25.29\00:25:30.03 When we die. 00:25:34.63\00:25:35.96 Now notice it doesn't say the soul will return 00:25:39.43\00:25:41.67 to God who gave it. 00:25:41.70\00:25:43.04 This is where many people make a big mistake. 00:25:43.07\00:25:44.67 They think the soul and the spirit are the same thing. 00:25:44.71\00:25:47.08 They are not. The spirit is nothing more than the breath 00:25:47.11\00:25:51.01 that God breathed into us initially. 00:25:51.05\00:25:53.78 So God breaths His breath, or His spirit into us. 00:25:59.45\00:26:02.16 What goes back to God? the power of God that He has given 00:26:02.19\00:26:06.19 us to sustain life. 00:26:06.23\00:26:08.60 in the Bible. The soul is something that we are. 00:26:11.33\00:26:14.57 We are the product of body and breath. 00:26:14.60\00:26:17.71 The soul has to do with our life. 00:26:17.74\00:26:20.11 The spirit is the breath of God that sustains, 00:26:20.18\00:26:23.95 or gives us that life. 00:26:23.98\00:26:26.21 When God breathed into it, we lived. 00:26:26.25\00:26:29.05 When He breathed into that body we lived. 00:26:29.08\00:26:31.25 If He wouldn't have breathed His life into it we 00:26:31.29\00:26:33.39 would not have lived. 00:26:33.42\00:26:34.79 So the breath of life, the spirit of life, the life-giving 00:26:34.82\00:26:38.96 force, energy of God enables us to live. 00:26:38.99\00:26:42.10 Every breath we take is dependent 00:26:42.16\00:26:45.03 on the very life of God. 00:26:45.07\00:26:47.34 When we die we go back to the earth. 00:26:47.37\00:26:50.51 The breath goes back, or spirit goes back to Him, 00:26:50.54\00:26:53.68 and we await in sleep that resurrection. 00:26:53.71\00:26:58.51 They are one in Scripture. 00:27:09.59\00:27:13.06 The Bible teaches in fact that... Look at 00:27:13.09\00:27:17.73 Often there's something called Hebrew parallelism. 00:27:20.90\00:27:23.81 God says something in the first verse, He explains it in the 00:27:23.84\00:27:27.74 latter part of that verse. Notice: 00:27:27.81\00:27:29.68 Same thing. Breath equals spirit. 00:27:35.28\00:27:38.09 Can you say that? The breath equals what? spirit. 00:27:38.12\00:27:41.72 So somebody says explain it and make it plain. 00:27:41.79\00:27:45.33 So let's suppose that the light bulb represents our body. 00:27:45.36\00:27:50.03 So this represents our body, or we're created out of the 00:27:50.07\00:27:54.70 dust of the ground. 00:27:54.74\00:27:56.07 Let's suppose the electricity represents the 00:27:56.10\00:27:59.67 spirit, or the breath. 00:27:59.71\00:28:01.44 So somebody turn on the light; throw the switch. 00:28:01.48\00:28:04.75 There we go, thank you very much. 00:28:04.78\00:28:06.48 Okay, so when the power comes through the power cord, 00:28:06.51\00:28:11.92 representing the breath of spirit to the light bulb, 00:28:11.95\00:28:14.46 what happens? There is illumination. 00:28:14.49\00:28:16.16 So to have illumination what do you need? 00:28:16.22\00:28:19.49 Do you need just power in the cord? no. 00:28:19.53\00:28:21.46 You need what? a light bulb. 00:28:21.50\00:28:23.13 But if you just have a light bulb, 00:28:23.16\00:28:24.50 do you have illumination? no. 00:28:24.53\00:28:25.87 You need power. The Spirit represents the power. 00:28:25.90\00:28:30.11 The light bulb is represented by the body. 00:28:30.14\00:28:36.68 Now, if you turn off the power... 00:28:36.71\00:28:40.25 Please turn off the power. Thank you. 00:28:40.28\00:28:41.98 Okay, if you turn off the power, what happens? 00:28:42.02\00:28:44.85 The electricity goes back to the power house. 00:28:44.89\00:28:48.86 What happens to the bulb? 00:28:48.89\00:28:51.29 It no longer has illumination. 00:28:51.33\00:28:54.10 When a person dies the Spirit goes to God, the body, 00:28:54.13\00:29:00.60 represented by the light bulb, is buried in the earth, 00:29:00.64\00:29:03.41 and the person's true life is hid with Christ in God. 00:29:03.44\00:29:08.24 They no longer exist as a living soul. 00:29:08.28\00:29:13.05 They no longer exist as a living being. 00:29:13.08\00:29:16.52 That which goes back to God is not something that thinks. 00:29:16.55\00:29:20.56 It's not something that feels. 00:29:20.59\00:29:22.36 It's not something that some conscious entity, 00:29:22.39\00:29:25.16 ...any thought processes going on in death? The Bible says, 00:29:34.30\00:29:38.74 That's the Spirit of God. 00:29:42.24\00:29:43.58 That is his body. 00:29:45.81\00:29:47.22 So if there was some immortal soul, which the Bible doesn't 00:29:50.82\00:29:53.66 teach, that went back to God, what would happen to 00:29:53.69\00:29:57.49 the thought processes? they would continue. 00:29:57.53\00:29:59.53 But the Bible says the thought processes do what? 00:29:59.56\00:30:02.30 How much do the dead know, everybody? 00:30:15.11\00:30:17.25 How much do they know? 00:30:17.28\00:30:18.71 They know what? That's right, the dead know not anything. 00:30:18.75\00:30:22.25 The Bible continues: 00:30:22.28\00:30:23.75 If a person went immediately to heaven, they would have to 00:30:27.89\00:30:30.83 have love to love God. 00:30:30.86\00:30:32.56 They would notice, if they went immediately to hell, 00:30:32.59\00:30:35.96 they would have hatred or envy. 00:30:36.00\00:30:38.73 But the Bible says, The living know that they shall die, 00:30:38.77\00:30:42.44 but the dead know how much? 00:30:42.47\00:30:44.31 The dead don't know anything. 00:30:44.34\00:30:46.84 Every emotion is ceased. Why? 00:30:46.88\00:30:49.44 Because they're resting, resting until Jesus comes, 00:30:49.48\00:30:53.92 resting till they receive their final reward, 00:30:53.95\00:30:57.59 resting until the resurrection of righteousness, 00:30:57.62\00:31:01.69 or the resurrection of unrighteousness. 00:31:01.72\00:31:04.59 And the Bible writers mention this, as we've described 00:31:09.36\00:31:12.10 it mentioned it already over fifty different times. 00:31:12.13\00:31:16.30 Let me give you some examples. 00:31:16.34\00:31:17.67 What did David believe about death? 00:31:27.08\00:31:31.32 He believed that it was a sleep. 00:31:31.35\00:31:33.86 He believed that it was a rest until the coming of Christ. 00:31:33.89\00:31:38.46 We find this throughout the entire Old Testament. 00:31:38.49\00:31:42.36 Jesus taught as well, that death was a sleep. 00:31:42.40\00:31:46.84 Jesus taught as well, that death was a rest. 00:31:46.87\00:31:50.64 There was an occasion where Jesus' friend died: Lazarus. 00:31:50.67\00:31:56.58 And Lazarus had become very, very sick previous to that. 00:31:56.61\00:32:01.92 And Jesus got word that Lazarus was sick. 00:32:01.95\00:32:06.02 Jesus waited before going. 00:32:06.05\00:32:08.72 He waited a couple days, and by the time He got there, 00:32:08.76\00:32:11.83 since there was a journey, He was in Galilee, and Lazarus was 00:32:11.86\00:32:14.66 in Bethany, it was four days. 00:32:14.70\00:32:16.70 This is a time that Jesus was four days 00:32:16.73\00:32:19.03 late, but right on time. 00:32:19.07\00:32:20.40 You know, why didn't Jesus wait? 00:32:20.44\00:32:22.47 Why did Jesus wait, rather? 00:32:22.50\00:32:24.44 Why didn't Jesus just go to Lazarus? 00:32:24.47\00:32:26.98 Because He wanted to work a miracle that was greater than 00:32:27.01\00:32:29.94 healing sickness; He was going to work a miracle of raising 00:32:29.98\00:32:32.95 Lazarus from the dead. And so, 00:32:32.98\00:32:35.35 They come to Jesus and they say, Jesus, 00:32:38.35\00:32:41.32 Your friend Lazarus is sick. And Jesus says, 00:32:41.36\00:32:43.99 Well, they thought, Wait a minute, if Lazarus is sleeping, 00:32:48.23\00:32:51.53 he's going to get well. 00:32:51.57\00:32:52.90 This is not to death. 00:32:52.93\00:32:54.80 Yet Jesus said, Our friend, Lazarus, does what? 00:32:54.84\00:32:57.17 Our friend Lazarus does what? 00:32:57.21\00:32:59.21 Our friend Lazarus is sleeping. 00:32:59.24\00:33:02.14 They thought, This is good news! 00:33:02.18\00:33:05.31 Because if you're sick, and you sleep, maybe the fever breaks. 00:33:05.35\00:33:09.82 Maybe the sickness is over. 00:33:09.85\00:33:11.62 And then Jesus said, 00:33:11.65\00:33:12.99 And then Jesus makes it plain. 00:33:19.86\00:33:21.73 So they clearly understood. 00:33:26.07\00:33:28.34 Now how did Jesus treat death? 00:33:28.37\00:33:31.91 What did Jesus say to His closest followers? 00:33:31.94\00:33:35.84 Did He say to them, Now don't worry at all about Lazarus, 00:33:35.88\00:33:40.08 because sure he is dead, but he has this immortal soul, 00:33:40.12\00:33:43.79 and it's gone up to heaven? 00:33:43.82\00:33:45.15 Not at all. No such teaching in the Bible. 00:33:45.19\00:33:48.39 And Jesus certainly didn't believe that. 00:33:48.42\00:33:50.99 He simply said, Lazarus is sleeping. 00:33:51.03\00:33:54.23 And then Jesus said, Lazarus is what? Lazarus is dead. 00:33:54.26\00:33:58.03 So Christ then went to the home of Mary and Martha. 00:33:58.07\00:34:03.10 And as He talked to the sister of Lazarus, 00:34:03.14\00:34:09.14 And she said, Oh, Lord, if You had been here 00:34:12.38\00:34:15.02 he wouldn't have died. 00:34:15.05\00:34:16.38 And I know he's going to rise again in the last day. 00:34:16.42\00:34:18.62 Here this sister of Lazarus, who got her religion directly 00:34:18.65\00:34:25.46 from Jesus, Mary said, I know he's going to rise the last day 00:34:25.49\00:34:31.67 in the resurrection. 00:34:31.70\00:34:33.03 Jesus looks at her and recognizes that she understands 00:34:33.07\00:34:40.68 the truth about death. 00:34:40.71\00:34:42.04 She believed that her faithful brother would rise 00:34:43.55\00:34:47.98 in the resurrection. 00:34:48.02\00:34:49.35 She did not believe that he was up in heaven 00:34:49.38\00:34:52.32 looking down upon her. 00:34:52.35\00:34:53.69 She learned her religion directly from Jesus, 00:34:53.72\00:34:57.33 and she believed in the resurrection. 00:34:57.36\00:34:59.56 When? at the last day. 00:34:59.59\00:35:01.53 All the great men and women of faith in the Old and New 00:35:01.56\00:35:05.83 Testament believed that. 00:35:05.87\00:35:07.34 Remember what Paul said there, writing to Timothy? 00:35:07.37\00:35:11.87 He said, My life is being poured out, and I wait the righteous 00:35:11.91\00:35:18.41 Judge, who will have the crown of life for me in the last day. 00:35:18.45\00:35:23.42 Paul believed that Christ was going to come again, 00:35:23.45\00:35:26.59 and that he, if he died in that Roman prison, that he would be 00:35:26.62\00:35:31.06 resurrected in the last day. 00:35:31.09\00:35:32.76 All believers believe that. 00:35:32.79\00:35:34.53 John believe it, exiled on the Island of Patmos. 00:35:34.56\00:35:37.27 Paul believed it, Mary believed it, Martha believed it, 00:35:37.30\00:35:40.97 Jesus taught it. 00:35:41.00\00:35:42.37 So Mary and Martha were crying, not because they thought Lazarus 00:35:42.40\00:35:49.08 was up in heaven, but because the pain, and the agony of 00:35:49.11\00:35:52.35 separation from him until the resurrection at the last day. 00:35:52.38\00:35:57.35 In other words, though that person dies, though they go into 00:36:04.09\00:36:07.20 the grave, they are going to live again. 00:36:07.23\00:36:10.30 They will be resurrected from the dead. 00:36:10.33\00:36:12.93 That death will not hold its victims. 00:36:12.97\00:36:15.50 The grave will not keep its victims. 00:36:15.54\00:36:18.14 That death is not a long night without a morning. 00:36:18.17\00:36:21.31 The tomb is not simply a dark hole in the ground. 00:36:21.34\00:36:26.68 So Jesus said, If you believe, your brother is 00:36:26.72\00:36:30.95 going to live again. 00:36:30.99\00:36:32.32 To demonstrate His power over death, to demonstrate His power 00:36:32.35\00:36:37.36 over the grave, to demonstrate His ability over death, 00:36:37.39\00:36:42.36 Jesus comes to that grave, and Jesus says, 00:36:42.40\00:36:45.93 Lazarus, come forth! 00:36:45.97\00:36:49.37 And Lazarus comes out of the grave, rises to new life. 00:36:49.40\00:36:54.58 He had been in that grave four days. 00:36:54.61\00:36:58.18 Now look, my friend, Lazarus comes out of the tomb. 00:36:58.21\00:37:01.65 New life! Jesus says to those who see him, 00:37:01.68\00:37:06.15 Loose him and let him go. 00:37:06.19\00:37:07.76 He was all bandaged up with the grave clothes. 00:37:07.79\00:37:10.53 Life is pulsating through his body. 00:37:10.56\00:37:12.79 There's a new smile on his face. 00:37:12.83\00:37:14.96 There's a new sparkle in his eyes. 00:37:15.00\00:37:16.80 There's a new spring in his step. 00:37:16.83\00:37:18.67 I can just imagine he comes and he embraces Christ. 00:37:18.70\00:37:22.54 Now look, if what some people believe is true,... 00:37:22.57\00:37:27.18 And now you have to notice Jesus didn't say, Lazarus, come down. 00:37:27.21\00:37:30.95 Jesus said, Lazarus, come forth! 00:37:30.98\00:37:33.38 If what some people believe is actually true,... 00:37:33.42\00:37:38.55 You know, if I were Lazarus what I'd have done? 00:37:38.59\00:37:41.06 I'd have done this: if I were up in heaven for four days, 00:37:41.09\00:37:44.39 rejoicing in glory, if I were fellowshipping with the angels, 00:37:44.43\00:37:49.00 if I were eating from the tree of life, and Jesus said, 00:37:49.03\00:37:53.60 Come down! I would have yelled back from Heaven if I were 00:37:53.64\00:37:56.84 Lazarus, Nothing doing, Lord. 00:37:56.87\00:37:59.54 I'm not coming. You just called the wrong name, Lord. 00:37:59.57\00:38:02.24 You just called the wrong person. 00:38:02.28\00:38:03.85 I'm up here in glory. 00:38:03.88\00:38:05.45 I'm rejoicing in the kingdom of God. 00:38:05.48\00:38:07.38 I am not coming back. 00:38:07.42\00:38:09.05 If anybody could have given a testimony about life after death 00:38:09.08\00:38:12.69 it would have been Lazarus. 00:38:12.72\00:38:15.56 If he were up in glory think of the books he could have written 00:38:15.59\00:38:18.46 that would have been sold throughout the Middle East, 00:38:18.49\00:38:20.56 throughout Jerusalem on life after death. 00:38:20.60\00:38:23.77 But Lazarus had nothing to say. Why not? 00:38:23.80\00:38:26.90 Because he wasn't in glory, he was resting, sleeping there in 00:38:26.94\00:38:30.91 the tomb, resting like every believer will rest until the 00:38:30.94\00:38:35.51 coming of Jesus with no pain, no suffering, no heartache, 00:38:35.54\00:38:39.28 no sorrow, no death; resting. 00:38:39.31\00:38:41.78 The Bible says in 00:38:41.82\00:38:43.15 Somebody says, Pastor Mark, I like to think of my 00:38:49.92\00:38:52.16 mother up in heaven. 00:38:52.19\00:38:53.53 I like to think of her looking down at me. 00:38:53.56\00:38:55.73 It just gives me comfort. 00:38:55.76\00:38:57.73 Would it be comfort for a mother up in heaven if her son was 00:38:57.77\00:39:04.37 drafted off to war, and the enemy captured him, 00:39:04.41\00:39:08.14 and tortured him, and gouged out his eyes, gouged out his 00:39:08.18\00:39:12.81 tongue, and tortured him mercilessly? 00:39:12.85\00:39:15.25 Could that mother be happy in heaven? 00:39:15.28\00:39:16.85 Well, what about a mother up in heaven looking down, 00:39:16.89\00:39:19.82 and here's her little five year old, and he's kicking a ball, 00:39:19.85\00:39:22.22 and he kicks it out in the street, and the car screeches, 00:39:22.26\00:39:25.36 doesn't see the boy, crushes him. 00:39:25.39\00:39:27.20 And the boy's a quadraplegic for the rest of his life. 00:39:27.23\00:39:30.17 Would that mother up in heaven be happy? 00:39:30.20\00:39:32.83 Or think of fathers in heaven seeing their daughters beaten 00:39:32.87\00:39:37.21 brutally by some angry man. 00:39:37.24\00:39:40.31 Isn't God's plan so much better, my friend? 00:39:40.34\00:39:44.35 Our loved ones in heaven don't see children that have gone 00:39:44.38\00:39:49.02 astray, gotten involved in drugs and alcohol. 00:39:49.05\00:39:52.72 Our mothers and fathers are not up there in heaven looking 00:39:52.75\00:39:57.56 down upon the conflicts in families, and the wars on earth. 00:39:57.59\00:40:02.33 Our fathers and mothers are not up in heaven. 00:40:02.36\00:40:05.80 Now all the heartache is over. 00:40:16.44\00:40:18.65 Now all the disappointments are over. 00:40:18.68\00:40:21.18 You see, my friend, God's way is so much better. 00:40:21.22\00:40:25.15 We are sheltered in His arms, in that perfect sleep. 00:40:25.19\00:40:30.23 Our true life, the record of our life is hid with Christ in God. 00:40:30.26\00:40:34.73 He, this all powerful, infinite God knows our identity. 00:40:34.76\00:40:39.87 It is in His hands. 00:40:39.90\00:40:41.37 Our bodies go to the earth. 00:40:41.40\00:40:43.81 The life, the breath, goes back to God. 00:40:43.84\00:40:46.84 There is no conscious existence. 00:40:46.88\00:40:49.31 We rest until Christ comes, and the next moment we see Him 00:40:49.34\00:40:54.98 coming down the corridors of the sky. The Bible says, 00:40:55.02\00:40:59.15 If you went up to heaven when you died, 00:41:07.36\00:41:09.06 you'd at least praise the Lord, right? 00:41:09.13\00:41:10.73 Wouldn't that be what you were doing? 00:41:10.77\00:41:12.30 But the Bible says, The dead praise not the Lord. 00:41:12.33\00:41:16.10 Fifty-three times death is a sleep in the Bible. 00:41:16.14\00:41:19.87 1600 times the Bible uses the word soul; 00:41:19.91\00:41:23.04 never uses immortal soul. 00:41:23.08\00:41:24.48 The Bible says in that very day their thoughts perish. Ps. 6:5. 00:41:24.51\00:41:28.65 Psalm 115:17 in the Bible says, The dead praise not the Lord. 00:41:28.68\00:41:32.65 Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6. The living know that they shall die, 00:41:32.69\00:41:36.62 but the dead know not anything. 00:41:36.66\00:41:38.89 The Bible is very plain. 00:41:38.93\00:41:41.26 God's plan is so much better than human tradition. 00:41:41.30\00:41:44.77 The immortality of the soul comes in 00:41:44.80\00:41:46.53 through Greek philosophy, and according to Revelation, 00:41:46.57\00:41:49.07 will be preparing the world for an overwhelming deception. 00:41:49.10\00:41:53.51 The Bible says that the works of the dead follow them. 00:41:53.54\00:41:59.51 It says that those that die in Christ have 00:41:59.58\00:42:03.15 works which follow them. 00:42:03.18\00:42:04.99 You know, when a father or mother dies, and they've taught 00:42:05.02\00:42:09.16 their children about the things of Jesus, those children have 00:42:09.19\00:42:13.36 that inclination for Christ in their hearts, that inclination 00:42:13.40\00:42:17.20 for Christ in their lives. 00:42:17.23\00:42:19.00 And they have that desire to follow Christ, 00:42:19.03\00:42:23.61 and the works of the parents still follow them. 00:42:23.67\00:42:26.47 And one day that child will be making choices to follow Christ, 00:42:26.54\00:42:31.71 because of an influence of their parents, will be in heaven with 00:42:31.75\00:42:36.18 Jesus, and their parents to rejoice forever and ever, 00:42:36.22\00:42:39.02 and ever, and ever. 00:42:39.05\00:42:40.39 God's Word is so plan. 00:42:40.42\00:42:42.29 God's Word is so clear about this subject of death. 00:42:42.32\00:42:47.60 But somebody says, Pastor Mark, wasn't there the story of Jesus 00:42:47.63\00:42:54.34 and the story of the thief on the cross who died? 00:42:54.37\00:42:58.87 And didn't the Bible indicate that he would be in 00:42:58.91\00:43:03.41 heaven with Christ? 00:43:03.45\00:43:04.78 Well, look, when you have text, after text, after text that 00:43:04.81\00:43:10.42 talks about the second coming of Christ, when you have passage 00:43:10.45\00:43:13.62 after passage in Scripture that talks about the return of 00:43:13.66\00:43:17.23 Christ, you do not take one Bible text out of context 00:43:17.26\00:43:22.26 regarding the thief on the cross and throw out these clear texts 00:43:22.30\00:43:26.37 on the coming of Christ, that talk about the 00:43:26.40\00:43:28.50 resurrection of the body. 00:43:28.54\00:43:30.07 So you say, but Pastor Mark, help us to understand about the 00:43:30.11\00:43:34.24 text on the thief on the cross. 00:43:34.28\00:43:35.94 Didn't Jesus say, You will be with me in Paradise today? 00:43:35.98\00:43:40.38 Remember well that Jesus is hanging on the cross. 00:43:40.42\00:43:45.35 There's a thief on the left, thief on the right. 00:43:45.39\00:43:47.79 One thief says, If You're the Son of God, 00:43:47.82\00:43:50.63 come down from the cross. 00:43:50.66\00:43:52.03 Jesus, hanging there with nails through His hands, 00:43:52.06\00:43:57.20 with blood running down His wrists, with a crown of thorns 00:43:57.23\00:44:00.34 upon His head, looks like He cannot save anybody. 00:44:00.37\00:44:06.57 The other thief turns to Christ and he says, Lord, remember me 00:44:06.61\00:44:12.75 when You come into Your kingdom. 00:44:12.78\00:44:14.32 Nobody has asked that question. 00:44:14.35\00:44:18.65 Nobody has made that request. 00:44:18.72\00:44:21.66 Nobody has made that appeal genuinely, and sincerely, 00:44:21.72\00:44:26.76 and been turned away by Christ. 00:44:26.80\00:44:29.30 Now you'll recall that Christ died on the cross on Friday. 00:44:29.33\00:44:33.97 He rested in the tomb on Sabbath. 00:44:34.00\00:44:36.87 He was resurrected from the dead on Sunday. 00:44:36.91\00:44:41.34 And you will also remember that Mary comes to Him on Sunday 00:44:41.38\00:44:47.35 morning, after the resurrection, falls at His feet, 00:44:47.38\00:44:51.45 and what does Jesus say? 00:44:51.49\00:44:54.49 She thinks he's the gardener, and says to him, Sir, if you've 00:45:02.40\00:45:05.60 carried Him away, if you've taken My Lord away, 00:45:05.63\00:45:09.40 please tell me where He is. 00:45:09.44\00:45:12.54 Tell me where you've laid Him, and I'm going to take Him away 00:45:12.57\00:45:15.84 and give Him a proper burial. 00:45:15.88\00:45:17.81 And what does Jesus say to her? 00:45:17.85\00:45:19.71 Jesus says, Mary, Raboni, which is to say teacher, don't cling 00:45:19.75\00:45:24.92 to Me, for I have not ascended to the Father. 00:45:26.55\00:45:28.89 But go to My brethren and say, I am ascending. 00:45:28.92\00:45:31.39 Present tense, right now, to Your Father and Mine. 00:45:31.43\00:45:34.46 My Father and Your Father, and My God and your God. 00:45:34.50\00:45:37.50 What does Jesus say to Mary on Sunday? 00:45:37.53\00:45:40.87 I have not yet what? ascended to the Father. 00:45:40.90\00:45:44.17 How could Jesus have said to the thief on Friday that they 00:45:44.21\00:45:49.98 would be together in paradise if Christ had not ascended yet 00:45:50.01\00:45:55.75 to the Father on Sunday morning? Certainly 00:45:55.78\00:45:58.95 So what was really going on there? 00:46:03.06\00:46:04.99 Jesus is hanging on the cross, and what does He say? 00:46:05.03\00:46:08.06 He says, I say unto you today, you will be with Me in paradise. 00:46:08.10\00:46:13.64 You see, it all depends on where you put the 00:46:13.67\00:46:15.34 comma in that passage. 00:46:15.37\00:46:16.71 If you put the comma after the word today, it's clear. 00:46:16.74\00:46:21.84 If you put it before, it's a little fuzzy. 00:46:21.88\00:46:24.05 If you quote the text this way: I say to you, today you'll be 00:46:24.11\00:46:28.28 with me in paradise. 00:46:28.32\00:46:29.65 It appears that Jesus would be in paradise with 00:46:29.68\00:46:32.15 the thief that day. 00:46:32.19\00:46:33.52 But if you say, I say to you today, comma, 00:46:33.56\00:46:36.62 I say to you today, comma, you will in the future be with Me 00:46:36.69\00:46:40.46 in paradise, it makes so much more sense. 00:46:40.50\00:46:42.16 You say, how do you know where to put the comma? 00:46:42.23\00:46:44.43 Well, first, there were no commas in the original text. 00:46:44.47\00:46:47.04 That did not come until the 1300's, much later. 00:46:47.07\00:46:52.17 But look, you don't take a misplaced comma, and throw out 00:46:52.21\00:46:56.51 fifty-three texts that say that death is but a sleep; 00:46:56.54\00:46:58.91 throw out all the texts that talk about the resurrection. 00:46:58.95\00:47:03.02 And you don't deny Scripture when Jesus Himself says that 00:47:03.05\00:47:07.12 He did not ascend to the Father until Sunday. 00:47:07.16\00:47:10.66 when He said to the thief... 00:47:13.13\00:47:14.46 Here's what He meant. 00:47:14.50\00:47:15.83 He said, I say to you today, this day that I'm 00:47:15.86\00:47:19.73 dying on the cross; this day that there's nails in My hands; 00:47:19.77\00:47:24.01 this day that there's a crown of thorns upon My head; 00:47:24.04\00:47:26.98 this day that it doesn't look like I can save anybody. 00:47:27.01\00:47:29.88 I say to you this day, I make that declaration that I will be 00:47:29.91\00:47:34.55 resurrected from the dead. 00:47:34.58\00:47:35.92 I will ascend to the Father. 00:47:35.95\00:47:37.29 I will remember you. 00:47:37.32\00:47:38.65 I will remember you when I come into heaven and paradise. 00:47:38.69\00:47:41.92 And Jesus says that to you. 00:47:41.99\00:47:43.73 When you say, Lord, remember me. 00:47:43.79\00:47:46.70 Remember me and all my guilt. 00:47:46.73\00:47:49.23 Remember me in all my shame. 00:47:49.26\00:47:51.70 Remember me, Father. 00:47:51.73\00:47:54.47 Remember me, dear Jesus. 00:47:54.50\00:47:57.14 Touch my heart, Oh Holy Spirit. 00:47:57.17\00:48:00.11 I feel convicted I must come to You. 00:48:00.14\00:48:02.61 Remember Me, Jesus says. 00:48:02.64\00:48:04.81 I accept you My child. 00:48:04.88\00:48:07.02 I'll forgive you, My child. 00:48:07.05\00:48:09.65 I'll change your life, My child. 00:48:09.68\00:48:11.72 You will be with Me in Paradise. 00:48:11.75\00:48:13.76 You need not fear death, because I have conquered the grave. 00:48:13.79\00:48:18.59 Jesus gives us victory over sin. 00:48:31.31\00:48:34.08 Jesus gives us victory over the grave. 00:48:34.11\00:48:37.35 Jesus gives us victory over death. 00:48:37.41\00:48:40.62 Have you lost some loved one by death? 00:49:04.64\00:49:06.74 some father, some mother? 00:49:06.78\00:49:09.84 You still miss your dad, and your mom. 00:49:09.88\00:49:13.95 My father and mother have both passed away. 00:49:13.98\00:49:16.72 Near as I travel the world, I have an international 00:49:16.75\00:49:20.99 cell phone, and I, every place I would go I'd take out my 00:49:21.02\00:49:25.89 cell phone and call my dad. 00:49:25.96\00:49:27.30 And even now I find myself reaching into my pocket 00:49:27.33\00:49:31.87 at times for that cell phone. 00:49:31.90\00:49:33.27 You see, my dad and I had a very close bond, 00:49:33.34\00:49:36.30 very close relationship. 00:49:36.34\00:49:38.31 He led me to Jesus Christ. 00:49:38.34\00:49:41.21 He led me to the Savior. 00:49:41.24\00:49:44.05 He shared the Word of God with me. 00:49:44.08\00:49:46.98 I miss him. I long for that day that Jesus will come. 00:49:47.02\00:49:51.65 Have you lost some husband or wife, some father or mother, 00:49:51.69\00:49:56.36 some sister or brother, some son or daughter? 00:49:56.39\00:50:01.40 They're not lost. If they're a believer in Christ they are 00:50:01.43\00:50:06.90 resting where they can never be lost. 00:50:06.94\00:50:09.40 Their true life, the record of that life, their identity, 00:50:09.44\00:50:13.78 is hid with Christ in God. 00:50:13.81\00:50:15.81 They are resting from the pain, the heartache, 00:50:15.84\00:50:20.22 the sorrow, the tears of life. 00:50:20.25\00:50:22.62 They know no passage of time. 00:50:22.65\00:50:24.95 The next thing they will know is the coming of Jesus Christ 00:50:24.99\00:50:29.82 in the clouds of heaven. 00:50:29.89\00:50:31.69 And as Jesus comes, that little baby, mamma, will be put 00:50:31.73\00:50:36.97 in your arms again. 00:50:37.00\00:50:38.33 She'll reach up and hug your face again. 00:50:38.37\00:50:43.34 You can look into the eyes of that child. 00:50:43.37\00:50:46.34 One day, once again, that son or daughter long lost by death, 00:50:46.37\00:50:54.02 will be reunited with you. 00:50:54.05\00:50:55.48 One day that father or mother will embrace you again. 00:50:55.55\00:51:00.56 One day Jesus Christ will come. 00:51:00.59\00:51:03.59 And one day the sorrow and heartache of earth will be over. 00:51:03.63\00:51:08.30 Would you like to put your hand in the hand of Christ right now? 00:51:08.33\00:51:12.03 Would you like to say, Jesus, pass me not, O gentle Savior? 00:51:12.07\00:51:17.67 Lord, I'm coming to You. 00:51:17.71\00:51:20.84 Lord, I want to see my father again. 00:51:20.88\00:51:23.45 I want to see my mother again. 00:51:23.48\00:51:25.61 I want to see my son again, and my daughter again. 00:51:25.65\00:51:29.05 I want to be caught up in that glorious joy when Jesus comes, 00:51:29.08\00:51:35.32 and live forever with them through all eternity. 00:51:35.36\00:51:39.23 Listen as Celestine sings, Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior. 00:51:39.26\00:51:45.53 Pass me not, O gentle Savior. 00:51:54.84\00:52:02.08 Hear my humble cry. 00:52:02.12\00:52:08.49 While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by. 00:52:08.52\00:52:24.01 Let me at Thy throne of mercy, find a sweet release. 00:52:26.17\00:52:40.42 Kneeling there in deep contrition, help my unbelief. 00:52:40.46\00:52:54.67 Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. 00:52:54.70\00:53:08.75 While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by. 00:53:10.42\00:53:24.70 Trusting only in Thy merit, would I see Thy face? 00:53:29.30\00:53:43.85 Heal my wounded, broken spirit, save me by Thy grace. 00:53:43.89\00:53:58.37 Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. 00:53:58.40\00:54:12.08 While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by. 00:54:12.71\00:54:26.83 Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. 00:54:26.86\00:54:41.18 While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by. 00:54:41.21\00:54:58.89 Here is the incredibly good news. 00:54:58.93\00:55:02.93 He will not pass you by. 00:55:02.96\00:55:07.44 Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. 00:55:07.47\00:55:13.84 The thief on the cross, in his dying breath, said Lord, 00:55:13.88\00:55:21.85 remember me, remember me when You come into Your kingdom. 00:55:21.88\00:55:27.96 And Jesus gave the thief, that day, 00:55:27.99\00:55:31.49 the assurance of eternal life. 00:55:31.53\00:55:34.73 When the thief woke up that morning, he had no idea that 00:55:34.76\00:55:40.40 his whole life would be changed that day. 00:55:40.44\00:55:42.87 When he trudged up Golgotha's hill with Christ he had no idea 00:55:42.90\00:55:48.41 that his life would be changed that day. 00:55:48.44\00:55:51.38 And when they drove nails through his hands, 00:55:51.41\00:55:54.32 and he writhed in agony. 00:55:54.35\00:55:56.42 He had no idea that his life would be changed that day. 00:55:56.45\00:56:00.62 But in that moment, under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, 00:56:00.66\00:56:06.16 God spoke to him, and he accepted the 00:56:06.19\00:56:10.10 gift of eternal life. 00:56:10.13\00:56:11.47 Right now God is speaking to you. 00:56:11.50\00:56:14.47 Right now God is talking to your life. 00:56:14.50\00:56:17.57 Maybe you had no idea that you would turn on 00:56:17.61\00:56:20.38 Three Angels' Broadcasting. 00:56:20.44\00:56:21.81 But the Spirit is speaking to you. 00:56:21.84\00:56:24.91 You can accept Christ right now. 00:56:24.95\00:56:27.92 Through an act of your will you can say, Jesus, I am yours. 00:56:27.98\00:56:32.95 That choice changed the thief's life. 00:56:32.99\00:56:37.19 And that choice will change your life right now as we pray. 00:56:37.23\00:56:44.67 Father in Heaven, thank You so much that You're 00:56:44.73\00:56:48.74 moving by Your Spirit. 00:56:48.80\00:56:50.14 Thank You so much that You're touching hearts 00:56:50.17\00:56:52.67 through these programs. 00:56:52.71\00:56:54.04 Thank You so much that somebody right now is coming to Christ, 00:56:54.08\00:56:58.21 and finding in Jesus security, and hope, and salvation. 00:56:58.25\00:57:02.35 I pray for that person right now. 00:57:02.38\00:57:05.32 May the Spirit move powerfully in their life, 00:57:05.35\00:57:08.79 and change them forever. 00:57:08.82\00:57:11.03 In Jesus' name, Amen. 00:57:11.06\00:57:13.23 Thank you for joining us for Revelation's 00:57:13.29\00:57:17.20 Ancient Discoveries. 00:57:17.23\00:57:19.27 This journey through Revelation is a journey to know 00:57:19.33\00:57:23.24 Christ more deeply. 00:57:23.27\00:57:24.61 It's a journey to follow Jesus more closely. 00:57:24.64\00:57:27.91 It's a journey from time to eternity. 00:57:27.94\00:57:29.28