Participants: Pr. Stephen Bohr
Series Code: SOD
Program Code: SOD000012
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00:01 If a man dies shall he leave again?
00:07 What does it mean to be absent 00:09 from the body and present with the Lord? 00:13 Did Jesus go with the thief to Paradise on Good Friday? 00:19 Did the souls of dead people 00:21 really cry out from below the altar? 00:25 Pastor Bohr answers these questions 00:27 and more in the amazing series. 00:35 Shall we bow our heads for prayer? 00:38 Father in Heaven, we thank You so much 00:42 for the awesome privilege of being here today. 00:46 We thank You Father, for Your Holy Sprit 00:48 and we ask that as we study the concluding message 00:53 on the State of the Dead, that Your Holy Sprit 00:55 will guide our thoughts and soften our hearts 00:58 that we might be able to hear Your voice. 01:02 I ask Father, that You will take away 01:04 all preconceived ideas and you will help us 01:07 to see truth as it is in Jesus. 01:10 And we thank You Father, for hearing and answering 01:12 our prayer for we ask it in Jesus name, Amen. 01:19 The title of our study for today is, 01:21 "Immortality of the Soul or Resurrection of the Dead." 01:27 And little bit later on I'm going to explain 01:29 to you reason why I gave this lecture 01:32 this particular title, I'd like to begin 01:36 by inviting you to turn in your Bibles 01:38 with me to Genesis 1:5. 01:41 And as you're looking for Genesis 1:5 allow me to say 01:45 that the Book of Genesis makes it very, very clear 01:49 that God created time and matter. 01:56 God is the originator of time and matter. 02:01 Now notice Genesis 1:5 where time is spoken of. 02:06 God creating time with respect to this earth. 02:10 It says there "God called the light Day, 02:15 and the darkness he called Night. 02:18 So the evening and the morning were the first day." 02:22 So you see God made the day of 24 hours, 02:25 the day that is composed of the light portion 02:29 which is called day and the dark portion which is called night. 02:34 God was the creator of time. 02:37 Let's notice another text in Genesis Chapter 1 02:41 where we are told that the different time 02:44 measurements were created by God. 02:46 Genesis 1:14 it says here, 02:54 "Then God said, 'Let there be lights in the firmament 02:58 of the heavens to divide the day from the night, 03:04 and let them be for sings and seasons 03:08 and for days and years.'" 03:12 So you'll notice that God created the time measurements. 03:16 Days, years, seasons. 03:20 In other words time measurements were created by God, 03:24 God is the originator of time. 03:27 You're gonna see why I'm emphasizing 03:29 this so strongly as we begin our study. 03:33 Now there's another thing which is very clear 03:36 in the first two chapters of Genesis 03:38 and that is that God also was the creator 03:42 of matters--of matter, material substance. 03:46 Notice Genesis 2:7, were its speaking 03:49 about the origin of man. 03:51 And by the way I could also verses 03:54 where the creation of tree 03:56 and where the creation of animals are mentioned. 03:59 Those are the things composed of material substance 04:04 but I'm only gonna read about man and woman. 04:08 Genesis 2:7, "And the Lord God 04:12 formed man of the dust of the ground, 04:15 and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, 04:18 and man became a living being." 04:22 So what is man composed of? Dust. 04:25 Who created man? 04:27 God created man. 04:29 So did God use matter to create man? 04:32 He most certainly did. 04:34 Notice about the creation of woman 04:36 in Genesis 2:21, 23, Genesis 2:21, 23. 04:44 It says there, "And the Lord God 04:47 caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, 04:50 and he slept, and He took one of his ribs, 04:55 and closed up the" notice, "flesh in its place. 05:00 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man 05:05 He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 05:09 And Adam said: 'This is now bone of my bones 05:14 And flesh of my flesh. 05:18 She shall be called Woman, 05:19 because she was taken out of Man.'" 05:22 Did Adam and Eve both have flesh and bones? 05:28 Yes, the Bible tells us that Adam was made of dust. 05:32 So a very important aspect of the story 05:37 of creation in Genesis 1 is that God was the creator 05:41 of both time and material substance. 05:47 Now I want to read the conclusion 05:49 of the creation story in Genesis 1:31. 05:53 Genesis 1:31 you see God not only made time and matter 05:58 but the Bible tells us that what God made 06:01 was not only good but was very good. 06:05 Notice Genesis 1:31, "Then God saw everything 06:11 that He had made, and indeed it was" what? 06:16 "Very good. So the evening 06:20 and the morning were the sixth day." 06:23 So let me ask you, is time good? 06:26 Obviously, yes. 06:28 Is matter good? 06:31 Absolutely, because God created both 06:34 and we're told in the creation story that what God made 06:38 during the six days of creation was not only good but very good. 06:44 Time and matter are very good. 06:47 However God had said that in order for man 06:52 continue living, in order for time 06:57 not to deteriorate and degenerate matter 07:02 it was necessary for man to continue eating 07:05 from the tree that God put 07:07 in the garden-- from the tree of life. 07:09 And we're also told that man could not eat 07:13 from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 07:16 Let's read first of all about the tree 07:18 of the knowledge of good and evil. 07:19 Genesis 2:16, 17. Genesis 2:16, 17, 07:26 "And the Lord God commanded the man, 07:29 saying, 'Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat 07:34 but of the tree of the knowledge 07:36 of good and evil you shall not eat, 07:39 for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.'" 07:45 The sentence was pronounced the very day 07:48 that Adam and Eve ate from the tree. 07:51 God said, "The day you eat of it that day you will die." 07:57 So God placed a condition. 07:59 He said if you want to continue living 08:02 forever you have to abstain from eating 08:06 from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 08:09 Now the question is did Adam and Eve eat from the knowledge 08:13 of--tree of knowledge of good and evil? 08:15 Of course, we all know that they did. 08:17 Let's read about it in Genesis 3:6. 08:21 Genesis 3:6 and most of it is review for us 08:24 but we're setting the stage for something very important 08:27 that you're gonna notice in a few moments. 08:29 Genesis 3:6, "So when the woman saw 08:33 that the tree was good for food, 08:35 that it was pleasant to the eyes, 08:37 and a tree desirable to make one wise, 08:40 she took of its fruit and ate. 08:43 She also gave to her husband with her," and he what? 08:48 "And he ate." Let me ask you 08:51 were they now under the sentence of death? 08:54 They most certainly were. 08:56 By the way they had to continue eating from the tree of life. 08:59 In our first lecture of this series we studied 09:01 about the tree of life and we notice 09:03 that it wasn't enough for them to eat just once. 09:06 They had to continue eating from the tree 09:09 on regular basis because it was like a battery charger. 09:13 But the Bible tells us that when they ate 09:15 from the tree of the knowledge 09:17 of good and evil they we bared 09:19 from eating of the tree of life. 09:21 And as a result the matter which they had degenerated 09:26 deteriorated, got old, got wrinkled and ultimately 09:31 what happened to it? It died. 09:34 Notice Genesis 2:22-24 on the importance of partaking 09:39 of the tree of life in order to continue 09:41 living a full and abundant life. 09:43 It says, "Then the Lord God said, 09:45 'Behold, the man has become like one of Us, 09:47 to know good and evil. 09:49 And now, lest he put out his hand 09:51 and take also of the tree of life, 09:53 and eat, and live forever.' 09:55 Therefore the Lord God sent him out 09:58 of the Garden of Eden to till the ground from 10:00 which he was taken. 10:01 So He drove out the man, and He placed cherubim 10:05 at the east of the Garden of Eden, 10:06 and a flaming sword which turned every way, 10:09 to guard the way to the tree of life." 10:16 Let me ask you then was man now going to degenerated 10:21 and deteriorate until the moment of death 10:26 because he ate from the forbidden tree 10:28 and he could not eat from the tree of life? 10:32 Yes, he was gonna degenerated and he was going to die. 10:36 Would that have happened if Adam and Eve 10:38 had chosen not to eat from the tree of knowledge 10:40 good and evil and if they continued 10:42 eating from the tree of life? 10:44 No. time would not have 10:46 deteriorated matter, matter would have continually 10:50 have been regenerated and renewed 10:53 by eating from the tree of life. 10:55 But the Bible tells us that because of sin 10:58 now time acted upon matter and as time 11:03 passed matter deteriorated, wrinkled, 11:07 became sick and ultimately died. 11:11 Notice Romans 5:12 tells us very clearly 11:14 that the reason why death came 11:18 into the world was because of sin. 11:20 It's not because time and matter were evil. 11:24 The reason why is because sin acted 11:27 now upon time and matter and as result degeneration 11:31 came and ultimately death. 11:34 Romans 5:12 says, "Therefore, just as through 11:37 one man sin entered the world, 11:40 and death through sin, and thus death spread 11:45 to all men, because all" what? 11:48 "Because all sinned." 11:50 And of course in the next chapter 11:52 we find that famous verse for the wages of sin is what? 11:57 Death. Now there is an undeniable fact of life 12:02 as we know it in this world now and that is that with 12:06 the passing of time matter 12:10 deteriorates and begins to ruin. 12:16 In other words as time passes by the human body 12:21 begins to wrinkle, the human body gets old, 12:27 the human body gets sick and ultimately 12:30 the human body what? Dies. 12:34 Let me ask you, was that the original plan of God? 12:38 Absolutely not. 12:39 The original plan was that man 12:41 should live for ever and by eating 12:44 from the tree of life matter would regenerate and rejuvenate 12:49 on a consistent basis and man will be filled 12:52 with joy and happiness forever. 12:55 That was God's plan. 12:57 But then sin came into the equation. 12:59 And because of sin--this is very important--because 13:02 of sin time acts upon matter and matter 13:07 deteriorates and degenerates. 13:12 Now allow me to talk a little bit about the believes 13:16 of the Greek philosophers, philosophers 13:19 such as Socrates and Plato. 13:23 You see the Greek Philosophers 13:25 had no special revelation from God. 13:27 They did not have the Bible but they were keen observers 13:34 and they could see that with the passing of time 13:38 the body wrinkled, the body got sick, 13:43 the body got old and the body eventually died. 13:49 And they could see that time acting 13:52 upon matter degenerated the material body 13:55 and eventually lead to death. 13:58 They also observed something else 14:01 and that is that the body was the source 14:05 of all types of evil passions as well as virtues. 14:12 You know, they saw that the body would lead 14:14 to all kind's basest crimes and the basest immorality. 14:19 And so basically the Greek philosophers 14:22 concluded that time was evil and matter was evil. 14:30 And if some how man could escape the realm of time 14:37 into timelessness and man could escape the realm of matter 14:42 to realm where there is no matter--as a result 14:47 you would not have these conflicting base passions 14:51 and of course time would not act upon matter 14:55 and man would not get old and he would not die. 15:00 Allow me to read you some statements 15:02 from certain Greek philosophers 15:04 so that you can see the problem that they had, 15:08 the conflict that they had as they observed 15:11 the behavior of man, the bodily functions of man. 15:15 You know, most of the sins are sins of the flesh so called. 15:19 They could see these sins of the flesh. 15:21 They said, it's because the body is evil 15:23 and because time acts upon the body. 15:26 For example, Ovid once said, "I see the better things, 15:33 and I agree with them, but I follow the worse." 15:39 Seneca that great Roman writer said, 15:45 "Men love and hate their vices at the same time." 15:51 Sounds similar to what the Apostle Paul 15:53 said in Romans 7:19 where he says, 15:56 "For the good that I would to do, I do not, 15:58 but the evil which I would not do that I do." 16:03 And then in Romans 7:20 the Apostle says, 16:07 "Now if I do what I would not, it is no more I that do it, 16:12 but sin that dwelleth in me." 16:15 So they could see this controversy, 16:17 this conflict between virtue and vice. 16:21 And they said, if we could get out 16:23 of the realm of time and matter there would no longer 16:26 be any vice because there would no longer be any body 16:29 and there would be no longer time. 16:31 So there ideal was to escape time and to escape matter. 16:36 By the way the wisdom of Salmon also stated 16:40 "A perishable body weighs down the soul 16:43 and this earthly tent burdens the thoughtful mind." 16:51 Now how did the Greek philosophers 16:54 resolve this problem? 16:56 How did they see man escaping the realm of time 17:01 and the realm of matter to be able to enter a realm 17:05 where there is no time and no matter 17:07 and therefore no death? 17:10 They reached the conclusion that man 17:14 had within himself an immortal soul that was timeless 17:21 and that was not linked in any way with the body. 17:26 In fact they came to the conclusion that time 17:30 was evil and that the material body was evil. 17:34 Allow me to read you some statements 17:36 from great thinkers who had this concept. 17:40 By the way there was an orphic jingle back in ancient times 17:46 that went like this "soma-sema." 17:51 By the way that means in Greek the body 17:54 is a sepulcher, the body is tomb. 17:58 You know, there was a jingle 17:59 that they constantly used. 18:01 For example, Epictetus, a great philosopher said 18:05 "I am ashamed to have a body 18:08 I am a poor soul shackled to a corpse." 18:14 Marcus Aurelius said this, "Disdain the flesh: 18:20 blood and bones and network, 18:23 a twisted skein of nerves, veins, arteries." 18:27 Then he says, I wish I didn't have 18:29 any of these physical characteristics. 18:32 The great thinker and philosopher Plato 18:35 said this "No man can be a lover 18:38 of wisdom and a lover of the body." 18:43 And finally Philo of Alexandria who was Jew 18:47 but he had contaminated with the Greek way of thinking 18:51 said "The body is a prison and a corpse." 18:57 So they believed that the material body was evil 19:01 and the time was evil. 19:04 And therefore some how the soul could leave 19:07 the body and enter in its true existence in the realm 19:10 were there was no time and there was no matter. 19:13 Therefore, time would not act upon matter to cause death 19:17 and all of these sins of the flesh would disappear 19:20 because the guilty part it was the flesh. 19:25 Now you can imagine the frustration 19:26 of the Apostle Paul discussing these things 19:29 with the Greeks philosophers on Mars Hill. 19:35 Way over there in Greece you can still visit the Areopagus 19:38 where the Apostle Paul met with these Greek philosophers. 19:41 Go with me to Acts 17:18. 19:45 Acts 17:18 describes this encounter of the Apostle Paul 19:50 with philosophers who were Stoics and Epicureans. 19:55 It says there, "Then certain Epicurean 19:59 and Stoic philosophers encountered him. 20:04 And some said, 'What does this babbler want to say?' 20:10 Others said, 'He seems to be a proclaimer 20:14 of foreign gods,' because he preached 20:18 to them Jesus and" what? 20:21 "Jesus and the resurrection." 20:26 There was no doctrine that would be more absurd 20:30 and ridicules in the mind of the Greek philosopher 20:34 then the idea of the resurrection of the body. 20:36 Who would ever want to keep the body, 20:38 was there a concept. 20:40 In fact notice Acts 17:32. 20:44 Acts 17:32, when the Apostle Paul 20:47 finishes his discussion we're told, 20:50 "And when they heard of the resurrection 20:52 of the dead," what did they do? 20:55 "Some mocked, while others said, 20:59 'We will hear you again on this matter.'" 21:05 So there was this conflict 21:07 this controversy in the ancient world. 21:10 There was the Biblical concept, 21:11 the time is good and matter is good. 21:15 There was that Greek concept, 21:17 the time is evil and matter is evil. 21:20 The biblical concept is that time and matter originally 21:25 were created good by God but as a result of sin time 21:30 degenerates matter and leads to death. 21:33 The Greek philosophers not having the Bible, 21:36 not having a clear concept of sin could not explain 21:39 why time deteriorates matter. 21:42 And therefore they came up this idea that man 21:44 is inside himself an immortal soul and that when a person dies 21:49 the soul flies out of the body into a sphere 21:52 where there is no time, no space. 21:54 Therefore there is no evil, there is not this controversy 21:58 between virtues and vices, 22:00 between the sins of the flesh and holiness. 22:05 This idea is totally contrary to the biblical idea. 22:10 In fact, if you go with me to John 1:14. 22:15 John 1:14, you know, you read this verse to a Greek 22:21 and he would say "you're totally insane." 22:25 Notice what it says there. 22:28 "And the Word" who has been 22:29 identified as the God. 22:31 "And the Word was made" was what? 22:34 Flesh, have mercy. 22:37 Flesh you got be kidding me. 22:39 The philosophers would say 22:40 "That God wanted to become flesh." 22:42 No, you leave the flesh 22:45 and then you go you become a God. 22:47 But not a God taking flesh, flesh is evil. 22:51 And coming into time in the fullness of time 22:55 the Messiah comes and he takes 22:57 fleshly body absurd they would say. 23:00 So it says, "And the Word 23:02 was made flesh and dwelt among us, 23:05 and we beheld His glory, 23:06 the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, 23:09 full of grace and truth." 23:12 And then of course, you have the description 23:14 of Jesus after the resurrection. 23:17 Notice Luke 24:39. Luke 24:39, 23:23 Jesus says after the resurrection, 23:25 "Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. 23:32 Handle Me and see, for a spirit 23:36 have not flesh and bones as you see that I have." 23:44 For a Greek philosopher, that would be absurd. 23:47 You mean, when He came out of the tomb, 23:49 He actually had a body of flesh and bones? 23:52 Because their idea was to escape the body. 23:57 It becomes worse. 23:59 1 John 4:3, 1 John 4:3, would be totally absurd 24:05 to the Greek mind of that time. 24:08 It says, "And every spirit that does not confess 24:10 that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh--" 24:14 That Jesus Christ has come how? 24:16 "In the flesh is not of God. 24:19 And this is the spirit of the Antichrist 24:21 which you have heard was coming 24:22 and is now already in the world." 24:25 Notice, if you don't believe 24:27 it that the Christ came in the flesh, 24:30 you're a member of the Antichrist system, 24:32 is what John is saying which would be absurd 24:35 to the Greek way of thinking. 24:38 It becomes even worse than that. 24:40 Notice Romans 8:3. 24:42 Romans 8:3, when Jesus came, 24:45 he didn't come in any old kind of holy flesh, 24:48 we're told there in Romans 8:3, "For what the law 24:52 could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, 24:56 God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, 25:03 on account of sin, He condemned sin," How? 25:07 "He condemned sin in the flesh." 25:12 So let me ask you 25:13 in the Biblical concept, is flesh evil? 25:16 Is matter evil? No. 25:19 Is time evil? No. 25:22 Why then this time act upon 25:24 matter and degenerate matter, it is because of what? 25:28 Sin. But if somehow you can get rid of sin, 25:32 you could get rid of this vicious cycle of time 25:35 acting upon matter because you could once again 25:38 eat from the tree of life. 25:41 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 25:42 The hope of the Christian is not in the immortality of the soul, 25:45 the hope of the Christian is in the resurrection of dead, 25:49 in receiving a new body, an immortal body, 25:52 an incorruptible body. 25:54 There still will be time, there still will be matter, 25:57 but there will no longer be sin. 26:00 That's what the Greek philosophers 26:02 could not understand. 26:03 In fact, I want you to notice in Romans 8:23, 26:08 Romans 8:23, the Apostle Paul speaks about 26:12 the redemption of the body. 26:15 He says "Not only that but we also have, 26:19 who have the first fruits of the spirit, 26:21 even we ourselves grown within ourselves," 26:26 eagerly waiting for a soul to depart the body 26:29 and go to a timeless and matter less existence. 26:32 That's not what it says, right? 26:34 It says, "We're grown within ourselves 26:37 eagerly waiting for the adoption" for what? 26:40 "For the redemption of the body." 26:45 The Greeks would say redemption of what? 26:47 Of the body? 26:49 That material substance upon which time 26:52 acts and it degenerates? 26:54 You see they could not understand, 26:56 they didn't had all of the Revelation, 26:59 that the problem was not with time and matter, 27:01 the problem was with sin that leads time 27:04 to degenerate matter and having no access 27:07 to the Tree of Life, matter could not be 27:09 regenerated and renewed. 27:12 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 27:13 Now is there gonna be matter 27:15 in the new heavens and the new earth? 27:17 Absolutely. Go with me to Revelation 22:1, 2. 27:22 Revelation 22:1, 2, speaking about the holy city, 27:26 it says, "And he showed me a pure river 27:27 of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding 27:31 from the throne of God and of the Lamb." 27:33 Is there gonna be water there? 27:34 That's what it says. 27:36 "In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, 27:39 was the tree of life," also there are gonna 27:40 be tree there too "which bore twelve fruits." 27:43 Oh, there's gonna be fruit there also. 27:46 "Each tree yielding its fruit every" what? 27:51 So is there gonna be time there? 27:52 Of course, every month. 27:54 "And the leaves of the tree 27:56 were for the healing of the nations." 27:59 Now let's go to Isaiah 66:22, 23, 28:03 once again you're gonna find that there, 28:04 there'll be matter and there'll be time 28:08 but it will be freed from what? 28:10 It will be freed from sin. 28:13 Notice Isaiah 66:22, 23. 28:16 It says there, "For as the new heavens 28:19 and the new earth Which I will make shall remain 28:23 before Me, says the Lord, 28:25 so shall your descendants and your name remain. 28:28 And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another." 28:31 Are there gonna be months there? 28:33 Of course, there are. 28:34 "From one New Moon to another 28:35 and from one Sabbath to another." 28:37 Is there gonna to be a week there? Absolutely. 28:41 "And from Sabbath, from one Sabbath to another." 28:44 Is there gonna be matter there? 28:46 Notice, "all," what? 28:48 "Flesh shall come to worship before Me, says the Lord." 28:54 And of course the bible says that we will eat 28:55 from the tree of life and our material substance 28:59 will be renewed every time that we eat from the tree of life. 29:04 Let's read about that moment of redemption of the body. 29:07 1 Corinthians 15:51-54, listen, 29:12 the great hope of the Apostle Paul 29:15 was not in having an immortal soul 29:18 that would fly off at the moment of death. 29:20 The Apostle Paul debated with the Greek philosophers. 29:24 He did not agree with the ideas of the Greek philosophers. 29:27 In fact, the bible tells us that they mocked, 29:30 they couldn't understand how the Apostle Paul would say, 29:33 that the hope of the Christian 29:35 was in the resurrection of the body, 29:36 it was not in an immortal soul that man 29:39 would have within himself. 29:41 1 Corinthians 15:51, "Behold, I tell you a mystery, 29:46 We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed 29:49 in a moment in the twinkling of an eye, 29:51 at the last trumpet. 29:52 For the trumpet will sound, 29:53 and the dead will be raised" how? 29:55 "Incorruptible and we shall be changed. 29:58 For this corruptible must put on incorruption 30:01 and this mortal must put on immortality. 30:04 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, 30:07 and this mortal has put on immortality, 30:10 then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, 30:12 'Death is swallowed up in victory.'" 30:16 Let's read also Philippians 3:20, 21 30:20 where we're told that we are gonna 30:22 have a body similar to the body of Jesus. 30:25 We're gonna be in the image and likeness of Jesus. 30:28 Did Jesus have a real body when He resurrected? 30:31 Did He have flesh and bones and blood? 30:33 He most certainly did. 30:35 And that we will have in the earth made new. 30:39 Notice Philippians 3:20, 21, 30:41 "For our citizenship is in heaven, 30:44 from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, 30:48 the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform 30:52 our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, 30:59 according to the working by which He is able 31:02 even to subdue all things to Himself." 31:07 And yet today, many Christians harbor 31:11 the view of the Greek philosophers. 31:15 Their hope at least to a degree 31:19 is that if I should die at the moment of death, 31:23 I have another me inside of me that is immortal 31:28 that flies out of the body goes up to heaven 31:32 where Jesus is, that is if I was righteous 31:35 during my life and I accept the Jesus Christ 31:38 as my Savior and that soul lives up 31:41 there independently of the body. 31:45 Where did Christendom get such a doctrine? 31:49 From nowhere in the bible. 31:52 You will never find in the Bible the expression immortal spirit, 31:55 you will never find the expression, 31:57 immortal soul, you will never find that the soul or the spirit 32:00 can be conscious after the moment of death, 32:03 it's just assumed because Greek philosophy 32:07 brought into the Christian church 32:09 in the early centuries the idea 32:12 that the soul of man is immortal. 32:15 It came in directly from Greek philosophy. 32:20 Now let me share with you some serious implications 32:25 if we believe that man has an immortal soul. 32:29 And I'm gonna go through these quickly. 32:32 First of all, if we believe that man has an immortal soul 32:37 that even God cannot destroy. 32:41 Because they believe also that if a person 32:43 was wicked during their lifetime, 32:45 they're gonna burn forever in the fires of hell. 32:50 So in other words, they have immortality, 32:52 it's immortality in misery but it's still immortality. 32:57 First serious implication of the idea of the immortality 33:01 of the soul is that it gives the glory to man 33:05 which belongs only to God. 33:09 You see the Bible makes it clear that only God has immortality. 33:15 You see that immortality of God 33:17 is one of his incommunicable attributes. 33:20 It belongs only to Him according to the Bible 33:24 just like His omissions, His omnipotence, 33:27 His omnipresence, His immortality belongs to Himself. 33:30 And to give it to man, steals the glory 33:34 that belongs from God--to God 33:36 and attributes that glory to man. 33:39 And the bible tells us in Revelation 14:7 33:41 that in the last days, a message is going 33:44 to be proclaimed that says, "Fear God and give glory 33:48 to Him for the hour of His judgment is come." 33:52 Second serious implication, the doctrine of the immortality 33:56 of the soul makes God a liar 33:59 and makes the devil a truth teller. 34:02 You're saying now how's that? 34:04 God told Adam and Eve, if you eat from this tree, 34:09 you will surely live forever in misery. 34:13 That's not what he said. 34:15 He said "If you eat from this tree, 34:17 you will, not only die." 34:20 He says "you will surely die." 34:23 By the way in the Hebrews it says, 34:24 "You'll die by death." 34:27 I don't know of any other way of dying. 34:29 But what God is saying is you can take it to the bank 34:33 if you eat from this tree, you will die. 34:35 The devil comes and he says, you will not surely die. 34:39 So who was telling the truth? 34:41 If you have an immortal soul, the devil was telling the truth. 34:45 If when you die, you go to the grave 34:49 and then at the resurrection you go to heaven, 34:51 through life that Jesus gives you and you go to burn 34:56 like we studied in our last lecture and eventually, 34:59 are reduced to ashes, then God is proven true 35:02 because you are not eternal, 35:04 you are not immortal within yourself. 35:07 So in other words, "This doctrine makes God a liar 35:10 and it makes the devil a truth teller." 35:13 Implication number three, "If man has an immortal soul, 35:18 why would Jesus have to die to give me 35:21 what I already have?" 35:24 This is a very serious implication. 35:27 Because if you have an immortal soul 35:29 why would Jesus have to come to this earth to die 35:33 to give you immortality if you already possess it. 35:37 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 35:39 The doctrine of the immortality of the soul 35:42 makes the death of Jesus on the cross unnecessary. 35:47 Further more, the doctrine of the immortality 35:51 of the soul generally makes people feel like 35:55 it's not that important to take care of your body 35:59 because ultimately your body is just the prison 36:02 for your real self which is your soul. 36:05 And therefore you have to take good care of your soul 36:08 and what will you do with your body doesn't make 36:10 much difference because ultimately, 36:12 God is gonna give you a new one anyway. 36:16 That flies in the face of what the Bible has to say. 36:19 It says you are the temple of the Holy Spirit 36:23 that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit 36:26 and whoever destroys the body temple God 36:29 will destroy him for God's temple you are, you are holy 36:33 because you are His temple. 36:35 If therefore you eat or you drink 36:37 or whatever you do, do all to what? 36:40 To the glory of God. 36:42 Allow me to read you a statement from Ellen White. 36:45 This is found in the book Counsels on Diet and Foods, 36:48 page 73, she says this, "The body is the only medium 36:53 through which the mind and the soul are developed 36:57 for the upbuilding of character. 37:01 Hence it is that the adversary of souls, 37:05 directs his temptations to the enfeebling 37:08 and degrading of the physical powers. 37:11 His success here means the surrender 37:15 to evil of the whole being. 37:17 The tendencies of our physical nature, 37:19 unless under the dominion of a higher power, 37:23 will surely work ruin and death." 37:29 You see the brain is a physical organ, 37:32 its the organ of the mind and whatever affects your body, 37:36 whatever affects your mind, affects your ability 37:39 to communicate with God. 37:42 It's not like your soul can live independently of your body. 37:45 And therefore, I have to take care of my spiritual nature. 37:48 I have to take care of my spirit and my soul. 37:50 My body doesn't make that much difference. 37:52 The fact is that the only way that you can develop 37:54 your spiritual nature is through the medium of the body. 37:59 But the immortality of the soul gives the idea 38:01 that it's the soul portion of man that's really important 38:05 that we need to cultivate and we need to take care of. 38:08 Fifth serious implication, the doctrine of the immortality 38:12 of the soul puts the hope of the second coming of Jesus 38:18 on the backburner, and deemphasize 38:23 the second coming of Jesus Christ. 38:25 You say why is that? 38:27 Well, folks, let's just think of it. 38:31 If when I die, my soul goes through a tunnel 38:36 and comes out into a state of light 38:39 or I'm in the presence of God, why would I have to be 38:43 so interested in Jesus coming back to this earth again? 38:48 You see many Christians have the hope that you know 38:50 when I die, I'm going to heaven. 38:52 So when you die, you go to heaven, 38:54 why would the hope of the resurrection 38:57 and the second coming of Jesus burn strong in your heart? 39:03 It deemphasizes the need and the importance 39:06 and the gloriousness of the second coming 39:08 and of the resurrection from the dead. 39:12 The last implication that I want to discuss 39:15 is that the doctrine of the immortality 39:18 of the soul opens the door of the church wide 39:22 to the manifestations of spiritualism. 39:27 In fact, the Book of Revelation 18:2, 3 39:30 speaking about falling Christendom 39:33 in the last days says, that Christendom 39:35 has become the habitation of devils. 39:39 And evil spirits and they're speaking about Christendom. 39:44 In other words when you believe 39:46 that the soul of man is immortal, 39:48 what would keep that soul that supposed soul 39:51 from coming back to this world to try and communicate 39:56 with those who are alive? 39:58 Are you with me? 40:00 Now you might not know this but there was a senator of Wisconsin 40:06 who in 1853, his name was N.P. Tallmadge. 40:11 He not only was a senator from Wisconsin, 40:13 he was also governor of the state for a while. 40:16 He was a spiritualist and he went and consulted 40:19 a medium and the medium brought up someone 40:23 by the name of John C. Calhoun 40:28 and so senator Tallmadge asked him, 40:30 "what is the purpose of all of these spiritualistic phenomena?" 40:35 Notice what the supposed spirit of John C. Calhoun said. 40:40 "My friend, often the question is asked what good can come 40:45 from these manifestations." 40:47 That is from spiritualism. 40:49 "I will respond. It is to unite mankind in harmony 40:55 and to convince skeptics of the immortality of the soul." 41:00 Do you notice those two purports? 41:02 To unite all of humanity in one and to convince skeptics 41:08 of the immortality of the soul. 41:11 Author Conan Doyle, the author of the famous 41:14 Sherlock Holmes novels once said this about spiritualism. 41:19 He said, "I believe that one of the ultimate results 41:23 of this movement, that's spiritualism, 41:26 will be to unite Christianity upon a common basis 41:32 so strong and, indeed self-sufficient 41:36 that the quibbles which separate the churches 41:38 today will be seen in their true light and proportion 41:42 and will be swept away or disregarded." 41:49 Now I want to read you a statement by another author 41:53 who wrote several years after this. 41:56 Her name Ellen White. 42:00 This statement is found 42:01 in the Great Controversy, pages 588 and 89. 42:04 You know what the spirits revealing was true. 42:06 It is their intention to unite all of humanity in common 42:10 and to convince skeptics that the soul of man is immortal. 42:14 Notice what Ellen White had to say, 42:17 "The line of distinction between professed Christians 42:19 and the ungodly is now hardly distinguishable." 42:24 Is that true? Absolutely. 42:26 "Church members love what the world loves 42:30 and are ready to join with them and Satan determines 42:34 to unite them in one body and thus strengthen 42:39 his cause by sweeping all into the ranks of spiritualism." 42:45 Then she says, "Papists, who boast of miracles 42:50 as a certain sign of the true church will be readily 42:53 deceived by this wonder-working power, 42:56 and Protestants, having cast away 42:59 the shield of truth, will also be deluded. 43:02 Papists, Protestants, and worldlings," 43:07 That's another word for the secular, 43:10 "will alike accept the form of godliness without the power 43:15 and they will see in this union a grand movement 43:21 for the conversion of the world and the ushering 43:24 in of the long-expected millennium." 43:30 Let me ask you, is this deception well on its way? 43:34 It most certainly is. 43:36 Allow me to share with you some of the things 43:37 that have been happening in the last couple of decades. 43:42 Any of you have ever read 43:43 the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill? 43:47 You know, I once read that book it has certain principles 43:50 of how you can make yourself rich real quick. 43:52 You know, and I thought, wow, this is great, 43:54 all these principles that it gives and how you can get 43:56 rich and then one day, I was reading 43:58 an article in LIFE Magazine. 44:00 And in that article, it says "that book Think and Grow Rich 44:04 was dictated to Napoleon Hill from the spirit world." 44:10 The same with the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull 44:13 by Richard Bach, a new ager. 44:16 About the Seagull trying to reach the heights, 44:19 you know, and I thought this is a wonderful book 44:21 about the need to persevere and tell you make it. 44:26 And then one day I was reading an article in LIFE Magazine 44:28 again and I discover that Richard Bach 44:32 said that this book Jonathan Livingston Seagull 44:37 was dictated to him from the spirit world. 44:39 Then I read it again, said, "Wow, how couldn't I see 44:42 the spiritualism and the new age theology in this book." 44:46 Benny Hinn, I hate to mention the name 44:50 but he's put himself on the record. 44:51 He claims to communicate with Kathryn Kuhlman, 44:56 a dead charismatic leader. 44:59 Pat Robertson has gone on the record 45:01 saying that out of body experiences 45:03 and near death experiences are proof that man 45:06 has an immortal soul. 45:09 The tremendous emphasis on angels coming back, 45:13 you know, departed spirits 45:15 coming back this world as angels to take care 45:19 of us and to communicate with us. 45:20 For example, the program Highway to Heaven. 45:24 How about the movies, Lord of the Rings, 45:27 Harry Potter, The Sixth Sense? 45:30 I only mentioned some of them. 45:32 How about the supposed appearances 45:34 all over the world of the Virgin Mary? 45:37 How about the astrology sections in book stores? 45:40 They far outshine the sections on theology and philosophy. 45:45 How about the programs on televisions 45:47 where psychics live claim 45:50 to communicate with departed relatives? 45:53 How about new age publications that are proliferated big time? 45:59 Listen, we not only anticipate that this is what was gonna 46:04 happen by what Sir Arthur Conan Doyle said, 46:09 and this supposed spirit of Calhoun said, 46:12 we can see it today with our own eyes 46:15 the manifestation of spiritualism. 46:17 And churches who believe that the soul of man 46:19 is immortal have left the doors of the church 46:22 wide open for the spirits to come in and communicate 46:26 false doctrine such as the idea 46:29 that Sunday is the true day of rest. 46:31 And believe me, mark my word, the day is coming 46:34 when the supposed spirits of the dead, 46:36 supposed I said, are gonna come 46:39 and they're gonna get you that Sunday 46:41 is the day we're supposed to keep. 46:42 And if you believe that the dead can come back 46:44 and talk with the living, if you believe 46:46 that the soul of man is immortal, 46:48 you are wide open to accept that as truth 46:52 when it totally contradicts what the scripture says. 46:57 Modern Spiritualism originated in 1848 with 47:01 the Fox Sisters in Rochester-- near Rochester, New York. 47:05 Ellen White around that time wrote something amazing things. 47:09 You see it was only something that took place 47:11 there in New England at that time 47:13 it didn't had not proliferated worldwide. 47:15 Ellen White saw that this was going 47:17 to become a worldwide movement. 47:19 Allow me to read you a statement 47:21 that we find in the book Early Writings, page 88. 47:24 She says this, "I saw the rapidity 47:27 with which this delusion was spreading." 47:29 That is spiritualism. 47:32 "A train of cars was shown me, 47:34 going with the speed of lightning. 47:36 The angel bade me looked carefully. 47:39 I fixed my eyes upon the train. 47:42 It seemed that the whole world was on board 47:47 that there could not be one left." said the angel. 47:52 "They are binding in bundles ready to burn. 47:55 Then he showed me the conductor who appeared like 47:59 a stately fair person whom all the passengers 48:04 looked up to and reverenced. 48:07 I was perplexed," Boy, she was perplexed 48:10 what hope is there for us? 48:12 "I was perplexed, and asked my attending angel who it was. 48:17 He said it is Satan. 48:20 He is the conductor in the form of an angel of light. 48:24 He has taken the world captive. 48:27 They are given over to strong delusions, 48:29 to believe a lie that they may be damned. 48:33 This agent, the next highest in order to him, 48:36 is the engineer, and others of his agents 48:39 are employed in different offices as he may need them, 48:43 and they are all going with lightning speed to perdition." 48:49 The prophet Isaiah said "If they tell you go to the wizards 48:52 and to consult the dead who murder and peep 48:56 shall not God's people consult their God to the law 49:00 and to the testimony if they speak not according to this, 49:02 it is because there is no light in them." 49:06 Further more, Ellen White 49:07 in the book The Great Controversy 49:09 page 552 describes the power of Satan to deceive 49:13 through the medium of spiritualism. 49:15 The idea that the soul of man is immortal 49:17 and therefore that soul that supposed soul 49:21 can come back and communicate with the living. 49:23 Don't you think that the devil is doing some type 49:25 of a very rough counterfeits? 49:29 Notice what Ellen White has to say here, 49:31 "He has power to bring before men the appearance 49:36 of their departed friends." 49:38 Of course, if he can transform himself into an angel of light 49:40 why couldn't he transform himself into someone 49:44 that looks like a departed friend, piece of cake? 49:48 Notice this, he has power to bring before men 49:51 the appearance of their departed friends. 49:53 The counterfeit is perfect. 49:57 Do you know what a perfect counterfeit is? 49:59 It's when the counterfeiters make a counterfeit $100 50:03 and even the government can't distinguish it from the genuine. 50:09 She says, "The counterfeit is perfect, 50:12 the familiar look, the words, the tone, 50:17 are reproduced with marvelous distinctness. 50:21 Many are comforted with the assurance 50:24 that their loved ones are enjoying the bliss of heaven. 50:26 And without suspicion of danger, they give ear 50:30 'to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.' 50:34 And then she gives this counsel in Early Writings, page 87 50:38 about what we are supposed to do about it. 50:42 She says "I saw that the saints." 50:44 That's God's people. 50:45 "I saw that the saints must get a thorough understanding 50:50 of present truth which they will be obliged 50:53 to maintain from the scriptures. 50:58 They must understand the state of the dead." 51:01 That's why we're doing the series because 51:03 Christians use these verses. 51:05 What about the thief on the cross? 51:06 What about the rich man and Lazarus? 51:08 What about absent from the body 51:09 and present with the Lord? 51:10 What about the witch, the witch of Endor? 51:12 What about the souls under the altar? 51:14 What about the dead who stand before God? 51:16 What about the undying worm? 51:18 What about the unquenchable fire? 51:20 They bring up all of these texts, 51:21 we have to deal with these texts and we have to teach them 51:25 from a biblical perspective. 51:28 She continues saying "They must understand 51:30 the state of the dead for the spirits of devils 51:32 will get appear to them. 51:35 Professing to be beloved friends and relatives 51:39 who will declare to them that the Sabbath 51:41 has been changed also other unscriptural doctrines. 51:47 They will do all in their power to excite to sympathy 51:52 and will work miracles before them 51:55 to confirm what they declare." 52:00 That's the devil's plan but the beauty 52:03 of it is that if you simply say the living know 52:08 that they will die but the dead know not anything 52:13 the door to the devil's spiritualistic 52:16 manifestations is shut and closed. 52:21 Because that is impossible that the dead should communicate 52:24 with the living because the Bible says, 52:25 "That they're unconscious, they're sleeping until 52:28 the moment of the resurrection." 52:31 Now why did I call this lecture immortality 52:34 of the soul or resurrection of the dead? 52:37 Several decades ago a New Testament scholar 52:40 by the name of Oscar Coleman wrote a little booklet 52:45 that bore this title, so I'm plagiarizing the title 52:50 but I'm letting you know that I'm using it. 52:52 And in this little booklet, Oscar Coleman shared 52:56 with the scholarly world by a way highly respected scholar 53:00 in the area of New Testament. 53:02 He wrote this booklet and in it he shared 53:06 the Adventist view of the state of the dead. 53:09 He says "the Adventist view is correct." 53:11 He didn't say the Adventist view but he said, 53:13 this view of the state of the dead is correct 53:17 that the dead are dead, they're sleeping until 53:20 the moment of the resurrection. 53:22 And in his book he used an illustration. 53:26 He spoke about Socrates. 53:29 Do you know how Socrates died? 53:31 He surrounded himself 53:33 one evening with all of his disciples. 53:35 And he said to them, "You know, 53:37 I'm now going to drink this hemlock. 53:40 I'm going to drink this cup of poison. 53:43 And when I drink this cup of poison 53:45 I'm going to get rid of this old body. 53:50 That is subject to the deterioration of time 53:54 that get sick and gets old and when the body is laid aside, 53:59 my soul is gonna leave and going into a timeless fear 54:03 whether is no matter, whether is no time 54:06 and I'm gonna enter my real existence." 54:08 He says, "I wish that you would all be as courageous 54:12 as I am about to be." 54:16 You see for Socrates death was a friend. 54:19 How different was the case of Jesus 54:22 according to Oscar Coleman? 54:25 He trembled in the Garden of Gethsemane, 54:27 "Father, if You can take away this cup from me. 54:31 Let it be so nevertheless 54:32 not my will be done but Yours Father. 54:36 Jesus did not want to die." 54:38 The Bible says that death is an enemy. 54:41 Death is not a friend. 54:42 If you believe that when you die you go to heaven 54:44 then death would actually be a friend. 54:47 Some people said the Apostle Paul he wanted 54:49 to die so he could be present with the Lord 54:51 then death is not an enemy. 54:54 The Bible says that the last enemy 54:55 to be destroyed will be what? 54:57 "The last enemy to be destroyed will be death. 55:02 And so how different when Jesus surrounded Himself 55:04 with His disciples, He says, 55:05 "I just wish I didn't have to go through with this. 55:08 I wish this cup could pass from me." 55:11 And as He hung on the cross, He says, "My God, 55:14 My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" 55:19 Totally different then the prospective 55:21 that Socrates had the night in which he drink 55:26 the hemlock and poisoned himself supposedly to deliver his soul. 55:32 Now the good news folks, is that even 55:36 if I should die and even if I should go to sleep 55:41 the Bible says, that if the spirit 55:45 that resurrected Jesus dwells in me that same spirit 55:50 that resurrected Him from the dead 55:52 will resurrect me from a dead as well. 55:55 And that is our hope. 55:57 Notice Romans 8:11, our last text. 56:01 Romans 8:11, "But if the Spirit of Him 56:06 who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, 56:11 He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life 56:15 to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." 56:21 So even now though we live in a body that corrupts, 56:25 a body that gets old, a body that is subject 56:29 to death the Bible says "that if the Spirit 56:31 that dwelled in Jesus, dwells in us we can gain the victory over 56:36 the sins of the flesh through the Holy Spirit." 56:39 And if we should die, the Bible says, 56:42 "That our hope is found in Jesus Christ." 56:45 Jesus said, "I am the resurrection 56:48 and the life, even if anyone should die, 56:52 yet shall he," what? 56:53 "Yet shall He live." 56:55 And He doesn't say, he shall live 56:56 at the moment of death. 56:57 He says, "And I will raise him up," when? 57:01 "I will raise him up at the last day." 57:04 Folks, the hope of the Christian church 57:07 is not in the immortality of the soul, 57:09 it is in the resurrection of the dead. 57:11 What a glorious day that will be when all of God's children 57:15 will come far from the tomb when Jesus calls never to die again, 57:20 never to suffer again but to live eternally with Jesus 57:24 in that land where joy will never end. Amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17