Greetings church family, and greetings to the viewers 00:00:57.15\00:01:03.82 who are watching from all over the world. 00:01:03.85\00:01:06.12 I'm Pastor Henoc Paulicin, pastor of the 00:01:06.15\00:01:09.74 Ambassador Seventh-day Adventist Church in 00:01:09.77\00:01:12.11 Lauderdale Lakes, Florida. 00:01:12.14\00:01:13.49 And on behalf of the Ambassador Church family, 00:01:13.52\00:01:16.98 we'd like to welcome you, and we're glad that you've chosen 00:01:17.01\00:01:20.98 to be a part of our church family for this night. 00:01:21.01\00:01:24.93 A few years ago I attended Andrews University, 00:01:24.96\00:01:28.84 and I met a gentlemen who was a minister 00:01:28.87\00:01:32.42 from another denomination. 00:01:32.45\00:01:34.63 He had become a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:01:34.66\00:01:39.31 and he told me that he had always believed that Revelation 00:01:39.34\00:01:45.07 was a book to be read and not understood. 00:01:45.10\00:01:48.43 But we know that this is not true. 00:01:48.46\00:01:51.34 God has given us the book of Revelation so that we may know 00:01:51.37\00:01:55.90 what is being held in store for us in the future. 00:01:55.93\00:02:00.16 And so, night after night, the man of God, 00:02:00.19\00:02:05.49 Pastor Lawrence Dorsey, has been expounding 00:02:05.52\00:02:08.57 from the book of Revelation. 00:02:08.60\00:02:09.94 And the theme that he has chosen is, Through the Eyes of John. 00:02:09.97\00:02:13.88 And so we await what God has in store for us as we go forward 00:02:13.91\00:02:20.57 in the future, knowing that Jesus is coming soon. Amen! 00:02:20.60\00:02:24.65 But let us invite the presence of God before we begin. 00:02:24.68\00:02:28.33 Bow your heads in prayer. 00:02:28.36\00:02:29.49 Our Father in heaven, we thank You for the 00:02:29.52\00:02:32.58 sure Word of prophecy. 00:02:32.61\00:02:33.69 We thank You that You have sent us a man who is willing 00:02:33.72\00:02:39.24 to be used by You. 00:02:39.27\00:02:41.71 We pray that our eyes may be open, and our hearts may be 00:02:41.74\00:02:45.59 opened to receive the Words that You have. 00:02:45.62\00:02:49.27 And we ask that souls may be saved here in this place, 00:02:49.30\00:02:54.05 and even throughout the world, as our viewers watch. 00:02:54.08\00:02:56.81 We give You all the glory for this, and we thank You. 00:02:56.84\00:03:00.87 This we ask in Jesus' name, Amen. 00:03:00.90\00:03:06.01 When I should feel so sad, why does my heart feel so glad? 00:03:21.55\00:03:31.95 Why does my soul feel so happy and gay? 00:03:31.98\00:03:41.17 When all around me burdens fall, but I'm not worried at all. 00:03:41.20\00:03:51.30 For if I pray King Jesus will roll all burdens away. 00:03:51.33\00:04:00.67 All away, all away, King Jesus will roll all burdens away, 00:04:00.70\00:04:15.02 if to Him you pray. 00:04:15.05\00:04:19.74 For He opens doors for me, doors I'm unable to see. 00:04:19.77\00:04:29.94 That's why I say, King Jesus will roll all burdens away. 00:04:29.97\00:04:39.62 Like a king on his throne, I'm never left all alone, 00:04:39.65\00:04:48.78 for I have a friend who walks with me each day. 00:04:48.81\00:04:58.41 And all that He asks me to do, is just keep His laws, 00:04:58.44\00:05:05.95 and live true. That's why I say, King Jesus will roll 00:05:05.98\00:05:12.79 all burdens away. All away, all away, King Jesus will roll 00:05:12.82\00:05:28.52 all burdens away if to Him we pray. 00:05:28.55\00:05:35.33 For He opens doors for me, doors I'm unable to see, 00:05:35.36\00:05:45.47 that's why I say, King Jesus will roll all burdens away. 00:05:45.50\00:05:59.74 Amen! Good evening everyone! Good evening! 00:05:59.77\00:06:05.95 King Jesus can roll our burdens away. 00:06:05.98\00:06:08.55 How many of you believe that? Amen! 00:06:08.58\00:06:10.53 Sometimes we're under such a heavy load, and we feel as 00:06:10.56\00:06:13.74 though we can't even look up, but if you can just call 00:06:13.77\00:06:17.42 on the name of Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, 00:06:17.45\00:06:21.13 and He will lift those burdens from our souls, and we will feel 00:06:21.16\00:06:24.33 the and we will feel the peace that comes only from Him, 00:06:24.36\00:06:27.68 and we will know that we can make it. 00:06:27.71\00:06:30.17 Can we make it, Elder Spence? 00:06:30.20\00:06:31.54 We can make it, praise God! 00:06:31.57\00:06:33.25 I don't know about you, but I've been enjoying this series 00:06:33.28\00:06:36.38 as a speaker, but as I read the Bible, and as a student of the 00:06:36.41\00:06:42.13 Bible, I get a greater love and desire to study it more. 00:06:42.16\00:06:48.68 And, folks, those of you who are in the Florida area, 00:06:48.71\00:06:51.28 we invite you to come down to the Ambassador Seventh-day 00:06:51.31\00:06:54.73 Adventist Church right here in Lauderdale Lakes, because it's a 00:06:54.76\00:06:58.14 beautiful edifice, and the people are so warm, 00:06:58.17\00:07:02.11 and we would just like to see you here with us. 00:07:02.14\00:07:05.02 Now we have something special we'd like you to do, 00:07:05.05\00:07:07.68 those of you who are at home tonight. 00:07:07.71\00:07:09.28 I've gotten calls from St. Kitts, from England, even 00:07:09.31\00:07:14.14 e- mails from Kenya, but we want to know who is really watching. 00:07:14.17\00:07:19.73 So we would like you to send us an email to livingwordtv@cs. com 00:07:19.76\00:07:28.23 and tell us where you're watching, and just give us your 00:07:28.26\00:07:31.18 reaction... However honest it must be. 00:07:31.21\00:07:33.24 It has to be honest. 00:07:33.27\00:07:34.30 ...to the services that are taking place here. 00:07:34.33\00:07:36.77 We look forward to reading those emails in the early part of our 00:07:36.80\00:07:40.04 service each night, to let the people know who is watching 00:07:40.07\00:07:44.49 and that you are having a good time in the Lord. 00:07:44.52\00:07:47.85 Can you do that? I know you can. 00:07:47.88\00:07:50.14 Shall we pray? Loving Father, again we are so thankful for 00:07:50.17\00:07:53.86 Your love and mercy towards us, and tonight as we open up the 00:07:53.89\00:07:57.49 Word again, looking through the eyes of John, and the things 00:07:57.52\00:08:01.56 that have been written for us for this time, we ask that Your 00:08:01.59\00:08:05.13 Holy Spirit will give us not only clarity, but understanding, 00:08:05.16\00:08:09.00 and that it will empower us to go through the 00:08:09.03\00:08:11.72 days that are ahead. 00:08:11.75\00:08:13.40 Thank You for loving us, and keeping us. 00:08:13.43\00:08:15.45 And bless not only the live congregation, but be with those 00:08:15.48\00:08:20.50 who are in their homes, and those who are watching via the 00:08:20.53\00:08:24.18 internet, in Jesus' name, Amen. 00:08:24.21\00:08:27.68 Tonight we're looking at, if it were numbered, a part 2 00:08:27.71\00:08:33.85 to last night's message. 00:08:33.88\00:08:35.57 For last night's message was, Glimpses of Glory, 00:08:35.60\00:08:39.28 Heaven Is a Real Place. 00:08:39.31\00:08:41.21 Now folks, if heaven is a real place, and we know that heaven 00:08:41.24\00:08:46.03 is real because God is real, we have to look at the other 00:08:46.06\00:08:49.83 side, or the other destination that some folks, 00:08:49.86\00:08:52.69 I hope none of you, will end up in. 00:08:52.72\00:08:55.96 Tonight's message is entitled, Hell, Is It Real or Is It Not? 00:08:55.99\00:09:04.55 So we look at this message determining if hell and death 00:09:04.58\00:09:10.85 are real realities. 00:09:10.88\00:09:12.96 The first thing we like to do is go to the book of Revelation. 00:09:12.99\00:09:17.83 Here we go, have your Bibles. 00:09:17.86\00:09:19.23 Those that are home pick up your Bibles. 00:09:19.26\00:09:21.65 We're looking at chapter 20, going to chapter 20 of the book 00:09:21.68\00:09:25.98 of Revelation, and we will see that both death and hell are 00:09:26.01\00:09:33.43 really there. But with the book of Revelation, 00:09:33.46\00:09:36.72 this book of revealing and unfolding, we will show us 00:09:36.75\00:09:40.74 the pure, true doctrine about death and hell. 00:09:40.77\00:09:45.30 Because people have that all mixed up. 00:09:45.33\00:09:48.64 And we said here in our early meetings, that the Bible is its 00:09:48.67\00:09:52.51 own expositor, and that it is profitable, 00:09:52.54\00:09:55.32 ladies and gentlemen, in 2 Timothy 3:16, 00:09:55.35\00:09:59.45 that all scripture is profitable for doctrine. 00:09:59.48\00:10:03.43 So when we look at it tonight, we're going to look at the 00:10:03.46\00:10:06.34 doctrine of death, and the doctrine of hell to see the 00:10:06.37\00:10:09.78 reality of it. Now turn with me quickly to chapter 20, 00:10:09.81\00:10:14.24 of the book of Revelation, beginning with verse 11. 00:10:14.27\00:10:17.81 Again, this is an eye witness account from God's servant. 00:10:20.22\00:10:23.99 So right here, ladies and gentlemen, we see from the very 00:11:21.91\00:11:24.54 beginning of this reading tonight, that death and hell 00:11:24.57\00:11:29.49 are real. Amen! We're reading it here in the book, the book of 00:11:29.52\00:11:34.91 Revelation that is for us, and our day, and our time. 00:11:34.94\00:11:38.09 It's telling us that John saw death and hell cast into 00:11:38.12\00:11:44.76 the lake of fire. Now, first of all, we have to understand this. 00:11:44.79\00:11:49.94 Death came to us as a conditional state. 00:11:49.97\00:11:54.63 It never had to exist. 00:11:54.66\00:11:57.86 If you would turn with me in your Bibles, 00:11:57.89\00:12:00.51 going back to the beginning. 00:12:00.54\00:12:02.25 And we saw last night that the tree of life was found in 00:12:02.28\00:12:06.36 Genesis, and we saw it was restored to us 00:12:06.39\00:12:09.13 in the book of Revelation. 00:12:09.16\00:12:10.81 Well, when we look at death being mentioned in chapter 00:12:10.84\00:12:15.38 20 of Revelation, death and hell being cast into the lake of fire 00:12:15.41\00:12:20.24 we see the beginning of the first mention of death 00:12:20.27\00:12:23.70 in chapter 2 of the book of Genesis, and we see that death 00:12:23.73\00:12:30.16 is a conditional state. 00:12:30.19\00:12:33.01 Genesis 2:15, And the Lord God took the man, and put him into 00:12:33.04\00:12:39.58 the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 00:12:39.61\00:12:42.06 And the Lord God commanded the man saying, Of every tree of the 00:12:42.09\00:12:45.16 garden thou mayest freely eat: verse 17, but of the tree 00:12:45.19\00:12:49.89 Conditional. Man did not have to die. 00:13:04.22\00:13:09.83 We did not have to fear death. 00:13:09.86\00:13:13.29 If our foreparents were obedient, we would have never 00:13:13.32\00:13:18.34 known what death was like. 00:13:18.37\00:13:21.18 Excuse me! Turning in your Bibles to the book of Romans. 00:13:21.21\00:13:26.55 What book did I say? 00:13:26.58\00:13:27.61 Romans chapter 5, Romans chapter 5. 00:13:27.64\00:13:32.42 We look at verse 12, and we hear this. It says: 00:13:32.45\00:13:36.71 Ladies and gentlemen, because of Adam and Eve's disobedience, 00:13:50.92\00:13:55.58 death was passed on to all of us. 00:13:55.61\00:13:59.57 But thank God, the story didn't end there. 00:13:59.60\00:14:04.42 We have a loving Savior. 00:14:04.45\00:14:06.54 You at home, you have a loving Savior who has 00:14:06.57\00:14:10.01 made a way for us. 00:14:10.04\00:14:11.65 If you would just go up a few verses, starting with verse 8 00:14:11.68\00:14:15.68 of chapter 5, of this book of Romans, it says: 00:14:15.71\00:14:19.83 That is the anger, and fury, and rage of God. 00:14:33.81\00:14:37.00 In other words, the atonement that came from Jesus Christ 00:15:02.36\00:15:05.66 gives us the ability to look past the death of this world, 00:15:05.69\00:15:10.85 and the penalty of sin, and to one day be able to live forever 00:15:10.88\00:15:15.27 in His very presence. 00:15:15.30\00:15:16.98 I look at that and I say, What a mighty God we serve! Amen! 00:15:17.01\00:15:24.03 The penalty for sin is death. 00:15:24.06\00:15:29.81 Romans 6:23, it tells us: 00:15:29.84\00:15:33.76 But, ladies and gentlemen, the upside of that verse tells us 00:15:35.75\00:15:39.61 that we have something sweet. 00:15:39.64\00:15:40.99 We have something that is everlasting. 00:15:41.02\00:15:43.89 We have the relationship with Jesus Christ, for it says, 00:15:43.92\00:15:47.40 So when we look at this thing, this thing called death, 00:15:55.52\00:15:58.34 we see that it is something that is real. 00:15:58.37\00:16:00.96 It was a conditional state. 00:16:00.99\00:16:02.55 It didn't have to happen, but it did. 00:16:02.58\00:16:04.83 And because it's here, it had to be dealt with. 00:16:04.86\00:16:08.50 Death had to be dealt with. 00:16:08.53\00:16:11.99 Someone had to pay the penalty for it, and Jesus is the One 00:16:12.02\00:16:16.04 that paid it all. Amen! 00:16:16.07\00:16:18.03 We ought to say, Thank You, Lord Jesus, for paying our debt. 00:16:18.06\00:16:21.29 Something we could never pay. 00:16:21.32\00:16:23.14 Now, what we need to understand, ladies and gentlemen, 00:16:23.17\00:16:27.01 is that what death really is, because there's 00:16:27.04\00:16:32.88 confusion about death. 00:16:32.91\00:16:34.12 Some people think death is life. 00:16:34.15\00:16:35.70 Why do you say that, Pastor? 00:16:35.73\00:16:36.80 Well, some people think that when you die, 00:16:36.83\00:16:39.01 you go on to a different existence. 00:16:39.04\00:16:41.04 Some people say, when you die you go 00:16:41.07\00:16:45.05 straight to hell and burn. 00:16:45.08\00:16:46.58 Others say, if you were a good person, when you die 00:16:46.61\00:16:50.58 you go directly to heaven. 00:16:50.61\00:16:52.34 So we have to let the Bible be its own expositor and show us, 00:16:52.37\00:16:56.77 and tell us, what death really is. 00:16:56.80\00:16:59.36 It's a conditional state that we have to deal with, 00:16:59.39\00:17:04.45 ladies and gentlemen. 00:17:04.48\00:17:05.51 We must understand what is that conditional state. 00:17:05.54\00:17:11.20 If you will turn with me in your Bibles again to the 00:17:11.23\00:17:14.72 Old Testament, to the wisest man that ever lived, 00:17:14.75\00:17:17.98 and we're talking about King Solomon. 00:17:18.01\00:17:20.76 In the book of Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes 9:5, he gives us 00:17:20.79\00:17:25.83 insight into the definition of death, or what it's really like. 00:17:25.86\00:17:30.79 It says in Ecclesiastes 9:5: 00:17:30.82\00:17:33.95 And we all know that, don't we? 00:17:36.73\00:17:38.61 That's why you have 22 locks on the door. Hello! 00:17:38.64\00:17:42.01 That's why the windows are nailed down in some places. 00:17:42.04\00:17:44.77 Come on! We know that we are going to die. 00:17:44.80\00:17:48.23 That's why when you cross the street, you look both ways. 00:17:48.26\00:17:52.21 Everywhere, except my home state now, California. 00:17:52.24\00:17:54.70 You see, in California, we have these lines painted there, 00:17:54.73\00:17:58.01 these white lines, that when you step in the law says 00:17:58.04\00:18:00.80 the cars have to stop. 00:18:00.83\00:18:01.94 But there are a lot of people that don't come from California, 00:18:01.97\00:18:04.52 and don't know the laws, so being a New Yorker still 00:18:04.55\00:18:07.43 in my heart, I make sure I look both ways before I 00:18:07.46\00:18:10.41 step between the lines. 00:18:10.44\00:18:11.56 The living know that we shall die. 00:18:11.59\00:18:16.76 It's coming! As we get older in life, and I'm getting older 00:18:16.79\00:18:21.73 in life. There was a time I wouldn't wear a hat 00:18:21.76\00:18:24.42 when it rained. I wouldn't wear galoshes. 00:18:24.45\00:18:25.88 I wouldn't wear a raincoat. 00:18:25.91\00:18:26.94 But now I put the scarf on and everything. 00:18:26.97\00:18:29.11 I want to hang around! 00:18:29.14\00:18:30.37 The living know that we shall die. 00:18:30.40\00:18:34.65 We don't do the things we used to do. 00:18:34.68\00:18:36.54 We become more conservative. 00:18:36.57\00:18:38.44 We know that time is running out. 00:18:38.47\00:18:40.54 There used to be a time that we used to fool ourselves and think 00:18:40.57\00:18:44.52 that middle age was 50. 00:18:44.55\00:18:47.34 They say, Oh yea, 50 is the new 30, and 70 is the new 50. 00:18:47.37\00:18:54.18 And we'd go on with that. 00:18:54.21\00:18:55.38 But folks, the Bible says that the days of a man are 00:18:55.41\00:18:57.45 three score and ten. 00:18:57.48\00:18:59.01 That's 70, and half of that, 35 is middle age. 00:18:59.04\00:19:03.04 Now I wouldn't say that to some ladies, brethren. 00:19:03.07\00:19:05.24 You'll find yourself in trouble. 00:19:05.27\00:19:06.51 But anyway, let's get back to the point, 00:19:06.54\00:19:09.29 let's get back to the point. It says: 00:19:09.32\00:19:11.05 We know it, and we want to live. 00:19:13.40\00:19:15.67 Uh oh, wait a minute! 00:19:18.64\00:19:20.07 It says the dead know not anything. 00:19:20.10\00:19:22.84 I'm not launching to a new lifestyle. 00:19:22.87\00:19:25.16 I'm not going to a next level. 00:19:25.19\00:19:27.90 I can't come back. 00:19:27.93\00:19:30.20 That's what it says. 00:19:30.23\00:19:31.26 In other words, when you die, ladies and gentlemen, 00:19:44.06\00:19:46.74 you fulfill Webster's definition of death. 00:19:46.77\00:19:51.09 Webster's says death is the ending of all life forms: 00:19:51.12\00:19:54.81 in human, in animals, and in plants. 00:19:54.84\00:19:58.24 You're dead! So you can't come back, brother, and see how she's 00:19:58.27\00:20:04.03 spending the insurance money. 00:20:04.06\00:20:05.72 You can't come back, sister, and see who we marry. 00:20:05.75\00:20:11.34 Now you might have had some clues of who he was going to 00:20:11.37\00:20:13.94 marry on your way out, but you can't come back to confirm it. 00:20:13.97\00:20:18.36 You can't do it. That's what the Bible says. 00:20:18.39\00:20:21.60 Old people might say all kinds of things, but the Bible says 00:20:21.63\00:20:24.65 But the living know that they shall die, but the dead 00:20:24.68\00:20:27.40 know not anything neither have they any more reward, 00:20:27.43\00:20:30.34 for the memory of them is forgotten, also their love, 00:20:30.37\00:20:33.14 and their hatred, and their envy is now perished, 00:20:33.17\00:20:35.69 neither have they anymore portion forever in anything 00:20:35.72\00:20:38.23 that is done under the sun. 00:20:38.26\00:20:39.29 No one can come back from the dead and tell you what you need 00:20:39.32\00:20:44.40 to do and give you advice. 00:20:44.43\00:20:46.15 Are you listening to me? 00:20:46.18\00:20:50.37 My Bible is telling me that if I was at a funeral, 00:20:50.40\00:20:57.88 that the person who was in the casket is not looking at 00:20:57.91\00:21:02.02 themselves in the casket. 00:21:02.05\00:21:03.14 You know, I've gotten so confused before I understood 00:21:03.17\00:21:08.44 the Bible, because if the person's in the casket 00:21:08.47\00:21:10.55 how could they be up there with Jesus? 00:21:10.58\00:21:12.27 And then the preacher says that they're there looking, 00:21:12.30\00:21:15.19 and smiling at us because it's such a good crowd. 00:21:15.22\00:21:18.29 My Bible tells me, and we have to believe the Bible more 00:21:18.32\00:21:24.66 than our five senses, ladies and gentlemen, because we have to 00:21:24.69\00:21:27.99 have faith to believe the Bible. 00:21:28.02\00:21:29.94 The Bible is something that is faith based. 00:21:29.97\00:21:34.27 But it's also firmer than the ground that we stand on. 00:21:34.30\00:21:39.53 It says the dead are dead, and they can't come back. 00:21:39.56\00:21:45.03 Now somebody might say, and I know, I've heard this before, 00:21:45.06\00:21:48.35 that you've seen somebody come back and you've heard something. 00:21:48.38\00:21:50.50 Well, you have to keep looking, and coming to the services 00:21:50.53\00:21:53.75 each night, and we'll get to that. 00:21:53.78\00:21:55.52 And we'll tell you what you really saw. 00:21:55.55\00:21:57.44 When I look at my Bible, and I see that I can't build a 00:21:57.47\00:22:04.58 doctrine on one text, I turn to Psalms 146 and I see verses 00:22:04.61\00:22:11.83 1 through 6, and it tells me more about this thing called 00:22:11.86\00:22:17.05 death to make it clearer to me. 00:22:17.08\00:22:19.09 It says in Psalms 146: 00:22:19.12\00:22:21.99 In other words, while you're alive you can do that. 00:22:35.54\00:22:37.95 Again, it's saying the same thing as the wise man. 00:22:51.11\00:22:54.19 Then it says: 00:22:54.22\00:22:55.86 In other words, happy is that person who has the Creator 00:23:08.77\00:23:12.28 and re-Creator as our Lord and Savior. Amen! 00:23:12.31\00:23:16.18 Now when I read this, and I compare it to what was said 00:23:16.21\00:23:19.13 in Ecclesiastics, it takes me back to when mankind 00:23:19.16\00:23:23.65 came into existence. 00:23:23.68\00:23:24.96 We said last night there were some things that God 00:23:24.99\00:23:28.36 just spoke into existence. 00:23:28.39\00:23:29.94 He spoke some things into existence, but when it came 00:23:29.97\00:23:33.40 down to man, He took His time and He made us personally. 00:23:33.43\00:23:38.28 Somebody ought to say Amen. Amen! 00:23:38.31\00:23:40.80 God took time and made us personally. 00:23:40.83\00:23:44.25 I come back to the book of Genesis. 00:23:44.28\00:23:46.94 I'm turning to chapter 2, and I see in verse 7 it says: 00:23:46.97\00:23:54.62 Oh ladies and gentlemen, are you understanding 00:24:10.30\00:24:12.33 what took place? God and His Son Jesus, and all the angels 00:24:12.36\00:24:17.86 were there, and the Holy Spirit was there. 00:24:17.89\00:24:19.56 And if you don't believe the Holy Spirit was there, 00:24:19.59\00:24:21.38 all you have to do is look at Genesis 1:2. 00:24:21.41\00:24:24.25 It says, And the Spirit of God moved across the 00:24:24.28\00:24:27.17 face of the waters. 00:24:27.20\00:24:28.23 They were all there. 00:24:28.26\00:24:29.29 And it says that God took time in this wonderful thing 00:24:29.32\00:24:35.13 of creation, and He knelt down and He formed and fashioned man. 00:24:35.16\00:24:42.63 He didn't make him look like a horse. 00:24:42.66\00:24:45.40 He didn't make him look like a chimpanzee. 00:24:45.43\00:24:48.74 He didn't make him look like a fish. 00:24:48.77\00:24:50.10 He says in the Bible that they were made in His image. Amen! 00:24:50.13\00:24:55.94 We look like God, church! Amen! 00:24:55.97\00:24:59.76 He took the time and fashioned us. 00:24:59.79\00:25:03.72 He stood that clay up, and that sculpture of clay, 00:25:03.75\00:25:11.49 He breathed into it the breath of life, 00:25:11.52\00:25:15.86 and man became a living soul. Amen! 00:25:15.89\00:25:20.62 David said, when we read Psalms 146, that when an animal dies, 00:25:20.65\00:25:24.97 and when a man dies, it says his breath goes from him. 00:25:25.00\00:25:28.15 It goes back into the air. 00:25:28.18\00:25:30.01 That thing that God gave him, that spark of life, 00:25:30.04\00:25:32.59 it leaves him, but it's not left by itself. 00:25:32.62\00:25:36.35 When we look at Genesis 2 it says that God breathed in 00:25:36.38\00:25:41.96 him, and he became a living soul, that that gives us 00:25:41.99\00:25:45.94 the equation that body and breath make a living soul. 00:25:45.97\00:25:53.22 So when people say, Oh, when you die your soul goes back 00:25:53.25\00:25:57.01 to heaven. That's why you're up in heaven. 00:25:57.04\00:25:58.34 It didn't say you went up there. 00:25:58.37\00:26:00.17 It says your breath goes back into the atmosphere. 00:26:00.20\00:26:03.77 You remember last night we saw that there are three heavens? 00:26:03.80\00:26:06.19 The first heaven is the atmospheric heaven. 00:26:06.22\00:26:09.05 The second one is the starry heaven. 00:26:09.08\00:26:10.66 The third one, ladies and gentlemen, is paradise, 00:26:10.69\00:26:13.41 where God is. It doesn't say anything about your breath, 00:26:13.44\00:26:18.64 or your soul being a live entity that takes you into direct 00:26:18.67\00:26:24.47 relationship with Christ. 00:26:24.50\00:26:26.55 It doesn't say that. 00:26:26.58\00:26:27.61 It doesn't say you go straight to heaven. 00:26:27.64\00:26:29.31 It says in Ecclesiastes, the dead know not anything. 00:26:29.34\00:26:32.12 You are there in the grave. 00:26:32.15\00:26:34.56 Body and breath make a living soul. 00:26:34.59\00:26:41.63 You know, when you're driving on 95, and you come off, and you 00:26:41.66\00:26:45.48 see the people on the freeway, and it's raining real hard, 00:26:45.51\00:26:48.26 and you see some person standing on the curb, and it's raining, 00:26:48.29\00:26:58.02 and you just make a mistake and you hit him with that splash. 00:26:58.05\00:27:03.17 And you say, that poor soul! 00:27:03.20\00:27:07.27 You're not talking about their breath. 00:27:07.30\00:27:09.88 You're talking about that person you feel guilty about splashing. 00:27:09.91\00:27:13.70 The person, the full person. 00:27:13.73\00:27:15.99 You see, when we look at the Bible, 00:27:16.02\00:27:17.94 and that's why I love the Bible. 00:27:17.97\00:27:19.05 I'm so glad that God gave it to us, that we can look at it, 00:27:19.08\00:27:22.35 and we can comprehend it. 00:27:22.38\00:27:24.07 We see in the Bible, and it is accentuated by Christ Himself. 00:27:24.10\00:27:29.23 It tells us that death is nothing more than a sleep. 00:27:29.26\00:27:33.54 You don't know what's going on around you when you're asleep. 00:27:33.57\00:27:37.52 Now tell the truth, do you? 00:27:37.55\00:27:39.51 Now if you're sleeping light you can wake up, 00:27:39.54\00:27:42.81 but if you're really sleeping in a deep sleep, that unconscious 00:27:42.84\00:27:46.77 state, you don't know what's happening around you. 00:27:46.80\00:27:50.50 Brothers, you don't know that Mommy's going to the wallet 00:27:50.53\00:27:56.08 and then going to the store. 00:27:56.11\00:27:58.79 You don't know what's happening around you, 00:27:58.82\00:28:01.02 what the kids are doing in their room. 00:28:01.05\00:28:03.68 You don't know what's happening around you, what your team 00:28:03.71\00:28:07.02 is doing, or what's going on in the rest of the world, 00:28:07.05\00:28:08.93 what's happening on the TV. 00:28:08.96\00:28:10.07 You don't know. You are in an unconscious state called sleep. 00:28:10.10\00:28:14.02 That's what death is! 00:28:14.05\00:28:16.74 Well, how can I just say that with authority? 00:28:16.77\00:28:19.72 I can say it with authority because Jesus said 00:28:19.75\00:28:22.98 it with authority. 00:28:23.01\00:28:24.19 Turn in your Bibles with me to the book of John, 00:28:24.22\00:28:30.53 John chapter 11, and we see a scene here that makes it so 00:28:30.56\00:28:36.09 clear for us. And the more we study the Bible, 00:28:36.12\00:28:40.32 the clearer these things will be to us, 00:28:40.35\00:28:42.87 and we will not be confused. John 11:1-5. 00:28:42.90\00:28:51.01 In other words, Jesus said it from the very beginning that 00:29:26.00\00:29:28.57 something spectacular was going to come out of this sickness. 00:29:28.60\00:29:31.91 Folks, you know what, that makes me feel good. 00:29:31.94\00:29:35.08 You see, the Bible, and I love this text, Romans 15:4, 00:29:35.11\00:29:40.89 Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written 00:29:40.92\00:29:43.38 for our learning, that we through patience and comfort 00:29:43.41\00:29:46.92 of the scriptures, might have hope. 00:29:46.95\00:29:48.70 When you study this book, and you internalize the things that 00:29:48.73\00:29:52.51 have transpired. When you hold onto the promises of this book, 00:29:52.54\00:29:55.87 and there are over three thousand promises 00:29:55.90\00:29:57.99 in the Word of God. 00:29:58.02\00:29:59.05 Folks looking at home, read your Bible. 00:29:59.08\00:30:01.46 There are promises that are there that will uplift you, 00:30:01.49\00:30:03.99 and keep you. It shows you events that have taken place 00:30:04.02\00:30:08.23 that will give you the faith to know that if God did it 00:30:08.26\00:30:11.45 for them, He can do it for you. Amen! 00:30:11.48\00:30:15.63 So when sickness comes sometimes, don't despair. 00:30:15.66\00:30:20.49 Don't become despondent. 00:30:20.52\00:30:22.27 God can use it for His glory. Amen! 00:30:22.30\00:30:25.59 The record goes on to say that he was sick, verse 3, 00:30:25.62\00:30:30.57 therefore his sisters sent unto Him saying, Lord, behold whom 00:30:30.60\00:30:34.29 Thou lovest is sick. 00:30:34.32\00:30:35.96 And when Jesus heard that He said, This sickness is not unto 00:30:35.99\00:30:39.14 death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of man might 00:30:39.17\00:30:42.03 be glorified thereby. 00:30:42.06\00:30:43.55 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 00:30:43.58\00:30:48.52 He loved the whole family. 00:30:48.55\00:30:49.77 Verse 11 says that Jesus waited, well verse 6, it says, 00:30:49.80\00:30:55.22 And when he had heard, therefore, that he was sick, 00:30:55.25\00:30:57.21 He abode two days still in the same place where He was. 00:30:57.24\00:31:00.21 His disciples were worrying about that, but they figured 00:31:00.24\00:31:03.57 Jesus said that He was sick, that it would be okay. 00:31:03.60\00:31:05.36 And in verse 11 He says: 00:31:05.39\00:31:06.76 Now folks, I can imagine the disciples said, Wow, what's the 00:31:40.00\00:31:45.68 matter with Jesus? 00:31:45.71\00:31:46.74 He never, never talked that straight to us or that hard. 00:31:46.77\00:31:52.40 I mean He's the One that said He was asleep. 00:31:52.43\00:31:56.21 And now He's saying, Well, if He sleeps, Lord, He's going to do 00:31:56.24\00:31:58.40 well, because, you know, we know You have the power to take care 00:31:58.43\00:32:01.16 of any kind of sickness. 00:32:01.28\00:32:02.31 We've seen the miracles. 00:32:02.34\00:32:03.37 We've got the proof. 00:32:03.40\00:32:04.43 We've been there. But then Jesus said he's dead. 00:32:04.46\00:32:09.28 And verse 15 really puts them in a spin. 00:32:09.31\00:32:13.86 He says, And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, 00:32:13.89\00:32:17.16 to the intent that ye may believe. 00:32:17.19\00:32:19.52 Nevertheless, let us go unto him. 00:32:19.55\00:32:22.39 And when He said that part I can imagine the disciples saying, 00:32:22.42\00:32:24.93 Oh, my goodness! What's happening? 00:32:24.96\00:32:30.96 You all know the story. 00:32:30.99\00:32:33.01 The record says that they came, verse 17, and Jesus found that 00:32:33.04\00:32:38.47 they had laid him in the grave for four days. 00:32:38.50\00:32:41.00 He had been in the grave for four days, ladies and gentlemen. 00:32:41.03\00:32:45.08 And it says that as He approached the city that Martha 00:32:45.11\00:32:49.68 came out when she heard that Jesus was coming, verse 20, 00:32:49.71\00:32:52.54 and she met Him. But Mary was still in the house. 00:32:52.57\00:32:54.97 And then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord if Thou had been here, 00:32:55.00\00:32:58.55 my brother had not died, but I know that even now,... 00:32:58.58\00:33:01.62 Hum. You see, that's faith. 00:33:05.77\00:33:09.09 Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of 00:33:09.12\00:33:12.88 things not seen. By faith the Christian sees themselves 00:33:12.91\00:33:17.30 in possession of the things that have been promised 00:33:17.33\00:33:20.14 to them. He that comes to God must believe that He is, 00:33:20.17\00:33:24.54 and He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. 00:33:24.57\00:33:28.01 Hebrews 11:6. And her faith was of such that she knew who she 00:33:28.04\00:33:33.47 was dealing with, who she was talking to, who she was praying 00:33:33.50\00:33:37.83 to, and whose mercies she was at. 00:33:37.86\00:33:40.73 She knew that He could do something about this situation 00:33:40.76\00:33:45.18 because her faith had been enriched, and strengthened, 00:33:45.21\00:33:49.45 by what she had seen Jesus do in the past. 00:33:49.48\00:33:54.33 Jesus stopped the funeral when they were 00:33:54.36\00:33:57.60 going to the gravesite. 00:33:57.63\00:33:58.93 The folks were going up crying, and when they went home 00:33:58.96\00:34:04.20 they were rejoicing. 00:34:04.23\00:34:05.26 He raised up a little girl, put the mourners out of the house, 00:34:05.29\00:34:10.09 and she came up with the newness of life. 00:34:10.12\00:34:13.34 God is so good! So she knew He had the power. 00:34:13.37\00:34:17.98 She knew it! But now he's been in there four days, 00:34:18.01\00:34:20.71 and she's wondering, really, what is going to happen. 00:34:20.74\00:34:24.98 But remember, Jesus is in charge. 00:34:25.01\00:34:27.14 And what I like about this is Jesus give us these things 00:34:27.17\00:34:31.87 in His Bible that He might underscore other doctrines 00:34:31.90\00:34:37.09 of the Bible. You see, He did this for us to have a pattern 00:34:37.12\00:34:42.17 here and there, here a little, there a little, 00:34:42.20\00:34:43.90 precept upon precept, line upon line, to know that the dead are 00:34:43.93\00:34:48.54 not alive somewhere, but they are in the grave, 00:34:48.57\00:34:52.71 that they are sleeping, and that there will be, 00:34:52.74\00:34:57.22 ladies and gentlemen, a real resurrection. Amen! 00:34:57.25\00:35:01.58 You see some folks believe there's a resurrection. 00:35:01.61\00:35:04.30 Some people think that they are going to die and that's it. 00:35:04.33\00:35:07.74 I remember one Hollywood movie star who passed, and they said, 00:35:07.77\00:35:11.95 Well, I don't know if there's a God or not, but I'm going to 00:35:11.98\00:35:15.00 take some precautions. 00:35:15.03\00:35:16.25 What I want when I die is for you to just take me and burn me, 00:35:16.28\00:35:23.33 you know. Then after the cremation take my ashes 00:35:23.36\00:35:29.70 and sprinkle them out in the sea, in case there is a hell, 00:35:29.73\00:35:34.80 and in case there is a God. 00:35:34.83\00:35:37.20 He can't find me. But there's nowhere you can go 00:35:37.23\00:35:41.41 where our God can't find you. 00:35:41.44\00:35:43.60 We look at the Bible and it tells us in the book of Job, 00:35:43.63\00:35:48.20 the book of Job, chapter 19, he understood about the 00:35:48.23\00:35:52.39 resurrection back then. 00:35:52.42\00:35:54.08 Verse 25, he says: 00:35:54.11\00:35:56.32 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, 00:36:04.05\00:36:08.30 yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, 00:36:08.33\00:36:15.24 and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; 00:36:15.27\00:36:18.80 though my reins be consumed within me. 00:36:18.83\00:36:21.76 In other words, I know I'm going to die. 00:36:21.79\00:36:24.24 I know my body will be consumed, and will go back to dust. 00:36:24.27\00:36:28.34 Dust to dust, and ashes to ashes, but on that great 00:36:28.37\00:36:31.91 getting up morning my confidence is in Him to bring me together, 00:36:31.94\00:36:37.90 and I will see Him face to face because He promised. Amen! 00:36:37.93\00:36:43.66 That's the promise! 00:36:43.69\00:36:45.25 So you don't have to worry about if you're going to be cremated, 00:36:45.28\00:36:48.57 if you're buried, or any of those different ways, 00:36:48.60\00:36:50.95 or even if, God forbid, you were eaten by animals. 00:36:50.98\00:36:54.07 And we had so many of the martyrs who were destroyed 00:36:54.10\00:36:56.63 by lions, and all of those things, burned on the stake, 00:36:56.66\00:36:59.40 ashes just thrown to the wind. 00:36:59.43\00:37:01.69 Don't you worry my friends. 00:37:01.72\00:37:03.49 On the great getting up morning God will bring 00:37:03.52\00:37:06.95 His people together. Amen! 00:37:06.98\00:37:10.45 He Himself, Jesus, spoke about the resurrection. 00:37:10.48\00:37:14.62 Turn with me quickly to the book of John, John 5 again, 00:37:14.65\00:37:19.20 and we see these things written here just for our learning, 00:37:19.23\00:37:22.82 and our educating. 00:37:22.85\00:37:24.08 Looking at chapter 5, book of John, beginning with verse 25. 00:37:24.11\00:37:28.38 Now folks, hold it, hold it right here. 00:38:13.87\00:38:16.15 We said the reality of death, and then we talk about 00:38:16.18\00:38:19.30 the reality of hell. 00:38:19.33\00:38:21.02 Jesus just said that the day will come when His voice 00:38:21.05\00:38:26.63 shall pierce the graves, and the dead in Christ shall come up. 00:38:26.66\00:38:30.57 And He also said that there will be a second resurrection 00:38:30.60\00:38:33.66 that will go forth, and it will pierce the graves of all of the 00:38:33.69\00:38:37.88 wicked, and they will receive their just reward. 00:38:37.91\00:38:40.84 So, hey, that tell me, ladies and gentlemen, 00:38:40.87\00:38:43.64 that hell's not burning, or filled with people. 00:38:43.67\00:38:49.16 How many of us have heard so many times how God has sent 00:38:53.12\00:38:57.60 the wicked to hell. 00:38:57.63\00:38:59.41 Burning in hell for ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, 00:38:59.44\00:39:04.98 and ever, burning in hell. 00:39:05.01\00:39:06.78 If that were true, ladies and gentlemen, then the God that 00:39:06.81\00:39:10.76 we serve, we love, folks at home, He would not be the 00:39:10.79\00:39:14.37 merciful God that we know. Amen! 00:39:14.40\00:39:17.16 Because someone who lived a hundred years ago, 00:39:17.19\00:39:19.43 who killed one person, and somebody who killed 5, or 6, 00:39:19.46\00:39:25.99 or maybe 100, no matter what they have done today, 00:39:26.02\00:39:29.67 if you go to hell immediately when you die, then the judgment 00:39:29.70\00:39:36.10 or the execution of the sentence would never be equitable. Amen! 00:39:36.13\00:39:41.47 Because that person who was there a hundred years ago 00:39:41.50\00:39:43.93 would have been in the fire for a hundred years for what they 00:39:43.96\00:39:46.79 did for one crime, and then you come along. 00:39:46.82\00:39:49.12 You've done something worse, and you don't have. 00:39:49.15\00:39:52.16 They have 100 years on you. 00:39:52.19\00:39:55.47 That wouldn't be fair, now would it? No! 00:39:55.50\00:39:59.09 And then you're burning throughout all of eternity. 00:39:59.12\00:40:03.20 Let's come back here. 00:40:03.23\00:40:06.64 Let's, na na na, keep that in your mind, because we're going 00:40:06.67\00:40:08.77 to wind that down as we close up. 00:40:08.80\00:40:10.03 And that part's going to go fast. 00:40:10.06\00:40:11.12 But let's finish with this death thing. 00:40:11.15\00:40:12.98 So Jesus comes there. 00:40:13.01\00:40:15.61 You know the story. 00:40:15.64\00:40:16.67 He comes there. My Bible tells me in Luke, in John 11, 00:40:16.70\00:40:21.54 that as He asked them, Where did they lay him. 00:40:21.57\00:40:24.49 And they take Him to the point where they have laid Lazarus 00:40:24.52\00:40:29.22 and then in His majestic voice, in His power that is in Him, 00:40:29.25\00:40:34.27 because He is the very Son of God, He tells us that Jesus 00:40:34.30\00:40:39.81 said, Lazarus, come forth! 00:40:39.84\00:40:44.95 But before He did that, in verse 41 of chapter 11, it says: 00:40:44.98\00:40:49.81 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead 00:40:49.84\00:40:52.57 was laid. And Jesus lifted up His eyes, and said, Father, I 00:40:52.60\00:40:56.64 thank Thee that thou has heard Me. 00:40:56.67\00:40:58.20 And I knew that Thou hearest Me always: but because of the 00:40:58.23\00:41:02.20 people which stand by I said it, 00:41:02.23\00:41:05.04 One preacher said that Jesus had to call Lazarus by name, 00:41:15.61\00:41:19.14 because if He didn't say that, then everybody 00:41:19.17\00:41:21.20 would have got up. 00:41:21.23\00:41:23.83 One day, huh, one day! It says: 00:41:23.86\00:41:27.22 Now folks, Lazarus lived a pretty good while 00:41:39.38\00:41:43.06 after that resurrection. 00:41:43.09\00:41:45.12 If he would have gone straight to glory, 00:41:45.15\00:41:48.02 Lazarus would have had a book. 00:41:48.05\00:41:49.36 And it might have been a book where he was 00:41:49.39\00:41:52.79 a little bit bitter. 00:41:52.82\00:41:53.85 Because after we've talked about the glories of heaven last 00:41:53.88\00:41:57.66 night, can you imagine, you die, you led a pretty good life. 00:41:57.69\00:42:00.75 You died, you go bingo, popped up to heaven, 00:42:00.78\00:42:04.10 and then the Lord calls you back? 00:42:04.13\00:42:06.49 Back down here to planet Earth? 00:42:06.52\00:42:09.74 Back down here to traffic, sickness, pain, disappointment, 00:42:09.77\00:42:16.85 seeing our loved ones die. 00:42:16.88\00:42:19.05 That would have been torture after being there for four days. 00:42:19.08\00:42:26.26 Hallalulah, for four days! 00:42:26.29\00:42:28.06 I'd say, Lord, I can't come. 00:42:28.09\00:42:30.96 But I hear you calling my name. 00:42:30.99\00:42:32.33 But I can't come now! 00:42:32.36\00:42:34.34 So when we look at this Biblically, 00:42:34.37\00:42:38.78 ladies and gentlemen, look at me. 00:42:38.81\00:42:40.03 When you look at this Biblically it makes sense that when you're 00:42:40.06\00:42:44.28 dead you're in the grave. 00:42:44.31\00:42:45.42 Jesus calls it sleep. 00:42:45.45\00:42:46.73 And, ladies and gentlemen, when you look at Jesus 00:42:46.76\00:42:49.30 when He died Himself on the cross of Calvary, 00:42:49.33\00:42:51.99 and you look at that in the book of John again, 00:42:52.02\00:42:55.64 turning to chapter 20, chapter 20, book of John, we see that 00:42:55.67\00:43:00.93 very early in the morning, looking at verse 1, chapter 20, 00:43:00.96\00:43:04.18 book of John, very early on that morning as the ladies went back 00:43:04.21\00:43:09.18 to the graveside, they wanted to do some things there. 00:43:09.21\00:43:12.64 John 20, let me just get it here for us so we can follow along. 00:43:12.67\00:43:16.73 John 20:1, The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene 00:43:16.76\00:43:22.50 early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher, 00:43:22.53\00:43:25.03 and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher. 00:43:25.06\00:43:27.79 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other 00:43:27.82\00:43:30.83 disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken 00:43:30.86\00:43:34.02 away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not 00:43:34.05\00:43:36.37 where they have laid him. 00:43:36.40\00:43:37.52 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, 00:43:37.55\00:43:40.43 and came to the sepulcher. 00:43:40.46\00:43:41.73 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun 00:43:41.76\00:43:45.22 Peter, and came first... 00:43:45.25\00:43:47.11 And they got there. 00:43:47.15\00:43:49.77 And it says in verse 7: 00:43:49.80\00:43:50.96 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the 00:43:50.99\00:43:53.57 linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. 00:43:53.60\00:43:57.09 My Jesus is so neat that when He took those things off, 00:43:57.12\00:43:59.97 He just put them down. 00:44:00.00\00:44:01.03 A God of order, not of confusion. 00:44:01.06\00:44:06.51 We all know what happened that night, and we don't have 00:44:06.54\00:44:09.23 time to go into all of it, but just in a quick synopsis, 00:44:09.26\00:44:12.02 we know that the Father was satisfied with the sacrifice 00:44:12.05\00:44:15.34 of Jesus, and He told Gabriel, Go get My Son, and Gabriel came 00:44:15.37\00:44:19.42 with a speed faster than sound, faster than light. 00:44:19.45\00:44:22.32 He landed so hard that He caused an earthquake. 00:44:22.35\00:44:24.46 Those individuals who were standing around that were 00:44:24.49\00:44:26.62 supposed to keep Jesus in the grave, they fell down 00:44:26.65\00:44:29.63 like dead men. Then the angel ripped off the rock and threw 00:44:29.66\00:44:33.38 it out of the way. 00:44:33.41\00:44:34.44 And then Gabriel said with his most angelic voice, 00:44:34.47\00:44:37.65 Jesus, Thou Son of the Most High God, 00:44:37.68\00:44:40.78 Your Father calleth You! Amen! 00:44:40.81\00:44:43.77 And then Jesus comes forth from the grave saying, 00:44:43.80\00:44:48.49 I am the resurrection and the life, and I have the keys 00:44:48.52\00:44:52.65 of hell, and of death. Amen! 00:44:52.68\00:44:55.49 And He came out victorious. 00:44:55.52\00:44:58.06 If anybody deserved to go straight to heaven when he died, 00:44:58.09\00:45:01.54 it should have been Jesus. Amen! 00:45:01.57\00:45:03.56 No sin in Him! But He stayed there in the grave as an example 00:45:03.59\00:45:07.50 for us, and to underscore this, and ladies and gentlemen, 00:45:07.53\00:45:10.31 when you look at the Bible, and you see that this is true, 00:45:10.34\00:45:14.51 because when Mary was crying about Him, 00:45:14.54\00:45:16.58 and she wanted to see Him, and He was gone and she was 00:45:16.61\00:45:19.35 wondering what happened to Him, that they took Him away. 00:45:19.38\00:45:21.73 And she was weeping, and Jesus spoke to her. 00:45:21.76\00:45:24.12 And she said to him, Where have You taken Him? 00:45:24.15\00:45:27.07 Let me know and I will carry Him away, verse 15, the end part. 00:45:27.10\00:45:30.36 And Jesus said unto her, Mary, and she turned herself and said 00:45:30.39\00:45:34.13 to Him, Raboni, which is to say, Master, and Jesus said unto her, 00:45:34.16\00:45:37.56 Read these words, look at them, underline them. 00:45:37.59\00:45:40.24 He says, Touch me not for I have not... 00:45:40.27\00:45:43.28 In other words He didn't go there directly. 00:45:54.78\00:45:58.93 He did the same things that we must do as we face death. 00:45:58.96\00:46:06.48 And it's here in the book that we might have a 00:46:06.51\00:46:09.69 more sure word of prophecy. 00:46:09.72\00:46:12.71 So I look at that and I begin to smile, and I'm very happy 00:46:12.74\00:46:18.12 because my God has made it clear to me, and it's made it clear 00:46:18.15\00:46:22.21 to you to know that He did these things that we might understand 00:46:22.24\00:46:27.46 that death is but a sleep. 00:46:27.49\00:46:31.36 I turn to 1 Thessalonians. 00:46:31.39\00:46:36.04 And how many times have I read this at funerals. 00:46:36.07\00:46:41.58 For those individuals who have lost loved ones. 00:46:41.61\00:46:45.03 And, you know, I've been to some funerals that have been just so 00:46:45.06\00:46:49.52 sad, and so hard, where everybody was crying, 00:46:49.55\00:46:53.95 and there was no hope. 00:46:53.98\00:46:55.41 Folks I've been to other funerals where the people are 00:46:55.44\00:46:59.87 just so happy, because they know this person 00:46:59.90\00:47:03.19 lived a good life. 00:47:03.22\00:47:04.25 It says in 1 Thessalonians 4:14: 00:47:04.28\00:47:08.43 Again sleep. Peter and Paul understood it. 00:47:14.56\00:47:17.67 That means to soothe them, to reassure them, to calm them, 00:47:41.47\00:47:44.75 to give them the hope, cheer them, assure them, to let them 00:47:44.78\00:47:49.87 know that they will see their loved ones again. 00:47:49.90\00:47:53.02 Now folks, when we look at that and understand it, 00:47:53.05\00:47:56.48 we don't have a problem with death. 00:47:56.51\00:47:58.79 And when we look at what we talked about, 00:47:58.82\00:48:00.86 the two resurrections, which means people aren't in hell 00:48:00.89\00:48:03.40 burning now, and no one else is in heaven right now, 00:48:03.43\00:48:06.93 we need to understand that hell is a day in the future. 00:48:06.96\00:48:10.37 Turn with me quickly in your Bibles to the book of Malachi, 00:48:10.40\00:48:14.31 Malachi 4:1, and it tells us and 00:48:14.34\00:48:17.78 Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament. 00:48:17.81\00:48:21.42 It says this about hell. It says: 00:48:21.45\00:48:23.72 Now listen to the wording. 00:48:38.27\00:48:39.88 It says, It shall burn them up and shall leave them 00:48:39.91\00:48:43.12 neither root nor branch. 00:48:43.15\00:48:44.87 In other words there'll be nothing left; 00:48:44.90\00:48:47.36 burned them up, root or branch. 00:48:47.39\00:48:51.80 Satan is the root, and those that follow him 00:48:51.83\00:48:55.05 are the branches. 00:48:55.08\00:48:56.11 Matthew 25:41 tells us that hell was made for the 00:48:56.14\00:49:02.14 devil and his angels. 00:49:02.17\00:49:03.70 It was not made for one human being. 00:49:03.73\00:49:06.48 If you would turn with me to the book of Jude, one chapter, 00:49:06.51\00:49:12.10 book of Jude. It tells us in verse 6 that... 00:49:12.13\00:49:17.23 The word eternal fire. 00:49:41.75\00:49:44.70 Now that's where people get mixed up about hell 00:49:44.73\00:49:50.20 burning on forever. 00:49:50.23\00:49:51.40 It says eternal fire. 00:49:51.43\00:49:54.07 We saw in Malachi 4, it says, They shall be burned up. 00:49:54.10\00:49:58.55 When you go back to Malachi 4, Malachi 4, and you move 00:49:58.58\00:50:03.44 down a few verses, you will see that it tells us 00:50:03.47\00:50:06.54 something else about them who burn. 00:50:06.57\00:50:09.33 It says in verse 3, And you shall tread down the wicked; 00:50:09.36\00:50:13.76 for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet 00:50:13.79\00:50:17.32 in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts. 00:50:17.35\00:50:20.41 In other words, after, after hell fire burns the wicked up, 00:50:20.44\00:50:26.01 Satan and his angels, and all the human beings that choose 00:50:26.04\00:50:28.99 to go with him, the byproduct of that fire is ashes. 00:50:29.02\00:50:33.29 So, ladies and gentlemen, the ashes that will take place here 00:50:33.32\00:50:38.27 on planet Earth, will be when that lake of fire is ignited 00:50:38.30\00:50:43.04 that we read about in the very beginning of chapter 20 of the 00:50:43.07\00:50:47.37 book of Revelation. 00:50:47.40\00:50:48.48 It says in verse 9, And they went up on the breadth of the 00:50:48.51\00:50:52.54 earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, 00:50:52.57\00:50:54.85 and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of 00:50:54.88\00:50:57.89 heaven, and devoured them. 00:50:57.92\00:50:59.90 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire 00:50:59.93\00:51:03.03 and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, 00:51:03.06\00:51:05.64 and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. 00:51:05.67\00:51:08.61 That forever and ever is until it's burned up! Amen! 00:51:08.64\00:51:14.20 Until it doesn't exist anymore. 00:51:14.23\00:51:16.79 Until it is reduced to ashes. 00:51:16.82\00:51:21.93 And we see the justice of God in doing what He does, 00:51:21.96\00:51:26.98 the way He does it for the salvation of mankind. 00:51:27.01\00:51:30.84 So my friends, tonight we've learned something. 00:51:30.87\00:51:35.40 We've learned that death is a sleep for the saints of God. 00:51:35.43\00:51:39.57 And even for those who are not a saint of God, they will sleep, 00:51:39.60\00:51:43.87 and they will be awakened at the second resurrection. 00:51:43.90\00:51:47.65 And there they will receive their punishment for not 00:51:47.68\00:51:52.13 allowing the love of Jesus Christ to save their souls, 00:51:52.16\00:51:57.24 that He has so freely given unto us. 00:51:57.27\00:52:00.77 But for you and I who love the Lord with all our hearts, 00:52:00.80\00:52:05.80 with all our souls, we have the blessed hope of knowing that 00:52:05.83\00:52:10.21 the King of kings, and the King of Glory is coming back for us. 00:52:10.24\00:52:13.70 Today my friends if you have some sickness at home, 00:52:13.73\00:52:18.05 and the doctors tell you you have so much time. 00:52:18.08\00:52:20.48 Well, doctors practice medicine, Jesus knows the end. 00:52:20.51\00:52:24.79 And I've seen folks that they said you have three weeks, 00:52:24.82\00:52:27.18 and I've seen them live 3 years, 30 years. Amen! 00:52:27.21\00:52:30.22 But even if you go, don't fret if you are in Jesus you shall 00:52:30.25\00:52:36.18 live again. Amen! 00:52:36.21\00:52:37.99 And you will be able to go to your grave with the peace 00:52:38.02\00:52:40.82 of mind that lets you know that because of the love of God, 00:52:40.85\00:52:45.14 because of the blood that was shed on Calvary, 00:52:45.17\00:52:48.48 you will rise again! Amen! 00:52:48.51\00:52:54.72 Go ahead, drive the nails in My hands. 00:52:54.75\00:53:03.11 Laugh at Me where you stand. 00:53:03.14\00:53:13.08 Go ahead, say it isn't Me. 00:53:13.11\00:53:19.21 Very soon you will see. 00:53:19.24\00:53:28.13 Cause I'll rise again. 00:53:28.16\00:53:37.00 Ain't no power on earth can hold Me down. 00:53:37.03\00:53:45.40 Yes, I'll rise again. 00:53:45.43\00:53:53.89 Death can't keep Me in the ground. 00:53:53.92\00:54:04.27 Go ahead and mock My name. 00:54:04.30\00:54:12.79 My love for you is still the same. 00:54:12.82\00:54:21.12 Go ahead, and say I'm dead and gone. 00:54:21.15\00:54:29.97 You will see that you were wrong, 00:54:30.00\00:54:36.95 cause I'll rise again. 00:54:36.98\00:54:45.82 Ain't no power on earth can hold Me down. 00:54:45.85\00:54:53.53 Yes, I'll rise again. 00:54:53.56\00:55:03.50 Death can't keep Me in the ground. 00:55:03.53\00:55:11.51 Go ahead and say I'm dead and gone. 00:55:11.54\00:55:19.50 You will see that you were wrong. 00:55:19.53\00:55:27.94 Go ahead and try to hide the sun, 00:55:27.97\00:55:35.73 but all will see that I'm the One. 00:55:35.76\00:55:43.26 Yes, I'll come again. 00:55:43.29\00:55:51.76 Oh, ain't no power on earth can hold Me back. 00:55:51.79\00:55:59.63 Yes, I'll come again. 00:55:59.66\00:56:09.21 Come to take My people back. 00:56:09.24\00:56:18.20 Come to take My people back. Amen! 00:56:18.23\00:56:27.10 Friends, don't fear death for God has conquered death. 00:56:27.13\00:56:33.88 In 1 Corinthians 15:26 says, And the last enemy 00:56:33.91\00:56:40.17 that shall die, it will be death. Praise God! 00:56:40.20\00:56:45.88 Because of the life of Jesus, we have life. 00:56:45.91\00:56:51.97 God bless you, and trust in His sweet, sweet Word. 00:56:52.00\00:56:58.66