What Happens When You Die?

What Happens When You Die?

What happens when we die? Ther scripture calls this state sleep.In the scripture we see sleep and death being used to speak about the same reality but there's a purpose for it. When a person dies their soul leaves their body and if they are a believer a very important scripture one that is foundational is a promise and that promise is to be absent from the body what being absent from the body the soul to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord and that is a reality today for believers we need to remember that Messiah says something and that is that we are going to be with him for example in the book of Luke and chapter 23 Messiah is speaking to to one of those criminals on the cross next to him and he says I tell you the truth today you will be with me in paradise now remember that word because we need to define a certain location and that location is the biblical place called che ol shale oil is a Hebrew word refers to the place of the dead now we need to also bring into our discussion a biblical teaching that Yeshua himself gave I'm talking about what he said in Luke chapter 16 in verses 19 through 31 now here's something that we need to be aware of and that is that many people's call it a parable but the scripture does not call it a parable and usually when Messiah spoke a parable he told the people it was a parable and I'm speaking about what's written biblically as a narrative now narrative is usually the literature the literature form for speaking about history speaking about a literal an event not something that's an allegory not something that we should spiritual eyes and in this account of Lazarus and the rich man will come to that other Lazarus and John chapter 11 a little bit later but in this account of Lazarus and the rich man Yeshua tells this as a narrative that is as a historical or a literal event it should not be allegories it shouldn't be spiritual eyes and second and this is important even if it is a parable and let's assume for a moment it is when Messiah told parables he used real situations meaning he didn't speak something that was a fabrication something that was a fairy tale something that that was not factual many times he gave an example for our illustration let's talk about the woman who loses a coin the scripture says does she not search diligently well he's giving not necessarily a historical he's giving an account an illustration but that illustration is based upon something that's true so it makes absolutely no sense and nowhere in the scripture do we see you sure giving an account speaking a parable doing a teaching that wasn't based upon that which is true that which is factual that which is not not worthy to believe no it's always worthy to believe so he spoke about Sheol and he spoke about two compartments now remember Sheol is a place for the dead and I'm speaking about dead prior to messiahs resurrection I'll say why when we get to that but for right now as we build our understanding we need to realize something and this influences how we look at Scripture especially some Old Testament scripture about death and what people would say and state about death so shell was a Hebrew term is a Hebrew term for a place called the Dead the place where the Dead would go prior to messiahs resurrection and it had two compartment one and we see this in Luke chapter 16 one is called Hades in Hebrew Gahee known what is that hell it's a place of torment and by the way this rich man that went to this place of Hades he was awake he had knowledge he could speak he could see he had experience who did his soul so never think that a soul is just dead or asleep there's no biblical evidence for that Messiah thought for example in mark chapter 12 and verse 27 he says that that our God is not a god of the dead but the god of the living and he spoke about Abraham yet skok and young close when we deal with individuals of faith they are alive and where are their life well they're alive in what's called heck Avraham in Hebrew that is a term of paradise it's what Messiah was referring to when he said - that that criminal that was crucified with him on the cross next to him today you'll be with me in paradise in Hebrew check rahama or abraham's bosom now in both places there is recognition there is knowledge nowhere do we see biblically a soul is a sleep now we'll talk about that term for those who have fallen asleep in a few moments but let's go back to shall hold the place for the dead prior to messiahs resurrection so someone would die their soul would go to shell but which compartment Hades genome Hell a place of torment or a place of paradise and it all depended at that time not relevant for us today but at that time it had to do with faith did they believe in God's promise what specifically a promise of a redeemer a redeemer based upon Abrahamic covenant so those who believed who entered in by faith the Abrahamic covenant they went to Abraham's bosom to paradise those who rejected that covenant rejected God's promise of a redeemer they went to hell or Hades or genome that place of torment within Sheol now here's what we need to realize we know for example in 1st Peter chapter 3 when we look at first Peter chapter 3 verses 19 and 20 it speaks about Messiah descending descending into shell to hell and he spoke to listen to this he spoke to those souls that were in prison where in Hades and I didn't wake him up why they couldn't sleep they were in torment and he spoke to those disobedient individuals rejecting God's promise of redemption so he spoke to them they had awareness and what else does the scripture say well for example if you look sometime at Ephesians officiants chapter 4 beginning with verse 7 it says that not only did Messiah descent into hell to speak and condemn and reveal why they were experiencing that torment but it also says that he went and he proclaimed proclaimed to those in Abraham's bosom and what does the scripture say well in Ephesians chapter 4 it says here that he took captive captivity and how do we understand that well here again everything has a scriptural answer when we looked for a right answer we see an example Matthew 27 we see in Matthew 27 and verse 51 first in verse 50 when Messiah died when he gave up his spirit it says that that that pearl had that veil was torn in two from the top to the bottom and then we see that that those who were in Abraham's bosom what happened to them well it says that they were given life and they didn't come up from the tomb until after Messiah resurrected why because the scripture says that Yeshua must have preeminence in all things so his resurrection gave them life but they were not manifested and seen until after he had resurrected from the dead so we see that Messiah the scripture says he took captivity captive and when he ascended they also ascended into the heavens and therefore let me give you another scripture Isaiah chapter 5 and verse 14 Isaiah chapter 5 and verse 14 there it says that God has enlarged he has made broader shel what is that speaking about here's a message when Yeshua took captivity captive when he empty Abraham's bosom today there is no Abraham's bosom why because when a person dies who is a believer the moment they die that is the moment that their soul leaves their body what happens in that soul it goes to be in the presence of Messiah to be with God in heaven now this is important because what we mentioned earlier to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord where is the Lord in heaven at the right hand of God the Father so be assured when you die if you are believer what happens to you today see before messiahs ministry if you had faith that God was a redeeming God you would go to paradise you would go to Abraham's bosom which was in soul but today that's been emptied it is not relevant for us know if you are a believer having accepted the gospel when you die at that instant your soul is in the presence of Messiah that is Jesus Christ in heaven and we have an assurance of that so we who are believers go into heaven our souls and those who are not believers they go to shell to Hades which is now fills up all of Sheol meaning they go the descent into hell and those individuals will be there forever and ever but realize something there is a change now we see something in the book of Revelation and I don't want to get too far ahead of myself but let's pause for a moment and answer another question and that is a very good one someone sent me a question about Lazarus now this is not the Lazarus of Luke 16 this is the Lazarus of John chapter 11 remember lad the brother of Mary and Martha from Bethany from the community up on the Mount of Olives who was a close friend of Yeshua and you remember that one of the sisters they sent word to Yeshua that Lazarus was extremely sick and that eventually Messiah when he came to that village that location where Lazarus was he was buried he had been in the tomb four days now here's what we need to realize someone says does that mean that Lazarus was in heaven four days no remember this is before Yeshua's ministry this was before his death beer and resurrection where was he well here's what we could say normally when one would die like Lazarus that had faith when they would die their soul would go to Abraham's bosom but notice something here Yeshua whether his soul was there and returned back to his body or whether this was a unique situation we know something for four days for four days he was literally dead and what happened Messiah raised him from the dead he restored that soul that I believe was in Abraham's bosom back to that location so that Lazarus and we all know this force that Lazarus could come forth from that tomb signifying that through Messiah there is the resurrection and there is life and the life were speaking about his kingdom life eternal life that is our hope now before we get to Revelation let me deal with this other issue that's very confusing it's confusing because we don't know how sometimes words are understood within the Bible within the Jewish culture and that is a word sleep the Bible tends - in many places refer to those who have died and we're speaking about literal death why well let me give you another citation from the scripture and that is Mark's Gospel chapter 5 and verse 35 now this is the section where there's a leader of a synagogue his name is yah ear oftentimes we say in English Jarius but it's in Hebrew yeah and your ear is this ruler of the synagogue and when he first approaches Yeshua his daughter is very very sick in fact the scripture says rightly she is at the point of death so close just just hovering kind of between life and death but when you look at mark chapter 5 verse 35 we find something we find that that those from the community came and they told yeah don't don't bother the Rebbe the master the Christ because your daughter has died so notice something there's no question in the same way that Lazarus had died this young girl 12 years of age by the way she died literally died but what happens Messiah says something she's not dead but she's just sleeping now they laughed at him why because everyone knows she's literally dead but Messiah was reminding the people of something and that was faith sees people of faith don't speak of death as death meaning final over but we speak it of a sleep we're talking about death so why do we speak of it as sleep well we know something when someone goes to sleep they expect to rise up people go to bed at night they set alarm or they ask someone wake me up because they have that expectation of rising getting up well in Judaism and we see this biblically especially in the New Testament and by the way if you do come from a Jewish background and you're familiar with the prayer called the Amidah also known as the Shimon yesterday we talked about God being faithful to those who sleep in the dust now it's not speaking about those that are their soul is asleep in the ground it is a u4 ism it is an expression and what's the nature of the expression it's teaching us something for those who have faith that died we have an expectation of rising of getting up it's not the end it's not that we're dead we're dead we expect the resurrection now the resurrection there are when we look at the scripture there are different events that speak about the resurrection or use the resurrection to define them one is Our Blessed hope it's seen read 1st Corinthians 15 it's seen as a resurrection and we know something when a person dies in faith they will rise in 1 resurrection their soul their soul will rise into the heaven remember that verse 3rd time I'll say to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord so our cell goes up into the heavens in fact let me give you another scripture Ecclesiastes the book of qohelet chapter 3 verse 21 solomon asks the question says who knows whether the soul of a man goes up and the soul of an animal goes down now one thing we have to be careful when we look at books such as Ecclesiastes Solomon asks a lot of questions gives answers later on but he deals with questions that people have so we don't want to take a statement from the book of Ecclesiastes and build a theology about that one when he's asking a question or speaking from a different perspective likewise in the book of Job many times in the book of Job his friends are speaking and they are not coming from the position of faith they are making a statement that they believe that they have heard that that society embraces but doesn't mean it's true so it's very dangerous to take Ecclesiastes and job and the statements they're in joke sometime himself will make a statement based upon a wrong belief based upon what he's heard his so-called friends tell him and he deals with that it's not theological fact he's dealing with an issue that people believe so we have to be very careful but we see that in the book of Mark chapter 5 when Yeshua speaks - yeah and everyone saying your daughter's dead he says she's not dead she's just sleeping meaning have faith in the resurrection yes she's literally dead but she will arise and Yeshua's going to give an example he's gonna do a miracle to confirm this hope that we have of Resurrection now there's a resurrection when we die we're believer to be absent from the body our soul goes up to heaven that's a type of resurrection that he's speaking of also we know something else there's a resurrection with the Blessed hope for those who are what have already died let's just talk a moment about that blessed hope and I'm speaking of the rapture when we look at first Corinthians 15 and by the way if you're following along in our study of the book of 1st Corinthians we're in chapter 14 so in a few weeks three weeks we'll be at this critical place in 1st Corinthians 15 and there it teaches us that in a twinkling of an eye in a moment at the sound of the shofar Messiah is going to descend and what's going to happen he's going to meet us in the air meaning the sky who's we believers and what's gonna happen voice says those who are already now when he speaks about the dead he's emphasizing not their souls but their bodies what happens to their body well you died that body decays now it doesn't matter what happens to that flesh a person is cremated when they're died according to Jewish law we ought not do that but that's a tradition it doesn't make any difference what happens your body can be can be cut up into pieces and scattered out throughout the world it can be put an acid fire whatever nothing is a problem for God with God all things are possible so at that time regardless of where your ashes are God is going to gather them up like that bring them together and they're going to be transformed into a new body that's just the body that soul that's been in heaven for those who have already died their soul is going to be rejoined with that new body and they're gonna be with Messiah as they were of they'll continue to be with him in the heavens we who are still alive if we are at that time and you haven't died already if you're alive then what's gonna happen your body's gonna be transformed into this new body your soul is gonna be with that body obviously because you're still alive you haven't died there has not been that separation of the soul from the body you're going to be transformed and lifted up and meet Messiah in the air and we're all going to be taken to heaven where we're going to spend the the time that remains until the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom so that's what we know about different resurrections but I wanted to call attention to Revelation chapter 20 because at the end of the Millennial Kingdom there's a resurrection and this is a resurrection and it's very similar to what we read in the Book of Daniel chapter 12 and verses 1 & 2 where it says that there's going to be many who rise up some to everlasting life and some to everlasting death well that's a fact and those that's gonna rise up to everlasting death their soul is going to be in Hades in hell but at the end of that thousand years Kingdom they're going to be resurrected to that great white throne judgment their bodies no just their souls and they're gonna stand and they're going to be condemned because everyone everyone who goes to that white throne judgment they are going to be condemned why four main reason because her name is not inscribed in the Lamb's Book of Life how do you get your name inscribed in that Lamb's Book of Life you do so by accepting the gospel by saying yes I'm a sinner and yes I am trusting in what Messiah did in my behalf that he died upon the cross and my sins were transferred to him and that's why he died upon that cross and his righteousness was transferred imputed to me and therefore I can have confidence that when I die I will go before God and he will see the righteousness of his son in me by his grace by his mercy by his forgiveness and I will be acceptable to him because of messiahs perfection not me I'm a sinner but my sins have been dealt with they had been removed and God's righteousness the righteousness of his son has been given placed in my account so we have that assurance but those at the white throne judgment at the end of Revelation chapter 20 it says that all those who have died they are going to be resurrected now their souls have been tormented in hell from as long as they've been dead and they are going to be resurrected everyone's going to give up the now some will say because it says the sea and and the land and all well maybe it is having to do with their their body some some coming together it's irrelevant their soul is the very essence so it's saying no matter how someone dead died where they're dead they are going to be brought before that great white throne judgment they're gonna be condemned and hell is going to be tasked with all of these souls into the final their final destination which is that lake that burns with fire and sulfur for ever and ever so you have a choice you can either reject the gospel or you can accept it if you reject it you will be at that great Frank throne judgment you will have a resurrection experience but it's a resurrection to everlasting condemnation shame and death and you're ultimately going to be in that lake that burns with fire but those those who receive the gospel who say yes I'm a sinner but yes I'm trusting in Messiah I believe that he died upon the cross for me and I believe that he rose on that third day then what well then we are going to when we die at that moment being the presence of God our soul and at that time of the Blessed hope we're going to receive we're going to receive that new body so God makes it very very clear nowhere do we see one example of the scripture saying a soul is it sleep no it's speaking about the dead or asleep but it's simply saying we should have faith of this resurrection that's why it says don't worry about death it's nothing more than going to sleep because you're gonna rise again so once more when someone dies today who is a believer they are in need immediately in the presence of God and when someone dies that has rejected the gospel immediately their soul is going into Hades where it will remain until that great white throne judgment and after that great white throne judgment it will be tossed back into Hades and Hades and their souls would be tossed into that lake that burns with fire for ever and ever there's no change that is their eternal condition but we who are believers we are going to be the moment that we die with Messiah Yeshua and at that time of the Blessed hope we're going to receive a new body and at the time of Messiah second coming as it says in 1st Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 13 we're going to come with him the Saints with him in order to rule and reign with him for that thousand years and when that thousand years are over and that great white throne judgment is completed then God is going to establish that new Jerusalem and there we will be in our eternal location the New Jerusalem and we will have nothing will change that glorious body that we have that kingdom body that we received at the rapture and we will experience eternity with God with that lamb with the Lion of the tribe of Judah we were experience that that wonderful state of being in his presence knowing his blessings experiencing his promises forever and ever so be aware no scripture says the soul sleeps it's a euphemism for believing in a resurrection for those who have died in faith and those who have not they're gonna be resurrected but as we said to that great white throne judgment well my hope is and in some way this time of study going through giving you some scriptures hopefully you wrote those down so you can review them yourself hopefully that this will bring some clarity into this issue until motsu Shibata

Death and the Believer

Lazuurs and The Rich Man.