#14
What Happens When You Die?
Heaven, Hell, or Nothing?

Charles II once stood before a group of scholars at a meeting of the Royal Society of England. And he proposed this question to his august assembly: "Gentlemen, if I place upon these weigh scales a pail of water weighing in all 10 lbs.; and then place in this water 5 live fish, each weighing one pound, why is it the scales still remain at precisely 10 lbs.?"

Well, the wise men heatedly debated the matter, trying to solve the king's question. One suggested: "Your Highness, fish have a great number of air sacs which buoy them up. Perhaps this is the answer!" Another muttered something about a "theoretical vacuum." Others propounded theories of "ungravitating gravitation."

Finally the king's voice silenced their discussion: "Gentlemen! You're all mistaken. When one places 5 one-pound fish in a pail of water weighing 10 lbs., the scales must necessarily read 15 lbs.! Your failure to answer my question discloses the fact that you place too much confidence in me, your king."

All too often we accept statements without asking the right questions. Millions today accept what someone has told them. Without personally analyzing the facts for themselves. And this is probably more true in the realm of religion than anywhere else. For example, let me ask you a question. What happens to a person when he dies? Nine out of ten people will reply what they've been told…but what about the dead?

Today we find ourselves in a psychic Cinerama about the dead. TV is full of it. "Beyond and Back." Movies about life after death. Chilling thrillers like "The Sixth Sense" (6 Oscar nominations); Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer in "What Lies Beneath." Or, one of the most viewed programs on the Sci-Fi Channel, "Crossing Over with John Edwards." A psychic who claims to be able to communicate with the dead and relay messages to grieving relatives.

Even the soaps are into it. Tune in tomorrow for "Days of Our Lives" when psychics tell you what your lost loved one is trying to communicate.

Spirit medium James Van Praagh communicates with the dead on television. His book is entitled: "Talking to Heaven: A Medium's Message of Life After Death." We're having a veritable explosion of life-after-death phenomena.

It's so popular, Los Angeles Times headlines (Apr. 30, 2002, p. E-1) declared "Contacting the Dead? It's Become a Lively Business." Quoting: "After 12 years of not hearing from my dad, I was starting to get worried. I mean, just because he's been dead the whole time doesn't mean he can't stay in touch. With so many talented psychics running around, including several who have their own TV shows, the lines of communication should be wide open…" TV's "Entertainment Tonight" has attempted to contact actor Robert Blake's slain wife. People even try after-death contacts with psychic dogs.

What is death? Is it as final as it seems? Or is there something beyond this vale of tearful 'Good-byes'?

Jeannie enjoys a unique pastime of visiting various cemeteries and analyzing epitaphs. Well, an epitaph on a tombstone read:
Stop, my friend, as you go by. As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, you soon shall be. So prepare yourself to follow me.
(Graffiti: "To follow you I'm not content. Until I know which way you went.")

Today more than ever, people believe in life after death. USA Today says 1/3 of Americans believe they have personally communicated with a dead loved one. The idea that the dead are not truly dead is what leads men and women to pound on the door of the unseen and communicate with the dead. You can't go to the supermarket checkout counter without the tabloids claming, "Elvis is talking with Priscilla again!" Or, Jackie Onassis or John-John. All the psychic movements are built on one concept: the dead aren't dead, therefore they are able to transmit messages.

Now this theory that the dead are actually alive in some other form and in some other place is either true or untrue, right? It can't be both. Tonight we're going to test the Bible's formula for re-discovering truth to the max: comparing Scripture with Scripture, here a little and there a little. Let's examine the evidence and then decide. Are the dead really alive? If this claim is true, it's the grandest and sweetest truth that ever could come to a mourning loved one. But if it's not true, then it's a shameless fraud promoted in the name of life's tenderest memories - even in the name of religion.

What I say tonight is with tenderest sympathy. Because, all of us know of a mound somewhere that guards the form of one who was once dear to you. The question is: Read with me, Job 14:14:

"If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, till my change comes."

What do those words mean?

For the clearest, best Bible answer on any subject its always best to go back to the beginning, the "law of first mention," Bible scholars call it. Let's turn to the only dependable source of information about the other side of death. In the Garden of Eden, when God made Adam and Eve, what were the terms? The conditions were: "Go for it! It's yours! The Garden of Eden - Obey and live forever!"

<Genesis 2:16-17>
"And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it [What did God say?] you shall surely die.'

Who said that? God. Did He tell the truth? But billions of men and women don't believe that. You live on! God said, "You will die." Stay with me now, because notice what happens next. Genesis 3:1-4:

<Genesis 3:1-4>
"Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, [Can snakes talk? Who was this? Satan! Already masquerading through the supernatural! Notice the sneer: "Yea!"] 'Has God indeed said 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'? And the woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' [Did she have it correct? Clear as a bell!] Then the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die.'"

Subtle but direct contradiction. Satan's first lie on Earth recorded in the Bible. And men and women have been believing it ever since! God said, "Don't disobey. You'll die." Satan said, "Don't worry! Be Happy! You won't really die!" But notice what in actual fact happened:

<Genesis 3:22, 23>
"Then the Lord God said, 'Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever' - therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken."

So death…not life…came upon humankind.

<Genesis 3:24>
"So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life."

Because they chose to separate themselves from God, the source of life and the Tree of Life, the punishment was death, not life.

<Genesis 3:19>
"In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; For dust you are, and to dust you shall return."

From Genesis to Revelation it's crystal clear. The wages of sin is...dust! But Satan says,

<Genesis 3:5>
"...your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

You won't die. Transmigration of the soul. Reincarnation. Nirvana. New awareness. Hollywood says, "You become an angel!"

We're not playing games tonight, friend. You want truth on this subject. Read this next text with me. The clearest text in all the Bible on this subject.

<Ecclesiastes 9:5>
"For the living know that they will die; but the dead know [how much?] nothing..."

95% of our Christian friends were never taught this! You were taught the dead know everything. They're up there watching you quarrel over the money they left behind. Did you know where that concept came from? Plato and Aristotle. Introduced into Christendom during the apostasy of the Dark Ages. Not a word in the Bible tells you that you go to heaven or hell at death. I know this is stunning, but you're here because you're sincere. Verse by verse let's continue.

Someone says, "My mother died a Christian. Is she an angel now?" To die a Christian is the only way, but she's not an angel. Because listen! The dead know how much? Nothing! Notice the rest of the text:

<Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6>
"...and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; Nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun."

Let me insert a parenthesis here to explain why a paraphrased Bible is dangerous to teach Bible truth. They're one man's opinion. This is the text Mr. Kenneth Taylor in his "Living Bible" paraphrase put an asterisk at the bottom of the page. He said, "Solomon must have been ill or discouraged when he wrote this," because it didn't agree with his Baptist theology. Folks, I want to know what the Bible says, don't you?

The Bible says the dead know how much? (Nothing). They're not moving the shoes around in Aunt Sue's closet who died; or setting the clock on the mantel at the hour Uncle Harry died. They have "nothing to do with anything done under the sun."

<Psalm 115:17>
"The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into silence."

The Psalmist says,

<Ps. 146:4>
"His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish."

My! That's a strong statement. But turn now to Ecclesiastes 12, where we will read the clearest verse in the Bible on this subject. Notice that Solomon is talking poetically about our life-span. From childhood. To Youth. Finally a senior citizen.

<Ecclesiastes 12:1, 3, 5>
"Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come...In the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men bow down; when the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look through the windows grow dim;... [he's growing older and older] and desire fails. [And finally he dies] For man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets..."

See? Now comes one of the plainest verses in all the Bible. Repeat out loud with me.

<Ecclesiastes 12:7>
"Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it."

You say, "That's what I thought it said! The spirit returns..." May I say kindly that's NOT what you think it says. This isn't talking about Christians! Or good people. This is saying ALL spirits return to God - good, bad, wicked, evil. You haven't been taught that. You've been taught Christians go to heaven; others go some other place. (See how shallow and misled we've been?) Notice:

<Ecclesiastes 12:7>
"Then shall the dust return to the earth... (That's the BODY.) and the spirit shall return to God."

That word spirit simply means "wind," or "breath," or ruach in Hebrew. ("Air.") In the New Testament it's the word "pneuma" (pneumonia, wind, air). The spark of life goes back to God - whether you're saint or sinner. It's not something that can "sing," because the vocal chords are in the grave. Not something that can "love," because the heart is in the grave. It's simply the "spark of life" that goes back.

I know your minds are whirling. Hold on. A couple more scriptures will help clear it up. Let's go back again to the beginning and see how God created us in the first place.

<Genesis 2:7>
"And the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the [what? Ruach. See?] breath of life; and man became a living being.

[He wasn't given a soul; he became a soul/person]. Watch carefully.

<Genesis 2:7>
"...Lord God formed man from the dust..."

Can you see him there? Looks like he's sleeping on a tuft of grass! He's complete in every part! He has a brain in his head, but it isn't thinking - he has a body, but it's not moving - a heart in his chest, but it's not beating - blood in his veins, but it's not flowing…yet!

He's ready to live, ready to love, ready to act - but he isn't living, loving, acting YET! "The Lord God formed man and breathed into his nostrils the ["ruach" = "wind" or "spark of life"]; and man became a living, loving, acting individual!"

When he dies, the two separate. The body becomes dust again. The spark of life goes back to God (saint or sinner). That's the only thing the Bible teaches from Genesis to Revelation. Anything else is from the Dark Ages!

Consider an equation like this: Body + Breath = A Living Person

Or at death we might subtract: Living Person - Breath = A Corpse

Let me illustrate with this light up here. When you unite a bulb/filament with electricity = light. (Where did the light come from? The intelligent union.)

When we disconnect the electric power from the bulb - Say, where does the light go? Heaven? No! It goes out.

When the Lord formed man and breathed into his nostrils he became a "light" - living person. When the light goes out and he dies, those two key elements are simply separated until the resurrection, when all will be restored again!

In Psalm 146, Verses 3 and 4, King David says,

"Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans [thoughts] perish."

The breath leaves; the body returns to the earth. And any conscious part of man perishes!

David makes it quite clear:

<Psalm 115:17>
"The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into silence."

Then where are we when we die?

<Job 14:12, 13>
"So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor be roused from their sleep. Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, that You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, that You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!"

Clear as a bell from God's Word: man dies, lies down in the grave and doesn't rise until resurrection day. Then,

<Job 14:15>
You shall call, and I will answer You..."

Job tells us in Chapter 17, Verse 13:

"If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness."

But on Resurrection Day, Jesus says,

<Revelation 1:18>
"I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death."

Friend, our only hope for the future is Jesus! The coming day of resurrection. Paul says if there's no resurrection, there's no future. No hope for anyone.

<1 Corinthians 15:16-18>
"For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen, And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished."

Have you noticed in our study so far that Bible writers repeatedly use the term "sleep" in talking about death?

Psalm 13:3, David wrote:

"Consider and hear me, O Lord...lest I sleep the sleep of death."

David was afraid of sleeping the sleep of death, and no one waking him up!

Daniel says the dead wake up at the second coming of Jesus:

<Daniel 12:2>
"And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt."

Jesus Himself called death a sleep.

One day Jesus and His disciples got an urgent cell phone call: "Lazarus is ill. He's dying! Come at once." But Jesus, instead of making a sick call, intentionally stayed where He was two more days. And Lazarus died. The two sisters buried him. The disciples were shocked! Why did Jesus dilly-dally for two days before going to visit some of His best friends?

Then Jesus said,

<John 11:11>
"...Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."

What did Jesus call death? See the point? He didn't call death a reward. Or punishment. He called it a sleep. Now the disciples were grown men. So they were puzzled.

<John 11:12, 14, 15>
"Then His disciples said, 'Lord, if he sleeps he will get well!'...Then Jesus said to them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.'"

They went to Bethany. Martha came running to meet them.

<John 11:21, 23>
"...'Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died'...Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.'"

Notice carefully Martha's response:

<John 11:24>
"I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

However, Jesus was about to give a dramatic preview of that event. Martha,

<John 11:25>
"I am the resurrection and the life...."

Jesus said, "Roll away the stone!" Martha objected:

<John 11:39>
"'But, Lord...by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.'"

The stone was rolled away, and Jesus cried out in a loud voice, LAZARUS COME FORTH!

He didn't say "Lazarus come down/up." Lazarus came OUT!

What a day of joy and rejoicing for those three friends in Bethany! But friends, it's only a small preview of the glorious excitement when Jesus comes and opens ALL the graves of His other friends - forever!

We were in Thessaloniki in July 2001 where Paul wrote to those early Thessalonian Christians a message of comfort because some had died and they thought Jesus would come again before they died. Now what? Paul comforted them by saying,

<1 Thessalonians 4:13>
"But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope."

Listen, Paul says. Here's what Jesus does at His second coming:

<1 Thessalonians 4:16>
"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first."

How?

<1 Corinthians 15:51, 52, 54>
"Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed...So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, THEN shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory.'"

Jesus had told the disciples that one day everyone would be raised from the grave.

<John 5:28, 29>
"Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come forth - those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."

(We'll talk about those two separate resurrections a week from Friday night.)

May I have your eyes? I want you to think for a moment. I have three questions for you.
#1: Do you believe in the resurrection? Of course, if you're a Christian! It's our only hope. Why would we need a "resurrection" if we've already gone to our reward at death?

If we go to heaven at death, do we need to come back down, crawl into our body, and be raised up again? That's driving thinking people out of the church.

#2. Do you believe in a judgment? Yes. Bible speaks of a final last-day Great White Throne judgment. I'm so glad Jesus has something to do with the judgment…because I'm going to need a little mercy then, how about you? But listen! Why would we need a judgment in the last day if we've already gone to our reward at death? Aren't we already judged? Does God need to send an imp of hell down to the hot place to tap someone on the shoulder burning..."Come up to judgment to see whether you ought to be here or not"? That makes mockery of the Bible! And it's why intelligent people are leaving the church.

But a dedicated Christian will get down on their knees with their Bible open and study this. You won't walk out angrily. No matter how sweet the idea of Momma looking down. Isn't the reason for the last judgment to determine what our rewards will be?

#3. Do you believe in the 2nd Coming? I'm going to repeat John 14:1-3. But I don't want you to repeat it with me. Listen to what Jesus said:

<John 14:1-3>
"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."

The only reason Jesus is coming back is because He doesn't have one of us with Him yet!

Some have repeated that text for 30 years and haven't seen it until now. "Line upon line..."

<Revelation 22:12>
"And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work."

Everyone's reward is at the resurrection. We sleep until resurrection morning. Jesus said,

<Luke 14:14>
"...Thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."

Everyone will be rewarded at the same time. Not at death. That loved one who died in an automobile crash? Jesus will wake him up; his thoughts pick up right where they left off. (He'll reach for the wheel!) No sense of the passing of time. It's the most thrilling message of comfort the Bible could bring. And it takes away the sting of death.

Now we're ready to answer some questions.

Someone says, "Lonnie, it sounds so reasonable and clear. But didn't Jesus promise the THIEF that he would be with him in Paradise that very day? That's our next text.

Jesus was crucified between two thieves.

They cursed Jesus. "If You're the Son of God, deliver Yourself and us, too!"

But one of the thieves repented and called out for salvation.

<Luke 23:42, 43>
"Then he said to Jesus, 'Lord, remember me [when I die? No.] when You come into Your kingdom.'" [The thief had it right.] And Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.'"

You say, "That's what I thought!" And I understand. You've been taught the thief was promised Paradise that day. Was he? Does this one verse contradict every other text in the Bible? Remember, if one verse gets out of line with the plain Bible teaching, there might be something wrong with our interpretation.

Did Jesus mean that very day He and the thief would be in paradise? I'm going to make some serious statements, and then you decide whether I'm right.

It's a fascinating story how we got our Bible. In the original Greek manuscripts there was no punctuation and the words all ran together. No paragraphs. No commas, no periods. It wasn't until the 13th Century in the University of Paris that punctuation marks were added to make it easier to read. (Robert Stephanus did it on horseback!) No verse numbers and no punctuation were in the original. None. Now, occasionally we know a comma got on the wrong side of a word.

That's why God gave us a plan to detect any irregularities. Compare! Scripture with scripture,

<Isaiah 28:10>
"...precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little."

We know that in Acts 19 a comma got out of place in the King James Version. It talks about Paul healing people, but it says in Verse 12 they,

"...brought unto the sick handkerchiefs," (comma).

Handkerchiefs don't get sick! No problem! We know the comma got on the wrong side. Question: Could the comma have gotten on the wrong side of the word "today" when Jesus promised the thief he would go to Paradise?

Look what happens to the meaning of this text if you move the comma where it should be:

<Luke 23:43>
"And Jesus said to him, assuredly, I say to you to TODAY, you will be with Me in Paradise."

Today... when everything looks hopeless... when My own disciples have forsaken and fled... when it doesn't look like I have a Kingdom...I make the promise TODAY...

How do I know this is right? Because the thief didn't die that day! Jesus Himself - by His own admission - said He didn't go to Paradise until three days later. How could Jesus possibly have been with the thief in Paradise that Friday!
[Hold on! There's an answer.]

I made some very bold statements. Let's examine them from the evidence.

The Bible plainly says the Jews would not permit victims to remain on the cross on the Sabbath or a high holy day like Passover. They'd break their legs so they couldn't escape; haul them off to the dump Gehenna; then put them back on the cross after the weekend. Josephus says the thieves lived for three weeks until the birds finished them off. What does your Bible say?

<John 19:31-33>
"Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. [See? So they wouldn't escape.]
Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs."

You don't die from crucifixion in three hours. Jesus died - not from the nails - but from a broken heart: because of your sins and mine. But the thief didn't die that day. How could he possibly have gone to heaven with Jesus?

But the next Scripture settles it. Three days later, on Sunday morning, (we read these words every Easter):

<John 20:11, 12>
"...Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept...she saw two angels..."

She turns around and sees the Gardener

<John 20:14, 15>
"...standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?"

Then she recognized Him! Was ready to throw her arms around Him, but He said, "Touch me not."

<John 20:17>
"...'Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father..."

The Father lives in Paradise. Three days later on Sunday morning, Jesus, by His own admission, stated He'd not yet ascended to His Father! How could He have gone with the thief on Friday?

Friend listen! The next Scripture is the most thrilling.

The Good News of the Gospel is the glorious climax and grand finale at the Second Coming of Christ!

<1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17>
"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. [Right where you put them!] Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord."

Listen! Can I have your eyes? Tongue cannot tell it, pen cannot portray the hope this brings! The Lord Jesus Christ comes down through the Eastern skies, past constellations of unnumbered universe systems. Down to a planet that spat on Him. But one He couldn't forget. As he nears the earth, He shouts with a voice of thunder, "Awake! Awake! Ye that sleep in the dust of the earth! Arise unto everlasting life!" And your dead too shall live.

All at the same time - they all receive immortality, just like Jesus! Sinless. Deathless. Glorified forever.

That's Bible pure and simple. And its our only safeguard against spiritualism and the occult, purported miracles, and prime time soaps. And today's kaleidoscope of the psychic Cinerama masquerading all around us.

"Arise to everlasting life!" The voice of Jesus breaks every tomb. Your loved ones come forth with eternal youth! No news in all the Bible is more thrilling! And that day is not far distant.

Tonight wouldn't you like to pray that same prayer as the dying thief, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom?" [REPEAT WITH ME]

Eternal life is yours if you want it. Because He that has the Son has eternal life.

A very meaningful symbol was sculptured on an old English tombstone. There carved in the granite is the representation of a door. In the door a lock. In the lock, a key. Holding the key is the hand of an angel. His other hand is held up to shade his eyes and he's steadily gazing upward. Beneath this engraving are sculpted the simple, yet profound words, "Till He come." The message is clear: When Jesus comes the angel will turn the key and throw wide open the door of the tomb.