The Plain Truth About Heaven and Hell

It really is good to be back to our home here in the Dallas area. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our trip. She was there a bit longer than I was, but it was good to join up with her for the last two weeks. And we both had an awesome time in Alaska with our daughter and with our grandson. It was really quite refreshing. The weather was awesome, sunny, but cool. So nice and cool. And then when we came back here, it was hot. But then we had one day of reprieve that we brought with us, so you can thank me for that. But it isn't lasting, is it? It's hot again. That's okay. We can survive the heat. I also would like to thank Mr. Reyes for bringing the sermonette to us and telling us about the work in Germany. I've never been to Germany, but I've always wanted to go to Germany. I would like to go there for the feast one day. I have been to Austria, however. I didn't see any kangaroos, but I did see some giant rabbits on the way to Austria through the Czech Republic. It was amazing. Those giant rabbits, I'm not kidding you, they looked like they were that large. I'm going to have to ask Mr. Reyes if he's seen any giant rabbits since he's been over in Germany or in Austria. They were in the Czech Republic, so maybe they haven't made it as far as Austria. Anyway, it's really good to be back. And by the way, I heard some emails for being sent around about my wife catching more fish than me. Now that's absolutely false. I actually caught more than she did, even at that particular time. Now she was ahead of me for a brief moment, so we will give her credit. She did catch a fish, so she's pretty good.

I got a chance to catch a number of different types of fish, halibut, pink salmon, silver salmon, and Dollyvarden trout. So I did have a good time and still got to spend a lot of time with my grandson and my daughter. I've never taken two weeks before. That's the first time I think we've ever been gone or I've been gone for two weeks in a row. So I appreciate you not begrudging me that. I'll probably try to do that every year because no more than I get to see my daughter and my grandson. I'm going to try to... When I go to Alaska, I'm going to stay there for a while. But certainly it's nice to be back. And you know the autumn feast days are nearly upon us now. Observing these annual feast days remind us of God's wonderful plan of salvation. And the truth about God's coming kingdom. So we're very, very blessed to have that truth. By the way, I would also like to welcome our guests here today. We're glad to have you with us and glad to see some of you here at church today. But you know, even though we understand the truth about God's coming kingdom, most religions and religious organizations, including most Christian denominations, frankly don't teach the truth about the coming kingdom of God. They don't understand it. They can't preach the truth because they don't have the understanding. Instead, they teach that good people go to some sort of paradise, usually heaven, after they die. Heaven is typically characterized as a place of unsurpassable happiness. It's the ultimate paradise. It's commonly taught and believed that all who go there will live joyfully forever. Yet despite what a wonderful place heaven is supposed to be, it seems that no one is in a hurry to get there. Very few are in a real hurry to get there. Even though we don't necessarily like the consequences of growing old, most of us human beings look forward to dying a whole lot less. So we like to stay here, and that's okay. We should enjoy our time here on earth. If a person has been less than good during his lifetime, then he really doesn't want to die, does he? If he's been a bad guy, an evil guy, a wicked person, then an ever-burning, torturous hellfire has often been promised to such sinners in many a sermon such as Jonathan Edwards' famous sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. How many of you have heard about that sermon? It's really quite astounding if you'll go find it on the internet and look it up. I'm just going to read just a little bit, but he really gets after it. Fire and brimstone for sure, sending a lot of people off to hell. Now in his sermon, Edward shows that it is by the mere pleasure of God, or by the sovereign pleasure of God, that he does not immediately cast a sinner into hellfire. He gives four reasons to support his premise. Number one, God lacks no power to cast a sinner into hell. Number two, sinners deserve to be cast into hell, and divine justice makes no objection to them being cast into hell. Number three, sinners, and when he's talking about hell, he's talking about an ever-burning hellfire, torture, forever and ever and ever and ever, pain and anguish and agony throughout all eternity.

Number three, sinners are already under a sentence of condemnation to hell, condemned to hell. And number four, sinners are now at the present time the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God, the same wrath that is currently being expressed in the torments of hell, where other sinners now writhe in pain and agony forever. So he's saying right now, as I'm speaking, people are writhing in hell in agony, being tortured, and will be tortured for the rest of eternity. Now, under this fourth point, Jonathan Edwards says, they are now the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God that is expressed in the torments of hell. And the reason why they do not go down to hell at each moment, immediately, is not because God, in whose power they are, is not then very angry with them, as he is with many miserable creatures now tormented in hell, who there feel and bear the fierceness of his wrath. Yea, God is a great deal more angry with great numbers that are now on earth.

Yea, doubtless with many that are now in this congregation, who it may be are at ease than he is with many of those who are now in the flames of hell. How would you like to hear that? That type of sermon. He goes on to say, and I'm quoting from the sermon itself, so that it is not because God is unmindful of their wickedness and does not resent it, that he does not let loose his hand and cut them off. God is not altogether such a one as ourselves, though they may imagine him to be so. The wrath of God burns against them, their damnation does not slumber, the pit is prepared, the fire is made ready, the furnace is now hot, ready to receive them, the flames do now rage and glow, the glittering sword is held over them, and the pit hath opened its mouth under them.

Okay, that's just a part of his sermon. He goes on for pages and pages with that same type of lingo. So, brethren, what is the plain truth about heaven and hell? What does the Bible really say about where one goes after death? Do they burn in hell forever and ever and ever? Or do they immediately go to heaven, some paradise that's not really well explained at all? What is heaven like? What is hell like? Do we have an immortal soul? What about the spirit in man? What about a resurrection or resurrections? What is the plain truth from the Bible about heaven and hell? Now, I'm not going to be able to answer every one of these questions in totality by any means, otherwise we would be here the rest of the day. I'm not going to do that, but I am going to touch on some very, very important scriptures that will give us a foundation in regard to the truth about heaven and hell.

What scriptures prove that man does not have an immortal soul and show what really does occur after one's death? Now, I'd like this to be an interactive sermon. Not that I'm going to call on anyone, and I don't expect you to respond verbally, but I want this to be very interactive. I'm going to ask you about scriptures. I want you to think, write down the scripture that I'm about to use to prove a point. See if you know these scriptures. See if you're able to bring them out of your mind. Remember them. Know where they're at. Because if you can't do that, you really need to listen to this sermon. You really do. You need to be able to give an answer for the reason of the hope that lies within you, the kingdom of God and God's righteousness and faithfulness. You need to be able to explain these things and not just tell people, well, we have a booklet that goes into this. So you should be able to come up with these scriptures. And if you can't, then you need to listen very attentively to this sermon.

Now, do you... Okay, here's a question. Do you know what scriptures show that upon a person's death, that his thoughts and plans perish and he knows nothing? Where is that found in the scripture? There is such a verse. There's a couple of verses. These scriptures prove that a person isn't in heaven or hell, but they are dead in the grave. So take a moment, write it down. Think about it. Where are these scriptures found that show upon a person's death his thoughts and his plans perish and he knows nothing? Now, you don't have to write it down if you want to just catalog it in your mind. That's fine, too. Okay, let's go to Psalm 146 verse 2. That is a place that shows this very thing that we're talking about right now. Psalm 146 in verse 2. Here it says, Don't put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, a human being, in whom there is no help. His spirit, which is the Hebrew word ruach, departs. He returns to his earth in that very day his plans perish. He no longer plans anything. His plans perish. The King James version says, his breath goes forth. He returns to his earth. His body goes back to the earth. In that very day his thoughts perish. He no longer thinks. He's not in heaven thinking, and he's not in hell thinking. His thoughts perish. That's what the scripture says in Psalm 146 verse 2.

What about another scripture? Let's go to Ecclesiastes chapter 9 verse 5. Ecclesiastes 9 verse 5.

Obviously, this is a doctrinal sermon, and we should know our doctrines. We should be able to explain them. Ecclesiastes 9 verse 5. Here it says, For the living know that they will die. Now this is Solomon who's written the book of Ecclesiastes. For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. The dead don't know anything. They're dead. They're in the grave. They have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. And that's really true. I mean, I don't know my great-great-great-great-grandfathers. I don't know their names. I mean, I know I can go back a ways, but basically they're forgotten. And your relatives are probably mostly forgotten if they go back a few hundred years. You can't come back with them. They're forgotten. They don't have a reward. They're not in heaven. They're not in hell. They're in the grave. Another scripture that we can go to, again by Solomon, is in Ecclesiastes chapter 9. Ecclesiastes chapter 9, verses 9 and 10. Here Solomon says, whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might. Good advice. Do it with your might, for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you're going. He doesn't say you're going to heaven. He doesn't say you're going to hell. He says you're going to the grave. And there is nothing going on in the grave. When you're dead, you're dead all over, as they say. Some joke about Rover and being dead all over. I don't remember what it is, but anyway. The body goes in the grave where it decays. And a person is also, oftentimes these days, cremated. And his ashes are spread most anywhere. But he's essentially in the grave. He doesn't know anything. He's not in heaven. He's not in hell. Now, thankfully, the Bible shows that there is no suffering or pain in death. Death is revealed in the Bible as simply being like a deep sleep. A very, very, very deep sleep. When a person is dead, his thoughts perish. He's in the grave. Death is therefore peaceful. In that sense, it's not to be feared, as long as you're going to come back in a resurrection. And as long as you're going to then have an opportunity to live forever in God's kingdom. All who have died in the thousands of years of human history, they all rest in peace. They're all in the grave. They have no cares. They have no frustrations. They have no worries. They have no nightmares. They have no troubling dreams. In some ways, they're better off than we are. It depends on how you look at it, right?

But they're in the grave. They are truly at peace. My mother died a few years ago, and before she died, she had a massive stroke. And she was in pain. She was in the hospital. She was paralyzed. She couldn't talk to us. It was horrible to see her suffer like that. I was glad to see death come, because I knew that she would be at peace.

So it's important to know this truth, to understand it, to know what the Bible teaches and what God has done. I have another question for you.

What does sin have to do with death? What does sin have to do with death? What scriptures would you use to show a correlation between sin and death? I'm going to share a couple with you, and I'm quite certain many of you, at least, would get these. One is in Romans chapter 6. Let's go to Romans chapter 6 in verse 23. Romans chapter 6 verse 23, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.

In Christ Jesus our Lord. So it contrasts death and the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus. So it's talking about Christ as the king of the kingdom that's coming. So it's talking about eternal life in the kingdom of God. Death is something that happens to everybody unless you happen to be alive at the return of Jesus Christ.

Then those few relatively will not die. They will not see the first death. But the first death is for basically everyone except a very relatively few. It's not an eternal death at that point, that first death. It's the second death that becomes an eternal death, but not an eternal punishing. There's a big difference in what we understand and what we believe the Bible teaches than what some very popular ministers, Protestants and Catholics and so forth might say. What about another verse or a couple of verses? Actually, there are two verses that say essentially the same thing about sin and death. They're found in Ezekiel chapter 18 verse 4 and Ezekiel chapter 18 verse 20. There it says, the soul that sins shall die. So very consistent with Romans 6.23. The Old Testament and the New Testament go together hand in hand. They are extremely consistent.

The word soul in this verse is the Hebrew word ne'efesh. Now, since we're all sinners, we are all subject to death. The soul that sins shall die. That's a statement. If you're a sinner, then you're likely going to die again, unless you are living at the return of our Savior Jesus Christ. So the word soul in this verse is the Hebrew word ne'efesh. Now, I'd like to read from one of our booklets. I meant to bring it up here. It's about heaven and hell. And there's another booklet about what happens to us after we die. You can find both of those booklets on the back table. If you don't have them and you haven't read one for quite a while and you're not doing so well on this, you may want to pick one up on the way out of here. But they're at the back table. So there's one on heaven and hell, and there's another one on what happens after death. There's also another booklet that I'll mention about Lazarus and the rich man. And that's a fairly new one, I believe. I don't believe we have copies of that on the back table. Now, I would like to read from the booklet on heaven and hell, pages 8 through 10, just a couple of paragraphs, on this word, nafesh, this Hebrew word. The Hebrew word most often translated into English as soul in the Bible is the word nafesh. Strong's exhaustive concordance of the Bible succinctly defines this word as meaning a breathing creature. A breathing creature. When used in the Bible, nafesh does not mean a spirit entity or the spirit within a person. That's not what it's talking about when it talks about the soul that sins shall die. It's not talking about the spirit. Rather, it usually means a physical, living, breathing creature. Occasionally, it conveys a related meaning such as breath, life, or person. Surprisingly, surprising to many, this term nafesh is used to refer not just to human beings, but also to animals. For example, notice the account of the creation of sea life in Genesis 1, verse 21. Here it says, And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind, and God saw that it was good. Now, the Hebrew word translated creature in this verse is the word nafesh. In the biblical account, these particular souls, these creatures of the sea, were made before the first human beings were formed and given life. The term is also applied to birds in verse 30, and land animals, including cattle and creeping things, such as reptiles and insects. All these insects and reptiles, they're nafesh. They're souls. They're living, breathing type creatures that are alive. Now, I don't know of anyone that argues that reptiles and insects have an immortal soul. Now, there probably is somebody out there who does, but the Bible certainly doesn't.

So, it's important to understand that this word is the word nafesh, this word for soul. It's not talking about an immortal soul. It's talking about a creature that can die. Human beings die. Reptiles die. Cattle die. They all die. So, I have another question for you. What Scripture would you use to show there is a spirit in man that goes back to God upon one's death? Can you think about it? Can you bring it out? Do you know where it's found? Could you show it to someone? Well, brethren, it's found in Ecclesiastes 12. Let's go to Ecclesiastes 12. Ecclesiastes 12. Let's read verse 1. OK, this is the words of the preacher. I'm sorry, I'm in chapter 1. Chapter 12 verse 1. Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth. Remember your Creator. There is a Creator. God does exist. God has created us. Don't think for a moment that you just happened. It's not the truth. That is a bold-faced lie that so many people believe.

You have a purpose in life. God has created you for a purpose. You have an opportunity to live forever, to live eternally in God's kingdom.

Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth before the difficult days come and the years draw near when you say, I have no pleasure in them. It's talking about getting old. When we get old and we can barely move, then we don't have a whole lot of pleasure in every day. You know, I've seen people wracked in pain, lying on a bed. They couldn't get out of bed. They were bedridden. I mean, life isn't so great when you come to that point in life. And who knows who among us will get there someday? We don't know. We just don't know. Now, let's drop down to verse 6 and 7.

Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed. Now, it's going to talk now about death. Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed or broken, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain. It's talking about getting old. And what happens to us as we grow old? Or the wheel broken at the well, then the dust will return to the earth as it was. Okay, we've been... Adam was made from the dust of the ground. It is to dust that he returned. We're the same way. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit, the spirit in man, will return to God who gave it. Okay, there is a spirit in man. It makes us different from the animals. Okay, I don't see any reptiles worshiping God. I don't see any dogs in here listening to this sermon and understanding it. They don't have the spirit in man. You have the spirit in man. Mankind, women, including women, of course, children, we're all mating God's image. We're different from the animals. We're different from the reptiles. And even they were created by God. We have a far greater destiny than they do. So, there is a spirit in man, and it goes back to God upon death. The spirit in man goes back. Now, the Bible doesn't say a whole lot about this spirit in man. We can speculate that the spirit in man goes back to God, and there's an identity there. You have a spirit in man. I have a spirit in man. It's a little different in that your identity is there, and my identity is there, and God is storing all of that until a resurrection comes.

A spirit in man that goes back to God who gave that spirit.

So, Ecclesiastes 12, 1, and verses 6 and 7, it shows that there is a spirit in man. That it goes back to God upon one's death.

Question, another question. What scriptures would you use to show that King David is dead and buried and has not ascended into heaven? Now, these are important because King David was a righteous man. He was not a perfect man. He said he was a sinner. He died. What happened to him? Where is he today? Is he in heaven? Is he listening to the sermon?

What scriptures would you go to? Where would you find them? Okay, I would first go to Acts 13. Acts 13.

Acts 13, beginning in verse 35.

Therefore, he also says in another Psalm, you will not allow your holy one to see corruption. He's talking about Christ. Christ would not decay. Christ would be resurrected before he had an opportunity to decay. He was a human being. He was flesh and blood. But he was resurrected spirit to spirit life, spiritual body that he was given. David, on the other hand, was in the grave. Let's read that in verse 36. For David, after he had served his own generation, by the will of God, fell asleep. It's talking about death. Death is often referred to as sleep in the Bible. So, according to God's will, David fell asleep. He was buried with his fathers, and he saw corruption. He decayed. He did not have an immortal soul. His body decayed. But he whom God raised up, talking about Christ again, he saw no corruption. He was resurrected to life, eternal life. Therefore, let it be known to you, brethren, that through this man, through Christ, is preached to you the forgiveness of sins. The soul that sins, it shall die. But there's a way out of death, and God has called you out of death.

He has called you to be given the gift of eternal life. That's awesome! Is that not awesome?

We can come out of the graves. We can be resurrected. We can live forever with our Savior, Jesus Christ. The soul that sins shall die, but in Christ, all shall be made alive.

What about another scripture that talks about David? How about Acts 2? Let's go to Acts 2. Now, we know that the Day of Pentecost is talked about in Acts 2. In fact, Peter is giving a powerful sermon on this day, a man who greatly changed from denying Christ three times to being a man of power and of strength through the power of God's Spirit dwelling in him. He says, Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried. See, people respected David greatly. He was considered a great man. David was a great man. David the king. There is another scripture that shows that David is going to rule over the tribes of Israel in the kingdom of God. He's clearly going to live again. But what about right now? Where is he right now? So, men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God has sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on David's throne. That's exactly what happened. He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. David's body became corrupt. It decayed. It stank. It was awful. It went back to the earth. Eventually, ashes.

But Christ, on the other hand, did not see corruption. Christ is our Savior.

Christ existed forever. The one who became Christ was the one who created us, who shaped us in the image of God, in his image and in the Father's image. So David is buried and has not ascended into heaven. So if David isn't buried, I mean, if David isn't in heaven, why would Jonathan Edwards think so many others were?

Why? Because he's deceived. He's been deceived by Satan the devil, who has deceived the whole world. But there are a few that are not deceived on these very, very vital, important issues. You happen to be among those numbered. The numbered, I don't say that to make you vain, to make you proud, but I hope you're thankful. I know you are. We're all grateful for our calling. But I make no bones about being called out as one of the first fruit. I'm extremely grateful for that. I look forward to the time when all people will come to a knowledge of the truth. I want that for my family members who have never been called. I want that for every single person. But I am truly grateful that God has seen fit to call me now. So I make no bones about that.

I'm not proud that I've done anything good because of it. God calls the weak and the foolish of the world. That's why I've been called. Is that something to be proud of? Okay, now let's continue here.

Where does Jesus Himself say clearly that no man except Himself in an earlier life has ascended into heaven? Where does He say that? That's a very vital scripture. Can you find it? Is it in your head? If your neighbor asked you something and they asked you about this issue, would you be able to pull it out and say, hey, this is what Jesus Himself said? Where is it? Write it down on your paper. If not, do you have it in your mind? I'm not belittling any of you. I hope you realize that. I don't know how well I would do if I was sitting down there, but I have the upper hand. I'm up here giving the sermon. I've prepared it. I'm giving it.

So where do we find it? Well, we find it in John chapter 3. That's where we find it. Remember Nicodemus. Remember when Jesus talked to Nicodemus. John chapter 3 verse 12. 1 Jesus said, if I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? How are you going to believe that? He says in verse 13, no one has ascended to heaven. Jonathan Edwards, did you not read this verse?

I know he can't hear me because he's in the grave. He's in the grave awaiting a resurrection. I'm sure he's a fine person that will repent bitterly for all the error that he taught during his life.

No doubt he was very sincere and extremely dedicated in so many different ways. Now, no one has ascended to heaven, but he who came down from heaven, that is the Son of Man who is in heaven. So, here we see that Jesus Christ, of course, because he was around from the very beginning, since eternity, he'd been back to forth to heaven, who knows how many times?

But no one else had. Another question. What scripture would you use to show that the wicked will be burned up? Where would you go to show that the wicked are going to be burned up? That they're not going to burn in hell forever and ever? Where would you go? Well, you would go to Malachi 4. Malachi 4. So let's go there. Malachi 4.

And verse 1. For behold, Malachi says, behold, the day is coming. The day is coming. It's burning like an oven. And, you know, God inspired him to write this. The day is coming. It's burning like an oven. And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly, they're going to be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up.

Says the Lord of hosts, that will leave them neither root nor branch. It says it's going to burn them up, neither root nor branch. But to you who fear my name, okay, so now he's contrasting the difference. He's saying those who are not repentant, those sinners who will not repent, who will not change, then they're the ones that are going to be burnt up completely. They're going to be cast into a lake of fire where they're going to be burnt up. They're not going to be tortured in heaven for, or in hell. Forever and ever, they're going to be burnt up. But to you who fear my name, the Son of righteousness shall arise. He's talking about you and me. He's talking about the first fruits. He's talking about all those who will repent when they have that opportunity to know the truth.

But to you who fear my name, the Son of righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings, and you shall go out, and you shall grow fat like stall-fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet. When you burn something up completely, it becomes ashes.

I mean, I've burned a lot of things. No people, certainly. But it becomes ashes, you know, and people become ashes once they're burnt up. Ashes under the feet of the righteous. On the day that I do this says the Lord of hosts. That hasn't happened yet, but it's going to happen. As sure as you're here today, this is going to happen. Believe it or not, it's going to happen. Remember the law of Moses, my servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and the judgments. Behold, I will send you, Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and the dreadful day of the eternal. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children of their fathers. I believe this is a work that's doing that right now.

It happened in my own life. I have an 88-year-old father that lives just not far from me now in the Dallas area. We have a good relationship. At one time I hated him.

It's this work that has changed my heart, my mind. It's worked a miracle in me, and I'm sure it has in you.

Another question.

What scriptures would you use to show there is a resurrection or resurrections to come after one's death? Now, there are many, many scriptures. I'm not going to be able to turn to nearly all of them, but we'll go to a few. Scriptures, first of all, in the Old Testament. There's certainly a great indication that the patriarch Job either understood about the resurrection or at least he wondered about it in Job 14, verse 1.

Job 14, verse 1. Let's go there.

Job 14, verse 1. Man who is born of woman is a few days, and he's full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower, and he fades away. He's not permanent. He fades away. He dies. He flees like a shadow. He doesn't continue. He dies.

Now, there is hope for a tree if it is cut down that it will sprout again.

And that its tender shoots will not cease. Now, I vividly have an example of that. There was a tree that was by a rosebush in Oklahoma. In my backyard, I had 10 acres. I didn't have time to keep up with things very well. Well, about probably 18 or 19 years ago, I cut that tree down. That thing is still alive. At least it was when I left. I did not do a very good job of killing that thing. I cut it down several times, but it would not die.

It kept coming back, and kept coming back, and I wasn't diligent enough to kill it.

Because I could have killed it had I been more diligent, but it wasn't that important to me. So I would just cut it down every few years, and it would grow back. But, I mean, that's a vivid reminder to me of this Scripture here.

Job asked the question, if a man dies, will he live again? That is an awesome question. I mean, should we all ask ourselves that question? Should we just believe what the atheists think? That this is it, and we're done? It's over? Forget about it?

You've got 70, 80, 90 years, maybe 100, but after that, you're toast, you're gone.

I don't like that. I do not like that. I like the truth much better.

Our Heavenly Father wants us to know what happens to the dead. Hebrews 9, let's go there, Hebrews 9, verse 27.

Hebrews 9, verse 27. Here it says, And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this, the judgment. You know, God really only wants us to die once. He doesn't want us to die twice. In fact, He's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

He says, And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this, the judgment. So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him, those of us, firstfruits who wait for Him, He's going to appear a second time. He came a first time. He lived here on the earth. He died for us then. He's coming aback. And this time, He's bringing salvation with Him. And the firstfruits will rise out of the ground. You know, this is what the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, all of these, the Last Great Day, that's what these days reveal. And if you're not keeping these days, you are missing out. Trust me. You are missing out. God wants us to keep these days. They're important to Him. And they should be important to us. So, the first time Jesus, again, He came to the earth, He lived a perfect life. He never sinned. The wages of sin is death. He never sinned. But He did die for us anyway. He laid His life down for us. That's why His death means so much. He didn't deserve to die. All of us do deserve to die. He did not. He willingly laid His life down, and His Father allowed that and gave Him up and sacrificed Him for us.

He's coming again, and I believe, and I know, He's bringing salvation with Him. And at that time, Christ is going to bind Satan the devil, who will no longer be able to cause the violence and the destruction that we see on the earth today. This is a violent world. I just saw a video this week about some woman was in a church, and a couple of guys come in and just rob her and beat her upside the head, knock her down. I mean, this is a violent world that we live in.

Of course, at Christ's return, He is going to establish the government of God on the earth, and that kingdom will be a kingdom of peace and happiness and joy with no sorrow, with no more pain, no more suffering. It's going to last forever. All right, where else would we go? Hebrews 9.27, you could take Him there. You could show a person that Christ is coming back.

And He's bringing salvation with Him when He comes. And then a very powerful one is in 1 Thessalonians 4. Verses 13-17. 1 Thessalonians 4. Verse 13, But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, this is what Paul writes here, I don't want you to be ignorant concerning those who have fallen asleep. What's he talking about? He's talking about people who have died. They've fallen asleep, they've died, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. There are many people in the world, and for thousands of years it's been this way, they don't have the hope because they don't understand the resurrection. They don't believe in God, and they don't have hope. They think when a person's done, they're done. You know, they're not going to live again. But Paul's saying when a person falls asleep or dies, he will live again. He says, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and it's all important that you believe in Christ as your Savior, it's all important. You can't get there any other way, it's only through Christ. There's no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we shall be saved through Christ. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus, those who have died in Christ, those who have lived their lives, dedicated to Christ, being the disciples of Christ, following the example of Christ, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God with power and with vigor and with vitality, those are the ones that will rise at the return of Christ.

For this we say to you, by the word of the Lord, it's by God's word, it's by his truth, and God cannot lie that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep, those who have already died. So Paul is thinking about living when Christ comes back, that he'll be alive. It didn't turn out that way, did it? No. Paul is in the grave. He's saying that those in the grave will rise first, but then those who are alive. And we'll see this in 1 Corinthians in a moment.

I'm sure you would take him there. 1 Corinthians 15. Well, here, you know, again, it clearly shows that those who have died first, who are in the grave, they will come out first, they will be resurrected first, then those who are alive, the firstfruits who are alive at Christ's return, they will be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. But let's get back to verse 16 here. Verse 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.

Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Christ is coming back. He's going to stand on the Mount of Olives, as it says in Zachariah. He's coming back. We're going to rise to meet Him.

Then we're going to come back to the earth, and He's going to establish His government and His kingdom upon the earth for a thousand years. So 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, always for eternity.

There will be no second death for the saints, for the firstfruits, for those who stay faithful, who endure to the end, the same shall be saved. Therefore, comfort one another with these words. So hopefully you find these words comforting. I find them extremely comforting. I am so grateful for these words, for this truth. Okay, where else would we go? Well, we would go to 1 Corinthians 15. It's called the resurrection chapter for a reason.

It talks a lot about the resurrections. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. All right, let's start reading in verse 20 here. Check my time, make sure I'm not going over time. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 50. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. You're not going to get there in the flesh. Flesh and blood can inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption.

We talked about that earlier. Corruption doesn't inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. There will be some people who will be alive at Christ's returns. All of us are going to 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.

Okay, the dead have been corrupted. They've become ashes. They've been in the grave for perhaps thousands of years, some a lot less, but we're all coming back if we are the firstfruits. We're all coming back at the same time. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, those in Hebrews that it talks about, Hebrews 11, the people of faith, we're all going to be resurrected together. Those of us who have died before Christ returns, those who have been corrupted, shall become incorruptible.

We will become spirit at the return of Christ. For this corruptible, this flesh, must put on incorruption. This mortal, this mortal flesh, must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, when this mortal, this flesh, has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass.

Only then, not now, there's no one immortal now except the Father and the Son. I mean, the angels may live forever, we'll see, but certainly no human beings, no immortal human beings at this point. So then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. Death is an enemy. Oh death, where is your sting? Oh Hades, where is your victory? Hades is the grave. That's what it's talking about. The sting of death is sin.

Okay, if there was no sin, there would be no death, but the wages of sin is death. If there was no law, there would be no sin. But there is law, and God wants us to observe and keep His commandments and keep His laws.

So that's what gives power. It's God's law that gives power to this. The sting of death is sin. When you break the law, you come under the death penalty. And the strength of sin is the law. It's God's holy and righteous law, His commandments. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast. Be immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Your labor is not in vain. Do not become weary in well-doing. Do not slack up. Do not let off. Instead, go forward in faith with greater vigor and power than you've ever had. That's what God wants us to do. He wants us to stir up that first love, and be more zealous as we see the day approaching. Okay, where else would you go? Well, while we're in 1 Corinthians 15, let's go down to verse 50 while we're still here. Did I already do that? I already did that. I'm ahead of myself. Okay, let's go to somewhere else. Where else would you go in the book of John? Where would you go in the book of John, Christ Himself, saying these words, very powerful ones, about resurrection?

You would go to John 5, verse 21. John 5, verse 21.

John 5, verse 21. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, that's what the Father did, He raised His Son from the dead. Even so, the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, to Christ. Christ is now at the right hand of God. He's the one who makes intercession for us. He loves us. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Verse 23. That all should honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son, does not honor the Father who sent Him. Now, He said this to many who crucified Him. Right? They crucified Him.

Most assuredly I say to you, He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me, and the Father, He has an everlasting life. He shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. In other words, He shall not come into condemnation. We're all going to be judged. And now, judgment has begun at the house of God. Now is your day of salvation. We're being judged at this time.

Most assuredly, verse 25, I say to you, the hour is coming and now is... He's speaking about this present age which began when Christ came. I mean, that's one way of looking at this. When Christ came to die for us, this age began. He is most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God. Now, that hasn't happened yet. That's yet to happen. It's coming very soon, relatively. How soon? Can't tell you. Wish I knew. I don't, but I know it's coming. I say to you, the hour is coming now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself and has given Him authority to execute judgment also because He is the Son of Man. And do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming, hasn't come yet, didn't come at that time, hasn't come yet. Do not marvel, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves, everyone in the graves, and when you go through the countryside and you see cemetery after cemetery after cemetery and you see the thousands, the millions, the billions who have died over the years, every one of them is going to come out of that grave. No matter what's happened to their body, whether it was scattered at sea, it doesn't matter because God knows how to put them all back together again. And it's the Spirit and Man that He's going to use to do that. The Spirit of God and the Spirit of Man. And there's going to be a resurrection to life. And the hour is coming who all of those in the graves will hear His voice, they will come forth. Those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil and have not repented to the resurrection of condemnation, they refuse to repent, they will not repent. When God looks at their heart, He sees a hardened heart. He sees a heart that doesn't want to change. Hopefully He won't see very many hearts like that. I certainly hope not. I can of myself do nothing, Christ says, as I hear I judge, and my judgment is righteous, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of the Father who sent me. You know, brethren, it is a shame if you do not see Christ as He is. I mean, Christ died for you. He laid His life down for you. He gave His all for you. That is the Savior that we should be serving faithfully.

And some people don't even believe in Him. Nevertheless, He laid His life down for you. He laid His life down for the atheists, for the agnostics. He laid His life down for all of us. And isn't the truth wonderful?

Now, brethren, today I've given many clear scriptures, I believe, to lay the foundation of the truth regarding heaven and hell. And what happens after death? Perhaps some of our sermonette men in the future would like to take some of the difficult scriptures and explain them. Now, I really haven't had time to do that. The parable of Lazarus and the rich man should be explained. I did not have time to do it. The whole booklet had been written on it. So someone can take a split sermon, they can take a sermonette, and I'd like them to do that. So whoever gets to it first, go for it. Lazarus and the rich man, or they may want to go to Revelation 14, verses 10 and 11, where it mentions those who worship the beast in the last days will be tormented with fire and brimstone, and where it also mentions the smoke of their torment that ascends forever and ever that they have no rest day or night. There are some difficult scriptures. They're not all that difficult. They can be explained. They will be explained to you. But the truth is plain. I've laid the foundation for you. People can think a lot of things about what happens after death, but what they really ought to be doing is checking out this. This is the truth. These are the words of life. So their thoughts should be clearly in line with what the Bible says. What the Bible clearly says. Satan truly has deceived the whole world on this subject of heaven and hell. It's very plain. So, brethren, let us be grateful that God in his mercy has revealed his truth to us.