Text: “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned” (John 5:24).
The word “eternal” means everlasting, never-ending, timeless, or ceaseless. How many of you would like to live in these earthly bodies forever? You might say “no” because of the present shape, but you might say “yes” if they were in better shape and were not susceptible to aches, pains, breaks, and so on.
Of course, we know it is not possible for us to live in these bodies because God intended them to be temporary housing for the Holy Spirit.
Scripture tells us “The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7).
Our life comes from God’s Spirit. After the act of disobedience, God said to Adam “…for dust you are and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:19). This is evidence from God that these earthly bodies will not last forever.
In the Old Testament, we read about people who lived hundreds of years. For example, Adam lived 930 years (Genesis 5:5); Seth lived 912 years (Genesis 5:8); Methuselah lived 969 years (Genesis 5:27), and Noah 950 years (Genesis 9:29).
The human life span declined after the flood. I am talking about the great flood in the days of Noah. Many events happened during the flood that caused havoc upon the face of the earth.
For example, the water vapor above the earth kept the earth warm, but filtered out the harmful radiation of the sun. After the flood, the water vapor shield ceased to exist exposing the earth and all its’ inhabitants to dangerous radiation.
I found a few figures that are interesting. In the year 1850, the average white male could expect to live to be about 38. Then as time moved on to 1900, the life expectancy was 48. As you can see things were getting better.
Jumping right up to 2003, the average white male could live to be the ripe old age of 75. The average life expectancy for a white male now is almost 80 years (77.9 years to be more exact). Female life expectancy is about 5 years longer than men.
There are many factors to take into consideration along these lines. If an individual has a habit of smoking, drinking, taking drugs and so on, of course health issues become involved and life could be cut short.
The point I am getting at is that no one is going to live in their present state eternally. Our own George is 102 years of age. Many of you have passed 85 and 90 years. What is your secret? I would say your secret is you have managed your health relatively well and lived according to God’s Word. What would you say?
I will ask you again this question: Would you want to continue for another 80 or 90 years with the body that you now have or would you rather have it return to dust and go in spirit and live with the Lord? Maybe the Lord will return soon and we won’t have to make a decision.
As Christians, we believe that there is life beyond this present life. Is that true? Jesus spoke of eternity in two different places. Remember the story of the rich man and Lazarus. “The beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:22). At the time of the beggar’s death, angels came and carried him into Paradise or into Heaven.
God said, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth my footstool” (Isaiah 66:1). Heaven is where Jesus resides with all the good angels and all those who have repented of their sins and have invited Him to come and live within their heart. Heaven is where Christians will spend eternity with their Savior.
When Jesus was talking about His return, He said, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, not the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36). Heaven is one place in which we have the opportunity to spend eternity.
In Heaven, we will spend eternity with our Christian family and friends. All of us will be an integral part of God’s family. We will have a deep understanding love for one another.
There will be no more death. There will be no sickness, pain, or agony. There will be no greed, jealously, selfishness, adultery, uncleanness, hatred, or bitterness.
We will be with our immediate family, but more importantly, we will be one big heavenly family. We will be in the family of Christ and we will all have the same Father.
The beggar died and was carried into Paradise or Heaven by the angels. Every Christian who dies will be carried into Heaven by the angels. Those who reject Jesus will spend eternity in another place and that place is called Hell or Hades.
Jesus said, “The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire” “(Luke 16:22:24).
One description of hell is of a burning fire. The word Gehenna was used by Jesus to describe hell. It is interesting to note that just outside of Jerusalem was the city dump which was continuously on fire. The name of this burning dump was called Gehenna.
Jesus also speaks of hell as “outer darkness”. Jesus said, “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:11, 12).
People who are more concerned about living worldly instead of heavenly will be in for a great surprise when earthly life ends and eternal life begins. They will be shocked when they find out they have been too self-centered and the thought of their destiny has never surfaced in their mind. The fact they have never claimed the promises of Almighty God will leave them in “outer darkness.”
Each one of God’s children is given the opportunity to spend eternity in His mansion just over the hilltop, but many have chosen to forgo that opportunity. They have ignored the knock on the door of their heart. They have chosen to live life according to worldly standards. They have not lived according to the words in red. Their path has been down the wide and crooked road of life instead of the straight and narrow road.
God’s Word talks about what is reserved for the Devil and his angels. It talks about the “lake of fire.” “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).
I don’t believe anyone would intentionally want to have a reservation in a place like the “lake of fire.” People, who reject Jesus as their own personal Lord and Savior, will one day follow the Devil down the wide road leading right into pain, agony and torment. Upon arrival, people will be unable to find the sign that says “Exit” because there will be none. It will be impossible to turn around and seek a second chance.
“Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother’” (Luke 10:27).
The Sadducees once again approach Jesus with the idea of trickery. This is the religious group that believed only in the Pentateuch or the first five books of the Old Testament. Since they were concerned about these five books in which there was no mention of resurrection, they refused to believe in the resurrection of the dead.
The question they brought before Jesus concerned marriage and resurrection of the dead. They said, “The first one married a woman and died childless. The second and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. Finally, the woman died too. Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?” (Luke 20:29-33).
The Pharisees were the real religious leaders of the Jews. They were believers in the resurrection of the dead. They worked closely with the Scribes. They thought they were experts in interpreting the Word of God.
They were opposed to Jesus and His teachings. They did not believe that He was the Messiah. In essence, both the Sadducees and the Pharisees were adversaries or rivals of Jesus. This being a fact, Jesus had to deal with both groups.
Jesus gave this response to the marriage in heaven question: “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection” (Luke 20:34-36).
We know that people here on earth marry and in many cases have children. Some of the marriages last for years and years and some of them are dissolved very quickly. Marriage on earth was part of God’s plan. This is the way the population grows. God’s plan was a union of man and woman. This is not new to us and it was not new to the Sadducees.
We must realize that this type of earthly life we are living will not be exactly the same when we arrive in heaven. The Sadducees question seemed to indicate that heavenly life was just a continuation of this present earthly life. Since they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, this was a trick question.
Jesus said there would be no marriage in heaven as we know it on earth. By the same token there would be no more death. God’s children who made it to heaven would be like the angels and the angels do not marry. They are like angels because they have been resurrected. Furthermore, our relationships will be different and better than what we have at present.
Jesus went on and talked about the burning bush. He said, “Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive” (Luke 20:37, 38).
Since the Sadducees accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament, they had to accept what Jesus told them because Jesus made reference to Exodus 3:6 when He talked about the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. In this Scripture, God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and indicated very strongly who He was.
Conclusion:
Is there life after our earthly life ends?
Yes!
If life continues, but in a different state, where is it?
Heaven or Hell!
Who is going to Heaven?
Those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their own personal Lord and Savior will spend eternity with Him in His mansion just over the hilltop.
Who is going to Hell?
Those who have rejected Jesus Christ as their own personal Lord and Savior will spend eternity in Hell.
Is there evidence relevant to Heaven and Hell?
There is evidence in the story of the rich man and the beggar.
Does Hell have an exit door?
No!
We can be assured of eternal life and we can determine where we will spend eternity.
Amen.
