Life beyond Death and Man’s future destiny
“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment”(Hebrews 9:27ESV)
Is Heaven Real? Is Hell Real? Is there Life after Death? Is there Eternal life? What delivers us from the fear of death?
A wise man once told me that mankind needs to ask questions because without questions we would not have answers and without answers we would not have purpose. So let us consider to explore the above question in the light of God’s eternal principles. Birth and death are the inseparable confines of all life on earth. Death is a great dis-closer of what is in a man, our life dreams for the perfect world and endless search for truth, death achieves the Ideal.
Now, no man would dispute that all men die sooner or later. We also know that the Bible plainly speaks of a great day of judgment coming upon the world. These things I anticipate to explore in this study. So let’s examine what the context of the text itself says. From the text you will agree that the writer of Hebrews is discussing an altogether different matter than the view so commonly expressed. Our verse says here that "it is appointed unto men once to die," We may observe few important facts: First death is in all cases the result of an "intelligent appointment”.
Second that appointment is for “the cause, or the reason” that is sin, in other words Physical death is a consequence of sin. Bible says “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." (Genesis 3:19.)
Third the universality of death proves the universality of sin. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— (Rom 5:12 NASB) Sin has its payday, and its wages is death.
Bible declares that “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) This explains the whole of it. C. H. Spurgeon said of this verse, “It is a Christian proverb, a golden sentence, a divine statement of truth worthy to be written across the sky.”
The wages of sin is death, one of the saddest, but profound truths of the world. Sin is a master of his servant and pays wages which is “Death” Temporal, spiritual, and eternal is the due wages of sin.
But eternal life is the gift of God - The difference is remarkable. Evil works merit the reward they receive: good works do not. The former demand wages: the latter accept a free gift. But the gift of God is eternal life.
God gives to those who turn from sin, life eternal. It is his gracious gift, conditioned on refusing to be the servant of sin longer, and is through Jesus Christ our Lord. The gift of God is eternal life. And this gift is through Jesus Christ our Lord. Christ purchased it, prepared it, prepares us for it, preserves us to it; he is the All in all in our salvation.
All physical death ends in the resurrection of the body. See Job 19:25, "1Cor 15:52".Physical death affects the body only, and is neither cessation of life nor of reincarnation. Physical death has for the believer a peculiar qualification. It is called "to be at home with the Lord," because his body may be "raised in glory" at any moment. The soul and spirit live, independently of the death of the body, which is described as a "tabernacle" (tent), in which the "I" dwells, and which may be put off. At the believer's death he is "clothed upon" with a "house from heaven" pending the resurrection of the "earthly house," and is at once "with the Lord." See the following reference for your study - 2Cor 5:1-8 Phil 1:23 Luke 23:43,1Cor 15:42-44 2Pet 1:13-15. Phil 3:20, 21, 1Th 4:14-18
Fourth facts is death occurs to all "It is appointed unto men" - to the all human race. It is not an appointment for one, but for all. The Fifth fact is “judgment” immediately after death when they pass into the eternal world, when their destiny will be made known to them. This seems to be necessarily implied in the supposition that they will continue to live, and to be happy or miserable after death. Good news for the believer's death he is "clothed upon" with a "house from heaven" pending the resurrection of the "earthly house," and is at once "with the Lord."
Dear friends, the Bible declares that one day you will die and then stand face to face with God to be judged. "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, BUT AFTER THIS THE JUDGMENT;. Nothing in your entire life could be more important than to be ready for that day, for it will determine whether you will spend eternity in heaven or hell.
In the Bible, Jesus says more than anyone else about Hell (Matthew 10:28; 13:40-42; Mark9:43-44). He refers to it as a literal place and describes it in graphic terms - including raging fires and the worm (soul) that doesn't die. Christ says the unsaved 'will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth' (Matthew 8:12). And these shall go away into eternal punishment but the righteous in to eternal life' (Mathew 25:46). Thus if Heaven will be consciously experienced forever, Hell must be consciously experienced forever. The biblical teaching on both destinations stands together.
Every single day, some 80,000 people die on Earth. In another 90 years, nearly everyone who's on Earth today will be gone. It can happen at any time, to anywhere, to anybody. Some people logically seek this and ask, has science explained life after death?
I recently learn a life story of a neurosurgeon, for years he had dismissed near-death revelations of God and heaven as explainable by the hard wiring of the human brain. He was, after all, a neurosurgeon with sophisticated medical training.
But then in 2008 Dr. Eben Alexander contracted bacterial meningitis. The deadly infection soaked his brain and sent him into a deep coma. While his body lay in coma, Alexander journeyed beyond this world and encountered an angelic being who guided him into the deepest realms of super-physical existence. There he met, and spoke with, the Divine source of the universe itself. Alexander’s story is not a castle in the sky. Before he underwent his journey, he could not reconcile his knowledge of neuroscience with any belief in heaven, God, or the soul. Today Alexander is a doctor who believes that true health can be achieved only when we realize that God and the soul are real and that death is not the end of personal existence but only a transition. Dr. Alexander, 58, was so changed by the experience that he felt compelled to write a book, “Proof of Heaven,” is atop the New York Times bestseller’s list, which recounts his experience. He knew full well that he was gambling his professional reputation by writing it, but his hope is that his expertise will be enough to persuade skeptics, particularly medical skeptics, as he used to be, to open their minds to an after world. Alexander’s recovery is a medical miracle. But the real miracle of his story lies elsewhere.
There seems to be an increasing number of people who claim they have died and returned to life. Most describe death as being the most wonderful and glorious thing they have ever experienced. They vividly describe some sort of ecstatic feeling along with all kinds of visions of beautiful bright lights. The Bible records several instances where people died and were miraculously raised again from the dead. There are only two basic reasons why a person would not fear death. Either he does not understand the true nature of death, or he has convinced and fully believed in the saving knowledge of Christ who is the "resurrection and the life."(John 11: 25)
The Bible speaks of physical death, spiritual death and eternal death. All men die physically because they are the sons of Adam. All men are born spiritually dead because of Adam's original sin. If physical death overtakes a man while he is still in the condition of spiritual death, he will experience eternal death which the Bible describes as eternal punishment, separated from the presence of God. The moment a person dies physically, the soul departs the body and goes either into the presence of God or into hell to await the final Day of Judgment. That is the reason why the Bible tells us "...it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes the judgment." If a person is not prepared for the final Day of Judgment, they have every reason to fear death. A right and proper fear of death is a great motivation to make sure one is rightly related to God through Jesus Christ the only mediator.
Dear friends the most vital thing you can do for your friends and family is to warn them about the road that leads to destruction and tell them about the road that leads to life. God loves us enough to tell us the truth - there are two eternal destinations, not one, and we must choose the right path if we are to go to Heaven. All roads do not lead to Heaven. Only one does: Jesus Christ. He said, 'No one comes to the Father except through me' (John 14:6). All other roads lead to Hell. Jesus asks an eternal question in Mark 8:36-37: 'What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?'
To be continued…………
