Destination Preparation
Proper Preparation for Your Parting from This World
The Bible holds a sobering truth of which no one can dispute and according to the Word of God a date no one is going to miss. There is an appointed time for each person on this earth, a date known by God of which is sure to come. The Bible says, “Just as people are destined to die once and then face judgement…” (Hebrews 9:27) It has been well said, “There will always be taxes and death.” You may figure out how to cheat on taxes, you will not miss the river of physical death. Prepared or not – death is sure to come, it is best to be prepared physically and spiritually. As we look at the truths found Hebrews 9:27, we must grasp the solemn facts: 1.) Mankind has an appointed date. 2.) Mankind will only die once. 3.) They will face judgement. 4.) Your Last Testimonial.
People have a tendency to look at death as an end, according to Scripture it is the entrance into eternity, forever in hell or heaven. The Book of Ecclesiastes teaches there will be a day “people go to their eternal homes while mourners go about the streets.” (Ecclesiastes 12:5) Jesus teaches of eternal life and eternal hell. (Matthew 25:46)
Death is the entrance, like the doorway is an entrance into the place mankind will stay forever. With death being the experience to eternity, it is imperative we make Destination Preparation.
Mankind has an Appointed Date
Mankind has an appointed date, it is physical death. Physical death is a curse given to all mankind because Adam, the first man failed in the first dispensation of mankind, which was obedience to God’s spoken word. The Genesis account says, “for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:18) Another Old Testament passage of Scripture says, “All go to the same place, all come from dust and to dust all return.” (Ecclesiastes 3:20) There is a New Testament Scripture, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men…” (Romans 5:12)
In proper preparation Proverbs 6:6 gives wise advise, “Go to the ant… consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares…” Just like taxes cost, the preparing our bodies for burial and expenses left behind will cost our families a lot. Just as the ant has foresight to prepare her food for the months to come, without anyone but her Creator moving her, wise people start as soon as possible, preparing physically, financially and spiritually for their date with physical death. Ignoring or denying what our Creator has informed us about physical death will not prevent or delay the date He has destined for us all. The Psalmist writes, “What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?” (Psalm 89:84) “Sheol” (?????? še?ol) is a noun meaning the world of the dead, the grave. (Baker, W., & Carpenter, E. E. (2003). The complete word study dictionary: Old Testament (p. 1083). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.)
A Biblical answer holds a truth about the psalmist question. Hosea writes about the Lord, “I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from death.” (Hosea 13:14) All human flesh will be called forth from the grave, either the resurrection of Christian or the resurrection of those who died without Christ as Savior and Lord. The Book of Daniel tells us, “…those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:2) The Bible says Jesus was made lower than the angles so He may taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:9) His victory over death by being raised from grave by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11) shows His authority over death. Christians put their trust in Him and they will join in the resurrection of those who died in Christ.
It Cost to Bury Someone
After Jesus gave Himself unto death for the sins of mankind, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus laid Jesus in the tomb. In preparation for Jesus’ body, they placed Him in an empty tomb, one in which no one had been laid. They wrapped His body with strips of linen mixed with myrrh and aloes, an amount of seventy-five pounds in weight in accordance to the Jewish burial customs. (John 19:38-40) Just as the servants of the Lord made sure Jesus got a proper burial, we must do our duty in burying our loved ones in accordance of the times we live in. (Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 2048). Peabody: Hendrickson.)
The amount paid by Nicodemus represents a very costly burial and we should be willing to help bury our loved ones. (Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Jn 19:39). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.) The Biblical text written by the beloved John indicates there was little time for Nicodemus or Joseph of Arimathea to go a purchase the spices or the linens. Therefore, everything was purchased before Jesus death on the Cross.
Let the Holy Spirit touch your heart with these questions: Are you prepared for your physical death? Are the proper arrangements in order?
Mankind Will Only Die Once
The Book of Hebrews says, “people are destined to die once.” Once (?pa? hápax) and no more. The appointment of God is, mankind must die once. All relationships on this earth severed, no longer to be a wife or husband. The influential role of parent, friendship and all acquaintances on this earth will be stopped. The high road is to put your best foot forward now, once your gone, there will be nothing you can add. Death is leaving this world to enter the world of eternal blessings or eternal anguish. There is no changing your destination once you enter the realm of the physically dead. It is either a huge comfort for those who die in Christ or a matter of eternal terror for the wicked, those who die with their sins still holding them in bondage. Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (pp. 2394–2395). Peabody: Hendrickson. The Bible says, “The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.” (Ezekiel 18:20b)
The “righteous” (??????? ?addiyq) here are the people of God who in conduct and character hunger to be conformed to God’s Holy standards. (Baker, W., & Carpenter, E. E. (2003). The complete word study dictionary: Old Testament (p. 937). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.; Brown, F., Driver, S. R., & Briggs, C. A. (1977). Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (p. 843). Oxford: Clarendon Press.) The “wicked” (?????? raša?) here are people who pursue their own evil desires although they live among righteous people. (Baker, W., & Carpenter, E. E. (2003). The complete word study dictionary: Old Testament (p. 1080). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.; Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.)
The final authority of God’s written Word over-rides the writings of Plato about reincarnation. Any teaching that gives mankind a second chance or the opportunity to be interceded for by any other means other than turning to and trusting in Christ before physical death is false teaching.
Mankind Will Face Judgement
After physical death, “then the judgement.” “Judgement” (???s?? krísis). Meaning to face the verdict of guilt. (Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.) At the White Throne Judgement seat of God there will be no slick lawyer to defend their case. Unlike most courts today, God will hand out eternal judgement. Just as DNA can prove who a person is and prove rather or not someone was at a crime scene. God will call up the wicked person’s body from the grave and pronounce him or she guilty, one who is an enemy of God, one who stands against the righteous laws and precepts of the Lord. The Bible says, “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31)
There is another judgement for Christians. It is referred to as the Judgement seat of Christ or the reward seat. (Garrett, J. K. (2016). Judgment Seat of Christ. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.)
2 Corinthians 5:10 says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” Judgement Seat of Christ is a time in the future when there will be the divine evaluation of the faithfulness of those who have used their Holy Spirit gifts, the things the Lord has given them and the opportunities He has given to serve Him and their fellow mankind. This is the time when there will be the giving or withholding of rewards. (Enns, P. P. (1989). The Moody handbook of theology (p. 639). Chicago, IL: Moody Press.; Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version (2 Co 5:9–10). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.)
1 Corinthians 3:11-15 gives clear detail teaching indicating there is a judgement for Christians, apart from those who die without Christ as Lord. “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.
If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?”
Victory Over Death
The Bible says, “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57) This passage talks about the day when Christians will get a resurrected body and will have a body which will live forever. There is another passage of Scripture which gives the hope of being with the Lord when our bodies pass into physical death. The Apostle Paul in writing about “Awaiting the New Body” wrote, “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8) The certainty of physical death being defeated is by having faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord births forth the fact of living forever with God and Christ Jesus.
Destination Preparation
Jesus taught Nicodemus an absolute truth, one should examine himself so he can determine their final destination. “Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. …you must be born again.” (John 3:3;7b) This truth completely changes how we live, which eventually leads us to our permanent destination. Therefore, it is imperative we have a Biblical understanding on being born again. The Bible tells us to “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you – unless, of course you fail the test.” (2 Corinthians 13:5) The Biblical truth on born again is, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27)
Born “again” (????e? ánothen) “being from God, from above. Meaning it only comes from God.” (Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.)
Until you are born-again, you are spiritually dead. You may even attend church, use church language, and hang out with professing Christians. But unless you are born-again it is like dressing a corpse in clean, fresh clothing. God alone can give physical life when you are born, and God alone can give spiritual life to you in what Jesus calls being born-again.
When God supernaturally gives you a heart of flesh and puts His Spirit in you, you become sensitive and alive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Only then are you able to determine and do the will of God. Once the Holy Spirit of God has entered your spiritual heart to implant the life of Christ within you, you will never be the same! Guaranteed!
Is your spiritual heart hungry to know the will of God for you? Are you hungry to know God’s truth while being exposed to a world view and the lies of the devil? Is there a prompting of the Holy Spirit moving you to seek God’s truths? Does the Holy Spirit confirm in you that you are a child of God?
Our Last Testimonial on Earth
Physical death will come, especially if the Lord continues to hold off His return. Christians need not let the world view dictate what their funeral message should be. In Luke we read of a passage of Scripture which lays it out in away Christians get an understanding of the importance of the Gospel being proclaimed above burying the dead. We read, “And Jesus said… ‘Follow Me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:60) “e?pe? d? a?t?, ?fe? t??? ?e????? ???a? t??? ?a?t?? ?e?????, s? d? ?pe???? d????e??e t?? ßas??e?a? t?? ?e??” (Luke 9:60)
Many scholars translate this as a figurative reference, “Let those who are spiritually dead take care of their own dead.” (Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 403). New York: United Bible Societies.) Frances, R.T. says, “This is a description of those outside the disciple-group as lacking spiritual life, “Let them bury the dead.” (France, R. T. (1994). Matthew. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 915). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.) It as plain as this, those whose job is to bury the dead, even if they are spiritually dead, have them do it. Christians are to make sure the message of God’s salvation is proclaimed. (Barbieri, L. A., Jr. (1985). Matthew. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 38). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.; Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 1651). Peabody: Hendrickson.
Overseers’ of Our Burial
It is a blessing to have those who have a reverent fear of the Lord make the arrangements for your funeral. It’s like having those in the ministry oversee the burial of those who passed on who were in the ministry of the Word. If someone was faithful in their service to the Lord, it’s a blessing to have those who are faithful in their service make the arrangements. Let us read of what God did for Jesus, “Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus. …He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.” (John 19:38-19)
We are bound by regulations and law to bury our family according to the customs of our day. If possible, it is a powerful statement to the community to have those who know the truths of salvation and are followers of Christ be in charge of our burial.
Nicodemus was given instructions by Jesus on what it means to be born again, and that people must be born again if they want to live an eternal life with Christ now, and in heaven. Joseph of Arimathea, “He was said to be rich (Matt 27:57), an important member of the Sanhedrin (Mark 15:43; Luke 23:50) who apparently was both a good and righteous person (Luke 23:50) and one who lived with the expectation of God fulfilling the promise of the coming of the kingdom (Mark 15:43; Luke 23:51). Beyond these descriptions he was also said to be a disciple of Jesus…” (Matt 27:57; John 19:38) – (Borchert, G. L. (2002). John 12–21 (Vol. 25B, p. 279). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Christians may have to work with funeral homes to meet the different burials laws, but they can expect and seek out those who know the truths of God to make arrangements. They can make sure there is Christian music which glorifies Christ being played at their life celebration. They can ask born again servants to make sure their obituaries glorify the Lord by:
1.) First make a statement which states they have through repentance trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. (John 1:12; 20:31; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30; 20:21)
2.) They had exercised their Holy Spirit gifts through sacrificial love for the good of Jesus Christ, the Body of Christ and for the good of mankind. (1 Corinthians 12-14:3)
3.) They make the way for people to become a disciple of Christ. (Matthew 28:19)
Christian Testimonial Guide
Questions for Christians
Do you know and trust in Christ as Savior and Lord?
What is your Holy Spirit Gifts?
Have you exercised them through sacrificial love?
How have you helped in the Great Commission?
What is your Favorite Scripture and Christian Music?
Married to:
Children / Grand-children / Great Grand-children:
Family:
Deceased Family Members:
Jobs, Careers, Positions:
Hobbies / Poem:
Secular Music / Movies:
Community Service / Clubs:
Memorials:
What do you want people to know or learn?
