CREMATION and BURIAL in the Bible: Book of Amos Bible Study 13

turn with me if you would to the Book of Amos chapter 2 verses 1 through 3 and as you're turning there let me remind you that we're in the second section of the book which is the pronouncement of judgment upon 8 different nations 6 of those nations are heathen nations or what we would call Gentile nations the other two are Judah in Israel now in chapter 2 verses 1 through 3 amos pronounces judgment upon the Moabites and as most of you know the Moabites were distant relatives to the israelites you see the Moabites were descendants of lot which was Abraham's nephew so the Moabites and the israelites were related to each other and because of that that God gave the Israelites specific information he told them that he was giving land to the Moabites and to leave them alone and not to go inside their land stay out of their land look with me if you would in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 2 verse 9 and I'll show you what I'm talking about the Lord warned us do not bother the Moabites the descendants blood or start a war with them now that's interesting because Israel did not start wars with Moabites but they had wars with the Moabitess why because the Moabites would starts the wars with them if you remember the story of Balaam and Balak well who's the king of the Moabites that asked him to come in and to curse them it's also their ladies or their women that they sent out said well if you want God to turn against them have your pretty young women go there have sexual relations with them get them to worship your gods and God will turn against them so the Moabites were always jealous of the Israelites and we're always doing raiding parties and certain things like that just like their brothers the ammonites so he told them though don't start a war with them I have given them are as their property and I will not give you any of their land so God is not someone who just plays favorites and says the Jews are my chosen people and I'm only going to favor them no God is just and fair towards everyone and when judgment does come it's because it's well deserved in fact the reason that the Israelites were in bondage for 400 years is because the sin of the amorite was not yet full in other words God would not have judgment come upon them until they had done so many wicked things that judgment deserve default and that's why when the children of Israel came into the lane land of Canaan they did what they did it's because that was God's judgment now God is Justin very did the same thing with the Israelites that's why the Assyrians came in and then 722 BC and took the northern kingdom captive and carried them into captivity why because God doesn't play favorites he did the same thing with the house of Judah the Babylonians came they destroyed Jerusalem destroyed the temple they were carried into captivity but God is always faithful if he says he's going to bless the nation but that nation does evil what does he do he repents of the good that he blessed or the blessing that he pronounced upon them and he brings judgment but if he judges or pronounces judgment on the nation and that nation repents then God repents right God is always Justin fair so he gave this land to the Moabites and he told the Israelites to stay out of the land don't start a war with them so let's look at the judgment that Amos pronounced upon Moab we're in chapter 2 and let's begin with verse 1 thus saith the Lord for three transgressions of Moab man for four I will not turn away the punishment thereof because he burned the bones of the king of Edom in the lime now once again Amos begins his pronouncement of judgment with the common Hebrew ISM for three transgressions and for four and by now you should know what that means it means that Moab was guilty of a multitude of sins and the sins had filled the cup of God's wrath to the brim but this last sin had caused the cup of God's wrath to overflow and now God's wrath could not be stopped so what was the fourth sin that caused the cup of God's wrath to overflow well according to Amos and verse number one Moab burned the bones of the king of Edom in other words they desecrated the dead by cremating the body of one of their enemies so as you might have guessed we're going to talk about cremation tonight and what the Bible has to say about it and it's kind of interesting I mentioned this about two or three months ago and since that time I've had several emails I've had several people stop me and say could you tell me what the Bible says about cremation and I would say no you'll have to come on a Wednesday night or wait until like teach on it and watch it online but tonight we're going to talk about cremation and what the Bible has to say about it but first let's talk about this particular incident according to some scholars this is an allusion to 2nd Kings chapter three verses 26 through 27 everyone knows what an illusion is right an illusion is a reference to something without mentioning it explicitly in other words it's an indirect reference now if you don't know about that incident or you're not familiar with it you don't pick it up on the illusion you don't pick up on the fact that they're referencing that particular incident well the incident that Amos is referring to is the one that's mentioned in The Book of Kings or 2nd Kings chapter 3 verses 26 and 27 now before we read those two verses let me give you a little background information to set the stage Moab was a tributary to Israel during the reign of King hey AB but when Ahab died they rebelled and they refused to pay tribute so Israel formed an alliance with Judah and Edom and they went to war with Moab and they decided to attack Moab from the south through the wilderness of Edom which meant that they had to go down and around the Dead Sea which took them about seven days well they had three armies a lot of men and of course they brought all of these supplies but after seven days they ran out of water so they were in big trouble with three armies stuck out in the wilderness with no water so they asked if there was a prophet in one of the persons who was there who was actually maybe an attendant to one of the generals he said Elisha the Trop prophet is with us he's travelling with us so they sent for Elijah and Elisha told the king of Israel that if it wasn't for the king of Judah he wouldn't give him the time of day because he had no respect for him but because of his respect for King Jehoshaphat he would ask the Lord so he told them to bring someone who could play a harp and they did and as the heart was playing the Spirit of God came upon Elijah and he began to prophesy and he told the kings to dig ditches in the valley that they were camped in because the Lord was going to fill up those ditches with water supernaturally it wouldn't rain and it wouldn't be dude that brought up that water and it wouldn't be that as they were digging that water would come up from the ground but God would make water come supernaturally and sure enough the next morning about the time that the temple sacrifice was being made in the temple in Jerusalem about that time the water suddenly appeared and it says it was flowing from the direction of Edom literally coming down the valley but you would have been able to see a storm and there was no storm so all of a sudden this water comes from the direction of Edom and it fills up all of the ditches now the Moabites had heard that Israel Judah and Edom were marching against them so they went out to meet them and they stationed themselves along the border and the next morning they looked out over the valley where Israel Judah and Edom were camped and they saw the water in the ditches but the way the Sun was shining on it it looked like blood so they came to the conclusion that maybe is renewed and Edom had turned on each other and they had slain each other wiped each other out so they rushed down to their camp to collect the plunder and in their excitement they didn't rush down as an army that if they went down they're running there was no military alignment as a result of that when they rushed into the camp the Israelites came out of their tents and they caught the Moabites by surprise and they started killing them so the Moabites turned to retreat but the Israelites were right on their heels chasing them and the Moabites has never had any chance to set up any type of defense so the Israelites wiped out all of their cities except for one Karara Seth and the Moabites tried to make a stand there but when it looked like the city was going to fall they mounted a counter-attack and the king of Moab was 700 men tried to break through the line but the held strong and the line didn't break so the Moabites had to retreat back to the city but in the process they had captured the king of Edom son and several other captives and when they got back inside the city they killed the king son upon the walls of the city and they burned his body like you would have burnt offering they literally cremated him in front of his father but the reason they did that was because the peg nations believe that if you cremated a person skeletal remains they wouldn't be resurrected instead they would be eternally damned well the king of edom blamed the Israelites for his son's death because they are the ones that called and said form this alliance with us and if they wouldn't have won this alliance his son wouldn't have had to die so they were driven withdrew from the battle when they withdrew from the battle then Judah withdrew from the battle so Israel was forced to pack up its bags in to head home and that's where we pick up the story in second Kings chapter three verses 26 through 27 notice what it says when the king of Moab saw that he was losing the battle he led 700 of his swordsman in a desperate attempt to break through the enemy's lines near the king of Edom but they failed then the king of Moab took his oldest son now here's what's interesting in the original Hebrew it's not clear that when it says he took his oldest son is it referring to the Moabites king's oda son or is it referring to the king of Edom choda son that's important I'll explain why in just a minute but it says then the king of Moab took his oldest son who would have been the next king and I'll just be honest with you king of Edom and he sacrificed him as a burnt offering on the wall so there was a great anger against Israel not Moab and the Israelites withdrew and returned to their own land now not everyone agrees that Amos is referring to this incident or to the way that I interpret first king or second Kings chapter 3 verses 26 and 27 but many do because it's based on the notes of the targum how many of you know what the target is the targum is an ancient Aramaic paraphrase or interpretation of the Hebrew Bible you see when the Jews were carried into captivity they actually lost their ability to speak Hebrew the only ones that really spoke Hebrew were what were known as the scribes that's why in Jesus day they were so well respected it was described as it was the lawyers it was the rabbis who had learned Hebrew knew Hebrew but Jesus of course he knew Hebrew because he was a rabbi but Jesus actually spoke an aramaic and so did all of his decide and so did all of the scribes that was the common language of the day bat or Greek they didn't actually speak in Hebrew so about a century before Jesus Christ actually going all the way back three or four centuries before Jesus Christ you had what was known as the targum what you would do instead of reading the Bible in Hebrew you read it in Aramaic and it had notes there were paraphrases and if you study the targum it says that this is an allusion to the story in 2nd Kings chapter 3 verses 26 through 27 but not only that this is the only interpretation that makes sense and let me explain why let's suppose that America was fighting against Isis in Syria that we were actually doing that because we didn't blow out and we chased Isis all the way to a city and they were holed up in this city and all of a sudden they brought out the ISIS leader the Calif brought out his own son and he chopped off his head he held up his head and put it on a spear would that make us want to go home no we would look at that and we would say see these people are animals this is why we need to take the city well it's the same thing if the Moabite King would have taken his own son would have taken to the pond the wall of the city and killed him and then offered him as a burnt sacrifice you know what the king of Edom the king of Judah and the king of Israel would have done they would have said see they deserved to be punished and they would have been that much more adamant about taking the city but what happened is when they sacrificed this son all the others got upset with Israel and they went home but the reason they got upset with Israel is because the reason Edom was there the reason Judah was there was because of Israel and when they captured as the targum says the king of Edom son and they brought him up on the wall and they offered him as a burnt offering here's the king of the eat and he's looking up there and this is his firstborn son who's gonna be the next king and they literally cremate his body on the walls and he turns to Israel he's upset and he leaves so basically it's the only interpretation that makes sense and if you reading the original Hebrew you can't tell whether it's referring to the Moabite son or the son of the king of Edom and it only makes sense when you the targum who it's talking about but here's my point let's not get caught up in that that is the real interpretation but let's not get caught up in that Moab's sin that caused the cup of God's wrath to overflow was cremating the body of one of their enemies which in God's eyes is considered to be desecrating the dead you see from a biblical perspective cremation is reserved for those who are cursed by God it's reserved for those who have committed some type of sin that's brought God's judgment upon them in fact that's why they're being cremated they were cursed by God in life and now they're being cursed by God in death and to signify that their body is being desecrated by fire their body is being cremated now let me give you some examples so you understand the mentality in the Old Testament why Amos had prophesied this in Joshua chapter 7 how many of you remember the story of a king and AI Aiken had broken the Covenant of the Lord by stealing what was supposed to be set apart for God but he so as a result of this when they they sent these men out to AI they were supposed to take this city very easily but instead God wasn't with them and as a result many of their men died and so they came back and they asked Lord what's the deal he says someone has stolen when I commanded them not to take and as a result of that I'm not with you and of course you know the store they went through this process until they found out that it was akin now here's the interesting thing because of what Aiken had done he was burned by fire along with all of his possessions look at Joshua chapter 7 verse 15 says the one who has stolen what was set apart for destruction will himself be burned with fire along with everything he has for he has broken the cover of the Lord has done a horrible thing in Israel you see fire is symbolic of God's judgment so to cremate a body is symbolic of God's judgment following a person in death in Leviticus chapter 21 verse number 9 the punishment for a priest daughter engaging in prostitution is death by consuming fire and the phrase consuming fire means to burn the body including the bones so it involves cremation symbolizing God's judgment following them into eternity look at Leviticus chapter 21 verse number 9 this is the scripture I'm referring to if a priests daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute she also defiles her father's holiness now there's a great lesson in this I'm not going to go into this but our children represent our family name and we're not teaching our children that I can remember growing up and my dad would say when we went out your a Nolan and when you get out there you represent the nolan name don't you get out there and drag our name through the mud well some of his descendants did that but anyways this is what this is talking about he said if the priests daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute she also defiles her father's holiness and she must be burned to death now the word burned is translated from the Hebrew word saw wrath and it means to burn up or to completely burn and that's why it refers to a consuming fire it burns even the bones in other words what this word saw wrath means it means they are to be burned alive and the fire supposed to be consuming where they're cremated and let me give you a couple of other verses and then we'll move on so you understand what we're talking about look at Leviticus chapter 20 verse 14 if a man marries both a woman and her mother he has committed a wicked Act the man and both women must be burned to death to wipe out such wickedness from among you and of course the word burned is translated from the same Hebrew word saw wrath which means to burn effort to completely burn bones and all now look at numbers chapter 16 verse number 35 then the fire blazed forth from the Lord and burned up the 250 men who were offering incense and of course this is a response to chorus rebellion if you remember the story but it's God's judgment coming upon them so as you can see from a biblical perspective cremation was reserved for those who were cursed by God it was reserved for those who had committed such a horrible crime some type of crime that God's judgement had to come upon them and it symbolized God's judgment following them into eternity so why did the Israelites bury their dead because many of the pagans around them cremated their dead why did the Israelites always bury their dead well they buried their dead because they believed in the resurrection of the body and that included all Jews with the exception of one group what group did that exclude anyone know how did Paul when he came before the Sanhedrin how did he turn them against each other he said I believe in the resurrection of the Dead and there were two groups in there there were Pharisees and Sadducees so all Jews believed in the resurrection of the Dead except for one group in that group was the Sadducees good job good answer was not a trick question see in fact the Sadducees were the only sect in all of Judaism that didn't believe in the resurrection of the body but even they would not cremate their dead because again that symbolized being eternally damned and they didn't want to take the chance that if there was a resurrection of the body that they were eternally damned they didn't want to take the chance that God's judgment would follow them into eternity now why did the Jews believe in the resurrection of the Dead or the resurrection of the body they believed in it because it's taught in the scriptures in fact let me give you three scriptures in the Old Testament that mentioned specifically the resurrection of the body people I want you to understand something I believe that when Jesus returns my mother's body will be resurrected reunited with their soul and if I'm alive when that occurs then my body is going to be transformed if I die when the rat died before the rapture occurs then my body will be resurrected the Jews believe that and let me give you three scriptures in the Old Testament that specifically mentions that look at job chapter 19 verses 25 through 27 now most people don't understand the book of Job in fact they don't even know what the major theme is so let me explain what the major theme is the major theme of the book of Job is that we're saved by grace not by works any man should boast you see job was caught up like everyone else that God blessed the righteous but he punished the wicked therefore if you were righteous then God would bless you so he did everything in his power to try to earn the rewards of God he offered sacrifices every day and then he thought to himself maybe my children might have sinned in a case they've sinned I need to offer a sacrifice for them so he was always trying by works to earn favor with God and he thought by his works he would be righteous and get to go to heaven and this is the whole story because midway through the book the first thing he comes to there's great conclusion is I'm not righteous no man can be righteous I need a redeemer and yet the 90% of the pastors who teach the book of Job don't even know what the major theme is well this is very important because I want you to notice the conclusion that job comes to this isn't joke chapter 19 verses 35 or 25 through 27 this is a wonderful passage of Scripture and you need to underline it in your Bible anytime you turn to the book of Job it should be highlighted so you can see it so you can point it out to people notice what it says but as for me I know that my redeemer lives up until this time he didn't know that he needed a redeemer he thought by his works he could earn his way to heaven but finally he got to the point and realized I'm a sinner I need a redeemer and gods even had this conversation with him but he comes to this point he says but as for me I know that my redeemer lives and that he will stand upon the earth at last in other words at the last day in other words he's coming back and after my body has decayed in the grave yet in my body I will see God who is this Redeemer he's God one person two substances you want to know what the Trinity is three persons one substance you want to know what the Messiah is one person two substances both God and both man but he says I will see God I will see him for myself yes I will see him with my own eyes I am Oh found at the thought forgot all about everything that had been taken from me thought I forgot all about the condition that he was in the thing that overwhelmed him was he came to the conclusion that his redeemer lived and the last days he would stand his body would be resurrected and he would see him now people the book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible the predates Genesis Genesis was written by Moses and Jobe was actually written before Moses time and yet it promises the resurrection of the body notice the jaw job said that even after his body had decayed in the grave he would come back to life to see God in the last days and he would see him with his own two eyes his eyes his body now look at Isaiah chapter 26 verse number 19 but those who died in the Lord and notice this word Lord it's all caps what does that tell you this is translated from the Hebrew word Yahweh which is the redeeming covenant-keeping Name of God it's only used by those who are in covenant with him notice what it says but those who die in the Lord in other words in a covenant with this God through Jesus Christ will live their bodies will rise again those who sleep in the earth in other words buried will rise up and sing for joy for your life-giving light the holy spirit will fall like dew on your people in the place of the dead can it be any clearer those who die in the Lord will live their bodies will rise again it explicitly states that it stated in such a way that it doesn't matter how you interpret it from the original language you come to the very same conclusion those who die in the Lord will live again their bodies will be resurrected now look at Daniel chapter 12 verse 2 says those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace people do you see that those who bought whose bodies lie dead and buried will be resurrected that's what that phrase rise that means in the Hebrew will come to life again some will rise to everlasting life some will rise everlasting destruction or judgment but every person's body will be resurrected everyone's even the wicked and they will stand before God at the great white throne judgment to be judged for everything that they've done and those those deeds are written in the books and because their name is not written in the book of life they're thrown into the lake of fire and they don't burn up because they're given an immortal body and for all eternity they have to suffer the destruction in the judgment of God the people every person's body will be resurrected so the Jews buried their dead in expectation of the resurrection let me say that again the Jews always buried their dead in expectation of the resurrection and the only exception to that was if someone committed a committed a grievous sin that deserved death by fire in other words cremation in those specific cases they not only died by fire but their body was consumed by fire as we would say cremated and they had a phrase for that they called it a consuming fire because it not only burned their body but it actually consumed the bones now if you know anything about cremation you know that the bones will only burn so far but at that point then they would take the rest of the bones that weren't to burn completely even in cremation today and they have to pound them into ashes or just the people cremation was symbolic it symbolized the eternal fires of judgment or in other words God's judgment following them into eternity now of course the New Testament also teaches the resurrection of the body Jesus himself taught that at the rapture the dead in Christ would be resurrected and those who were alive at that time would never die because their bodies would be transformed turn with me if you would to John chapter 11 verses 25 and 26 and let me say this if you've ever heard a pastor say that Jesus never taught on the rapture they don't know what they're talking about they need to study the Bible blows my mind that pastors actually make the comment that Jesus did not teach thought teach the rapture he did in John chapter 11 he alludes to it now of course this is Lazarus funeral jesus was a close personal friend with Lazarus Martha and Mary Lazarus was the brother Martha Mary were sisters they lived in a town that was right next to Jerusalem in fact if you ever go to Jerusalem and you go up to the Mount of Olives you look down on the old city of Jerusalem but you I also want you to go through the seven arches hotel that used to be the palace of the Jordanian king when they had that part before 1967 but you can ask them to go through their Lobby and when you go through the lobby go to the back of it and then you're standing on the other side of the Mount of Olives as it goes down there's where they lived and every time that Jesus came to Jerusalem he stayed with them he was a close personal friend they always got to host Jesus and His disciples well of course when Lazarus got sick and it looked like he wasn't getting better and it looked like he was going to die they sent this urgent message to Jesus and they said you need to come quick Lazarus is dying and Jesus didn't do it he just kind of stays around and piddles around until finally he looks as disciples and says let us go Lazarus is sleeping in his disciples go oh he's sleeping that means he's going to get better but Jesus was talking about his death he's died now now we can go and when he gets there Mary and Martha are mad at him because they know if he would have came when they first called for him he would have came before he died but Jesus purposely didn't do that so he's talking to Martha and his son he told her look in verses 25 and we'll read two to verse 26 Jesus told her talking to Martha I am the resurrection and the life those are not synonyms I'll say that again in a minute anyone who believes in Me will live even after dying everyone who is living and believes in me will never ever die do you believe this Martha now when Jesus says I am the resurrection life most people think those are two synonyms but they're not they are two different things so I want you to notice what Jesus saying first of all he's saying that those who believe in him and have died will be resurrected because he's the resurrection now of course this is an illusion this is an indirect reference he's not stating it explicitly but is an allusion to the rapture he's saying at the time of the rapture all the Christians who have died will be resurrected because I'm the resurrection they won't be resurrected until I come back we're gonna see that in 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 but when I come back everyone who's died who believes in Me will be resurrected on the resurrection secondly he says those who are living at that time will never die that's what he said go back and read it and those who are living who believe in me will never ever die why because when Jesus returns their bodies will be transformed that they're alive at that time so Jesus alluded to the rapture in John chapter 11 it's as clear as can be unless you don't know the incident that he's referring to the only time an illusion is not crystal clear is when you don't understand what it's referring to but once you understand the reference an illusion is this clearest can be and he's alluding to the rapture and this is exactly what Paul was talking about and 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 13 through 17 notice what it says and now dear brothers and sisters we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope let me tell you something it really bothered me when my mother died and I'll tell you the most horrible part I told my sister I wish it wouldn't been in the room but when she died we was there and we called Green Country funeral home and they come out and I knew this but I wasn't thinking so they came and they took the sheet and they wrapped her up if you've ever seen a dead person wrapped up is it very it's does my mom wrapped up and bothered me that a funeral I remembered that I don't grieve like those who have no hope let's keep reading verse 14 for since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again we also believe that when Jesus returns God will bring back with him the believers who have died my mother is with Jesus right now and when he returns she's coming back with him let's keep reading we tell you this directly from the Lord in other words Paul is saying Jesus himself taught me this when I was in the desert you want to know why Paul always said I'm an apostle you need to accept that it's because to be the type of apostle that he's talking about you had to have been seen by the Lord and taught by the Lord and the reason many people didn't accept Paul as an apostle because they said we didn't serve him when Jesus was alive and on this earth and he said you don't understand Jesus taught me he appeared to me on the road to Damascus but not only that when I went into the wilderness of Arabia the Lord taught me and this is what he's talking about these are some of the things the reason he had such a knowledge of the Bible and a knowledge of what he wrote is because the Lord directly told him and this is what he sang we tell you this directly from the Lord this is what the Lord told me we who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died for the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout and with the voice of the Archangel and with the trumpet call of God first the Christians who have died will rise from their graves wait a minute back in verse number 14 it says when Jesus returns God will bring back with him the believers who have died but here in verse number 16 it says first the Christian who died will rise from the grace what's the deal well here's the deal when you die your soul leaves your body your body is buried but your soul goes to be with the Lord in heaven so when Jesus comes back all of the souls that have died are coming back but they don't have a body so their body is going to rise from the grave and they're gonna reunite with their souls with Jesus Christ now let's keep reading then together with them we here are still alive because we're going to do this together well and remain on the earth we'll be caught up in the clouds so they're coming out from the grave and they're going up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air that's what it says then we will be with the Lord forever now you see that phrase caught up that's translated from the Greek word heart pad so it literally means to snatch in fact let me give you the best illustration to describe what this this phrase means or this word means harp adds up if you've ever had a little toddler and you know you're chasing them around and they're just running from you and you're trying to act like you're running after them you know they're all excited and you grab them pick them up and then you throw them in the air anyone ever done that and you catch them that's what harpazo means it means to snatch up and throw on up and that's what it says we're going to be caught up to in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air now look at first Corinthians chapter 15 verses 50 to 53 53 so let's talk about what happens to us that are alive at this time when we're snatched up to meet the Lord in the air notice what it says it will happen in a moment in the blink of an eye actually that's not what we think it means in the original Greek it doesn't mean in the blink of an eye when you blink your eye you go well I can kind of see that boom actually and the Greek it means the time it takes a light to hit the retin and boom hit it it's so much faster than that it's like it's gonna happen boom and you're gone and no one even sees it how many have ever had a mouse in your house never had a mouse in your house if you live next to a field it doesn't matter how good your house is those mice they can flatten themselves so they can get in I don't know how they do it but if you ever see a mouse in your house the way that you see it is it's like I have a corner of your eye there's like a little shadow ever notice that you go got a mouse rarely do you go oh I saw every once in a while you see those brave little things because you've been feeding them well so we have the tendency to think in the blink of an eye it's like we're gonna kind of see it every one they always constrict no they're gone you didn't even see it in the blink of an eye in the blink of an eye when the last trumpet is blown most of you don't know what that means the rapture is not gonna happen this year maybe next year the last Trump refers to the Feast of Trumpets no one knows the day nor the hour and I'll teach on that but every day every year and you guys don't know this I get all excited when the Feast of Trumpets comes because this might be the year now we're getting ready for Yom Kippur so maybe it's 2017 but anyways from the Trump that sounds those who have died will be raised to live forever and we who are living will also be transformed great word for our dying buddy bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies now notice what Paul says here at the end of verse 452 he says and we her living will also be transformed that word transformed is translated from the Greek word Allah so and it means to change from one thing into another and to a completely different thing so what Paul is saying is that our bodies are going to be changed from a mortal body into an immortal body from a corn carnal fleshly body into a glorified body a body that will never die a body that's outside of this dimension but can operate in this dimension now Paul gives us a little more detail about this transformation in Philippians chapter 3 verses 20 through 21 notice what he says but we are citizens of heaven where the Lord Jesus Christ lives you guys need to realize something I'm so upset over this election we are not citizens of America's Christians yes we're here we're loyal to this because that's what the Bible teaches that you're loyal to your nation you're loyal to those who are in charge but you need to understand something you are citizens notice this you are citizens of heaven and the standard that you're supposed to keep is supposed to line up at the Word of God and if your political party does not line up with the Word of God then you need to get out of that political Park and I will not back down from that and let me tell you I'm just as disgusted about the Republican Party as I can be but I will tell you this I'm a citizen of heaven where the Lord Jesus Christ lives and that's where I'm going to live for eternity and then it goes further we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior he will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own what type of body his resurrected body using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control well we don't even understand what that means everything's gonna revert back to the way it was before the fall according to the book of Ephesians here in Philippians he tells us how when Jesus returns he's going to use this same power in which he's going to revert everything back to the way it was before the fall to transform our bodies now I want you to notice what Paul is saying he's saying that when the rapture occurs our bodies are going to be changed from weak mortal bodies into glorious bodies just like his body whose body the Lord's body his resurrected body so as you can see the New Testament explicitly states in black and white that our bodies will be resurrected when Jesus returns and it will be like Jesus body when he was resurrected you could feel him Thomas touched me you could recognize him they saw that it was the Lord but also they would be in a locked room with doors and windows locked and all of a sudden he was there and appeared in them he appeared into them almost a dozen times during those 40 days and it was like he would be there and he would be standing there with them and he'd be teaching them and talking with them and then all of a sudden they he'd be gone it's like our body's gonna be like that it's gonna be very handy when we're here on the Millennium and we want to go home to our city in Jerusalem the New Jerusalem anyways now throughout history Christians have continually referred to death as sleeping and let me explain why you need to understand this because even today most of you have no understanding of why we do what we do when people die when a person sleeps their body is at rest but their mind is still active in fact their mind continues to work and people that's why they dream but eventually their body wakes up and their mind and body begin working together as one tonight you're gonna go home you're gonna go to sleep your body is going to rest I'm not saying that your body doesn't fidget but if you're like my wife she lays there all night long in one position her body is in rest but her mind continues to work and she has these dreams but when her body wakes up her mind and body begins to work together again now that's a good analogy to what happens at death at death the so separates from the body and it goes to be with the Lord the word says that to be absent from the body is to be present with who the Lord so at death the soul leaves the body to go to be with the Lord and it's still active in other words our soul still functions in the same way that it did when it was on the earth in fact all of your senses will continue to work you'll still be able to see to hear to touch to taste and to smell you'll be able to think you'll be able to fit to reason and you'll be able to feel emotions just as you do while you're here on this earth the only thing is you won't have a physical body because the body has ceased to function and it's resting in the grave until it's time to wake up and when it's time to wake up the body and the soul will reunite and begin working together one more time except this time you've got a different body you've got an immortal glorified body a body that will never die and that's why the Bible and the early Christians referred to death as sleeping as you're reading through the book of Corinthians over and over again Paul will say and those who have fallen asleep and you're like what what he means is those who have died but he refers to it asleep because it's so analogous to death but that's why the Bible and their recurrence is referred to death is sleeping in fact do you know where we get the word cemetery anyone know where we get the word cemetery this is a horrible shame that you don't know that Christians refer to their burial places as a cemetery 'im which is Latin for a sleeping place it's the early Christians that referred to the places that were you were buried as a cemetery 'im and it literally means a sleeping place because for Christians that's where the bodies go to sleep because they believe that the dead were asleep until the resurrection day at which time their body would wake up and be reunited with their soul and of course they base this on Isaiah 2619 read that verse again but those who die in the Lord well if their bodies will rise again those who sleep in the earth in other words buried their dead those who sleep in the earth will wake up and sing for joy for your life-giving light the Holy Spirit will fall like dew on your people in the place of the Dead Wow so bearing the dead was very important to the early church in cremation was anathema to them Jesus was buried in anticipation of his resurrection and we're supposed to follow his example in fact I want you to turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 15 verses 1 through 4 if you ever want to know what the gospel is just memorize 1st Corinthians 15 1 through 4 don't he had to memorize the words this is just where the gospel is defined what is the gospel well Paul tells us let's read verses 1 through 4 let me remind you dear brothers and sisters of the good news I preached to you before that we're good news is gospel you welcomed it then and you still stand firm in it is this gospel that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you unless of course you believe in something that was never true in the first place I passed on to you what was most important and what has also been passed on to me here's the gospel defined Christ died for our sins just as the scripture said he was buried and he was raised from the dead on the third day just as the scripture said now in verses 3 and 4 as I said Paul defined the gospel Christ died for our sins he was buried and he was raised on the third day people that's the gospel but I want you to notice that Jesus burial is included as part of the gospel why because his burial anticipated his resurrection in fact when Peter was preaching to the crowd on the day of Pentecost when they all gathered because they saw this phenomenon he quoted Psalm 16:10 and this is what he said in Acts chapter 2 verse 27 people this is a direct quote from Psalms chapter 16 10 this is what he said in his sermon acts 2:27 for you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your Holy One Holy One is a reference to the Christos the Messiah or your holy one to rot in the grave now who's the holy one Jesus Jesus that's what we call in Jesus Christ Christ means The Anointed One the Holy One the Messiah that's not his name that's his title Jesus is his name Christ is his title when we say Jesus we say Jesus the Messiah the Christ the Son of God the enlightened one the holy one so Jesus was buried in anticipation of his resurrection so as Christians the reason we're buried is because we're in anticipable we're anticipating our body being resurrected and reunited with or so in fact people that's what baptism is all about if you go to this baptism class I don't know what Rocky's going to teach on you know I'm sure it's gonna be biblical but you need to understand what baptism is baptism is a public confession that you believe in the resurrection of the body let me tell you in the early church it was almost a three-year process just to make sure that you understood everything before you were baptized it didn't change until constantine came in and everyone started flooding in and there's so many converse they couldn't wait that long so if you got saved you got baptized well it wasn't like that in the early church because you had all this persecution had to make sure that everyone's a believer so when you came in to get baptized here's the thing that you understood based on your profession of Jesus Christ and I asked you three questions I'll just kind of tell you what the three questions I asked it goes along with it but Tertullian tells us all of this if you ever read the early church fathers did you believe in Jesus do you believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God I do do you believe that Jesus died for your sins and was resurrected I do do you believe that you will be resurrected and live with him one day I do based on your profession of faith in Christ Jesus i baptize you in the name of Jesus in the name of the Father Son and the Holy Spirit buried in Christ resurrected a new life but what the baptism meant was you believed that if you died in Christ just as he was buried and resurrected you're buried with him but in Christ one day when he returns you're coming into new life as well baptism is all about it's a public profession that you believe in the resurrection of the body because of what Jesus has done now does that mean that those who have been cremated won't be resurrected no that doesn't mean that at all you think once the Roman authorities understood what Christians believed about the resurrection they started cremating their bodies the bodies of those they put to death let me read from Eusebius book the history of the church in fact how many you-know-who Eusebius is or was he's dead he was the bishop of Caesarea he was born in 260 a day he's actually the very first church historian and let me read what he says about what the Roman authorities started doing once they found out why Christians had to be buried and couldn't be cremated here's what they did I'm old I need glasses but even this was enough to satisfy their maniac Oh cruelty goaded on by Satan they threw to the dogs those who had been strangled in jail watching day and night that we did not tend to them then they threw out the remains left by the beasts in the fire torn and charred while the military guard watched the heads and the trunks of the rest for many days denying them burial some gnash their teeth that their mothers laughed and jeered glorified their idols for punishing their foes the more moderate with little sympathy taunted where is their God and what did they get out of their religion yeah Eagle fingers which they preferred to their own lives we however greatly grieved at not being able to bury their bodies after they were exposed and insulted for six days the martyrs bodies were burned to ash in other words cremated and swept by the wicked into the Rome which flows nearby so that not even a trace of them would still appear on earth they did this as if to conquer God and defeat the rebirth so that as they said they might not have any hope of resurrection because of which they have introduced a strange new cult ignored torture and gone joyfully to death now let's see if they will rise again and if their God will save them see they understood why Christians were buried and they weren't cremated like them so when they started murdering them they wouldn't have the bodies and then cremate him and the reason they cremated them is they said let's see if they can be resurrected and so now you had this question in the church if you're cremated so when the Roman authorities started cremating the bodies the martyrs the church totus members don't worry about it they can't stop the resurrection listen to what Marcus Manutius Felix wrote he's one of the anti Nicene Fathers let me read what he wrote and this was the response to the members of the church because they were being cremated and they believed in the resurrection of the body so he said this do you think that if anything is was drawn from our feeble eyes that perishes to God every body whether it is dried up into dust or is dissolved into moisture or is compressed into ashes because they were grinding up their bones to make sure that they could throw them into the rivers or as attention into smoke is withdrawn in other words cremated is withdrawn from us but it is reserved for God in the custody of the elements nor she believed do we fear any loss from sempeter but we adopt the ancient and better customs of bearing in the earth see therefore how far our constellation all nature suggests a future resurrection basically he's telling them don't worry about it God will resurrect you you go ahead you stand firm in fact here's the bottom line burial is God's Way the Christian Way of honoring the dead and anticipating the resurrection it also it also follows Jesus example and it's and it's a witness to the world of our belief in the resurrection of the body 1st Corinthians chapter 15 won't be coming on the screen cuz I just thinking about it now 17 says if Christ not if Christ be not raised from the dead then you're still in your sin and let me explain the reasoning behind that if Christ was not resurrected and that means that maybe he was sinful so he actually died like everyone else or if Christ is not resurrected it means that he was sinless and died for us but as his sacrifice wasn't enough so he's still paying for it or it means that he was sinless he died for us but even though a sacrifice was good it was not enough to overcome sin and the consequences of sin so this world will never be reverted back of what Paul is saying is no doesn't mean that at all the reason Jesus Christ was physically resurrected because it shows it proves beyond a shove a doubt but he overcame sin and the consequences of sin which is death and that he has the power to restore everything back to the way it was before the fall the resurrection proves that and it's based on Leviticus 18 5 Paul quotes it in Romans chapter 2 in verse number 5 and it tells us that we will be resurrected now I'll be honest with you I see no problem with cremation for the unbeliever they're going to be resurrected - but it's a damnation why pay for a funeral and it's cheaper I know it's more expensive to bury but let me tell you what that witness is and let me tell you what's gonna be on my tombstone Lisa's always said this and you can give her a hard time because I've always told her no so just bury me in a pine box and throw me at the side of the road no way the Bible is always taught that we treat the death with respect because that's body is going to be resurrected the seed that goes in the earth that's gonna sprout up into an immortal body I'm not saying you go all out funerals are too expensive I don't care if it's cheap casket but I'm telling you when they put me and I'm gonna have a big tombstone and the reason I'm going to have a big tombstone is and someone comes to read my tombstone it's going to be first Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 13 through 17 about the rapture I want people to read it in the New Living Translation I want them to see when Jesus Christ returns then those who have died in Christ will return with him and I want them to see all of this and it talks about the rising from the grave and then I want on the other side of my tombstone says I will rise again and it's gonna be a witness to every one that I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ now let's get back to Amos because that's what we're talking about as I said the Moabites were guilty of a multitude of sins but the sin that caused God's were a cup of Wrath toe Flo was desecrating the dead they had cremated the body of one of their enemies and grounded in the lime and actually uses plaster inside the throne or the throne room of the King because what's better than showing that you've defeated your enemy then actually had their bones as part of the plaster so they cremated the body of one of their enemies which happened to the king of edom and for that judgment was coming upon them so look back at verses 2 & 3 and we'll close with this so I was send down fire on the land of Moab and all the fortresses and carry off will be destroyed the people will follow him the noise of battle and all and as the Warriors shout and the ram's horn sounds and I would destroy their King and slaughter all their princes says the Lord and people this was fulfilled by the Assyrians in the 8th century now if you're here tonight you never put your faith in Jesus let me just say this you will be resurrected one day you'll either be resurrected to eternal life and you'll be resurrected unto death you stand before God be judged and thrown into the lake of fire if you're here tonight you never receive Jesus that's your destiny but you can change it tonight by putting your faith in Jesus when everyone to bow their heads close your eyes if you want to receive Jesus I'm gonna give you the opportunity tonight you can put your faith in Jesus all you have to do is repeat this / after me here goes God I know I'm a sinner and I know that my sin has separated me from you but God I believe you loved me and because you loved me you sent your son Jesus to die for my sin and I believe that when Jesus died is so descended into hell to pay the penalty for my sin but I also believe that when all my sin was paid for you looked into hell and you saw so that had never sinned in fact you saw so that had fulfilled every aspect of the law and based on Leviticus 18 5 you raised Jesus from the dead Jesus I believe that you are the Redeemer job talked about Jesus I believe what you said to Martha that you are the resurrection and the life I believe that if I put my faith in you but on the day of the rapture my body will be resurrected unto everlasting life Jesus I'm putting my faith in you

Channel: Cornerstone Fellowship

Views: 22,766

Rating: 4.7304583 out of 5

Keywords: the bible and cremation, cremation vs burial, book of amos bible study, amos, prophetic literature, minor prophets, book of amos, minor prophet amos, cremation, bible prophecy, bible, israel, burial, funeral, old testament, what does the bible say about cremation, what does the bible say about cremation of a body, book of amos explained, book of amos cremation, burial vs cremation, christian cremation, book of amos summary, book of amos old testament, amos what does the bible say

Id: FySevMUIrZA

Length: 55min 44sec (3344 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 17 2018