What Is It Like to be a Soul Without a Body? Death 4

well this is the fourth week in our series on the subject of death and by now you should know that when a person dies dorso is temporarily separated from their body I say temporarily because one day their body is going to be resurrected and reunited with their soul but that doesn't happen until the resurrection now let me show you what I'm talking about look with me if you would in the book of first Thessalonians chapter 4 I'm gonna read verses 13 through 18 kind of give you a little commentary as I go if you don't mind says a 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 now what's sad is the majority of Christians don't know what happens when a person dies and so when they grieve they grieve like people who have no hope but as Christians we still grieve when we lose a loved one but we're not supposed to grieve like those who have no hope our hope is that one day we're going to see our loved ones again in heaven then it continues on 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 so everybody who's died and gone to heaven is going to come back with Jesus at the time of the rapture and why are they coming back with him well let's keep reading look at verse 15 we tell you this directly from the Lord we who are still living when the Lord returns will not need him ahead of those who have died for the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout with the voice of the Archangel with the trumpet call of God first the Christians who have died will rise from their graves now wait a minute I thought we just read in verse number 14 that when Christ returns all of those who are Christians and who have died are going to return with him so if the soldier are in heaven are returning with Jesus when he comes back why does it say that the Christians who have died will rise from their graves well it's because when a person dies their soul is temporarily separated from their body their body is buried begins to decompose but the so if they're a born-again believer goes to heaven to be with the Lord so at the rapture Jesus is going to come back and all of the souls of those who have died are coming back with him but the purpose of that is to be reunited with the body because it says here that the Christians who have died will rise from their graves in other words the bodies are going to be resurrected and reunited with us there so now what about those who were living at this time well he tells us in verse 17 then together with them we you are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air then we will be with the Lord forever so encourage each other with these words now I've drawn a timeline on this whiteboard several times and I'm gonna do it again this morning because I want you to be able to illustrate this or tell someone who doesn't know what happens to a person when they die so you can tell them this is what happens I'm gonna draw a little cross here and this is a timeline at the end of the timeline I'm gonna put a white throne judgment I've talked a little bit about what happens after that but there's going to be a thousand-year millennium period where Jesus will rule from the earth and before the Millennium there's a seven year period known as the tribulation now right before the tribulation if you are a pre-tribulation pre-tribulation astir is going to occur at this point if your mid-trib you believe it's going to happen in middle of the tribulation if your post-trib you believe the resurrection is going to take place after the tribulation but before the millennium but here's what happens when a person dies who's a Christian this is a little stick man his body goes into the ground it's buried I guess I should have done it sideways instead of upright but the soul goes to heaven to be with the Lord so you've got a separation of the soul from the body but God doesn't want it to be like that one day we're going to have a resurrected body just like Jesus Christ resurrected body so at the rapture Jesus is coming back to the air to sure those who are on the earth but all of the souls that are with him are coming and it says before those who are alive are going to be raptured those that are in the grave their bodies are going to be resurrected and reunited with their soul once more so as I said by now you should know that when a person dies their soul is temporarily separated from their body but it's only temporary because one day their body is going to be resurrected and reunited with their soul for believers the resurrection will occur at the rapture for unbelievers the resurrection will occur after the thousand year period but right before the white throne judgment so whether you're a believer or you're an unbeliever when you die your soul is temporarily separated from your body now this morning I want to talk about what it's like during that time period in which the soul is separated from the body what's it like for those who have died in their souls in heaven but their bodies in the ground waiting to be resurrected what's it like for those who have died and their soul is in hell but their body is in the ground are they aware of what's going on around them can they see what's happening can they feel pain since they don't have a physical body well that's what I want to talk about this morning so turn with me if you would to the Book of Luke chapter 16 we're gonna read verses 19 through 31 it's quite a lengthy passage of Scripture but I believe you need to hear all of it instead of me just picking and choosing so let's look at this parable that Jesus taught and Luke the sixteenth chapter Jesus said there was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores as Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich men's table the dogs would come and lick his open sores can Jesus paint a picture of what finally the poor man died and was carried by the Angels to be with Abraham the rich man also died and he was buried and a soul went to the place of the dead they're in torment he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side the rich men shouted father Abraham have some pity send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue I am in anguish in these flames but Abraham said to him son remember that during your lifetime you had everything that you ever wanted and Lazarus had nothing so now he is here being covered in you are in anguish and besides there's a great chasm separating us no one can cross over to you from here and no one can cross over to us from there then the rich man said please father Abraham at least send him to my father's home for I have five brothers and I want him to warn them so they don't end up in this place of torment but Abraham said Moses and the prophets have already warned them your brothers can read what they wrote the rich men replied no father Abraham but if someone is sent it to them from the dead then they will repent of their sins and turn to God but Abraham said if they won't listen to Moses and the prophets they won't listen even if someone rises from the dead now obviously this is a parable and a parable is a story that's used to illustrate certain spiritual truths in this case it's illustrating spiritual truths concerning the afterlife in other words what happens to a person when they die now remember that parables are allegorical in nature that means that the people things or events in the story have symbolic meaning now what's interesting about this parable is that in this parable the characters are symbolic but what the two men experienced in the afterlife is not symbolic did you catch that in other words in this parable the men are fictional but what they're experiencing is factual it's exactly what we're going to experience when we die so we actually get a first-hand look at what it's going to be like when we done now the two men in this parable symbol lies to different groups of people believers and unbelievers but as I said what these two groups experienced when they die is not symbolic Jesus is actually giving us insight into what it's going to be like in the afterlife depending upon which group that we're in so let's look at what Lazarus experienced and what the rich men experienced when they died but first let's find out what group Lazarus represents and what group the rich man represents even though it's pretty obvious Lazarus represents believers in fact the named Lazarus means God is my helper so Lazarus represents those who trusting God and depend upon him for their salvation they're believers you see every once in a while someone who's not a believer doesn't understand what it takes to go to heaven so they look at us as Christians and they said well I'm better than you I don't know why you think you're going to heaven and I'm not I love for people to make that comment so I can tell them let me just tell you right up front I'm not going to heaven because of what I do or what I've done you need to understand something there's nothing that I can do to get myself to heaven but the reason I believe I'm going to heaven is because of what Jesus has done Jesus has died for my sins he went to hell and he paid the penalty for my sin and when all of my sin was paid for God raised him from the dead so if I who so when I go to heaven if God was to come out and ask me why should I let you in I would say God there's nothing that I've ever done that should make you want to let me into heaven but I believe that Jesus died for my sins and that God raised him from the dead so I believe that all my sins are paid for because of what Jesus did and for that reason I get to go into heaven people don't get that but you see that's what Lazarus or that's the group of people that Lazarus represents he represents those who trust in God and depend upon him the rich man represents unbelievers now this is not implying that rich people are not Christians in fact most of the patriarchs in the Bible were rich and when I say rich I mean filthy today we would consider them to be part of the 2% we keep hearing about the 2% well let me just say this they wouldn't be considered part of the 2% they would be considered part of the 1% people Abraham Isaac and Jacob were rich Joe David and Solomon were rich in fact Solomon was probably the richest man that's ever lived if you were to take Bill Gates wealth Warren Buffett's wealth George sorro's wealth and you were to probably take someone else's like Ted Turner if you were to take all of their wealth and and combine them Solomon probably had more than all of that that's how wealthy Solomon was the Apostle John came from a very wealthy and influential family as as many of his disciples now most people don't realize this but the Apostle John's family they were close friends with the high priest at the time it's true Matthew and Thomas came from very wealthy families the only reason that Matthew was a tax collectors because he had the money to be able to bid on that I don't know why but we get the idea that Jesus disciples they were these poor uneducated people they didn't have a penny to their name people that's not true so Jesus wasn't dissing rich people but the truth is most rich people aren't trusting in God they're trusting in their riches for some reason riches have the tendency to lead people away from God rather than to God in other words that makes them worldly and I have a theory for that I think the reason that the majority of rich people have the tendency to drift away from God it's because they have more to enjoy this life with with their money they can experience more pleasure they can go on longer vacations better vacations they have to work less so what happens is they start enjoying the pleasures of this world and as a result of that it pulls them more and more into the world and more and more away from God but it doesn't have to be that way you can be a very wealthy person and serve the Lord so Jesus was not dissing rich people I want you to understand that so don't think that Jesus was saying rich people can't be Christians Jesus wasn't saying that but because the majority of rich people are not Christians Warren Buffett has lost as a goose Bill Gates has lost as a goose George Soros has lost as a goose Ted Turner's lost as a goose Donald Trump but I want you to understand the reason their losses are goose is because they're trusting in the riches and not in God if they would begin to trust in God and put their faith in him in Jesus Christ and what he's done they can be a Christian like anyone else and they can use the wealth for great good now I hate to make this general statement but I have to because of what Jesus did the majority of rich people are not Christians and that's why the rich man represents this group of unbelievers now notice that when these two men died they both went immediately to their destination Lazarus was carried to the bosom of Abraham look at verse number 22 finally the poor man died and was carried by the Angels to be with Abraham now if you read this in the King James Version it says that he was carried to the bosom of Abraham and that's actually a better translation because that's what the original Greek says now some of you might not know what the bosom of Abraham is I grew up in church but the pastor never taught he always preached so I would hear that the bosom of Abraham and I'd always think what the world is the bosom of Abraham well let me explain what that is before the death burial and resurrection of Jesus believers could not go to heaven and the reason they couldn't go to heaven is because their sins had not yet been paid for Jesus hadn't died for anyone yet he had not gone into hell or descended into hell to pay for the sins and he had not been resurrected yet and because their sins hadn't been paid for they couldn't go to heaven so they went to a temporary holding place known as the bosom of Abraham it was a place of comfort but it wasn't heaven but once Christ died and was resurrected our sins were paid for so now when a believer dies there so goes to hell but all-in-all believers still experience the same things that Lazarus experienced in the bosom of Abraham except it's much better when I say much better I mean much much much better now the rich man's body was buried in the grave but a soul was taken to a place called Hades we refer to that as hell so he immediately went to hell when he died or at least his so did his body was buried and it decomposed began decomposing look at verses 22 and 23 the rich man also died and was buried and his soul went to the place of the dead now that word dead is translated of course from the Greek word Hades and it means Hell so his body was buried in the ground but his soul went to hell now let's look at what these two men experienced once they died and let's start with the rich man first of all notice that he was fully conscious of his surroundings and he remembered his life here on this earth look at verses 23 through 25 and his soul went to the place of the dead in other words hell they're in torment he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side the rich men shouted father Abraham have some pity send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue I am in anguish in these flames but Abraham said to him son I've remembered that during your lifetime you had everything you ever wanted and Lazarus had nothing now in verse number 25 Abraham told the rich man to remember his life which means that his memory was intact he remembered everything he had ever done on this earth so every opportunity that he had to place his trust in Jesus Christ and at that time it was before Jesus so his trust would be in God who was going to send the Messiah he had wasted and he remembered that he remembered all of the opportunities he had to prepare and to plan for what was going to happen to him on the day that he died but he had wasted those verse 24 also tells us that he experienced in in Spain notice that it says that he was in anguish the word anguish is translated from the Greek word I do not know which means intense pain so his soul was able to feel physical pain just as if he'd had a body now remember his soul has been separated from his body but what this is telling us is that the so can still feel intense pain or intense pleasure now verses 2425 also tell us that he could communicate he was able to see Abraham speak to Abraham and here Abraham respond so basically all of his senses were still working even though his soul was separated from his body he had sight sound taste smell feelings all five senses were working and people yours will be two secondly his eternal destiny was fixed the moment that he died notice that Abraham told the rich men that there was nothing he could do to help him look at verses 25 and 26 again but Abraham said to him son remember that during your lifetime you had everything you ever wanted and Lasser had nothing so now he is here being comforted and you are in anguish and besides there's a great chasm separating us no one can cross over to you from here it's physically impossible and no one can cross over to us from there you see once you're in Hell no one can help you people you're on your own and the reason you're on your own is because Jesus came to die for your sins he came to do everything that was necessary for you to get to go to heaven but by rejecting him you told God I don't want Jesus help I don't want Jesus to pay for my sin I will pay for my own sin and if you die in that condition no one can help you you are on your own because that's what you were telling God I'll pay for my own sin I'm on my own so you are you get exactly what you wanted the third thing I want you to notice is that the rich man intuitively knew but what he was a experiencing was just and fair I want you to notice that not once did he yell at Abraham and claim that what he was experiencing was unfair now people this blows my mind and I'll tell you why it blows my mind I have never met a person who spent any time in jail or in prison that didn't claim that he was unjustly treated and what happened to him was unfair true every once in a while I'll have someone that will ask me will you go visit this person in prison or you go visit this person jail and that's not my ministry but I'll go do it I don't have a problem with that but it's really interesting I'll get to talking with them and I'll start sharing a little bit of what the word says before I know it they're on their favorite subject how innocent they are how unjustly they're being treated how unfair it is that they're being held in jail or in prison so you would think that the rich men would have been yelling at Abraham and trying to convince him that it was unjust and unfair for him to be in hell but he didn't now people that's a shock to me you probably read this parable all of your life and you've never thought about that but the reason I thought about it is because every time I've gone to the prison every time I've gone to jail to the jail people have told me I shouldn't be in here this is unfair this is unjust so when I'm reading this parable the first thing that really jumps out at me is that this rich man while he was in Hale wasn't crying out I'm being unjustly treated this is unfair that I'm in hell he didn't do that and do you want to know why well turn with me if you would to first Corinthians chapter 13 verse number 12 and I'll show you notice what it says now talking about on this earth we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror but then when we get to heaven or if you go to hell we will see everything with perfect clarity all that I know now on this earth is partial and incomplete but then when I'm in heaven or some of you are in hell I will know everything completely just as God now knows me completely in other words right now the knowledge that we possess is just a small part of the big picture not only that it's imperfect that means that a lot of the things that we think are true are really true and our perspective on a lot of things is wrong and there's just a lot of things we don't know why did that happen I don't know why do things work that way I don't know you want to know why I don't know it's because now while I'm on this earth my knowledge is what the Bible calls imperfect I don't know everything I don't understand things I don't see things the way I got to see things but when we die guess what happens all of the sudden we know everything completely just as God now knows us completely in other words we'll see things the way that God sees things we'll understand things the way that God understands things and we'll have what scholars refer to as complete knowledge we will know even as we're known but that's why the rich man didn't think that he was being treated unfairly once he died he was able to see things the way that God sought or God sees things he was able to understand things the way that God understands him so he knew that it was fair and just for him to be in hell and that's what makes it even worse once you're in hell you'll know that you deserve to be there and you'll also know that you had every opportunity not to be there you'll know that it's your fault and no one else's it's not my fault after every service I give an ultra call I give you the opportunity to put your trust and the only person who can save you the only person who can pay for your sins the only person who can make you righteous which is Jesus Christ and you'll look back if you don't make it to heaven and you realize that you're not being treated unjustly that it's not unfair for you to be in hell because you'll remember that you had the opportunity and it's no fault but your own the fourth thing I want you to notice is that the rich men experienced great remorse and he didn't want others to make the same mistake and verses 27 and 28 he wanted Abraham to send Lazarus back and have-not Lazarus someone else to warn his brothers about this place look at verses 27 28 again then the rich man said please father Abraham at least send him to my father's home for I have five brothers and I want him to warn them so they don't end up in this place of torment so they don't end up in hell like I have once the rich man died and went to hell he was able to see things the way that God sees them he was able to understand things the way that God did does all of the sudden he became mission minded someone needs to warn the people before it's too late more specifically because he cared about his family you'll know about your family because he cared about his family he wanted someone to return from the dead to warn his brothers about what happens in the afterlife now I want you to notice what Abraham said to him look in verses 29 through 31 again but Abraham said Moses and the prophets have warned them your brothers can read what they wrote you have no excuse that's right here this makes it very clear what happens when a person dies the problem is most of us don't read it nor do we study it but Moses and the prophets they told us what happens when a person dies they told us how to prepare for death in the Old Testament it was all about the Messiah who would come and deliver us from our sins and when the Messiah came the new testament is to show us that he is the messiah and that if we put our trust in him we don't have to go to hell and so the first thing that abraham tells him is he says your brothers can read what Moses in the prophets wrote the rich man replied no father Abraham but if someone is sent to them from the dead then they will repent of their sins and turn to God but Abraham said if they won't listen to Moses and the prophets they won't listen even if someone rises from the dead I can guarantee you we have all these stores about people who've died for 27 minutes or they were in a coma for three weeks and they woke up and they tell us what they experienced I don't question that I don't judge whether it's true or it's not true all I know is it really doesn't matter what they experienced or didn't experience in that time that they were supposedly physically dead the only thing I know is if people won't believe this they won't believe that person either now what's interesting is someone did rise from the dead and that someone is Jesus Christ that's why I have every confidence to what Jesus taught about hell is true and it's accurate you see Jesus did die in his so descended into hell to pay for our sins so he knows firsthand what hell is like and he's warned us about it that's why I believe in hell let me just tell you right up front Rob Bell is a fool Carlton Pearson is a fool because they want to teach universalism and universalism teaches that everyone's going to heaven Hales not this real place held is on earth it's the horrible things we experienced here in our own mind and the limitations and the things that people do to us but when everyone dies they all go to heaven people that's not what Jesus said I'm gonna believe what the Bible says mustn't feel like Rob Baylor carves and piercing people I believe in hell because that's what Jesus taught and he's someone who's been there and come back now someone might say well pastor he taught on hell before he died and before his soul went into hell but I'm here to tell you that after he resurrected if it would have been any different differently he would have corrected it but he didn't he knew what hell was like before he went there and after he came back he put a stamp of approval on it this is what hell is like now for the believer who dies it's totally different rather than going to a place of pomp of place of torment the believer goes to a place of comfort you see Lazarus was not tormented Lazarus was comforted he went to a place where all of his needs were met and then some people I want you to understand something heaven is a wonderful beautiful place but what we don't understand is the ultimen heaven is not actually how do I say this the ultimen heaven isn't actually revealed until after the Millennium when the New Jerusalem comes down and it rests upon the new earth that's the ultimate heaven but the place we go to to be with the Lord is a wonderful place of comfort now just as the rich man had the full use of his senses and was fully conscious of his surroundings and he could remember his past life on this earth so did Lazarus which means that we will - you see just as the Richman could see hear and speak so will we you'll be able to communicate with others in heaven and you'll be able to fellowship with them now I want you to understand something when we die and our soul is separated from our bodies it doesn't mean that we're nothing nasira chool body you just don't have that physical body yet do you remember when Jesus was resurrected and they thought that he was a spirit nice has touched me feel me I am flesh and bone I want you to understand God's ultimate will is for your physical body to be resurrected now it's gonna be an incorruptible body it's gonna be a body like Jesus Christ but one day you're so will have a physical body again but when you die and your soul is separated from your physical body you still have a spiritual body and you're able to see all the other spiritual bodies you're able to fill the ship with them and just as the rich man could physically feel things with his soul so will we this spiritual body that we're going to be in means that we're going to be able to feel all the nice things in heaven we're going to be able to feel the cool waters of the rivers that flow through heaven we're gonna be able to feel other people's touch that don't ask me how because we won't have a physical body until the resurrection but we will be able to feel things just as if we had a body you know it's kind of interesting but your sense of feel is actually how do I say this it's your brain that tells you that you're feeling that you have all these nerves but it has to send it to the brain you cut those nerves off the brain doesn't realize that I want you I want you to understand it's all in the soul and you're gonna have a spiritual body and all of your five senses will be working but the ultimate will of God is for one day you to have a resurrected immortal incorruptible body now just as the rich man was able to remember his past life so will we you're gonna be able to remember your life here on this earth and you're gonna be able to remember all the great times that you had on this earth and just as the rich man loved his family so will we we're told that the Richman had five brothers and he remembered that and you're gonna be able to remember your family too you'll know who your kids are you know people ask this all the time because Jesus made this comment Jesus made the comment that the ain't we're gonna be like the angels in heaven who neither marry nor are given in marriage and so Lisa and I are not going to be married in heaven but I want you to understand I will remember she was my wife that close relationship will always be there some of your thinking I don't know if I want them anyways you remember your children you'll remember your parents and your grandparents even those who died before you were born you will know them you will recognize them you won't even have to be introduced to them you'll just know them well pastor how do you know that well if you remember on the Mount of Transfiguration Peter James and John got a glimpse of what it's going to be like in heaven they saw Moses and Elijah and they knew instantly who they were without having to be introduced to them people they got a glimpse of how it's gonna be like in heaven you're gonna know Moses no one's gonna have to say hey come here just a sec I want to introduce you to someone this is Moses Moses this is Lisa Nolan Lisa this is Moses now you're gonna get to heaven here Moses there's Elijah there's David who's Solomon made it even though he had 300 watts you are going to know these people instantly I never met my grandfather seen pictures of him but when I get there it's not because I saw the pictures I'll just instantly know he's my grandfather I'll know those things because we no longer know him perfectly now in this earth we know him perfectly but then when we're in heaven we will know even as we're known as God knows them so we will know them we will have what the Bible refers to as complete knowledge Wow now that leads me into this second to the last thing I want to talk about what's gonna say last but I have one more thing after that I have time because we're gonna know as we're known that's how we're gonna be able to deal with the fact that not all of our loved ones are in heaven you know I talked about this last week it's kind of interesting actually I talked about it two weeks ago that those in heaven are watching what's happening down here on the earth and I took you to scripture after Scripture that implied it didn't explicitly state it but it implicitly stated that those in heaven are aware of what's going on in this earth and the majority of you were blown away because you think like most scholars do well there's no sadness in heaven and I said where did you get that thought ancient having scripture for it except for the book of Revelation and when I took you to the book of Revelation we've read it in context we found out that doesn't happen until after the O heaven and earth are passed away and there's a new heaven and earth but I know it blew most of your minds it's like well I just don't understand how they can see what's going on on the earth and not be sad who said they're not gonna be sad at times let me just ask you a question in the book of Revelation you have seven seals and the seventh seal opens up the seven trumpets the seventh trumpet opens up to seven bowls those seven bowls are referred to as the wrath of God in other words God is going to pour his wrath out upon the earth now let me ask you if you're in heaven hopefully you will because you've already been raptured you're in heaven and God starts pouring his wrath his anger upon the earth because of the wickedness and their rebelliousness and their refusal to repent are you not gonna know that God's angry God's in heaven and he gets angry God is breathed we can make God's and the Bible tells us did you think if you're in heaven you don't know that God's experience I think oh he just keeps us blind and ignorant concerning those things no but here's the difference God loves everyone and he's not willing that any should perish but they do perish and yet God is able to handle it right now we can't understand how we could handle this because we know him perfectly incompletely but then when we're in heaven we're gonna see things the way God sees things we're gonna understand things the way God understands them we're gonna know even as we're known and therefore we're gonna be able to handle it people I know what blows our mind but that's only because now we see through a glass darkly now to close let me show you something interesting this is something that I hope will clear up a lot of confusion for most of you when it comes to death the Bible uses the word sleep as a euphemism for death everyone knows what a euphemism right a euphemism is a nice way of saying something that we consider to be socially acceptable we don't say that a couple had sex or intercourse or coitus we don't say that what do we say they slept together that sounds so much nicer and the Bible does that too the Bible doesn't say that Adam had sex with Eve it says that Adam knew Eve and she conceived what do we mean that word no means to intimately know to experienced Adam experienced Eve he knew her in intimate way that word no is a euphemism when we get to the book of Hebrews it talks about marriage is honorable in all things in the marriage bed undefiled now we just translated it marriage bed but actually that word marriage better that phrase is translated from the Greek word pointing and we get a word coitus from that word which means sexual intercourse now that verse in Hebrew says that marriage is honorable in everywhere in all things and sexual intercourse is undefiled in marriage you take sex outside of marriage and you defiled it but what I want you to understand is we use euphemisms to say something that we consider to be socially unacceptable we just dress it up and say a little bit nicer well the Bible does the same thing and the word in the Bible uses the word sleep as a euphemism for death but it also does it for a reason it wants us to understand what death is going to be like now let me show you where the Bible does this turn with me if you would to the book of first Corinthians chapter 11 verse 30 Paul is teaching on the Lord's Supper I want you to notice what he says this is the NIV that is why many among you are weak and sick and a number you have fallen asleep now that word asleep is the Greek word Kui motto and it means what we think of you've fallen asleep now now I want you to notice how the New Living Translation translate this verse that is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died now why did it say died because they understand that this word sleep is used as a euphemism for death let's go further look with me in first Corinthians chapter 15 verse 51 this is the NIV listen I tell you a mystery we will not all sleep but we will all be changed now if we didn't understand this was a euphemism I would tell you don't ever fall asleep because if Jesus comes you won't be transformed you got to be awake for that to happen I know what that means does it is it notice how the NLT translates it but let me reveal to you a wonderful secret we will not all die but we will all be transformed because it understands that that's just a euphemism for death let me give you one more scripture looking first Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 14 this is the NIV for we believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him he's so restful enter into your rest and sleep in Jesus now that's not what that means notice how the NLT translates it 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 because we realized that that's just a euphemism for death now the reason the Bible uses the word sleep to describe death is because it's a great analogy to explain what happens when we die you see when we sleep our mind is still active that's why we dream so our mind remains active even though our body is at rest and people that's exactly how it is in death it's kind of like sleep our body is at rest in the ground it's actually decomposing but our our soul remains active in heaven it sees it hears it feels it smells it can even taste all five senses are there in fact our so can do everything it did while it was here on this earth the only difference is the soul is not in a physical body it's in a spiritual body but just like the body wakes up from sleeping one day body that's in the ground that's decomposing is going to wake up from death notice what Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 14 this is why it is said wake up sleeper rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you I told you that when Jesus comes back with all of the souls of those who have died and gone to heaven he's going to have a shout and I told you it's to wake the dead where did I get that this scripture you remember when you were young and your parents didn't trust you with an alarm clock now we always trusted our girls we gave them a long talk because we wanted to teach them responsibility but some of you have 20 year olds 25 year olds and you still have to treat him like a kid because you never gave him responsibility so it was time to wake up you had to go shake him and get him to wake up that's what Jesus is gonna do when he comes back he's gonna shake or he's gonna shout it's gonna say wake up and those sleepers those bodies at rest will rise from the dead and Christ is gonna shine on us and that's why the Bible uses the word sleep as a euphemism for death because it's a great analogy just as your bodies at rest when you sleep in your mind is still active when you die your body will go to rest it will be at rest until the resurrection but your soul remains active and just as you dream it's kind of like a dream except that it's real all of your senses are working but one day your body will wake up be reunited with your soul and you will live with this physical transformed body a body just like Jesus resurrected body and we were ruling reign on the new earth and the new heaven

Channel: Cornerstone Fellowship

Views: 4,158

Rating: 4.9215684 out of 5

Keywords: what happens when you die, what happens when we die, what happens after death, after death, death, death sermon, death in the bible, suicide, suicide bible, what happens when we die sermon, cornerstone allen nolan, pastor allen nolan, What Is It Like to be a Soul Without a Body, what is a soul bible, allen nolan cornerstone, allen nolan wisdom, allen nolan bible study, cornerstone church allen nolan, allen nolan revelation, allen nolan genesis, allen nolan, allen nolan death

Id: fExP0FG9Tyw

Length: 43min 54sec (2634 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 20 2020