<i>male announcer: For millennia,</i> <i>humans have looked up
into the sky and wondered</i> <i>what lies ahead of them
in the afterlife.</i> <i>Our souls innately desire
an answer</i> <i>to what is perhaps
life's greatest mystery,</i> <i>that which awaits us
when we walk through the door</i> <i>into the world beyond.</i> <i>But God doesn't conceal</i> <i>the details about
your eternal resting place.</i> <i>Look in God's Word</i> <i>and you'll find a glimpse
into heaven:</i> <i>streets brighter than gold,
God's radiant throne,</i> <i>and the eternal home
of Jesus Christ.</i> <i>All the magnificent details</i> <i>are written in the pages
of Scripture:</i> <i>what heaven will look like,
how your soul will get there,</i> <i>if you'll be reunited
with loved ones once you arrive,</i> <i>and how your body
will appear for eternity.</i> <i>That is but just a sliver</i> <i>of what we can know
about eternity,</i> <i>which promises to be a place
beyond your wildest dreams.</i> <i>All you have to do
is open the Bible,</i> <i>and you'll find that, inside,</i> <i>God is revealing
the mysteries of heaven.</i> <i>Now here is your host
and Bible teacher,</i> <i>Dr. David Jeremiah.</i> Dr. David Jeremiah:
A well-known comedian is reported to have said, "I don't have
anything against dying. I just don't wanna be there
when it happens." Well, he will not only be there
when it happens, he will be there
after it happens. That is, he will be somewhere,
and the question is where? Where do people go
when they die? That's the topic we'll explore
today as we continue our series, "Revealing
the Mysteries of Heaven." Some people don't like
to talk about dying because they don't know
what happens after death. After watching today's message
titled "Where Are They Now?" You will know
what the Bible says about the two eternal destinations
of mankind and how to choose
the one called heaven. It's straight ahead on today's edition
of "Turning Point." <i>announcer: We all have questions
about heaven,</i> <i>and many of us assume
that we can't know the answers,</i> <i>but nothing could be further
from the truth.</i> <i>God's Word is full of detailed
information about heaven</i> <i>if we only know where to look.</i> <i>Inside Dr. Jeremiah's book,</i> <i>"Revealing
the Mysteries of Heaven,"</i> <i>Dr. David Jeremiah will lead you
through God's Word,</i> <i>uncovering the answers
to your pressing questions</i> <i>about the world beyond,
including,</i> <i>"If you've lost a child,
will you be reunited in heaven?"</i> <i>"How are our souls
transported to heaven?"</i> <i>and "Where exactly
is it located?"</i> <i>As you read, you'll discover</i> <i>that the more you know
about heaven,</i> <i>the more you'll live</i> <i>in the reality
that awaits you every day.</i> <i>This inspiring book</i> <i>is only available
from Turning Point,</i> <i>and it's yours as a thank you</i> <i>when you give a gift
of any amount.</i> <i>And if you give $60 or more,
we'll send you the "Heaven set,"</i> <i>which includes
Dr. Jeremiah's book,</i> <i>study guide,
his current teaching series</i> <i>on your choice
of CD or DVD album,</i> <i>and the "Is There a Heaven?"
brochure.</i> <i>If your gift exceeds $100,
Dr. Jeremiah will also send you</i> <i>the popular "Answers
to Questions About Heaven" book.</i> <i>Don't miss out</i> <i>on this scriptural look
at your future home,</i> <i>only from Turning Point.</i> <i>Contact us today.</i> <i>female announcer:
Thank you for watching</i> <i>"Revealing
the Mysteries of Heaven,"</i> <i>here on "Turning Point,"</i> <i>timeless teaching
from Dr. David Jeremiah.</i> <i>We appreciate your viewership
as Turning Point delivers</i> <i>the unchanging Word of God
to an ever-changing world.</i> <i>And now here is Dr. Jeremiah</i> <i>with his message
"Where Are They Now?"</i> Dr. Jeremiah:
An Indiana cemetery has a tombstone
more than 100 years old with the following epitaph
on it. It goes like this:
"Pause, stranger, when you pass me by. As you are now, so once was I. As I am now, so you will be. Prepare yourself to follow me." And a young man came along and wrote a couple of notes
beneath the poem, and they go like this:
"To follow you, I'm not content until I know
which way you went." That right? That's a pretty good epitaph
right there, isn't it? Alexander Stewart has said
that there are two things most people wanna know
about their deceased loved ones. Number one, where are they? And, number two,
how is it going with them? Where are they now? That's a question a lot of folks
have asked me when I've been
a grief counselor. "Where are they now?" Apparently, there were those who lived
in the New Testament times who were as just as concerned
about that question as we are. Do you remember when Paul wrote
to the Thessalonian believers? And he was writing to them because of the questions
in their minds. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13,
we read these words, "I do not want you
to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those
who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others
who have no hope." Now, he wasn't talkin'
about them falling asleep like you fall asleep at night. "Falling asleep" is
a softened term for a believer's death. It is used often
in the Scriptures to describe
a Christian who dies. Now, every time people ask me,
"Where are they now?" the first thing
I have to tell 'em is that obviously
their body is asleep. Their body has died,
and their body is in the grave, and every time we
pass a cemetery, we're reminded of what happens
to a person's body when they die:
their body goes in the grave. That's not the issue. The issue is about
the real person because we all know that the body
isn't the real person. The body's just the house
in which the real person lives. The body's the shell
in which the person resides. So when this body goes to sleep
and goes in the grave, what happens to the real person? Well, like in all
of the problems that we have, if we just study the Bible,
we can find out. Only the Word of God can lend
authoritative teaching; and in today's message,
I wanna talk with you about two people,
two places, and two principles, and we ought to be able
to handle that; two people, two places,
and two principles. In order for us to get our arms
around this subject, I want you to join with me in the reviewing
of a passage of Scripture which most of us
are familiar with in the 16th chapter
of the book of Luke. Here in the 16th chapter
of Luke, we have the story which is usually referred to
as "The Rich Man and Lazarus," or Lazarus and "Dives," which is a Latin word
for being rich. As we look at this story, we're going to see these two men
kind of in split screens, contrasted with each other
in three ways. We're gonna watch them
in their life, we're gonna see them
in their death, and we're gonna see them
after their death in eternity. Are you ready for that?
All right, now let's watch them. First of all, we just get
a little snapshot of the rich man and Lazarus
in their lifetime. The two men contrasted in life. Luke 16:19 through 21,
says this: "There was
a certain rich man who was clothed in purple
and in fine linen, and he fared sumptuously
every day. But there was a certain beggar
named Lazarus, full of sores,
who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell
from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came
and licked his sores." The rich man had received
good things. He knew the good life. He fared sumptuously every day. The word "sumptuously" means
"flamboyantly, brilliantly." He was outwardly wealthy. The beggar, in contrast,
was very unimpressive. Lazarus is said to be
both sick and hungry. His sores could've been bound
and dressed by the rich man's ointment, but instead,
they were licked by the dogs. Every day, Lazarus was left
at the gate of the rich man, just to beg for some food. We don't have a hard time
understanding that. We see something like that
almost every week, no matter where we live. He was hoping only
for a few crumbs to be thrown
in his direction. So there you have the snapshot
of these two men in life: the rich man with many servants, Lazarus with only the dogs
to care for him. Two men contrasted in life, and the curtain comes down
on scene one. The next time we see
these two men is in death. Two men contrasted in death. And in verse 22,
we read, first of all, of the death of Lazarus. Notice what it says: "So it was
that the beggar Lazarus died, and he was carried by the angels
into Abraham's bosom." It seems from reading the story
that Lazarus died first, and the rich man died second. There's no reference
to the burial of Lazarus. Simply says that he died. More than likely,
his body wasn't buried because, in those days, when a poor person
who was a beggar died, they would either put him
in the potter's field, or more than likely,
they would throw him in a place called Gehenna, which was a name for the dump
outside of the city. So more than likely,
Lazarus's body was disposed of, but the Bible says
Lazarus's real self was carried to Abraham's bosom. And the death of the rich man
in verse 22, at the end of the verse,
is very, very shortly described: "And the rich man also died
and was buried." Now, it's not hard to imagine the lavish funeral
of the rich man, is it? Many eulogies, but with all of the things
he had done in his life and all of the stuff
he had amassed, he couldn't buy
one extra day of life. Two men in death. Note the contrast: one is cast away
as the garbage of the earth, and the other is lifted up
and honored in a magnificent ceremony, and the curtain closes
on act two. You still with me? All right, now we are able
to see something in these next verses that you will never see again
in the Bible, and you could not see except through the eyes
of the Lord Jesus, who is telling this story. Please hear me.
This is not a parable. This is a real story, for he told the story
as an eyewitness, seeing not only their life
and their death, but now he's going to show us what happened to them
after their death. The story is about to lay
a foundation for us to understand what happens
when our loved ones die. The Bible teaches that, before the ascension
of Jesus Christ, there was an immediate place where the souls of men and women
went at death. This place is composed
of three compartments: Abraham's bosom;
the great gulf fixed; and Hades,
the place of torment. Now, Abraham's bosom,
we are told, is called paradise. It is the place where
the righteous dead go. According to this story,
it is a place of comfort. And verse 25 says that Lazarus
is comforted in this place. When Lazarus dies,
his body goes in the grave, and he goes to paradise. The Bible says
it's a place of comfort. It is also a place of love
and companionship as Lazarus is pictured
in the bosom of Abraham. The angels took Lazarus
to paradise immediately after his death. When Lazarus died,
his body went in the grave or wherever they put his body, and his soul and spirit
went to paradise. The other compartment
at the bottom of the chart is a place of torment. It is also called Hades, and into this place,
the souls of the wicked dead go. The rich man who was so flamboyant in his life went to this place, and it is a representation of all who fail
to place their trust in Christ. He is a picture of what happens
to those who die without Christ. And in between paradise
and Hades, we are told in the Scripture that there is
a great gulf fixed. According to Jesus, there is a chasm
between these two places that cannot be crossed
under any circumstances, and we will come back
to our chart in a few moments, but let's take notice of what
is happening to these two men, one of whom died
and went to paradise, and one of whom died
and went to Hades. Come back to the Bible now
and notice Lazarus in eternity in verse 22, in Luke 16:22. "So it was that the beggar died and was carried by the angels
to Abraham's bosom." First of all,
please notice that, when the beggar died, God sent his angels
to take him to paradise. Not trying to get too technical, but I want you to stay with me
in this logic so you see where we're goin'. Lazarus dies. His body probably went
to potter's field or Gehenna, to the dump,
but that didn't affect his soul. The angels came
and took a soul and spirit and took him to Abraham's bosom,
paradise, all right? Now let's look in
on our rich man who died, the rich man in eternity, and notice what the Bible
says about him. First of all,
he's in a place of misery. Luke 16:23 and 24,
"And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes,
and he saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried, and he said,
'Father, Abraham, have mercy on me,
and send Lazarus that he may dip
the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented
in this flame.'" Some of you say,
"Well, where in the Bible does it say that when you die, if you go to hell,
there are flames?" Well, here's a picture of it
right here. In this intermediate place,
this man is in torment, and he is in flames. The rich man, now watch,
is not lost because he is rich any more than the poor man
is saved because he is poor. Assume in this story
that the rich man did not believe in Jesus Christ,
while Lazarus did, and because of their faith,
their destiny is fixed. Now, in many respects, the rich man and Lazarus
have changed places. Watch what happened. The proud man of time has become
the beggar in eternity. The one who, in life, denied the poor man
a crumb from his table is now begging
for one drop of water. The one who, in his life,
fared sumptuously every day would now be happy with just one drop of water
to cool his tongue. He's in a place of misery. Notice, secondly,
he's in a place of memory. This is something
that's new to a lot of folks. Luke 16:25,
"But Abraham said, 'Son, remember
that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise
Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted
and you are tormented.'" Verse 25 indicates that Hades
is a place of memory. He lifts up his eyes,
and he sees Lazarus, and he is conscious
of what he has missed. And throughout eternity,
it will be an instant replay over and over and over again
in his mind that he had a chance
that he could have accepted, but he did not. It is a place of misery
and a place of memory; but notice, thirdly,
it's a place of mourning. Now, the representative
of the lost who are now in Hades is this rich man. He was alive, he was conscious, he was in full exercise
of his faculties, his memory,
and he's in torment. Now, I know you didn't come
to hear me talk about that, but I have to tell you that so you understand
the rest of the story. There are two people--now,
I want you to notice two places. Let's notice what happens,
and let me take you through the progression
of where they are now. First of all,
an intermediate hell, a place
that is not ultimately hell, but it is hell
in an intermediate way. Watch this. So far as the unsaved dead
are concerned, they continue in this place
called Hades, the intermediate hell, until a particular time
in the future. Now, watch your chart. At the judgment
of the great white throne, Hades gives them up, and they are judged and passed
into the lake of fire. You say, "Where is that?" Well, I want you to read with me Revelation chapter 20,
verses 13 and 14: "And the sea gave up
the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up
the dead who were in them. And they were judged,
each one according to his works, and Death and Hades were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second death." Now look up for just a moment.
Here's what happens. When a person dies today
and they don't know Jesus, their body goes in the grave, and their soul and spirit
goes to Hades. One day, after the judgment, Hades,
according to the Scripture, will be cast
into the lake of fire, which is the permanent hell, and it's going to be
a place where, as you can see
from this rich man, you would never want to go,
and you would never want anyone you love
to go, all right? The intermediate hell. Now notice, secondly, the intermediate heaven,
paradise. Every believer--now, you have to really think carefully
here. Every believer who died
before the ascension of Christ went to paradise; but when Jesus died
on the cross, he was buried
and he rose again. On the day of his ascension,
something changed, and I want you to watch Ephesians chapter 4,
verses 8 through 10: "Therefore he says,
'When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive,
and gave gifts to men.' Now this, 'He ascended.' What does it mean--
that he also first descended into the lower parts
of the earth? He also descended is
the one who ascended far above all the heavens
that he might fill all things." Here's what the Bible says: When Jesus ascended
after his death, he went into the earth,
and he led captivity captive. He went into paradise, and he took all the people
who were in paradise, and he took them with him
up to the third heaven. Paradise is no longer
an intermediate place. Paradise is with God in heaven. Jesus took all of those
who were in paradise, all the Old Testament saints,
all who had died and believed in God
before the ascension. When Jesus died on the cross,
after his death, he went into paradise. You say, "How do you know
Jesus went to paradise?" I'm glad you asked me. Do you remember what he said to the thief on the cross
when he died? What did he say, class? "Today," Luke 23:43, "today,
you will be with me," where? "In paradise." "How do you know paradise
is not still where it is?" Well, I'm glad you asked me
that question too. Let's go back and remember in 2 Corinthians chapter 12,
verses 2 and 4, do you remember what Paul said
about his vision? "I know a man in Christ
who 14 years ago-- whether in the body
I do not know, or whether out of the body
I do not know, God knows-- such a one was caught up
to the third heaven." Where's the third heaven, class?
It's in the north. It's where God is, right?
All right. "And I know such a man-- whether in the body
or out of the body I do not know, God knows-- how he was caught up
into paradise." Where is paradise?
It's in the third heaven. How did it get there? When Jesus ascended
and took paradise captive, he took it up
to the third heaven. So now where are they? When a believer dies, his body goes in the grave
and goes to sleep. His soul doesn't go to sleep. There's no such thing
as soul sleep. Let me tell you something,
friend, whether you're a Christian
or you're not a Christian, you're gonna be alive somewhere
forever and ever. Your soul does not sleep. The body sleeps and the soul
and spirit goes to paradise, which is in the third heaven. But in between now and then, when an Old Testament person
died, their soul went to Hades,
their body went in the grave. At the great white
throne judgment, Hades is cast
into the lake of fire, and forever and ever,
there is no hope. When a believer dies,
his body goes in the grave. He goes to paradise,
his soul and spirit, but God gives him
an intermediate body so that he is not unclothed between now
and the day of resurrection. On the day of resurrection,
his body comes out of the grave, and it is,
in a moment, transformed into his permanent
heavenly body, and together,
we shall be with the Lord. Now, phew, that's
a lot of stuff, isn't it? But let me just tell you, there's a way to deal with this
that's so simple, and it's the last thing
I wanna tell you, and that is, we've talked about two people
and two places. I wanna give you two principles
that are really exciting to me. I love theology
as you can probably tell, and when I have somethin' that I need to find
an answer to, I study and study and study
until I find it, and you know
what I've discovered? I've never had a question
that I really researched that I couldn't find
the answer to in the Scripture. I know now for a fact what happens to a person
when they die, where they go,
how they exist, what's goin' on right now. But all of that,
as wonderful as it is, is not the most important thing. Let me tell you
what I've discovered, and I don't know if I can tell you this
without emotion. After immersing myself
in all of these passages about the temporary and eternal home
of the believer, one truth jumps out
of the Scripture and into my heart: paradise and heaven
and the New Jerusalem, and whatever name you may use
to describe that place, is secondary to this:
heaven is where Jesus is. Heaven is being with Jesus. And over that truth,
you need to write a banner because it is hammered
into our hearts over and over, and I bet you haven't seen it
as many times as it's there because it kind of sneaks in
at the end of passages, but let me show you
what the Scripture says, and then you will understand. "Well, I don't know
if I completely comprehend everything Pastor Jeremiah
said today about the intermediate heaven
and the permanent heaven, but one thing I do understand
is, when I die, I'm gonna be with Jesus,"
amen? Watch this, watch this. John 14:3, "And if I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive
you to myself," why? "That where I am,
there you may be also." Not about the place.
It's about the person. When Jesus gave assurance
to the thief on the cross, what did he say to him? He said, "Today you
will be with me in paradise." Paradise is secondary. Paul explained death
in these terms. He said, "We are confident,
yes, well pleased rather to be absent
from the body--" not "present in heaven." "Absent from the body,
present with," who? "The Lord." When Paul was writing
to the Philippians about his own death,
he wrote, "For I am hard-pressed
between the two, having a desire to depart
and--" go where? To heaven?
No. "To be with Christ." Over and over and over,
have you ever seen that? It's not about "heaven" so much
as it is about Jesus. It's about being with him. And how many of you
agree with me, "Wherever it is, if he's there,
I'm okay," amen? Wherever he is, wherever it is, because he's the one
who died for me. He's the one who saved me. He's the one who has given me
life beyond what I deserve. And if all you
wanna say to me is "You're goin' to be with Jesus,"
that's all right. Just take me; wherever it is, just take me
to be with Jesus, amen? Now, I need to know
all these other things. It's important,
but far more important is this: after going to great lengths
to explain the details of the rapture, this same apostle Paul summarized it all
with these words. He said, "And we
who are alive and remain shall be caught up together
with him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we will always be
with the Lord," amen. I'm so excited to know that the Jesus who walks with me
every day, who I talk with all the time,
is one day gonna be with me, and I'm gonna be
with him permanently in intimate,
personal fellowship. The priority
of the presence of Jesus-- and one last thing
that I must tell you, and that's the permanence
of personal decisions. The Lord Jesus has made it
very clear that we can know him and spend eternity
with him forever, but whatever we do,
we better do it now because this is
the day of opportunity. Today is the day of salvation. <i>announcer: Dr. Jeremiah
will return in a moment</i> <i>to close today's program
right after this.</i> <i>announcer: There are
a lot of myths, rumors,</i> <i>and conjecture
about heaven,</i> <i>but what can you believe?</i> <i>What is fact,
and what is fiction?</i> <i>Now there's a biblically based
book you can trust.</i> <i>A look inside
Dr. David Jeremiah's book,</i> <i>"Revealing
the Mysteries of Heaven,"</i> <i>gives you a glimpse
into eternity</i> <i>as Dr. Jeremiah answers</i> <i>your most pressing questions
about the afterlife,</i> <i>questions like,
"How do we get to heaven?"</i> <i>"Who will be there?"
and "Where exactly is it?"</i> <i>Dive into this study
with Dr. Jeremiah, and discover</i> <i>how our understanding of heaven
matters today</i> <i>and can focus every other part
of our Christian life.</i> <i>This inspiring ten-chapter book</i> <i>is only available exclusively
through Turning Point,</i> <i>and it's yours in appreciation
for your support of the ministry</i> <i>with a gift of any amount.</i> <i>And if you give $60 or more,
we'll send you the "Heaven set,"</i> <i>which includes
Dr. Jeremiah's book,</i> <i>study guide,
his current teaching series</i> <i>on your choice
of CD or DVD album,</i> <i>and the "Is There a Heaven?"
brochure.</i> <i>If your gift exceeds $100,
Dr. Jeremiah will also send you</i> <i>the popular "Answers
to Questions About Heaven" book.</i> <i>Don't miss out</i> <i>on this scriptural look
at your future home,</i> <i>only from Turning Point.</i> <i>Contact us today.</i> <i>announcer: And now
with one last word</i> <i>for today's program,
here is Dr. Jeremiah.</i> Dr. Jeremiah: Some things
in life happen without our choosing them. For instance, the Bible says we
don't have to choose to spend eternity in hell. Because we are sinners,
that is our eternal destination unless we choose
to interrupt that outcome. How do we choose
not to spend eternity in hell? By choosing
to spend it in heaven through faith in Jesus Christ. I hope you have made that choice and are secure
in your eternal future, that you have placed
your faith in Christ alone. I have two resources
that will encourage you on the way to heaven: a booklet called
"Your Greatest Turning Point," and our monthly
devotional magazine called Turning Points. I would love to send them to you
free and without obligation if you will contact us
here at Turning Point today. <i>announcer: In addition
to these free study resources,</i> <i>nothing is as profound
as the Word of God.</i> <i>And now, Dr. Jeremiah
has a Bible</i> <i>for every member of the family.</i> <i>There are numerous versions
of The Jeremiah Study Bible,</i> <i>perfect for adults and teens.</i> <i>And the Airship Genesis
Kids' Study Bible</i> <i>will bring the truth
of God's Word</i> <i>to the young ones in your life.</i> <i>Contact Turning Point
for more information</i> <i>or to order today.</i> <i>announcer: Next time
on "Turning Point."</i> Dr. Jeremiah: As we are now
in our current bodies, we couldn't function
in the realm of heaven, but God is gonna give us
new real bodies like the ones we have, only completely made over,
transformed, and no longer governed
by our appetites of the flesh, but governed now
by the appetites of the Spirit. <i>announcer: Thank you
for being with us today.</i> <i>Join us next time
for Dr. Jeremiah's message,</i> <i>"The Ultimate
Extreme Make-Over,"</i> <i>here on "Turning Point."</i> ♪♪♪
