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Have you ever wondered what happens when we pass away? In this enlightening video, we delve into the rich tapestry of biblical teachings to uncover insights into life after death. Join us as we explore within the pages of the Bible, shedding light on the profound mysteries that surround this universal question. Article Post: https://godhonesttruth.com/wp/2024/02/16/what-happens-when-we-die-god-honest-truth-live-stream-02-16-2024/
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Have you ever wondered what happens when we pass away? In this enlightening video, we delve into the rich tapestry of biblical teachings to uncover insights into life after death. Join us as we explore within the pages of the Bible, shedding light on the profound mysteries that surround this universal question. Article Post: https://godhonesttruth.com/wp/2024/02/16/what-happens-when-we-die-god-honest-truth-live-stream-02-16-2024/
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The transcript discusses various beliefs about what happens when we die, including those from different religions and cultures. It mentions Hinduism's belief in reincarnation, the Greek and Roman beliefs in the underworld, the Pharisees' belief in resurrection, and the atheist belief in the end of existence. It also discusses the modern Christian belief in going to heaven or paradise after death. Scripture references are provided to support the concept of resurrection. So like I said, this dross is going to be about what happens when we die and this is going to be according to the scriptures, not any particular age and history, not any particular culture or any one person's opinion. It's going to be coming straight from the scriptures and we've got a ton of scriptures to show you tonight as well as some historical references and if you would like even more than what we display tonight, make sure to click on that link down below and that will take you to the article post for this dross on GodHonestTruth.com. There are about 36 pages of notes that we have put together. Obviously we can't show it all in this one particular video because that would take many hours and we don't want to go out that long and so go check it out down below or go to GodHonestTruth.com and click on the post and there you can find not only the notes but you'll also find the on-demand video, the dross slide that you see here on your screen as well as the transcript and so much more. So when we think about what happens to us when we die, especially nowadays and thinking back through history, there are various ideas that come about depending on who it is that you talk to. For instance, if you were to speak to someone of the Hindu faith, they would probably tell you something along the lines of reincarnation, where depending on your moral status or your karma level would depend on whether or not you are reincarnated, which most people are according to Hinduism, or you would achieve that final immortal state where you're no longer being reincarnated. But does that match up with scripture? Keep that in mind as we go throughout tonight's dross as well as all of these other ideas. Now the ancient Greeks had a concept of what happens when we die as well, obviously. In the Greek concept, they had the idea that when you die, your soul immediately goes to the place of the underworld. That is the name Hades, and it's also the name of their Greek god who ruled over the underworld, Hades. And according to metmuseum.org, the Greeks believed that at the moment of death, the psyche or spirit of the dead left the body as a little breath or puff of wind, and at the time of death, the soul separates from the body and is transported to the underworld where it is accepted into the realm by the governing god Hades, who is known to reside at the edges of the ocean and under the deepest depths of the earth. So that's the Greek concept that really comes from Plato, more or less. We go on in history, and we get to the Romans, and they pretty much have a similar idea, but when you think back to it, the Romans really idolized the Greeks and copied much from the Greeks themselves, including their idea of what happened after death. Likewise, according to the Greeks, when a person dies, the soul separates from the body and immediately goes to the underworld. According to allabouthistory.org, the Romans believed in the immortality of the soul and had a complicated belief system about life after death. The ancient Romans believed that when one died, one was met by Mercury, the messenger god and son of Jupiter, and taken to the river Styx that flowed nine times around the underworld. So both the Greeks and the Romans believed that when you died, your soul immediately separated from your body and you went to the underworld. So keep that in mind as well as we go throughout tonight's drash and we examine scripture to see if or how that lines up with what we learn from scripture. Judaism also has its own concepts, depending on which sect of Judaism you're speaking about. We learn from scripture itself that the sect of the Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection, that when you died, that was it. Reading back through the Tanakh, I don't see how they get that, but that's what they believed and that's what scripture tells us they believed. Now the sect of the Pharisees believed just the opposite, that they did believe in a resurrection of the dead, and unlike the Sadducees, they also believed in spirits and angels, or messengers if you want to get technical. Didn't do too much research into the Essenes, that would have been fairly interesting to see, but I'm assuming they would probably line up with the Pharisees as some of the things they believed in kind of lined up with the same things the Pharisees believed in. But that requires further research and maybe next time we do this, Josh, we'll have some more information from the sect of the Essenes. Now atheists, a lot of people know what atheists think about what happens when we die. Atheists just think that when you die, that's it, sort of like the Sadducees. They think that when you die, you blink out of existence, your body, it's atoms, returns to the natural world, and that's it. There's nothing else left for you after that. That's the atheist concept. But modern Christians also have their own concept of what happens when you die. According to David Jeremiah, you go to the grave. It says, when a believer dies, his body goes in the grave and falls asleep, but his soul does not sleep. His soul goes to paradise. Likewise, Matt Perman from DesiringGod.org states that believers will be taken into the presence of Christ in heaven and that believers are taken to heaven immediately at death. So this is the modern New Age Christian concept of what happens when we die. Now keep this in mind as well as we go through the scriptures tonight in Schnittstrasse and also along with all the other concepts, see which ones line up with what scripture teaches and which ones do not line up with what scripture teaches. Now before we get into the meat of tonight's dross, I really think it's important to go over and understand some things about the resurrection of the dead. I don't know what church you go to or what your background is, but I was raised in the Baptist tradition and going to church a lot of times when I was younger, the resurrection of the dead wasn't really spoken about all that much, if at all. There might have been a passing mention of it, but there was really no preaching or teaching about this concept. It was pretty much forgotten. So what does scripture have to say? We can go all the way back to the Tanakh and we look in 1 Samuel 2, verse 6, and it states, Yahweh puts the dead and makes alive. He brings down to Sheol and raises up. That's one of the earliest mentions we have about the resurrection. We go on, we look in the book of Daniel 12, verses 1-2. Speaking about the end times, it states, Now at that time Michael shall stand up, the great head who is standing over the sons of your people, and there shall be a time of distress such as never was since there was a nation until that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book, and many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth wake up, some to everlasting life, and some to reproaches, everlasting abhorrence. So here Daniel is talking about the end times, and at the end times the dead will rise up, both the righteous and the unrighteous. Keep that in mind too when we talk about the day of judgment. That the righteous and the unrighteous will wake up, some will go to everlasting life, and some will go to everlasting abhorrence. Going on into the Brit Hadashah, Matthew chapter 22, verses 29-32. So even our own Messiah Yeshua speaks about and taught about the resurrection of the dead. Then going on into John chapter 5, verses 28-29. So going along and being in line with what we read in Daniel, we see a resurrection both of the righteous and the unrighteous. For the righteous a resurrection of life, for the unrighteous a resurrection of judgment. Again in Acts chapter 24, verse 15. Having an expectation in Elohim, which they themselves also wait for, that there is to be a resurrection of the dead, both of the righteous and the unrighteous. So it's not just the righteous and it's not just the unrighteous, but both will experience a resurrection at the end times. First Corinthians chapter 15, verses 12-19. And if Messiah is proclaimed that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Messiah has not been raised. And if Messiah has not been raised, then our proclaiming is empty, and your belief also empty. And we are also found false witnesses of Elohim. For if the dead are not raised, then neither Messiah has been raised. And if Messiah has not been raised, your belief is to no purpose. You are still in your sins. And also those who have fallen asleep in Messiah have perished. If in this life only we have expectation in Messiah, we are of all men the most wretched. So here the Apostle Paul is writing to the church at Corinth, speaking lots of things about the resurrection of the dead, that there will be a resurrection. And how can you not say that there will be a resurrection? Because if we say there is no resurrection, then we are pretty much denying Messiah, saying that Messiah has not been raised. But no, Paul is teaching us here that there will be a resurrection of the dead at the end times. Even the early Christians understood this. We go all the way back to Justin Martyr, and he writes in his argument and dialogue with Trifo, quote, For I choose to follow not men or men's doctrines, but God and the doctrines delivered by him. For if you have fallen in with some who are called Christians, but who do not admit this truth and venture to blaspheme the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, who say there is no resurrection of the dead, and that their souls, when they die, are taken to heaven, do not imagine that they are Christians. But I and others who are right-minded Christians on all points are assured that there will be a resurrection of the dead. So the early Christians, especially here with Justin Martyr, understood that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and that when we die, we do not immediately go to heaven. So that was the early Christian concept. We'll be getting into the scriptures here in a moment. But just know that at this point, things changed over history. The reasons behind that, that really gets in the weeds, and it's not in the scope of tonight's drosh. But just have it understood that early Christians did have somewhat different beliefs about what happens when we die than do modern Christians. Now in this topic of what happens when we die, I think it's also important to understand and think about the day of judgment, when we'll all be judged according to what we have done in life, whether we are saved or not, whether we are righteous or unrighteous. Matthew chapter 10, verses 14 through 15. And whoever does not receive you, nor hear your words, when you leave that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Truly I say to you, it shall be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Amorah in the day of judgment than for that city. So here our Master and Messiah Yeshua is speaking about the day of judgment, the singular day of judgment, going on in Matthew chapter 12, verses 36 through 37. And I say to you that for every idle word men speak, they shall give an account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be declared righteous, and by your words you shall be declared unrighteous. So again, Yeshua is speaking about a day, singular, of judgment. John chapter 12, verse 48. He who rejects me and does not receive my words has one who judges him. The word that I have spoken shall judge him in the last day. Again, speaking about a day of judgment. Acts chapter 17, verse 31. Because he has set a day on which he is going to judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, having given proof of this to all by raising him from the dead. Again, speaking about a day of judgment, being judged by our Messiah Yeshua. Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 10. For we all have to appear before the judgment seat of Messiah in order for each one to receive according to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Revelation chapter 11, verse 18. And the nations were enraged, and your wrath has come, and the time of the dead to be judged and to give the reward to your servants, the prophets, and to the set-apart ones, and to those who fear your name, small and great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth. Look back at that real quick and notice that. The time of the dead to be judged. Again, there is a certain point in time at the end times, on the day of judgment. That is the time to be judged, both for the righteous and the unrighteous. Revelation chapter 20, verses 12-13. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before the throne, and books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged from what was written in the books according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Sheol gave up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. So again, there is going to be a certain singular point in time at the end times called the day of judgment when all will be judged according to whether they are righteous or unrighteous. That is the one time, the one day, the one time of judgment for all people. And we see here that the sea at that time gave up the dead, and that Sheol at that time gave up the dead. So keep that in mind as we go throughout tonight's drash as well. So far we have went over various cultural ideas about what happens to us when we die. We have went over what the resurrection of the dead is and that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the righteous and the unrighteous. We have also went over and saw from scripture that there will be a singular day of judgment, both for the righteous and for the unrighteous. It is at that time that the dead will be brought up, both from Sheol and from the sea, as it says here in Revelation chapter 20. But that is all into the future. We understand that the resurrection of the dead is coming in the future, whether that is tomorrow or a thousand years from now. We understand that there will be a day of judgment in the future, whether that be tomorrow or a thousand years from now. But what we are talking about tonight is what happens to us now when we die. And what does scripture tell us about that? What happens to us if we were to die right now? First off, let's go back and let's review from the beginning what man is. We look in Genesis chapter 2 verse 7. And Yahweh Elohim formed a man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils breath of lives, and the man became a living being. So man is composed of dust, keep that in mind. We are also composed of the spirit that was breathed into us, and when that happened, we became a living being, a living soul, as some translations put it. Now when we die, one thing that we can discern from scripture rather easily, and also from just common sense, Genesis chapter 3 verse 19. By the sweat of your face you are to eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken, for in dust you are, and to dust you return. So when we die, one part of us, our bodies, returns to the dust. So again, that's pretty much common sense and something that pretty much everyone agrees on. And once we die, our body decays and it goes back into dust, it dissolves pretty much. Goes back to the main elements it's composed of, and returns to the life cycle, if you want to put it that way. But our bodies return to dust. But scripture also speaks about us having a soul and a spirit. Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12. For the word of Elohim is living and working and sharper than any two-edged sword, cutting through even to the dividing of being and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Now some translations here have dividing between soul and spirit. Going back once again to us being comprised of body, soul, and spirit. So we've already went over what happens to our bodies. We see that our bodies returns to the dust from whence it was taken. But what happens to our spirit? What about this other aspect of what we are? We look in Ecclesiastes chapter 12 verse 7, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to Elohim who gave it. So now we see that our bodies returns to dust, but our spirit returns to Yahweh who gave it to us. A little more clear now? Kind of making more sense? But we still have one more part to discuss and find out what happens to our soul when we die. The first instance, the first evidence we get about what happens to our soul when we die comes from Deuteronomy chapter 31 verses 14 through 16. Yahweh appeared at the tent in a column of a cloud, and the column of a cloud stood above the door of the tent. And Yahweh said to Moshe, See, you are about to sleep with your fathers, and this people shall rise and whore after the mighty ones of the strangers of the land into the midst of which they shall enter and forsake me and break my covenant which I have made with them. So the first evidence we get, we see here that Yahweh is speaking to Moshe, and first he tells him that the days have drawn near for you to die. In the same vein, he tells him that you are about to sleep with your fathers. That's a clue, but it goes on. This same thing is repeated again and again and again and again all throughout scripture both in the Tanakh and the Brit Hadashah as we will see going through this drash. First Kings chapter 2 verse 10, And Dawid slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of Dawid. So just like Moshe or Moses, King David, when he died, he slept with his fathers. First Kings chapter 11 verse 43, So Shlomo slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of Dawid his father, and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place. So again, Shlomo or Solomon, just like Moses and David, when he died, he slept with his fathers. First Kings chapter 22 verse 50, So Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of Dawid his father, and Jehoram his son reigned in his place. Again, Daniel chapter 12 verse 2, And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth wake up, some to everlasting life, and some to reproaches, everlasting abhorrence. So here we also see that death is equated with sleeping in the dust, and this happens to both the righteous and the unrighteous, those who will wake up to everlasting life and those who will wake up to everlasting abhorrence. Matthew chapter 27 verse 52, And the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the set-apart ones who had fallen asleep were raised. So again, we're getting this idea straight from scripture about what happens to our soul when we die. We found out that when we die our bodies go to dust and our spirit returns to Yahweh, but our soul rests. Our soul goes unconscious. Our soul goes to sleep. Again, John chapter 11 verses 11 through 14, He said this, and after that he said to them, Our friend Eleazar has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up. Therefore the taught ones said to him, Master, if he has fallen asleep, he shall recover, but Yeshua had spoken about his death, whereas they thought that he had spoken of taking rest and sleep. So then Yeshua said to them plainly, Eleazar has died. Right here in this story of Jesus and Lazarus, our Messiah is telling the disciples that he's going to wake up Eleazar. He's going to wake up Lazarus. But the disciples think that Jesus is telling them that Lazarus is just asleep and that he'll eventually wake up. So they didn't understand what Yeshua was telling them. Yeshua was telling them that Eleazar, Lazarus, was dead, that he was asleep, that it was the same thing. Yeshua uses these terms interchangeably just like the rest of scripture. So that's something important to keep in mind. And if you'll go back and read this whole section for yourself, this whole story about Yeshua going and raising Lazarus from the dead, there's only about a four-day span there. But still, when Lazarus wakes up from the dead, he doesn't give recounts of what happened to him while he was dead. He didn't say that he went to hell and came back and wrote a book and it was a New York Times bestseller. He didn't say that he was in heaven and he was enjoying his time and he got upset at Jesus for bringing him back to earth because he was having such a good time in heaven. No. It says that Lazarus was asleep, that Lazarus was dead, and that Yeshua woke him up. Yeshua raised him from the dead. Acts chapter 7 verses 59 through 60, And they were stoning Stephanos as he was calling and saying, Master Yeshua, receive my spirit. And kneeling down, he cried out with a loud voice, Master, do not hold this sin against them. And having said this, he fell asleep. He died, the first martyr, Stephen, even after the death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua. It says that when Stephen died, he fell asleep. That's what happened to him at the moment of his death. Acts chapter 13 verses 35 to 37. For this reason, he also says in another Tehillah, You shall not give your lovingly committed one to see corruption. For David, indeed, having served his own generation, by the counsel of Elohim, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption. But he whom Elohim raised up saw no corruption. Here, once again, it's going along the same lines and completely in line with the rest of scripture, stating that when King David died, that he fell asleep. It also says that his body saw corruption, saw decay. But the one that Yahweh raised up from the dead, Yeshua, did not see corruption. Remember, he was only in the tomb for three days. So, his body did not have time to really see decay or corruption, as it puts here. But David did. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 13 through 16. Now, brothers, we do not wish you to be ignorant concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you be sad as others who have no expectation. For if we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, so also Elohim shall bring with him those who sleep in Yeshua. For this we say to you by the word of the Master, that we, the living, who are left over at the coming of the Master, shall in no way go before those who are asleep. Because the Master himself shall come down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of a chief messenger, and with the trumpet of Elohim, and the dead in Messiah shall rise first. This is a very, very powerful section regarding this particular subject that we're discussing tonight. Here, the Apostle Paul writing to the church in Thessalonica refers to those who are dead as those who have fallen asleep. He actually uses, in this passage, those two terms interchangeably. Saying that those who have fallen asleep will go first, and that the dead in Messiah shall rise first. And this is the great hope that we have, to not lose hope because of people who have died before us. That we should still have that hope of what? Of the resurrection of the dead. That's the hope that we have for those who have died before us, for those who have fallen asleep before us, using the same terminology that the Apostle Paul is using. That is our hope, because there will be a resurrection of the dead for those who have fallen asleep. Those who are asleep in Yeshua, as Paul puts it. So, just to recap, when we die, our bodies, our physical bodies, return to dust. It sees corruption. It decays back into the dust from which we were taken. Our spirit, as Scripture tells us, returns to Yahweh who gave it to us. But our soul, when we die, goes into the earth, or into the sea, or wherever it is, and there it sleeps until the day of resurrection. So, we are comprised of body, soul, and spirit, from what Scripture tells us. And now we know what happens to us when we die for each of those three parts of who and what we are. We have a body, we have a soul, and we have a spirit. We know that the body goes to the dust, we know the spirit goes back to Yahweh, we know that our soul, that which we are, goes unconscious, or falls asleep, until the day of resurrection. So, what about the state of the dead? What can we know is happening with the dead right now? We've gotten some evidence so far by learning that our soul goes unconscious or goes to sleep when we die. So, what else can we learn about the state of the dead, those who are dead right now, rather? We look in Psalm 115, verse 17, the dead do not praise Yahweh, nor any going down to silence. So, here we're told from the psalmist that those who are dead do not praise Yahweh. According to modern Christian concepts, if we immediately go to heaven, and we're told that we're in heaven and we're in the presence of Yahweh, we're in the presence of Yahweh. We're praising Yahweh. And, yeah, we're going to be doing that for eternity once the kingdom of heaven gets here. But right now, the state of the dead, those who are dead, those who are asleep in Yeshua, what are they doing? Well, they're not praising Yahweh. So, again, we get this concept of the dead being unconscious. They're not in some other place. They're not in somewhere like heaven praising Yahweh. No. Here it says, the dead do not praise Yah, because the dead are unconscious. They're still asleep until the day of resurrection. Psalm 146, verses 3 through 4, do not put your trust in princes, and a son of man in whom it is no deliverance. His spirit goes out, he returns to the earth, and that day his plans perish. So, here, this is going back to the body and spirit aspect, even talking about princes, where the body goes back to the earth, the spirit goes out, and his plans perish. He has no more ability to enact his plans, because he is unconscious, he is asleep, until the day of resurrection. Ecclesiastes, chapter 9, verses 2 through 5. It is the same for all. One event to the righteous and to the wrong, to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean, and to the one slaughtering, and to the one not slaughtering. As is the good one, so is the sinner, the one swearing as the one fearing an oath. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun. There is one event to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are filled with evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live. And then, to the dead. But for him who is joined to all the living there is trust, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. The living know that they shall die, but the dead know not, nor do they have any more reward, for their remembrance is forgotten. Another powerful section here about the state of the dead, referring to both the righteous and the unrighteous. It says that the same event is for all. That all die, all go to the dead, and the dead do not know anything. Now, if we were immediately taken to another place, wherever that place may be, upon our moment of death, we would be speaking or saying something, most likely, depending on where we went to. But we're told by the psalmist that the dead do not praise God, and do not communicate in any way. Here we're told that the dead know nothing. Just like when you're unconscious at night, when you're sleeping in your bed, you don't know anything, because you're unconscious. The same is true for the dead, as we get from scripture, that they are unconscious, they are asleep, and therefore, they know nothing. They know not. John chapter 3, verses 13 through 16. And no one has gone up into heaven, except he who came down from the heaven, the son of Adam. And as Moshe lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the son of Adam has to be lifted up, so that whoever is believing in him should not perish, but possess everlasting life. For Elohim so loved the world, that he gave his only brought forth son, so that everyone who believes in him should not perish, but possess everlasting life. So, John 3, verse 16 is probably one of the most famous verses from scripture. Lots and lots of people, Christians and non-Christians alike, know John 3, verse 16. But very few people go back a few verses before that and know what that says. And here it's telling us that no one, no one has gone up into heaven, except for he who came down from the heavens. We can already see that, at least pre-Messiah, that no one went to heaven. So, what do we get from scripture? That they died, they were buried, and they slept with their fathers, both the righteous and the unrighteous. And we get even more evidence about this coming up. Acts, chapter 2, verse 29 and 34. Men and brothers, let me speak boldly to you of the ancestor, Dawid, that he died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. For Dawid did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself said, Yahweh said to my master, sit at my right hand. So, again, this is written after the death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua. So, even then, the great King David, the man after Yahweh's own heart, did not ascend into heaven when he died. What does scripture tell us? Scripture tells us that Dawid died, was buried, and he slept with his fathers. Just like every one of us does. So, just to recap, we went over various ideas about what happens when we die from various cultures and various points in history. We went over the resurrection of the dead, that everyone, both righteous and unrighteous, will be resurrected. We also went over the day of judgment, that there will be a day, singular, of judgment for both the righteous and the unrighteous. And we went over what happens to our bodies, they go back to dust. We went over what happens to our spirit, it goes back to Yahweh who gave it. We went over what happened to our soul, it goes unconscious, it just goes to sleep until the day of resurrection. And we also went over what happens, or what the state of the dead now is. That the dead do not praise Yah, that the dead know not, and that no one has gone to heaven. That's what we saw straight from scripture. Again, there are these notes that you have just saw for yourself on screen, and many, many more are in the notes file that we have on GodHonestTruth.com. Click on the description, on the link in the description down below, take you directly to it, or go to the website and click on the post for this to get those notes. But you may be thinking to yourself, yes, brother, but what about some of these other things? What about this and what about that? Let's go over those. Let's think about that real quick. Probably one of the most common objections to what is being taught tonight, and again, we're presenting this straight from scripture. We happen to miss anything, or if you think we happen to get something wrong, by all means, please let us know, because we want to learn with all of you brothers and sisters as well. But probably one of the most popular objections to what's being taught tonight is the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Now, before we get to that particular story, let's bring back to memory how Yeshua spoke to the people as he went throughout his ministry. We look in Matthew chapter 13, verses 10 through 15. And the taught ones came and said to him, why do you speak to them in parables? And he answering said to them, because it has been given to you to know the secrets of the reign of the heavens, but to them it has not been given. For whoever possesses, to him more shall be given, and he shall have overflowingly. But whoever does not possess, even what he possesses shall be taken away from him. Because of this, I speak to them in parables. Because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Yeshua is completely filled, which says, hearing you shall hear, and by no means understand. And seeing you shall see, and by no means perceive. For the heart of this people has become thickened, and their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed. Lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart, and turn back, and I heal them. So here we see that Yeshua spoke to them in parables, so that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not hear, and that because of their hard hearts that they would not understand. We read also in Matthew chapter 13 verses 34 through 35. Yeshua said all this to the crowds in parables, and he did not speak to them without a parable, so that what was spoken by the prophet might be filled saying, I shall open my mouth in parables, I shall pour forth what has been hidden from the foundation of the world. So here we're told that Yeshua only spoke to the crowds, he only spoke to the Pharisees, those he was teaching that were not his disciples anyways. He only spoke to them in parables. Keep all this in mind as we go through the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Luke chapter 16 verses 19 through 31. But there was a certain rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and live luxuriously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Eleazar being covered with sores who was placed at his gate and longing to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Indeed, even the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to be that the beggar died and was carried by the messengers to the bosom of Abraham. And the rich man also died and was buried. And while suffering tortures in Sheol, having lifted up his eyes, he saw Abraham far away and Eleazar in his bosom. And crying out, he said, Father Abraham, have compassion on me and send Eleazar to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that in your life you received your good and likewise Eleazar the evil. But now he is comforted and you are suffering. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set, so that those who wish to pass from here to you are unable, nor do those from there pass to us. And he said, Then I beg you, Father, that you would send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, lest they also come to this place of torture. Abraham said to him, They have Moshe and the prophets, let them hear them. And he said, No, Father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they shall repent. But he said to them, If they do not hear Moshe and the prophets, neither would they be persuaded even if one should rise from the dead. So now think back about what we just read and even the scriptures we read before this story. We're told that Yeshua spoke in parables and he did not speak to them without parables. So we can already get the idea that what Yeshua is saying here is a parable. It's a teaching. It's metaphorical. It's not about something that literally happened. So it's not a literal story. And we're going to go over some problems about trying to take it literally. But one of the things that is a problem with taking this literally is that this is the only time in all of scripture where we get the term, Bosom of Abraham. There is no other place in scripture where we get this phrase. We do find it in other sources, such as Jewish sources. We find from the Talmud that there is a place called Akra Deagma in Babylonia. There's a man named Ada Bar Ahava there. Today he is sitting in the lap of Abraham, our forefather, since he has just been circumcised. Lap of Abraham or bosom of Abraham is the same thing. So around this time, the external Jewish sources would have this concept. And remember, Yeshua was speaking to the Judean crowd, to the Pharisees, who would have been probably familiar with these external Jewish sources. So again, bosom of Abraham is not something that comes from scripture. It's more than likely something that comes from external Jewish sources. Again, alluding back to the fact that what Yeshua is teaching here is a parable. Also, when it talks about the rich man going to Sheol in this translation, but in other translations, it might say hell, but more specifically in the Greek, it says Hades. Now in scripture, Sheol and Hades are synonymous terms for the same place or the same state of the dead. It's the intermediate state of the dead until the day of resurrection. It's not the final place. When we think of hell as the final place for the unrighteous, that would be the Greek word Gehenna. But here in this parable that Jesus is teaching, it's referencing Hades. It actually says in the Greek, Hades. Now, early Christian writers understood this story and Hades specifically to be the abode of the dead, both the righteous and the unrighteous, even the abode and intermediate state regarding the bosom of Abraham. We see Hippolytus of Rome writing about the turn of the third century. But now we must speak of Hades in which the souls of both the righteous and the unrighteous are detained. This locality has been destined to be, as it were, a guardhouse for souls. But the righteous shall obtain the incorruptible and unfading kingdom, who indeed are at present detained in Hades, but not in the same place with the unrighteous. The face of the fathers and the righteous is seen to be always smiling as they wait for the rest and eternal revival in heaven, which succeed this location, and we call it by the name Abraham's bosom. So here Hippolytus is referring to Hades as the abode of both the righteous and the unrighteous until the day of resurrection. But he's speaking of the righteous being in a section called Abraham's bosom. Nowadays, when you speak to modern New Age Christians who take the parable of Lazarus and the rich man as something literal and not a parable, they would say something to the effect of Abraham's bosom referencing heaven, trying to say that when we die, the righteous immediately go to Abraham's bosom or heaven. That's not always been the understanding. That's changed over time. In fact, the earliest concepts, the earliest understandings were that Hades was the abode, the place where both the righteous and the unrighteous went. This is the concept we get from Scripture also. But like I said, there are some serious problems with taking this literally. And some of the problems with taking this literally is that, number one, in the story that Yeshua tells, it just tells about Lazarus being sick and poor and the rich man having obviously lots of wealth and lots of good things. So, if we take this literally, then the story would be teaching that being rich is what sends you to hell and that being poor or sickly is what gets you to heaven. Once again, that does not line up with Scripture. Being rich is not a sin. It's okay to be rich. There's lots of rich people in Scripture that will be in heaven. Likewise, being sick and poor is not what gets you into heaven. That's not what lines up with the rest of Scripture. There's going to be lots of poor and sickly people who do not make it into the kingdom of heaven. So, that's one serious problem with taking this parable as a literal story. Another one is that in the story, the beggar Lazarus and Abraham are able to see down into the torment of the rich man. So, if we take this literally, then we would have to conclude that those who are saved will be able to forever see the torment of those in hell, including their loved ones who are not in heaven. How much enjoyment of heaven could you get if you were constantly looking down and seeing the torment of people in Gehenna or what we refer to as hell? That would not be a very pleasant, enjoyable experience in my opinion and probably most people's opinion to see suffering and torture. No, it's going to be a blessed experience. A third serious problem with taking this literally is to, in the story, the rich man asks that Lazarus be allowed to dip his finger in water so that he may be relieved of his torment. Well, taking this literally, how much relief could one drop of water bring to someone who is in torment in hell, in torment in Hades, in torment in fire? If you were burning alive, would you want just one drop of water? How much relief would that actually bring to you? None. Because this is not a literal story of something that actually happened. This is a parable teaching a greater meaning. So, when we take the rich man and Lazarus into context, remember that Yeshua only spoke to the crowds and the Pharisees in parables so that seeing they might not see and hearing they might not hear and so that they would not understand. He uses language that does not literally correspond to anything else in scripture, such as the bosom of Abraham, the great chasm that you can see across between the bosom of Abraham and Hades, and things like that. Again, alluding to the fact that it is a parable. He speaks here of the intermediate state of the dead, not the final destination. So, again, the intermediate state is not Abraham's bosom or Hades. Well, actually, the intermediate state is Hades for both the righteous and the unrighteous, but the rest of scripture does not state that there will be a bosom of Abraham, in other words. And there are serious problems, as we've already went over, with taking this story in a literal sense of something that actually happened. There are serious problems that destroys other theology in scripture. Again, alluding to the fact that this is a parable teaching a greater meaning and not a literal story of something that actually happened. And the story of the rich man and Lazarus is a parable. We went over the evidence. We saw the scriptures. There's so much more that can go into this. And if you would like a more in-depth teaching and examination of this story of the rich man and Lazarus, I would highly suggest that you go and check out 119 Ministries' video they did on this, because they really go in-depth about what this story is meaning, who the characters allude to, all that good stuff. It's video number four, I think it is, in their Life After Death series. So, yeah, if you want to know more, if you really want to get into the weeds, go check out that video by 119 Ministries, part four in their Life After Death series. Really well done. But someone else might bring up, and they say, but what about the thief on the cross? Let's take a look at that story real quick. Reading from the ESV, Luke chapter 23, verse 39 through 43. One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us. But the other rebuked him, saying, Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds. But this man has done nothing wrong. And he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And he said to him, Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. And this is the traditional understanding of this story, that Yeshua is telling the thief that today, this very day, you will be with me in paradise. But there are some problems with this, and let me explain. Number one, when we continue to read our scriptures and we look for ourselves, we see that that very day, Yeshua did not go to heaven. He did not go into paradise. He did not go into his kingdom, because the kingdom is not yet. We see in John chapter 20, verses 15 through 17, Yeshua said to her, Woman, why do you weep? Whom do you seek? Thinking he was the gardener, she said to him, Master, if you have carried him away, say to me where you put him, and I shall take him away. Yeshua said to her, Miriam. She turned and said to him, Rabboni, which means teacher. Yeshua said to her, Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to my father. But go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my father and your father, into my Elohim and your Elohim. So we see even after the death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua, that he had not ascended into heaven. He did not go to heaven the day that he was crucified. So that's a problem with a traditional understanding of the thief on the cross. We know that Yeshua was in the tomb for three days and three nights. Not Friday evening to Sunday morning. No, it was three days and three nights. Just like the rest of us, there's that intermediate state. But for Yeshua, it was only three days and three nights. We also see that paradise in scripture is referred to as the kingdom of heaven. We look in Revelation chapter 2 verse 7. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes, I shall give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of Elohim. Kingdom of heaven is not here yet. So therefore, the tree of life in the midst of paradise is not here yet. Maybe up there in the actual heaven, but it's not in the kingdom of heaven here on earth yet. So again, it raises another problem with the traditional understanding of the thief on the cross. Something else to point out that I think is very, very important is that when we look in the original Greek writings, this is something to pay attention to. We look in the original writings, check out this manuscript. This is called Papyrus 75. This is Greek that is the end of Luke and the beginning of the book of John or the gospel of John. You may not be able to read actual letters and words, but take a notice here of what you don't find also. What you don't find is spaces and punctuation, and that becomes very, very important when we're talking about the thief on the cross and how to best understand it. In fact, right there where Yeshua tells the thief that today you will be with me in paradise, if we move the comma just one word, it changes the entire understanding and the entire interpretation. If we look at the Vulgate here, it doesn't have any punctuation either. But in the translation that we normally use here at God Honest Truth, it reads, truly, I say to you today, you shall be with me in paradise. The traditional understanding like the ESV, the King James, things like that, it reads such as, truly, I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise. So in one understanding, depending on where you put the comma, Yeshua is saying, I tell you this very day, I tell you, you will be with me in paradise at some point in the future. The traditional rendering is Yeshua is telling him that I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. You see how the interpretation and the understanding is completely different, all depending on where you put that comma. But again, remember that the original writings did not have the punctuation there. So the placement of the comma in our modern translation is all up to the translators and where they decide to put it. But thinking back, we know that Yeshua did not go that day into paradise. He did not go that day into heaven. So that, amongst other things, leads us to instead think that the comma should be after the word today and to understand it in this manner, that Yeshua was telling him, I tell you this day, you will be with me in paradise at some point in the future. At least that's what we put forth with all the evidence, taking everything into context. You decide for yourself. If you happen to disagree, let us know down below. And if you can, go into great detail so that we can all learn and have something to research and look at. One final objection, people might say, okay, but what about where it says absent from the body and present with the Lord? Okay, let's take a look at that. We look in 2 Corinthians 5, verses 1-9. For we know that if the tent of our earthly house is destroyed, we have a building from Elohim, a house not made with hands, everlasting in the heavens. For indeed, in this we groan, longing to put on our dwelling, which is from heaven, so that having put it on, we shall not be found naked. For indeed, we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we wish to put it off, but to put on the other, so that what is to die might be swallowed up by life. Now he who has prepared us for this same purpose is Elohim, who has given us the spirit as a pledge of what is to come. Therefore, being always of good courage and knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the master, for we walk by belief, not by sight, we are of good courage and are well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the master. So we also make it our aim to be well pleasing to him, whether being at home or being away from home. A lot of people just understand this one verse where it says, we are well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the master. And they take this to be understood as when we die, we're absent from the body and therefore immediately at home with Yeshua in heaven. But take into context everything else that we have seen in this drash and also everything else that's stated in this passage. Here Paul is writing to the church at Corinth saying that we long to put on that spiritual body. Speaking about the day of resurrection and that resurrection is for everyone, although only the righteous will receive everlasting life. That's a subject for another time, but let it be known that there will be a resurrection for the righteous and the unrighteous, a day of judgment for the righteous and the unrighteous. And that here he's saying that we, the righteous, long to put on that spiritual body. That is when we will be with the master. He's saying here that we would rather be absent from the body and be present with the master. So that's not what happens when we die. It's only when we are absent from this body and we put on that new body, that new spiritual body, that we'll be present with Yeshua. He's not saying that's what happens immediately right now before the day of resurrection. Again, take close notice what he's saying here. He's saying that we would rather be absent from the body and be present with the master. We would prefer to be absent from the body and at home with the Lord. Not that we are at home with the Lord when we are absent from the body, but rather that we would prefer to be that way. So again, take everything into context. We also read in 1 Corinthians 15, verses 42 through 44. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption. It is raised in incorruption. It is sown in disrespect. It is raised in esteem. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown a natural body. It is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body. So again, Paul is saying that he would rather be absent from this body, this natural body, this body we have now, and rather be in that spiritual body, putting on that spiritual body and being present with the Lord. Philippians chapter 3, verses 20 through 21. For our citizenship is in the heavens from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the master Yeshua Messiah, who shall change our lowly body to be conformed to his esteemed body, according to the working of which he is able to bring all under his control. So again, this body is not the body we're going to have in the kingdom of heaven. We're going to have our spiritual body in the kingdom of heaven and that's when we will be present with the Lord. So again, taking everything into context. And one more time, for a greater context, make sure to go check out our notes, about 36 pages of notes we took on this subject and we have provided to you free of charge on GodHonestTruth.com. Just click on the link down below in the description box. So in summary, how does what we went over tonight from the scriptures line up with the various concepts of what happens when we die that we went over in the beginning of the strash? Well, we learned from scripture that our body returns to dust. Now this kind of lines up with the idea of reincarnation, with the Greek and Roman idea of death, with the Atheist idea of death, with the Asiatic and the Neo-Christian idea of death. So all that lines up. So far so good, right? But we also learned that our spirit returns to Yahweh who gave it. This does not line up with the idea of reincarnation, does not line up with the Greek and Roman idea, which says that our spirit or soul, which they considered one thing, automatically went to Hades. Nope, that doesn't line up either. It doesn't line up with the Atheist idea and sort of kind of lines up with the Neo-Christian idea because scripture tells us that our spirit returns to Yahweh who is in heaven. The Neo-Christian idea says that we go to heaven immediately upon death. They don't really put a separation between soul and spirit too much either so it kind of sort of but not really lines up with the Neo-Christian idea. We're also told from scripture that when we die that which we are, our soul, goes unconscious, it goes to sleep, it sleeps with our fathers. That does not line up with the idea of reincarnation, does not line up with the Greek and Roman idea, does not line up with the Atheist idea, obviously, and it does not line up with the Neo-Christian idea. We're also told from scripture that there will be a resurrection of the dead at the return of Yeshua. Definitely does not line up with reincarnation, which is Hindu, definitely does not line up with the Greek and Roman pagan ideas, does not line up with the Atheist idea, does not line up with the Sadducee idea because they say there is no resurrection. And a lot of New Age Neo-Christians don't even speak about the resurrection of the dead, much less understand the resurrection of the dead. So it doesn't line up with the Neo-Christian idea either. But we have seen for ourselves what happens when we die, we've seen it straight from scripture. So in summary, there will be a resurrection of the dead, both for the righteous and the unrighteous, for the just and the unjust. There will be a final day of judgment for all, both the righteous and the unrighteous. Now if we immediately go to heaven or hell at the time we die, that would require a judgment to judge whether we were righteous or unrighteous. And that would happen trillions of times throughout history. In scripture we're told there is one day of judgment. Therefore, we have not yet been judged. Those who have already died have not yet been judged. Without being judged, they are not judged righteous, they are not judged unrighteous, and they are therefore not sent to heaven, and they are therefore not sent to hell or our concept of hell anyways. So again, there will be one singular final day of judgment for everyone. And you're not sent to your final place until the day of judgment. We also learn from scripture that man is comprised of flesh, soul, and spirit. We see that the dead know nothing, that the dead do not praise Yah. They are simply unconscious and asleep. And that no one, not even King David, has ascended into heaven yet, except for he who came from heaven. Who is that? Yeshua. And that when we die, our soul, our bodies, our flesh returns to the dust from which it came. Our spirit returns to Yahweh who gave it. And our soul goes unconscious, it sleeps or it rests in the earth. And that's just the God-honest truth. Remember that term, rest in peace? Well, that's a very old term that goes straight back to this biblical concept of sleeping in the earth, of sleeping with our fathers, as the phrase from scripture puts it. And in fact, the very word cemetery comes from a Greek word which means sleeping place. You'll find that in the notes we took. And that the Christians, the early Christians, were actually the first ones to use this word cemetery or sleeping place for their dead. Because the early Christians understood that the dead were asleep. Things have changed since then. Like I said, that's outside the scope to go into why it changed and where the change came from. But as we saw, things have changed. The understanding of what happens when we die has changed over time. But tonight, in this drash, we went over from scripture what it is that happens to us when we die. So thank you for joining us for this drash. We really and truly hope that you got something out of it. Even if you disagreed with what we presented, hopefully you did learn something and are better educated. If you have any comments or suggestions or complaints or just want to say hi, go down below in the comments and leave us a comment and let us know what it is that's on your mind. Also, while you're down there, make sure to hit that like button. Hit the subscribe button and ring the bell so that you're notified every time that we go live or when we upload a new on-demand video. Also, hit that share button. Share it with someone that you may know. And one more time, click on the link down below that'll take you to the article post for this drash on GodHonestTruth.com. And there you'll be able to see the on-demand video, the slides that you saw in this video that you can go through at your own pace, and also the notes and the transcript for this particular subject. Thank you for joining us for another production from God Honest Truth Ministries. We hope that we have been of service to you. And if you have any feedback, then please reach out to us by email. And make sure to visit our website at GodHonestTruth.com for more information, resources, and contact. God Honest Truth Ministries.
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