Transcript Slide 1

David Cox
Southampton Christadelphians
Quotations from English Standard Version
Expressions of hope
 For whatever was written in former days was written
for our instruction, that through endurance and
through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might
have hope. (Rom 15:4)
 … having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you
may know what is the hope to which he has called you,
what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the
saints, (Eph 1:18)
Expressions of hope
 … we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love
that you have for all the saints, because of the hope
laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard
before in the word of the truth, the gospel, (Col 1:4-5)
 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers,
about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as
others do who have no hope. (1Th 4:13)
Expressions of hope
 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without
wavering, for he who promised is faithful. (Heb 10:23)
 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us
to be born again to a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (1Pe 1:3)
The teaching of the Lord Jesus
 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish but
have eternal life. (John 3:16)
 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who
looks on the Son and believes in him should have
eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
(John 6:40)
Where will you go when you die?
 Heaven
 The afterlife
 Hell
 Happy hunting ground
 Purgatory
 Valhalla
 Paradise
 Nirvana
?
?
The immortality of the soul
 Widespread idea
 Important to feel that there is more to life
 But what does God promise us?
 What does the Bible say?
Jesus ascends to heaven
 … he presented himself alive after his suffering by many
proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking
about the kingdom of God. … And when he had said these
things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a
cloud took him out of their sight. (Acts 1:1-3,9)
 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went,
behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said,
“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?
This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will
come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
(Acts 1:10-11)
Why will Jesus return?
 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead,
how can some of you say that there is no resurrection
of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead,
then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has
not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your
faith is in vain. (1Cor 15:12-14)
 The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of
Christian belief.
Why will Jesus return?
 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the
firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a
man came death, by a man has come also the
resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also
in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own
order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those
who belong to Christ. (1Cor 15:20-23)
 The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of
Christian hope.
Why will Jesus return?
 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to
God the Father after destroying every rule and every
authority and power. For he must reign until he has
put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be
destroyed is death. (1Cor 15:24-26)
 The Christian hope is that the risen Lord will return to
the earth.
 He will establish God’s kingdom on the earth.
The promised kingdom
 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the
mountain of the house of the LORD shall be
established as the highest of the mountains, and shall
be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall
flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to
the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his
ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of
Zion shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from
Jerusalem. (Isa 2:2-3)
 For all nations.
The promised kingdom
 He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide
disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their
swords into ploughshares, and their spears into
pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
(Isa 2:4)
 Brings peace to the whole earth.
The promised kingdom
 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He
shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes
by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall
judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of
the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of
his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill
the wicked. (Isa 11:3-4)
 A kingdom of justice.
The promised kingdom
 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what
sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and
godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the
day of God, … according to his promise we are waiting
for new heavens and a new earth in which
righteousness dwells.” (2Pe 3:11-13)
 A kingdom of righteousness.
The promised kingdom
 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall
lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and
the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie
down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The
nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the
weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They
shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the
earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the
waters cover the sea. (Isa 11:6-9)
 The natural balance of creation restored.
The promised kingdom
 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1Cor 15:26)
 A kingdom of everlasting life.
 But why bother with this if heaven is the place of
reward?
Immortality
 “Immortal soul” is not a Bible phrase
 500 references to “soul” in AV
 6 references to immortal (all in NT)
 Never connected
 Same word is translated “life” 150 times
The soul
 If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance,
in the holy things of the LORD; …
(Lev 5:15 AV)
 The soul who sins shall die. (Eze 18:20 AV & ESV)
 The soul cannot be immortal!
 If anyone commits a breach of faith and sins
unintentionally in any of the holy things of the LORD,
…
(Lev 5:15 ESV)
The soul
 Soul = living body, person, creature
 … then the LORD God formed the man of dust from
the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life, and the man became a living creature
(AV soul). (Gen 2:7)
 Body + breath of life = living soul
 “Remember also your Creator in the days of your
youth, before … the dust returns to the earth as it was,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” (Ecc 12:1-7)
The state of the dead
 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth,
before the evil days come and the years draw near of
which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; before
… the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit
returns to God who gave it.
(Ecc 12:1-7)
 The soul (life, breath) is a part of God’s life-sustaining
power
The state of the dead
 But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a
living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living
know that they will die, but the dead know nothing,
and they have no more reward, for the memory of
them is forgotten. Their love and their hate and their
envy have already perished, and forever they have no
more share in all that is done under the sun.
(Ecc 9:4-6)
The state of the dead
 For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who
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will give you praise? (Ps 6:5)
What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?”
(Ps 30:9)
Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your
faithfulness in Abaddon? (Ps 88:11)
The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any who go down
into silence. (Ps 115:17)
For Sheol does not thank you; death does not praise you;
those who go down to the pit do not hope for your
faithfulness. (Isa 38:18 ESV)
The state of the dead
 Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the
patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and
his tomb is with us to this day. … For David did not
ascend into the heavens, …(Acts 2:29-36)
 Heaven is not the place of reward
 David sleeps in the dust and awaits resurrection
Our destiny
 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he
commands all people everywhere to repent, because
he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in
righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and
of this he has given assurance to all by raising him
from the dead. (Acts 17:30-31)
 There is a day appointed by God when Jesus will return
to judge the world
Our destiny
 … I worship the God of our fathers, believing
everything laid down by the Law and written in the
Prophets, having a hope in God, … that there will be a
resurrection of both the just and the unjust.”
(Acts 24:14-15)
 The judgement will distinguish between the just and
the unjust
Our destiny
 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first
resurrection! Over such the second death has no
power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ,
and they will reign with him for a thousand years. …
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of
fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if
anyone’s name was not found written in the book of
life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
(Rev 20:6,14-15)
 The reward for the just is eternal life
 The condemnation for the unjust is eternal death
(oblivion)
Our destiny
 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven
and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the
dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and
they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as
their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and
death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor
crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed
away.” (Rev 21:1-4)
 The ultimate reward for the just is eternal citizenship of a newly
perfected world
Our destiny – in summary
 Paul … in hope of eternal life, which God, who never
lies, promised before the ages began (Tit 1:2)
 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the
glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ,
(Tit 2:13)
 so that being justified by his grace we might become
heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Tit 3:7)
Our destiny – in heaven?
 … because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of
this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the
gospel (Col 1:5)
 Not in heaven but waiting to be revealed from heaven
 A hope that is guaranteed because of this
Our destiny – what shall we do?
 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every
one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your
children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the
Lord our God calls to himself.”
(Acts 2:38-39)
 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in
believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you
may abound in hope. (Rom 15:13)