Transcript Slide 1

I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker
The Creed
of heaven and earth: And in Jesus
Christ his only
Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born
of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified,
dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose
again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the
I BELIEVE in ETERNITY
shall come to
right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he
judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy
catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen
I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker
of heaven and earth: And in Jesus
Christ his only
Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born
of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified,
dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose
again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the
right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he
shall come to
judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy
catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen
Key Question…
“What Happens to Me When I
Die?”
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
The Intermediate State
“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple
and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. “And a poor
man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and
longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich
man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his
sores. “Now the poor man died and was carried away by the
angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was
buried. “In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw
Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom."
(Luke 16:19-23)
No Purgatory…
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
The Intermediate State for Believers
"It came about as her [Rachel’s] soul was departing (for she died),
that she named him Ben-oni; but his father called him
Benjamin."(Genesis 35:18)
"we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent
from the body and to be at home with the Lord."(2 Corinthians
5:8)
"But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to
depart and be with Christ, for that is very much
better;"(Philippians 1:23)
No ‘Soul Sleep’…
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
The Resurrections
Resurrection
Just
Christ
Church
Unjust
2 in
type
Other Saints
"“Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs
will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a
resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of
judgment." (John 5:28-29)
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
Resurrection of the Just & Unjust
"“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake,
these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting
contempt."
(Daniel 12:2)
"“But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they
call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything
that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the
Prophets; having a hope in God, which these men cherish
themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the
righteous and the wicked."
(Acts 24:14-15)
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
The Resurrections of the Just
Harvest Imagery:
1. First Fruits
2. General
3. Gleanings
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
First Fruit Resurrection
" But now Christ has been
raised from the dead, the first
fruits of those who are asleep."
(1 Corinthians 15:20)
"But each in his own order:
Christ the first fruits, after that
those who are Christ’s at His
coming,"
(1 Corinthians 15:23)
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
General Resurrection
"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of
the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.“
(1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
" Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of
God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a
mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead
will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put
on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality."
(1 Corinthians 15:50-53)
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
Gleanings Resurrection
"Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was
given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been
beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the
word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his
image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on
their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a
thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the
thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first
resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they
will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a
thousand years." (Revelation 20:4-6)
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
Resurrection of the Unjust
" Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from
whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was
found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small,
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 the things which were written in the books, according
to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and
death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they
were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 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."(Revelation 20:11-15)
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
Unanswered Question of Resurrections
What happens to the believers who live
through the Millennium? When do they
receive their resurrection bodies?
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
What Types of Eternity Await?
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
God Alone Possesses Eternality
"who alone possesses immortality and dwells in
unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see.
To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen."
(1 Timothy 6:16)
Just as many things can have ‘being’ but only one thing
can be ‘being’ so God alone is eternality and grants
eternality to those and what He chooses.
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
“You have never met a mere mortal.”
- C. S. Lewis
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
Two Types of Eternal State
Eternity
With God
Without God
“These will go away into eternal punishment, but the
righteous into eternal life.”
- Matthew 25:46
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
Belief in Eternal Punishment
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
The Reality of Eternal Punishment
• “If your hand causes you to stumble,
cut it off; it is better for you to enter
life crippled, than, having your two
hands, to go into hell, into the
unquenchable fire.” - Mark 9:43
• “But I will warn you whom to fear:
fear the One who, after He has
killed, has authority to cast into hell;
yes, I tell you, fear Him!” – Luke 12:5
Hell or Hades mentioned by name 15 times in the Gospels (never in John);
Other references to punishment, banishment, eternal fire, outer darkness,
etc.
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
The Reality of Eternal Punishment
• “These will pay the penalty of
eternal destruction, away from the
presence of the Lord and from the
glory of His power” – 2 Thess. 1:9
• “For if God did not spare angels
when they sinned, but cast them into
hell and committed them to pits of
darkness, reserved for judgment;” – 2
Peter 2:4
• “And if anyone’s name was not
found written in the book of life, he
was thrown into the lake of fire.” –
Revelation 20:15
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
Names for Eternal Punishment
• Gehenna - burning trash dump near Jerusalem; literally means
“Hinnom gulch”; the infamous site of high places where
children were sacrificed to Molech
• Sheol – used in Old Testament; means “the unseen world”.
Can mean the grave or the world of the spirits; temporary
abode of the dead or wicked
• Hades – used in New Testament to usually signify place for
departed unsaved spirits ; temporary abode of the dead or
wicked
• Tartaroo – only used once, in 2 Peter 2:4 in reference to
fallen angels, most likely those found in Genesis 7 and 19. It
was a reference to a place/dungeon even lower than hades
• Lake of Fire – all encompassing second death; final
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
The Purpose of Eternal Punishment
• God’s justice demands a Hell – not all evil is
punished in this life
• God’s love demands a Hell – God cannot
force people to love Him – He allows that
separation
• God’s sovereignty demands a Hell – without
it there would be no final victory over evil
• Human depravity demands a Hell – only
punishment for sin against an eternal God is
eternal punishment
• Human dignity demands a Hell – freedom to
choose God or not
• Cross of Christ implies a Hell – why suffer
for people if there is not an unthinkable
punishment
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
Annihilationism
A teaching that says the
unsaved will not suffer an
everlasting conscious Hell. Also
called conditional immortality.
Unbelievers will be put out of
existence after the final
judgment, and will suffer varying
degrees of punishment before
extinction. One of the doctrines
of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
How can God Send People to Hell?
“Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares
the Lord God, rather than that he should turn from his ways
and live?” - Ezekiel 18:23
”This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge
of the truth.” – 1 Tim. 2:4
“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count
slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to
perish but for all to come to repentance. “ – 2 Peter 3:9
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
How can God Send People to Hell?
“It shall come about that as the Lord delighted over you to
prosper you, and multiply you, so the Lord will delight over you
to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from
the land where you are entering to possess it.” – Deut. 28:63
“But they [the sons of Eli] would not listen to the voice of
their father, for the Lord desired to put them to death.” – 2
Samuel 2:25
How can these different thoughts be reconciled?
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
How can God Send People to Hell?
Two Key Areas Need to be Understood
1. The antecedent and consequent will of God
2. The distinction between “want” and “will
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
God’s Antecedent/Consequent Will
“Hence it may be said of a just
judge, that antecedently he wills
all men to live; but consequently
wills the murderer to be hanged.
In the same way God
antecedently wills all men to be
saved, but consequently wills
some to be damned, as His
justice exacts….”
– Thomas Aquinas
Summa of the Summa
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
The Difference between Will and Want
Unfortunately, people act contrary to
evidence and fact all the time. They
know the truth about something, yet
choose to behave differently. Why is
this? Because they may want one
thing, yet will something entirely to the
contrary. No one wants to go to Hell,
but do they will it? Sadly, yes.
“The door to Hell is locked on the
inside.”
– C. S. Lewis
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
“The wheels of God’s judgment may
grind slow but they grind exceedingly
fine.”
- A. W. Tozer
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
Who Obtains Eternal Life?
2008 Survey by
Pew Forum
on Religion
The Biblical Case for Heaven
"“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God,
believe also in Me. “In My Father’s house are many
dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you;
for I go to prepare a place for you. “If I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you to
Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. “And
you know the way where I am going.”"
(John 14:1-4)
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
Facts on Current Heaven
Created by God (Rev 10:6)
Gods residence (1 Kings 8:30)
Location of God’s throne room (Is. 66:1, Rev 4)
High and holy place (Is. 57:15)
Located in the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:1-4)
Material place (Rev. 4 & 5)
Place of glorious worship (Rev 4 & 5)
Intermediate residing place of redeemed who have died (Rev
6:9-11 and 7:15)
• Satan has access to it (Rev 12:10)
• Many angels are there (Rev 5:11)
• Jesus is there serving as High Priest (Heb 8:1 and 9:11-15)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
The Residents of Heaven
God
" After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and
the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me,
said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these
things.” Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in
heaven, and One sitting on the throne."(Revelation 4:1-2)
Un-fallen Angels
" Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and
the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of
myriads, and thousands of thousands,"(Revelation 5:11)
Redeemed Humans
" After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could
count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing
before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm
branches were in their hands;"(Revelation 7:9)
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
The Place for Eternal Life
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth;
for the first heaven and the first earth passed
away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw
the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out
of heaven from God, made ready as a bride
adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud
voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the
tabernacle of God is among men, and He will
dwell among them, and they shall be His
people, and God Himself will be among them …
And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I
am making all things new.” And He said, “Write,
for these words are faithful and true.””
(Revelation 21:1-5)
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
New Jerusalem
"And I saw the holy city, new
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven
from God, made ready as a bride
adorned for her husband. And I heard
a loud voice from the throne, saying,
“Behold, the tabernacle of God is
among men, and He will dwell among
them, and they shall be His people, and
God Himself will be among them,"
(Revelation 21:2-3)
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
New Jerusalem
The New Jerusalem will be1,500 miles in every
direction; stretch from Canada to the Gulf of
New Mexico and from the Atlantic coast of
America to Colorado and then extend 1,500
miles up.
Would it accommodate all the redeemed? Dr.
Henry Morris in the Revelation Record
estimates if 20 billion people are saved
throughout history, and that 50% of the New
Jerusalem are devoted to public needs, each
person would still have a cubicle block with
about 75 acres on each surface.
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
The Nature of Eternal Life
Better than Earth
"but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for
those who love Him.”"(1 Corinthians 2:9)
No Death
“there will no longer be any death” (Revelation 21:4)
Perfect Bodies
"Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will
sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For
this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on
immortality."(1 Corinthians 15:51-53)
"Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we
will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will
see Him just as He is."(1 John 3:2)
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
The Nature of Eternal Life
Perpetual Worship
"And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of
eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “Holy,
holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to
come.”"(Revelation 4:8)
Loving Service to God
"There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb
will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him;"(Revelation 22:3)
Grand Reunions
" But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are
asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. "(1
Thessalonians 4:13-14)
Moral Perfection
"and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall
ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book
of life."(Revelation 21:27)
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
The Nature of Eternal Life
Eternal Rest
"For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day
after that. So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of
God."(Hebrews 4:8-9)
Eternal Reward
"each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be
revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If
any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.“
(1 Corinthians 3:13-14)
Perfect Knowledge
"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but
then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known."(1 Corinthians 13:12)
The Beatific Vision
"they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.“
(Revelation 22:4)
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
Comparing This Life & Eternity
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to
us."(Romans 8:18)
"Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on
earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in
God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will
be revealed with Him in glory."(Colossians 3:2-4)
"For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal
weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the
things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the
things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not
seen are eternal."(2 Corinthians 4:17-18)
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
Comparing This Life & Eternity
"And I heard a loud voice from the
throne, saying, “Behold, the
tabernacle of God is among men,
and He will dwell among them, and
they shall be His people, and God
Himself will be among them, and He
will wipe away every tear from their
eyes; and there will no longer be any
death; there will no longer be any
mourning, or crying, or pain; the first
things have passed away.”"
(Revelation 21:3-4)
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
Two Eternities in Two Verses
Judgment
"For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace;
and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff;
and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says
the Lord of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither
root nor branch.” “But for you who fear My name, the
sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings;
and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the
stall."
(Malachi 4:1-2)
Salvation
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
“When we've been here ten thousand
years...
bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's
praise...
then when we've first begun.”
- Amazing Grace (last stanza)
The Creed – I Believe in Eternity
I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker
The Creed
of heaven and earth: And in Jesus
Christ his only
Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born
of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified,
dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose
again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the
I BELIEVE in ETERNITY
shall come to
right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he
judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy
catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen