Between Death & the Resurrection! 1Th 4:13-18 But I do not want you to be

ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who

have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you

by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For

the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the

clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort

one another with these words.

“The only thing in life that is certain is that life will not last forever!”

One of two things will happen, either we will all one day die, or Jesus will return to destroy the world!

○Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

○2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

Knowing that this life will not last forever, what happens when we die?

○Tonight we want to look to see just what the Bible has to say about this subject?

○Even though we are not told everything we might want to know, we are told what we need to know! (2 Pet. 1:2-3; Jude 1:3)

○So what does the Bible tell us happens when we die?

I. The Dead Are Existing!○One of the biggest growing beliefs in the religious

world about the dead is what is called “Soul Sleeping!”▸When one dies they simply go into a unconscious

state. They are now soul sleeping.▸This has even worked its way into the church, with

many will known preachers now teaching against “eternal punishment!”

–Edward W. Fudge “The Fire That Consumes” –Homer Hailey “God’s Judgment & Punishment”–F. LaGard Smith “After Life”–Jimmy Allen “Fire In My Bones”

Passages often used to justify this belief!○Ps. 115:17 The dead do not praise the LORD,

Nor any who go down into silence.○Isa. 38:18-19 For Sheol cannot thank You, Death

cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth. The living, the living man, he shall praise You, As I do this day; The father shall make known Your truth to the children.

○Eccl. 9:5 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.

In the New Testament the dead are often said to be asleep!

Jn. 11:11; Act. 7:60 & 1 Thess. 4:13○Many say things like, “you will get all the sleep

you need when you are dead!” ○Yet, soul sleeping is not in harmony with the

complete revealed will of God!▸The passages in the OT are speaking from a earthly

prospective, the dead can do nothing else in “this life!”▸The NT ones are speaking of the dead resting from

the labors of “this world!”

The Bible is clear that the dead are still

existing!Let’s read together (Lk. 16:19-31)

○Some other verses to consider on this!▸We will “all stand before the judgment seat of Christ!”

(Rom. 14:10-12)▸Mt 25:32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him,

and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.▸Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing

before God, and books were opened... And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

II. The Dead Are Everlasting!○Everyone we know will continue to exist

after this life in one of two places, Heaven or Hell! And this will be “everlasting” forever!!!

○This is sometime hard for us to comprehend because we live in the boundaries of time and to think of a place that is “timeless” is difficult for us, everything we do or have done we keep record of by time!

○You see, this is why the choices we make now are so important!

One passage that points this out clearly is (Mt. 25:31-46)

○There are only two groups and everyone will be in one of them! “All nations, sheep from goats!”

○The result of these two groups is for the same “duration of time”▸Eternal/everlasting punishment(Mt. 25:41 & 46)▸Eternal/everlasting life (Mt. 25:46)

○The duration of time in both of these comes from the Greek word I-ony-os = eternal; for ever; never ending (Strong’s)

What separates man from all other life is that we were made in “the

image/likeness of God” and that we have a “everlasting soul!”

Gen. 1:26,27; 2:7; Eccl. 12:7 cf. 12:13-14○When the Bible speaks of the saved, it

often speaks of their “souls!”▸Act 2:41 Then those who gladly received his

word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

III. The Dead Are Unchangeable!Unchangeable = not liable to variation or able to be

altered; in a fixed state (Webster) ○As we have already seen in (Lk. 16:19-

31) when we take our last breath there is no going back! The rich man wanted Lazarus to go back and warn his brothers!

○In life we often make mistakes, but we are also given chances to make them right again, but when we die our eternal condition is “unchangeable!”

○This is why we must now get right with God!

2 Cor. 6:1-2 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace

of God in vain. For He says: "In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I

have helped you." Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

○As long as we still have breath within us, there is “hope” to get right with God, but one day we will stop breathing and we will remain in the condition that we find ourselves in that day!

Conclusion:○We have not answered all the questions

that one might have about what happens when we die, but I do believe that we can know some things on this subject that help us to live better now knowing what is coming!

○We can know that ... the dead are▸Existing▸Everlasting▸Unchangeable

○The good news is that as long as you have breath, you have hope! Are you ready to face death?