- 7 weeks ago
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:01There's a home that calls to every human heart.
00:04A promise of something better waiting on the other side of this life.
00:09Some call it a great light, others the great beyond.
00:13But for God's children, it's heaven and our forever home.
00:18A place to put down eternal roots, where you'll find life that never fades,
00:24and your every need fulfilled.
00:27Where every tear is wiped away, no more sorrow, no more pain, no more goodbyes.
00:34In their place, peace that flows like the river of life,
00:38and joy running deeper than any earthly current.
00:42All things will be renewed, including your body and strength,
00:47and every one of your steps taking you further into eternity,
00:51to the throne of the one who knows you completely,
00:54and who welcomes you home.
00:57In his presence, you'll be reminded, this is where you belong.
01:03This is the promise of heaven.
01:06Coming up on Turning Point.
01:12After all is written, after all of the understanding that we have
01:15about what happens to our bodies when we die,
01:19the most important thing you can take away from this is,
01:23when you die as a believer, you go to be with Jesus.
01:27Heaven, just thinking about it, stirs up questions.
01:33What will the celestial city look like?
01:35Will my loved ones be there?
01:37Will heaven be boring?
01:38And how do I secure my place in eternity?
01:41In The Promise of Heaven, new from Dr. David Jeremiah,
01:45you'll discover what the Bible says about your eternal home,
01:47and how what you believe about heaven today
01:49transforms how you live, worship, and face life's challenges.
01:53Explore 31 exciting reasons to look forward to heaven
01:57through short, easy-to-read chapters
01:59that answer your biggest questions,
02:01like, are my loved ones watching me from heaven?
02:03What happens to the souls of the unborn?
02:05How will we look in heaven?
02:06And more.
02:08The Promise of Heaven by Dr. Jeremiah
02:09is yours for a gift of any amount.
02:12Or for a gift of $75 or more,
02:14request The Promise of Heaven set,
02:16which contains Dr. Jeremiah's new book,
02:18his complete teaching series on CD or DVD,
02:21a correlating study guide,
02:23a special interview with Sheila Walsh on DVD,
02:25and the 10 things you may not know about heaven bookmark.
02:29Plus, when you order from Turning Point,
02:30you'll receive two exclusive bonus chapters
02:32written by Dr. Jeremiah.
02:34It's time to get excited about your eternal home.
02:37Request The Promise of Heaven book or set
02:39when you contact Turning Point today.
02:41Thank you for watching Turning Point.
02:46In appreciation of your viewership,
02:48Dr. Jeremiah would like to send you
02:49the 10 things you may not know about heaven bookmark.
02:5310 truths from God's word about your eternal home.
02:56It's yours absolutely free
02:57just by contacting Turning Point today.
03:00And now, here is Dr. Jeremiah with his message.
03:03Where are they now?
03:04Where are they now is a question
03:09I have been asked many times.
03:12Apparently, there were those who lived
03:15in the New Testament days
03:16who were concerned about this question as well.
03:20Paul wrote this to the church in Thessalonica.
03:23He said,
03:24But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren,
03:27concerning those who have fallen asleep,
03:30lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
03:34The apostle was using the word sleep
03:37to signify those who had died.
03:40The word has a twofold sense in the New Testament.
03:43It can be used in its natural sense for natural sleep,
03:48or it can be used in the metaphorical sense
03:51for the sleep of death.
03:54It is always used of Christians
03:56in the sense of the sleep of death.
03:58It is never used for those who are not Christians.
04:01The main truth here is the fact
04:04that just as physically we sleep
04:06and expect to awake,
04:08so in the spiritual realm,
04:11when we die,
04:12we can be assured that one day
04:14our bodies will be awakened
04:16by the return of the Lord.
04:18So the question of what happens to our bodies
04:21is not an issue here.
04:23Every time we pass a cemetery,
04:25we are reminded of what happens
04:27to a person's body when he dies.
04:31But what about the soul and the spirit of that person?
04:34What happens to that part of who we are?
04:38In this, as in all the problems of a future existence,
04:43human speculation is useless.
04:45Only the word of God can give us solid answers.
04:49So in today's message,
04:51I want to talk with you about two people,
04:55two places, and two principles
04:57that will help us understand
05:00what happens to us when we die.
05:04The story is in Luke chapter 16.
05:07It's a rather famous story,
05:08and I want you to turn with me to that story
05:11that Jesus told about two people.
05:13He allows us to see these two men
05:16beyond their life on this earth
05:19and then to follow them into eternity.
05:23In Luke chapter 16,
05:24we have the story of the rich man and Lazarus.
05:28We're going to see these two men contrasted in life,
05:32in death, and finally in eternity.
05:35Let's begin with two men contrasted in life.
05:40There could not be two more different people
05:42in the same context than these two men.
05:46Luke 16, verse 19 says,
05:48there was a certain rich man
05:50who was clothed in purple and fine linen
05:52and fared sumptuously every day.
05:55But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus
05:58full of sores who was laid at his gate,
06:01desiring to be fed with the crumbs
06:03which fell from the rich man's table.
06:06Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores.
06:10In verse 25, we're reminded that the rich man
06:15during his lifetime enjoyed good things.
06:18He lived in luxury and comfort,
06:20faring sumptuously every day,
06:22knowing the best that life had to offer.
06:25And the beggar?
06:27Well, the beggar, in contrast,
06:29is very unimpressive.
06:30He is said to be both sick and hungry.
06:34His sores could have been bound and dressed
06:37with the rich man's ointment.
06:39Instead, they were tidied up by the dogs.
06:42Every day, Lazarus was left at the gate of the rich man
06:46to beg for food,
06:48hoping only for a few crumbs
06:51to be thrown in his direction.
06:54So there you have it.
06:56Two men contrasted in life.
06:58The rich man covered in purple and fine linen,
07:02Lazarus covered only with sores.
07:05The rich man faring sumptuously,
07:07Lazarus desiring to be fed with crumbs.
07:10The rich man with many servants,
07:12Lazarus with only the dogs to lick his sores.
07:16Two men contrasted in life.
07:19Now notice, secondly,
07:21how they are contrasted in death.
07:24In verse 22, we read,
07:26So it was that the beggar died
07:29and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom.
07:34It seems from reading the story
07:36that Lazarus died first,
07:39and the rich man died after that.
07:41There is no reference to the burial of Lazarus.
07:44It only says that he died.
07:45It is possible that he was buried in the potter's field.
07:49More than likely,
07:50he was taken to the edge of the city
07:52and thrown on the dump
07:53because that's what they did
07:55with people that they considered unworthy.
07:58And Jesus said,
08:00And the rich man also died and was buried.
08:03Now, it's not hard to imagine
08:04the lavish burial of this rich man.
08:07I'm sure there were a lot of eulogies,
08:09and people told everyone how great he was
08:11and how rich he was.
08:13But here are two men in death.
08:14Note the contrast.
08:15One is cast away as the garbage of the earth,
08:18and the other is lifted up and honored
08:21in a magnificent ceremony.
08:24And the curtain closes on scene two.
08:27Now we are about to see something
08:29that we will never see anyplace else in the Bible,
08:33so listen carefully.
08:35We have noticed two men contrasted in life
08:38and two men contrasted in death.
08:41Here we will see two men contrasted in eternity.
08:45First of all, Lazarus in eternity.
08:49So it was that the beggar died
08:51and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom.
08:55First of all, please notice that when the beggar died,
08:58God sent his angels to care for him.
09:01I believe this is a wonderful picture
09:04of God's love and care for his own.
09:07When our believing loved ones die,
09:09they are taken to Jesus by the angels.
09:13I could speak much more of this,
09:15but that is not the important point of this story.
09:18Jesus says that when Lazarus died,
09:21he was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom.
09:25What is the meaning of Abraham's bosom?
09:28Where is it?
09:29As we have seen, the term Abraham's bosom
09:32is another name for paradise.
09:34Anybody who was a believer in God
09:36went to this place called paradise,
09:39to Abraham's bosom.
09:41Now let's catch up with the rich man
09:43and see what's going on with him.
09:46In verse 23, Jesus said this
09:49about the rich man in eternity.
09:51And being in torments in Hades,
09:54the rich man lifted up his eyes
09:56and saw Abraham afar off
09:58and Lazarus in his bosom.
10:01So while Lazarus went to paradise
10:04on one side of this great chasm,
10:06the rich man went to Hades,
10:08the place of torment for the unrighteous dead.
10:11Notice how the Bible describes that place.
10:14It was a place of misery.
10:17Then the rich man cried out and said,
10:19Father Abraham, have mercy on me
10:21and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger
10:24in water and cool my tongue
10:27for I am tormented in this flame.
10:31Now in many respects,
10:33the rich man and Lazarus have changed places.
10:35Notice, the proud man of time
10:38has become the beggar in eternity.
10:41This one who in life denied the poor man
10:43a crumb from his table
10:45is now begging the poor man
10:47to give him a drop of water on his finger.
10:52The one who in life fared sumptuously every day
10:54would now be happy with just one drop of water
10:57to cool his tongue.
11:00This is a place of misery.
11:02He is tormented in the flame.
11:05It is not hell, but it is an intermediate hell.
11:09This is also a place of memory.
11:11Notice verse 25.
11:12Verse 25 indicates that Hades is a place of memory.
11:32The rich man lifts up his eyes
11:34and he sees Lazarus
11:35and is conscious of what he has missed.
11:37One of the tortures of hell
11:39is to look across the fixed gulf
11:41and view the comforts and blessings
11:43of those who are in paradise.
11:46I believe that throughout eternity,
11:48the unbeliever will be constantly reminded
11:50of what he missed due to his rejection of God.
11:53I believe he will remember
11:55every single service he attended
11:57where the gospel was presented
11:59and he rejected it.
12:01The Bible tells us that hell or Hades
12:04is a place of memory.
12:06We will remember what happened.
12:08And then it is a place of mourning.
12:11This is an interesting thing.
12:14Then he said,
12:15I beg you therefore, Father,
12:17that you would send him to my father's house.
12:20For I have five brothers that he may testify to them
12:23lest they also come to this place of torment.
12:26And Abraham said to him,
12:27They have Moses and the prophets.
12:31Let them hear them.
12:32And he said,
12:33No, Father Abraham,
12:34but if one goes to them from the dead,
12:35they will repent.
12:37But he said to him,
12:39If they do not hear Moses and the prophets,
12:41neither will they be persuaded,
12:43though one rise from the dead.
12:46From his place of torment,
12:49the rich man pleaded with Abraham
12:51to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers
12:54so that they wouldn't end up where he was.
12:58If someone comes back from the dead, he said,
13:01surely they will listen to that person.
13:03But Abraham responded with a sobering truth,
13:07one that we should all take note of today.
13:10He said,
13:11They already have Moses and the prophets.
13:13If they won't hear Moses and the prophets,
13:17neither will they respond
13:18if someone comes back from the dead.
13:21Some of you here who have never accepted Christ,
13:24you're looking for some supernatural thing to happen
13:27so that you will believe.
13:29And the Bible says,
13:29If you won't believe Moses and the prophets,
13:32if you won't believe what the Bible says,
13:34you're not going to believe
13:36if someone drops out of the sky with a message
13:39because Moses and the prophets
13:41are the most important messengers about this
13:44that you will ever find.
13:46They won't listen to God's word.
13:48They won't be persuaded
13:49even if someone rises from the dead.
13:51In other words,
13:52the problem here was not a lack of evidence.
13:56The problem was hardness of heart.
13:58God's message has been declared
14:01and his truth is available
14:02and still many refuse to believe.
14:06Miracles catch attention,
14:08but only faith in God's word brings salvation.
14:12The scriptures are clear.
14:14Will we listen while there's still time?
14:17So the representative man of the lost
14:20who are now in Hades
14:21is the rich man of Luke chapter 16.
14:25He was alive.
14:26He was conscious.
14:27He was in the full exercise of his faculties,
14:31his memory,
14:32and he was in torment.
14:36Two people and two places.
14:40Now let's directly and definitively answer the question,
14:44what happens to people when they die?
14:47The Bible says they go to one of two places.
14:50The unsaved go to an intermediate hell called Hades.
14:56So far as the unsaved dead are concerned,
14:58they continue in this place,
15:01the intermediate hell,
15:02until a particular time in the future,
15:04which the Bible tells us about.
15:06Here's what we need to understand.
15:08At the judgment of the great white throne in the future,
15:12Hades will give up its inhabitants
15:14and they will be sent into the lake of fire.
15:18Revelation 20 tells us that.
15:20Listen to these words.
15:22And the sea gave up the dead who were in it,
15:25and death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them,
15:29and they were judged, each one according to his works.
15:32Then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.
15:36This is the second death.
15:38What the Bible says is that those who die go to this place
15:45if they're not believers.
15:47They remain in this place until that point in the future
15:50after the great white throne judgment,
15:52and then Hades is emptied out of all of its inhabitants,
15:55and they go into the lake of fire, which is eternal hell.
16:00What about the saved?
16:01Well, the Bible says the angels took Lazarus
16:06to the bosom of Abraham.
16:08As we have seen, every believer who died
16:11in the Old Testament went to paradise,
16:13also called Abraham's bosom.
16:15This was a place of comfort and peace,
16:18but it wasn't yet heaven.
16:20Then something dramatic happened
16:22that you may have never noticed before
16:25as you've read your Bibles.
16:26It happened on what some people refer to as Holy Saturday,
16:30the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
16:33This is often overlooked,
16:35but let me tell you about it.
16:37Jesus didn't just lie quietly in the tomb on Saturday
16:40after he was crucified.
16:42His body rested in the grave,
16:44but his spirit went to this intermediate place
16:47I have been telling you about.
16:49He went there not to suffer, but to declare victory.
16:53As the eternal Son of God,
16:55he stepped into the unseen world
16:57and announced the triumph of the cross.
17:00We know this because of what Jesus said
17:02to the repentant thief.
17:03Remember what he said?
17:04He said,
17:05Today you will be with me where?
17:07Not in heaven, but in paradise.
17:09Where is paradise?
17:10It's the temporary place for believers
17:13at that particular time.
17:15That paradise was the place of the righteous dead.
17:19But something happened on that Saturday.
17:21Jesus went there,
17:23and 1 Peter 3 tells us,
17:25he proclaimed to the spirits in prison.
17:27Ephesians 4 says,
17:30He descended into the lower parts of the earth,
17:32and in Revelation 1, 18,
17:35Jesus declares,
17:36I have the keys of death and Hades.
17:39What did Jesus do in the place of the dead?
17:42He preached victory to the fallen angels.
17:45He went to one part of it
17:46where the unbelieving dead were,
17:48and he preached the victory of the cross.
17:50Then he preached to the Old Testament saints
17:52who had long awaited for the Messiah,
17:54and then in triumph, we are told,
17:57he led captivity captive.
17:59What does that mean?
18:00He took paradise out of that intermediate place
18:03and transferred it to heaven.
18:05So, where is paradise today,
18:07and where are your loved ones if they are believers?
18:10They are in heaven.
18:11They are in paradise.
18:13How do we know this?
18:14Well, listen to this.
18:16Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians
18:18and mentioned paradise
18:21and helps us understand this.
18:23He said,
18:24I know a man in Christ
18:25who was caught up to the third heaven.
18:27We learned earlier that's where God is.
18:30Caught up into paradise
18:31and heard inexpressible words.
18:34By the time Paul wrote this,
18:36paradise was no longer the intermediate place
18:39but had been transferred to heaven.
18:40So, when your believers die,
18:42they go to paradise,
18:43which is in the third heaven.
18:45Literally, they go to heaven.
18:47Did you catch that?
18:48Paradise is now in heaven
18:50because Jesus moved it there.
18:53So, here is the answer to the question.
18:56Where are they now?
18:57If your loved ones were follower of Christ,
19:00I can tell you for sure where they are.
19:03Their bodies are in the grave
19:04waiting for the day of resurrection,
19:06and they themselves,
19:08their souls, their spirits,
19:11in paradise,
19:13a literal place that is located
19:14in the third heaven.
19:16So, we've talked about two people
19:19and two places.
19:21Let's talk finally about two principles.
19:24Let me just tell you
19:25what I've learned from this passage
19:26that speaks to every one of us.
19:28First of all,
19:30I'm reminded of the priority
19:31of the presence of Jesus.
19:33When you immerse yourself
19:35in all these passages
19:36about temporary and eternal bodies
19:39and all of the things we've talked about,
19:41the one truth that jumps off
19:43the pages of Scripture is this.
19:45Paradise, heaven, the new Jerusalem,
19:49whatever name you want to call it,
19:51is the place where Jesus is.
19:54Over and over,
19:55that truth is hammered home
19:57in the verses of the New Testament.
20:00Heaven is where Jesus is.
20:02So, what is the best thing
20:03you can say about your loved one
20:05if they're a Christian when they die?
20:07They went to be with Jesus, right?
20:10They went to heaven,
20:11but more than that,
20:11they went to be with Jesus.
20:13My brother, my sister,
20:14my father, my mother are with Jesus.
20:17After Jesus had explained to his disciples
20:20about the mansions in heaven,
20:22he comes back and makes this point.
20:25And if I go and prepare a place for you,
20:27I will come again and receive you to myself.
20:30Now watch this.
20:31That where I am, you may be also.
20:34Jesus wants us to be with him.
20:37When Jesus gave assurance
20:39to the thief on the cross,
20:40what did he say?
20:42And he said to him,
20:43assuredly, I say to you,
20:44today you will be with me in paradise.
20:49Paul explained death in these same terms.
20:52He said,
20:52we are confident yet well pleased
20:54that to be absent from the body
20:56is to be present with the Lord.
20:59When Paul was writing to the Philippians
21:01about his own death,
21:03he wrote,
21:03I am hard pressed between the two,
21:05having a desire to depart
21:07and to be with Christ,
21:09which is far better.
21:12After all is said and done,
21:15after all is written,
21:16after all of the understanding that we have
21:18about what happens to our bodies when we die,
21:22the most important thing you can take away from this is
21:25when you die as a believer,
21:27you go to be with Jesus.
21:31And that is critical.
21:33Richard Baxter said it this way.
21:35He said,
21:36my knowledge of that life is small.
21:39The eye of faith is dim,
21:41but it is enough that Christ knows all
21:43and I shall be with him.
21:46So, it is enough to know that when you die,
21:49you go to be with Jesus.
21:51Oh, yes, you go to heaven.
21:53You go to paradise,
21:54the new Jerusalem,
21:55the holy city,
21:56all the names that are given in the Bible.
21:58But more important than all of that is
22:00all of those places will only be what they are
22:04because Jesus will be there.
22:06And when you get there,
22:07you're going to be so occupied with who Jesus is,
22:10you will not care about where you are.
22:13You will just care about who you're with.
22:15You will be with Jesus.
22:20So, the first thing that I take away from this story
22:24is the priority of the presence of Jesus.
22:27Here's the second thing,
22:29the permanence of personal decisions.
22:34Luke 16, 26,
22:36in the story of the rich man and Lazarus,
22:39there is this verse.
22:41And besides all of this,
22:43between us and you,
22:44there is a great gulf fixed
22:46so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot,
22:50nor can those from there pass to you.
22:54The story of the rich man and Lazarus teaches us
22:57that the decisions we make in this life
23:01are irreversible.
23:04What is done in this life fixes forever
23:08what the next life will be like.
23:11There is no such thing
23:13as getting it right after you die.
23:16There is no such thing as reincarnation.
23:19There are no second chances after death.
23:22What you do for eternity,
23:24you do between now and the moment you die.
23:26And when you die,
23:28it's over as far as any decisions
23:30about the future are concerned.
23:32Listen to me.
23:33There is no purgatory.
23:34The story in Luke 16 is not about purgatory.
23:38There is not one sentence in the Bible
23:40that speaks of a person's destiny
23:42being changed after death.
23:46Once a person enters paradise or Hades,
23:49their fate was fixed forever and ever.
23:52Let me just say that as lovingly as I can
23:55to any of you here who may not know the Lord.
23:58You may think you have all the time in the world,
24:00and maybe you have all the time of a normal human life,
24:03and maybe you don't have all that time.
24:05Every day we watch on the news
24:08since unexpected things happen to unprepared people.
24:12Don't play with your eternity
24:14by putting off until sometime in the future
24:17what you know you should do today.
24:19The Bible says today is the day of salvation.
24:23Thank you for watching Turning Point.
24:33When you give a gift of any amount
24:35in support of this program,
24:36Dr. Jeremiah will send you his new book,
24:39The Promise of Heaven.
24:40Inside, you'll find biblical answers
24:42to your biggest questions about heaven
24:44and 31 reasons to get excited about your eternal home.
24:48Or, in appreciation of your gift of $75 or more,
24:51Dr. Jeremiah will send you
24:53The Promise of Heaven set,
24:55which contains his new book,
24:56his complete teaching series on CD or DVD,
24:59a correlating study guide,
25:01a special interview with Sheila Walsh on DVD,
25:03and the 10 things you may not know about heaven bookmark.
25:07Thank you for your support of this program.
25:09Order The Promise of Heaven resources
25:11from Turning Point today.
25:12If you have never taken the step
25:20to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior,
25:23you can do that today.
25:25If you will allow us,
25:26Dr. Jeremiah would like to send you
25:28two resources that will help you.
25:30The first is a booklet called
25:31Your Greatest Turning Point,
25:33which will help you as you begin
25:35your relationship with Christ.
25:37And the second is our monthly devotional magazine,
25:39Turning Points,
25:40to give you encouragement and inspiration
25:42throughout the year.
25:44These resources are yours completely free
25:46when you contact Turning Point today.
25:50If you enjoyed today's message,
25:52watch the entire The Promise of Heaven series
25:54on Turning Point Plus.
25:56Start streaming this series today,
25:58along with more than 1,200 messages
26:00from Dr. Jeremiah's four decades of broadcast ministry.
26:04On Turning Point Plus,
26:05you'll find Dr. Jeremiah's Bible-strong teaching,
26:07original programming,
26:09plus special collections and playlists,
26:11all on demand and on any screen.
26:14Visit turningpointplus.org to get started today.
26:20Next time on Turning Point.
26:22The character of God lays the foundation
26:25for the realization that children
26:27who cannot understand the gospel
26:29are enveloped within the grace and mercy of the Lord.
26:32And on them, God has a tender heart.
26:35On them, His compassion reigns.
26:39Thank you for being with us today.
26:41Join Dr. Jeremiah next time for his message,
26:44What About the Children?
26:46here on Turning Point.
26:48I don't think I've ever spent
26:56two hours like this in my life.
27:01Until then, our hearts should go on singing.
27:06Until then, with joy, we carry on.
27:11How blessed we are to look forward to the day
27:14when God calls us home.
27:16Join David Jeremiah
27:18as masterfully performed music
27:20and the power of God's Word
27:22come together in A Glimpse of Heaven,
27:25a stirring concert filmed live
27:27at the Music Center's
27:28Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles,
27:31hosted by David Jeremiah
27:33and Sheila Walsh,
27:34with performances by
27:36Jordan Smith,
27:38Veritas,
27:40Charles Billingsley,
27:46Charles Billingsley,
27:47Tyranda Green,
27:55and more,
28:02all accompanied by a world-class symphony choir
28:05and orchestra.
28:07Experience a moving celebration
28:09of our heavenly home
28:10as David Jeremiah
28:12and Turning Point Ministries present
28:14A Glimpse of Heaven.
28:17Have a great day,
28:28have a great day,
28:40have a great day.
Be the first to comment