I don't want to preach about the subject of death, and I want to explain what death is.
Death is a word that's used hundreds of times in the Bible, also other variations such as die and dying.
And a lot of times the simplest words are the words that we take for granted, things that we assume.
Well of course everybody knows what that means, and of course everybody understands what it means to die or death.
But in reality, sometimes the things that we hear the most are the things that sometimes go over our head.
And there are many people who have a misconception about what death is, and there's a lot of false teaching out there about what death is.
Now I want to start out just by explaining in very simple terms what death is according to the Bible.
And so I want to start out by talking about the death of the body. Go to James chapter 2.
Go back just a few pages in your Bible there to the book of James, and then we're going to go to Genesis chapter number 2.
But go to James 2, and here's a very famous verse that I'm sure you've heard before.
James chapter 2 verse 26 says this,
So the Bible is telling us right away that the definition of a dead body is the body that is without the spirit.
The spirit has departed from the body. That is the definition of death in regard to the body.
Go back to Genesis chapter 2.
It sounds basic, I know, but there are so many reasons why this is critical and why this affects doctrine.
We're going to get to that in a little bit here. Kind of a teaching sermon tonight.
But in Genesis chapter 2, of course, this is when God is creating the first man, Adam.
And he's forming him from the dust of the earth.
If you would look at verse number 7, it says,
So God basically forms a body from the dust of the earth, from the earth.
But it's not alive. It's not animate.
And so he breathes into the nostrils of that body the breath of light, and that's when man became a living soul.
That's when man came to life.
You see, God is the one who created life, and God is the one that has the power to kill and to make a life.
Now, all of our scientific advances that we have and all of the biology and all of the laboratories and the DNA and the genetic research,
no scientist has the power to do what God did in his verse right here, to create life.
They talk all about how life began by itself of its own accord. They call it a biogenesis.
Because basically they found that that's a fancier term than the old term, spontaneous generation.
Spontaneous generation just said that things just come to life by themselves for no reason.
Well, that didn't sound good. That sounds ridiculous.
And so they came up with a different packaging for it, a biogenesis.
And that's when things just came to life by themselves.
And that's where we get the teaching of evolution.
Some creature came to life by itself, some single-celled organism, and then slowly evolved into human beings.
Because even man with all the resources, all the chemicals, all the tools in front of him, cannot make that simple single-celled life form come to life.
He can't do it. He doesn't know how to do it. He doesn't understand how to do it.
But he can talk all day long about how it happened by itself billions of years ago. It's nonsense.
The fool has said in his heart that there is no God.
But we see here that this body that God formed of the dust of the earth came to life when God breathed into its nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.
Now first of all, this was not just an ordinary breath. This wasn't just breathing.
There were people out there that would teach, and I heard Peter Ruckman preach.
And Peter Ruckman said, you know, the Bible says that God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.
He said that babies aren't alive until they take their first breath.
And so he's using this to justify abortion.
He said, well I'm not for abortion, but it's not murder because it's not really alive until it breathes that breath.
That's when it comes to life. No, this was the creative act of the first man.
This is God breathing life into a lump of clay and it becoming a living soul.
This isn't just normal air. This is the breath of God.
This is the same breath that in John chapter 20, Jesus Christ, when he stood in front of his 11 apostles,
he breathed on them and said, receive ye the Holy Ghost.
Not just air. I mean this air in this room is not the Holy Ghost.
But what was breathed into man's nostrils here was the breath of life, the breath of God.
And what you have to understand is that the word spirit in the Bible is actually synonymous with the word breath.
I don't know if you know that. Think about this, inspiration. Think about this, respiration.
What are you doing when you respire? You breathe. That's where we even get the word for spirit.
And so when God breathed into man's nostrils here, this wasn't just ordinary air being blown around.
This is the breath of God that gave light to an inanimate object when he brought the first man to life.
You know that's a bunch of garbage, this teaching that the baby's not alive.
The Bible says, behold a virgin shall be with child as she shall bring forth the son and thou shall call his name Immanuel.
And then in the Old Testament it said a virgin shall conceive.
So part of that, conceive and being with child are the same thing.
If you compare Isaiah 7.14 and Matthew 1.23, that proves right there that a child is what is conceived.
Life begins at conception and abortion is murder and to call it anything less than murder is compromise.
It's murder, it's wicked, don't call it what it is.
And so we see here that this dead body, this body that was not alive, God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.
That's where there was a spirit inside that body, that's what made it alive.
And as James 2.24 said that the body without the spirit is dead.
Now let me just prove it to you further, I'm going to read for you several verses.
You don't have to turn to these but this is a very important doctrine and so I want to make sure that we nail this down tonight.
That the body without the spirit, that is the definition of death.
Let me give you tons of scriptures on this.
Genesis 25a, don't turn there I'm just going to blow through these.
Then Abraham, listen to this, gave up the ghost and died in a good old age.
An old man and full of years and was gathered to his people.
So notice, giving up the ghost is equated with what? Dying.
When the ghost, ghost is just another word for spirit, when the ghost departs the body, the body is dead.
He said in Genesis 25.17 these are the years of the life of Ishmael, 137 years.
And he gave up the ghost and died and was gathered unto his people.
Genesis 35.29, and Isaac gave up the ghost and died and was gathered unto his people.
Being old and full of days and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Genesis 49.33, and when Jacob made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed and yielded up the ghost and was gathered unto his people.
Job 3.11, why died I not from the womb? Why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?
Why is God so repetitive with this? He could have just said they died, but he said no, they gave up the ghost and died.
Because God's trying to teach us this important truth that the spirit, the ghost, that is what basically makes the body alive.
He said in Job 10.18, wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb?
O, that I have given up the ghost, and no eye hath seen me.
Job 11.20, but the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.
Job 13.19, who is he that will plead with me? For now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost.
Job 14.10, but man dieteth and wasteth away. Yea, man giveth up the ghost.
And where is he? Jeremiah 15.9, she that had borne seven languishes.
She hath given up the ghost. Her son hath gone down while it was yet day.
She hath been ashamed and confounded, and the residue of them lie delivered to the sword before their enemies saith the Lord.
Lamentations 119, I called for my lovers, but they deceived me.
My priests and my elders gave up the ghost in the city, while they sought their meat to relieve their souls.
Jesus, listen to this, this is important. Matthew 27.50, Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
This is Jesus on the cross dying. Let me tell you something, all four gospels spell out the fact that Jesus gave up the ghost.
They all spell it out in that way. Mark 15.37, and Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghost.
Mark 15.39, and when the centurion which stood over against him saw that he so cried out and gave up the ghost,
he said, truly this man was the son of God. Luke 23.46, and when Jesus had cried with a loud voice,
he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. And having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, this is John 19.30, he said, it is finished, and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost.
A few other verses in the book of Acts talk about Ananias and Sapphira. Ananias gave up the ghost.
King Herod in Acts chapter 12, when he didn't give God the glory and the people worshipped him because of his political speech that he gave,
he was eaten up with worms from the inside and he gave up the ghost. That is what death is.
Let's define it tonight. Let's nail it out. Death of the body is when the body gives up the ghost.
It's when the spirit leaves the body. Ecclesiastes 3.21 says this,
who know it, the spirit of man that goeth upward and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth.
Ecclesiastes 12.7, then shall the dust, this is referring to mankind, then shall the dust return to the earth as it was,
and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. The body goes back into the dust, it goes into the earth.
It decomposes and decays and sees corruption, but the spirit goes back to God that gave it.
The spirit goes upward. The spirit departs the body. Of course, that's if you're saved.
And we'll get into that in a little bit. So we see very clearly what it is to be dead physically.
For the body to be dead. What does it mean if we say this person is dead?
It means that their ghost, their spirit, has departed from their body and is no longer there.
We have just an empty shell there, just a carcass that's left behind.
But what does it mean to die spiritually? What is the spiritual death?
Because, of course, we have the body, the soul, and the spirit.
What is it for the soul to die? What is it for the spirit to die?
Well, the Bible talks a lot about that as well.
Now, let me just start by saying this. In Genesis chapter 3, God commanded,
or basically it's reiterated how He had commanded,
that in the day that Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
He said, in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.
Now, some people will say, well, they eventually die. No.
He said, in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.
So according to the Bible, they died that day. But did they die physically? No.
The spirit did not leave the body. They did not give up the ghost.
But their spirit died. When they sinned against God, their spirit died.
Go to Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter number 2.
So we understand the death of the body.
Now we're talking about the death of the spirit and the death of the soul.
The death of the spirit takes place, well, it took place for Adam and Eve
and the day that they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Look at what it says in Ephesians chapter number 2.
It says in verse 1, and you hath he quickened, who were dead, in trespasses and sins.
Now, he's not talking about the fact that they were a dead body, is he?
He's talking about the fact that they were dead spiritually,
just like Adam and Eve were dead spiritually,
those of us, and he's writing unto us,
because he's writing unto the Christians at Ephesus,
but he might as well be writing to us. It's the same thing.
And he's basically saying to us that we that are saved were dead in the past.
We were dead in trespasses and sins. Our spirit was dead.
But it says that he has quickened us.
Quickened means brought us to life, regenerated us.
And you have he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
wherein in time past he walked, according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.
And then look at verse 5, it says,
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ.
By grace ye are saved.
So being saved is a quickening of the spirit, according to the Bible.
When I believed on the Lord Jesus Christ,
before I believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, my spirit was dead.
But the moment that I believed on Jesus Christ, my spirit was quickened or brought to life.
Jesus said in John chapter 6, verse 63, he said,
It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing.
The words that I say unto you, they are spirit and they are life.
So God's word, the Bible said in Psalm 119,
By thy word hast thou quickened me.
God's word comes in, faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the word of God.
And when a person heareth God's word and believeth on him that sent him,
the Bible says, He hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation,
watch it, and has been passed from death unto life.
Not physically, but spiritually passed from death unto life.
That is the difference between spiritually dead and spiritually alive people.
There are two kinds of people in this world.
There are those who are spiritually alive and there are those that are spiritually dead.
There are those that are physically alive and physically dead.
The ones that are physically dead are buried in the cemetery.
Go to Romans chapter 7.
Romans chapter 7.
You know, I don't have that, you know, I have the wrong scripture written down here,
so I'm going to go ahead and skip this one.
But let's look at some of this anyway, because this is actually pertinent.
It's not in my sermon, but let's just look at it anyway.
It says in verse number 6, it says,
For to be carnally minded, that is, fleshly minded,
for to be carnally minded is death, verse 6,
but to be spiritually minded is life and peace,
because the carnal mind is enmity against God,
for it is not subject to the law of God,
neither indeed can be.
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God,
but ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit,
if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
That proves that every person who believes on Christ
has the Spirit of Christ dwelling inside them.
It says, and if Christ be in you,
the body is dead because of sin,
but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you,
he that raised up Christ from the dead
shall also quicken your mortal bodies
by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors,
not to the flesh, to live after the flesh,
for if ye live after the flesh ye shall die.
But if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body,
ye shall live, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God.
They are the sons of God.
That's not the verse I was looking for, but that's fine.
There's plenty of other verses in the Bible.
What?
You're in Chapter 8 and you're on to Chapter 7.
Is that what I'm doing, huh?
Okay, well, Chapter 8 is good too.
Well, let me talk about Chapter 8 real quick.
I was looking for the part about sin revived and I died.
Verse 9 of Chapter 7, huh?
Yeah, that's what I thought.
I just got a new Bible.
It's a really nice Bible, but I'm just not used to it yet.
I don't know where things are on the page.
Well, let's talk about Chapter 8 while we're there.
So, according to Chapter 8 here,
those that are in the flesh cannot please God
because they're spiritually dead.
Those of us who are saved, the Bible says that our spirit is life.
Now, the Bible says the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God,
for their foolishness unto him, neither can he know them
because they are spiritually discerned.
You see, the person who's unsaved, their spirit is dead
and they're unable to discern the Bible
because it's spiritually discerned and their spirit is dead.
They're unable to please God.
They're unable to think with a spiritual mind.
They're carnally minded, okay?
After we're saved, the spirit is quickened
and we can choose to walk in the spirit, which is life,
or to walk in the flesh, which is death.
That's what he explained in Chapter 8 there.
So, unsaved people are spiritually dead.
Their body is alive in the sense that it has not given up the ghost.
It is animated.
But spiritually, they're dead, spiritually speaking.
Spiritually speaking, our body is dead
because it's a sinful, decaying body
and that's what he's explaining in Chapter 8.
But in Chapter 7, what I want to point out
is that it says in verse number 8, let's start in verse 8, it says...
Actually, let's go back to verse 7.
What shall we say that is the law sin, God forbid?
Nay, I have not known sin, but by the law.
For I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
But sin, taking occasion by the commandment,
wrought in me all manner of concupiscence.
For without the law, sin was dead.
For I was alive without the law once.
Hang on a second.
Let that sink down into your ears.
For I was alive without the law once.
But when the commandment came, sin revived
and I died.
Now, when Paul is saying, I died,
did he physically yield up the ghost?
He died spiritually.
Now, there's a false doctrine I'm going to deal with.
He said, why don't you just rant through 20 verses
on giving up the ghost?
Why are we talking about such a silly subject
of what death is?
Everybody knows what death is.
No, they don't.
There's a lot of false doctrine.
You see, there's a doctrine called Original Sin
which teaches that we are held accountable for Adam's sin.
We're punished for Adam's sin.
That's not true.
The Bible says in Romans 5-12,
wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world
and death by sin.
And so death passed upon all men.
Now, a lot of people just stop right there.
See, one man sinned and death passed upon all men.
No, keep reading.
He said, and so death passed upon all men
for that all have sinned.
So the reason that death passed upon all men
is because all have sinned.
That's why.
We're not being punished for Adam's sin.
We're not held accountable for what Adam did.
But because of Adam's sin,
his descendants are also sinful creatures
and that death passed upon all men
because all have sinned.
You see, a person does not come into this world
spiritually dead.
They come into this world spiritually alive.
Now, most people have not thought that through
or don't believe that,
but it's the truth because I just read it to you.
He said, I was alive once, but then sin revived and I died.
You see, a baby that's born into this world,
that baby is born spiritually alive,
but the first time it sins,
that's when the spirit died.
Just as Adam and Eve, when they sinned,
they died.
Their spirit died.
That's what happened with Paul.
As soon as sin revived, he died.
He was alive once.
He started out alive.
And you see, this is why the Bible's so clear
that babies, when they die, they go to heaven.
The Bible talks about it in the book of Job.
Job had wished that he had died in the womb.
And he said, if I would have died in my mother's womb,
he said I would have gone to the place
where the servant is free from his master
and he praises the virtues of heaven
and he explains that he would have gone to heaven
if he would have died in the womb.
Of course, David's one-week-old son died
and he said, the child cannot come to me,
but I shall go to the child.
The Bible teaches in the book of Psalms,
in the book of Job, in the book of Ecclesiastes,
in the book of 2 Samuel, it repeatedly teaches
that a baby who dies goes to heaven.
And a child who dies in the womb goes to heaven.
God does not hold that child accountable for sin
because it is too young to do good or evil
or to even know good or evil.
It's a baby.
And there are people who believe that babies go to hell.
This false teacher, Harold Camping,
that had all the billboards up, the May 21st,
he believes that babies, when they die, they go to hell.
And that's what a lot of Calvinists believe, by the way,
that babies, when they die, go to hell.
And it's not true.
I've heard some Calvinists say,
well, you know, if the parents are saved,
then they'll go to heaven.
What in the world?
Salvation is personal and God does not damn those
who have not done good or evil.
You say, well, wait a minute, Pastor Anderson,
go to Romans, are we in Romans 7?
Go to chapter 9.
See, these are important doctrines.
We need to get rid of some of the traditions of man
and get the doctrine of the Bible here.
You see, according to the Bible,
a child in its mother's womb is not in sin.
A lot of people will say, well, you know,
we're sinning even in our mother's womb.
But the Bible tells us in Romans chapter 9,
verse number 11, it says,
for the children, Romans 9-11,
for the children being not yet born,
neither having done any good or evil,
that the purpose of God according to election
might stand not at works, but of him that called.
So that tells us right there that Jacob and Esau,
in the womb, and this is right before they were born
when they were actually wrestling each other in the womb,
they had not done good or evil at that point, right?
So they weren't sinning throughout their time
in their mother's womb.
They had not done good or evil.
You say, well, at what point does that take place?
At what point does the knowledge of sin
and the understanding of good and evil take place?
You know, I don't know.
I don't pretend to know.
I'm not trying to know.
I know that God is a just God and a fair God.
We know that a newborn baby automatically goes to heaven.
The Bible tells us that.
It's clear.
We know that a child who dies in his mother's womb
goes to heaven.
That's clear.
At what point does God begin to hold man accountable?
We know that God's grace is very great
and that he will allow people to stay alive many times
in order that they might get saved.
I mean, I know people who had near misses with death
when they were not saved.
I mean, very near misses with death.
And then later, they got saved.
And you could look at that and say,
you know what?
God in his mercy allowed them to stay alive
long enough to get the gospel.
That was just God's mercy,
because if they would have been killed at that age,
I think of my grandfather,
who was very near miss with death in his 20s
and then got saved later after he was 70 years old.
You know, it's a good thing that he didn't die in his 20s.
He would have gone straight to hell.
He wasn't saved.
And so God in his mercy, knowing all things,
God doesn't choose who goes to heaven and hell,
but God does know the future,
and he does give us lots of chances.
He gives people chances to be saved,
and he's merciful to them
and allows them to stay alive because he knows all things
and he'll sometimes keep us safe and spare us
from an early, untimely death,
especially those who he knows will eventually receive Christ as Savior.
So we see that spiritual death
is a state that we've all been in at one time.
We're born into this world spiritually alive.
The commandment comes.
Sin revives.
We die when we become sinful
and when we understand that concept,
and then at that point our spirit is dead.
Then when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
our spirit is quickened or brought back to life.
But what about the soul?
That's the spirit.
What about the soul?
What happens when a person dies,
when they give up the ghost,
when their body dies?
What happens to the soul?
What happens to the spirit?
Well, there's one of two places, obviously,
that a person can go after they die.
They can either go to heaven,
or they can go to hell.
In Ecclesiastes, he talked about the spirit of man
going upward.
That's obviously a reference to going up to heaven.
But then, of course, there's the other place,
downward into hell.
You see, it's interesting,
because hell is actually referred to as death.
Go to Revelation chapter 20,
where we started out tonight.
Revelation chapter number 20.
And I hope I'm not confusing you tonight.
I hope that I'm actually clarifying something for you
so that you can understand.
Just a quick review.
What is just the basic definition of death?
Just the most basic...
What we mean when we say,
hey, so-and-so died.
We basically just mean that they gave up the ghost.
That's what we mean.
And even animals.
Even animals have breath in them.
Even animals have spirit,
because the Bible even said
the spirit of man that goeth upward
and the spirit of the beast
that goeth downward to the earth.
So even animals, when they die,
they give up the ghost.
Okay?
That's the basic definition,
but besides that basic physical definition,
there's also spiritual death, right?
Spiritual death is the state of being unsaved.
It's the state of being in a sinful condition.
It's a state of being on your way to hell, as it were,
because you're not saved.
You're unregenerated.
Your spirit is dead.
You can't understand the Bible.
You cannot please God.
You cannot have a spiritual mindset.
You cannot understand God's Word and so forth.
And that's death on a spiritual level, okay?
Now, let's understand the place death.
It's interesting in the Bible.
Did you know that death is actually
person, place, and thing in the Bible?
You know, the definition of a noun
is a person, place, and thing,
but most of them are just one or the other.
But actually, death is referred to in the Bible
as a person.
That's found in Revelation chapter 6.
And then death is referred to as a place.
And then obviously, death is referred to as a thing,
just the concept of death.
But let's look at the place death,
Revelation chapter 20, verse number 11.
It says,
And I saw a great white throne,
and him that sat on it,
from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away,
and there was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small and great,
stand before God,
and the books were opened,
and another book was opened,
which is the Book of Life,
and the dead were judged out of those things
which were written in the books
according to their works.
Now, we're going to talk about the dead there
and why they're called dead in just a moment.
It says in verse 13,
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it.
Now, that's pretty easy to understand, isn't it?
You know, Osama bin Laden, for example, right?
You know, just a dead body that's in the sea, okay?
Well, they did, you know,
they got out of the freezer after eight or nine years
and dumped it out there.
But anyway, the bottom line is,
there are all kinds of burials at sea, so-called, right?
So the sea is filled with dead bodies.
And so the Bible talks about the sea gave up the dead
which were in it.
Now, are we talking dead bodies or dead souls in the sea?
We're talking the bodies, right?
We're talking a dead body in the sea.
But then watch this.
He said, And death and hell delivered up the dead
which were in them.
Now, we're talking on a spiritual level, aren't we?
Physically, we're talking about just the sea.
We're talking about a dead body.
But when we talk about death and hell
delivering up the dead which were in them,
now we're on a spiritual level.
Now we're talking about the soul.
He says in verse 13 at the end,
And they were judged, every man according to their works.
And dead and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life
was cast into the lake of fire.
Now, often misunderstood in verse 14 here,
a lot of people think when he says,
This is the second death,
he's referring to the event of death and hell
being cast into the lake of fire.
That's what the Jehovah's Witnesses teach.
It's not true.
Because look at Revelation 21.
See, the answers are all in the Bible.
The Bible defines itself.
Revelation 21 says that the fearful and unbelieving
and the abominable and murderers and foremongers
and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars,
you know, people think that they're good enough
to go to heaven even if you just lie.
He says that's enough to send you to hell.
Of course, if you're saved, though, it's all forgiven
and it's all washed away.
But if you're not saved, you can lie and send you to hell.
He said all liars shall have their part
in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.
Now watch this.
Which is the second death?
So what is the second death?
According to that verse?
The lake of fire, the lake which burneth with fire
and brimstone is the second death.
So now with that in mind,
go back to verse 14 of chapter 20.
It says, In death and hell
were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death.
What's the this referring to?
The lake of fire is the second death.
So what is the first death?
Go to Ezekiel chapter 31.
Ezekiel 31.
And you know, I realize I'm going down
a little bit deep tonight, but you know what?
I'm sick of shallow preaching.
I get sick of it.
You know what I mean?
Just this little feel good, shallow, easy.
And then if you really want to learn the Bible,
you've got to go to some Bible college somewhere.
You know, in the local church,
the Bible says till I come, give attendance to reading,
to exhortation, to doctrine.
Meditate upon these things.
Give thyself holy to them
that their profiting may appear to all.
The Bible teaches we should be reading the Bible
in the house of God
and getting doctrine and learning the truth
and teaching and edifying the saints.
It's important for us to know
what the Bible really teaches about death.
And the Bible talks about the second death
and it's a place.
It's the lake of fire.
We saw it in Revelation 21, 8.
We saw it in Revelation 20, 14.
Look at the place death in Ezekiel 31, 14.
It says to the end that none of all the trees by the water
exalt themselves for their height,
neither should up their top among the fifth boughs,
neither the trees stand up in their height
all that drink water.
You say, what are we talking about, trees and water?
Well, if you read the whole chapter,
we're not going to read it for the sake of time,
but in the whole chapter,
he's referring to these great kings of the earth as trees.
Pharaoh, king of Egypt, he calls him a tree.
The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar,
remember he was the great tree
that all the fowl of the air and all the creatures of the earth
lodged in the branches thereof?
Trees are metaphors for these great kings
that he's referring to.
Read the whole chapter, it'll make perfect sense to you.
But talking about these men, these kings,
look what he says.
For they are all delivered unto death,
comma, he's going to restate or explain what that means
to be delivered unto death,
to the nether parts of the earth
in the midst of the children of men
with them that go down where?
To the pit.
So we see that this place is described
in a few different ways.
First of all, it's described as death, right?
The second thing it's described as
is the nether parts of the earth.
What does nether mean?
Lower.
Nether is just an old word for lower.
So he says that they are delivered unto death.
He says they are delivered to the lower parts of the earth.
And he says that they are down in the pit.
All referring to the same place,
the place that the Bible calls over and over again, hell.
And in Ezekiel chapter 31, he calls it hell.
A few verses later, he calls the pit hell.
The bottomless pit, hell.
You see, hell is located in the lower parts of the earth.
That's what the Bible says.
The Bible says that hell is in the heart of the earth.
Now, you don't have to be a science expert
to have seen how many images there are
of the cross section of the earth.
And you see the crust around the earth.
And the crust is so thin.
Let's picture the earth like an apple, if you will.
The skin of the apple in proportion to the rest of the apple
is pretty thin, isn't it?
Just that little thin red layer of skin.
And then the rest is all the white meat of the apple.
And then you have the core of the apple.
And the word core means heart.
Well, that skin of the apple, if the earth,
if we were to make a scale image of the earth,
the exact size of an apple,
the crust would be much, much thinner
than the skin of that apple.
Did you know that?
Because the earth is about 10,000 miles in diameter.
Okay, everybody know what diameter means?
10,000 miles.
And you know how thick the crust is?
One to 10 miles thick.
So 10 miles beneath our feet, there's no more crust.
You know, just using that thicker 10 miles,
but it's one to 10 miles thick in different places.
Obviously in the depths of the ocean,
it's not going to be as thick.
The highest mountaintop, it's thicker.
10 miles.
And then you've got 9,000 some, you know,
10,000 miles of what?
Fire and brimstone.
Literal.
Molten, fire, lava.
And then you have beneath all of that, the core.
You say, well, what is the core?
Well, the scientists, they'll tell you all about the core
because they've been there.
They went there.
They checked it out while they were there.
A lot of them are going there.
A lot of these phony Bible-denying scientists,
well, all of them that are denying Christ
and denying the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God,
they're going to have plenty of time to study the core
for all of eternity.
Well, not all eternity, but they'll be able to study it
until it's moved to the length of fire.
They can really figure out fondly
what's down there in that core.
But you know, man only decided that there was a core
about 100 years ago.
That's when scientists decided there's a core.
But you know what?
The Bible always told us that there's a core.
He always told us that it has a heart.
And he calls it the iron furnace.
He calls it the furnace of fire.
He calls it hell.
He calls it the bottomless pit.
There's no bottom.
There's no gravity.
It's in the center of the earth.
It's hell.
And you say, you mean to tell me hell is really down there?
No, this whole book's just a fairy tale.
In fact, let's all go home tonight.
Yeah, of course I believe that it's really down there.
No, I think it's just a coincidence that the whole earth
is filled with molten fire and brimstone
and then when a volcano erupts,
it spews out molten fire and brimstone.
I think that's just a coincidence.
Of course hell is down there.
Man doesn't know what's...
He can bounce his little sound wave,
and it's going to bounce back.
He doesn't know what's down there.
He has no clue how that sound wave is going to react
through 5,000 miles of molten fire and brimstone
down to the heart of the earth
where hell is located.
That place is called death.
He said they're delivered unto death
to the nether parts of the earth
in the midst of the children of men,
with them they go down to the pit.
Jesus Christ said in Revelation 1 18,
I be that liveth and was dead,
and behold, I am alive forevermore, amen,
and have the keys of hell and of death.
So the unsaved person,
when they are delivered unto death,
when they die, what happens to their body?
Nothing.
It stays here, doesn't it?
I mean, when someone dies,
their body doesn't just start to fade away and disappear.
When a person dies, the body is left with us,
but it's dead.
Why? Because it's given up the ghost.
The ghost is departed.
The spirit is departed.
Where does that ghost head?
Does it just float around and haunt places?
No.
It goes down to hell.
It goes down to the lower parts of the earth.
It goes down to the center of the earth.
That's where the spirit of the dead goes.
It goes to heaven.
Now, what about the spirit of those that are saved?
Well, it goes upward.
It goes to heaven.
The Bible tells us that to be absent from the body
is to be present with the Lord.
Paul said, I have a desire to depart
and to be with Christ, which is far better.
What's he talking about?
Departing the body
and going to be with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Not to lay in the ground a soul sleep.
You know, the Jehovah's Witnesses will teach soul.
Ira Baptist teaches soul sleep doctrine.
But no.
The spirit, the soul of man that is saved
goes upward to heaven immediately to be with Christ.
The soul of the unsaved is delivered unto death
to the nether parts of the earth
in the midst of the children of man
with them to go down to the pit.
Now, the question is, go to Acts chapter 2.
The question is, then,
where did Jesus Christ go when he died?
Where did his soul go?
Now, we know where his body went, right?
Because his body went to the grave.
It went to the tomb.
It went to that sepulcher
where they actually embalmed him.
They wrapped him up
and they put his dead body in that tomb.
Why was that body dead?
Well, we saw four different Gospels tell us.
He yielded up the ghost.
And that dead body of Jesus Christ
was placed in the grave.
And you remember earlier, that body, he said,
destroy this temple
and in three days I will raise it up.
And he spake this of the temple of his body,
the Bible tells us.
So they did destroy his body, didn't they?
They destroyed that temple.
He said, this is my body,
which is broken for you.
And that broken dead body of Jesus Christ
was placed in the grave.
It was placed in the tomb.
But where did his soul go?
Well, before we answer that question,
let's talk about when the Sadducees came to Jesus Christ.
And the Sadducees don't believe in the resurrection.
And they tried to stump him
with this bizarre hypothetical
about a woman who married a brother
and then he died
and then she married his brother
and then he died
and then she married his brother.
You know, this woman needs to,
we need to tell the district attorney about this woman.
Because it sounds like she's probably a serial killer.
You know, seven husbands die in a row.
What's she putting in the food?
But anyway, they give him this weird story about,
you know, and then finally,
the seventh husband died.
So she's married to seven different men in succession.
Last of all, the woman died also.
In the resurrection, therefore,
whose wife shall she be?
For the seven had her.
And Jesus told them,
ye do err, not knowing the scriptures.
And that's where all error comes from.
All error comes from, by the way.
It either comes from not being saved
or not studying the scriptures.
Because the unsaved person,
neither can he know them.
Because they're spiritually discerned.
He said, you err, not knowing the scriptures.
They weren't saved.
They don't know the scriptures.
But many saved people don't know the scriptures either.
That's why Jesus kept saying,
have you not read?
Have you read?
How readest thou?
And so, he said, you do err,
not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God.
For in the resurrection,
they neither marry nor are given in marriage,
but are as the angels in heaven.
So much doctrine.
So much false doctrine, so little time.
People teaching that the angels married humans
in the Bible.
No.
The angels neither marry nor are given in marriage.
And so, he told them that,
but then he wanted to just really shut them down.
I mean, he definitely gave them the right answer.
Jesus Christ knew all things,
and he gave them the right answer,
and he said, no, you don't even get it.
You don't even know what you're talking about.
They don't get married in the resurrection.
But he just wanted to really shut them down
and prove them wrong in front of everybody.
And so, Jesus said,
but as touching the dead,
they did rise.
He said, remember what?
And I'm paraphrasing this part,
but he said, do you remember when
Moses was at the burning bush,
and God said to him,
I am the God of Abraham
and the God of Isaac
and the God of Jacob?
God is not the God of the dead,
but of the living.
He's basically saying to the Sadducees,
why would God say he's the God of Abraham
if Abraham's dead and gone forever?
Why would he say I'm the God of Abraham?
And then later,
Jesus Christ said to the Pharisees,
he said, Abraham rejoiced to see my day and was glad.
Did you hear that?
Abraham rejoiced to see my day and was glad,
and they said unto him,
thou art not fifty years old,
and hast thou seen Abraham?
And he said, verily, verily,
I say unto you,
before Abraham was, I am.
But you see,
Abraham rejoiced to see
the day of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why?
Because he was alive to see it.
Did you hear me?
Abraham was alive
when Jesus walked this earth.
Isaac was alive.
Jacob was alive.
Their bodies were dead.
Their bodies were in the tomb.
But they were alive.
Where were they alive?
In heaven.
That's where they were.
Because, according to the Bible,
people that are in heaven are not dead.
They're alive.
They're living today.
You see, one day,
it'll be said of me,
that Pastor Anderson's dead.
But it won't be true, will it?
No.
I'll be alive.
I'll just be in heaven.
And you see,
the body without the Spirit is dead,
but Jesus Christ said,
Jesus said to her,
I am the resurrection and the life.
He that believeth in me,
though he were dead,
yet shall he live.
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me
shall never die.
Believe this is how it is.
So according to the Bible,
if I believe on Jesus Christ,
I'm never going to die.
Yeah, my body will die,
but that's not even me.
It's the soul.
It's the Spirit.
I will continue to live in heaven.
So those that are in heaven
are alive.
Everybody got that?
Those that are in hell are what?
Dead.
So on the level of the soul,
on the level of the body,
the body is the body.
If they gave up the ghost,
it's dead.
But when it comes to the soul,
the soul that's in heaven is what?
And the soul that's in hell is what?
Dead.
That's biblical.
Now look at this.
Was Jesus
alive or dead
for three days and three nights?
Dead.
He was dead.
And that's why the Bible says
in Acts chapter 2, verse 31,
it says,
this eating, this before,
spake of the resurrection of Christ
that his soul was not left where?
In hell.
Neither his flesh did see corruption.
You see, he was dead
for three days and three nights,
and then he rose again from the dead.
And the Bible tells us
that his soul was raised up from hell.
His soul was not left in hell.
Look, if you would,
at Ephesians chapter 4.
Ephesians chapter 4.
So to write in your Bible,
Ephesians chapter 4.
You say, well, that's not
what I've been taught.
Well, it doesn't matter
what you've been taught.
It's what the Bible says.
Look at Ephesians chapter 4.
It says in verse 7,
but unto every one of us
is given grace according to
the measure of the gift of Christ.
Wherefore he saith,
when he ascended up on high,
he led captivity captive
and gave gifts unto men.
Now what does it mean
to lead captivity captive?
Well, I like to let
the Bible define itself.
That term, led captivity captive,
is only used one other time
in the Bible.
Does anybody know the story
where it's used from?
Call it out to me
if you know it.
The book of Judges, okay?
Barak, also known as,
you know, ever since Barack Obama,
I feel like I have to call him Barack.
You know, Barak, remember
Barak and Deborah?
Well, when Deborah
is singing a song to Barak,
in Judges chapter 5,
she says,
Arise, Barak,
and lead captivity captive.
Okay?
So don't just make up stuff.
A lot of people say,
oh, well this means
we led captivity captive,
that's when he went
and got all these souls
and all these, no.
Let the Bible define itself.
The Bible uses the term,
Barak, lead thy captivity
captive, Barak,
because Barak was
enslaved.
Barak was part
of an enslaved people.
The children of Israel
were enslaved
by their enemies.
And Barak went out to battle
against the enemies
of the Lord,
and he,
according to the Bible,
led his captivity captive.
He basically went
from being a captive
to not being a captive,
breaking free from captivity
and defeating the enemies
that were captive.
They were captivating him.
And if you read Judges 4 and 5,
it's clear that children of Israel
were enslaved,
he was held captive,
he led his captivity captive.
Very simple.
So when the Bible says
that Jesus led captivity captive,
basically,
the Bible says that
Jesus Christ was dead,
but it says that
he was not able
to be holden by death,
is what I believe,
it was either Peter or Paul
in the book of Acts
talked about how
death could not hold him.
You know,
he led his captivity captive.
Now look,
he ascended up on high,
look at verse 8 carefully,
wherefore he saith,
when he ascended up on high,
he led captivity captive.
So when he ascended,
he led captivity captive.
But watch this.
And gave gifts unto men,
now that he ascended,
and we're going to get
to those gifts in a moment,
by the way,
what is it but that
he also descended?
Are you getting this?
He descended first
into the lower parts
of the earth.
And that's what
the Bible calls hell
in Ezekiel 31.
He calls it,
and you say,
well it said the nether parts,
well read a few verses more,
it says the lower parts
and the nether parts,
the two are synonymous.
He went to the lower parts
of the earth
before he ascended up
to heaven, okay.
Because Jesus Christ said,
as Jonas was three days
and three nights
in the whale's belly,
so shall the son of man
be three days
and three nights
in the heart of the earth,
which is the core
of the earth, okay.
So we see that Jesus Christ
was dead.
His body was physically dead,
but he was also
spiritually dead
for three days and three nights.
He said,
why in the world
would Jesus Christ
be spiritually dead
for three days and three nights?
Because he,
who knew no sin,
became sin for us.
That we might be
made the righteousness
of God, him.
The Bible says,
who his own self
bear our sins
in his own body
on the tree.
Remember when the father
actually had to turn
his back on the son
and Jesus Christ
cried out and said,
my God, my God,
why has thou forsaken me?
He took upon
the sins of the world.
And he spiritually
and physically was dead.
The resurrection took place
three days
and three nights later.
His body did not
seek corruption.
And his soul
was not left in hell.
That's the resurrection.
So there's two aspects
of the resurrection.
There's a spiritual aspect
and there's a physical aspect.
Now, which one
do you have to believe in
to be saved?
Well, in order to be saved,
you have to believe,
who thinks you have to believe
in the resurrection
of Christ to be saved?
Yeah, that's pretty simple,
isn't it?
Romans 10, 9,
that if thou shalt confess
with thine heart
the Lord Jesus
and shalt believe in thine heart
that God
is raised from the dead,
thou shalt be saved.
But have you noticed
the phrase over and over again
in the Bible?
Go to 1 Corinthians 15,
I'll show it to you.
The death, burial,
and resurrection.
Anybody notice
that term before?
The death, burial,
and resurrection?
Have you ever stopped
and wondered about the burial?
What's so important
about the burial?
I used to wonder about that
when I was a kid.
Because my grandpa
used to drill it into us.
He said,
the gospel is the death,
burial,
and resurrection
of Jesus Christ.
And I said,
I can see why the death
of Jesus Christ
is really important.
And I definitely see
why the resurrection
of Jesus Christ
is so important.
But what's so big deal
about the burial?
Has anybody else
had that thought?
Or am I just the only
one who thinks
along those lines?
Okay, well,
that's fine.
But it says here
in verse 1 of chapter 15,
Moreover, brethren,
I declare unto you
the gospel
which I preached unto you,
which also ye have received
and where I stand,
by which also ye are saved.
By which also ye are saved.
So you're saved by what?
The gospel.
If you keep in memory
what I preached unto you
unless you believed in vain,
he's saying,
if you didn't believe this,
you believed in vain.
You believed the wrong stuff.
You've got to believe
in the gospel.
You've got to believe in this.
And he explains
what the gospel is.
For I delivered unto you
first of all
that which I also received,
how that Christ
died for our sins
according to the scriptures,
and that he was buried,
and that he rose again
the third day
according to the scriptures,
and that he was seen
of Cephas,
then of the Twelve.
Now,
what was buried?
The body or the soul?
What was buried?
What did Cephas
look at and see?
The body or the soul?
He saw the body.
Because when Jesus
appeared unto Peter,
he said,
Come, handle me.
He said,
Put your finger into my hand.
Thrust your hand into my side
and be not faithless
but believing.
He said,
A spirit hath not
flesh and bone
as you see me to have.
And so Jesus
showed his body.
So what are we talking about
in I Corinthians 15?
The reason that the
burial is important
is because God
is making it very clear
to us that we're talking
about the bodily
resurrection of Christ.
Not just the
spiritual resurrection
of bodily resurrection.
And he makes it clear
by saying the burial.
Because the burial
is saying,
Hey, we're talking the body.
Hey, what was seen
of Cephas was a body,
was flesh and bone,
was a life.
And you see,
this is why
no Jehovah's Witness
is saved.
They're not saved.
They denied
the bodily
resurrection of Christ
and any other religion
that denies
the bodily resurrection
of Christ,
they're not saved.
You cannot be saved
without believing
the gospel
and you gotta believe
in the death,
the burial,
and the resurrection
of Christ.
That's the resurrection
of his body.
In three days,
all raised up,
he's paid
in the temple
of his body.
And that's why
whenever you give
the gospel
unto a Jehovah's Witness
when you're
out there soul-witting,
be sure
and hit on this.
You might not
want to hit
right out of the gate
but at some point
you need to
touch on this.
You need to
let them know
that Jesus,
and they'll be
tricky with you
because I was
talking to a
Jehovah's Witness,
I think I was
with Brother Garib
Jehovah's Witnesses,
I said,
watch out,
they don't believe
in the bodily
resurrection of Christ.
They don't believe
in the resurrection.
Oh yes they do,
they do,
they do.
I said,
no they don't.
He said,
well I've been
with them for this
and that long
and yes we do.
And he was trying
to say that
he believed
in the resurrection
but when I pinned
him down on it
and said,
wait a minute,
what happened
to that body?
Where'd that body go?
It's a different body
because the old one
disappeared
and I've asked
the Jehovah's Witnesses
about the resurrection
of Christ.
I said,
tell me what happened
to the resurrection
of Christ
and you know
what they say?
They say after
three days
and three nights
his spirit
left the body.
Now hold on a second.
Wait a minute now.
When did Jesus'
spirit leave his body?
Because that's
the definition
of what?
To be gay.
Giving up the ghost.
Okay.
And I said,
I was out soul winning
and I was trying
to get a Jehovah's Witness
to see this
and I said
to a Jehovah's Witness
I said,
when people die
that's when
the spirit leaves
the body, right?
No!
See they didn't read,
you know those 20 verses
that you got
a little bored through
as I was rattling
through them?
You know what?
They must have
missed all 20 of them
because they don't
believe that the ghost
leaves the body
and that verses body
and soul
is just there
laying in the grave.
Body and soul.
No.
No,
the ghost
leaves the body
at death.
They don't believe
in the resurrection,
they just believe
that he died
three days after
we believe he died.
I mean that's
what they're saying.
He laid there
in the grave
in some kind
of an
undead condition
and then
three days later
his spirit
left his body.
No,
that's not what
the Bible says at all.
The Bible says
that when he was
on the cross
he gave up the ghost.
Three days later
he bodily rose again
and that's when
the ghost
of Jesus Christ
came back into his body
and that's when
his body
came back to life
and was raised up
not exactly the same,
the same body,
but changed,
but made glorified.
And that glorified body
walked out of that tomb.
And look,
the Jehovah's Witnesses
basically believed
Jesus was lying.
When he showed them
the holes in the hands
they say,
well that was a different
body Jehovah gave unto him.
Go to John 20.
Let me show you this,
John chapter 20.
They say,
well Jehovah gave him
a different body
and it actually had
holes in it
because it was just
to make them believe.
So basically Jesus
and the Father
according to the
scriptures are up and out
and say,
okay we got to convince
these people that he
really rose again.
So I know your body
disintegrated,
you know,
but we're going to
make a new body
that's got holes in it
and you can show them
the holes
in the hand
and in the side
that way they'll
believe it.
Now you say,
where in the world
do the Jehovah's Witnesses
come up with such
a bizarre doctrine?
I believe firmly
that the reason why
the Jehovah's Witnesses
teach that doctor
is just to make sure
that people get saved.
Because I bet you
there's a lot of people
who try to give them
the gospel and show them
faith in Christ
and they might think
that they're saved
but they don't even,
they don't believe
in the resurrection.
They can't be saved
until they believe in this.
Until they believe
the gospel,
whatever they believe
is in vain
if they don't believe
in the death,
burial,
and resurrection
of Jesus Christ
which they don't.
You got to believe
in your heart
that God raised him
from the dead
to be saved.
But you say,
and here's what they say,
and this is why
it's so important
when you read the Bible
to read every word carefully.
This is their big proof.
They say,
well when Jesus appeared
after the resurrection,
nobody recognized him.
So that proves
he was in a different body
because nobody recognized him.
But when he,
you know,
had the holes in his hand,
that's when Jehovah gave him
a body that was
really similar.
And, you know,
he threw a few holes in it,
looked similar,
and it was like,
okay, now you can
show yourself.
Now here's their big proof,
guys.
Are you ready for their
big proof
that Jesus didn't really
bodily resurrect?
Here's the big proof
where nobody's
recognizing him.
Of course,
that's not true.
When he appeared
under the disciples
in the upper room,
they recognized him.
Thomas instantly recognized him.
But they say,
no,
when he appeared
under Mary in the garden,
she didn't recognize him.
Well, let's see
if that's really true.
It says right here
in verse number 11,
John 20, 11.
But Mary stood without
the sepulcher weeping,
and as she wept,
she stooped down
and looked into the sepulcher,
and seeing two angels
in white,
sitting one at the head
and the other at the feet,
where the body of Jesus
had laid him,
you know,
before it disintegrated
or whatever,
according to them.
And they say unto her,
woman,
why we bestow?
She saith unto them,
because they have
taken away my Lord,
and I know not
where they have laid him.
And when she had thus said,
she turned herself back
and saw Jesus standing
and knew not
that it was Jesus.
Jesus said,
Jesus saith unto her,
woman, why we bestow?
Whom seekest thou?
She, supposing him
to be the gardener,
saith unto him,
Sir, if thou are born
and hence tell me
where thou has laid him
and I will take him away.
Jesus saith unto her,
Mary.
Now look at this.
She turned herself.
So why does it
spell that out?
Because she did it twice.
Yes.
She turned herself
and saith unto him,
Rabboni,
which is the same master.
So is she facing him
when she
says,
if you've laid him somewhere,
just let me know?
No.
She's crying.
She's upset.
And she turns
and just sees somebody
out of the corner of her eye.
She takes us to a gardener.
She says,
oh, just tell me
where you laid him.
And then she says to her,
Mary,
and then she turns herself,
looks him square on,
and says,
Rabboni,
which is my master.
It's not that he was
in a different body.
You know,
he was in this long-haired body
before he had dark hair.
Totally different body.
He's in the sky.
You know,
he came back
as a totally different guy.
Because they believed
that his spirit
left the disintegrating body,
and then,
you know,
he went up to heaven,
and then Jehovah just,
you know,
went into the body,
the body storage,
you know,
like, okay,
look out of the body here.
Okay,
we'll set you up
with the body.
Okay,
go down to see Mary.
Different body for the disciples.
We're going to use one
that looks like the other one.
Punch a few holes in it.
All right,
send you down in that body.
Okay,
bring it back up.
Now you're going to meet
those two disciples
on the road to Emmaus.
Cleopas.
Different body.
But you see,
this is the nonsense
that somebody believes in
when they're spiritually dead.
They're blinded.
They can't even see
the clear scripture
that's as plain
as the nose on our face
because they're blinded to it.
Everything I'm preaching tonight
is biblical.
It's clear.
We're just reading it.
We don't need some theologian
to come break it down to us
and take us back to the Greek
or take us to the Hebrew.
We don't need a chart up here.
I mean,
it's just simple.
The body without the spirit
is dead.
Understand.
Gave up the ghost.
He died.
Okay,
I understand that.
Body without the spirit,
it's dead.
Souls in hell,
they're dead.
Hell delivers up the dead,
which are in it.
Those that are in heaven,
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
all the prophets,
they're alive.
They're with Christ.
They're living.
The unsaved,
spiritually dead.
The saved,
they're spiritually alive.
This is what
death and life mean.
Let's finish up tonight.
I'm running out of time.
Let's just quickly finish
in Revelation 20.
Revelation,
chapter 20.
This is an important doctrine
and, you know,
as you read your Bible,
look for these things.
Understand these things.
Revelation,
chapter 20.
Here's another key.
This is the last key doctrinal
point that I want to make
tonight.
I've made all these
other points.
And I want to make
one last point here.
And I want to nail this
down tonight.
We talked about the fact
that the second death
is a place, right?
Very clear.
Not an event,
it's a place.
The last place.
The last moment,
we're going to take
another point that
we're going to think about
tonight.
And the fact that
the second death
is a place,
right?
Very clear.
Not an event.
place. The lake of fire is the second dead. Now what I want to point out in Revelation
20 is that it says in verse number 12, and I saw the dead, small and great, stand before
God, and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life,
and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according
to their works. Who are these people that are the dead? Well the dead here, these
people are not saved. Because those that are saved were already resurrected way earlier
in the first resurrection, before the thousand years. They were resurrected and brought
to life, their body was even resurrected into a brand new living perfect body. Their
spirit and soul had already been resurrected when they got saved. But they are very much
alive in all three levels, on a spiritual level, a soul level, and a bodily level. At
this point the believers are alive. The first and second resurrection have taken
place, they're all alive. The unsaved on the other hand are not alive, they're
dead. Now did God bring them back to life here? Did God take all the people that
were in hell, did He take Osama Bin Laden out of the sea, and all the other dead
bodies in the sea, and did He take those bodies, and did He actually give them life?
Did He actually bring people back to life? There's no mention is there? Is there any
mention of life here? None at all. He said the dead. The dead stood before God, and
the dead were judged according to their works. These people are dead. So the second
death is not these people dying again. That's not what's going on here. These people are
already dead. They're not dying in this chapter. They've already been dead, and they're
remaining dead. They're resurrected. But resurrect doesn't mean bring to life.
Bring to life is quick. And resurrect means raise up. That's what it means. Like erect,
like erecting steel. Okay, raising up. They're resurrected but they're still dead
and they're judged. So are we being judged here for our works? No, this is the dead being
judged according to their works. And it says death and hell were cast into the lake of
fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life
was cast into the lake of fire. This is not hell ceasing to exist. Because Jesus
called the lake of fire hell many times. He said fear not then which killed the
body but are not able to kill the soul. But rather fear Him which is able to destroy
both soul and body in hell. Let me ask something. Do unsaved people's bodies
go down to hell that's in the center of the earth right now? No, we bury the body.
The body is thrown in the ocean. The body is in the grave. No, the soul goes there.
So why did Jesus say that their body would be destroyed in hell? Because here
is where soul and body have been reunited. Where death and hell and the sea
deliver up the dead and they stand before God in bodily form. Resurrected
but not alive. Walking dead. Standing there
dead. Conscious yes. I mean people in hell right now they're
conscious. There are people in hell begging for a drop of water right now. They're conscious.
They're in torment. And they will have no rest day or night and they shall be tormented forever
and ever. Because they're only going to get a brief little break here to stand before God and be
judged by their works and then whosoever was not found in the book of life
was cast into the lake of fire. And they're going to the lake of fire. So are we
wrong to call the lake of fire hell? Jesus called it hell because He said it will destroy both soul and body in hell.
We know He's referring to the second death because that's the only place the body ever goes.
The body doesn't go to the first hell. The body doesn't go to the existing hell right now. So is it wrong to
say that people spend eternity in hell? No they do spend eternity in hell. Hell is just
relocated to the lake of fire. He cast death and hell into the lake of fire. That's just a new
location. Where was the old location? The nether parts of the earth. The lower
parts of the earth. The new location is called outer darkness. There's nothing
outer about the center of the earth. Outer darkness is where the lake of fire is located.
And that's where they will reside for all eternity. And so the
Bible is clearer. These people are not alive. They're dead. So when He says
earlier in the chapter in Revelation 20 when He says the rest of the dead lived not again until the
thousand years were finished. He's not talking about them. Those people are never going to live again. They're dead.
He's talking about saved people during the millennium. Saved people from after the first resurrection.
That's why Jesus said, and I don't have time to get into this tonight, but in John 5
great chapter on the resurrection. In John 5 He explained that
there would be one hour when all that are in the graves would hear His
voice and come forth. Those that have done good unto the resurrection of
life and those that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation.
And so basically there are two waves of the resurrection of the saved.
The first wave is before the millennium and the second wave is after the millennium.
Jesus is the first fruits. Afterward they that are Christ is coming then come at the end.
And so we're trying to go too many directions now. It's time to close my Bible tonight.
But understand what you believe, understand why you believe it. Death
is spelled out in the Bible what it means. And don't be deceived by false doctrine.
Jehovah's Witnesses don't believe that your soul goes to heaven. It's nonsense.
Because the moment that you die, and I'm talking about the body now,
when you die, when I die, you will give up the ghost.
And that ghost is going one of two places. It's either going to heaven
where it will live or it's going to hell where it will be dead.
There's no in between. There's no place. There's no option to just lay in the grave.
There's no just well I'll just rest in the peace in the grave. No.
The moment that you die you will yield up that ghost. That spirit will leave your body.
And it's either going to heaven if you're a believer or it's going to hell if you're an unbeliever.
And if you're in heaven we'll say he's alive.
He still lives on. Yes, the body's here. We could say this at a funeral.
We could say I'm a believer. He's alive today. He's not going to come back to life someday.
The body will come back to life someday but he's already alive in heaven right now.
And those that are unsaved are dead. And they're in the place
of the dead. They're in the place known as death, also known as hell.
And they are conscious, yes. In torment, yes. In pain, yes.
They remember everything, yes. But they're dead. And they'll always be dead.
Always. They will never live again. They will never come back to life.
They will remain dead. And those of us that are saved will never die.
Those who are saved will never live after they breathe their last breath and yield it up to ghosts.
And the saved will never die. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Father, we thank you so much for your word, dear God, and all these things to sink down into our ears.
Help us to understand the doctrine. And Father, I know that Jesus Christ said
that if any man would do your will, then he shall know the doctrine,
whether it be of God or of men. And so, Father, I pray that you would just help us to do your will
and to be doers of the word, not hearers only, to do the work of the ministry,
the work of an evangelist, the work of preaching the gospel, that we might understand
the doctrines of your word. And in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.