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And please just open our eyes to behold bunch of things out of your law God and do you see me pray man? Amen, okay, we're in Luke chapter 16 and the title my sermon this morning is dispelling myths about Abraham's bosom Dispelling myths about Abraham's bosom now Abraham's bosom is a real place. It actually exists. The difference is this is that it's it's it's on Abraham's chest Okay, it's literally something that he has on himself Okay, and what I'm saying is this is that Abraham's bosom is not some second secret compartment That's across the street from hell according to the dispensationalist and that's what I'm going to talk about This morning now I feel kind of silly even having to preach something like this obviously because it's it's it should be something that's really well known And we know what this is referring to but the reality is this is that we never want to take for granted Doctrines that we think that everyone knows, you know, you understand we never want to have this attitude Well, doesn't everyone knows this or doesn't everyone have this view doesn't everyone already believe this isn't everyone already keen to this idea And the answer is no, you know as our church continues to reach new people We get new people saved and even people who have been listening to myself or preachers That are my friends and pastors of like you'd be surprised how much people just don't know and it's not because they're just not keen To these doctrines. It just means that you know There's an array of different subjects in the Bible that we need to continually refresh and understand because if not we can forget them Okay. Now this matter of Abraham's bosom stems from the false doctrine of Dispensationalism. Okay, and I don't have time to develop what dispensationalism is because of the fact that it's a monster with many heads You understand it has many heads many false doctrines And of course one of the main false doctrines of dispensationalism the damnable aspect of dispensationalism is this teaching that there's dispensational Salvations there's different ways of getting saved throughout the ages. That's what they teach They'll say that people were saved through keeping the law and faith in the Old Testament Now we're in the dispensation of grace where people are just saved by faith alone in the book of Revelation in the end times people Will get saved by doing works in the end now, that's obviously a false doctrine but in order to prop that up, there's all types of subcategories of Dispensationalism that basically helped prop up that false teaching. Okay, and this is actually one of them All right now let me explain to you the story of Lazarus and the rich man and then we'll get into Dispelling the myths that are top using this portion of scripture look at verse 19 If you would it says there was a certain rich man Which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fares sumptuously every day And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of sores and Desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table Moreover the docks came and licked his sores and he came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom the rich man also died and was buried and in hell he lift up his eyes being in torments and Seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom Now the first thing I want to point out is that this isn't a parable Now what is a parable a parable is an illustration? It's kind of like a made-up story. That's meant to Demonstrate some sort of spiritual truth or doctrine It's kind of just an illustration symbolic representation of something something that is made up not necessarily There's something that actually happened. This is not a parable. This is something that actually happened Okay, it's the first time that happened and it's the last time that it's ever happened as well Now the reason it's important to emphasize that is because I guarantee if you go to Barnes & Noble You will find in the religious section some person saying that they went to hell and they came back and they saw all kinds of Stuff and they went to heaven. They had all these visions false never happened. Well, it happened here. Yeah, but this is God's Word The books that you find at Barnes & Noble are people that are trying to make money off of people and so they make up These stories. Okay. So this is an actual story that took place in In history Were for the only time in history God actually allowed someone in hell To kind of give their testimony so to speak which is pretty amazing if you think about it This is the only time we will ever hear a voice from hell Speak and give a testification of his torment and the place where he is at Okay, and so he's tormented in the flame. This is referring to the rich man now Another thing that I want you to notice is the fact that it doesn't necessarily say why Lazarus is in is in heaven and why the rich man is in hell And the reason it doesn't say is because of the fact that we already know why Okay Because some will say well, you know, it's because he was humble It's because of the works that he did and the reason the rich man died and went to hell It's because he fared sumptuously and they'll try to add some sort of false doctrine some workspace salvation to it But the reality is this is that the reason it doesn't explicitly say why they're in heaven or why they're in hell is because the Rest of the Bible explicitly says why people go to heaven and why people go to hell So based upon what we're looking at here we can say Oh Lazarus was a safe person. This is a person who is saved. He believed on the Lord Jesus Christ He trusted him for salvation. He believed in the eternal security. That's why he's in heaven Oh the rich man is in hell not because he's rich But because it's hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God because they trust in the riches They don't trust in Jesus Christ You know a lot of people in this world who have money and they're wealthy doesn't mean it's impossible for them to be saved But typically people like that are very prideful and a prerequisite for salvation is humility You have to recognize that you can't get yourself to heaven your money can't get you to heaven You have to place your faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. Okay, and So that's a couple things that I wanted to point out there it says in verse 26 and beside all this oh I'm sorry verse 25 but Abraham said son remember that thou in thy lifetime receiveth thy good things and Likewise Lazarus evil things but now he is comforted and thou are tormented Another thing I want you to notice is the fact that Abraham is speaking to someone in hell. And what does he call him son? right now Obviously he's referring to what a Jew Cuz you know the the the rich man is speaking to Abraham saying father Abraham Now this person is not saved. So this is referring to the fact that he's a physical descendant of Abraham you know and this person, you know is a physical descendant of Abraham Abraham is Physically, you know his his patriarch, you know the of his family physically, but he's not saved So what does this tell us it tells us that? Jews even if they are physically descended from Abraham don't get into heaven based upon being a son of Abraham physically Because we have a clear example of someone here who's in hell even though he's a son of Abraham Well, he's not really a son. Well Abraham said son son, okay Abraham said son remember that thou in thy lifetime receiveth thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things But he is comforted and thou are tormented He's basically saying this is the reason You know one of the reasons why you're burning in hell is like think about all the good and comfort Comforting things that you had and you were rich and fair sumptuously now the tables have turned verse 26 and beside all this Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed So that they which would pass from hence to you cannot neither can they pass to us that would come from thence now What is that verse talking about? What is it? What does it mean? Okay Well, he's saying that there's a great gulf fixed between heaven and hell okay now the dispensationalist will teach you in fact, let's let's start drawing here I'm gonna I Put we put up this board here I was inspired by Robert breaker Okay So and I'm not a dispensationalist by any stretch of the imagination So I have to borrow Clarence Larkin's chart here Who's currently in the same place there the rich man is okay. All right So what you have here according to the dispensation man, that's ugly So this is what they'll tell you okay According to them you have a compartment here First of all, this is hell this is where Robert breaker is going to go This is Clarence Larkin All those other guys and Then you have Abraham's bosom. Okay, and This is the basically the the abode of the righteous dead. That's what they call it the abode of the righteous dead So anybody who died in the Old Testament according to them went to this place here Okay, and in between you have the Great Gulf fixed some some area where it's just no-man's land Okay, you have the abyss or excuse me the bottomless pit and then you have Tartarus Where all the angels who forsook God actually go to they're reserved in chains of darkness That's what they say. And then somehow they they say that here is where the lake of fire is. Okay That makes sense, right? Okay, so you have Abraham's bosom Sorry for my writing here You have Abraham's bosom, you know David Abraham Isaac and Jacob I mean Abraham has a place named after himself and he's this is where he's dwelling according to them Okay, so they say that when Old Testament Saints perished They Went here. Okay. Now according to them. Why did they go here? Why did they just go to heaven? Well, first of all, let me just explain something to you Is that this is so stupid because of the fact that in the Bible in the Old Testament you have Elijah going to heaven He was carried by chariots of fire into heaven Enoch is in heaven. He was translated that he should not see death Even though this is called according to them the abode of the righteous dead The Bible says he was translated that he should not see death you understand and So according to them all of them went here when Jesus Christ died Okay, he came and preached to the spirits in prison and then he took him so right now Abraham's bosom is completely vacant There's no need for it. If you go there, you know, just a bunch of remnant stuff just you know You just you're not gonna find anything. Okay, it's just an empty room Okay They believe that everyone who's in hell they're gonna be relocated to the lake of fire, etc. Okay So this is my rendition of dispensational teaching and we'll revisit that in just a bit So the great goal fix according to them is this space between Abraham's bosom and hell in the center of the earth? Okay and He says beside all this between us and you there is a great goal fix so that they which would pass from hence to you Cannot hence means from this place, which is the place where he is currently at Abraham is in heaven and he says no one from this place Can go over to your place because obviously the rich man is asking for Lazarus to come and dip his finger in water They may cool his tongue and then he says neither can they pass to us that would come from dense So what is the the great goal fix according to the Bible? Well, according to the Bible the great goal fix is us It's where we're currently at right now It's earth it's the physical realm, okay this is what separates heaven from hell you understand and People who are here can go to heaven and people from here can go to hell you understand And so the great goal fix is this gap between the spiritual realms of heaven and hell And that's what he's referring to. He's like there's a great goal fix No one from where I'm at can go to you and vice-versa, okay He says in verse 27, then he said I pray thee therefore father that thou would have sent him to my father's house So he's saying okay. Well, maybe he can go to the physical realm maybe the writ our Lazarus can go to the physical realm and preach to my You know preach to my my father's house etc Okay verse 28 for I have five brethren that he may testify to them lest they also come into the place of torment Abraham sent it to them They have Moses and the prophets let them hear them and he said nay father Abraham, but if one went up from the dead They will repent and he sent him if they will not hear Moses and the prophets neither Will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead now? We obviously see where he's going with this, right? He's basically saying hey, Jesus is gonna rise from the dead Jesus is gonna rise from the dead and They're not gonna believe if they don't believe Moses in the prophets they're not gonna believe even if someone rose from the dead whether it was Lazarus because the fact is Jesus will rise from the dead and people still won't believe on him They're saying if you're not willing to believe the Word of God What he what he wrote Then they're not gonna believe Jesus Christ Even if they saw him in the flesh and the Bible says he came into his own his own received him not Okay Why well Jesus said if you would have believed me you would believe Moses for he wrote of me So this is an amazing story here now Here's the thing the question is this, you know We obviously know that this doctrine of Abraham's bosom the second compartment of hell is completely wrong But there is this question though. Why did God choose? to state that Lazarus went to Abraham's bosom Like he was carried by the angels Into Abraham's bosom Doesn't say he carried him to the Lord You know, he didn't carry him to God He literally specifically picked out Abraham I mean has anyone ever thought of that? Because it's kind of one of those things like man if it wouldn't have said that we would have so much more ground or something You know, then we could have made a way better argument or something But why does it say that Lazarus was carried into Abraham's bosom what I'm gonna explain to you what that is at the end of the sermon So so stay awake, okay Now go with me if you would to Acts chapter 2 Acts chapter 2 if you would so this story is simply here to emphasize and show us the fact that hell is real heaven is real and really the the main Emphasis of this story is to show us that even if people saw Jesus Christ rise from the dead. They're still not gonna believe I Believe that's the main reason of this teaching here. Okay, and Basically show, you know because a lot of people like well, I just want to see God Oh, yeah, if I see God, I'll believe false God was here on this earth for 33 years and there's people who not only did not believe on him, but they actually crucified him So this also shows us that in the end times, you know, even when Jesus Christ comes every eye shall see him There's still gonna be people who reject him because seeing is not believing folks You have to place your faith on the Bible place your faith in the Word of God and even after salvation We still have to place our faith in the Word of God when we don't understand certain passages Right, you know there's times in the Bible where God actually leaves room for doubt. Did you know that? There's actually times in the Bible. He will play some sort of miracle That can actually sometimes be excused away You know why because God is not trying to validate himself to a lost and dying world He's trying to get a lost and dying world to just believe the Bible And if someone chooses not to believe the Bible and make excuses for the miracles and make excuses for all these things You know what? God is like so be it Because we need to just believe the Bible by faith and trust what it says is true, etc Okay and so that's the main teaching of Luke chapter 16 the latter end of Luke chapter 16 is the fact that Even though Jesus Christ rose from the dead. There's still people. I mean think about this you have the Pharisees after he resurrected Knowing that he resurrected and still lying about it. They're after and say well We'll just say that his disciples stole his body away or something like that, you know Alright, so myth number one regarding Abraham's bosom. First of all, Abraham's bosom is referring to his chest. Okay, we obviously understand that Myth number one is that Abraham's bosom is also referred to as hell in the Bible Because they have to kind of try to excuse us away So what the dispensationalist will say is that well anytime the Bible talks about hell you or Hades or Sheol, you know Sheol is just actually referring to Abraham's bosom Hades is actually referring to hell but the King James Bible just says hell So we just got to read it in its context and the context is this when you read Luke 16, it's referring to Abraham's bosom the second compartment of hell where the righteous dead go Because they add the context you understand Now here's the thing. Is that Study the word hell in the Bible Look at every time hell is mentioned in the Bible. It's never a good thing Never people are weeping and wailing and gnashing their teeth. It's a place where God's nostrils kindles the fires of hell It's a place where people go to be tormented It's a place where the Bible says that the wicked go to be punished with everlasting punishment Doesn't sound like a place where righteous people go Now You say well Why do they try to use that and say that other times when hell is mentioned is referring to Abraham's bosom I'll tell you why because of the fact that Acts chapter 2 says what? My soul referring to Jesus was not left in hell neither did his flesh see corruption That's why and they reject the doctrine that Jesus Christ wants to help for three days in three nights to pay for our sins They reject that So they have to try to excuse it away and say well when the Bible says that his soul was not left in hell See hell in that context is actually referring to Abraham's bosom. You know, he wasn't left in Abraham's bosom He wasn't left in that second compartment hell. Of course. He didn't go to hell to burn in flames You know the King James just got it wrong or something like that now Here's the thing, you know Let these hyper dispensationalists who don't use the King James Bible let them teach that and believe that But it's a shame when independent fundamental Baptists who are supposedly King James only Teach that because then they're just making excuses for the King James Bible. I Mean that's an important point there because they're basically if you don't believe that you're basically saying that the King James translators got it wrong in Acts chapter 2 and Every other portion of Scripture where hell supposedly means Abraham's bosom the eternal, you know The the the abode of the righteous dead you understand no Let's just believe the Bible and if the Bible says that Jesus went to hell that that's what it says And look that's not the only portion of Scripture that we have to back up that doctrine there's plenty of other scriptures where Jesus said himself as Jonas was three days and three nights in the heart of it and the whale's belly So shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth and when you reference that with Jonas Chapter 2 Jonas says that he was in hell Now and we obviously understand that he wasn't in hell. He was in the whale's belly But it was a prophetic statement made of Jesus Christ who did go to hell What is it that he ascended but that he first descended into the lower parts of the earth? Every sacrifice not every sacrifice but many of the sacrifices in the Old Testament were burned with fire folks Okay, this is one of the reasons why the glorified Christ in Revelation chapter 1 has feet as brass as though they burned in a furnace Because that's what actually took place folks Okay, and so, you know to say that oh, it's blasphemy to say no It's actually blasphemy to say that Jesus Christ went to hell and stayed in hell Which is what the Jews actually teach Okay, you read the Talmud and they believe that Jesus Christ is currently in hell today Burning not just in fire. No. No folks. They took it a step further burning in his own escriment For being a sorcerer a blasphemer a false prophet they give them names of false prophets in the Old Testament They believe the Jews believe those who adhere to the Talmud who embraced the Talmud believe that he's actually burning in hell right now Okay, and it's funny because the dispensational is love the Jews, right? They they I mean Dispensationalism is all about the Jews right It's all about the Jews so they claim that what we believe is blasphemous because we believe he went to hell for three days and three nights as the scripture hath said But they see nothing wrong with their beloved Jews believing that Jesus Christ is currently in hell right now burning in his own Escriment for his treachery and his sorcery and all that Birds of a feather flock together folks Okay, no Abraham's bosom is not hell hell is a place where people weep and wail and gnash their teeth now Let me just explain something to you. Okay in the Old Testament in the Hebrew language, obviously shield. Okay, not shield but shield is Referring to hell New Testament Hades is referring to hell Guyana is referring to the lake of fire Okay. Now what is the difference between Guyana and Hades? nothing practically Because you burn in Hades and you burn in Guyana One is the lake of fire and one is hell and here's the common denominator fire eternal damnation and Anybody who's in Hades now the current location of hell will be relocated to the lake of fire because there's just more souls You know, they it's it's getting there's too many too many souls in the current hell And so it needs to be relocated to the lake of fire Okay But here's the problem of the dispensationalist is because the Bible uses synonyms somehow that synonym for this particular word Has to mean something completely different You understand what I'm saying? It's like just because she'll is named Hades in the New Testament or Guyana in the New Testament as well That somehow that has to mean something different just because Peter used Tartarus in Second Peter somehow that has to mean the Tartarus is just a different place It can't be held. No, it's hell Okay, we have different words for hell we have synonyms in the in the English language that describe the same exact thing You know, that's how the Bible works as well Okay, the Bible is actually very an intelligent book that tries to increase your learning and understanding and intelligence It doesn't seek to use the same word over and over again In fact, it will often use one word in a synonym in the same verse in order to define that word Okay Look at Acts chapter 2 and Verse 25 says for David speaketh concerning him I foresaw the Lord always before my face for he is on my right hand that I should not be moved Therefore did my heart rejoice and my tongue was glad Moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope because thou will not leave my soul in hell Neither will thou suffer thine holy one to see Corruption thou has made known to me the ways of life thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance So this is a prophetic statement of Jesus Christ written by King David in the book of Psalms We obviously understand that David didn't go to hell You know Jonathan didn't go to hell These are prophetic statements of Jesus Christ because he actually went to hell for us for three days and three nights It's not hard to believe we see it in the Word of God There's plenty of examples of that go to 1st Peter chapter 3 So according to them Abraham's bosom is the righteous abode is excuse me Abode of the righteous dead So according to the dispensation is people who have died in Christ are considered dead in the eyes of God The problem is that Jesus said that God is not the God of the dead but of the living He doesn't consider people who are currently in hell as being dead In fact, most of the time he just considers them as being asleep right He considers them alive. In fact, I would even go as far as to say that they're more alive than you and I are today Because we still have the corruptible flesh that's dead. We still have sin present with us They you know, we have the presence of sin We have the old man, whereas those who are in heaven today are freed from that They no longer have sin present with them. They no longer have to struggle with the sins of the flesh They are alive forevermore. You understand? Obviously with the with the element of the resurrected body still absent at this time because the rapture has not yet taken place And so myth number one Oh Abraham's bosom is hell wrong Abraham's bosom is a man's chest Hell is a place where people go and burn forever and they never come out of that. Okay, and Look, I encourage you go study hell in the Bible. Just look up every time hell is mentioned and tell me if It's ever mentioned in a good manner Tell me if it's ever mentioned in a positive light Tell me if it's ever mentioned with someone who is a believer going there and coming out never happened Myth number two Abraham's bosom is a holding cell for Old Testament believers Look at what I have you turn they have a turn anywhere first Peter go to first Peter chapter 3 It's crazy the mental gymnastics that dispensationalist would try to make you do in order to believe their doctrine Okay Because they have this entire theatrical scene. We're like when Jesus Christ dies He goes into Abraham's bosom and he preaches to them Okay now look at the button this and this is their text verse look at first Peter chapter 3 verse 17 for it is better if the Will of God be so that you suffer for well-doing than for evildoing For Christ also has once suffered for sins the just for the unjust That he might bring us to God being put to death in the flesh but quickened by the Spirit by which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison, okay So they'll use this verse to say yeah well This is proof that when he died he went to he went to Abraham's bosom and they had like a revival service or something like That where he's like preaching to them now There is a wide spectrum of what people believe actually took place when he went to Abraham's bosom Because when you ask the hyper dispensationalist, they'll say well he went there to basically get them saved Okay and When you ask the mild dispensationalists our beloved brethren who are fundamental Baptists who don't go all the way to dispensational salvation He just says they'll say well He just preached the spirits in prison and just kind of released them and brought them with them has nothing to do with salvation Or anything like that. Okay, but this is the this is the first they'll use In fact when I was in Bible college I remember teachers using this to say as proof that Abraham's bosom was a prison for Old Testament believers now, let me ask you this. Why are they being in prison for? What crimes have they committed I Mean is this communism is what what what what are they teaching here where they're going to prison for for being saved They're going to prison because they're God's people. I mean, what is the deal here? Okay Now let me explain to you what this particular verse is talking about He says in verse 18 For Christ also once had suffered for sins that just for the unjust that he might bring us to God Being put to death in the flesh but quickened by the Spirit Brought to life by the Spirit quicken means being brought to life, right? And he says being quickened by the Spirit by which also he went and preached into the spirits in prison So by the Spirit of God, he went to go preach to the spirits in prison. Does that make sense? Now go with me if you would to Luke chapter number four Luke chapter number four Because even though we know that that teaching is very stupid Okay holds no basis in Scripture. We do have to explain what that means, right? I Mean, we're not gonna be like these other guys. It's like that's false and they're just not explained the verse Let's go to the verses that they use. I love using the Bible not afraid of any scripture What is he talking about? Well, look at Luke chapter 4 verse 17 and there was delivered unto him referring to Jesus the book of the prophet of Zias And when he had opened the book he found the place where it was written the Spirit of the Lord is upon me Because he had no anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He had sent me to heal the brokenhearted to preach deliverance to the captives and Recovering of sight to the blind to set at liberty them that are bruised the Bible says So what is he talking about? He's referring to the fact that he came to this earth to Release us of Satan's captivity Because anybody who's not saved is under the captivity of Satan Right. I mean doesn't the Bible say that Satan is the god of this world who hath blinded the minds of them Which believed not lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them You know Satan is the god of this world, you know The people who are not saved are Gordon going according to the course of this world They're under in a sense the control of Satan where they just believing a lie they're held captive you understand and So when we go on and preach the gospel Yeah, we're preaching to the body but more specifically we're preaching to the spirit that abides in the body You understand so when the Bible says that he went to preach to preach to the spirits in prison He's referring to he's preaching to the unsaved people He's going to relieve them Release them of their captivity. That's what it's referring to and look folks that I mean, what do we call evangelism in our church? soul winning We don't call it body winning Why do we call it soul winning? We call it soul winning because we're winning their souls to Christ Because the emphasis is on the spiritual aspect Understanding that the body doesn't necessarily matter. It's the spirit that matters We want to quicken the spirit by the Spirit of God by preaching the gospel unto them This is the emphasis that God is placing here that he went to go preach to the spirits of prison Well, this whole world is in prison by Satan himself Okay it doesn't mean that you know that Jesus Christ went to Abraham's bosom and He gathered everyone together and he just preached this great sermon to them And then you know some of them are like, I don't believe you. I think I'm gonna stay here, you know And others are like this is great. This is the greatest sermon I've ever heard Folks we can literally Compare Luke chapter 4 and say that he's referring to the spirits in prison Now, let me ask you this When do they believe he went to the spirits in prison and Abraham's bosom? When do they believe that he went there? When he died, right? Well, look what Luke chapter 4 says Verse 19 to preach the acceptable. Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't even put the verse here Let me let me go here first Luke chapter 4 Verse 17 says verse 18 Says the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of the sight to the blind to set a liberty them that are bruised to preach the acceptable year of the Lord and he closed the book and he gave it against in the minister and sat down and the eyes of them that were In the synagogue were fastened on him and he began to say to them this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears? Oh So according to this portion of Scripture he preached to the spirits in prison when he died no, he preached it this day Showing us the timeline Proving to us that this is not referring to Abraham's bosom the second compartment this you know this spirit revival taking place in the center of the earth I Mean you think it gets hot in here during the summer when we're having a church service imagine having a church service down there So Myth number two Abraham's bosom is a holding cell for Old Testament believers And again, the reason they have to teach that is because they believe in something called dispensational salvation and let me just make myself very clear that the Bible teaches that salvation has always been the same from Old Testament to New Testament and They here's the thing. This is how deceitful and cunning these these dispensations like Robert breaker and Gene Kim are they'll say Well, that's what we're saying too. We're just saying that they were saved by faith and by works in the Old Testament Okay For example, Gene Kim says they were saved by faith. They were saved by works in the old They're saved by doing the animal sacrifices and they'll point to scriptures like like Leviticus where it says that they made a sacrifice to atone for their souls Okay, and it's like there you go, you know, they to atone for the soul to do this But what they fail to understand folks and this is very important and I know this aspect of the sermon is not as interesting But it's important for you to know. Okay, because people can get mixed up on this in the Old Testament Sacrifices were made to atone for the sins of that day This is why sacrifices were made on a daily basis right so morning and Evening there's this constant sacrifices were being made because people sin every single day So it was meant to atone for the sins of the body that what you did that day That was the practice that they had in those days was to do these animal sacrifices to atone Now Gene Kim because he doesn't know the Bible We'll say well no that was for their salvation. Whereas when you read Hebrews chapter 10 It literally says that it's impossible that the blood of bulls and goats can take away sin Right So, how do you explain that when the Bible literally says it is impossible That the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins folks. We have to reconcile scriptures here and the reconciliation of what we see in the book of Hebrews and what we're looking at in the book of Leviticus is the fact when The Bible says that sacrifices were made to atone for the sins of the soul To make atonement for the soul. The soul is actually referring to a body No The soul is the spirit. Yeah, I agree but in context it's actually referring to the body Because there's other laws in the Old Testament in Leviticus Where the Bible talks about if a soul touched any unclean thing and it's not talking about astral projection either like they're just like the spirit comes out as like The soul is just referring to the body This is why Abraham when he left he talks about him bringing the souls with him It's referring to the people who actually had a body He's not like I mean, he's not like a ghostbuster or something Where he's going around capturing spirits or something like that if it says souls referring to the body as well, okay, and Here's the thing I can explain to you Leviticus, but you know what Gene Kim can do he can't explain to you what Hebrew says Because false prophets ignore the Bible and stick to they are the ones who actually cherry-pick Whereas what do we do? We go to James chapter 2 we go to Matthew chapter 7 We go to the scriptures that they use and we actually rightly divide the word of truth So myth number 2 Abraham's bosom is a holding cell for Old Testament believers wrong Old Testament believers went to heaven Just like everyone else when they died, okay This is why they can't explain why Elijah actually went to heaven in chariots of fire They can't explain why Enoch actually was translated into the kingdom of God that he should not see death I can't explain those. They just said those are isolated incidents or something Go to Luke chapter 23 Luke chapter 23 Myth number 3 Abraham's bosom was paradise located in the center of the earth So they believe when the Bible talks about paradise is actually referring to Abraham's bosom Now these guys would make horrible travel agents because it's like they call Abraham's bosom prison But they also call it paradise Doesn't sound very nice How can something that's prison be paradise? I don't want to go there It's like you're going to prison, but you know, we call it paradise though You know, we serve crackers and you know, you'll you just have to wait for a couple thousand years until the Lord comes or something Now, why do they call it paradise? Well, look at Luke chapter 23 verse 39 It says in one of the male factors which were hanged railed on him saying if thou be Christ Save thyself and us But the other answering rebuked him saying does not thou fear God seeing thou art in the same condemnation And we indeed justly for we received the due reward of our deeds But this man hath done nothing amiss and he said unto Jesus Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom by the way Side note here. This isn't the sermon but this is this man calling upon the name of the Lord Okay Verse 43 says in Jesus said unto him barely I say unto thee today shall thou be with me in paradise Now, let me just say this. Okay, because I'm willing to say this because of the fact that I believe the Bible I'm confident what I believe this is actually their strongest point that I would say that they have This is their strongest proof Okay, it's still false. I'm explaining to you what it means, but this would be considered one of the strongest Evidences of Abraham's bosom it can be considered that why well because of the fact that it says today thou shalt be with me in paradise Well, how do we reconcile that with the fact that the Bible says that that day Jesus Christ actually went to hell? That he died and he went to hell right so you can say well they have a valid point there, right? now go with me if you would to Ephesians chapter 4 And then we're gonna go to 2nd Corinthians chapter 12 So he says to them today thou shalt be with me in Paradise and they'll say you see this is proof that he went to Abraham's bosom because this guy was saved he's calling it paradise and that day is when he that guy went there That's what they'll say now. It's false, right? Let's look at some scriptures here before I go on to explain it says in Ephesians 4 verse 8 Wherefore he saith when he ascended up on high and led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men Now that he ascended what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens that he might fill all things go with him If you would to 2nd Corinthians Chapter 12 so here it says that he first descended into the lower parts of the earth our Interpretation based upon clear scriptures is that this is referring to the fact that he went to hell since hell is in the center of the earth Their interpretation will be well, this is referring to paradise Abraham's bosom I'm gonna reach you from Revelation 2 verse 6 it says but this thou hast that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans Which I also hate he that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches to him that overcometh Will I give to eat of the tree of life listen to this which is in the midst of the paradise of God So when you study paradise more often than not it's in context of something that's in the presence of God and That would actually make a lot of sense Because where God is is paradise right Abraham's bosom false advertisement Right presence of God definitely paradise. Okay. Look at 2nd Corinthians 12 verse 4 Verse 1 it is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord I knew a man in Christ above 14 years ago whether in the body I cannot I cannot tell or whether out of the body I cannot tell God knoweth such in one caught up to the third heaven And I knew such a man whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell God knoweth how that he was caught up into paradise So a couple of factors that we need to take into account is that he simultaneously Uses caught up into paradise in verse 4 with being caught up to the third heaven in verse 2 so paradise in the third heaven are one in the same and Here's another proof where or this this also shows us the location of paradise because he says he was what caught up Not caught down The angels carried him up to Abraham's bosom not shove them down Right, they didn't like let him down How that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words, which is not lawful for man to utter So let me explain something to you when when studying scripture portions of the Bible verses doctrines When one portion of Scripture seems to be a little obscure and cannot be defined well in in of itself You go to other portions to define it for you So for example if you run into a scripture in the Bible That might seem to elude that salvation is by works We obviously know that it's not but you know Maybe it's worded in such a way that you can see how people can extrapolate that from that portion of Scripture Do we base our doctrine off of that obscure Scripture no you go to other clear Scriptures you go to other nine Scriptures That coincide one with another and that are clear and you define the obscure Scripture based upon that which is clear that make sense So if we want to know what paradise is according to the Bible We can't necessarily define it by Luke the book of Luke where he's telling the thief on the cross Today thou shalt be with me in paradise What we can do though is go to these other portion of scriptures where paradise is actually being described and defined and say okay That's what Jesus was referring to Okay Do not make scriptures based off of some obscure scripture That's what false prophets do and no prophecy of the scripture is given of any private interpretation So when someone tries to give you a private interpretation and say well Luke, you know is actually talking about Abraham's bosom But everywhere else yeah, it's that definition wrong. There's no private interpretation Okay Now what does today that shall be with me in paradise me, okay, well, let me explain to you this Jesus when he says this and listen to this he's speaking from the perspective of his omnipresence This is one of the few times that he's actually doing that oh That's a that's a weak argument. It's a weak argument to say that God is omnipresent Is he not allowed to speak from the perspective of his omnipresence Of course he's allowed to do that. He's God So he's speaking from the perspective of his omnipresence because here's the thing folks You know for them to say oh, no, this is referring to Abraham's bosom. Okay. I see what you said there Here's one for you. What about when he died? He said into thy hands. I commend my spirit And where's God he's in heaven. So explain that dipstick but You know how we can explain it that he's that he is giving this statement from the perspective of his omnipresence Which should actually fit the context of the Godhead of the Bible in general? So nervous no, he went to paradise and paradise is Abraham's bosom. Okay Well, you do want to ignore the fact that he said into thy hands referring to his father who is in heaven I commend my spirit No folks the way we reconcile this is by recognizing that he is speaking from the perspective of his omnipresence Go with me if you would to Luke Or excuse me, John chapter 3 John chapter 3 There were times in Jesus ministry where obviously he spoke from his earthly perspective Okay, but there are other times when he didn't and he's allowed to do that Look at John chapter 3 verse 11 verily verily I say into thee we speak that we do know and testify that we have seen and ye receive not our witness If I have told you earthly things and ye believe not How shall you believe if I tell you of heavenly things and no man hath ascended up to heaven? But he that came down from heaven even the Son of Man, which is in heaven Now Notice that he says in verse 12 if I have told you of earthly things and you believe not how shall you believe if I? Tell you of heavenly things It's like if you can't understand the terrestrial things that I'm talking about How are you gonna understand the spiritual celestial things and then he hits them with a celestial thing? Now unrighteous people they're like, I don't understand this How can that be? But save righteous people are like, oh, he's speaking from the perspective of his omnipresence He's saying the Son of Man is in heaven proving his deity because only God is omni present Go to 1st Samuel chapter 28 1st Samuel chapter 28 So where's paradise it's in heaven Paradise is in the presence of God. It's not this little lame place right here this hotel for the righteous Until they can get you know a permanent abode or something like that Now 1st Samuel, the reason I have you turn to 1st Samuel 28 is because this is a portion of scripture that they'll try to use to teach Abraham's bosom and this is the story of the witch at Endor and Saul summoning, right Samuel from the dead and I've heard many people use this as a proof text that Abraham's bosom Was a literal thing in the center of the earth and this is their proof text. Let's read it verse 7 Then said Saul unto his servant seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit that I may go to her and inquire of her and his servant said to him behold there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor and Saul disguised himself and put on other raiment and he went and two men with them And they came to the woman by night and said I pray thee divine unto me by the familiar spirit and bring me him up whom I Shall name unto thee and the woman said unto him behold thou knowest what Saul had hath done How he hath cut off those that hath familiar spirits in the wizards out of the land Wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life to cause me to die and Saul swear to her by the Lord saying as the Lord liveth there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing Then said the woman whom shall I bring up unto thee and he said bring me up Samuel. So Saul is really desperate here He's backslidden God is not with him and the only person that he feels he could rely on is Samuel who's already dead Okay, he has already passed away he's in heaven and so he's he wants to Speak to Sam and to get counsel from Samuel by this this wizard this witch, okay Who hath a familiar spirit this woman who practiced what the Bible also refers to as necromancy. Okay communicating with the dead. Okay Verse 12 and when the woman saw Samuel She cried with a loud voice and the woman spake to Saul saying why hast thou deceived me for thou art Saul And the king said unto her be not afraid for what sawest thou and the woman said unto Saul I saw God's ascending look what it says out of the earth Okay Now people would try to explain and say well It wasn't really Samuel's a demon. I don't buy that at all Okay, because Samuel is actually speaking truth here Okay, and they'll say well, you know, yeah, it's probably Samuel but it's proof that Abraham's bosom exists because he's coming out of the earth Okay Now, let me point out a couple things here. This is pretty interesting, right? This is a very interesting story first and foremost, let me just say this is that this woman I believe is Has the capability speaking to demons? Okay, this is why it says that she sees gods coming out of the earth Lower case G. Okay, but let me ask you this does it say that she sees Samuel coming out of the earth? No, actually Samuel appears and then thereafter she sees gods coming up out of the earth so I believe what's taking place here is that she is Practicing necromancy and thereby demons are coming out of the earth But God because he's trying to relate to Saul that he's going to die Allow Samuel to be disquieted and appear to deliver that message unto Saul Okay He says and the king said unto her verse 13 be not afraid what saw us down and the woman sent it to Saul I saw gods is sitting out of the earth and he said unto her What form is he of and she said an old man cometh up and he is covered with the mantle and Saul perceived that it Was Samuel and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed himself now Obviously saws not seeing this because even when he's present he's asking the woman what saw style So he's not viewing Samuel he's not he's incapable of seeing this but through the woman He's able to see this and the woman's relaying this message to Saul But what I want to point out is the fact that this isn't proof that Abraham's bosom exists because it doesn't say That he came out of the earth He just appears you understand he appears miraculously Before the presence of the woman before the presence of Saul in order to relay the message that Saul is going to die This is not a strong proof text that Abraham's bosom exists and it doesn't even say that Abraham's bosom is even here Because here's the thing folks it says gods ascending up out of the earth Well the pair even according to the dispensation is there's no gods in Abraham's bosom Right These are God's lowercase G is referring to what Devils okay, and So bad portion of scripture to use to try to prove it go to Luke chapter 13 if you would Luke chapter 13 So why is it called Abraham's bosom, you know, why did God allow that? Why did he put in Luke 16 that Lazarus was carried? Into Abraham's bosom thereby given these dipsticks this this this opportunity to teach this false doctrine You know, I like God knew that they were gonna do this obviously Okay, and sometimes he just gives them enough rope to hang themselves with Why does it called Abraham's bosom why did God choose the bosom of Abraham to embrace Lazarus Well, look at Luke 13 verse 27 if you would Now if you remember the Last Supper With Jesus Christ, he's eating with his disciples and Who is that one person laying on his bosom? It's John. It's pretty honorable position. Is it not? To be able to be so close to the Lord during a supper that he can just lean on his bosom I mean who can say they lean on the bosom of Jesus Christ? I mean, that's great Look at Luke 13 verse 27, but he shall say I tell you I know you not I know you not once you are depart from me all ye workers of iniquity There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and Ye yourselves thrust out and they shall come from the east and from the west and from the north and from the south and shall Sit down in the kingdom of God and behold there there are last which shall be first and there are first which shall be last Lazarus was a beggar Lazarus was nothing in this world. He hold he held no prestigious position He I mean the only friends he had were the dogs that licked the sores on his body But yet because he was last here. He was first up there So think about this You know to die and be carried into the bosom of Abraham Shows you that even though he was least here. He was despised God made him first in heaven and by proof and he proved that by placing him in the bosom of a famous patriarch in the eyes of the Jews Because Abraham is very popular in the eyes of the Jews. I mean father Abraham You know the Pharisees says we are of Abraham our father and obviously, you know, they were the father of the devil So what the purpose of Putting Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham is to show us That the most despised thing in this world you can be the least in this world the off scouring of this world But you will have clout in heaven You'll be rubbing shoulders with the greats in heaven. I mean, that's what Matthew that's what Luke chapter 13 is teaching us It's like the kingdom the children of the kingdom shall be thrust out into outer darkness But there's gonna be people from the east from the west from the north and from the south referring to Gentiles and they're gonna sit with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven They get first dibs why because it says They are last which shall be first and there are first which shall be last. So here's the practical application to this, okay? The practical application is this, you know aside from Abraham's bosom, all right, I Mean we might be carried into David's bosom We might be carried into You know, give me a name give me who else Peters bosom John's bosom, you know and so bosom of someone who is actually famous in the eyes of God and in our eyes as well So what I'm saying is this is that you know practice humility We don't have to be famous in the eyes of the world We don't have to be liked in the eyes of the world We don't have to be loved by the world because that which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination In the eyes of God according to the Bible We should embrace the fact that we're the off scouring of this world That we are all the most hated why because of the fact like like Lazarus who was hated and despised Ended up getting VIP in heaven. I mean what a what a a welcome party to have Abraham say Hold them and and be comforted That's a great thing because notice, you know, here's one thing that this six don't talk about You know, they place such an emphasis on Abraham's bosom. What about the fact that God is there, right? What about the Lord But obviously the Lord Understands that we esteem men of the Bible Like these are our heroes right here right You know Jehu is my hero. I Love Jehu I Look up to Jehu Moses my hero. Hey Phinehas my hero my man These are awesome people like the world doesn't know about them, but we know about them and so Why did he was was he placed in the bosom of Abraham? Well, it's something that the Jews clearly understood because Abraham was a notable person to the Jews amongst all Jews saved and unsaved alike and So it's showing us that that which is the most despised the least here in this world will receive first class in heaven and That's displayed by the fact that he's placed into the bosom of the patriarch Abraham who is considered the father of faith Amen, and so, you know dispelling the myths of Abraham's bosom. It does exist It's a real thing But so does David's bosom So Peter's bosom exists too, you know lots bosom exists believe it or not. I Hope none of you Are introduced in heaven into lots bosom Come here a little compromiser like it was like hey a lot of old IFP pastors will be carried it by the angels into lots bosom Come here Let's pray father. We thank you so much for your word Lord We're so thankful for the principles of your word that the off scouring that which is despised in this world Is that what you'll use to confound the wise that which is weak the base things of this world Lord And I pray that you help us to take that to account and to reject false doctrine and a lot of pastors out there who are afraid to teach the Bible afraid to Go to these scriptures and and and debunk these false teachings, but Lord, this is your word It's the source of all truth. We should embrace every word every jot every tittle and not fear it at all and We were not afraid of the light we come to the light that the deeds might be made manifest Because we want the truth Lord and I pray you you help us to continue to fight the good fight of faith And help us to remain humble this side of eternity I know we all struggle with that Lord and I pray that you would remind us that We are but dust and and not seek the acclamations of the world But seek to be recognized in your eyes so that we can receive that grand entrance that Lazarus received in Jesus name. We pray. Amen