The Order of...

“Common Factors in Eschatology”

I.       Views of the After Life

A.     The Reality of Death.

1.       Death Is A Reality for Every Member of the Human Race (Heb. 9:27).

a)        Death, Refers to the Physical Death of the Body, not the Soul.

1)        The Body May Die, but the Soul, the Life-Principle of Man, Lives On (Matt. 10:28; Luke 12:4-5).

(a)      Death of the Soul or Life. 

1.         There are instances in which the Bible uses the Greek word psuche (soul-life) in describing death (John 12:25; 13:37-38), but even passages like these denote the death of the body, not the death of the immaterial nature of man.

(b)      Departure/exodus (Luke 9:31; 2 Pet. 1:15).

(c)      Separation of the Body or Soul.  Death may be thus defined as the end of physical life through the separation of soul and body (cf. James 2:26; Eccl. 12:7; Acts 7:59).

1.         Because the body was made from the elements of the dust, at death the body returns to the dust (Gen. 3:19).

2.         Physical death results because of sin.

a.         Through the sin of Adam in the garden, death spread to the entire human race; no one is exempted (Rom. 5:12). Death is the “wages” of sin (Rom. 6:23; 1 Cor. 15:56).

3.         Physical death is a curse/judgment (Rom. 1:32; 5:16)

(d)      Death, however, should not be understood as annihilation.

1.         Some would say there is no conscious existence at all for the wicked after death.  The unsaved simply cease to exist.

2.         Scripture indicates that the unsaved will continue to exist forever (Eccl. 12:7; Matthew 23:15, 33, 25:41, 46; Rom. 2:5-10; Rev. 14:11).

3.         There are degrees of punishment, and annihilationism does not allow for this (Luke 12:47ff.; Heb.10:29; Mark 6.11; Matt.10:15; 11:22, 24; Rom. 2:12; Rev. 20:12).

(e)      For the believer physical death is the entrance into the presence of Christ.

1.         2 Cor.5:8-10; Phil. 1:23; 1Thess. 4:14

2.         To know that we could die & go into His presence at any time, lets please Him (Col.1:10)

(f)        Spiritual Death – the spiritual state in which one finds oneself before salvation (Eph. 2:1,5).

(g)      Eternal Death or the Second_ Death

1.         Eternal judgment which comes at death upon those who have never been made spiritually alive. 

2.         It is the judgment of God which comes upon those who have never, in their lifetime, "passed out of death into life" (John 5:24; cf. Rev. 20:6)

2.       The Intermediate State.

a)        The Scriptural Teaching

1)        The Existence of the Soul

(a)      Exodus 3:6 (Matthew. 22:32)

(b)      Luke 16:19-31

(c)      Rev. 6:9ff

2)        The Believer is with Christ

(a)      2 Cor. 5:8; cf. v. 6

(b)      Phil 1:23

(c)      Luke 23:43 (paradise = heaven, 2 Cor. 12:3f)

3)        The Believer Is In Fellowship With Other Believers

(a)      Hebrews 12:23

(b)      Luke 16:19-31

(c)      Rev. 14:13

b)        Non-Scriptural Teachings

1)        Purgatory

(a)      A place of purging or cleansing.

(b)      A place for those souls which are not perfectly pure and are in need of cleansing.

(c)      Biblical Refutation

1.         Christ fully paid our penalty for sin.

2.         We cannot add to the merits of Christ (Heb. 1:3)

3.         No indication that temporal punishments for sins committed in this life continue after death

2)        Soul Sleep—After death the soul lapses into a state of sleep or unconsciousness.

(a)      Arguments for:

1.         Scripture often represents death as sleep (Mat. 9:24; John 11:11; 1Thess. 4:13)

2.         Scripture indicates that the dead are unconscious (Ps. 146:4; Eccl. 9:5f.10; Isa.8:18)

(b)      Arguments against:

1.         The word sleep is a metaphor describing the appearance and posture of the body.

2.         The word sleep was also used by the Greeks, Egyptians, etc., to describe their dead and they believed in a conscious afterlife.  Jesus used this of Lazarus (John 11:11).

3.         The scriptures clearly teach that after death, man is conscious either in the bliss of heaven or the torments of Hades (Matt.17:1-3; Luke 23:42,43; Acts 7:55-60; 2Cor. 5:1-8; Phil. 1:21-23; Heb.12:22-24; 1 Peter 3:18-20; Rev. 6:9-11)

3)        Reincarnation:  "Whatever a man sows, this he will also reap"

(a)      Is reincarnation valid?  (Heb. 9:27,28; Phil 1:21-24; 2 Co. 5:8; Dan. 12:2; Mat. 25:41,46; Eccl. 12:7; 3:21; Ps. 78:39).

(b)      Contradictions: (Hebrews 9:27)

B.     The Existence of Hell.

1.       In The Old Testament

a)        The Word Sheol in the Old Testament1.

1)        Used 65 times:  hell 31 times; grave 31 times; pit 3 times

(a)      A shadowy place or place of darkness (Job 10:21,22, Ps. 143:3)

(b)      Location: "down" "beneath the earth" "lower part of the earth" (Job 11:8; Is. 44:23; 57:9; Ezek 26:20) == not part of this world

(c)      Reunited with ancestors, tribes, people (Gen. 15:15; 25:8; 35:29, 37:35; 49:3; Num. 20:24, 28; 31:2; Deut. 32:50; 34:5; 1 Sam. 12:23).

2)        Different Sections of sheol

(a)      Lowest part and highest part (Deut. 32:22)

(b)      Righteous and wicked went to sheol at death Gen. 37:35

2.       In The New Testament

a)        The Word Hades in the New Testament

1)        In the LXX hades is used 71 times.  Refers to sheol 64 times.

(a)      Literally is the realm of disembodied spirits.

(b)      In the NT hades is used 10 times

(c)      Hades does not mean:

1.         Death (qa/natoj)

2.         Grave (mneema)

3.         Hell (gehenna)

4.         Heaven (ou)/ranoj)

(d)      What hades does mean: Remember the concept of progressive revelation!

1.         Luke 16:19-31 – Two sections:

a.         Abraham's bosom (paradise)

b.         Place of torment

2.         Before Christ's Ascension, believers as well as unbelievers were said to enter Sheol or Hades

3.         After Christ's resurrection, the NT pictures believers as entering heaven to be with Christ (Phil 1:23)

4.         Paul uses the language of transition when he speaks of Christ taking the righteous out of hades and bringing them into heaven (Eph. 4:8,9).

5.         Peter pictures Christ as proclaiming to the spirits in prison the completion of His atonement.

6.         Paul refers to paradise now being in the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:2-4)

7.         Hades is now a temporary place of torment while the wicked await the coming resurrection and their eternal punishment (2Peter 2:9)

b)        Gehenna in the New Testament.

1)        Used 12 times in the NT

(a)      The place of future punishment in the eternal state

(b)      The final, eternal garbage dump where idolaters would be thrown after the resurrection.

1.         Referring to the Valley of Hinnom that runs on the south and east sides of Jerusalem.

2.         The worship of Molech in which infants were sacrificed in fire to the god Molech also occurred in the Valley of Hinnom (2 Kings 16:3; 17:7; 21:6).

3.         Jeremiah announced the Valley of Hinnom would be the place of God’s judgment (Jer. 7:32; 19:6).

4.         The valley also became the place where refuse and dead bodies of animals and criminals were burned. As a result, gehenna became synonymous with eternal punishment, the fire of hell. It describes the punishment connected with the final judgment, a punishment that has eternal duration, not annihilation (Matt. 23:15, 33; 25:41, 46).

(c)      Jesus uses it 11 times:

1.         Place of Judgment

2.         Placed at the end of the world after the resurrection

3.         Body and Soul are punished

4.         Place of conscious torment

5.         Wicked remain for eternity

c)        Tartaroo – Only found in 2 Peter 2:4

1)        Per Paul Enns Tartarus is “The name in classical mythology for the sub-terranean abyss in which rebellious gods and other such beings such as titans were punished.”  It was also used in Hellenistic Judaism and in the book of Enoch (20:2) in connection with fallen angels.

d)        Abyss The abyss (Gk. abussos), meaning “bottomless” and translated “pit” or “abyss,” is the prison for demons (Luke 8:31; Rev. 9:1, 2, 11).

1)        Satan is the king over the demons in the abyss (Rev. 9:11).

(a)      Satan releases the demons upon the earth during the Tribulation (Rev. 9:1ff.).

(b)      At the Second Advent of Christ, Satan will be bound and confined to the abyss for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-3).

2)        Other terms such as:

(a)      “unquenchable fire” (Matt. 3:12; Mark 9:43, 48), “furnace of fire” (Matt. 13:42, 50), “outer darkness” (Matt. 8:12; 22:13; 25:30), “eternal fire” (Matt. 25:41), “the lake that burns with fire and brimstone” (Rev. 21:8), and “lake of fire” (Rev. 19:20; 20:10, 14, 15) are used to describe eternal punishment.

(b)      Unbelievers will be cast into the lake of fire at the great white throne judgment (Rev. 20:11-15) and there they will live in torment for eternity.

Millions of people die every year and ten’s of thousands die every day.  There are more than six billion people in the world, and they will all die sooner or later; the world’s birthrate is more than keeping up with the death rate.  So not only is every person in the world in the process of dying, but more people are being born to die all the time.  And the sad reality is that all will die in their sins unless they repent and believe the Gospel.  Hell is waiting for its victims.

C.     Where Are You Going To Be?

1.       The Christians Responsibility (Eph.5:11-14)

a)        It is more than not participating in the sinful ways of the world, but expose them (v.11)

1.         Silent rebuke – by living in obedience to God; refusing to participate in sin.

2.         Open rebuke (Matt.18:15-17; 2Tim.4:2)

3.         Psalm 139:23-24

b)        Our Resource for exposing evil is Sripture.

1.         Ps.119:105, 130; Prov.6:23

2.         Hebrews 4:12-13 – The Greek word translated “naked” or “laid bare” was uses of criminals who were being led to trial or execution.  Often a soldier would hold the point of a dagger under the criminals chin to force him to hold his head high so everyone could see who he was.  Similarly, Scripture exposes us for who we really are and forces us to face the reality of our sin. 

2.       Where do you stand (Joshua 24:15)

a)        Every man serves some god.

1)        Every man lives for something, and whatever that something is, is your God.

Some may say:

(a)      For me to live is success.

(b)      For me to live is happiness.

(c)      For me to live is knowing.

(d)      Paul said, "For me to live is Christ."

1.         Serving God is a matter of Choice, you choose to believe in Christ or you choose not to.

2.         Are you saved or are you lost?

3.         Are you on the road to heaven or hell (Matt.7:13-14)?

Fill in the blank, “If I would die tonight, I would go to _____.”  What would it be?   Heaven or hell?

4.         Are you a child of God or a child of the devil? 

a.         John 8:44; 1Jn.3:10; John 1:12

5.         Are you a mere formal Christian or a real Christian?

a.         Do you have Christ in one hand & the world in the other?

6.         Are you for Christ or against Him (Matt.12:30)?

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.   All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:5-6 NKJV)

Eternity—where will you spend it?