Sermon Tone Analysis

“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 Testament/1.

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.