Life After Death — Peter Brandon

Life After Death in Luke 16

I believe the Bible makes it quite clear that there is life after death but we shall look carefully into the subject and we shall look at Luke 16. Luke 16 and we shall read from verse 19. There was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.

And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of saws and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his saws.

And it 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 lifted up his eyes being in torment and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom.

And he cried and said Father Abraham have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this land. But Abraham said son remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things.

But now he is comforted and thou art tormented. 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.

Then he said I pray thee therefore father that thou wouldest send him to my father's house for I have five brethren that he may testify unto them lest they also come into this place of torment. And Abraham saith unto him they have Moses and the prophets let them hear them.

And he said nay father Abraham but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent. And he said unto him if they hear not Moses and the prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.

Now the Lord will bless to us the reading of his precious word. Many people have said to me with an air of real sincerity do you really have evidence of life after death? This subject so gripped the infidel Ingersoll that at the graveside of his friend he actually said that he would give twenty thousand pounds and this would be sixty years ago to anyone that could prove to him what was over the other side of the hill of life.

And that was a great challenge in those days. Many people have said to me in the London area Mr. Brandon you have no right to speak on the subject of life after death until you have reliable evidence.

And you will never have reliable evidence until some reliable person has come back from the dead with proof. And quite frankly that statement is correct. If someone stood on this platform and actually said that he had died and he had come again from the dead I would be very suspect.

In fact I feel quite sure of this that if someone said they had died and was giving some portrait of the afterlife many people today would be suspect. You see it must be a reliable authoritative person.

No Tom, Dick and Harry would do. It must be someone who is reliable and authoritative who dies and if that man came from the dead then we would listen to him. But it must be a reliable person. And therefore you will come back to me and you will say therefore you have no evidence.

Well we have. Now let me explain. Many years ago in the middle ages they really thought the world was square. And there were one or two geographers who had an inkling that the world was round and they were immediately put in prison.

The geographers of that time were absolutely sure that the world was square and therefore under all the mariners and the lions there were squares and of course not balls. And they used to put the words no beyond.

There were two great seamen one was called Vasco de Gama and the other was called Christopher Columbus and they really believed secretly that the world was round. And one penetrated right into the west and the other penetrated right into the east and eventually after two years they came back to the great capital of London with samples of India and samples of America and then the world knew by evidence that the world was not square but it was round.

You see there was a breakthrough and a breakthrough proof. Again the scientists had queer theories about the moon and Mars and the solar system. When I was a boy at school I was told on many occasions that there was probably atmosphere on the moon and I was told emphatically that there was vegetation on Mars.

But all the big scientific guns were wrong. Totally wrong. How that scientists can be wrong. They had this great breakthrough and when a man landed on the moon and brought back reliable samples they knew that there was no atmosphere at all on the moon.

And now they've had some good samples from Mars and they know that there's no atmosphere on Mars. But you see it was a breakthrough that did it. Has there been a reliable person that has died, been buried and actually been raised again?

The Resurrection of Jesus as Proof of Life After Death

Yes. The founder of Christianity the Lord Jesus. And he actually died and was buried in a rich man's tomb. And the Bible says on the third day he was raised again from the dead. Now immediately you hear a statement like that you will say is there evidence in the resurrection?

And that is why on Tuesday night I spent 40 minutes with the men giving them detailed evidence of the resurrection. And what I tried to show to them was this that we have historical evidence, we have critical evidence, we have legal evidence and praise God we have experimental evidence.

Because we believe in the resurrection of Christ and because we are absolutely sure that it has taken place we know now that there is life after death because there has been a breakthrough. And when John the Apostle saw the Lord Jesus he saw him in all his glory and in his hands were the keys of death and hell.

Meaning he has the secret to the afterlife. Now this will surprise you but the Lord Jesus was the only one in the Bible that gave us a detailed description of a man in heaven and a man in hell. Again this will surprise you that the Lord Jesus spoke twice as many times about hell as heaven.

We are quite sure of this that God would not raise a person from the dead who was on this earth to terrify people. Or we can see that when God raised him from the dead he was not only confirming the work that he did on the cross but God was confirming and amening every word that is unfit.

And that is why we believe in life after death not because we have great tape recorders that can record language in heaven. Not because we have a special machine that can detect brain waves and mental telepathy when a person is dying.

But our proof is on one historical fact and that the resurrection of Christ. And having said that I am sure you realise that we stand now on a very good foundation. Apostle Paul says that if Christ be not risen from the dead then there is no afterlife.

Our faith is vain our preaching is vain and we must eat drink and be merry why because tomorrow we die and that's it. But he has been hallelujah raised from the dead and we know. So tonight I want to share with you immediately preparation for death.

Spiritual Life Before Physical Death

And quite frankly I know this will surprise some but if you don't have life before death you will never have it after death. Some person said to me the other day of course Mr. Brandon your religion is a deathbed religion on the contrary.

You see the bible makes it quite clear if you want life after death you must have it before death. The Lord Jesus Christ made it quite clear that he had come that men might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.

The Lord Jesus Christ said at a funeral I am the resurrection and the life he that lives and believes in me shall never never never die. Do you believe that? You say well what is this life? It's called the new birth and it simply means this that God puts into that little body of yours a completely new life that is absolutely different from physical life.

It's being born from above. You say well how does he do that? In your body there is a power called sin and that's why you sin because you were born with that power to sin and no matter how you might struggle to live above it it will defeat you.

It was Colonel Hunt who led that expedition of men to climb the highest peak of earth who stood on a grass verge and said with tears running down his cheeks ladies and gentlemen there is one mountain I cannot conquer.

And that is the mountain of self. And there has never been a human being that conquered himself. By the hard rub of life that we lose our temper we tell a lie. We all know that we lust and every one of us has besetting sins and we cannot conquer them.

And therefore when a person becomes a Christian God gives that person first of all a real forgiveness because Christ has died for that person's sins. And secondly when forgiveness has been given God puts into that life the mighty power of the Holy Spirit and when he comes into that life that man is born anew.

And therefore you have life now. And if you have become a Christian you've got within that little body of yours life and you're in Christ and you are a new creature. And the Lord Jesus put it beautifully when he said truly truly I say unto you he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me.

Everlasting Life Through Faith in Christ

Now note hath everlasting life and shall not come into judgment but is passed from death unto life. Now I want to ask you a question dear friends and I want you if you can to answer it. Have you got eternal life now?

Have you been born anew? Have you really had an experience with the living God when you received his forgiveness and received the life of the Holy Spirit and you know by his grace that you have been given eternal life.

Now if you have that present experience you will never never die spiritually. The body might die but never you. And so you can see if you're going to have life after death you must have it before death.

And that's basic Christianity. But then there comes the fact of death. Now I want you to face this. Did you know this every time the old fashioned clockwork clock ticks 3 people die. 200 ,000 people die every day.

Did you know this while I'm standing in this pulpit every second 1, 2, 3 people die. Isn't that solemn? Every second 2 or 3 people are being born into the world. Now what does that prove? Every second men are coming into the world.

Every second they are moving out. And we've all got to face it unless the Lord comes. And I've been looking at this congregation and I must say it's lovely to see young people here tonight. One third of this congregation in 25 years time will be skeletons.

In 25 years time this shows to us the utter reality of death. Now when death takes place we all know that it brings sorrow and devastation and heartbreak. In our world there are weeping people because of bereavement.

Sin, Death, and Separation from God

If there's a God of love why should he bring death into his economy. My dear friends God is not the source of death. The Bible makes it quite clear that there is a sinister power behind evil and there is a sinister power behind it.

And that sinister power is the power of Satan. Massive evil power that's resident in this world that's deceiving thousands. And when God made man, man was linked with God in two ways. He was linked with God because he had a spirit and therefore he could have communion with God.

Because man had communion with God he had the life of God in him and therefore there was no death in him. But when Satan came and caused the first original sin he severed that life connection between man and God.

And therefore when every child was born into this world it was born with the potential of death. Why? Because our first parents sinned and their life was severed from God and all the children followed.

And this is how this scripture puts it. Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin and so death passed upon all men for all have sinned. And that is the simple explanation of death.

And when a man becomes a Christian a man is made right with God in spirit first of all. And because his inward life is right with God one day God will give him a new body. So the first death that we read in scripture was a spiritual death and that was the moment when Satan separated man from God by sin.

And because he was separated from God eventually his body died. And if you read Genesis 3 correctly you will see that spiritual death came first and then physical death came second. But then you might say what about the moment of death, the Satan determining the moment of death.

No that would be horrid. The moment of death is determined by your creator. He knows the very moment when I'm going to die and he knows the very moment you're going to die and ladies and gentlemen he will determine that moment.

And it doesn't matter how many heart transplants you may have. It doesn't matter how many pints of blood will be put in your body. No one will deceive God from that appointed man. In the last analysis God holds the silver thread of life and when that moment comes for him to say die you will die.

And that's why the rich fool in scripture was so silly and that's why God called him a fool. He thought he was going to live for a long while and God says thou fool this night thy soul shall be requited.

When people become atheistic and humanistic and argue with God they do not realise that they are arguing with the very being that can determine the moment of their death. What a solemn thought. You might say what about this life after death?

Death as Departure from the Body

It is an act of removal. Now I do want you to grip this. This body because it is depraved by sin and because it's a body that's wearing out is called in scripture a tent body. That's why it's called a tabernacle or a tent.

But it's not a refined tent. The word in the Greek means a tattered tent. The idea of a new tent catching the wind and being torn and then tattered and then becoming old and then becoming mouldy. So that all the ropes are breaking and it's beginning to tear.

And that's the meaning of the word tent that the Paul uses in 2nd Corinthians 5. But more. The world in which we live is called basically a tent world. And so we have tattered tent bodies and we live in a tattered tent world.

Why? Because the world in which you live is under the curse of sin. And one day after God's giving us a little period called the millennium he's going to fold it up and let it go into oblivion and there's going to be a new heaven and a new earth.

And would you mind if I raise my voice as I said this? We are foolish people to put too much emphasis on the body and too much emphasis on this world. It's beginning to perish and the world is going into an oblivion.

And why lay up too much treasure here? Now when a person dies all that happens is that he moves out of his body, moves out of his shattered tent. And that is death. An act of removal. You say well I find it very hard to believe that I'm body soul and spirit.

I could prove that to you in a few minutes. When you sit at a table you put food in your body and you are not feeding yourself you are feeding your body. It goes into your mouth it drops right into the bottomless pit and it feeds the body.

That's the body. You could be feeding the body for 24 hours in the day and you could go completely mad. Why? Because you are soul. You must have a certain amount of love. You must have a certain amount of joy.

You must have a certain amount of freedom so that you can view creation. You must have a certain amount of music. Why? Because man is not just body he's soul. So clear. And then when you go round the world no matter where you go.

If you go to Russia they worship the marks of Lenin and Engels and they worship their leaders. And when you go to China they do the same thing there. And when you go to primitive people they worship idols.

And some people in these materialistic lands of ours they worship themselves and they worship their cars and they worship material things. But all men have got a worshipping nature. It's there. God put it there.

And that's why a man is spirit. But the spirit of a man that's not converted, not a Christian, is dead. Now when a person dies it is an act of removal. It's the body dying but not the man that lives in the body.

That real you is your soul and that real you is almost tinged and touched with the infinite because you're going to live forever. That's why you were made in the image and in the likeness of God. Lord Jesus Christ valued man and he says what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul.

You see man's personality, man's identity is so fine, it's so beautiful once you can see it that it really makes us gasp and our minds boggle. Two people may be identical twins in body but not in personality.

And I want to say this to you friends as lovingly as I can. You, you are the only person that will ever live in this world and there will never be another you. Never. Because the you has come and God wants to meet you and beautify your whole being to in glory.

But this is the tragedy. The devil comes and he says something like this, look here old chap, look here old girl, you're only a body, you're only blood, you're only brains, you're only bone, the world's everything.

You live for today and would you believe it? Stupid human beings believe him. They're going to live forever when they know death is always round the corner. And then in order to steal their own conscience they say of course when we die we die like rats and dogs.

But if you tell them that at the funeral they're terribly offended. And I've never seen a parson at a rat funeral. And my dear friends that's what the modern man would like us to believe. That of course we know he's dishonest.

Hades, Paradise, and the Two Destinies

But then you might say well what about this sphere outside the body? God has a sphere outside the body which he calls Hades. And the Hades is a place of disembodied spirits. Therefore when the spirit and soul leaves the body it goes into a realm called Hades.

And Hades is divided into two. There's that sphere that's called paradise where once Abraham reigned but now Christ reigns. And for a Christian when he's absent from the body, hallelujah, he's present with the Lord and he's a million times better off.

But a person who dies without Christ and without God it is a sheer tragedy. And therefore death can be an ugly shock. It can be a pleasant surprise. A man who has lived without Christ and lived without God, he dies without Christ, he dies without God and he goes to a godless and a Christless eternity.

If a man lives with Christ which is far, far, far, far better. The moment you get out of the body dear Christian and you are present with the Lord, you will say my word I didn't realize I was living in a pigsty.

And you might be a millionaire. You'd say this is absolutely wonderful. The moment you die without Christ you'll lift up your eyes being in torment and you will say oh God have mercy on me. But it will be too late.

As blunt as that. Now let's talk now about the triumph of death and what I want to do is to take you away from this platform because sometimes if we get hard facts and figures after a very hard day's work we find it hard to take in.

Paul's Confidence in the Face of Death

So what I want you to do is to come with me to a prison and I'm going to tell you about this prisoner. He's only a few days to live whether he knows it or not I don't know. He's the finest Christian that ever lived.

He is about 62 but he looks about 92 when you see him. His body will be scarred and mutilated. He will be chained to two soldiers and you might get rather a shock. And that wicked man called Nero is going to remove his head from his shoulder in a few days time.

A Roman soldier takes us in the prison and when we get into the prison two things hit us. We're shocked at the man's condition. We're surprised to see his face. And rather staggered and rather awkwardly we say excuse me are you Paul the Apostle?

I am. I notice that you're blind. Been blind for years. I notice that really your body is terribly withered. Yes. And tortured. Look at my arms. Look at my chest. Look at my back. And it turns us almost green to see him.

Are you in pain? Yes. I suppose really in your heart you're rather regretful that you were a Christian. Pardon? Regretful? My greatest joy. When I was a Jew for me it was for me to live is the law. I could say for me to live is the game.

Oh you've surprised us. Why is it that you're so jubilantly happy then? Jubilantly happy? I suppose really because you have preached the gospel hundreds of times that's made you ready. Not a bit of it.

Because of the life that I live. I'm not ready because I was circumcised and baptized by immersion and took the communion. I'm not ready because of those things. But surely that should make you a Christian.

It never will. But I suppose you're ready Paul because you have preached the gospel almost every day of your life. You've baptized scores of people. You're a great leader among the Christians. And that's made you ready hasn't it?

Not a bit. You're not depending on your good life. You're not depending on your religion. You're not depending on the fact that you're a great apostle. What are you depending on? I'm depending on the finished work of Christ on the cross.

And when he bled and suffered for my sins I believe that he died for me and I've received that forgiveness that God offers through his death. But more. More? When he forgave my sin he put the Holy Spirit within me and he would clap.

Oh he couldn't do that really. But he would nod his head and he would say Christ in me. You see I've got glory in this prison. And you could almost see the man's hand going with the soldiers. And we would say to the soldiers is that right?

And these two hefty soldiers would say well we were pagans till we were chained to this fella. And we thought he was a withered old man. But we were chained to dynamite. And we had four hours twice a week with him.

And boy we couldn't get away. And the first time I got released I said to the other two going in you'll be lucky if you get out there without being a Christian. And after being with him for two or three changes of guard it wasn't long before we got what he had.

And what was that? Glory in our lives. And it's wonderful to be here. And they would all say together Christ in us. The hope of glory. How do you react toward death? React toward it? Well it will be a wonderful moment.

You see I am now ready to be offered. Because of the blood of Christ and because of the Holy Spirit bringing in the new birth. And the time of my departure is at hand. What do you mean by departure Paul?

My sailing away. And all my Christian friends have been on the jetty and I've been waving goodbye. And the old boat and its sails were getting ready to move. And then they would release the last two horses and then the ship would hit the sea free and liberated.

I would say with a little chuckle when old Nero releases my head from the body the horses will be cast and I shall hit the oceans free absolutely free. It will be my release. Can I say this to you Christian?

When you are out of that body you'll be absolutely free. Do you realize this? That though your body is fearfully and wonderfully made it keeps your soul and spirit a prisoner. And when you are out of the body present with the Lord you'll be a free person.

Relief. But you say but Paul what about meeting the Lord in heaven? Well I am now ready to be offered. The time of my sailing away has come. I have fought a good fight. I have finished a course. I have kept the faith.

And then with radiancy he would say henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. Well what about your bank book Paul? My what? Your bank book. There's my cloak. There's my books and the parchment.

And they're all going to Titus and Timothy. Jesus said lay not up treasure upon earth where moth and rust doth corrupt and thieves break through and steal. Treasure in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt nor thieves break through and steal.

For where your treasure is there your heart will be also. Listen he would say my heart is in the glory. Will do me a favour when he gives me the execution. But we would like to say what is heaven like?

Heaven as the Presence of Christ and Eternal Life

Will it be the streets of gold? Will it be walls of glass? Will it be a kind of a material paradise? Nah all that's bigoted. Do you know what heaven will be like? First of all the Lord Jesus will be there.

And I want to say this won't that be lovely to see him. Brothers and sisters we see him by faith that's precious. But think of that moment when we shall see him. Face to face. Won't that be lovely? Doesn't that fill your heart?

You'll see the Lord but more. You'll not only see the Lord but you will be in a realm of absolute truth. Where there's not one shade of a lie. You'll be in the realm of life. No deceptions. Never a lie will be heard in heaven.

We shall not know in part but in that day glory to God we shall know God as he knows us. And that'll be wonderful. But more. Not only will it be a place of light it's going to be a place of life. There won't even be the smell of death there.

You see on the cross he tasted death for everyone. When he comes the second time he's going to swallow up death in victory. And that means it will never be seen. You know I was once staying in Ireland and I was staying with a police inspector that had the most powerful bull mastiff that I've ever seen.

And one day I was helping him in his garden and I turned around and the bull mastiff got too close and it frightened me. And not only did it frighten me but the dribble that came from its mouth to me was horrid.

Another day I was working in the garden and the thing got precariously close. And I thought he was going to have a piece of my anatomy. Now I don't mind a fox terrier. I don't mind a collie. But I don't want a bite from a bull mastiff.

And then I was working in his garden another day and the police inspector could see that I was being frustrated and irritated by the presence of the dog. And he says brother Brandon you're terrified. Yes I said I am.

He says come here. He said that dog will do you no harm. I said don't you believe it. And he called the dog over and he pried open its massive jaws and there wasn't a tooth in its head. He says but don't tell anyone.

He said I had to have all its teeth out. He had a disease. But still I wasn't happy. You see the dog was there and he would growl and bite. You see there was every presence of a bite. But it was powerless.

When Jesus Christ died on the cross he took from Satan the bite of death. And a Christian will never taste it. But one day he will be in victory and we shall never even hear the ground. And that's when the Lord Jesus comes and heaven is going to be a place of absolute life.

What is the loveliest thing in the universe? It's love. And heaven is going to be a place of eternal love. Eternal love. And oh dear friends I do want to say this. If you haven't got Christ in your life tonight get Christ in for his knocking.

And make sure that when death comes or should the Lord come it will be a triumphant moment for you. And I want to say this to the apostle ere we leave him. Thank you Paul for giving to us that great information.

The Reality and Purpose of Hell

But then what about the tragedy of death? Is there such a place called hell? Yes. If there is no place called hell then my dear friends Jesus is not the son of God he was an impostor. Twenty six times in four small books he warned the world of hell.

Now why was hell created? Hell was never created for the human family. Every day in my life I thank God for the creation of hell. I'm going to tell you why. Hell was created first of all to finally and completely imprison Satan and all his demon followers.

And what a moment it will be for the universe when Satan and all his demons are imprisoned forever. Hell was created so that sin might be finalized and excluded forever. This is a place where God is going to isolate this ugly thing called sin forever.

It was created so that death might be cast into a realm called the lake of fire. It's the second death and therefore it's the place where death will no more be. It will be a wonderful moment for the new universe, the new heaven and the new earth to be without the infringement, the seduction and the deception of the devil.

Beloved friends if the devil was taken out of this world and all his demons we would see a complete change in this world immediately. You will realize how the world is being deceived and seduced by the power of the devil.

That day when Satan and all those that follow him are in the lake of fire it will be marvelous for this universe. But this is the tragedy that the human family would rather receive the darkness of Satan than the light of God.

And this number is a problem. These leaflets were put in the doors and every one of those subjects is a potent subject that people are asking. And yet how many will come? When asked they would all cry down.

If I would tell them the winners of the next week's football match and I had some kind of authority they would all listen. But if I told them about God they'd all run away. You see the human family is quite content to be deceived.

Men love darkness rather than light. And that is why thousands today are being literally deceived and seduced by the power of Satan. But then someone might say well what is hell like? Is it literal fire?

I don't know. But it's something worse than that. Is it where bones crackle? I don't think so. That's all frivolity and we don't want to talk like that. Hell is a sphere where there is no God, no Christ.

Can you think of this world without God, without Christ, without the Holy Spirit? Not be one Christian, not one Christian. Every being in hell will be someone that has been seduced by the power of Satan.

There is not a figment of truth. All that is in hell is marked by darkness and it means it's a place of absolute deception and eternal deception. Well men will go on being deceived from one degree to another.

But more. We look at the world and we see that man has a dreadful capacity to sin. Some of the people who have been to me with satanic sins, that means people who are demon possessed have whispered sins in my ear which I wish they had never told me.

And I would not breathe one tenth of some of the things that I have been told in the last two years. You can see that there are certain lives today that have given themselves to sin so that they become demon possessed and they have uncontrollable lusts, uncontrollable desires.