Beyond Death S Door — E.A. Johnston

People have different views on death. I was talking to a psychiatrist, and I asked him if he believed in an afterlife, if he believed in a heaven or a hell. He told me matter-of-factly that when a person dies, there is nothing.

It's the termination of existence, like when an animal dies. He said it's just like a black void. I was talking to a church member, and this woman told me she believed that when you die, Jesus comes to you and gives everyone a second chance to go to heaven, that even if you die a lost person, Jesus will meet you and ask you if you want to go with him to heaven.

You can get saved after you're dead. That's what she believed. Don't laugh, friend. A lot of Catholics believe you can be saved after you die. They teach about purgatory and how you can be prayed out or bought out of that purgatory.

You can pray for the dead. There's still hope for them. And a lot of Hollywood celebrities think hell is just a big party place like a nightclub where they can still booze up and do drugs and fornicate and do whatever they want to.

That hell is a fun place, they tell us. I was watching an interview on TV with the lead singer of the rock group Queen, Freddie Mercury. And the interviewer asked Freddie Mercury if he believed he'd go to heaven when he died.

And this rock star sneered and said, I don't want to go to heaven when I die. I'd much rather go to hell. Hell will be a much more fun place. Well, I bet he's changed his opinion now. What does the Bible say about death and the hereafter?

Jesus' Teaching on Death and the Afterlife

One of the most vivid descriptions of eternity is given by Jesus in Luke's Gospel in chapter 16. Let's turn in our Bibles there now, friends. In Luke's Gospel in chapter 16, and beginning in verse 19.

The Rich Man's Indifference to Lazarus

...which was laid at the gate full of sores and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. Well, let me pause here, friends, to say the rich man dressed in purple, that was the color for princes or statesmen, this man was not only rich, he was important, an important person in his city.

A day didn't go by that this rich old boy didn't chomp on some lobster and steak. He had it all, and he was enjoying it all. His money and his belly were his gods. And he is quite unconcerned and even indifferent to beggars like Lazarus who sit at his gate and beg, who are so sore and lame that he had to be carried to the rich man's gate hoping for some breadcrumbs just to survive.

He was not only a poor, unfortunate beggar who was lame in his legs, he was covered in sores that bled, oozed, and stank and the only relief he got from his discomfort came from the rich man's dogs that licked his sores.

These dogs were better fed than this poor beggar, Lazarus. I don't know if you know what it's like to be poor, friend. I sure do. I know what it's like to be so poor that you don't have a dollar to your name.

You don't know where your next meal is coming from. Well, this man, Lazarus, was like that. In the eyes of the world, he was a nobody. But in the eyes of God, he was a somebody. Well, let's get back to our text in verse 22.

Lazarus in Abraham's Bosom and the Rich Man in Hell

And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. Well, let me pause here to say I believe that. I believe that when a Christian dies, angels carry their soul to God in heaven.

There's a story about the British preacher, Charles Spurgeon, that was related by his close friend and secretary, Joseph Harold, who told this story to his dying day. He said he was with the great Spurgeon as he lay dying in a hotel room in Menton, France.

And Joseph Harold said that while he looked out the window of the hotel to his amazement, he saw a bevy of angels hovering under a clear blue sky as if they were waiting on someone. Well, they didn't have long to wait for Spurgeon died shortly thereafter.

I believe that story, friends. And I believe my Bible when it says Lazarus was carried up by angels to Abraham's bosom. I believe that when a believer dies, that their soul is taken up by angels to heaven.

I also believe that when a nonbeliever dies, that demons drag that soul down to hell. We read in our text, the rich man also died and was buried and in hell. He lift up his eyes being in torments. I will stop there.

Immediate Conscious Existence After Death

Beyond death's door is an eternity where one is separated from their body, which is put in the ground in a grave. But their soul lives on and on with all its senses, with all its reasoning, with all its memory.

And that soul upon death immediately either goes to heaven or it goes to hell. We hear the rich man's cry in hell's torments in verse 24. 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 flame.

We see from his remarks, he is conscious of his surroundings that there is no such thing as soul sleep in death. He is not only aware of his surroundings, he can experience suffering in them. I am tormented in this flame, he cries.

Hell's Torments, Memory, and Regret

But this rich old boy is far past any day of mercy. He's gone out beyond the help of God. He can not only get any help from God, he can't even get a drip of water from Him. If you continue to read the text, friend, you learn that he wants to warn his five brothers not to come to this region of misery and suffering, but to no avail.

A soul is separated from the body of death and it retains its memory. The memory is the haunting thing in hell that gnaws at a lost soul. If you recall in the Gospels, Jesus describes the lost in hell as those who are wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Wailing speaks of great loss and grief. Gnashing of teeth signifies great anger and regret. You'll be as mad as hell in hell, friend, for rejecting Christ Jesus. And hell is not only hot, it's pitch black darkness.

Jesus referred to it as outer darkness, like the deep darkness of outer space. Have you ever been in a room with no light and it's so dark in there you couldn't even see your hand in front of your face?

That's how dark hell is. In fact, we read about the fate of the wicked in the book of Job. He shall be driven from light into darkness and chased out of the world. Imagine one minute you're standing in sunshine, then the next you're chased out of that light into a region of darkness.

Mordecai Ham, the great evangelist, in his famous sermon, Sudden Death, would tell the story of Lulu. Let me read it to you, friend, from Mordecai Ham's biography. Here are his words. My Lord caused me to witness the horrible death of one eternally lost.

Two sisters were living in a log hut near the church. Both were just young girls and were dying with tuberculosis. I was to visit them on a certain day. The mother of those two girls met me at the door of the little log cabin and begged me to hasten in and to do something.

Lulu is dying, the mother sobbed. I hurried to the girl's bedside and tried to talk to her about her need of salvation. I plead with her for a long time but to no avail. She refused to hearken. Then she closed her eyes in death.

I called to her, Lulu, how is it? A voice came back, not the voice of one living, but that of one who was in another world. It was a voice that came up from the depths without any sign of movement of the dead girl's lips or throat muscles, a voice that I have heard only once in my life and that I have never been able to forget.

Lost, lost, oh, oh, so dark, so dark, so dark. That story always sends chills down my spine, friends. Beyond death's door is an eternity that goes on forever where one soul will exist forever either in a place of peace and joy called heaven where you will enjoy Jesus forever or you will exist in torments and misery in a dark, burning region called hell which was prepared for the devil and his angels.

Death is described in the Bible as the king of terrors. Listen, friend, if you aren't born from above and washed in the blood, then when you die in your sins, you'll surely bust hell wide open even if you're the chairman of the deacons.

Repent and believe on Jesus before it's too late.