Eschatology Part 1 - Death and the Intermediate State
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The first thing we should understand about eschatology is that we are all going to have a personal end called death.
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- Well, good evening, I know that some of you are new to our Wednesday night services, so I want to welcome you and as Brother Andy has already mentioned, we divide the time on Wednesday night, Brother Andy gives a devotion in the Psalms and then I give the theology lesson and for the last two years we have been going through a lengthy study on systematic theology, you'll notice on your handout it says overview of Christian theology and doctrine section 10, that is because we have gone through nine previous sections, we started with theology proper, Christology, Pneumatology, Hamartiology, Anthropology, Soteriology, even Angelology, we went through several different studies of discipline over the last few years and we find ourselves tonight beginning the final of these lectures and this is on the study of eschatology, eschatology is the study of last things and you will notice I have given you six headings, now in a perfect world that would mean we would have six classes, this would be a six-week study, but for those of you who know me, you know that there will probably be a few of these that go longer than one week, so this may end up being more like an eight-week study of eschatology and if you are a part of the academy, Sovereign Grace Academy, I want to give you just a quick reminder that in the academy our last semester we did a survey of the New Testament and our next semester we're doing a survey of Bible Doctrine, so you're going to get quite a bit of overlap, Miss Jackie, Miss Daisy, I know you're in the class, there's quite a bit of overlap, especially in regard to this, because we did some of this when we looked at Revelation in our survey of the New Testament, but it's always good to be reminded of things that you've already heard and some of that was quite deep, so it might be good to hear it more than once, but the section headings for the next six weeks are as follows, tonight we are going to look at personal versus universal eschatology, next week if we get through tonight's lesson we will do the resurrection of the body, part three is perspectives on Revelation and the Millennium, that's one I fully suspect will take more than one week, probably should have made that part three and part four, but we'll see how it goes, part four is orthodox preterism, if you are not familiar with preterism that is the particular eschatological position that I hold to and that I teach, so that is my week to share with you why I hold to it and why there are those who would differ and my willingness to say that I do not believe that I have it all figured out, neither do I hold to it dogmatically, I am willing to admit that on the subject of eschatology there are many questions to which I do not have all the answers, so keep that in mind, part four really is just my explanation of why I hold to the position I hold, part five we will ask the question is hell real, because eschatology does not just deal with the last days on this earth, but it deals with what happens in eternity, and so we're going to look at the question of hell, and then finally part six my favorite lesson will conclude not only this series, but will conclude the entire two years of study with a look at the new heavens and the new earth, so I'm looking forward to the next several weeks of study, if you open your Bible with me we will begin tonight in Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 27, now we will in a moment discuss the context of Hebrews 9 27, but just for now we're going to read it to introduce tonight's lesson, in Hebrews chapter 9 we have verse 27, this particular verse I love to use in evangelism, I even have cards printed with this verse, my business card has this verse printed on it, and I have cards that look like the doctor's visits cards, you know the appointments card, you have an appointment and under time date and time it says Hebrews 9 27, because Hebrews 9 27 says this, just as it is appointed for man to die once and after that comes judgment, this passage is a tremendous reminder of the reality of not only of death, but of judgment, so let us begin our conversation of the last things, most people when they study the subject of eschatology want to talk about the return of Christ, the interpretation of Revelation and understanding the Millennium and all of the various millennial positions, are you pre-millennial, post-millennial, amillennial or some other branch of the millennial position, and in fact I would imagine that some of you came tonight perhaps excited to talk about eschatology hoping that we would dive right into those subjects, anytime somebody wants to talk about eschatology it's almost always a millennial question or a question about Revelation, but a huge part of eschatology that is often overlooked and I think dreadfully so is the fact that eschatology first and foremost deals with the personal more so than the universal, because when we talk about eschatology Millennium, we talk about eschatology Revelation, we talk about eschatology about what's going to happen in the end time, we're talking about universal eschatology, but when we talk about eschatology on a personal level we have to be reminded that we are all living in our own personal end time, within a hundred years you will all be dead, within a hundred years none of us will be alive, and so we are all living in the end times, at least on a personal level, if Jesus tarries 300 more years we'll only know it in heaven, if Jesus tarries another thousand years we'll only know it in heaven, but all of us have a personal end which is coming, some of us may be more rapidly than others, we don't know, and when somebody asks me pastor do you believe we are in the end times, I always answer the same way, yes you are, are we in the end times, yes you are, because you are in your end times, now one could argue the eschaton or the end times began when Christ ascended into heaven, because when he ascended into heaven the disciples stood and watched him go away and two men beside them angels we believe said to them that Jesus will return in the same way as he has left, he will come back, he will descend as he has ascended, and so the eschaton began when Christ ascended into heaven, we don't know when he's going to return the Bible says watch for you know not when the master of the house comes, we are to be always ready for his arrival, always ready for his second coming, but in reality many of us may not see it, we may see our own personal eschaton before Jesus returns, in fact I think that's one of the reasons and this is a opinion you can certainly differ with me, I think this is one of the reasons why every generation thinks their generation is it, every generation especially in the last 200 years, every generation has felt like their generation was the final generation, and I think the reason for that is because there's something within us that sort of feels like well I'm gonna end so everything ought to end, I mean I'm the end of all things anyway, in my own mind you know the man's pride sort of runs away with him and he says I'm the end of all things so it ought to end with me, certainly couldn't get any better, and I know it couldn't get any worse, smile a little, I know it's late, it's a week night, gotta work tomorrow, still smile, the point is there was a huge expansion of eschatological study and positions that happened in the 1800s and a lot of Adventist movements began in the 1800s, Adventist meaning the the coming or the arrival of Jesus, and so you have like the Jehovah Witnesses that started as an Adventist movement, the Seventh-day Adventists started back in the 1800s and a lot of these movements began because they started to really feel like this was it, you know maybe it was the creation of America as the new Jerusalem, or maybe it was the Civil War bringing about a brother killing brother situation, there was all these reasons people felt like this has to be the end, and of course we come to the 1900s and there is the return of the Jews to Jerusalem and to Israel, and oh that's an amazing historical moment, and so that has to be the thing that's going to start it, right, oh and then there's the dropping of the atom bomb, this is the war to end all wars, right, every generation sees something, right now today the capital of the United States was stormed by protesters, shots rang out and men who were rioting stood in the place behind the desk where the vice president stands in defiance of what they believe to be an erroneous election decision, now whether or not you commiserate with the feelings of those men, does that not strike you to the heart that that's what's happening right now, isn't it somewhat ironic or maybe we might say providential that I'm teaching eschatology on the day that that happened, do you ever think you would see pictures, I have pictures on my phone of rioters standing in the halls of congress, so certainly all of us could look at our lives and see things happening, the advent of technology, the advent of the ability to place chips inside of our bodies which are able to not only tell how our health is but to tell where we are pinpointed from space, what a frightening thought and yet a reality, these are all things that cause people to fantasize, is this the end, and again yeah, it's the end one way or the other, either Jesus is going to return or you're going to die, but the end is here, I'm 40 years old and I imagine some of you say, oh you're so young, well I don't feel it, but also I know this, I imagine I probably have more life behind me than I have in front of me, unless I live to be a very older man and I don't know if I'll live past 80, but if I live past 80 that's the only way I will have more life ahead of me than I have behind me, and I think about it, I went by awful fast, I remember five years old, dressing up like Superman, jumping off the couch, I didn't say it was five days ago, I said when I was five years old, Superman just happens to be a joke with me, but I remember being a child, I remember being a teenager, I just moved back to my hometown, I'm having all of these memories come back as I drive down roads that I haven't driven in years, back roads, I took my wife out the other day down River Road out to the intermediate school and down Cut-Off Road which used to be dirt, so every 16 year old when he got his first car used to drive down Cut-Off Road really fast and dangerously, which is wrong, it's a sin if you're watching, don't do that, but we did it, and that was yesterday, no it was 25 years ago, how quickly will the next 25, you remember when your children were born, now they're adults, getting married, having their own babies, so when we think of personal eschatology it's very real and it's coming quickly, David Costin in a sermon entitled Are You Ready to Face the Music, he gives this riddle and I'm going to read this riddle to you, there is a preacher of the old school but he speaks as boldly as ever, he's not popular though the world is his parish and he travels every part of the globe and speaks in every language, he visits the poor, calls upon the rich, preaches to people of every religion and no religion, and the subject of his sermon is always the same, he is an eloquent preacher often stirring feelings which no other preacher could in bringing tears to eyes that never weep, his arguments none are able to refute nor is there any heart that has remained unmoved by the force of his appeals, he shatters life with his message and most people hate him and everyone fears him, what is the name of this preacher? His name is death, every tombstone is his pulpit, every newspaper prints its text and someday every one of us will be his sermon, now I realize that is probably not what you wanted to talk about tonight and you know many people never talk about it, I perform dozens of funerals every year and I'm never surprised to hear well this family member wouldn't come because they don't come to funerals, they don't like to think about death or they won't go with us to the cemetery because they don't want to see the casket and they don't want to see the gravestone, they don't want to be reminded of death, yet if we were honest death is something we all ponder, we we're all filled with questions regarding death, we ask what will it be like, when will it happen, will there be an escape, we know the answer is no unless Jesus returns, death is the one sure and certain inevitability, it even beats taxes and we are surrounded by reminders of the certainty of death, according to ecology.com 151,600 people die every day, that equates to 6,316 people every hour, 105 people every minute, two people every second, how long have I been talking, hundreds of people have died, death is the greatest statistic, 10 out of 10 die, death is indiscriminate, it comes to the rich and to the poor, it reaches the highest penthouse and then down to the lowest dungeon, royal doors cannot block its entrance and wealth cannot bribe it away, Bill Gates will die as sure as the poorest man on skid row and this brings us to our text tonight because that's what our text says, it says in verse 27 of Hebrews 9 and just as it is appointed for man to die once and what's interesting is once is the focus of that verse, if you look at the context of Romans or excuse me Hebrews 9, it's the context of it is Jesus not offering himself repeatedly, you know under the old covenant, sacrifices were made repeatedly, some were made daily, some were made monthly, some were made annually, there were these sacrifices that were made but Jesus's sacrifice was not made repetitiously, this is one of the errors of Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholics believe that every time the mass is presented that is a representation of the sacrifice of Christ, Christ ultimately is being sacrificed anew or afresh for the forgiveness of sins but it's an unnecessary thing because the sacrifice of Christ need be performed only once and this sacrifice is a once for all atonement, once for all time, never needing repeating so read beginning at verse 25, it says nor was it to offer himself repeatedly as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own for then he would have to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world but as it is he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself by the way end of the ages that reminds us that when Christ came and died that began the end of the ages that began the eschaton notice that and then in verse 27 and just as it is appointed for man to die once and after that comes judgment so Christ having been offered once to bear the sins of many will appear a second time not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him so the the the verse 27 which often we memorize and think about actually is not the the point verse 27 is besides the point verse 27 is simply a truism that shouldn't be forgotten but really isn't the focus the focus is Christ came to die once and his sacrifice was only meant to be once just as man only dies once Christ only had to die once just as man only dies once Christ only has to give his sacrifice once that's the analogy that's the point that's being made but what's interesting about verse 27 is it tells us that when man dies that one time after that there is also another certainty judgment you will die and after that you will face God you will die and you will be judged I I tell a quick story when I was when I was unsaved I I was working at a security I was working for a security company at a building downtown and Jennifer at that time she and I were still dating and I would work the graveyard shift 11 to 7 at night and she would sometimes come up and sit with me in the security office and we'd she'd bring me food or whatever and she'd sit there and we would talk and I remember very specifically one night explaining to her about death and judgment and I wasn't saved and I grew up in church and I understood the realities of death and judgment but I wasn't saved and she actually got saved before I did God used the the words of a unsaved young man to save her and then later God saved me but it was the reality of death and judgment that that got her attention because she'd grown up not going to church she'd grown up not hearing these things and it was the reminder of death and judgment that got her thinking and it was several weeks later that she got saved but it wasn't that night that she didn't fall down that night and get saved but it was it was that that began the wheels turning to remind us that death is certain and just as is judgment now something to consider is that when we die there is a time period between our death and the second coming of Christ and on the board I just want to make a very rudimentary chart so if you imagine this is a timeline and we'll say this is the timeline of death the next event would be resurrection now next week we are going to focus on resurrection because I really enjoy looking at 1st Corinthians 15.