TREASURY OF SERMONS
The Life After Death
By Rev (Dr) Jeffrey Khoo
Text: Phil 1:21-23
Introduction
Benjamin Franklin once said, "In this world that
we live in, we can be sure of only these two things: one is death,
the other is taxes." Yes, death is something most of us will have to
go through. Note that I said most, and not all. This is because
there will be some who will not experience death. These are the
Christians who are still alive when Jesus returns to snatch up His
people—an event called the rapture (1 Thess 4:15-17). I am hopeful
that we who are living in this period of time are this group of
people. I look forward to the rapture.
In any case, what if were to die before the
rapture takes place? Where will I be? What will I be like? What will
I be doing? What is life after death like?
Wrong Views About Life After
Death
Soul Sleep
The 7th day adventists teach that when a man
dies, his soul enters into a state of unconsciousness called soul
sleep. You are totally oblivious of what is going on until the Lord
wakes you up. This view is wrong because it contradicts the
Scripture. For example, Jesus’ story of the rich man and Lazarus
(Luke 16) clearly tells us that when a man dies he is very conscious
of his surroundings. He is mentally alert, and emotionally
sensitive.
Purgatory
The Roman Catholics say that when a person dies
without being thoroughly cleansed of his small or pardonable sins,
he will undergo a period of cleansing or purging in a half-way house
before he enters heaven. It will be a painful period of torment.
Again Luke 16 tells us that this is not true. Lazarus after he died
was in the bosom of Abraham—in heaven. There is no half-way house.
It is either heaven or hell.
Annihilation
The modernists and now some evangelicals like
Clark Pinnock, and John Stott say that when the finally impenitent
dies, he will cease to exist. He will just disappear. There is no
hell, no place of torment. Is this so? No. Again Luke 16 tells us
that the rich man was in hell. He said, "I am tormented in this
flame" (v24).
Where Will Be After We Die?
Firstly, when we die, the soul leaves the body.
Man is made of two parts: Body and Soul. The body and soul can be
separated. The body will go to the earth to be buried. The soul will
go to either one of these 2 places: heaven or hell. For those who
are Christians, they will go immediately to heaven. The WSC Q7 asks:
"What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death?" Ans: "The
souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and
do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united
in Christ, do rest in their graces, till the resurrection."
So, our physical bodies will lie in our graves,
while our soul reside in heaven until the time of the resurrection.
What is This Resurrection?
The Resurrection of Christ
Our Lord Jesus Christ is the first person—the
God-Man—to rise from the grave. "But now is Christ risen from the
dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. . . Christ the
firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming" (1 Cor
15:20,23). We live because He lives.
The Resurrection of Saints
The resurrection of those who have believed in
Christ will happen at His coming. "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We
shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in
the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall
sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this
mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have
put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality,
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is
swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where
is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin
is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor 15:51-57). This is the first
resurrection mentioned in Rev 20:4-6. Blessed are those found in
this resurrection—a resurrection unto Life.
The Resurrection of Sinners
There is a second resurrection. Cursed is the
one found in this resurrection—a resurrection unto Death. This death
is the second death. The first death is physical death; the death
that gets us buried in the earth. The second death is eternal death;
the death that gets us thrown into hell. God will sit as Judge on
His Great White Throne, and if your name is not found in the Lamb’s
Book of Life, you will be cast into the Lake of Fire. Rev 20:14-15,
"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the
second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of
life was cast into the lake of fire." In the lake of fire, all will
suffer eternal conscious torment in a place where the fire is not
quenched, and the worm dieth not; where there will be much weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
What is Heaven Like?
In this post-modern age, more and more people
are no longer thinking of heaven on earth. The earth is plagued with
all kinds of trouble: fightings and bombings, natural disasters and
diseases etc. But the problem is people generally have the wrong
conception of heaven, and have wrong ideas on how to get there. So
you have these UFO cults; heaven is some advanced civilisation in
outer space. So they hope to be abducted by friendly aliens in
spaceships to live in a better place. Euthanasia is also on the
increase. They do not want to live anymore in this world. They want
to go to heaven as quickly as possible. So people are demanding for
physician-assisted suicides. Instead of telling the doctor, "Doctor,
help me to live," it is now the opposite, "Doctor, help me to die."
"My husband has died, I am very very sad. I don’t want to live
anymore, put me to sleep." And many have airy, fairy ideas about
heaven. When we die, we go to this place full of clouds; we dress in
white, we sprout wings, we are given a harp, and we fly about
harping all the time. Is this heaven?
Paul said, "For me to live is Christ, to die is
gain" (Phil 1:21). What does "to die is gain" mean? This answer lies
in the first part of the verse "to live is Christ." It has to do
with Christ. For the Christian, living and dying has to do with
Christ. To live is Christ, to die is more Christ. It is gain or more
of Christ, because you are entering into the very presence of God,
of Christ. In another place, Paul said, "to be absent from the body
is to be present with the Lord" (2 Cor 5:8). You will see Him, and
will live with Him.
What will we do in heaven? The Bible does not
reveal too much about all the things that we will do in heaven
because it is not necessary for us to know every thing right now.
What we need to know right now is what we ought to do while we are
on earth; and there are many things to do for the Lord. It is enough
to keep us occupied. When we get to heaven, then the things about
heaven will be fully revealed. But at least one thing we know: in
heaven we will be preoccupied with worshipping the Lord. Just read
the book of Revelation which gives us a glimpse of heaven, the
scenes in heaven are characterised by worship. Chapter 1:6, the
saints said, "And He hath made us kings and priests unto God and His
Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." In
4:8 we find the 24 elders and the angels praise the Lord, "Holy,
holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was and is, and is to come."
Verse 9: they give glory and honour and thanks to Him that sat on
the throne, who liveth for ever and ever. Verse 10: the 24 elders
cast down their crowns before the one that sat upon the throne, and
worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, and saying, "Thou are
worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast
created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."
What we are doing this evening, coming to worship God and hear His
Word is a glimpse of heaven. Worship is heaven on earth.
What Will We be Like in
Heaven?
As I have said earlier, we will receive an
incorruptible and glorified physical body. It is something tangible
or corporeal. Our bodies will be like that of Christ’s. Just as
Jesus with His resurrected body could be touched, handled, seen (He
was flesh and bones), so will our bodies be. It can appear and
disappear at will. It can go through walls. You can be in one place
at this time, and the next moment be somewhere else. Your pastor Dr
Tow is known as the flying pastor. There are so many churches under
his care. It is vital he makes such flying visits. But it takes many
hours isn’t it, flying to this place and that place. If he had a
glorified body right now, he can save himself a lot of flight time.
After SGH at 7 pm, good-bye, 7.01 he is in London. In the
millennium, we will experience this. This body is also capable of
eating. The new body doesn’t need food, but can take in and enjoy
food. Jesus ate with His disciples by the Galilee Sea. What a
blessing! No more sin, no more pain, no more tears.
Will we be able to recognise each other in this
wonderful body? The answer is yes. In Luke 24, we read of the two
disciples travelling to Emmaus, and Jesus appeared, walked with
them. In v16, Jesus prevented them from recognising Him. This tells
us that they could recognise the Lord had they not been
supernaturally prevented from doing so. The WCF says that we will be
raised with the "self-same" bodies. Some here may be disappointed.
Some here may not like the way they look, and may say "I don’t want
to look like myself in heaven." If you think this way, please stop.
We believe that our God is a perfectly wise God who does all things
well. I can assure you that you will like what you see in heaven.
You will like this body that God will give to you.
Another tricky question is this: Children when
they die, they are not fully grown yet, will they remain children in
heaven? How about elect infants having died at birth? Will they be
babies forever? Logically, the answer is no. Again, the Lord will do
all things well. The Bible doesn’t answer this question. Allow me to
do some sanctified guessing. I believe our glorified bodies will be
adult bodies. In the same way God created Adam and Eve adults, so
will we be in heaven. Neither too young nor too old, just right.
Conclusion
For Christians, death is something no longer
fearful. Death has lost its sting. Why? Because death brings us to
heaven, to our Saviour; it is something we look forward to. Do you
look forward to heaven? Do you want to go to heaven? Only one way to
get to heaven: Jesus is the only way. Believe in Jesus Christ, and
thou shalt be saved. Let us pray.
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