When The Curtain Drops, What's Next?
Beyond The Curtain Of Time • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
Text
“Oh that You would hide me in Sheol, That You would conceal me until Your wrath returns to You, That You would set a limit for me and remember me!
“If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait Until my change comes.
“You will call, and I will answer You; You will long for the work of Your hands.
The Curtain of Time
the span of man’s earthly existence from birth to the time of time
the curtain rises/opens at birth and drops/closes at death
Man’s Fear of Death
Uncertainty - what’s beyond death: is it good or bad?
Separation from loved ones and possessions
Unpreparedness
Today’s Sermon deals with:
Death’s inevitable reality
Two Different Paths lie beyond the curtain of time
Your Present Life Determines which Way you will take beyond the grave
Main Points
Main Points
Physical Death is Inevitable
Physical Death is Inevitable
Death is the penalty of sin
The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;
but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
“Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.
Death comes to ALL
Then I said to myself, “As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. Why then have I been extremely wise?” So I said to myself, “This too is vanity.”
For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And how the wise man and the fool alike die!
the wise and the fool both die
For I have taken all this to my heart and explain it that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him.
It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who is afraid to swear.
This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead.
One fate/destiny to all: death.
For he sees that even wise men die; The stupid and the senseless alike perish And leave their wealth to others.
Their inner thought is that their houses are forever And their dwelling places to all generations; They have called their lands after their own names.
But man in his pomp will not endure; He is like the beasts that perish.
Death is a kind of “power” that the Devil holds over men
What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah.
Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
No man can by any means redeem his brother Or give to God a ransom for him—
For the redemption of his soul is costly, And he should cease trying forever—
That he should live on eternally, That he should not undergo decay.
Death sends people to “Sheol”
When a person dies, the body is laid in the grave, but the soul goes to a place called Sheol or Hades
The wicked will return to Sheol, Even all the nations who forget God.
Let my prayer come before You; Incline Your ear to my cry!
For my soul has had enough troubles, And my life has drawn near to Sheol.
I am reckoned among those who go down to the pit; I have become like a man without strength,
But Sheol or Hades has 2 separate areas for the good and the wicked
“And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores,
and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.
“Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.
“In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.
Place of Torment
Abraham’s bosom
Hades or Sheol is a place where the soul of the sinner who died on earth, awaits for God’s final judgment on the Judgment Day.
The Power of Death has met its Match: the Power of Resurrection!
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,
Satan has the power of death,
But Jesus IS the power of resurrection!
“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
“For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;
“But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.
For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.
For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;
in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
There are Now Two Different Destinations Beyond Death
There are Now Two Different Destinations Beyond Death
Since Jesus came, died and rose again from the dead, many things have changed beyond the grave!
The place in sheol called called “Abraham’s Bosom” is now empty.
Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.”
(Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?
He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)
Note: Job’s hope was fulfilled here
“Oh that You would hide me in Sheol, That You would conceal me until Your wrath returns to You, That You would set a limit for me and remember me!
“If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait Until my change comes.
“You will call, and I will answer You; You will long for the work of Your hands.
Sheol became His “hiding place”
His stay in Sheol came to an end and he was remembered!
His “change” came when He was call up to glory in Christ’s resurrection.
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,
Since Christ was raised from the dead, the O.T. saints were delivered from the power of death, raised with Him and brought to heaven.
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.
And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.
The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.
The “first destination”, Sheol/Hades, is now the occupied exclusively by the sinners.
Saints who die in the present age are not bound for Hades/Sheol.
The debt of sin has been paid!
The power of death has been destroyed!
for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
Those who are “in Christ” go to a better place!
They are “with Christ”
But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose.
But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better;
They go to “dwell” in an eternal building from God
For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
The “second destination” beyond the grave is exclusively occupied by those who are “in Christ”.
Today We Choose the Our Destination
Today We Choose the Our Destination
Our journey to our preferred destination begins today, in this curtain of time.
“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
“For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
“And you know the way where I am going.”
Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
It is a one-time Journey
And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
Conclusion
Conclusion
What happens beyond the grave is no longer a secret.
it is revealed in the Scripture
the facts are laid before us plainly and clearly
How we live today practically determines where we will go afterwards.
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.