Eyewitness to the Afterlife

Eyewitness to the Afterlife

A few years ago transportation officials in Texas had a problem with their digital road signs being hacked. One sign in Austin was hacked to read, “Zombies ahead.” A problem in Christianity is that the message is sometimes changed to something close to the Gospel; but not full true.

Spiritual things are real things. Just because you can’t see them does not change their reality.

Text: Luke 16:19-31

• This opens the same way the four parables before it opened, “A certain man” (or woman.) Luke 15:3, Luke 15:8, Luke 15:11, Luke 16:1. This bears all the marks of a parable. But because it is a parable does not mean the story is not talking about a real place and using true imagery.
• Luke 16:19-21 is a series of contrasts between how rich the one man is, and how poor Lazarus is. Jesus uses extreme imagery.
• Luke 16:22, Abraham’s “side” or Greek, “Bosom” would refer to his heart or chest. Most simple term of salvation is that we ask Jesus into our “heart.” Abraham believed in the afterlife (Heb. 11:10.) He also believed in Jesus. (John 8:56)
• Luke 16:22, notice the transition from this life to the spiritual world is immediate both for Lazarus who goes to heaven, and the rich man who goes at once to hell.
• Luke 16:23, the most graphic imagery of hell is given by Jesus.
• Luke 16:24-31 is a conversation between heaven and hell.
• Luke 16:24, he asks the wrong person for mercy. Neither Abraham nor Lazarus can save him.
• Luke 16:24, the rich man continues to act as if Lazarus is below him. He should bring him water and act as his servant.
• Luke 16:29, You sense Jesus is burdened.
• Thanatology: Thanatos: The study of death. Who do you trust to teach you about death? Everyone go to heaven? How about: Someone who was there. Rose again.

I. Life Here is

• Lazarus is the Greek translation of Eleazar, “Whom God helped.” That’s frustrating because this man looks like he’s not being helped at all by God. He’s like Job, without Job’s happy ending. Come to the end of the story, and he does not get a wife and kids and healing; he dies!
• Hear people say, “God’s not fair. I don’t deserve this.” Jesus would say, that life is not fair not because God is unfair, but because we live under a curse.
• Matthew 5:45.

II. A Believers Death is a

• Luke 16:22 takes a twist that would have surprised the Pharisees. They belived something like the prosperity Gospel; the rich are rich because they are more loved by God. And the poor just don’t have enough faith. But Jesus says the poor man died and went to heaven!
• My grandpa called his funeral a “victory service.” Because for a believer, death is victory. Paul said that to die is gain; it’s victory! (Philippians 1:21)

How is death victory?

• Victory over he flesh. The body of sores is put in the ground and Lazarus lives on to go to heaven.
• Victory in fellowship. He is in intimate, personal fellowship with Abraham. We can look forward to fellowship in heaven.
• Victory over suffering. Luke 16:25, place of “comfort.”

III. An Unbelievers Death

Jesus himself describes hell in Luke 16:23-26.  

These descriptions are not my own.  They are the words of Jesus.

1. It’s a place of (Luke 16:23)

• Isolation from others. Isolation from God.
• Prisoners who had been confined in Alcatraz prison said the worst part was hearing women’s laughter wafting across the bay from San Francisco.
• Hell is the absence of the presence of God. It is everything God is not. If God is loving, hell is terrifying and lonely. God is light, but hell is complete darkness. God is good, in hell there is nothing good. Jesus is eternal life, but hell is eternal death.

2. It’s a place of

• Luke 16:23, he was in “torment.” Luke 16:24, “I am in anguish in this flame.”
• Hell was created for the devil and his angels. (Matthew 25:43)
• God’s goodness requires he punish sin. A righteous God must do something about the evil things people have done. It can look like a rapist, murderer, child molester got away with it; but in the end they must stand before the Judge who is God. We are happy that God will judge and punish Hitler, Ted Budny and evil people. We are bothered that he is then required to punish our own evil! Our problem is that God is fair.
• I do not think everyone is punished the same in hell. (Luke 12:47-48) I think the purpose of God’s judgment is to determine punishment. So all unbelievers go to the place of hell; but they are punished according to what their sins deserve.

3. It’s an

At death, our destination is fixed and final. The soul cannot leave the place where it is sent.

• Luke 16:24, he asks for mercy. But it is too late.
• Luke 16:26, Abraham says there is a “great chasm” (canyon) fixed that inhibits them from crossing over.
• Notice: The rich man cannot leave hell to tell his brothers. Abraham cannot leave heaven to warn the rich man’s family. Lazarus cannot cross between heaven and hell to give the rich man water.
• You cannot check hell out, take a vacation there and then decide you don’t like it, you changed your mind. It’s a fixed location without exits.
• D.A. Carson said, “Heaven is this ever-increasing, further up, further into joy, into God, into life. Hell is the opposite of that. It’s an everlasting movement away from God.

God hates hell.

• Ezekiel 18:23, 2 Peter 3:9.
• On the cross Jesus took hell on himself so that no one would have to go there.
• Revelation 1:18, he holds in his hands the keys of death and “Hades.” He has victory over hell. Is there an eyewitness to what is beyond here? There is. He didn’t just go and check it out, give us a weather report. He went and conquered it.

Here are the terms of salvation:

• It is a free gift. Romans 5:15-18
• There is nothing we can do to earn salvation. He must trust him.
• We accept the gift by faith. We must believe what we cannot see.
• We must confess Jesus as my only hope of salvation.
• With confession comes repentance from sin.
• Out of that humble broken state, God saves us and begins a new work in us. He transforms us.