If you've experienced the passing of a loved one, You probably wondered what happens after death and what becomes of the soul. That's only natural. Today, on Turning Point, Dr. David Jeremiah addresses those questions as he shares a story from Luke about Lazarus and the rich man. Listen as David continues his series, The Promise of Heaven, with today's message, Where Are They Now?
And thank you for joining us. You know, this passage that we're going to look at in the New Testament is the only account that we have that clearly indicates. what happens to a person after death. It is a very relevant passage, and it will help you understand what happens when you lose a loved one, where they are, what about Jesus coming to take them captive and take them back to heaven? Is paradise the same as heaven?
What about unbelievers? Where do they go? When they die, what happens to them? What happens to their soul? We're going to talk about all of that today.
This is a very important lesson on the future and especially on heaven and how to get there. We are Turning Point, a ministry that reaches out to people in many ways. And one of the ways that has been used by God to help many people is our magazine in devotional. It comes out every month. It's beautifully designed.
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It's our privilege to do it. Let's get started now with this lesson we've called Where Are They Now? It was in the early 2000s in a strange service called. Afterlife telegrams made headlines with an unsettling offer. For ten dollars a word with a minimum of five words.
They promised to deliver your message to the dead. But that was a catch. The couriers weren't ordinary messengers. They were terminally ill volunteers. Who pledged to carry these words with them when they passed into the afterlife?
But tucked away in the fine print was a disclaimer. Afterlife telegrams couldn't guarantee the message would be delivered. The truth is, the company warned: no one knows what happens when someone dies. It was a grim and troubling service, offering a fragile hope of uncertainty And in the end, afterlife telegrams shut down and quietly faded into obscurity. Alexander Stewart has said there are two things Most people want to know about their deceased loved ones.
Where are they? And how are they doing? Where are they now? Is a question I have been asked many times. Apparently, there were those who lived in the New Testament days who were concerned about this question as well.
Paul wrote this to the church in Thessalonica. He said, But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren. concerning those who have fallen asleep. lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. The apostle was using the word sleep to signify those who had died.
As we have learned in Past days in the New Testament, the word sleep is often the softened term for a believer's death. The word has a twofold sense in the New Testament. It can be used in its natural sense for natural sleep. or it can be used in the metaphorical sense for the sleep of death. It is always used of Christians.
in the sense of the sleep of death. It is never used for those who are not Christians. We see this in many passages. Let me illustrate for you just a couple. In John 11, 11, We read about Lazarus, these things he said, and after that he said to them, Our friend Lazarus sleeps.
But I go that I may wake him up. Was Lazarus asleep? No, he had been dead for four days. Acts 7:60, then Stephen knelt down and cried out. With a loud voice, Lord, do not charge them with this sin.
And when he had said this, He fell asleep. Stephen died, but the Bible says he fell asleep. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep and was buried with his fathers And saw corruption. The term that is used for sleep is not used for soul sleep. but rather for the sleep of the body.
The main truth here is the fact that just as physically we sleep, and expect to awake.
So in the spiritual realm, When we die, We can be assured that one day our bodies will be awakened by the return of the Lord.
So the question of what happens to our bodies is not an issue here. Every time we pass a cemetery, we are reminded of what happens to a person's body when he dies. But what about the soul and the spirit of that person? What happens to to that part of who we are. In this, as in all the problems of a future existence, Human speculation is useless.
Only the Word of God can give us solid answers.
So in today's message, I want to talk with you about Two people. Two places. And two principles. that will help us understand. What happens to us?
when we die. The story is in Luke chapter 16. It's a rather famous story. And I want you to turn with me to that story that Jesus told about two people. He allows us to see these two men.
Beyond their life on this earth. and then to follow them into eternity. In Luke chapter 16, we have the story of the rich man. And Lazarus. This is not a parable.
This is an actual account. I know that because characters in parables are not given names. This is the only story Jesus ever told. where he gave a name to one of the people in the story. Here he calls the beggar by his name.
He calls him Lazarus. This was not the Lazarus who was the brother of Mary and Martha. This was a different man by the name of Lazarus. I believe Jesus is talking about some individual with whom he was well acquainted. He knew this Lazarus.
And though it is a story, it is a true-to-life story. And Jesus is the only one who could have looked beyond the grave and accurately followed these two men.
So, as we examine the story of the rich man and Lazarus, We're going to see these two men contrasted in life. in death, and finally in eternity. Let's begin. with two men contrasted in life. There could not be two more different people.
in the same context than these two men. Luke 16, verse 19 says, There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple. and finely and and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus. Full of sores.
who was late at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs. which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. In verse 25, We are reminded that the rich man during his lifetime enjoyed good things. He lived in luxury and comfort.
faring sumptuously every day, knowing the best that life had to offer. And the beggar Well, the beggar in contrast is very unimpressive. He is said to be both sick and hungry. His source could have been bound and dressed with the rich man's ointment, Instead, they were tidied up by the dogs. Every day, Lazarus was left at the gate of the rich man.
to beg for food. Hoping. Only for a few crumbs. to be thrown in his direction.
So there you have it. Two men contrasted in life. The rich man covered in purple and fine linen. Lazarus covered only with sores. The rich man faring sumptuously, Lazarus desiring to be fed with crumbs.
The rich man with many servants, Lazarus with only the dogs. to lick his sores. Two men contrasted in life. Now notice secondly how they are contrasted in death. In verse 22 we read, So it was that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom.
It seems from reading the story That Lazarus died first. And the rich men died after that. There is no reference to the burial of Lazarus, it only says that he died. It is possible that he was buried in the potter's field. More than likely, he was taken to the edge of the city and thrown on the dump because that's what they did with people that they considered unworthy.
And Jesus said, And the rich man also died and was buried.
Now it's not hard to imagine the lavish Burial of this rich man. I'm sure there were a lot of eulogies, and people told everyone how great he was and how rich he was. But here are two men in death. Note the contrast. One is cast away as the garbage of the earth.
and the other is lifted up and honored in a magnificent ceremony. And the curtain closes on scene two.
Now we are about to see something that we will never see anyplace else in the Bible.
So listen carefully. We have noticed two men contrasted in life. and two men contrasted in death. Here we will see two men contrasted in eternity. The story helps lay the groundwork for understanding.
What happens? when our loved ones die. Before Jesus' resurrection and ascension, The Bible teaches that there was an intermediate place. of the dead. where souls went after they died.
And it had two divisions. separated by a great gulf. Here is a picture of what it looked like. On one side was paradise, Abraham's bosom. A temporary heaven, the place for the righteous dead in the Old Testament, a place of comfort and love and companionship.
and then there was the great gulf fixed. It was a temporary hell. A place for the unrighteous dead until the end of time, a place of torment.
So Between these two places, the Bible says there was a great uncrossable space or a great gulf. Let's take a closer look at what happened to these two men in the story that Jesus told. First of all, Lazarus in eternity.
So it was that the beggar died and was carried by the angels To Abraham's bosom. First of all, please notice. that when the beggar died God sent His angels to care for him. I believe this is a wonderful picture of God's love. and care for his own.
When our believing loved ones die, they are taken to Jesus by the angels. I could speak much more of this, but that is not the important point of this story. Jesus says that when Lazarus died, he was carried by the angels. to Abraham's bosom. What is the meaning of Abraham's bosom?
Where is it? As we have seen the term Abraham's bosom is another name for paradise. anybody who was a believer in God went to this place called Paradise, to Abraham's bosom.
Now let's catch up with the rich man and see what's going on with him. In verse 23, Jesus said this about the rich man in eternity. And being in torments in Hades, The rich man lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off. And Lazarus is in his bosom.
So while Lazarus went to paradise on one side of this great chasm, The rich man went to Hades, the place of torment for the unrighteous dead. Notice how the Bible describes that place. It was a place of misery. Then the rich man cried out 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. The rich man is not lost because he is rich. any more than the poor man is saved because he is poor. There is obviously something going on beyond the story. than the wealth and poverty of these two men.
The rich man had rejected Christ and and the beggar had received him. Therefore, they ended up in two different places.
Now in many respects The rich man and Lazarus have changed places. Notice. The proud man of time has become the beggar in eternity. This one who in life denied the poor man a crumb from his table. is now begging the poor man to give him a drop of water on his finger.
The one who in life fared sumptuously every day would now be happy with just one drop of water. to cool his tongue. This is a place of misery. He is tormented in the flame. It is not hell, but it is an intermediate hell.
This is also a place of memory. Notice verse 25. But Abraham said, Son, remember That in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus' evil things. But now he is comforted, and you are tormented. Verse 25 indicates that Hades is a place of memory.
The rich man lifts up his eyes and he sees Lazarus and is conscious of what he has missed. One of the tortures of hell is to look across the fixed gulf and view the comforts and blessings of those who are in paradise. I believe that throughout eternity, the unbeliever will be constantly reminded. Of what he missed due to his rejection of God, I believe he will remember every single service he attended. where the gospel was presented and he rejected it.
The Bible tells us that hell or Hades is a place of memory. we will remember what happened. And then it is a place of mourning. This is an interesting thing. Then he said, I beg you, therefore, Father.
that you would send him to my father's house. For I have five brothers that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment. And Abraham said to him, They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. And he said, No, Father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.
But he said to him, If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded. though one rise from the dead. From his place of torment. The rich man pleaded with Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers so that they wouldn't end up where he was. If someone comes back from the dead, he said, surely they will listen to that person.
But Abraham responded with a sobering truth. one that we should all take note of today. He said they already have Moses and the prophets. if they won't hear Moses and the prophets. Neither will they respond if someone comes back from the dead.
Some of you here who have never accepted Christ. you're looking for some supernatural thing to happen.
So that you will believe. And the Bible says, if you won't believe, Moses and the prophets, if you won't believe what the Bible says, you're not going to believe if someone drops out of the sky. With a message. Because Moses and the prophets are the most important messengers about this that you will ever find. They won't listen to God's word, they won't be persuaded, even if someone rises from the dead.
In other words, The problem here was not a lack of evidence. The problem was hardness of heart. God's message has been declared and His truth is available. and still many refused to believe. Miracles catch attention.
But only faith in God's Word brings salvation. The scriptures are clear. Will we listen? while there's still time.
So the representative man Of the lost who are now in Hades is the rich man of Luke chapter 16. He was alive, he was conscious. He was in the full exercise of his faculties. His memory. And he was in torment.
Two people and two places.
Now let's directly and definitively answer the question. What happens to people when they die? The Bible says they go to one of two places. The unsaved go to an intermediate hell called Hades.
So far as the unsaved dead are concerned, they continue in this place. The intermediate hell until a particular time in the future, which the Bible tells us about. Here's what we need to understand. At the judgment of the great white throne in the future, Hades will give up its inhabitants and they will be sent into the lake of fire. Revelation 20 tells us that.
Listen to these words. and the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one according to his works. Then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire, This is the second death. What the Bible says is. that those who die Go to this place if they're not believers.
They remain in this place until that point in the future after the great white throne judgment. And then Hades is emptied out of all of its inhabitants and they go into the lake of fire, which is eternal hell. What about the saved?
Well, the Bible says. The angels took Lazarus to the bosom of Abraham. As we have seen, every believer who died in the Old Testament went to paradise. Also called Abraham's bosom. This was a place of comfort and peace.
But it wasn't yet heaven. Then something dramatic happened. that you may have never noticed before as you've read your Bibles. It happened on what some people refer to as Holy Saturday. the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
This is often overlooked, but let me tell you about it. Jesus didn't just lie quietly in the tomb on Saturday after he was crucified. His body rested in the grave. but his spirit went to this intermediate place I have been telling you about. The realm of the dead we have been talking about.
He went there not to suffer. but to declare victory. As the eternal Son of God, he stepped into the unseen world and announced the triumph of the cross. We know this because of what Jesus said to the repentant thief. Remember what he said?
He said, Today. You will be with me where? Not in heaven. But in paradise. Where is paradise?
It's the temporary place for believers at that particular time. That paradise was the place of the righteous dead. But something happened on that Saturday. Jesus went there. 1 Peter 3 tells us, He proclaimed to the spirits in prison.
Ephesians 4 says, He descended into the lower parts of the earth. And in Revelation 1.18, Jesus declares, I have the keys of death. and Hades. What did Jesus do in the place of the dead? He preached victory to the fallen angels.
He went to one part of it where the unbelieving dead were and he preached the victory of the cross. And then he preached to the Old Testament saints who had long awaited for the Messiah. And then in triumph, we are told, he led captivity captive. What does that mean? He took paradise out of that intermediate place and transferred it to heaven.
So, where is paradise today, and where are your loved ones if they are believers? They are in heaven, they are in paradise. How do we know this?
Well, listen to this. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians. and mentioned paradise and helps us understand this. He said, I know a man in Christ who was caught up to the third heaven. We learned earlier that's where God is.
Caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words. By the time Paul wrote this, paradise was no longer the intermediate place, but had been transferred to heaven.
So when your believers die, they go to paradise, which is in the third heaven. Literally, they go to heaven. Did you catch that? Paradise is now in heaven. Because Jesus moved it there.
So here is the answer to the question, where are they now? If your loved ones were followers of Christ, I can tell you for sure where they are. Their bodies are in the grave waiting for the day of resurrection. and they themselves, their souls, their spirits, in paradise. A literal place that is located in the third heaven.
So, when a believer dies, his body goes in the grave, and his soul and spirit go to paradise to be with Christ.
Well, that's just part of the story and the rest of it tomorrow here on Turning Point. We do not usually have enough time to get through one of these lessons without having to share the lesson on two days, and we will do that tomorrow as we get to the end of the week. We're going to talk about what happens to children. Will children be in heaven? How do they get to heaven if they're not old enough to understand the gospel?
What does the Bible say about that? We are really promoting the best we can this brand new book called The Promise of Heaven. 31 chapters to help you understand. Your eternal home. see with fresh eyes how heaven has Come near and The format of Darkness does not stand a chance.
Heaven is already won. If you're a Christian, you have heaven on your list. It's waiting for you and the appropriate moment you will experience it. and you can learn all about it when you send your gift and ask for the book. during the month of October.
Thank you for your involvement with us in the propagation of the gospel. For more information on Dr. Jeremiah's series, The Promise of Heaven. Please visit our website where we also offer two free ways to help you stay connected. our monthly Turning Points magazine, and our daily email devotional.
Sign up today at DavidJeremiah.org slash radio. That's DavidJeremiah.org slash radio. or call us at 800-947-1993. Ask for your copy of David's encouraging new book, The Promise of Heaven. 31 Reasons to Get Excited About Your Eternal Home.
It's yours for a gift of any amount. You can also purchase the Jeremiah Study Bible in the English Standard, New International and New King James Versions, complete with notes and articles from Dr. Jeremiah's decades of study. Get all the details when you visit our website davidjeremiah.org slash radio. This is David Michael Jeremiah.
Join us tomorrow as we continue the series The Promise of Heaven on Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah.
