Text-
“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes
judgment”(Hebrews 9:27ESV)
Is
Heaven Real? Is Hell Real? Is there Life after Death? Is there
Eternal life? What delivers us from the fear of death?
A wise man once told me that mankind needs to ask
questions because without questions we would not have answers and without
answers we would not have purpose. So let us consider to explore the above
question in the light of God’s eternal principles. Birth and death are the
inseparable confines of all life on earth. Death is a great discloser of what
is in a man, our life dreams for the perfect world and endless search for
truth, death achieves the Ideal.
Now, no man would
dispute that all men die sooner or later. We also know that the Bible
plainly speaks of a great day of judgment coming upon the world. These things I
anticipate to explore in this study. So let’s examine what the context of the text
itself says. From the text you will agree that the writer of Hebrews is
discussing an altogether different matter than the view so commonly expressed. Our verse says
here that "it is appointed unto men once to die," We may observe few
important facts: First death is in all cases the result of an "intelligent
appointment”.
Second that appointment
is for “the cause, or the reason” that is sin, in other words Physical death is
a consequence of sin. Bible says “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your
food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you
are and to dust you will return."
(Genesis 3:19.)
Third the universality
of death proves the universality of sin. “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— (Rom 5:12 NASB) Sin has its
payday, and its wages is death.
Bible declares that “For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
This explains the whole of it. C. H. Spurgeon said of this verse, “It is a
Christian proverb, a golden sentence, a divine statement of truth worthy to be
written across the sky.”
The wages of sin is death, one of the
saddest, but profound truths of the world. Sin is a master of his servant and
pays wages which is “Death” Temporal, spiritual, and eternal is the due wages
of sin.
But eternal life is the gift of God - The difference
is remarkable. Evil works merit the reward they receive: good works do not. The
former demand wages: the latter accept a free gift. But the gift of
God is eternal life.
God gives to those who turn from sin, life eternal. It
is his gracious gift, conditioned on refusing to be the servant of sin longer,
and is through Jesus Christ our Lord. The gift of God is eternal life. And this
gift is through Jesus Christ our Lord. Christ purchased it, prepared it,
prepares us for it, preserves us to it; he is the All in all in our salvation.
All physical death ends in the resurrection of the
body. See Job 19:25, "1Cor 15:52".Physical death affects the body
only, and is neither cessation of life nor of reincarnation. Physical death has
for the believer a peculiar qualification. It is called "to be at home
with the Lord," because his body may be "raised in glory" at any
moment. The soul and spirit live, independently of the death of the body, which
is described as a "tabernacle" (tent), in which the "I" dwells,
and which may be put off. At the believer's death he is "clothed
upon" with a "house from heaven" pending the resurrection of the
"earthly house," and is at once "with the Lord." See the
following reference for your study - 2Cor 5:1-8 Phil 1:23 Luke 23:43,1Cor
15:42-44 2Pet 1:13-15. Phil 3:20, 21, 1Th 4:14-18
Fourth facts is death
occurs to all "It is appointed unto men" - to the all human race. It
is not an appointment for one, but for all. The Fifth fact is “judgment”
immediately after death when they pass into the eternal world, when their
destiny will be made known to them. This seems
to be necessarily implied in the supposition that they will continue to live,
and to be happy or miserable after death. Good
news for the believer's death he is "clothed upon" with a
"house from heaven" pending the resurrection of the
"earthly house," and is at once "with the Lord."
Dear friends, the Bible
declares that one day you will die and then stand face to face with God to be
judged. "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, BUT AFTER THIS THE
JUDGMENT;. Nothing in your entire life could be more important than to be ready
for that day, for it will determine whether you will spend eternity in heaven
or hell.
In the Bible, Jesus says more than anyone else about
Hell (Matthew 10:28; 13:40-42; Mark9:43-44). He refers to it as a literal
place and describes it in graphic terms - including raging fires and the worm
(soul) that doesn't die. Christ says the unsaved 'will be thrown outside,
into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth' (Matthew
8:12). And these shall go away into eternal punishment but the righteous in to
eternal life' (Mathew 25:46). Thus if Heaven will be consciously
experienced forever, Hell must be consciously experienced forever. The
biblical teaching on both destinations stands together.
Every single day, some
80,000 people die on Earth. In another 90 years, nearly everyone who's on Earth
today will be gone. It can happen at any time, to anywhere, to anybody. Some
people logically seek this and ask, has science explained life after death?
I recently learn a life
story of a neurosurgeon, for years he had dismissed near-death revelations of
God and heaven as explainable by the hard wiring of the human brain. He was,
after all, a neurosurgeon with sophisticated medical training. But then in 2008
Dr. Eben Alexander contracted bacterial meningitis. The deadly infection soaked
his brain and sent him into a deep coma. While his body lay in coma, Alexander
journeyed beyond this world and encountered an angelic being who guided him
into the deepest realms of super-physical existence. There he met, and spoke
with, the Divine source of the universe itself. Alexander’s story is not a castle
in the sky. Before he underwent his journey, he could not reconcile his
knowledge of neuroscience with any belief in heaven, God, or the soul. Today
Alexander is a doctor who believes that true health can be achieved only when
we realize that God and the soul are real and that death is not the end of
personal existence but only a transition. Dr. Alexander, 58, was so changed by
the experience that he felt compelled to write a book, “Proof of Heaven,” is
atop the New York Times bestseller’s list, which recounts his experience. He
knew full well that he was gambling his professional reputation by writing it,
but his hope is that his expertise will be enough to persuade skeptics,
particularly medical skeptics, as he used to be, to open their minds to an
afterworld. Alexander’s recovery is a medical miracle. But the real miracle of
his story lies elsewhere.
There
seems to be an increasing number of people who claim they have died and
returned to life. Most describe death as being the most wonderful and glorious
thing they have ever experienced. They vividly describe some sort of ecstatic
feeling along with all kinds of visions of beautiful bright lights. The Bible records several instances
where people died and were miraculously raised again from the dead. There are only two basic reasons why a
person would not fear death. Either he does not understand the true nature of
death, or he has convinced and fully believed in the saving knowledge of Christ
who is the "resurrection
and the life."(John 11: 25)
The
Bible speaks of physical death, spiritual death and eternal death. All men die
physically because they are the sons of Adam. All men are born spiritually dead
because of Adam's original sin. If physical death overtakes a man while he is
still in the condition of spiritual death, he will experience eternal death
which the Bible describes as eternal punishment, separated from the presence of
God. The moment a person dies physically, the soul departs the body and goes
either into the presence of God or into hell to await the final Day of Judgment.
That is the reason why the Bible tells us "...it is appointed for men
to die once and after this comes the judgment." If a person is not prepared for the
final Day of Judgment, they have every reason to fear death. A right and proper
fear of death is a great motivation to make sure one is rightly related to God
through Jesus Christ the only mediator.
Dear friends the most vital thing you can do for your
friends and family is to warn them about the road that leads to destruction and
tell them about the road that leads to life.
God loves us enough to tell us the truth - there are two eternal
destinations, not one, and we must choose the right path if we are to go to
Heaven. All roads do not lead to Heaven. Only one does: Jesus
Christ. He said, 'No one comes to the Father except through me' (John
14:6). All other roads lead to Hell. Jesus asks an eternal question
in Mark 8:36-37: 'What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet
forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?'
To be continued…………
