ROOTS: End Times + Redemption
This week, we’re looking into the last part of our ROOTS series, seeking to answer this question: What happens when we die?
“We believe in the bodily resurrection of the saved and lost, eternal conscious existence of all men, either in Heaven or Hell, and in divine judgments, rewards and punishment. ”
We Believe… In the eternal conscious existence of all men, either in Heaven or Hell.
In the Bible, Jesus spoke more about Hell than anyone else did. He referred to Hell as a real place described it in graphic terms. In Luke 16, Jesus illustrates what happens to our body and soul between death and resurrection.
We retain our individual identities and consciousness.
Lazarus was still Lazarus; the rich man was still the rich man. Even without bodies, they are still recognizable, they maintained their own faculties – they could see, hear, feel, recognize, remember, speak, reflect, plead, suffer. In fact, the only thing the rich man in Hell could not do was get out; he was trapped there forever.
We still relate like we do have bodies.
Our bodies are an important part of us. This state, this time in between our earthly death and the resurrection, is temporary. The rich man refers to his tongue, though he doesn’t have one. He refers to Lazarus’s finger, even though Lazarus’s finger is in a grave on earth.
Once we die, our eternal destinies are fixed and unchangeable.
Death marks the final separation. After death, there is no longer any opportunity to change your condition. Eternal destinies cannot be changed.
We Believe… In the bodily resurrection of the saved and the lost.
At some future date, after Jesus returns to earth, he tells us everyone who has ever lived and died will be reunited with their bodies in resurrection.
“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out--those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned,” (John 5:28-29, NIV).
We Believe… In divine judgements, rewards, and punishment.
The Great “White Throne” Judgment for Unbelievers
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books… If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15, NIV).
In The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis said of Hell, “There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this, if it lay in my power. But it has the full support of Scripture and, specifically, of [Jesus’s] own words; it has always been held by Christendom; and it has the support of reason.”
The “Bema” Seat Judgment for Believers
“You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat,” (Romans 14:10, NIV).
When our bodies die, our souls continue in Heaven or Hell.
Heaven is a place of bliss. Hell is a place of suffering.
Heaven is a place God’s presence dwells. Hell is a place utterly separated from God’s presence.
We are made in God’s image; therefore, we are eternal beings with an eternal purpose and our daily choices in this tiny little life on earth are to be guided by eternal truths. When we face God, our destiny will be determined by if the blood He shed on the cross when he died now covers us. When we face God, our destiny will be determined by if we have believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He came and lived a perfect life in the face of all the trials and turmoil of an earthly body tempted in the same ways we were, and that He died and was raised again on the third day.
And for those of us who have believed on Him, and those who are yet to come, we have the resurrection, eternity-long promise of a new Heaven, a new earth; of paradise regained, of Eden revisited. Jesus described it as the “renewal of all things” in Matthew 19. This is our HOPE!
So, considering these truths, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful,” Hebrews 10:23. And He will continue to renew our strength daily as we await our eternal resurrection, strengthening us in the power of His Spirit to withstand all trial and turmoil as he did, for at the end, we shall inherit this long-awaited reward of the renewal of all things. Praise be to God.
