Title: Ang Buhay Pagkatapos ng Buhay

Text: Luke 16:19-31

Introduction:

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INDIVIDUAL ESCHATOLOGY

("Let us consider this settled," said Calvin, "that no one has made progress in the school of
Christ who does not joyfully await the day of death and final resurrection" [Institutes, 3.10.5].)

Biblical eschatology is a vast field of study encompassing far more than merely "end-time"
events, or what we customarily speak of as "prophecy". Also included within the discipline of
eschatology is the destiny of the individual, most often conceived as entailing 4 phases or
experiences: (1) physical death, (2) the intermediate state, (3) the bodily resurrection, and (4) the
judgment of the believer,

Individual eschatology refers to events which occur to each individual as he or she dies
(Erickson).

A. DEATH IS CERTAIN
1. Death is real and certain (Hebrews 9:27; 1 Cor. 15:54-56; 2 Cor. 4:11-12)
2. Death has three kinds.
a. Physical death
 This is the cessation of life in the physical, mortal body. (Matt. 10:28; Luke 12:4-
5; 14:26)
 This is the separation of the soul (or spirit) from the body. (Ecc. 12:7; James 2:26)
 This is not extinction but transition to another state of existence.
 This is not natural to man.
- Physical death came through one man (1 Cor. 15:21).
- Physical death is one of the evils overcame by the resurrection of Christ.
- Physical death is pictured as an enemy (1 Cor. 15:26)
- Physical death is one of God’s expression of His disapproval of sin (Gen 6:13;
9:6; Gen 19; Num. 16)
b. Spiritual death
 This is the separation of the person from God because of sin. (Eph. 2:1-2)
c. Eternal death
 This is the final state of separation from God-one is lost for all eternity in his or
her sinful condition.
 This is being referred to as the “second death” (Rev. 21:8)
 This is a state of eternal punishment. (Rev. 21:8)
 This will not be experienced by the believers of the Lord Jesus Christ (Rev. 20:6).
B. INTERMEDIATE STATE (THE MOMENT AFTER WE DIE)
Intermediate state refers to the condition of human between their death and the resurrection.
This is simply the state of people's existence after physical death.

1. The Difficulty of the Doctrine

a. There is relatively scarcity of biblical references to the intermediate state.
b. There are many theological controversies that have developed around the doctrine of
the intermediate state.
2. Different Views on the Intermediate State
a. Re-incarnation
Belief from Hinduism
Nangaling sa prinsipyo ng Karma
b. Soul Sleep
 This believes that the soul during the intermediate state is in the state of
unconsciousness.
 This has taken literally the word “sleep” or “asleep” (Acts 7:60; Acts 13:36; 1
Cor. 15:6, 18, 20, 51; 1 Thess. 4:13-15)
- What, then, does the NT mean when it refers to death as "sleep"?
See Mt. 27:52; Luke 8:52; Jn. 11:11-13; Acts 7:60; 1 Cor. 7:39;
11:30; 15:6,18; 1 Thess. 4:13.
- (1) Sleep implies rest from earthly toil, the cessation of activity in
this realm. Thus one is asleep to this world, but alive and "awake"
in the next.
- (2)The imagery of sleep is used to describe death because the body
does sleep, in a manner of speaking. I.e., it is at rest, without
activity or life. But nowhere does the Bible say that the "soul" or
"spirit" sleeps or is unconscious.

- (3) Sleep is used to illustrate that the pain of death as a penalty for
sin is gone for the Christian. Death for the believer, rather than
something to be feared, is like dozing off for a nap.

- See esp. Lk. 16:19-31; Mt. 17:1-8; Mark 12:26-27; Rev. 6:9-11.

 Problems with this view:

- It failed to see the euphemistic use of term “sleep” like in John 11:11 which
was explained in v. 14.
- There are several passages that tell of personal conscious existence of the soul
in the intermediate state (Luke 16:19-31; 23:43, 46; Acts 7:59).
c. Purgatory
 Purgatory is a state of temporary punishment for those who, departing this life in
the grace of God, are not entirely free from venial sins or have not yet fully paid
the satisfaction due to their transgressions. Since nothing defiled can enter
heaven, they need to be purged first before coming into the very presence of God.
 This is the position of the Roman Catholic Church.
  This is where those who are in the state of grace but not yet spiritually perfect go
temporarily. For the Roman Catholic dogma, those who have died in the state of
wickedness will go directly to hell for eternal punishment. On the other hand,
those are in a perfect state of grace and penitence, completely purified at the time
of death, go directly and immediately to heaven.
 The time of cleansing to be completed is variable. It depends on the masses,
prayers, and good works which will be done for the dead since those souls could
not anymore do some good works for themselves.
 This doctrine is based upon tradition and Scripture. Some Church Fathers seem to
support this view. It appeals also to the references of view Church Fathers who
gave a seeming comment on the matter. Its clear statement can be found in the
Decree of Union adopted at the Council of Florence in 14:39 and was reiterated in
the Council of Trent. The primary text for this doctrine is 2 Maccabees 12:43-45.
In the New Testament, it uses Matt. 12:32 saying that if there is a sin that could
not be forgiven in this age then there is a sin that could be forgiven in the age to
come.
 Problems with this view:
- The major text in in Apocrypha which are not accepted by the Protestants as
canonical.
- The use of Matthew 12:32 is rather forced.
- The doctrine of purgatory suggests salvation by works.
- It is logical as it seems by not biblical.
d. Instantaneous Resurrection (Instant Reclothing)
 This believes that immediately upon death, the believer receives the resurrection
body that has been promised.
 2 Corinthians 5 is the main supporting passage where Paul mentioned that
believers will be unclothed to be further clothed.
 This believes that what Paul was saying in later passages of his Epistles talk about
revelation and not of resurrection (Rom. 8:19; Col. 3:4). So when Paul wrote 2
Corinthians, he no longer believes in an intermediate state.
 Problems with this view:
- Paul did not change his theology otherwise the inspiration of his writings will
be questioned.
- Paul ties the transformation of our bodies to a future resurrection
accompanying the second advent (ex. Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Thess. 4:16-17).
- Paul also makes much of the second coming as an occasion of deliverance and
glorification (ex. Rom. 2:3-16; 1 Cor. 4:5; 2 Thess. 1:5-2:12; 2 Tim. 4:8)
- The Lord Jesus Christ, himself, pointed out the future resurrection (John 5:25-
29)
e. Conscious, Disembodied State
 Believers are conscious but disembodied in paradise (Luke 16:19-31; 23:43).
Others Scriptures talks about being in the presence of the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8; Phil.
1:23) and this presence of the Lord would seem nothing other than heaven.
For believers, the picture is similar in once sense, in that there is conscious,
ongoing existence that takes place between the time of one's physical death and
the second coming of Christ. But, the quality of life is dramatically different. The
picture we have in the New Testament of what believers anticipate being with
Christ is so glorious and wonderful. Listen to these passages. For example, in
Luke 23:42-‐43, Jesus said to the thief on the cross who had trusted in him, "Today you
will be with me in paradise." Even using the word "paradise" indicates this place of joy and
blessing where he will immediately be with the Lord. In Philippians 1:21-‐23, Paul sort of
debates whether he should die or whether he should remain living for the benefit
of the believers. He says this in verse 21, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain, but if I
am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me, and I don't 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 yet to remain on in the flesh is necessary for your sake." Here it is clear that,
when he says, "depart and be with Christ," he means his physical death, because in the next
verse he says, "yet to remain on in the flesh." So Paul understands that, what it means to die as a
believer is this joyous reality of departing and being with Christ, for that is very much better.
This is confirmed in 2 Corinthians 5:6-‐8, where Paul says, "Therefore, being always of good
courage, and knowing that while we were at home in the body," that is, living physically in our
physical bodies, "we are absent from the Lord-‐-‐for we walk by faith and not by sight-‐-‐we are
of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body," that is, die physically; our
bodies go to a grave, "and to be at home with the Lord." So the prospect for believers is a very
joyous one. At the point of physical death we are with the Lord and enjoying the pleasures of his
presence and company. The New Testament clearly places our ultimate hope, not at the point of
our physical death but at the point of the return of Christ and our resurrection to the fullness of
what God has for us. Let me put it this way; as wonderful as the intermediate state is for
believers, we are with the Lord, it still falls short of the fullness that God has for us when we
are given glorified bodies and restored fully into the image of the risen Christ to live with him
forever. Our real hope is the blessed coming of the Lord when the resurrection takes place. The
intermediate state is simply a step in that direction, not the fullness of what God has for us.

 Unbelievers are also conscious and disembodied but in Hades. Later with the
resurrection bodies, they will be tormented eternally in Gehenna (Mark 9:43-48;
Matthew 10:28; Rev. 20)
A. Unbelievers
Essentially, unbelievers can anticipate, whether they know it or not, that they may be
experiencing, upon their physical death, torment and punishment as they await the final
judgment of Christ. There are a couple of passages that indicate this. 2 Peter 2:9 is the first one
we will look at.Peter says here, "The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation
and to keep the unrighteous under punishment awaiting the day of judgment." Here is a very
clear statement that those who are unrighteous are not in some kind of unconscious experience,
soul sleep or something like this, but rather they are consciously experiencing punishment
awaiting this day of judgment. The term that is used there, that they are under punishment, is a
present passive participle, indicating the ongoing nature of this punishment the are enduring.
Another passage that I believe is relevant to this is Luke 16, where Jesus tells the story of the rich
man and Lazarus. You may recall this. Beginning at verse 19, the rich man enjoyed many
benefits in this life.The poor man, Lazarus, used to lay at his gate covered with sores and long to
be fed with crumbs that came from the rich man's table. But now, they both have died, and the
rich man is in Hades, it says, while the poor man is at Abraham's bosom. We read this concerning
the rich man, in verse 24,"He cried out and said 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send
Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger into water and cool off my tongue, for I am in
agony in this flame.
But Abraham said to him, 'Child,remember that during your life you received good things, and
Lazarus bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides this,
between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here
to you will not be able to do so, and that none may cross from there to us.' And then the rich man
in Hades said, 'Then I beg you, father, send someone to my father's household, for I have five
brothers, in order that he may warn them, so that they will not come to this place of torment.'
And Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.'" A couple of things
about this are interesting. It is very clear that this is happening in the intermediate state. This is
not a statement of the final judgment. This is not hell or the lake of fire, as we read about it
in Revelation 20. Rather, this is a time period between this man's physical death and the coming
of Christ. How do we know that? Because he appeals for someone to go and speak to his
brothers who are still out there. Other people have not died yet. This is prior to the end of the age
Another interesting thing is that this man is conscious and experiencing torment during this
time. He wishes for just a drop of water to be brought to him, but nothing of the sort can be done;
there is this chasm fixed. Finally, notice that, because this chasm is fixed, there is no way in
which one could transfer from one side to the other. People who are in this horrible place of
torment cannot move to the place of Abraham's bosom of blessing nor the other way around. So,
it seems to be clear from this that our ultimate destiny is secured at the point of our physical
death; there is no point after our physical death in which it can be changed. Hebrews 9:27
confirms this when it says, "It is appointed unto men once to die and after this comes the
judgment."

In summary: the intermediate state for the Christian is immediate transition upon death into the
presence of Christ during which time we experience holiness (no longer being at war with the
flesh, although final glorification awaits the resurrection), happiness, a heightened sense of
consciousness, and knowledge of Christ in its fullest. For the non-Christians a heightened sense
of consciousness, but one of torment, agony, irreversible separation from Christ (Luke 16).

Conclusion:

1 Corinthians 15:12-49

The Death of Death in the Death of Christ

Dr. Kevin DeYoung “We are all natural evangelist for the things we love the most, and when we
love the Lord Jesus, we talk about Him.

People need Christ!

This November 1…