SOLID INFORMATION ABOUT THE AFTERLIFE

LUKE 16:19-17:1                         

 

Pastor Rick Jackson

 

I. THE DEAD DON’T COMMUNICATE WITH THE LIVING [v. 27-31]

 

1. The Strange Case of King Saul (the Exception to the Rule) [1 Sam. 28:8ff]

 

2. The Strict Case Against Spiritualists [Dt. 18:9-14]

 

When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer , or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer . For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.

 

3. The Strong Case of Bible Sufficiency [Dt. 18:15-22, Lk. 16:17, 29, 31]

 

The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

 

II. THE PLACE OF TORMENT [v. 22-26]

 

1. A Temporary Torment  [Rev. 20:13]

 

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

 

2. A Terrifying Judgment [Rev. 20:11-13]

 

And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

 

3. An Eternal Torment [Rev. 19:19-20; 20:6-10, 14-15]

 

III. THE PLACE OF COMFORT [Lk. 16:22-25]

 

1. With the Living Saints (NOT the grave as we shall clearly see)

 

[Lk. 16:22-25; Gen. 25:8, 35:29, 49:29-33; Num. 27:13; 2 Kings 2:1]

 

-Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.

- And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

- And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth. And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

- And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered.

-And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.

 

2. With the Angels [Luke 15:7,10, 16:22, Ps. 78:23-25]

 

Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven. Man did eat angels food: he sent them meat to the full.

 

3. With the Lord [Gen. 5:24, 2 Corinthians 5:6-8]

 

- And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

-Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.