1 The Reality of Heaven and Hell

Overview

The Reality of Heaven and Hell

Lent reminds us of our mortality—"remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return"—and Easter declares the eternal life won for us in Christ. Between those two truths stands a sobering reality every person must reckon with: every human being is an eternal being with an eternal destiny. The prophet Daniel makes this plain: "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" Daniel 12:1-2. Scripture, not Dante or popular imagination, is our authoritative source on these matters. The Bible is the basis of our doctrine—the catechism flows from Scripture, not the other way around.

Two Destinations, Not Many

Our culture offers several substitutes for biblical truth. Some imagine a moral scale where good deeds outweigh bad—but Scripture insists "none is righteous, no, not one." We are made righteous only by the alien righteousness of Christ received through faith. Others embrace "justification by death," assuming that dying alone ushers everyone into a "better place." Still others teach universalism, that God will eventually welcome all regardless of belief. None of these positions can be drawn from Scripture without twisting it. Equally unbiblical is "soul sleep"—the notion that the dead are unconscious until the resurrection. When a believer dies, the spirit is immediately in the presence of God; the body rests in the ground (often called "sleep" in Scripture) until reunited with the soul in the resurrection of the dead, whether the body was buried or cremated.

Heaven and Hell as Presence and Absence

Scripture does use directional language—Jesus ascended "up" into heaven Acts 1:9, and Satan is "thrown down" Revelation 12:10; Elijah was taken "up" 2 Kings 2:1. The Hebrew word for heaven can mean sky Genesis 1:1, the realm of sun, moon, and stars Genesis 1:14, or paradise itself—what Paul calls the "third heaven" 2 Corinthians 12:1-4. But the deeper biblical emphasis is not geography but presence. Heaven is being with God forever, beholding and adoring Him. Hell is the eternal absence of His gracious presence.

Jesus spoke of hell more than anyone else in Scripture, warning of bodies "thrown into hell" Matthew 5:30, of being sent away from His presence Matthew 7:23, of "outer darkness" with weeping and gnashing of teeth Matthew 8:12, and of "eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" Matthew 25:41. Paul describes "the punishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord" 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9. "Eternal destruction" is not annihilation; we are eternal beings whose spirits are not extinguished.

The Great Exchange and Our Calling

On the cross, Jesus suffered not only physical death but the very torment of hell in our place. Luther called it the great exchange: He took our sin; we receive His righteousness. Because of this, those brought to faith and claimed in baptism need never fear separation from God. This shapes how we see others. When we take heaven and hell seriously, we look differently at the unchurched neighbor, the unbelieving family member, the stranger who has never heard. We are not in charge of changing hearts—God alone does that, where and when it pleases Him. Our calling is simply to cast the seed faithfully and trust the Lord of the harvest. As biblical illiteracy grows, false teaching multiplies; continual study in the Word equips us to discern truth from error and to bear faithful witness to the hope that is ours in Christ.

Transcript

Well, I look forward to beginning this seven-week walk with you on this subject, understanding 0s

heaven and hell. 5s

And during the summer months is actually when I plan out the entire teaching cycle for 7s

the year. 15s

And so I wanted to place this right during the time of Lent and right during the time of 16s

Easter. 24s

As you know, on Ash Wednesday, we have the ash that is put upon our head. 25s

It's made in the sign of the cross. 33s

And the words are shared. 36s

Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return. 37s

That reminds us, of course, of the very scriptural language where it comes from and it reminds 40s

us of our own mortality. 45s

We are constantly reminded of our mortality. 48s

Are we not? 52s

Especially, I think, as we get older. 53s

As the birthday comes once again and you say, my, didn't I just have a birthday? 56s

And the tiniest of children longing and counting the days for their birthday. 63s

And we now start to look at it and say, really, another one. 69s

All ready? 74s

So we're constantly reminded. 75s

Are we not of our mortality? 77s

And so I placed it here during this time of Lent, which is a special time of reflection 81s

and a special time of repentance in the life of the church. 86s

And of course, as we move that into Easter and we celebrate the reality of life eternal 89s

for those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, I think it's a good time to have this class 96s

together. 105s

I think of the poem, which is a rather large poem, long from the poet Dante. 106s

And you may recall, if you've read that, that the Virgil is giving Dante a tour of hell. 115s

And over the entrance of hell are written these words. 123s

Abandon all hope, all you who enter here. 127s

Abandon all hope, all you who enter here. 133s

That poem is supposed to, even though it's a literary classic, it's supposed to give 141s

us an understanding of the reality of hell itself. 147s

But it's not the true knowledge with regard to heaven and hell. 151s

The true source of what heaven and hell is, what it will be like, what it is now comes 155s

from the Holy Scriptures. 164s

I constantly use with the seventh and eighth grade confirmation class. 167s

We start off from the very first class and I hold up a copy of Luther's small catechism 173s

and I also hold up a copy of the Bible. 178s

And I say this. 181s

Now you tell me, does the catechism come from the Bible or is the Bible that which forms 182s

the catechism? 193s

So what is primary? 194s

In other words, is the catechism primary over the Scriptures or is the Scriptures primary 197s

over the catechism? 202s

Well, the answer is apparent, right? 204s

The catechism is that which comes from the Holy Scriptures. 206s

The whole class, it's called the Bible is the basis, the Bible is the basis of our doctrine. 213s

It's the basis of what it is that we believe. 218s

And so when we come to the subject of heaven and hell and we want to understand that, we 221s

don't turn to Dante, right? 227s

We turn to Scripture. 230s

We don't turn to popular notions of heaven and hell. 232s

We turn to Scripture to see what Scripture has to say about the subject. 237s

So we're going to look at several different topics during these weeks. 245s

We're going to take a look at what happens when we die. 249s

What happens when we die? 253s

We're going to take a look at the subject of the justice of God and the fate of the wicked, 255s

the justice of God and the fate of the wicked. 261s

We're going to have a class called the mercy of God and the fate of the redeemed, the mercy 264s

of God and the fate of the redeemed. 269s

We're going to take a look at understanding the biblical concept of the new heavens and 271s

the new earth. 277s

We'll have a class that's entitled, what will heaven be like? 278s

And we'll conclude with the perfect piece of the age to come. 282s

So we really look forward, especially during these seasons of length and then going into 287s

Easter, exploring this topic with you. 291s

Let's begin in the Old Testament in the book of Daniel, the prophet Daniel, the 12th chapter. 294s

Now a good way to find Daniel is to open up your Scriptures right to the middle and it's 300s

going to land you on one of the Psalms and then work your way toward the New Testament. 305s

So you'll hit Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Son of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, 310s

Lamentations, Ezekiel, and then you'll hit Daniel. 317s

Daniel chapter 12, verse 1. 325s

Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Son of Solomon. 339s

At that time, Michael, verse 1, the great prince, the protector of your people, 346s

Shalorize. 351s

There shall be a time of anguish such as has never occurred since nations first came into being. 353s

But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. 361s

Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake some to everlasting life, 369s

and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Let's look at verse 2 again. 376s

Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake some to everlasting life, 383s

and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 389s

There are the possibility of two destinations, two destinations when there is the resurrection 397s

of the dead. One is to everlasting life, and the other is to everlasting contempt. We are all 405s

eternal beings. Every person is an eternal being. We all have eternal destiny, and it is in 414s

one of two places. Heaven or hell. Now I just want to touch, we're going to get at this later on, 422s

but I just want to touch less, there be confusion on this. When one reads here in verse 2, many of 430s

those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame 436s

and everlasting contempt, there is a belief that's called soul sleep, which means those that offer 442s

this perspective say that when you die, you are asleep until Christ comes again, and then there is 450s

the resurrection. So there isn't a conscious reality with regard to soul sleep in terms of 462s

either paradise or Haiti. There's none of that. You are just to sleep until the Lord comes again. 468s

Soul sleep is not scriptural. Soul sleep is not scriptural. When you die, your spirit separates 476s

from the body, and your spirit either goes to paradise or Haiti. You are then reunited with the 486s

body at the resurrection of the dead. So when you die, as we've talked about this in the past, 495s

when you die, it is if you are here right now, and immediately you are in the very presence of 501s

God, it's a conscious reality, you know where you are. It's not like you're traveling a long time, 509s

through highways and byways to get to heaven. No, you're here or you're there on that. So if 518s

you ever hear the concept of soul sleep, flag that. It is not a scripturally supported position. 527s

What's being referred to here is the understanding of the body. The body goes into the ground. 536s

Another word for death in the scripture is sleep, right? So the body goes into the ground. 544s

It decays, so it matters not whether or not you are buried or creamed made it, has absolutely no 551s

bearing on anything. The body goes, it decays, then the ashes are raised, or the body is raised 558s

when Christ comes again. And that glorified body, your new body then joins your spirit, joins your 567s

soul in heaven to live body and soul forever. But we're going to get to that in a couple of weeks. 575s

What Daniel tells us and what we see elsewhere in scripture, there's only, there's two destinations. 586s

There's everlasting life or there's everlasting contempt. Reflect on the various ideas in our culture 591s

with regard to who goes to heaven with me. Our culture will say, well, the good people 601s

go to heaven and the bad people go to hell. So culture will say, if you're good enough, 614s

then you earn your way into heaven. And if you're bad, you don't make it. In many respects, 624s

it's the belief of the Egyptians of ancient day, who it was literally a scale. And as long as 633s

your good things outweigh your bad things, so in the end, as long as it tipped to the good in your 641s

favor, then you enter into the afterlife and their conceptions of the afterlife. In many respects, 650s

that's how secular society looks at the existence of heaven. That the good people are there. And as long 658s

as the scale just tips for you there, just a little bit on to the good side, you're good. 667s

You're good. Now, let me ask you this question. How many of us are good? 675s

Oh, you're such good Lutherans. Oh, absolutely right. That's what the scripture says. 686s

The scripture says, none of us are righteous. No, not one. Not one. See, we're all unrighteous. 692s

All unrighteous. We are all deserving of hell itself. We have, as it says on Lutheran confessions, 704s

we have a penchant, a proclivity to do evil. See, old Adam and the old Eve in us. We want to serve 714s

our ourselves. How are we made good? Better term. How are we made righteous? It's through the alien 723s

righteousness that is ours to the Lord, Lord Jesus. So, society looks at it and says, well, if you're 732s

good, if the scales tip, then you're okay. Another way the society looks at this is what can be 738s

called justification by death. Justification by death. Now, of course, we believe that we are justified 747s

by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Ephesians 2. This is not our own doing. It is a 756s

gift of God, right? We are justified by grace through faith. When you listen to secular society 764s

talk about death, there can be, though they don't verbalize it, it's an understanding of justification 774s

by death. Me, that one is justified, just made, remember how that word, you break it down, just as if 782s

you never sinned, one is justified simply by dying, simply by dying. And so you will hear people 792s

say all across society who have no belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. They will say, well, that 803s

person has gone to heaven or they've gone to a better place. That's justification by death, 811s

not justification by faith through the Lord Jesus. It's justification by simply the very fact 820s

that you die. And by the fact that you die means then that you go to heaven. It's justification 826s

by death. So it's either if you're good enough, you can make it to heaven or 834s

well, if you die, everybody just kind of goes to heaven. That's justification by death. Another 841s

one related to justification by death, but it's different. It's called universalism. 849s

Universalism. That is the belief. That says that in the end, God will turn to all people 857s

regardless of what it is that they believe and say, welcome in to the kingdom of God. 866s

That all are saved regardless of what they believe. Don't believe. Everybody is saved. That's 874s

universalism. I had a professor very first week of seminary. He was a universalist. 885s

And he just came right out and said, I'm a universalist. And then he said, I've got tenure. 894s

You know, now this was back in, I graduated from seminary in 1985. So this would have been back in 81. 905s

81. That was being said. Okay. That's a frightening thought where there's no discipline on the 917s

teachers of the future pastors on that where they can say, I'm a universalist. Is there anything 926s

in scripture that supports universalism? You have to twist and turn and go around the block to make 935s

that work. And you have to define principles of biblical interpretation to make this work. 941s

There's nothing in scripture that says in the end, God will look at all and we'll simply say 953s

everybody's in. Everybody's in. There's nothing in scripture that that supports it. But as we look 961s

at culture, we can see that culture will say, well, if you're good enough, you get to heaven or if 968s

you die, everybody goes to heaven or in the end, God is just going to say that all go into heaven. 974s

Now think for a moment with me on why some people are uncomfortable 982s

with the idea of hell, why some people are uncomfortable about the idea of hell. Some will 991s

will maintain that they think that a place of punishment is contrary to the love of God. 1001s

So they will say, how can a loving God send people to hell? We're going to talk about that 1012s

in a future lesson so that when that question comes to you, you'll have a ready response 1021s

of what to say on that. But some will look at hell and they'll say, I'm uncomfortable with the idea 1030s

of hell because it seems contrary to the love of God. Some will say I'm uncomfortable with regard 1038s

to the idea of hell because in the end no one will be condemned. It's universalism, right? Or they 1047s

will say the implication that I am not good enough to suit God is offensive to me. 1057s

Now ponder that statement. I'll get there. The person to think that God wouldn't think I'm good 1072s

for heaven. Really? Really? Does he know how I helped my neighbor rake his leaves off the lawn 1082s

last week? Does he know? Does he know that? Does he know how kind I was when I brought that gift? 1095s

There is a collection of a pool of money there for the person in the office. I gave a pretty good 1106s

size gift that I threw into the pool there. That was pretty kind of me. I am a good person. 1112s

Here, how we try and justify ourselves. Some will say that they find it offensive 1120s

that God wouldn't think that they're good enough for heaven. So you've got societal pressure 1127s

then that comes upon the church. You've got all kinds of belief from a societal side of things. 1135s

On the existence of hell, on how one gets to heaven and it comes and it puts a pressure 1146s

on the church. Unless the church is biblically grounded in the subject, you can get caught 1156s

in the undertow on this. You can get caught and get pulled away into false belief. 1169s

That's why continual, continual learning, good for you, by the way, continual learning 1178s

prepares us for those moments of witness where we hear something and we say, 1188s

that's not right. That's not right. And we can find then in Scripture where it's not right. 1197s

As biblical illiteracy rises in our land, as biblical illiteracy rises in the church, 1210s

you get more false doctrine and more false belief because people can't discern what is true and 1224s

what is false anymore. So good for you for your continued study. 1237s

When we think about heaven, where do we tend to point up? When we think about hell, 1247s

where do we tend to point down? The Bible supports in the sense this directionality. 1259s

But it's not the main point about heaven. So let's explore here. Let's go to Acts chapter 1. 1272s

And let's see where the Bible supports this up down in the sense. 1283s

So it's not necessarily wrong to do that, but we'll see it's just not the emphasis. 1292s

So Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and then Acts, Acts chapter 1 in the New Testament. 1299s

Verse 9. 1307s

When he had said this, being Jesus, as they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud took him 1313s

out of their sight. So that's after the resurrection. This is now the ascension. The ascension where? 1323s

The ascension into heaven. And what way did Jesus go? He went up, right? So there's a sense. 1333s

Yeah, directionality makes sense. Let's go to the last book in the New Testament. 1342s

Let's go to Revelation chapter 12, verse 10. Revelation chapter 12, verse 10. 1348s

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven proclaiming. Now have come the salvation and the power and the 1373s

kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown 1381s

down, who accuses them day and night before our God. Here then in 12th chapter at the arrival of 1391s

Jesus, Satan is thrown down, right? If you look at Revelation chapter 9 for the sake of time, 1401s

we won't turn there, but there you've got Satan and his minions coming up out of the bottomless pit. 1412s

So there is a sense in Scripture with regard to directionality. But remember heaven and hell, 1420s

they're spiritual dimensions. So in the end, the emphasis is not on a geographic location. 1429s

Rather, the emphasis is on the presence of God or the lack of the presence of God. That's the 1440s

biblical emphasis. Let's go to second Kings chapter 2, please. Second Kings is in the 1450s

Old Testament. He has Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1461s

Samuel, Samuel, and you have first Kings and second Kings. If you've hit the first and second 1472s

Chronicles, you've gone too far. Second Kings chapter 2, verse 1. Second Kings chapter 2, verse 1. 1482s

Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and 1504s

Elisha were on their way from Gilgold. Who I want you to see here? There's an affirmation 1513s

of directionality, sure. But the Lord wanted to take Elijah up to heaven because the Lord wanted 1518s

Elijah with him. That's the emphasis. That's the emphasis. Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah 1528s

up to heaven. So what we see in scripture is we see a sense of directionality, but the main point 1538s

is that heaven is where God is. Now is God omnipresent? Absolutely. He's omnipresent. He's omniscient. 1550s

He's omnipresent. Also scripture talks about God being in heaven. So the emphasis is on the 1560s

presence of God. There are some, there are different words for heaven that get translated into 1568s

into English. One of the words for heaven is in Genesis chapter 1 that we see translated as 1579s

sky. So let's go to Genesis chapter 1, verse 1. Various words for heaven. 1590s

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, you can translate that heavens, 1608s

you can translate it sky. Sky. Another is outer space. Let's go to Genesis chapter 1, verse 14. 1618s

And God said, let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night. 1633s

And let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years. And let them be lights in 1641s

the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth. And it was so. God made the two great lights, 1651s

the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night and the stars. 1657s

So you can understand heaven in terms of the sky. You can understand heaven in terms of outer space 1664s

or a third understanding is heaven slash paradise. So you've got sky, outer space, and then heaven 1673s

paradise. Let's take a look at 2 Corinthians chapter 12. That's in the New Testament. 1689s

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, and then Romans, first Corinthians and then second 1699s

Corinthians. If you're hitting Galatians, Ephesians, and Philippians, you're too far. 1705s

2 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 1. 1712s

Here, here, Paul is referencing as if he's speaking about someone else. It's actually autobiographical. 1721s

He's speaking about himself. Verse 1 of 2 Corinthians 12. It is necessary to boast. Nothing is 1729s

to be gained by it, but I'll go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a person in 1736s

Christ, he's speaking of himself, who 14 years ago was caught up to the third heaven, whether in the 1742s

body or out of the body I do not know. God knows. And I know that such a person, whether in the body 1750s

or out of the body I do not know. God knows, was caught up into paradise and heard things that are 1760s

not to be told that no mortal is permitted to repeat. Okay, notice how he refers to the reality 1766s

of heaven as the third heaven. Why does he call it the third heaven? Sky, outer space, 1776s

here's the third heaven. So when you hear in scripture, for example, in Genesis 1 talking about 1789s

God creating the heavens, that's the sky. When you hear about the two lights, that's outer space. 1796s

Now we're talking third heaven. It is heaven and paradise itself. So God is everywhere and also 1804s

God is somewhere. The emphasis on heaven is the presence of God. Let's see now the opposite, 1815s

what about hell? Jesus talks more about hell than any other person in scripture. He talks more about 1827s

hell than any other person in scripture. Let's go to Matthew chapter 5, please, first book in the 1839s

Jesus says, if your right hand causes you to sin, tear it out, throw it away. It's better for you to 1869s

lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. Hell involves separation, 1877s

eternal separation from God's gracious presence. Let's go to Matthew chapter 7 verse 23. 1888s

Then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Go away from me, you evil doers. Go away from me. 1907s

Matthew 8 chapter, verse 12. 1919s

While the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness where there will be weeping 1928s

and gnashing of teeth. Matthew chapter 25, verse 41. 1933s

Then he will say to those at his left hand, you that are accursed depart from me into the 1957s

eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Let's go to 2nd Thessalonians chapter 1. 1964s

That's in the New Testament. Matthew, Mark Luke, John, Acts and Romans. First and second 1973s

Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. Then you hit the T-books. 1979s

First Thessalonians and then second Thessalonians. So second Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 6. 1990s

For it is indeed just of God to repay with the flixion those who afflict you and to give relief to 2003s

the afflicted as well as to us. When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels 2012s

in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey 2019s

the gospel of our Lord Jesus, those who will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction 2028s

separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might. When it says their eternal 2036s

destruction that is not annihilation as some will pose. Eternal destruction, remember we are 2046s

eternal beings and so the Spirit has never destroyed. The body is destroyed but the Spirit has never 2058s

destroyed. So we live either in heaven or or hell. We are all eternal beings. What is it that I want 2066s

you to get from the look here at hell? Hell has to do with presence. It has to do the absence of the 2077s

gracious presence of God. So heaven really isn't geographical location. Remember it is in a spiritual 2089s

dimension. That is not the ultimate emphasis in Scripture. Though you have a sense of directionality 2099s

it has to do with presence. It is being with God, being with Him forever, be holding Him, adoring Him 2107s

for all of eternity. Hell is being out of the presence of God Almighty. Jesus suffered the punishment 2117s

we deserve when He died on the cross. He lived the perfect life. He was our substitute. 2133s

When Jesus died on the cross the wrath of God for sin was laid upon Jesus. The great exchange occurred. 2140s

We received His righteousness. He took our sin. Luther called that the great exchange. 2150s

When Jesus died on the cross He suffered the punishment of hell for us. 2161s

It wasn't just the physical punishment that He endured. This was the punishment and the torment of hell 2167s

itself. He suffered the torment of hell so that believers in the Lord Jesus Christ would not 2176s

experience that for all of eternity. When you look then at the cross you see God in the flesh 2183s

bearing the wrath of God and bearing the torment of hell itself so that we who by the grace of God 2194s

have been brought to faith in the Lord Jesus. We who have been claimed in the waters of baptism 2204s

we cry out come Lord Jesus. May today be the last day. May it be today because we know what is 2211s

our destiny. When we then highlight the scriptural understanding with regard to heaven and hell 2222s

and we understand it in terms of presence we then look at people differently. Do we not? 2232s

We look at people who have never heard of Jesus Christ. We look at them differently. We look 2244s

at our unchurched neighbor differently. We look at the family member who doesn't believe. We look 2252s

at them differently because Scripture could not be clear that indeed there is an eternal destiny 2262s

for everyone. Are we in charge of changing the heart? No. We can't change the heart of anybody. 2275s

Can't change the heart of anybody. What God says this is what I want you to do. Is I want you to 2292s

cast the seed? Cast the seed. So if we think that we can plant the seed and then reach down into 2299s

the soil and then pull up that plant, right? We are sadly mistaken and that will just be bondage 2306s

upon ourselves. But if we see the gracious call of God to cast the seed and know that indeed God 2313s

brings people to faith where and when it pleases him that then is the gracious call for us. 2321s

I don't believe that the church throughout the world takes the reality of hell seriously 2329s

enough. I don't think the church does. I think we are tempted to one not think about it. 2342s

We don't want to think about it because we all know loved ones in our life much less 2354s

extended family or neighbors that are not believers. We don't want to think about the reality of hell. 2359s

What Jesus reminds us of is there's a destination for all of us heaven or hell and that we need 2368s

constantly be thinking about that because that transforms then how we look at other people. 2378s

The grace, the grace is in the victory that has been won for us through Jesus Christ. The grace is 2391s

we're not in charge of changing hearts. The grace is we never make anybody a believer, right? We 2399s

never make anybody a convert, right? When you hear people say, hey, I got four converts this week. 2407s

What? What? You mean you cast the seed maybe and perhaps in that situation, 2420s

God brought that person to faith. You see, there's the grace for us. When we keep heaven and hell 2427s

in view, it transforms how we look at people, doesn't it? Well, next week I want to explore with you 2433s

what happens when we die? What happens when we die? We're going to look at four different things. 2444s

We're going to understand the distinction between the interim state and resurrection. What's the 2451s

Jesus meant by referring to death as sleeping? We're going to give a biblical explanation of the 2463s

interim state of the righteous and the unrighteous and we're going to find comfort in the rest enjoyed 2469s

by those who die in faith. So next week, what happens when we die? 2477s