The Three Kinds of Death: Physical, Spiritual, and Eternal

1. “The wages of sin is death” 3 kinds of Death: 3 kinds of “separation”: physical, spiritual, eternal GOD PUNISHES SIN. “Sin” is the most comprehensive term for everything contrary to God and God’s will

2. The OT is mostly about physical death The NT is mostly about spiritual and eternal death Physical death in the OT, • Death enters. Gen. 3 • After 2000 years of human civilization, all die except Noah & fam • The nation of Israel was born, then died. • War deaths reigned from Noah to Jesus The NT is primarily about spiritual and eternal death When you believe in and receive Jesus, you escape spiritual and eternal death: but not physical death

3. From the OBC doctrinal statement THE ETERNAL STATE We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46, John 5:28-29, 11:25-27; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13).

4. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43, Revelation 20:4-6, 2 Corinthians 5:8, Philemon 1:23, 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

5.  We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment and shall be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment (Luke 16:19-28, Mark 9:43-48, Revelation 20:11-15).

6. In the OT, God brought physical death as temporal punishment for persistent sinning

7. Attributing human feelings to God is called “anthropomorphism”. (Humanizing God) “I will destroy man whom I have created. I am sorry that I made them. I am bringing flood waters on the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life.” Gen. 6:7, 17

8. Two angels carried out God’s punishment for the gross sins of the people of Sodom and surrounding cities “we will destroy (Sodom) because the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” “The Lord rained fire and brimstone on Sodom, Gomorrah, and all the cities of the plain, all the inhabitants” Gen. 19:13, 24

9. God drowned Pharaoh and all his army in the Red Sea Pharaoh, all of his army, his chariots, and his horsemen, the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. Not one of them remained. Exo. 14:17, 27 Chariot parts FOUND IN THE Red Sea

10. God’s judgments took the lives of hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands • Pharaoh’s army • Korah, family, friends • Jericho. Many cities • Jezebel’s 900 prophets of the idol Baal • Assyrian army 185,000 • Philistines, Midianites • Northern ten tribes • Southern tribes

11. In OT times God ordered, or allowed, physical death as temporal punishment for sinning • Flood waters • Drought • Famine • Disease • War • Death angels • Earthquake • Fire and brimstone

12. In the OT, saints and sinners alike died and their souls went to “Sheol”. KJV translation “grave” & “hell” Sheol was not understood until Jesus explained it in Luke 16:19-31 Two areas within sheol chasm between #1 Abraham’s bosom, Paradise for saints #2 Hades: sinners in torment Ot saints forgiven “on credit. Ad to wait for Christ to pay the debt

14. Jesus to the repentant thief, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Abraham’s bosom) Luke 23:43 Jesus’ death paid for the sins of OT believers. He then moved Paradise from Sheol to heaven Eph. 4:8“When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.” 9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens,

15. When Jesus came, He talked about punishment for sin AFTER DEATH in gehenna, Hades, & the Lake of Fire “even so must the Son of Man be lifted up (crucified), that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” John 3:14-16 To perish is to suffer forever in the Lake of Fire

16. “Lifted up” (Moses lifted up a bronze serpent on a pole. Snake bit people who looked were healed) 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.”

17. 6 So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. 7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

18. 8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”

19. “MANY” preachers, exorcists, and miracle workers will never enter heaven Mt. 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, (knowing Jesus saves)

20. Mt. 23:33 (Jesus to the Pharisees) “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” Mt. 23:15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. the “holy Phony” pharisees

21. Satan, sinning angels, religious hypocrites, Jew haters, persecutors of believers, evil doers, and all unbelievers Mt.25:41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: The judgment of unbelieving gentiles who mistreated the jews (context)

22. 7 years of worldwide tribulation preceded Matt. 25: the bloodiest war, horrendous earthquakes, polluted air, oceans, and fresh water, hail, meteorite caused fires! Isaiah, Daniel, Jesus and John all describe this time of unbearable suffering and death. Half the world’s population dies! Matt. 24: 22 “Unless those days were shortened, no flesh would (survive) Revelation outlines 3 cycles of 7 “plagues” each, plus the ongoing bloody efforts of Satan’s false christ attempting to annihilate Jews and Christians in his bid to conquer the world.

23. The Bible begins with God creating all things, and ends with a complete cleansing of all evil, a new heaven and a new earth for all the redeemed and all holy angels 2 Peter 3:10-13 Today’s universe totally “dissolved” Rev. 21 & 22; Isaiah 65:17

24. Will you choose to trust your own “superior” intellect rather than trust what God has said many times throughout the Bible? • Or, will you choose to believe God? Even though you cannot comprehend Hades, “hell”, or the Lake of Fire and conscious suffering forever and forever?