The doctrine of the last things. Now if you're interested in the technical term, it is called eschatology. E-S-C-H-A-T-O-L-O-G-Y. Eschatology. The same root word as the word escalator, and all similar words. You work up to the last things, the ultimate, the end. Eschatology. the doctrine of the last things. This is a very important biblical doctrine. Important because we all are curious about it and concerned about it. It is something that we realize is quite inevitable. Whether we like it or not, we have to face it. And we can say with reverence that if the biblical teaching didn't deal with this question of the last things, it would be incomplete. But there is the marvel and the wonder of this book. It caters for the whole of life. every aspect, every department, every phase. There is nothing really that pertains to the life of men, but that we find that it is dealt with and dealt with in a thorough manner in the scriptures. Now then, here I say are some of the questions. What is death? What happens after death? What is our whole life leading to? What is the future? What of the future? Now, there, in general, are the questions that we shall be considering. And, obviously, we consider it in two main ways. Every man wants to know what is his own destiny, what's his own personal future. But in addition to that, we naturally are interested in this larger question, what's going to happen to the whole world? Generation comes after generation. Is that to go on endlessly, forever and forever? Or is there a limit to this process? Now those are the questions that are raised in people's minds. And there, there, there comes in this whole doctrine of the last things. So you see that as we look at these matters, we're not doing so animated by some mere theoretical or academic interest. Every one of these doctrines is intensely practical. and it is the business of Christian people to be familiar with the biblical teaching with respect to them. Now, with regard to this particular doctrine, this section, if you like, of biblical doctrine, there is obviously a new and a revived interest in these matters during the last 15 to 20 years. Now, before that, Speaking generally, there was very little interest in this aspect of doctrine. I'm speaking about the Christian Church in general when I say that. It has always been one of the things that has differentiated evangelical Christians from the majority of Christians, that they have always attached great significance to the doctrine of the last things. But with regard to the great mass of Christian people, well, the early part of this century and the end of the last century, they had virtually ceased to take any interest in it at all. Their whole idea of the kingdom of God was that it was life in this world. And they spent their time in talking about introducing the kingdom. The kingdom meant social conditions in this life and in this world. And for various reasons, one of the main ones being, of course, the advance of scientific knowledge, and especially science so-called, and false deductions from scientific knowledge, people had come to the conclusion, speaking generally, that there isn't a life after death, that this is the only life and the only world, and that man, after all, is but an animal, and that when he dies, it's like an animal dying, and that is the end of the story. And there was no interest at all in this larger question, of the future of the world. Life was more or less easy and comfortable. Conditions were more or less prosperous, and everybody was interested in this world. But then came, you see, the First World War, and the life which had seemed so secure and so stable and so settled. was shown to be very illusory. Everything became uncertain and unsettled again, and the Second World War, of course, exaggerated and accentuated all that. And especially the coming of the atomic bomb has given a great impetus to these studies. Everybody today feels that the whole of life is so utterly uncertain, that people are beginning to ask again, well, what is it? And how does it end? What is death? There doesn't seem to be much hope in this world. Is there more in the next world? Is there a next world? The whole question has come back again. I can give you an illustration of this. At the recent World Council of Churches meeting held in Evanston in America, about which there is so much writing and talking, as I've been reminding you these last few Fridays, the subject they actually chose for discussion this last summer was Christ, the hope of the world. I say that simply to show you that there is a new and a revived interest in these matters. But a mere interest doesn't of necessity mean that it's biblical, and it doesn't of necessity mean that it is right biblical protection. However, the point I'm making is that there is this new interest, and therefore if we have no other reason for studying it, it behoves us to know the biblical teaching about these matters in order that we can answer people's questions. and help in this age of insecurity to know exactly what the Bible does say. Indeed, it is undoubtedly at the present time one of the most fruitful means of evangelism. Very well then, let us begin to look at the problem in this way. Let us first of all look at it from the personal, the individual standpoint. I think that is the natural order. A man starts with himself, he says, here am I. My first question is what's going to happen to me? My life is uncertain? Well, what is there for me? Before I begin to think what's going to happen to the whole world, what is the truth about me myself? Well, that brings us immediately and directly face to face with the question of death. The question of death. The biblical teaching about death. Isn't it extraordinary how people dislike this, and how they avoid it? It's very natural, of course, in the case of the unbeliever, because he has no hope as regards death. But it is astonishing that Christian people should somehow or other also tend to avoid this. What does the Bible tell us about death? Well, the first thing, it seems to me, is this. Death is not merely the cessation of existence. Now that is the common view held by the world, that death is just, if you like, the end of life. Death means, they say, cessation of existence. A man was existing, he dies, he's no longer existing. It's the end of that. But that isn't the biblical teaching with regard to death at all. In fact, the biblical teaching is the exact opposite of that. As I'm going to try to show you, the biblical teaching is very anxious to assert and to emphasize that death does not mean the cessation of existence. Well, what is it then? Well, death, according to the Bible, is simply the separation of the soul and the body. Here we are in this life and the soul and the body are intimately connected and they're one. My soul functions in and through my body. When I die, what will happen will be that my soul will leave the body. The body will still be left here in this world. My soul will go on. It's the separation of soul and body. By no means the cessation of existence. Now there are many texts which I could give you to prove that. There are two very important ones which really clinch the whole matter. Luke 12 verses 4 and 5. The essence of which is this. Our Lord says to his disciples, fear not them which kill the body, but after that have nothing that they can do. But rather, he says, fear him who after he has destroyed the body hath power to destroy the soul in hell. Or he which can destroy both soul and body in hell. There are some people who can destroy the body. Don't be afraid of them, he says. The one to fear is the one who can destroy the soul as well as the body. Very well, there is a text which establishes it. And of course, in the same way, our Lord's teaching about Lazarus and Diavys in the 16th chapter of Luke obviously teaches the same thing. The rich man dies, the poor man, the beggar at his gate, Lazarus, dies. They both leave the bodies behind, but their souls are there existing in that other realm. It's the separation of the soul from the body. That is the biblical, fundamental biblical definition as to what is meant by death. Now the next question to ask then is this. Why should we die? Why do we die? Why is there such a thing as death at all? Well now, the popular view here, the popular philosophical view, is that death is something which is inherent in life. That death, in a sense, is almost a part of the likeness. that this is the process of life, a thing comes into being, there's a sort of germ, a beginning, a sprouting, and then there is always a movement, it develops, it matures, it attains its full maturity, it blooms, it blossoms, and then it begins to decay. Why? Well, there was always the element of that in it. Life is meant to go so far but no further, and when it goes as far as that, you begin to go down the other side of the hill. So the teaching is that death is something which is a principle inherent in life itself, and that as life was constituted it had within it this germ, this seed of death. But that is again far from being the biblical teaching with respect to this matter. According to the Bible death is not a part of life, it isn't something inherent in life, It is the punishment of sin. It was introduced because of sin. Now you can look up these statements for yourself. You will find it in Genesis 2 17. In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt die. Dying thou shalt die. Genesis 2.17. We've already considered it a long time ago. You find the same in Genesis 3.19. Same teaching exactly. And you'll get it in the New Testament in the fifth chapter of the epistle to the Romans. where the apostle deals with this very thing and points out how that death entered in, in connection with the sin of Adam. There it is in the 12th verse. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned, etc. But you see, death came by sin. And there's another very interesting statement of it in the Epistle of James. In the first chapter of the Epistle of James, and in the 15th verse, you've got the same thing in connection with sin put in this way. Every man is tempted, he says, when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin. And sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. so that the biblical teaching is that death is something that has resulted as God's punishment for sin. It was introduced as a punishment for sin. There was no death until men sinned and there would have been no death unless men had sinned. It's a most vital biblical principle which cuts right across the popular modern philosophy which controls the thinking of the vast majority of people. Well, very well, then there we've seen that we die because of sin. And we've seen what death is. But at this point, a number of people are in trouble. They say, all right, I'll accept all that. But they say, then the problem you leave now with me is this. Why does a Christian have to die? Why does a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ have to die? I'll admit, says this person, that death is the punishment of sin. But after all, if I've believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, my sins are forgiven. I am justified. I am reconciled to God. The terror of Lord of God with me can have nothing to do. There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. Why then does a Christian have to die? Now that's a problem that has often troubled many people. Why does a Christian die in view of the atonement? A very interesting and important question. There's a kind of subdivision of that which is very much in prominence at the present time. There are many people who argue in exactly the same way that a Christian should never be ill. They say Christ's death on the cross, his atonement, has dealt with all the consequences of sin. And as you know, much of the basis of the popular faith healing movements today, leave alone the cults which are interested in that, is just this very argument. They say a Christian should never be ill, because Healing is a part of the atonement, and they quote, you see, that passage in the 8th of Matthew, which is a quotation of the 53rd of Isaiah about his bearing our sicknesses, and so on. They say now when Christ died on the cross, he has negative and nullified all the consequences of sin. Now then, it's very important, therefore, that we should take these two things together, because it's clear and obvious, isn't it, that death was most certainly not dealt with in that way in the atonement. The Christian believer has to die in exactly the same way as the unbeliever, I mean as regards the physical fact of death. We are waiting for the redemption of the body, which means this. We are waiting for the body to be delivered from death. We are waiting for the body to be delivered from sin. We are waiting for the body to be delivered from sickness. They all go into the same category. It has pleased God to allow sickness to persist, death to persist, and sin to persist, even in the Christians. He could have made us immediately perfect, had he chosen to do so. He could abolish death immediately, and all sicknesses, he hasn't chosen to do so. These things have been left in the body. The teaching of the scripture is surely perfectly clear in these respects, and it is the misunderstanding of the atonement with regard both to sickness and with regard to death. to say, generally without any qualification, that the atonement has dealt with all the consequences of sin. Ultimately it has done so, immediately it has done so for some, ultimately it will do so for all. Very well then, it seems clear, doesn't it, that the Christian is still left subject to these things as a part of the process of his sanctification. It's a part of the chastisement again of the 12th of Hebrews. So that the Christian can say today what the Psalmist says in the 919th Psalm, it was good for me that I have been afflicted, because before I was afflicted I went astray. We've got that teaching in 1 Corinthians 11 in connection with the communion service. You remember we referred to it last Friday evening. Because some people don't examine themselves, they're weak and sickly. Illness is a part of God's process of discipline. It doesn't mean that every time we're taken ill, it's of necessity punishment for sin. It may be. It is one of the means that God uses to sanctify us. And there is no doubt that death works in exactly the same way. The fear of death has often been a blessing to Christian people. There have been Christian people who've been carried away by success in this world, and they've started to backslide, and they've started forgetting God and their relationship to Him. Suddenly they take nil, or they see the death of someone, and being reminded of death brings them back again, heals their backsliding. God has chosen, it seems to me, to use sickness and death very much as he used the nations that he left behind in the land of Canaan to perfect the children of Israel when he brought them out of the captivity of Egypt and delivered them from their bondage. So that I say we can conclude that the Christian is subject to death still for that reason. It is a part of God's process of dealing with him and preparing him for that which he has for him. But let us hasten to say this. Though the Christian is still subject to death, his view of death should be entirely different from that of the unbeliever. Why? Well, because of what he knows. You can see it, for instance, in that great statement in the first epistle to the Corinthians, the 15th chapter and the 55th verse. Every one of us should be able to look in the face of death tonight and say, oh death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? In Christ we know that the sting of death is sin and that the strength of sin is the law, but thanks be unto God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn't mean that we speak lightly and loosely and flippantly about death, but it does mean that we see through it and see beyond it. that we know that its sting has been taken out by the death of Christ in the atonement and the satisfaction he has given to the law. Leave alone the teaching of the apostle about death being a gain to be with Christ, he says, which is far better. And the teaching in Revelations 14, 13, blessed are those that die in the Lord, blessed are the dead in the Lord, and so on. Well, there then is another question. Now that brings me to another question that arises beyond that. So far we've been considering this question of death itself and as to why Christians have to die. But now what happens after death? Well, here we come face to face with the idea of immortality. And this has been a matter which has often been hotly debated. Is the soul of men immortal or isn't it? Has it an inherent essential immortality or has it not? Now great volumes have been written on this subject and they generally devote most of their pages to a discussion of the subject philosophically. I'm not going to wear you with that. I don't think it's a part of him to do so. Well, we start quite frankly by saying that the Bible doesn't use the term as such. He doesn't actually make an explicit statement that the soul of men is immortal. So we haven't got an explicit statement in connection with it. But while we haven't got an explicit statement, I suggest to you that no one can read the Bible without prejudice, without gathering the impression that the Bible assumes everywhere that the soul of man is immortal. If, for instance, nobody had ever told you that this question of the immortality of the soul can be questioned, reading the Bible would never have raised the question I don't think in anybody's mind. It seems to be taken for granted almost everywhere. But let me put the arguments against the belief in the immortality of the soul. And these are the arguments on which these friends generally rely. There is a statement in the first epistle to Timothy in the first chapter in the 16th verse, which says about God, who only hath immortality. Now, they say, if anything can be plain, there it is. It is a specific statement to the effect that God alone is immortal, who only hath immortality. Now, of course, the answer to that is this, that that statement is perfectly true, and it means this, that God alone has immortality in and of himself. But the fact that God has immortality in and of himself only does not mean that God may not have decided to give that gift to man. It doesn't prove it at all. No one would claim that man in and of himself is inherently immortal or possesses in and of himself the gift of immortality or can indeed achieve immortality. But the reply of those of us who do believe in the immortality of the soul is That God in his infinite wisdom has chosen to give the gift of immortality to the soul of man. He needn't have done so, but again he has chosen to do so. So we can say therefore that God alone hath immortality in and of himself as his right and as his possession, but he has given it as a possession to the soul. But let us consider further arguments. You do not get the suggestion and the teaching that the soul of men is immortal. They say everything seems uncertain, everything seems very shadowy. As the author of the book of Proverbs puts it, a live dog is better than a dead lion. As if to say, well, of course, when you're dead, that's the end and you're finished. A live dog is better than a dead lion, and so on. They say that's the teaching, that's the suggestion. It all seems to point in that direction, that death is just the end. Well now, the answer that is generally given to that argument can be put in this form, that obviously there is a kind of progressive revelation in the scriptures, and that ideas are much plainer and clearer, for instance, in the New Testament than they are in the Old Testament. There is a kind of development of doctrine as you work your way through the Bible. Things are hinted at, then they become a little plainer, and then yet more plain, and finally absolutely plain. Indeed, the scripture tells us this, that it is the Lord Jesus Christ alone, by his resurrection, who has really brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. But they were there before. There were these suggestions. There were the shadows. There were all these adumbrations. He has brought it into the full light of day. But when you say that Christ has brought it to the full light of day, you mustn't say that there was nothing there before. Oh, there was. But it was Inquiet, incomplete, it was the mere suggestion. And therefore you get that obvious development in the Old Testament. For instance, the Old Testament does teach very clearly that there is a place called Sheol, a state where the dead go to. And there is a suggestion at once that death is not the end, but that the dead go on living. that all, even the good and the bad, they descend together to this place called Sheol, or if you prefer the Greek word, to Hades. Not only that, there are certain specific statements which teach that there is this immortality to the soul. That's why I read Psalm 16 at the beginning. In verses 8 to 11 in Psalm 16, you've got that specific teaching. And if you go on to the next psalm, the 17th psalm, you'll find it again stated in a very strong manner in that 15th verse. And those two psalms are of very great importance in that connection, and that is why you'll find that they're quoted several times in the New Testament itself. Here is the 15th verse of the 17th psalm. As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness. You couldn't have anything stronger or more explicit than that. And there are statements as you know in the book of Job and many others which I could quote. There is a particularly good one in the 73rd Psalm. where that man again says that his hope is in God, that he's got no one on earth but God, and he says, thou wilt guide me with thine eye and afterwards receive me into thy habitation. There it is. And there are many others. Go through the Old Testament and make a note of them and you'll find that the evidence is very powerful. There are many books that have been written which collate and gather all this evidence and all this argument together. One of the best is a book by a man called Salmond, S-A-L-M-O-N-D, on the immortality of the soul. Now, in other words, there is all this evidence, and there is a further bit of evidence which always seems to me to be very important. The prohibition in the Old Testament against consulting familiar spirits. You get that not only, of course, in the case of the so-called witch of Endor consulted by that tragic man Saul, the first king of Israel. And you remember how that witch of Endor was able to produce there the presence of the prophet Samuel. Now, there is a great deal of teaching in the Old Testament against the consulting of familiar spirits, of resorting to spiritism or spiritualism in that way. Now I'm saying just this, that the very prohibition is a very powerful argument in itself in favor of the immortality of the soul, the persistence of the spirits of men after they have left the body. There would be no need of such a prohibition if that were not the case. Now then let me come to the New Testament teaching as I close. In the New Testament, there is some very striking teaching. There is the statement in Luke 12, which I've already quoted to you, Luke 12, 4 and 5, that we are to fear him, not only who can destroy the body, but the soul also in hell, suggesting that though the body may be destroyed in this world, the spirit goes on, yes, but it's in the power of someone else. And then, of course, there is the evidence produced by the event which took place on the Mount of Transfiguration. Moses and Elias appeared and spoke to our Lord. So Moses and Elias are still in existence. And do you remember the use which our Lord made of the statement, I am the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob? You remember he was questioned by a clever man who was trying to trap him, as they so often did, and with regard to this particular question, this question of the immortality of the soul, the persistence of life after death, and the trick question was brought to him, and that was his reply. He said, don't you remember that he said that God said, I am the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob? He said, God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. In other words, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still alive and God is their God now. That's the argument of our law. And there you see on that Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elias appear. They're still there. Then you go on again to the story of Davies and Lazarus in Luke 16. And there it is very definitely once more. Lazarus is there in Abram's bosom. The rich man is also there. He's dead, yes, but he's still active. He's conscious. He's seeing. He's concerned. He goes on. Death is not the end. The soul goes on after death, and there is that very definite and specific evidence. Well, now, our time has gone, and we've got to leave it at that for this evening. But let me suggest to you or tell you the points which we will have to consider, God willing, next Friday evening for you to have the sequence in your minds. The next thing I'm going to consider is this. What happens between death and the resurrection? What is called the intermediate state? We shall have to consider that. Does the soldier sleep? What happens? Then another question is this. Is this immortality certain and sure for all or is it only for some? Does it last forever or is there a limit to it? We shall have to consider that. The so-called theory and doctrine of conditional immortality or annihilationism. Some people believe that there is only a temporary existence for the unbeliever, and so on. And then, God willing, we shall have to go on to consider what is called the idea of the second chance. Is there another opportunity given to people who have rejected the gospel in this world? Do they get another chance in the next world? See, all these questions arise. People have got views about them. These are the things that are said. People avoid the gospel today by saying, ah, I shall have another opportunity beyond death and so on. The second chance. Now those are some of the themes and the topics which I hope to be able to deal with next Friday evening. So far then we have seen what death is and why it is that the Christian is still subject to it. and that both good and evil, believer and unbeliever, pass through death and pass into a realm beyond death.