Life after death- proven?! WBC 11 May 2003
1) Brain- CONTINUITY
In discussing ‘life after death’ I just want to recognise
- pain in living WITH death
o illness
o loss
- this discussion can all seem hypothetical, clinical, dwarfed by that
- the mystery of much of this. I’m not able to give you a watertight explanation of ALL this morning
- BUT- I am able to give HOPE… encouragement
o I pray this morning will give you some real, concrete evidence that FAITH can latch onto and make a reality
Still does take faith- even though conclusive!
o Change your life, perspective. Give ‘life before death’
Now, the first thing in addressing life after death is
- can we exist when our body/brain is dead? Thoughts, ‘mind’, personality exist… continue
o we are aware that our thought process are a physical phenomena. Electrical impulses, in a network of neurons
drugs, illness, Alzheimer’s can tragically affect the brain so that the ‘personality’ starts to vanish
so- once that’s gone- how can it be regained, restored?
Won’t it ALL just be lost when we die?
So- is there any evidence of the ‘mind’ continuing when the brain is clinically dead? Is there continuity of ‘mind’ (personality) because the mind and brain are somehow (in a way we don’t understand) separate
- here’s a clip from BBCs Horizon program on NDE (experiences of physically dying yet returning with some new memories)
o will expand on this : our mind/personality not being JUST limited to our brain
o NDE Clip 1 ‘mind and brain separation’ PLAY
Might thoughts/memories continue even when our brains are dead. That’s what the scientists (from SOTON) are asking
Well- if someone can die, clinically… totally- and then come back to life… or be revived and actually tell what’s been going on when there was no activity in their brain
- then that is proof of this
Now- be aware: MOST NDE experiences are
- brain shutting down
- brain ‘dreaming’ and using images/symbols known to the person
But if someone can describe something that
- there is no way they could have seen happening
- they had been fed no image of it, already (ie they were born blind)
o then that, to me, is as objective proof as you’ll get
“Pam”, referred to in last clip- saw and described the brain ‘saw’ during op
- but I haven’t included that in full, as the next clip seems most objectively conclusive to me
- NDE CLIP 2 ‘Blind lady seeing’ PLAY
Well- how do you explain that? How does the mind exist while the brain is dead?
- we don’t know. But maybe there’s a whole lot more to this than WE understand!
o Maybe science WILL explain some of it in the future
Maybe- God is able to do anything he wants to and, (to use tekkie language)
- it’s no problem for him to download the mind when the brain deteriorates… and keep the mind going
o maybe we SEE the download in some with Alzheimer’s (they’re going already)
And- I’d like to say- if there are genuine, verifiable, examples of people long dead who come back to life… fully
- then that (to me) is proof that WE exist (as people) without our bodies
Let me show you a testimony of a lady whose baby was dead for an hour. I have removed the clip of them trying to resuscitate this baby as too distressing.
- NDE clip 3 ‘baby resurrection’ PLAY
This shouldn’t surprise us! God can do anything He wants to. He made us as marvellous beings!
- and it’s in the very foundation of the Christian faith
o this man was dead for over 2 days, bruised, having lost a lot of blood (blood and serum had separated), certified dead by experts, put in a cold tomb, huge stone over the door
He comes back to life! Fully coherent. Told what had happened in intervening time. Seen by over 500 people alive at time NT written (they’ll back this up!)
His name is Jesus!
And here’s the real reason why I believe. Because of Jesus
1 Cor 6:14 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.
2CO 4:13 It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence
Would you like some more ‘proof’ that someone can exist even though their brain is dead (and an example of the fact that God can do ANYTHING)?
- can I just clarify: this morning is about LIFE and DEATH, not miracles?
NDE CLIP 4 Moses Nigeria resurrection
To me takes a LOT of faith to believe it all ends, here… and started by chance!
- nope: there is continuity of existence, and mind, after death
EPH 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
2) Throne- COMEUPPANCE
“Well- that’s nice. We all are going to exist when we die, and it’s going to be very nice for all of us. “
Hold on- that’s not the story of all people who die, and not the whole message of Christianity
- and Christianity has a LOT to say about life and death. It’s the only religion based on a man who said he was from heaven, dead and came back to tell
o MUST admit it has more to offer in that area than (truly well-meaning) philosophies
Listen to this woman’s testimony. Greatly changed by it.
- NDE Clip 5- life appraisal PLAY
I’ve mentioned this before, and I may be wrong- but here’s how I see the Bible’s description of the process
o = orthodox traditional teaching (until 20C philosophy took over)
- when people die- they exist, and go to the place of ‘the dead’ (Sheol OT, Hades NT)
o it’s a waiting place
- judgement STARTS
o like for this woman
o like in 2 Peter 2:4 onwards. Peter speaks about angelic beings being chained up in a bit of ‘the dead’, awaiting final judgement but beginning some of it. And he applies it to people, too
o 2 Pet 2:9 the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.
It’s very much like the parable of Dives & Lazarus, Lk 16.
- judgement and blessing begins…
- so, ‘the dead’ is not the same for everyone
o there’s 3 bits already: 1) Tartarus (angels) , 2) Abrahams bosom (Lazarus) & 3) where Dives is SO uncomfortable (with what he’s done)
So- if you like- the ‘great white throne’ STARTS when folks die….
But is that the end of it? A judgement of self-evaluation and remorse?
3) Keys – CHOICES
The Christian message tells us a bit more. It tells us
- ‘the dead’ is like a waiting place. Everyone’s there.
- where folks await their final destinations
o though it looks like final destinations (as they are already polarising… beginning judgement)
Christians are always with the Lord
But- how about final destinations? How are they chosen?
Let me illustrate it first with LIGHT
- NDE clip 6 ‘God breathes the light’
God is pure light and holiness.
- now: you can’t live in that holiness just as WE are
o get burned up! HAB 1:13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;
- ‘people’ who live there have to be ‘changed’… otherwise it won’t be a place of light- it’ll be just like earth! (a taste of hell, sometimes!)
o it seems from these clips… and we are told in the Bible, that you can’t change when you’re there
‘stuck in chains’ (Angels)
Dives wants a second chance, but doesn’t get it
Here: sent BACK to change!
So- the only way we can LIVE in God’s presence is if we are somehow made
- like Him. Holy. Pure. Light. Before we pass on or when we pass on
o Otherwise we’ll 1) die in His presence 2) pollute the place)
This is why Jesus said ‘you must be born again’ and forgiven, changed, ‘washed’ –to dwell in God’s presence NOW and when you DIE (LIFE BEFORE death as well as AFTER)
- and that happens by
o Us accepting ‘dirt’ and God cleansing it
Through Jesus
- lovely illustration of ‘robes of righteousness’
o God sees us like Christ when He looks at a Christian
And that choice to follow Him happens HERE.
- ‘the dead’ is not ‘purgatory’. No second chance.
Now the illustration of KEYS (another slant on same story)
- ‘the dead’ is a waiting place. Awaiting the time when Jesus returns to
o sort out this soiled planet. Remove suffering. Bring it all to an end
o judge the living and ‘the dead’.
Then there’s the great white throne in full
2CO 5:6 Therefore we Christians are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 We live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
We’re told he has the right to do it, as He is God and is/was human. He knows what it’s like!
And we’re told that He holds the keys of death and Hades
- he’s in control. Of life, death. Judgement
REV 1:17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
So- we and all these folks await the time of reckoning/comeuppance. And it will be
- fair. In mercy
- according to light received (how much understood)
- how folks (and Christians!) used the gifts, talents and understanding they had
o but SPECIFICALLY the understanding about Jesus
whether they let Him ‘save’, ‘wash’ them
or whether it was a DIY job
• (I’ll do it myself, thanks….)
• because then you face God by yourself… eternity BY YOURSELF
it’ll be no good saying ‘I was a nice, good person’…
• because HE holds the keys!
…. It’ll be ‘what about God…. Jesus… my Son who I sent to tell you, show you, save you’
So- the choices for eternity happen HERE
- and they’re about JESUS. The one who holds the keys. The one who’s been there.
o The WAY, the KEY to heaven, Gods’ presence
Summary:
- We CONTUE after death! Be encouraged!
- Here’s the most important bit that you must understand:
o I find many folks think ‘I’ll be okay THERE, because I’m nice… good’
But it’s not about nice, good (unless you think you can impress God by being 100% pure-light-perfect!)
o It’s about Jesus… and ‘God receive me, have mercy on me because of Him’
Life after death belongs to Him. And, friends- life before death does, too. LIFE now, that goes on FOREVER
- if you want them- He holds the keys. He is the key. He is the way. That’s what God came ALL this way to show.
-
AC 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
