Chapter 68
Where Have They Gone?
What Are They Doing There?
“So I returned, and
considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the
tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of
their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. Wherefore I
praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet
alive.” -- Ecclesiastes 4:1-2
The wise man, Solomon, after
considering “all the oppressions that are
done under the sun,” the tears of the oppressed in this world, the power of
those who oppress, and the fact that there is no comfort for God’s saints in
this world of woe, said, “I praised the
dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.” In
the Book of Revelation, we read a similar statement. -- “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord” (14:13).
Yet, when you and I go to the funeral home and graveside to bid
our loved ones good-bye, we are filled with sorrow and weeping. Why is that so?
If the one God has taken is an unbeliever, the grief and sorrow is
understandable . Those who die without Christ die under the wrath of God! If
our sorrow is the sorrow of parting friends, that, too, is understandable. None
of us like to part with cherished friends and loved ones. But if the sorrow is
the sorrow of those who have no hope, uncontrollable anguish, or even anger at
God for having taken someone we love, that is neither understandable nor
excusable. Such sorrow reveals both
ignorance and unbelief: ignorance of the blessed state of God’s saints in
heaven, and unbelief regarding the Word of God, the promises of the gospel, and
the finished work of Christ. God’s
saints in heaven, our departed friends are alive and well. Though their bodies
have died and been laid in the earth, they are more alive and full of happiness
than ever.
Immediate Glory
First, I want you to see from the
Word of God that the soul of a redeemed
sinner, immediately after death, enters into heaven, into a state of
everlasting happiness. It is
not my intention to answer the foolish questions of infidels and heretics.
Neither will I allow myself to be sidetracked by the foolish speculations of
ignorant men and women about life after death. My purpose in this study is
threefold: I want to…
1. Comfort and instruct God’s
saints.
2. Persuade sinners to seek
Christ.
3. And honor God in the
process.
Therefore, everything I have
to say about the wonder of immortality will be written with utter simplicity,
appealing to no authority but the Word of God.
You and I are men and women with immortal, undying souls.
Though these bodies must die and rot in the earth like the brute beasts, our
souls will exist forever. As soon as you die your soul will enter into a state
of endless happiness or misery. Man does not die like a dog. When your dog
dies, that’s all. It ceases to be. But when you die, that is not all. Your soul
lives on, not in a state of sleep, insensitivity, and inactivity, but in the
fulness of life and consciousness. Therefore, our Lord urges this question: -- “What
will it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”
The souls of believers, redeemed sinners, men and women who
have been made righteous before God by the righteousness of Christ imputed to
them, the souls of God’s saints return to God at death. Our departed brothers and sisters, as soon as they closed their eyes in
death, opened them again in glory. There they shall remain until the
second coming of Christ. And when Christ comes again in his glory, he will
bring them all with him, raise their bodies from the dust, and reunite their
bodies and souls in resurrection glory. Believers yet living when Christ comes
shall then be changed, glorified, and caught up into glory. And we shall
forever be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:13-18).
I will not now say anything about the horrible state of the
wicked and unbelieving after death. They shall immediately, as soon as they
close their eyes in death, wake up in the torments of hell. O sinner, how I
wish you could realize that. The wrath of God is upon you. If you die without
Christ, you must be forever damned! To die without Christ is to die without
hope! But for the believer, things are different. The believer, as soon as he
dies, is alive forever. His soul goes immediately home to God in heaven (2 Cor.
5:1-9).
The
Word of God, when speaking of the believer’s death, always represents it as an
immediate entrance into heavenly blessedness and glory. Actually, for the believer,
death is not death at all, but the beginning of life. Our Lord said, “Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall
never die” (John 11:26). God’s elect never die! The death of the body is
the liberty of the soul. And as soon as our souls are freed from this body of
sin and death, we shall enter heaven.
When the righteous perish from the earth
they live in uprightness forever (Isa. 57:1-2). The righteous are those men and
women who are born of God, made righteous by grace: in justification by imputed
righteousness and in regeneration by imparted righteousness. When the righteous
die, they are taken away from evil. They enter into a world of peace. They rest
in their beds. Their bodies are in the grave. Their souls rest in the arms of
Christ (Heb. 4:9-11). They walk in their uprightness. God reckons the
righteousness of Christ imputed to us to be our righteousness. And he makes it
ours. In heaven, our departed brethren walk in their uprightness, in spotless
purity and holiness, in shining robes of bliss and glory.
As
soon as a believer dies, he is carried by God’s angels into heaven, Abraham’s
bosom, the place of endless comfort (Lk. 16:22-25). “Abraham’s bosom” was a Jewish
expression referring to the place of heavenly happiness prepared for God’s
saints between death and the resurrection.
Every
believing sinner, as soon as he dies, is taken to be with Christ in Paradise (Lk. 23:43). Paradise is
heaven, the garden of God (Rev. 2:7). It is the third heaven into which Paul
was raptured for a brief visit (2 Cor. 12:2-4), during his pilgrimage here. Paradise
is the place of the divine majesty, the place of happiness, pleasure, and
endless delight. It was to Paradise that Christ went as soon as he died, to
obtain eternal redemption for us (Heb. 9:12). It is a place of assured
blessedness, promised to sinners who seek the mercy of God in Christ. Our Lord
Jesus said, to the dying thief, “Today (immediately) shalt thou (assuredly) be with me (in endless company in
paradise.”
Death for the believer is gain, infinite,
immeasurable gain
(Phil. 1:21, 23). Paul believed that, as soon as he departed from this world,
he would immediately be with Christ in blessed communion. Believing the Word
and promise of God, he looked upon death as a desirable thing.
What
is the state of the saint’s life between death and the resurrection? I will not say more than the
Bible says; but this much I know: The souls of God’s saints are not floating
around in the sky. They have gone to a specific place, where Christ is. They
are assembled as a glorified church (Heb. 12:22-23). Their souls exist in a
recognizable form (Luke 16:23;Matt. 17:3).
Do God’s saints in
heaven have a body between death and the resurrection? -- A physical
body? - No. -- A spiritual body, a heavenly form, a house for their souls? -
Most definitely (2 Cor. 5:1). Every believer, as soon as he leaves this body
enters into heavenly glory with Christ. It is this assurance of heavenly glory
and bliss that makes death a desirable thing for the believer.
Welcome Relief
For
the believer the death of his body and the freeing of his soul is a welcome
relief (Phil. 1:21-23; Rev. 14:13). While living in this
world, we seek to be content with God’s good providence. We want to glorify him
by living before him in faith, resigning all things to his will. We would not
change our lot in life, even if we could. Our heavenly Father knows and always
does what is best.
I am not weary of life. I cannot imagine a man in this world
having a happier, more tranquil, blessed life than I have. I am blessed of God
with a loving, devoted wife and family. I have the blessed privilege of being a
part of a gospel church in the sweet fellowship of Christ. I am honored to be a
preacher of the gospel. But life in this world, at best, is a burden to the
heaven born soul. In this tabernacle we groan (2 Cor. 5:1-4). We groan for
life! Our hearts cry, “O wretched man
that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death!” -- In this body we struggle with sin. In heaven
we shall be free from sin! In this body we are tempted and often fall. In
heaven we shall never be tempted and shall never fall. -- In this body we weep
much. In heaven we shall weep no more. -- In this body we long to be like
Christ. In heaven we shall be like Christ. -- In this body we long for Christ’s
presence. In heaven we shall forever be with Christ! I have many friends
in heaven whom I dearly love. I miss them. I do not sorrow for them; but, oh,
how I envy them! When an eagle is
happy in an iron cage, when a sheep is happy in a pack of wolves, when a fish
is happy on dry land, then, and not until then, will my soul be happy in this
body of flesh! Death for this man will be a welcome relief (Psa. 17:15).
A Real Place
I have shown you from the
Scriptures that God’s saints, as soon as they die, enter into heaven, and that
death for the believer is a welcome relief. I have already shown you that our
departed friends have gone to heaven. They have not gone to purgatory. They are
not asleep. Our friends who have left us are in heaven. But where is heaven?
That is a question I cannot answer. God has not told us. Heaven is a place
somewhere outside this world, somewhere outside time. But it is a place, a real
place.
Heaven is the place where Christ is. Heaven is the place to
which he has promised to bring us (John 14:1-3). Heaven is the place where our
departed friends are right now (Heb. 12:22-23). Read 2 Corinthians 5:1-8. In
these eight verses Paul tells us four things about the believer’s death and
entrance into heaven.
1. Death
is the dissolving of this earthly body. This body is of the earth. This body is only
suitable for the earth. This body must return to the earth. And the dissolution
of this body is no cause for sorrow. It will be like taking off a shoe that
hurts my foot, a welcome relief! It will be like laying aside a tool that is no
longer needed. It will be like tearing down a tent to move into a house.
2. In
heaven, we shall have another house for our souls. “In my Father’s house are many mansions,” houses, dwelling places. Our
heavenly house shall be a house not made with hands, a house prepared by
Christ, a house suitable to our glorious life.
3. As
soon as this earthly tabernacle is dissolved, we shall enter that house Christ
has prepared for our souls in heaven. There will be no lapse of time, no delay between the
dissolving of this body and our entrance into our house in glory.
4. This
is not a matter of conjecture, but of certainty. Paul says, “We know.” We
know these things by
the revelation of God in Holy Scripture, by the earnest of the Spirit (v. 5),
and by faith in Christ (v. 7).
What happens to the believer after death? Do you ask me, “Where
have our departed friends gone?” They have gone to heaven. They have gone home.
They have gone to be with Christ!
Heavenly Employment
What
are God’s saints doing in heaven? The Scriptures speak sparingly with regard to the saints’ employment in
heaven; but these five things are plainly revealed in the Book of God.
1. God’s saints in heaven are
celebrating and adoring the perfections of God in Christ (Rev. 5:11-12;
7:11-12). Yonder, in Glory Land, redeemed sinners, heavenly saints, ever
celebrate and praise the triune God for his glorious holiness, omnipotent
power, infinite wisdom, covenant goodness, saving grace, invariable
faithfulness, and everlasting love!
2. God’s saints in heaven are
delightfully employed in beholding the glory of God in the face of Christ (John
17:24). Oh, my soul, what will it be to behold the glory of our Redeemer? We
shall forever behold him as he is, with a constantly increasing knowledge of
him. Heaven is the Garden of God where the Rose of Sharon is in full blossom;
and the fragrance of it perfumes the whole place. Heaven is to behold Christ
forever, never taking our eyes off him, and never wanting to.
3. God’s saints in heaven are
employed in the constant exercise of every spiritual grace. Faith ceases
because it is no more needed. Hope is no more because the saints in heaven have
their hope fulfilled. But love never ends. There all God’s children truly love
one another perfectly.
4. God’s saints in heaven are
employed in the unending service of Christ (Rev. 7:14-15). They are engaged in
prayer (Rev. 6:10). They sing the songs of grace to the praise of God, ever
celebrating God’s electing, redeeming, regenerating, justifying, sanctifying,
preserving grace in Christ.
5. God’s saints in heaven are
engaged in constant, uninterrupted fellowship, communion, and conversation with
one another and with the holy angels. We cannot here even begin to imagine what
the conversations of saints and angels must be around the throne of God; but
this much is sure: -- They speak constantly about Christ and the rich, free
grace of God in him.
Make certain that you are in Christ. Take comfort with regard
to those who have gone to heaven. Be assured that our weary, troublesome lives
will end soon; and they will end well (2 Cor. 4:17 - 5:1). A God given and God sustained faith in Christ
is not only sufficient to enable the most feeble believer to overcome the
corruptions of the flesh, the allurements of the world, and the temptations of
the devil, but also to give him an easy, triumphant passage through death into
glory (Ex. 15:16-18). In a sense, faith’s last work shall be its greatest. When
we are leaving this world, our bodies may convulse with pain, physical
unconsciousness may set in, and we may have many spiritual struggles. Yet, once
our souls are freed from this body of flesh, we shall be blest with such a
sight and sense of our blessed Redeemer as we never had and never could have in
this mortal state (Acts 7:55).
“So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are
done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they
had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they
had no comforter. Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than
the living which are yet alive.”