Confirming Our Faith: Life after Death and the Return of Christ.

Confirming Our Faith : Life after Death and the Return of Christ.

Part One: This Sunday evening we look at the very important topics of life after death and of Christ’s return. We should do so with a view to considering how living in the light of the Kingdom of God should influence our values, priorities and life-style on earth. We should not be preoccupied with speculation about the time-table of events but rather prepare for his coming, living each moment in anticipation of his return. Furthermore, Jesus’ resurrection overcame the power and fear of death.

Firstly, a few words about the Anglican approach to scripture and doctrine:
every doctrine that is necessary for salvation is found in Scripture – we do not insist that anyone believe a teaching that cannot be proven from Scripture.
no text in Scripture should be interpreted in a manner that is in conflict with the rest of the Bible – i.e. Scripture interprets Scripture.
longstanding traditions of the Church which are not contrary to Scripture continue to be held. We respect the teachings of the church fathers, councils and saints through the centuries, provided they do not contradict the clear teaching of scripture.
we are not inclined to accept innovative doctrines which are not part of the deposit of faith received from the Apostles and taught by the church of the first few centuries: this means we do not hold to either the additions of Rome (e.g. purgatory etc) or new revelations promoted by various sects and cults.

Old Testament teaching on life after death is sparse. Jews believed in Sheol, the place of the departed, variously translated in English as hell, the grave or the pit or abyss, and in Greek as Hades. The righteous and the unrighteous alike had the same destiny. Some OT scriptures imply life after death or a resurrection, eg Psalm 16:10, Job 19:25-27. Daniel 12: 2 and Isaiah 66:24 imply two destinies: for the good and the evil.

Inter-testamental Period: 2 Macabees 12:42-45 mentions prayers and sacrifices for the dead.

New Testament times:
The Sadducees denied the resurrection of the body and the existence of angels. The Pharisees accepted both as did Jesus. Jesus taught extensively on heaven, hell, the resurrection and judgment as well as his second coming. He also used a new name for hell: Gehenna which referred to the valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem where worshippers of Moloch had sacrificed their children and which had been turned into a refuse dump. There fires burned constantly to consume garbage and the corpses of executed criminals. This provided an apt metaphor for eternal torment.

St Paul writes of the resurrection in 1 Cor 15 and also of the second coming of Jesus in his letters to the Thessalonians (1Thes 4 and 2Thes 2).

Summary:
The word “Heaven” is used in several different ways in the Bible: as the sky, as a euphemism for God, as the realm of God where he dwells with the angels and the saints, and as the final destination of the faithful.
The English word “Hell” is a translation of various different concepts which are not synonymous: the place of all the departed before Christ’s crucifixion (Sheol or Hades), the realm of Satan and his demons, or the final destiny of those who reject Christ. Furthermore, in Revelation we read of a lake of fire prepared for the devil and his angels, into which death and Hades will be thrown along with those who rebel against God. We do not know how much of the language used to describe these places or states is figurative and how much is literal.
Salvation is by faith in Christ, by Grace alone as a gift from God, and not as a reward for observing the Law.
Eternal punishment awaits those who reject Christ. Some Christians believe this is final annihilation, others that it is perpetual torment. Universalists believe that eventually all will be saved: this cannot be supported from scripture. The Eastern Orthodox have an interesting approach: they teach that those who have rejected Christ experience the eternal love of God as painful, whereas those who have accepted Christ experience it as wonderful.
Paradise appears to be that part of Sheol where the righteous awaited the resurrection. The righteous and the unrighteous souls were separated but aware of each other in Jesus’ parable of Lazarus and the rich man. There is therefore no contradiction in Jesus’ words to the repentant thief that “today you will be with me in Paradise” and the line in the Apostle’s Creed which states that Jesus descended to the dead (Hades, sometimes translated as Hell).
After Jesus’ death he preached to the people of the Old Testament era in Sheol/Hades and freed the righteous: 1 Peter 3:19-20, 1Peter 4:6, 2 Cor 2:14 and Eph 4:8-10. This is sometimes referred to in literature as the “harrowing of hell”. The OT saints were saved by looking forward to Christ just as we are saved by faith in his completed work on Calvary.
Our eternal destiny is determined before we die (particular judgment: Heb 9:27). When we die, if we have accepted salvation, although our bodies appear to sleep, our spirits are aware, and they are with Christ in heaven awaiting the resurrection of the body. The spirits of those who have rejected Christ await a resurrection to judgment.
The Church includes the faithful on earth and the souls of the faithful departed, who are in God’s presence now and are a “great cloud of witnesses” surrounding us. When we worship God we do so together with the all those faithful Christians who preceded us.
Before Christ returns the church will be persecuted from without and afflicted with heresy within. These have both been the experience of the church since the beginning but will be worse before he returns. Nevertheless, we have his promise that the Holy Spirit will guide the church into all truth and the church itself is referred to as the “pillar and ground of truth”. Therefore we can have confidence that there will still be a faithful church when he returns.
Christ will return in triumph as Lord and King to judge the earth. The dead in Christ will rise to meet him as he comes with his angels. (The first resurrection). His followers will have glorified bodies like his resurrected body.
The scriptures speak of 1000 year reign of Christ on earth assisted by the faithful. Some Christians believe this to represent the church age, others believe in a literal 1000 year reign, after which comes the final rebellion of Satan and Christ’s final victory. Among the early church fathers one can find both views represented.
There will be a new heaven and a new earth.
Satan, his angels and his followers will be cast into the Lake of Fire.

Part Two: Areas of controversy: there is not sufficient space here to deal with these in depth but we can discuss them.
Purgatory.
The Millenium.
The secret Rapture.
The fate of unbaptized babies who die.
The fate of those who have never heard the gospel.
Prayer to the saints
Prayers for the dead.