I invite you to open in your Bibles to the book of Revelation. It's the very end of our Bibles. Literally, if you go to the very back and you flip back through the indexes and scripture readings, and you flip to the very last page of your Bible, we're gonna be in Revelation 20 and 21. So just back a couple pages from that. I'm gonna read the passage and pray, and then I'll jump right in the sermon. Hear now the word of God. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years and threw him into the pit and shut it and sealed it over him so that he might not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection. Over such, the second death has no power. But they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the sea. They marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints in the beloved city. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them. And the devil, who was deceived, was thrown in the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were. They will be tormented day and night, forever and ever. Then I saw a great white throne, and him who was seated on it. From his presence, earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore. for the former things have passed away. Thus ends the reading of God's holy, inerrant word. May its truth be ever written on our hearts. Let us pray. Dear God, moments like this, we come to you in hard times looking for hope and looking for truth. Lord, you have spoken to us in your word. Lord, make this clear to us and help us to see our hope in Jesus Christ. Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be ever pleasing and acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen. If you are visiting today, this is not our normal routine. I don't think of myself as a preacher who favors the Book of Revelation, and obviously we don't do All Saints Day every week. I normally work through books of the Bible, section by section. We're going through the Book of Mark, and we'll be back in that next week. But I felt like the last couple sermons of Mark were a little hard for people, and so I felt like we needed a breath for a moment. And since it's All Saints Day and we're reflecting on those who have gone before us, we're thinking about that great crowd of witnesses that surround us, as Hebrews said, I wanted us to take a moment to reflect on our own mortality. Today, I want to tackle one of those extremely difficult questions we face in this life. Not just Christians, everyone must ask what happens after we die. Many people may feel like this is a personal thing, but it really can't be. What I mean by that is we often think, because we don't actually know, that you can think what you want, and I can think what I want, and we should just kind of agree to disagree. But if God has spoken in his word, shouldn't we trust the God who created us? The God who speaks to us? You see, I believe what God has told us happens after we die. I believe he has told us in his word in order to give us purpose and hope in our current age. But it seems to me that many Christians get their views from just about anything else other than the Bible. All too often, I hear well-meaning Christians look at grieving people and say, they're looking down at you from heaven right now. as if they're magically turned into a god-like being that's able to see everything and pay attention to the world around them. I hear well-meaning Christians say that you have another guardian angel watching over you. That actually lowers the place of people in the Bible. The Bible says that at some point, there will be the angels serving the sons of man. They're not yet, they're serving God, but at one point they will serve the sons of man. So to say someone's become an angel is to say that they're gonna become your servant in eternity. Some so-called Christians are universalists. They believe everyone goes to heaven and no one goes to hell. Our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters believe in a thing called purgatory. It's not in the Bible, it's a tradition of the Roman church. But they believe that when you die, many go to this in-between place called purgatory, where you continue to atone for the sins you did not make right while on the earth. Not even to speak of all the non-Christian beliefs about what happens next. Many Eastern religions believe in reincarnation. If you're a good enough person, you come back as something else that's better than a human being. And if you're a bad person, you come back as something that's worse. And you continue that cycle till you return to the spirit. Many other religions believe in some sort of return to the spiritual world. But many of our modern secular thinkers, many atheists, just simply believe we return to a state of nothingness. But I think the truest and most certain model for what happens after we die is what we see in Jesus. First Corinthians 15 says that Jesus is the first fruits of new creation. Just like many of you went out in June and July and you saw the little tomatoes popping up on your vines or the corn in your fields, and you knew you were going to have a good harvest, Jesus, rising from the dead, is the first fruits, showing us what happens when we die so that we can expect a good harvest. And remember what the Apostles' Creed says. It says he was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to hell, what is probably better translated as Hades or the realm of the dead. We'll come back to that in a moment. But he descended into hell, and on the third day, he rose again. That is what we believe happens in a nutshell. We die, we descend into Hades, the realm of the dead, And one day, like Christ, we will rise again. That is what Jesus shows us. And I think that is what Jesus teaches us in his word. And as Christians, we should want to follow Jesus. We should want to take Jesus at his word. And that's why I'm starting here in the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation is actually a vision given by the Lord Jesus Christ himself to the apostle John to give hope to Christians facing persecution and death in the first century, and to give hope to all of us for centuries to come. I know Revelation is a weird book, and there's lots of weird things going on. Even in this passage, there's images that are hard to understand, and I am not going to get into the details here. I am not trying to explain all this right now, but there's one thing I want us to see in verses 4 and 5. Read it with me. This is Revelation 20, the end of verse 4. It says, They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Verse five then says, the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. And if the rest of the dead come to life after the thousand years are ended, that means there's a second resurrection. But here at the very end of our Bible, when it's giving us the things we're looking forward to and a life to come, it tells us that our hope is in resurrection. That is the Christian hope. The end goal, the thing we look forward to, the Bible's vision for our future, is not that we are some disembodied spirit floating up in the heavenly realms, in a big city on the clouds, partying with God. It is that there will be a real, physical, bodily resurrection just like Jesus. And this isn't just for Christians. Look at verse 12 with me. This is Revelation 20, verse 12 says, And I saw the dead, great and small, everyone, the greatest amongst us and the least amongst us, everyone, standing before the throne, and the books were open, skipping on, and the dead were judged by what was written in the books. Here it is showing us that everyone, big and small, great and little, Christian and non-Christian alike, will stand before the throne of Jesus Christ on Judgment Day. Everyone, Christian and non-Christian, will rise from the grave to receive judgment. And those who are written in the book of life, those that are saved because of Jesus Christ, will receive eternal life in a new heaven, in a new earth. And those that are not in the Lamb's book of life, those that are not saved, those that are lost, will receive eternal damnation. To quote the words of the Evangelical Congregational Fellowship, We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost, they that are saved unto the resurrection of life, and they that are lost unto a resurrection of damnation. This is what Bible-believing Christians the world over believe, because this is what Revelation 20 shows us. That there will be a resurrection of everyone, the living and the dead, that every person who's ever lived will physically rise from the grave. And we will face Christ. And those who are in Christ will rise to eternal life, just like Jesus did. But those who are not in Christ, who are not saved, will rise to eternal damnation. And I know this sounds scary to a lot of people. But I think when you think about the fact that it's Jesus that we stand against, it is much more empowering. Is our God not perfect? Is our God not good and loving and just? On that day, no one will be cast into hell who does not deserve it. No one will face eternal punishment who does not deserve it. You see, the Bible says that the wages of sin is death. That the thing we deserve for any sin in our life, even just once, is eternal punishment. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm not perfect. And so how do those of us who are not perfect receive eternal life? Well, Jesus died on a cross to make us right with God. His blood, an atoning forgiveness to make it to where we can enter in. And as Christians, as those of us who believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ, we can have confidence that we are already purified and counted holy by Jesus. And that there is an eternal reward stored up for us in heaven, as Ephesians says. For Christians, we have the hope of eternal life. The Christian hope is resurrection. And for those of us who are saved, it is resurrection onto eternal life. But that's a future reality. That's something we get to look forward to down the way. I hope Jesus comes back today. If he came back today, that would be amazing. But what does that mean if you die tonight and Jesus doesn't come back for another 2,000 years? What does that mean for all the people who have passed away since Jesus rose from the grave till now? Where are they? What's going on? What happens in the meantime till this resurrection day? Well, some Christians believe in something called soul sleep. They say our souls simply sleep until resurrection day. Just like you go to sleep at night and wake up refreshed in the morning, you die and sleep until you rise again refreshed and renewed in the resurrection. But there's a problem with this. What did Jesus tell the man next to him on the cross? Did he not say that you will be with me today in paradise? Not tomorrow, not next week, not 2,000 years from now. You will be with me today in paradise. That man who died on the cross next to Jesus 2,000 years ago is with Jesus today. He's not asleep waiting for a future resurrection as time passes him by. He is with Jesus. Many other Christians will suppose that some of us are sent up into heaven and others of us cast down into hell below. That is partially true. But I think the thing that Jesus teaches us is actually a lot more nuanced, a lot more surprising, and ultimately a lot more powerful. I want to encourage you to flip back in your Bibles to the book of Luke. Luke chapter 16, starting at verse 19. Luke chapter 16, starting at verse 19. This is the story of Lazarus and the rich man. Not to be confused with the resurrection of Lazarus in John chapter 11. We talked about that a couple of years back when I first got here. But here, we have a story called Lazarus and the rich man. And this is a teaching of Jesus himself. This is coming from the mouth of Jesus. Read it with me. Luke chapter 16, starting with verse 19. There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even dogs came to lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried by angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water to cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame. But Abraham said, Child, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus, in like manner, bad things. But now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you, there's a great chasm that has been affixed, in order that those who would pass from here to there may not be able, and none may cross from there to us. And he said, then I beg you, Father, to send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they would come into the place of torment. But Abraham said, they have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. And he said, no, Father Abraham, but if someone goes from the dead, they will repent. He said to them, if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convicted if someone should rise from the dead. Now, note here, it ends with a note of resurrection, but this passage is not ultimately about what happens after we die. It's about taking the scriptures seriously. He is saying if they will not believe Moses and the prophets, if they will not believe the Old Testament scriptures, then they won't understand what's going to happen. Brothers and sisters, if we truly want to take seriously what happens after we die, and if we want an answer and a solution, we must take the scriptures seriously. But in this passage, Jesus gives us a glimpse of what he says happens after we die. And I don't know about you, but if Jesus really is the eternal son of God in human form, I'm willing to trust him at his word on this one. And in this story, we see two people, Lazarus and the rich man, and they both die. and they kind of end up in the same place. There's a great tavern between them that cannot be crossed, but the rich man is able to see Lazarus at the side of Abraham, and he cries out to Abraham, and Abraham's able to talk to him. This means heaven and hell, where we go to when we die, are not two completely separate places. There's one domain, one place, where all the dead people go. This shows us that when we die, everyone goes to the same place, the realm of the dead. The New Testament writers and the early church fathers often refer to this as Hades. That's what we see right here in our passage in verse 23, and in Hades, being in torment. Hades is simply the realm of the dead. This is what it's talking about in Revelation 20, when it says death and Hades will cast up their dead, they will spit up their dead and give them to Jesus on Judgment Day, and then they will be cast in the lake of fire. The place of Hades will not last forever. It will be cast out when there is no more use for it in the world to come. But for now, until then, there is a place, a domain, where everyone goes when they die. a place called Hades. But the thing I want us to see here in Luke, verse 25, for the rich man, this is a place of anguish, but for Lazarus, this is a place of comfort. To say it differently, for those that are saved, Hades is a place of comfort, and for those that are lost, Hades is a place of torment. Which means, though we end up in the same kind of place, the same afterlife reality, there are two vastly different experiences. One that we might call hell or torment, the other we might call heaven or comfort. And they happen alongside one another. Does David not say in Psalm 23 that he, the Lord, prepared a table for me in the presence of my enemies? They're all there together. They can see across the cavern. They can witness what's happening. But notice what's all here. This is the place where God is. David, the psalmist, the great king of Israel, tells us that from the depths of Sheol, even in the depths of hell itself, you, oh God, are there. And Jesus said, you will be with me today in paradise. The place where our souls go when we die is the place where God is. And for those of us who are saved, for those of us who love God, that is a glorious comfort that we should embrace. But for those who hate God and hate His ways and hate His holiness, that is a terrifying reality, that we will be gathered with a holy and mighty and glorious King. You see, for those of us who delight in Jesus, who delight in his love, we will delight in the comfort of being at God's side. And for those who spit at God and hate God and would rather have nothing to do with him, they will be terrified in his very presence. And so as Christians, we look forward to an eventual coming resurrection. And until then, we get to delight in the glories of heaven. That is the Christian hope, that we get to be with God and that one day we will rise again renewed. So what does that mean for you and me today? What does that mean for our lives while we're still on this earth? Well, first and foremost, this is meant to give us hope. The whole reason Revelation was written was to give hope to persecuted Christians. Jesus is telling us this so that we would have hope. Hope that this life is not all there is. Hope that we will see our loved ones again, even if it's not in the way we would like. Hope about what comes next. This is meant to give us hope. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians that we as Christians do not grieve as those who have no hope. Because of the resurrection, we have hope. And if you're here today and you are not a Christian, and you don't believe the Bible, this may all seem like a bunch of nonsense, a bunch of hoopla. You may even be wondering if this is meant to be a service of mourning, why are we having a sermon like this? But let me ask you, if you don't believe this, what do you think happens after we die? And what hope is that to you? What hope is that to you in a world of brokenness and chaos, with wars and famine and slavery and addiction and problems galore? For me, I have hope that one day, no matter how bad things are here, my Lord, my good and mighty King, will one day make all things right. What hope does your view of what comes next give to you? And if you're here today and you're listening to this and you're saying, I believe that, I understand that, but I don't know how to get to the good place. I don't want to face judgment. I don't want to face this terrible thing. I'd rather have the comfort. I'd rather have eternal life. How do I get that? Let me tell you that the Bible very clearly says, if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, that he is your king, you will be Saved. The only thing you have to do is believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ, for he lived the life you and I are supposed to. And he died on a cross, taking our sins upon himself, washing us clean. And he rose again, conquering the powers of sin and death, showing us that death and Hades do not have the final say over us. And he says that if you believe in me, you will have eternal life. Brothers and sisters, I promise you God does not want you or anyone to face torment and destruction and judgment. He so badly wants you to be with Him forever that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. There is but one way to glory, and that is Jesus Christ Himself. And if you believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and repent of your sins, you will be saved. And if you've already done that and you're here today and you've been saved and you're a Christian, knowing what happens when we die should still impact your life. It should change the way you relate to other people. If you truly believe when people die, if they do not know Jesus, that they're going to hell, why would you not warn them about that? If you truly believe that people will face eternity in torment and that you have the solution in Jesus Christ, why would you not tell them? I'm not telling you to shove it down their throat or bring it up in every conversation or just force them to believe, but you would at least warn them what's going to happen, right? And think about all the other Christians. Believing that we're going to be living forever with other Christians should cause us to live differently in this world. We should put up with the Christians we may not like as much because we're gonna be with them forever. And we should dedicate a certain amount of our time and our life and our energy to being with other Christians, to building the relationships with the people we are gonna spend eternity with. You don't choose your family. You also don't get to choose the people Jesus saves. And if Jesus saved you, you should treat the other people that Jesus saves the same way. Also, if you are a Christian and you understand that we will physically rise again, that our bodies will be renewed and redeemed in the resurrection, that should change the way you treat your bodies and the world around you. I think too many Christians think we just need to go tell everyone about Jesus because God's going to destroy this world and just make everything new again. But I don't think that's what Jesus' resurrection shows us. Jesus had the same body. It was perfected. It was renewed and glorious, but it was the same body. And I think that's the same thing that happens with us and our world. When you rise again, you will have a perfected body. You won't have all the weakness and ailments and wrinkles of old age. You will have the best body you could possibly have. But when Jesus rose from the grave, he still had the scars on his hands and on his side. You may have a perfected body when you rise again, but that doesn't mean you won't have scars from the sins and faults of your past. And I say that to say, don't do things that will leave you with eternal scars. Furthermore, we should treat the world the same way. I don't think God's just gonna blow up this world and build a new one. When he talks about a new heaven and a new earth, it's probably better translated, a renewed heaven and a renewed earth. And if that is true, then we should care about this world. We should treat our farms and our communities and the places we build and grow with a lot of respect, knowing that this world is going to last forever. No matter what science says, this world will last forever, because that is God's plan. And lastly, let me just say, if you are a Christian, believing this happens when you die, that you will be with Christ should give you confidence. Paul says to live is Christ and die is gain. Under great persecution, when people were threatening him for his faith, when he was being stoned and people were trying to imprison him and kill him, he said to live is Christ. To live like that is to show people what Christ is like. And to die is gain, because even if you die, you get something so much better. That is the Christian hope. Christians do not fear death. Our hope is not some mythical spiritual reality floating around up there with baby cherubim flying about playing harps. We believe in a real physical bodily resurrection, just like Jesus. And until then, we can have comfort in the arms of our Savior. And I think that's pretty amazing. Don't you? Amen. Let's pray. Dear Lord God, we thank you for this time and we lift up our hearts and minds to you. We pray, help us to delight in the things you are doing here, to delight in this hope, to know that in you, this life is not all there is, but there is something so much greater to come. There is comfort and there is resurrection and the eternal life. And we pray, may we turn our hearts and minds to Jesus Christ, who saves us and gives us a way to you. In Jesus' name, amen.