Matters of Life and Death V

Larry Siegle
09/22/24 - Sun AM

Link to sermon video: Matters of Life and Death V - L Siegle

Matters of Life and Death V

(Hebrews 2:14, 15)

Series:  Matters of Life and Death

Thesis:  Learning to understand and appreciate what God has set before each of us.

INTRODUCTION

1.    The title of this series is Matters of Life and Death

2.    This is the fifth installment in the series, and I would encourage you to go back and review what we studied

        together so far.

        a.     We are exploring what happens to a person when he dies?

        b.    What does the Bible teach about life after death?

        c.     What does the Bible teach about Hell?

        d.    What about the emotional aspects?

THE PROBLEM OF THE FEAR OF “DEATH”

1.    The writer of Hebrews discusses the redemptive work of Christ during the “days of His flesh” (Heb. 5:7) experienced

        the “suffering of death” (Heb. 2:9), “learned obedience through the things He suffered” (Heb. 5:8, 9), and “tasted

        death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9), and was ‘perfected’ (Heb. 2:10).

2.    The people of Israel understood very little about the meaning of what to expect was to happen when physical life was

        over.  One writer observes:

        “The pre-Exilic period is dominated by the belief that death, as a purely natural phenomenon, marked the end of life.

        The afterlife, if one can call it that, consisted of a silent existence in Sheol, the realm of the dead, where both righteous

        and wicked shared a common fate, isolated for eternity from God and the living…”

        a.     A gradual change after the time of the Babylonian exile, the concepts within Israel began to change, some of

               which was caused by the influence of the very nations that had taken them into captivity.

        b.    J. Jeremias, in his discussion of ‘hades’ (the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Sheol) in TDNT, makes this comment:

               “Three significant changes occurred: (a) the concept of resurrection gave rise to the idea that the dead would not

               remain in Sheol for ever; (b) Greek and Persian views on retribution after death resulted in the division of the

               underworld into different compartments for the righteous and the wicked; (c) the Greek concept of immortality

               [of the human soul] led to the idea that the righteous went directly to heaven whereas the wicked descended

               to Sheol, which consequently was perceived as a place of punishment.”

3.    Although the OT most certainly foretold the hope of resurrection (Isa. 25:8-10; Hos. 13:14), this was often seen within

        the context of national restoration to the “land” (Dan. 12:1-3; Ezek. 37:3-14)

        a.    For Israel, separation from the “land of the living” (covenant land) and “sacred space” (Holy Ground) was the  ultimate expression of being “cut off” (Ezek. 37:11) – the feeling of ‘hopelessness’

        b.    Separation from God and separation from the “land” were seen as the manifestation of “death” and created a

               national “fear of death” (Heb. 2:9) – in the first century, they were “in the land” but under the bondage and

               oppression of Roman ‘captivity’

THE INFLUENCE OF THE NATIONS ON THE MEANING OF DEATH

1.    The OT concept of Sheol/Hades as the “grave” or “realm of the dead” is mirrored by the views of their neighbors such

        as the Akkadians who saw this concept of the “realm of the dead” as the “place of no return”

2.    In an earlier message we discussed the relationship of the Hebrew word for “death” and the MOT, the pagan “god of

        the dead” and the fact that this god would be defeated.

3.    Greek and Persian influence (Hellenistic) on the matter of immortality of the soul:

        The Jewish Encyclopedia states:

        "The belief that the soul continues its existence after the dissolution of the body is a matter of philosophical and

        theological speculation rather than of simple truth, and is accordingly nowhere taught in Holy Scripture…" [Jewish

        Encyclopedia, Immortality of the Soul, 1925.]

        "We are influenced always more or less by the Greek, Platonic idea that the body dies, yet soul is immortal. Such an

        idea is utterly contrary to the Israelite consciousness and is nowhere found in the Old Testament." [International Bible

        Encyclopedia, Page 812, 1960.]

4.    Much of this thinking of the “soul” as a separate conscious part of human makeup came, not from the Scriptures, but

        from the philosophy of Plato:

        “"The soul, whose inseparable attitude is life, will never admit of life's opposite, death. Thus, the soul is shown to be

        immortal, and since immortal, indestructible…we believe there is such a thing as death? To be sure. And is this

        anything but the separation of the soul and body? Being dead is the attainment of this separation, when the soul exists

        in herself and separate from the body, and the body is parted from the soul. This is death…death is merely the

        separation of the soul from the body." [Plato, 428-347 BC.]

5.    This view gradually crept into the church through some of the prominent “fathers” such as Origen [185-254 AD]

        "The soul, having a substance and life of its own, shall after its departure from the world, be rewarded according to its

        deserts, being destined to obtain either an inheritance of eternal life and blessedness, if its actions shall have procured

        this for it, or to be delivered up to eternal fire and punishments, if the guilt of its crimes shall have brought it down to

        this …" ( Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 4, 1995, p. 240).

        a.    Richard Tarnas, in his book, The Passion of the Western Mind, points to this influence:

        "… It was Augustine's formulation of Christian Platonism that was to permeate virtually all of medieval Christian

        thought in the West. So enthusiastic was the Christian integration of the Greek spirit that Socrates and Plato were

        frequently regarded as divinely inspired pre-Christian saints …" (1991, p. 103).

6.    These conceptual ideas came, not from the Scriptures, but over the course of history:

        a.    The Jewish Encyclopedia states:

               "The belief that the soul continues its existence after the dissolution of the body is a matter of philosophical and

               theological speculation rather than of simple truth, and is accordingly nowhere taught in Holy Scripture…" [Jewish

               Encyclopedia, Immortality of the Soul, 1925.]

               "We are influenced always more or less by the Greek, Platonic idea that the body dies, yet soul is immortal. Such

               an idea is utterly contrary to the Israelite consciousness and is nowhere found in the Old Testament."

               [International Bible Encyclopedia, Page 812, 1960.]

7.    The Bible, instead teaches that immortality was conditioned upon faith in Christ (John 3:16; Rom. 6:23).

8.    Nowhere does the Bible describe the effects of “death” in terms of the most common concepts that have come to be

        associated with it.

THE HELL OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

1.    We have discussed the common Hebrew term Sheol and made a notation of the Greek corresponding word “Hades”

        that is found in the NT.

2.    In the majority of English translations there is another word “Gehenna” that is used 12 times in the NT, 11 times in the

        Gospel accounts and once in the letter of James.

3.    We need to keep our understanding of these passages within the background of “audience relevance” as it pertained

        to the national judgment of Israel.

4.    Who was Jesus preaching to, throughout the gospel accounts:  Israel.

        a.    Jesus was “born of a woman, born under the law” (Gal. 4:4; Rom. 15:8-11).

        b.    Jesus came to “save His people (Israel) from their sins (Matt. 1:21)

        c.     The preaching of Jesus was directed to Jews (Matt. 10:5, 6; 15:24).

        d.    Salvation is “of the Jews” (John 4:22)

        e.    The “nations” would be blessed because of Israel (Gen. 12:1-3).

5.    When Jesus speaks of judgment the primary audience was the Jews (Matt. 3:10-12).

6.    Gehenna (used by Jesus) had reference to the “valley of Hinnom” which was dedicated to the god Molech, and during

        the reign of Ahaz because Judah had begun to sacrifice their own children into the “fire” (Jer. 7:30-33).

        a.    Gehenna became a ‘garbage dump’ outside the gates of Jerusalem where “dead bodies” were thrown and

               “destroyed” (not forever tormented).

        b.    The final judgment of Israel was moving toward Gehenna for those who rejected Christ as their Messiah it symbolized “destruction” not endless torment or torture forever.

7.    The concepts of Hell that have been passed along, down through the centuries came, primarily from two sources:

        a.    Divine Comedy (Dante’s Inferno) 1321 AD that provided a picture of each “ring” of Hell.

        b.    Paradise Lost (John Milton) 1667 AD pictures of the fall of Adam and Eve and what Hell is like for the wicked.

CONCLUSION

1.    Next week we are going to examine some of the statement of Jesus that, when taken in context pointed toward the

        time of national judgment on Israel and what it meant for those who had rejected Jesus as Messiah.

2.    We cannot afford to allow superstition and the creative fiction of various writers to overshadow what the Bible

        teaches about life after death.

3.    Jesus experienced death “for everyone” who accept Him as Lord and Savior (Rom. 10:9, 10)