Ecclesiastes 4:1-2 "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. (2) Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive."
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, 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 grave side 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, I can understand the sorrow. Those who die in unbelief and sin die under the wrath of God!
If our sorrow is the sorrow of parting friends, I can understand that too. 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, I cannot understand that
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.
Tonight I want to talk to you about God's saints in heaven, our brothers and sisters who have been taken from us. The title of my message is WHERE HAVE THEY GONE; AND WHAT ARE THEY DOING?
Proposition: I want to show you that 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 than ever and full of happiness.
Divisions: In the message this evening I have four points. I am going to make two statements and answer two questions.
1. The soul of a redeemed sinner, immediately after death, enters into heaven, into a state of eternal happiness.
2. For the believer, the death of the body and the freeing of his soul is a welcome relief.
3. Where have our departed friends gone?
4. What are God's saints doing in heaven?
I. First, let me show you from the Word of God that THE SOUL OF A REDEEMED SINNER, IMMEDIATELY AFTER DEATH, ENTERS INTO HEAVEN, INTO A STATE OF ETERNAL HAPPINESS.
It is not my intention to answer the foolish questions of infidels and heretics. And I do not intend to be sidetracked by the foolish speculations of ignorant men and women about life after death. My purpose is threefold: I want to…
Therefore, I will speak to you about the wonder of immortality with 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. "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 speak of 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.
A. 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.
1. When the righteous perish from the earth, they live in uprightness forever (Isa. 57:1-2).
Isaiah 57:1-2 "The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. (2) He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness."
a. The righteous are those men and women who are born of God, made righteous by grace.
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.
2. 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.
Luke 16:22-25 "And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; (23) And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (24) And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. (25) But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented."
3. Every repentant sinner, as soon as he dies, is taken to be with Christ in Paradise (Lk. 23:43).
a. Paradise is heaven, the garden of God (Rev. 2:7).It is the third heaven which Paul had been 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.
b. It was to Paradise that Christ went as soon as he died, to obtain eternal redemption for us (Heb. 9:12).
c. It is a place of assured blessedness, promised to sinners who seek the mercy of God in Christ – "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise."
4. Death for the believer is gain, infinite, immeasurable gain (Phil. 1:21, 23).
Philippians 1:21-23 "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (22) But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. (23) For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:"
a. Paul believed that, as soon as he departed from this world, he would immediately be with Christ in blessed communion.
b. Believing the Word and promise of God, he looked upon death as a desirable thing.
B. 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.
1. They have gone to a specific place, where Christ is. 2. They are assembled as a glorified church (Heb. 12:22-23).Hebrews 12:22-24 "But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, (23) To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, (24) And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel."
3. Their souls exist in a recognizable form.
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).
2 Corinthians 5:1 "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
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.
II. Secondly, I want you to see that 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).
Revelation 14:13 "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them."
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. And we would not change our lot in life, even if we could. Our heavenly Father knows and always does what is best.
I want you to understand me. I am not weary of life. I cannot imagine a man in this world having a happier, more tranquil, blessed life than I have.
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!"
2 Corinthians 5:1-4 "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (2) For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: (3) If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. (4) For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life."
I have many friends in heaven whom I dearly love. I miss them. But I do not sorrow for them. 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).
Psalms 17:15 "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness."
III. 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. Now, let me answer this question – WHERE HAVE OUR DEPARTED FRIENDS GONE?
I have already shown you that they 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.
John 14:1-3 "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. (2) In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
Read 2 Corinthians 5:1-8. In these eight verses Paul tells us several things about the believer's death and entrance into heaven.
2 Corinthians 5:1-8 "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (2) For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: (3) If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. (4) For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. (5) Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. (6) Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (7) (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) (8) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."
A. Death is the dissolving of this earthly body.
B. In heaven, we shall have another house for our souls. "In my Father's house are many mansions," houses, dwelling places.
C. 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.
D. This is not a matter of conjecture, but a matter of certainty – "We know…"
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!
IV. Fourthly, let me briefly answer one more question. WHAT ARE GOD'S SAINTS DOING IN HEAVEN?
The Scriptures speak sparingly with regard to the saints' employment in heaven. But there are four or five things revealed to us.
A. God's saints in heaven are celebrating and adoring the perfections of God in Christ (Rev. 5:11-12; 7:11-12).
Revelation 5:11-12 "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; (12) Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing."
Revelation 7:11-12 "And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, (12) Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen."
B. God's saints in heaven are delightfully employed in beholding the glory of God in the face of Christ (John 17:24).
John 17:24 "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world."
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 my eyes off him, and never wanting to.
C. God's saints in heaven are employed in the constant exercise of every spiritual grace.
D. God's saints in heaven are employed in the unending service of Christ (Rev. 7:14-15).
Revelation 7:14-15 "And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (15) Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them."
1. They are engaged in prayer (Rev. 6:10).
E. God's saints in heaven are engaged in constant, uninterrupted fellowship, communion, and conversation with one another and with the holy angels.
Application:
1. Make certain that you are in Christ.
2. Take comfort with regard to those who have gone to heaven.
3. Be assured that our weary, troublesome lives will end soon – and they will end well (2 Cor. 4:17 - 5:1).
2 Corinthians 4:17-5:1 "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; (18) While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
Ecclesiastes 4:1-2 "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. (2) Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive."
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