The Real Truth About Near-Death Experiences

by Mark Finley

Discoveries In Prophecy lecture #15

Let's pray together tonight. Father in heaven, thank you that Jesus
Christ came and died on Calvary's cross and entered into a cruel tomb.
But thank you that death could not hold him. That he rose from the dead
and is alive. That he has the keys of death. That as we put our lives in
his hands, we need not fear death. Thank you that we can live with you
forever. In Christ' name. Amen.

My topic tonight, is the real truth about near-death experiences. What

happens five minutes after death? What happens a few seconds after
death? Is it heaven? Or hell? Or nothingness?

Grace was shaking with fever and terrible pain. Her body was just
trembling as she was rushed to the hospital. As she immediately was
ushered into the emergency room, the physicians gave her very, very
little hope. Her blood pressure was dropping. Grace described her
experience later. She said that as her blood pressure dropped, and as
she was very near death, it appeared that she was slipping out of her
body. It appeared to her, that something unusual and strange was
happening. It appeared that she was ascending to the ceiling. She seemed
to be floating up to the ceiling. She seemed to be looking back at the
physicians and the nurses that were attending her. She described her
experience as a journey to the light. In fact, grace said this, "I began
to feel the most incredible, warm, loving feeling. I was in this light
and there was a presence in this light." Experiences like this are
becoming more common in the United States and Canada and around the
world.

Seven million Americans claim that they have had a near death
experience. That is to say, that they apparently were approaching death.
That they sensed that something was leaving their body. That as they --
as this something left their body, they may identify it as a spirit or
their soul. They say they go through a dark tunnel. They come to the end
of that tunnel and there is this feeling of being in the light. This
feeling of being warmly embraced. In fact, this idea is so popular and
so prevalent, that last evening on nationwide television in the United
States, ABC television, Diana Sawyer one of the most popular interviewer
in the United States had a program called "turning point" in which she
interviewed people that had these so-called near-death experiences.
Books on near-death experiences have catapulted into best seller status.
Selling one copy after the other. One of the more popular authors is an
author by the name of Betty Eadie. She has written a book called
"Embraced By The Light" and a sequel to that called "The Awakening."
Both of these books have been on the "New York Times" best seller list
for weeks. The book "Journey Into The Light" again, talks about near-
death experiences.

What's really going on here? What are the real facts about these near
death experiences? Are they genuine, are they bona fide. Are they real
out of the body experiences. From a Christian perspective, are they from
God? Is this really the spirit or soul leaving the body at the time of
death that is conscious. Or, could it be that there is another force
that is involved in these near-death experiences. Are they demonic? How
do you explain and interpret these near death experiences. Well, let's
notice some basic facts as we start tonight about near death
experiences. First fact is this, none of the people who experienced near
death experiences really died. You can define death in two ways. You
can say there is clinical death and there is biological death. How many
of you tonight, and you can show by raising your hand, have ever heard
or read about a person who's heart stopped beating but they were
resuscitated and they ultimately lived? Have you ever heard about a
person like that? Most of us have. With modern medicine today, it's
possible for the heart to stop beating. When it does, we call that
clinical death. You lose your vital signs. The blood pressure drops.
The heart stops beating. That is clinical death. Clinical death takes
place first. But then there is brain death that takes place later.
Biological death occurs when not only does the heart stop beating and
the blood pressure lowers and the pulse stops, but it's when the person
is both clinically dead and biologically dead that they are pronounced
dead. So, in near death experiences, none of the people really are
biologically dead. That's a fact of science.

Now, secondly, many near-death experiences resemble hallucinations. You

can go back and look to people under the influence of drugs who didn't
die at all, and they will say, I had a near-death experience. By that I
mean they weren't in a car accident. They weren't going into some
operating room. Let me look at a few of them with you. Timothy Leary.
Timothy Leary was a professor at a Eastern University in the United
States. He advocated foolishly that young people should turn on to LSD.
A drug. Now, in the Saturday Evening Post, November 2, 1963, after
eating certain Mexican mushrooms, Timothy Leary said this, "I realized
that I had died. That I, Timothy Leary, the Timothy Leary game was gone.
I could look back and see my body in bed." Now, he had not died at all.
He had taken Mexican -- certain form of Mexican mushrooms, and he looked
back at his body in this vision or hallucination state. It wasn't death
at all. Here is Aldous Huxley. He took mistolene and he wrote, "My body
seems to have disassociated itself almost completely from my mind. It
was odd of course to feel that I was not the same as these arms and legs
out there." Now, notice the words he uses. He said, "I felt that I was
not the same." "My body seemed to have disassociated itself." In other
words, some of these experiences are very easily explained by what a
person perceives. What a person thinks. What a person feels happens. In
these two instances, Timothy Leary and Aldous Huxley, they were under
the influence of drugs. Now, it's possible for under medical experiments
to induce this feeling of leaving your body. For example, here is an
experiment that is done by Dr. Ladis Meduna. He administered 30% carbon
dioxide and 70% oxygen to a subject. Now, listen to what the subject
said in this medical experience. He said, "I felt", now notice "I felt",
it's a perception. "I felt as though I was looking down at myself. As
though I was way out here in space. I felt sort of separated." So the
person has an inducement of carbon dioxide. And he felt something that
was not reality. In actual fact, the person was not having an out of
body experience, but the chemical inducement made him feel that way.

Let me use a simple illustration for you that demonstrates that this
happens at times to some of us. That we feel things that are not true.
Have you ever had a nightmare? How many of you have had a nightmare?
Okay. Sure, we all have. Now, have you ever had a nightmare of falling
off a cliff? And you are falling off this cliff, and you wake up,
"ahhhhhhh! I'm falling off the cliff!" Were you really falling off the
cliff? Have you ever had a nightmare of somebody chasing you? And
surprisingly enough, you're running in slow motion. And you're trying to
get away from them, right? And what happens in your dream? They catch
you. But did that really happen, folk? Is it possible for the mind to
perceive things that are not real? But to us at the moment, they seem
real. Now, here is an absolutely amazing fact. That out of body near-
death experiences actually contradict scripture in reality. Near-death
experiences may occur when somebody's under the influence of drugs.
Near-death experiences may occur because of oxygen deprivation to the
brain. Also, scientists can take electrodes and hook them to the brain
and induce near-death experiences. Here is what the scientists have
discovered. Not everybody has near-death experiences. Not everybody that
dies. But a person who has a strong belief in a certain direction when
they begin to die, the memory may flood their brain and they may
perceive something that is actually not real. It's real in their mind.
Real in their perceptions. Like me running in slow motion in my dream.
It's real in my mind and my perceptions. But in reality it's not
happening. So, people perceive a spirit leaving the body. But that's not
in reality happening. You say how do you know that that is not really
happening? It's happening in their mind. It may be happening in their
mind. But to accept near-death experiences as a spirit leaving the body,
would be to deny scripture. Are you aware of the fact that out of body
near-death experiences actually contradict scripture? Look what the
Bible says. Job 7:9. "As a cloud vanishes and is gone" -- read with it
me, please. "So he who goes down to the gave does not return." He will -
- he will -- he will – He will never come to his house again. The Bible
is plain. When you die, and go down to the grave, do you in reality ever
return? If you are in actually fact dead, and you go down to your grave,
the Bible says he does not return. He will never come to his house
again. Job 16:22. The Bible says, when a few years are come, then I
shall go the way whence I shall not return. Job speaking about death
says, I'm not going to return. There is a door at death. That whence we
enter through death we go through and do not return. You see the Bible
does not teach that you die, that there is some spirit that leaves the
body, and God says, whoops, wait a minute, I made a mistake it wasn't
this person's time to die! Go back! Go back! In fact my Bible says, that
when a person dies, Hebrews 9:27, read it with me, please. As it is
appointed unto men once to die -- how many times do they die? Once. So
biological death occurs once. But after this, the what? The judgment. So
the Bible teaches, not that you die, that there is a spirit that leaves
the body. Then comes back to give you a second opportunity. The Bible
says, when you die, you never return. The Bible says, that this life is
the opportunity to provide for us, choice. To accept or reject the
claims of God. It is appointed unto men once to die. And then, the
judgment. Now here is a fourth fact about near-death experiences. Many
near-death experiences, or NDE's, many of these experiences are
frightfully similar to what spiritualism teaches. I wonder. I just
wonder. Could it be that the reason near-death experiences have become
so popular on television, in books, in the radio, could it be that Satan
is preparing to use deceptions. In near-death experiences, a person
supposedly dies and travels through a dark tunnel and many times,
they're surrounded by a being of light. Some kind of all- pervasive
being. The Bible talks not about it being of light, but a personal God!
With a real face! And it -- these near-death experiences, sometimes,
these people that go through this dark tunnel, they are surrounded by
loved ones. Let's look at what spiritualism teaches. Get ready for a
surprise. Spiritism claims that the dead are not really dead. Let's go
to J. Arthur Hill's book, "Spiritism Phenomena in History", J. Arthur
Hill, one of the more popular renowned spiritualists. Quote, and I'm
quoting J. Arthur Hill, "The fundamental principle of spiritism is that
human beings survive bodily death. And that occasionally, under
conditions not yet fully understood, we can communicate with those who
have gone before." (J. Arthur Hill, Spiritism: History, Phenomena and
Doctrines, page 25). So this spiritualist says that, when you die you're
not really dead. And then, spiritism also claims, that the dead can
communicate with the living. See, spiritism says that there is this
immortal part of human beings that lives on. And that this immortal
part of beings that lives on can communicate. So, Oliver Lodge. A
London, England, spiritualist says, "there is no death in the graveyard.
I have frequent talks with the dead. I cannot doubt that people live
after death for I frequently talk with them." Isn't this very close to
near-death experiences? A person so-called dies. Supposedly their spirit
goes through a dark tunnel. They meet relatives and talk with them.
Isn't it just like a demonic force to link elements of spiritualism and
elements of Christianity? This then makes the question, what happens
when somebody dies extremely important. It's absolutely vital, ladies
and gentlemen for you and for me to understand the subject of death. And
the only reliable text we have, is the Bible. The only reliable source
is the Bible. Because, would you agree that our minds can deceive us. In
that dream when you dreamed you were running in slow motion, your mind
was deceiving you. When you dream that you were falling off a cliff,
your mind was deceiving you. So, our minds can trick us. Our minds can
deceive us. And Satan can play on that to get us involved in final
counterfeits. So, the only hope, is to go back to the Bible.

What happens when someone dies? The Bible provides a clear answer The
Bible opens its pages to us. You know, death is really like creation in
reverse. So, let's go back to genesis. Back there, when God created Adam
and Eve. And you remember Satan in the form of a serpent came to Eve.
And Satan said, you shall not surely die. Genesis 3:4. Satan said to
Eve, you can partake of that tree. You are immortal. You can live
forever.

God said if you partake of the tree, you will what. Die. What was
Satan's first lie? "you shall not surely die". Satan's first lie was
over this matter of death. He said, you're immortal, you won't die. Now
look, the spiritualist quote what Satan said. And this is what they say.
Remarkable, and I'm quoting a spiritualist by the name of E.W. Sprague.
"Spiritualism says that the dead know more than the living." Wait a
minute, what does spiritualism say according to this spiritualist? That
the dead know what? More than the living. So, when you as a Christian or
I as a Christian say, when you die you know more than the people that
are alive. That's echoing the spiritualists. Spiritualism says that the
dead know more than the living. Now, this spiritualist quotes the
serpent. "And the serpent said unto the woman, you shall not surely
die." In this, the spiritualist says, as in many other Bible passages,
the devil told the truth and the Lord is in error. Do you believe that,
friends? I don't believe that for one second. When he says, the devil
told the truth? About, what, about death. The devil said you're not
going to die. The devil said, you're immortal. The devil said -- but God
said, he that eats of this tree will die. Let's go back to creation. You
know, John 8:44 says, there is no truth in Satan. When he speaks a lie,
he speaks of his own and he is a liar and the father of it. The devil
has lied about death. And unfortunately, many well meaning people, many
sincere people, many genuine people, have accepted the devil's lie.
Because the Bible says, in revelation 16:14, they are the spirits of
devils working miracles. Do you think that the devil could actually
masquerade as one of your dead loved ones? Do you think that the devil
could actually take on a form with one of his evil angels as the dead
loved one? Do you think that the devil could even use the tone of a dead
loved one and speak like that dead loved one?

One night I was in Legaspi City, the lovely islands of the Philippines,
the base of the Mayon Volcano, lecturing in Bicol University. And that
night, I talked about spiritualism. That night, I read the Bible text.
They will never return to their house. When they go down, they never can
come back. I warned about spiritualism. That night, the lieutenant in
one of the army divisions there, battalions went home, went to sleep.
Terrible rainstorm. Wind blowing through the windows, shutters flapping.
The shutters banging on the side of the house woke him up. He woke up.
Woke up, looked up above his bed and there he saw the form of his wife,
who had died a few months before. She reached out to him. She said, I'm
here, darling. It sounded like his wife. It looked like his wife. But he
remembered they will never return to their house again. He remembered,
they're the spirits of demons working miracles. He said, you are not my
wife. You are a demon. And he said, Pastor, before my eyes, the light
turned to darkness when I said "in the name of Christ be done with me."
But then we still are left with that question, though. What happens when
you die?

What is it that leaves the body at death? Is it the spirit. Is it the

soul? What is that? What actually happens at death? Well let's go to
creation. The Bible says, the Lord God -- read with it me, please. The
Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground. The Bible goes on, and
breathed into his nostrils the Breath of Life. And man became a living
soul. Genesis 2:7. So God formed man out of the dust of the ground. Then
God breathed into his nostrils the Breath of Life. And then man became a
living soul, a living creature, a living personality. Does the Bible say
God put an immortal soul in Adam? Does the Bible say that? No. God
formed him out of the dust of the ground. That's his body. God breathed
into him the breath, the power of life. And man became a living soul.
So, we can say, read with it me, please. Dust plus spirit equals a
living soul. So, what is a living soul? It's the product of the body,
plus the spirit of God. Breathed into his nostrils. We can say it this
way. Read it again. The elements of the earth plus the breath equals a
living creature. So, in the Bible when it talks about a living soul,
it's also talking abut a living -- what? Creature, a living being. Don't
we sometimes use that expression, we say, I went shopping and there was
not a soul there. What does your husband say? Good thing or you really
would have been frightened. Not at all. In fact Paul talks about a boat.
He says, there were 276 souls on the boat. Did he mean some kind of
conscious entities? No. We use that for people.

The Bible uses the word soul in two ways. First, something we are. I am
a living soul. A living creature. A living being. You are a living soul.
A living creature. A living being. The Bible sometimes talks about us as
having a soul. Simply means we have life. We have a soul. We have life.
Death is creation in reverse. When God created us, he made our bodies
out of the dust. Breathed into our nostrils the Breath of Life. We
became living souls. Living beings. Living personalities. Living
individuals. Now, what happens when we die? Ecclesiastes 12:7. "Then
the dust will return to the earth as it was and the spirit will return
to God that gave it." God breathed his spirit into us. When we die, the
body goes to the dust. The spirit goes back to God. Now, does the Bible
say the soul goes back to God? Is that what it says? Not at all. Because
when we die, the living soul no longer exists. Now, many people are
confused, they have the idea that the spirit and the soul are the same
thing. And that confuses them. Let's look at what the Bible says. Job
27:3. "All the while my breath is in me. And the spirit of God is in my
nostrils." In Hebrew poetry, often the poet mentions something in the
first verse and explains it in the second. The Bible talks about the
breath in me. And the spirit of God in my nostrils. In the Bible. The
breath and the spirit are the same thing. God breathes his breath into a
human being and that person lives. God breathes his spirit into them,
and they live. The person dies. The body goes to the grave. The spirit
or power of life goes back to God that gave it. The body goes to the
earth. Spirit to God. Notice, Psalm 146:3, 4. "Put not your trust in
princes, nor in the son of man in whom there is no health. His breath
goes forth." Now remember in Ecclesiastes 12:7 it said that the spirit
went forth. The breath and the spirit are, what, everybody? The same.
His breath goes forth. He returns to the earth. In that very day his --
what perish? Thoughts perish. So is this spirit that goes forth, is it
something conscious, yes or no? No. Because the Bible says, his thoughts
do what? Perish. So, when a person dies, their body goes to the dust.
There the spirit of God, not their spirit, but the spirit of God. The
life giving force of God. Goes back to God who gave it. And their
thoughts perish. So, according to the Bible, when a person dies, the
elements of the earth go back to the earth. The breath or spirit goes to
God. And the person is dead. So, in the Bible, there is no such thing as
an immortal soul that lives on. There is no such thing in the Bible as a
spirit that has conscious existence. Now maybe I can illustrate it this
way so you can understand the term "spirit" and "body" in the Bible.
Let's suppose that we say that this -- to have illumination, I need two
things. I need power running through the filaments. I need a light bulb.
So that when the light is plugged in, and power runs through the
filament, it will go into the light bulb and there will be illumination.
So, the power plus the light bulb equals illumination. So the power of
God, the breath of God, the spirit of God, coming into my body, produces
life. But when the light bulb is unplugged, the light goes out. So when
I die, just as the power goes back to the power house and the bulb is
left, but there is no illumination, so when I die, the power of God goes
back to God. My body goes to the tomb. God records my identity. God has
a record of my individuality. And in the Bible, death is but a sleep. It
is but a rest. I am simply resting. I am simply secure in the arms of
God. When I die, there is no more temptation. When I die, there is no
more harassment from the devil. It is perfect rest and perfect peace.
But God preserves my personality. God preserves my identity. God
preserves my individuality. And in the resurrection day when Christ
comes, I will be resurrected to serve him forever.

That is the teaching of the Bible. In fact, the Bible says in

Ecclesiastes 9:5. For the living know that they shall die. But the dead
know not anything. How much do the dead know, everybody? How much do the
dead know? Nothing. Can the dead communicate with the living? Can they?
But can Satan through an evil angel try to impersonate a dead loved one?
Can you see why the devil wants the church to misunderstand death? So he
can deceive people through a false idea of spiritualism. But my Bible
says, the living know that they shall die. But the dead know not
anything. Psalm 115:17. The dead praise not the Lord neither any that go
down into silence. The dead praise not the Lord. Somebody said, but,
wait a minute, I thought when you die, you immediately went to heaven.
And I loved the idea of my mother up in heaven. I just love the idea of
momma looking down at me. I love the idea of her seeing me when I'm up
there in Heaven. Friend, let's suppose that what some people believe is
true. Let's suppose that momma died and for purpose of discussion, let's
suppose she was up in heaven. Let's suppose that your marriage went
sour. And you had an alcoholic husband. And that he came into the room,
and put his hands on your throat and began choking you. Would momma up
in heaven saying, stop, stop, stop. Or let's suppose that momma died and
supposedly went to heaven left a little 7-year-old girl. Suppose that 7-
year-old is running out into the street. Would momma in heaven see the
car coming and screeching? Or what about the boy flying the fighter
plane in war. Does momma see as he is shot down with machine gun bullets
through his throat. And his hands burned? Or does momma see her son
suffering with cancer, week after week and dying in agony. Oh, God's way
is so much better, friend. The living know that they shall die. But the
dead know nothing. When a person dies, the power of life goes back to
God. When a person dies, their body goes to the dust. When a person
dies, it's like resting peacefully in the hands of Jesus. It's secure.
He records our identity. He records our individuality. But there is no
conscious existence at that point. And all the sorrow of life, we know
nothing about it. All the heartache of life, we know nothing about it.
Until Jesus resurrects us and makes us all things new! Isn't God's way
so much better, friend?
The Bible says, in Psalm 6:5. For in death there is no remembrance of
you. See if we went to heaven when we died, we'd certainly be praising
God. See, but the Bible says, the dead praise not what? The Lord. The
Bible says, that in death is no remembrance of God in the grave. Who
will give you thanks? The Bible is clear. The Bible says, Ezekiel 18:4.
Because you know, some people say, well, don't we have an immortal soul.
Ezekiel 18:4 says, the soul that sinneth it shall what? Die. If the soul
were immortal, could it die? No. So the Bible says, the soul that
sinneth it shall die. So, can the soul die according to the Bible? Sure.
Because what is the soul? It's a living creature. And when the person's
breath goes back to God, and the body goes to the earth, they're no
longer a living creature or a living soul. It's important in the Bible
to look at two words, mortal and immortal. The word mortal means subject
to death. The word immortal, means not subject to death. The word
"mortal" means subject to disease and decay. The word "immortal" means
not subject to death, disease and decay.

In the Bible, human beings are always mortal. Job 4:17. Says, shall
mortal man be more just than his maker. We are mortal. Romans 6:12.
Romans 8:11. 2 Corinthians 4:11 all talks about us as being mortal. We
are subject to death and disease. Human beings always seek immortality.
And we only receive it at the second coming of Christ. In Romans 2, it
says, verse 7, 8. You're seeking for immortality. So, I am mortal.
Subject to death. At the second coming of Christ, we receive immortality
or we're not subject to death. Now notice, the King James version of the
Bible uses the word "soul" 1600 times but never once does it use the
term "immortal soul." Wouldn't you think that that which people talk
about so freely, that if it were true it would be in the Bible. Never
once does the Bible use the term in 1600 times when it uses soul,
"immortal soul." Because in the Bible, there is no immortal soul. Only
God is immortal. The Bible says, in 1 Timothy, chapter 6, verse 16. Only
God has immortality. In fact, the Bible declares, that death is a sleep
53 times. But you say, where did the idea of the immortal soul ever come
from? Do you remember, that in those early years of Christianity, there
was a mixing of pagan doctrine with truth. That is how Sunday worship
came into the church, the day of the sun. Roman empire was falling
apart. Church and state united. Pagan practices, Sunday come in.

William Gladstone, that historian said this. The pagan doctrine of the
immortality of the human soul crept into the back door of the church.
See, the immortality of the soul, that is that we have part of us that
lives on, that's immortal that never dies. This is nothing new. You are
looking at a Babylonian column of ancestor worship. Ancestor worship is
based on the false doctrine of the immortality of the soul. The
Babylonians believed that when you die, you have this immortal soul that
lives on. So they worshipped those souls. For example, you can go to
Egypt. Again in Egypt, when an Egyptian pharaoh died, the ancient
Egyptians believed in the pagan doctrine of the immortality of the soul.
In fact, here is a grave drawing of an Egyptian physician operating,
preparing for death, a pharaoh, they believed in the Ba and Ca, immortal
parts of us that lived on. See, this comes from Egypt and Babylon. It
doesn't come from the Bible. Egyptians and Babylonians, the ancient
pagan Romans, all believed in the immortality of the soul. They all
believed there is this part that lives on. In contrast to that. Satanism
as well in harmony with that, rather. In harmony with it. Satanism,
spiritualism. Satanists believe in the pagan doctrine of the immortality
of the soul. So this whole idea of the immortality, that there is a soul
that lives on comes from Egypt, Babylon. Comes from paganism. The Bible
says, no! When you die, it's not the immortality of the soul, but it's
sleep! We sleep! That is what the Bible says. In fact, the Bible has a
very interesting expression. In the old testament, you have all these
pagans – the Babylonians, the Egyptians, they're believing in the
immortality of the soul. Now, in the old testament, the Bible writers
use this phrase: "he slept" or "he rested with his fathers." And that
was an expression for death. You know, they used to bury them in
multiple graves. Somebody said, give me evidence that in the Bible, it
teaches that death is a sleep. Well, if you want some evidence that
death is a sleep, here it goes, get ready:

David shall sleep with his fathers. 1 Kings 1:21

David slept with his fathers. 1 Kings 2:10
David slept with his fathers. 1 Kings 11:21
Solomon slept with his fathers.
Jeroboam slept
Rehoboam slept
Abijah slept.
Asa slept.

Do you want more evidence? Here it is:

Baasha slept
Omri slept
Ahab slept
Jehoshaphat slept.

What does the Bible teach about death? Back to it:

Jehoram slept
Jehu slept
Jehoash slept
Joash slept

All this on death. So clear.

Amaziah slept
Jeroboam II, slept with his fathers
Azariah slept
Menahem slept
Jotham slept

Whew!

Ahaz slept
Hezekiah slept

Do you want more evidence?

Manasseh slept
Jehoiakim slept
Solomon slept
Rehoboam slept
Abijah slept
Asa slept
Jehoshaphat slept
Amaziah slept
Uzziah slept

Death is asleep, friend.

Jotham slept
Ahaz slept
Hezekiah slept
Manasseh slept

Do you want more evidence? I'm not going to give you any more.

The Bible is so plain, isn't it, folk? Death is but a what? Sleep until
Jesus comes! The Bible is plain. In fact even Jesus said that. John
11:11. Lazarus was dying. He was sick. And then he died. Jesus on his
way to see Lazarus said, our friend Lazarus sleepeth. But I go that I
may wake him out of sleep. Now the disciples said to Jesus (you know if
somebody is sick and they're sleeping they're doing well.)So the
disciples said, Lord, if he sleeps he's going to do well. How be it
Jesus spoke of his death but they thought he spoke of taking a rest in
sleep. They thought if Lazarus indeed is sleeping, he's doing very, very
well. So, they said, Lord, if he is sleeping he must be doing well. And
Jesus said, no, that's not the problem. He's not sleeping like you
think. But he is -- look what Jesus said. Then Jesus said plainly unto
them, Lazarus is what everybody? Dead. So Jesus said in John 11:12-14.
That death is but a what? Sleep. If Jesus says death is a sleep, I
believe it, don't you?

Now notice. Jesus goes to Mary and Martha, and he says to the sisters
of Lazarus. That he had come. And they speak to him. They're very
tearful, sorrowful. Martha says in John 11:21. Lord, if you had been
here, my brother would not have died. Lord, if you were here, you are
the life giver. Jesus is the life giver. If you were here, my brother
would not have died. And Jesus said in John 11:23. Thy brother shall
rise again. Now, Martha had learned her religion directly from Jesus.
Jesus did not say to Martha. Martha, your brother Lazarus is up in
heaven right now. So don't cry. Some preachers comfort people when
they're – comfort the loved ones of those that have died by saying, that
loved one is up in heaven so take comfort. Jesus didn't do that. He said
Lazarus is sleeping. He's awaiting the resurrection. And then Jesus
said, to Martha. Your brother is going to rise. And Martha, because she
got her religion directly from Jesus said in John 11:24, "I know that he
shall rise in the resurrection at the last day". Martha knew that there
would be a resurrection at the end. At the last day. And she was looking
for the coming of Christ. As a token, that Jesus would raise men and
women at the last day. As a token that Jesus has the keys to the grave.

He went to Lazarus's grave in John 11:39. But, Lord, by this time there
is a bad odor. He's been in there four days. What are you doing at the
tomb? And Jesus said, Lazarus, come forth. Now, Jesus didn't say,
Lazarus, come down. Now let's suppose that what some people believe is
true. That Lazarus died and went to heaven. Jesus says, Lazarus, come
down. And Lazarus up in heaven, now if it was me, I would have done
this. Lord, I've been up here four days, and I'm not coming back. I am
not coming back to that sinful world. I'm not coming back to that evil
world. I am in glory land, Lord. And you think I'm coming back? If
anybody could have had a near death experience, it would have been
Lazarus. If anybody could have had an experience and reported to us what
it's like, not for so many seconds. But for four days after death. It
would have been Lazarus. And Lazarus said nothing about life after
death. Why not? Because he was sleeping. Waiting the final resurrection.
But Christ woke him up in four days. Not in the final resurrection. To
take the fear out of your heart of death.

You need not fear death. You need not worry about death. Because Christ
is the life giver. And in the presence of Christ, death tremendous
bells. At presence of Christ, death flees. The Bible says, "for the Lord
himself will descend from heaven with a shout. With the voice of the
archangel. And with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise
first." Death, where is your sting. Grave, you can't hold your victims.
At the name of Jesus, death trembles. At the coming of Christ, the grave
shake. At the coming of Jesus, the graves open. And the dead in Christ
rise. Then we who are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord. In the air. And thus, we shall
always be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17. When Jesus comes, the
dead in Christ rise. The living are changed and together they are caught
up to meet Christ. Death is but a sleep. In a moment the Bible says. In
an instant. In the twinkling of an eye, you die. The next thing you
know, Jesus is coming. You've slept. You've rested, there's no passing
of time in sleep. There is no consciousness in sleep. When you die, the
body goes to the earth. The breath goes back to God. When you die, it's
like resting in the arms of Jesus. You're secure. He preserves your
identity. And one day he'll come and take you home. But somebody says,
Mark, wait a minute. I'm confused. Because didn't Jesus say to the thief
on the cross that they would be there together in paradise that day? You
know, it's amazing to me, you can read the living know that they will
die. The dead don't know anything, Ecclesiastes 9:5. You can read, Psalm
115:17, "The dead praise not the Lord". You can show folk that the
doctrine of immortality is a doctrine of spiritualism and paganism and
that it came into the church. You can read text after text. They slept.
They slept. They slept. You can even get out of breath doing it. And
some folk take one Bible text and they say, throw all the rest of the
Bible out. But because I want to believe a certain way I'm going to be
doing this. But let's look at that thief on the cross. You remember that
story? The Bible talked about Jesus dying. And the thief looks at Jesus
and he said unto Jesus, "Lord, remember me when you come into your
kingdom." Nobody has ever uttered that request and Jesus been silent.
Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus remembers when
you, when you remembered to call on him. And here, Jesus said to the
thief. Jesus said unto him. "Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be
with me in paradise." There it is! You say Jesus said that He's going
to be with him today. Well, not so fast. It all depends on where that
little comma is, you see. It either reads, "Verily I say unto thee,
today thou shalt be with me in paradise." Meaning that the thief and
Jesus would be there that day. Or if the comma were after the word day,
let's move it. If the comma were after the word day, it would read like
this: This Jesus said to him, Verily I say unto you today, this day I'm
dying on the cross, this day with the crown of thorns upon my head, this
day with blood running down my face, this day when I'm saving humanity,
this day that it looks like I'm a criminal, verily I say unto you today,
you will be with me in paradise future. It all depends where you put
that comma.

But somebody says, how do you, Mr. Finley, know where to put it? That's
a good question. And there are three ways we know. First, the Bible was
not written with punctuation. The punctuation was added centuries later,
12, 13, 14th century. By the medieval church. No punctuation in the
Bible, the original manuscripts. That's point one. Point two, do you
think Jesus is going to tell something to the thief that contradicts the
rest of the Bible? Is he going to do that? Not at all. But point three.
How could Jesus have meant to the thief that they would be together in
paradise on Friday when Christ died. If Jesus didn't go there until
Sunday? How could that have happened? So lets, let's look at that,
friend. Jesus did not ascend to heaven on the day of his crucifixion.
The Bible is very plain on that. Mary came to the tomb. She fell at the
feet of Jesus. She wanted to worship and embrace Jesus. And what did
Jesus say? Jesus said, unto her, touch me not; for I am not yet ascended
to my father. But to go my brethren. And say unto them, I ascend unto my
father and your father; and to my God and your God. How could Jesus
meant that he and the thief would be together in paradise on Friday if
he hadn't gone there on Sunday? What did Jesus mean? He said, this day
that I'm dying on the cross. This day, that it looks like men have
stripped me from my divinity. This day that it looks like my body is
crushed. And broken. And bruised and bleeding. This day that it looks
like I'm going in to the tomb. This day, I am the Son of God. This day,
I offer you forgiveness. This day, I offer you eternal life. And this
day, I promise you, you will be with me in paradise. Why? Because the
Bible says, in Revelation chapter 1:18. Jesus says, I am he that liveth
and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen; and have the
keys of hell and of death. Jesus Christ has the keys of death. Jesus
Christ has the keys of the tomb.

When you go to the ancient catacombs of Rome, in the heathen tombs, it

says this. Good bye people writing inscriptions to their friends.
Goodbye for all eternity. Goodbye forever. Hopelessness. Despair in
those pagan tombs. Good bye forever. The tomb is a sealed door. The tomb
is locked. There is no way out. Goodbye forever. But you look at the
Christian tombs. The inscriptions are different in the Christian tombs.
Goodbye until we meet again. Goodbye until the morning. Christians never
meet for the last time. Because one day, after sleeping and resting,
with our identity preserved in God, one day Christ the life giver will
stream down the dazzling glory of the skies. One day he'll say, John,
come forth. Mary come forth. One day, husbands and wives will be
reunited again. One day, babies will be placed in their mother's arms
again. Have you lost some husband or wife? Some son or daughter by
death?

Some time ago, I was sitting in my study and the telephone rang. And
there was a nurse on the other end of the line. She said, are you pastor
Mark Finley? Yes, I am. Do you know so-and-so? Yes, I do. A baby-sitter,
pastor, just walked into the doctor's office, with a dead baby in her
arms. She dropped it on the floor of the doctor's office. Ran out of the
doctor's office screaming, saying, I need help. I need somebody to
counsel with me. Call pastor Finley. This young teenage girl was baby-
sitting for one of the neighbors. As she was baby-sitting, the little
baby suffocated and died. The girl was so frightened she picked up the
baby and took its dead limp body to a nearby doctor's office. But she
became so afraid when the baby turned blue that she dropped it and ran
out of the office screaming. I got in my car and began to drive. 30, 40,
50 miles an hour. I said, where do I go first? Looking for the girl or
go to the parents' house. And I thought, maybe, maybe the girl has gone
to the parents house. Maybe she's gone home. I don't know where.
Couldn't find the girl. So finally I went to the parents' house. I
wondered do even the parents by this time know that the baby is dead?
She was… The baby was over at the baby-sitter's house. Do the parents
know the baby is dead? I walked from my car up those stairs with a heavy
heart. There were two kids playing by the side of the stairs. One kid
looked up and said, preacher, the baby is dead. The baby is dead. I knew
the parents knew then. Walked into the living room. The husband was
sitting, he had embraced his wife and pulled her close. To his chest.
She was sobbing. I walked over and put my hand on both of their
shoulders. And I said, folk, you know, I really don't know what it's
like to lose a little baby. I have got three wonderful children. At that
time they were very young. And I have never experienced your pain or
your sorrow. But there is one that has. And I just stood there for a
little while as they cried. And they looked up at me with eyes filled
with tears. And I said, there is one that has experienced sorrow like
you. There is a father whose son died. His son did not die a crib
death. His son did not die when he was just six months old. His son died
with cruel nails in his hands. And a crown of thorns upon his head. And
blood running down his face. His son died. And He experienced pain and
suffering. So that father's heart of love knows what it's like to lose a
little baby. Because that father stood by. While your son died. And that
father reaches out in compassion. We live in a wicked world where I
can't explain death to you. But I know this. Although I can't explain
why your little baby died. One day, Jesus will come. And the Lord
himself will descend from heaven. With the shout, with a voice of the
archangel. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Death is but a
moment. Your baby is secure. It's just asleep, resting until Jesus
comes. Friend of mine, what if Jesus never died on the cross? What if
Jesus never went into the grave? What if Jesus never unlocked the grave
so that its prisoners could go free? What if there was no God. What if
there was no Bible? What if there was no second coming of Jesus? Then
death would be a dark hole in the ground, worms would eat our bodies.
But the good news is, you don't have to fear death! Because Jesus Christ
has the key. And one day, soon, he's going to resurrect that husband.
That wife. That son. That daughter.

Do you want to miss being with your husband or wife? Your son or your
daughter? Tonight, Jesus says to you, reach out. Grasp my hand. Reach
out, surrender your life to me. Reach out, because I'm coming soon. It
may be at morn. Listen as Walter sings.

Hallelujah. Amen! There is hope for a world in deep trouble. Jesus is

coming. Let us pray.

O, my father, the devil tries to deceive us with false ideas about

death. But your word is so plain and so simple. When we die, we simply
rest. With no passage of time, securely, preserved, from the heartache,
the sorrow, the disappointment of earth. Until Jesus comes to take us
home. We thank you, Lord, that we can be on your side. We thank you for
the hope of it all. We thank you for the fact that we need not fear
death, that it's but a rest. A sleep. A tranquillity. Until the coming
of Jesus. O, Lord, deep within our hearts we want to be there.

And friend of mine, as I pause in this prayer, if you want to just lift
your hand up now and say the most important thing to me in life is to
see Jesus and live in heaven with him. Would you just raise your hand.
The most important thing in your life, is to be in heaven. Just lift
your hand. You may put it down. There may be somebody here tonight that
you feel the tugging of God on your heart. And you feel that you are not
quite ready to meet Christ. There is a lot of sins you want cleansed,
washed away. And you just want to lift your hand up tonight, and say,
Pastor, I know you've mentioned, there will be so many baptisms. I just
want to tell God tonight, that I want to look forward very soon to
walking through the water of baptism and cleansing all my sins. Would
you just raise your hand. Oh, thank you, Lord. Thank you so much. That
many men and women, boys and girls, are making their decisions to follow
Christ. We love you. We want to serve you. O, father, we look forward to
your coming to take us home in Christ' name. Amen.

Remember our next meeting is tomorrow morning. Ask your local host about
it. Here, in Orlando, we begin at ten o'clock. Music, world reports. By
satellite, at 10:30. Turn in ticket number -- what is it? 15 tonight for
your lecture. Tomorrow night, a Bible baptism and a powerful lecture.
Good night and God bless you.