What Does The Bible Say About The Afterlife?

What does the Bible say about the afterlife_ Let's talk about heaven Matt: [00:00:00] Well, good afternoon and welcome to Crowd Church Livestream. Uh, great to have you with us. Great that you are here. Great that you can join in with online Church. If you are new here, a big warm welcome to you. My name is Matt Edmundson and I get to be part of the team here at Crowd, which let me tell you is a privilege and a joy. Uh, yes it is. And so, uh, we're here and lemme just say if you are a Man city fan or if you are a Liverpool Football Club fan, uh, Liverpool Football Club fan, we will be updating you as the, uh, as the game progresses because I'm sure that some of you'll want to know the scores. Uh, and if you don't, I'll give you a little bit of a warning so you can just cover your ears like you should do now. Uh, the score is one or Man Sea of scored Liverpool at the lead and man, sea of scored. So, uh, I'm a Liverpool fan. Uh, so come on, [00:01:00] Liverpool. Put our Prayer there. Yes, we shall. Uh, so there's a little bit of a theological, uh, conundrum there. Can we pray for our football team? Anyway, welcome to Crowd Church. We say that we're an online church for those that might not see the point of church, or you might be, you know, you might have been like me, uh, been around church for a little while, wherever you are in your faith journey. You are welcome here. It's great to see you, great that you are part of the, the stream. If you're watching us live or if you're watching us on Catchup, why not consider joining us live? We broadcast live every Sunday at 6:00 PM UK time, which is, I believe 1:00 PM Eastern Time. So, uh, in the States. So, uh, if you want go to our website, there's a handy little time zone converter, uh, which helps you understand what time we're going live for your, uh, for your time zone. So do come and join in. It'd be great to see you in the live stream. Uh, if you are in the live stream, feel free to say hi in the comments. Uh, it'd be great to hear from you. [00:02:00] Great to connect with you. We of course have our WhatsApp a number on the screen there. Uh, if there's anything that you'd like to reach out to us about, any questions that you have that you don't wanna put in the comments, you can use this WhatsApp number here. Uh, and if you would like us to pray about anything, again, you can send your Prayer request to that WhatsApp number there and we would love to pray for you. You can also connect with us via our website here, www dot Crowd Church. Yes, you can. So you can reach us through either of those channels or through the comments on either Facebook or YouTube. Yes, she can. So, uh, what's Matt put here? Great pointing. Yeah, thanks Matt. I, um. I am kind of getting used to it now in the, in the reversing of the screen. So it's quite, it's quite handy. It's quite helpful. Uh, Sharon said, Hey, Matt says, love the new intro. Yeah. Now, what do you think to the new intro? We have a new introduction to go with our new teaching series, which we're starting today. Super, super excited [00:03:00] about that. The new series is called, what does the Bible say About, uh, we are asking the question, what does the Bible say about some of the key questions that we have, or key topics that we face in life? For example, today, what does the Bible say about the afterlife? I must have had, and I am, I'm not joking when I say this, I must have had in the last few weeks, probably about eight emails from people asking me questions about the, uh, about what happens when we die. Where do we go? What's heaven? Like, uh, it's a big question at the moment. So we asked Dan Rogers to come, uh, and answer that question for us. So we have the incredible Dan Rogers who will be on, in just a short moment, uh, talking about what does the Bible say about the afterlife and answering all kinds of good questions around that for you. Looking forward to getting into that. Yes, I am. Now we are gonna introduce a new segment here at Crowd. Uh, we are calling this Crowd News. Now let me push this button here and let's have a little fun with this.[00:04:00] Oh yes. What did you think to that? I should actually do that thing, shouldn't I? Where you have paper and just stamp it on the desk, like no. Today on Crowd Church News. Uh, and then I should read the news. Sorry, I should get a bit more into character there. Uh, we, this is the new segment on the show. It's kind of merging catch up and a few ideas that we've got into one. Uh, so you're gonna start to see this appear more on the live stream, uh, the whole idea of news. Uh, and so, uh, in today's news, I'm just lining my screen up here. Uh, in today's news, obviously we have the news that the petrol crisis is continuing here in the uk. So, uh, you know, I dunno what you think about that. I dunno, [00:05:00] uh, if you've been caught out by that, uh, whether you're running around on empty 'cause you can't find petrol, it is now grown way outta control in my opinion. But at last it has grown outta control. Uh, and so we do have the continuing crisis going on in the uk. Uh, and so I found this, uh, cartoon, which kind of sums it up nicely, I thought, yes, uh, reality continues to ruin my life. I think it's such a cool cartoon. Uh, and so, um, I, I wish I could make prints available of that because that would be quite funny. So, uh, yes, that's what's going on. In other news, of course, we have, uh, where's it gone now? Why is there not the, what's this one here? Yes, the nursery, uh, sorry. Let me. Lemme take a step back here. Uh, the nursery at, uh, imagine if the, imagine if nursery has been redone and this is what it looks like. Imagine if [00:06:00] is the sister charity of our church doing amazing things and apparently it's raised over five grand, or almost raised five grand recently for the Afghan refugee work that's going on, which is fantastic. They've also in the nursery and so you can have a quick gander at that breaking news cover. Yours, if you don't want to know the score 'cause someone has scored in the football game. Uh, I believe the score is now two, one, uh, two Liverpool. So it seems our prayers were answered very quickly. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah. Amen. Yes. Okay, in other news, actually, uh, bond is back. Yes it is. Uh, bond is back. I went and watched the bond film over the weekend. I dunno what you Dora, what you did over the weekend, what you did on Saturday. Um. I went with my daughter and my brother and my niece, and we went and watched James Bond. I may, in my lifetime have had slight inclinations to be James Bond, uh, as every British lad. Uh, I probably assume has, maybe it's just me, I don't know. [00:07:00] Uh, but at, you know, at various times in my career, I thought James Bond would be a good thing to be. Um, so we went to watch James Bond last night. Just, I'm not gonna give any spoilers to that film, but Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. That's all I'm gonna say. I'm now gonna move on. Uh, what have we got going on here? Sticky Fingers Nursery is its official name. Yes it is. Thanks Matt. Appreciate that you pointing that out in the comments. And not everybody gives a monkeys about the little reds. Yes. And we can pray. For those of you who don't. And it, honestly, anybody of any soccer affiliation or football club affiliation is welcome to Crowd Church at any time. Obviously, uh, you don't have to be a Liverpool fan, uh, but if you are, it helps with life just saying. Anyway, all of that said, let's get into this now. So we have a brand new series. Yes, we do. And the new series is called, uh, what does the Bible say about, I [00:08:00] mentioned this at the start, just saying it again. If you've just joined us, we're kicking this off with Dan Rogers who is answering the question, what does the Bible say about the afterlife? And we've taken all the questions that you guys have sent in. We have lots of them, like I said, about 18 emails. Uh, we've taken those questions, we put 'em on a piece of paper. Well, actually we didn't put 'em on a piece of paper. We put 'em on a screen, we put 'em on an email. We sent 'em to Dan Rogers and said, Dan, have a go at answering these. And this is what Dan came up with. So here we go. Let's roll this week's talk. I'll be back after this, by the way. So here's dad.[00:09:00] Dan: Hello, my name's Dan. I'm 42 years old and I'm an re teacher turned project manager. I live in Liverpool and I've been married to Lindy for just over 19 years. Uh, we live near ES and we got two great teenage kids. Now, I've been asked, um, to do a little talk today and answers the question of, uh, what happens, [00:10:00] um, in the afterlife? What does the Bible say about the afterlife? And, uh, this is a question many people kinda ask, um, but not many people ask kind of in public or necessarily to their friends. Um, more often it's asked just to Google on the kind of like list of Google most frequently asked questions. And that's why we're kind of addressing it in this topic. Um, you might wonder why, um, I'm qualified to talk about the afterlife 'cause clearly, um, I've never actually died myself. No personal experience of death, um, from firsthand. But, uh, I do know a man who has died, I believe, and I do know what the Bible says about it. So I'm gonna do my best to share what I've learned from the Bible and hopefully that'll be helpful. So to kind of kick us off, um, we need to square up with death. Really, we need to say, well, one out of one people die. It's the most well documented statistic [00:11:00] in the history of. Humanity. Uh, and so as all human life will come to an end, we probably need to, to give it some thought before we actually are, are confronted by it, uh, personally. Now, the question I've been asked to address is what happened? What does the Bible say happens in the afterlife? Um, but I'm gonna go back a stage, um, and, and ask a different que answer a different question first because, um, it's not so much what happens next after we die, which we need to get our heads around first. It's, it's, why do we die? Why does this death thing happen? And once we get an answer to that question, um, it helps us to get a better answer to the what happens. After we die. So I'm gonna try and do that. Uh, and the good news is that when you look at the Bible, the answer to those two questions are not hard to find. They're located almost symmetrically at, at the start and at the end of the Bible, [00:12:00] uh, in Genesis and in Revelation, the two books which bookend the Bible and at the beginning of Genesis, and at the end of Revelation following enough. So the answer to the first question, um, while we all die, that's what you find in Genesis. And the answer to the second question, what happens next is mainly, uh, featured in, in the last book of the Bible. So the main thing to note in Genesis is that, uh, life was God's idea. Uh, he created the world and everything in it, including us mankind. Death on the other hand, was, was not really his idea. It was kind of a consequence of something we did. So life was God's idea. Death, not so much. Uh, and so we'll, we'll kind of come onto that. So what he did was he placed our original forefathers in, in this garden paradise full of all kinds of beautiful fruit bearing trees. And he gave 'em the simple job of just taking care of it all. One of the perks of that job was [00:13:00] permission to eat whatever fruit they wanted from any of the luscious trees that they could find. However, in the middle of the garden, there were also these two very kind of special trees, and that was a tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Uh, now God warned the man not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but he didn't say much, if anything, in the, in the text about the tree of life. And the reason he said more about walk by way of warning about the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Um, it's best to quote what he says here. It says, God said to, to, um, the man. When you eat from it, you will certainly die. A more precise translation of the original Hebrew words would actually be dying. You shall die and an even more precise but quite clunky translation would be dying. You Shall Die. Die. It's not, doesn't come across very [00:14:00] well when you say that that, but that's literally what God was saying. So it's kind of easy to get the message. God is warning the man to avoid that tree. Things will not go well for you if you eat its fruit. So you'll become personally acquainted with death. Which is not plan a death is not plan A, that it's not something God created. It doesn't even sound like death was a thing up to that point. Um, and it's almost as if God saying, look, don't, death is not a thing. So don't make death a thing. Just swerve it on your way to the tree of life. Avoid the tree of knowledge of good and evil and go to the tree of life. 'cause that's what I'm about. I'm a God of creation of life, and I'm not really wanting to introduce death. Um, so please don't be the person who decides to do that. However, sadly, to cut a long story short, Adam did not swerve the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In fact, he did exactly the opposite. He went ahead and he ate its fruits, which was a bad decision, [00:15:00] and that's how this death thing got started on Earth. That's the Origin of death according to the Bible. That's not what the question of today's talk was though. So why is it important to know the Origin of death in terms of knowing what happens after life? Well, one way to understand all the good things that are on offered to us in the afterlife, which we'll come to in a bit, is that they are basically a reversal of the bad stuff, which was set in motion in that first garden. But they're not just a reversal, they're also a kind of supercharged upgrade, um, to that reversal a renewal. It's gonna be very, very good in the afterlife for those of us who get to enjoy it. Um, but before we get to all that in detail, here's two things we need to note from the Genesis story. Okay. Before we get into the reverse, or here's, here's basically what happened. They, the first thing is this. They got what they wanted, which was they wanted more [00:16:00] knowledge of good and evil. They wanted more wisdom. They wanted to feel less reliant on God for that wisdom. They, they wanted to feel less creaturely and more God-like, more like the creator, more maybe equal to the creator. And they did kind of get that. But they also got much more than they bargained for, which is the second point. They got more than they wanted to get what they wanted. Our primal ancestors also opted to have a thing which they'd been warned, would bring about their death. Remember that clunky phrase, dying. You shall die. Die. You would think that was hard to forget, wouldn't you? But this means that essentially they chose death. It was like, we want what we want at all costs. Even if that includes death. We don't care. We want, we want it. And death. Okay, we'll pay the, we'll pay the price. Now. I think that's weird. But they'd never experienced death. And I think if they had and they understood more about what death [00:17:00] really involved, they might have thought a bit more carefully about swerving it. And um, I think with the benefit of He Sight, we might all assume that this is what we would've done too. But I doubt we would've because we all do the exact same thing today. What we do is we all want to be more God-like more clever, more in charge. And so we go after what we want, we overlook the cost of that, and we dismiss what might bring us peace to get what might give us power. And we haven't got the patience to think about eternal life. So we usually choose what we can see will give us a competitive advantage, even if that's only in the short term, but it has consequences. So's a recap from Genesis chapter three. Um, they yet from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and so they got what they wanted, the knowledge of good and evil wisdom more, more like God in many ways. But they also got more than they wanted, which [00:18:00] was the introduction of death. And then I suppose a third point, which is a kind of sits on top of that, is just the reality checks that we all do exactly the same thing. So it's not like we can look back at, at Adam and Eve and say, oh, they aren't they silly? If only they'd made a different decision. It's like, well, the evidence is that we're all doing that on a regular basis ourselves, so we can't do too much blame shifting, which, um, is what we all like to do now. Uh, going back to the Genesis account again, there was another different tree in the garden, which you've already mentioned called The Tree of Life. And as I've uh mentioned already, in theory, they could have kept walking past the tree of knowledge of good and evil and enjoyed the fruit of the tree of life instead. Now, what might have happened if they'd done that? How might human history have been different? We might not have had any decay. [00:19:00] Disease, death to deal with this talking might be completely superfluous. Imagine that if death wasn't a thing, uh, and we weren't having to talk about the afterlife, that there'd be nothing 'cause there'd be nothing set in motion, which needs to be reversed and renewed, right? But sadly, uh, that's not what happened. That's not the choice our ancestors made, and that's not really the choice that we make. Um, and so we do have to deal with what they set in motion and what we continue setting in motion and continuing it. Um, this death thing, this decay, this stuff really does need to be reversed. And renewed. So we won what God offers us in the afterlife, um, because that's how it is supposed to be. That was the original design. That was, that was the intention. When God created things, [00:20:00] what would that look like? Well, you know, everyone could probably imagine some cool stuff and could imagine what it would be like to reverse it, but to get our information on what this great reversal will look like. Best to fast forward to the very last chapter of the Bible in the book of Revelation. It's chapter 22 and it describes the restoration of the Garden of Eden, and it's been so restored that it's been supercharged, uh, it's been too totally renewed, and it's now been made into a garden city. So there's been lots of, you know, infrastructure development and that kind of stuff going on, and it's got this something wonderful, um, called the River of the Water of Life, running right down the middle of this city. And guess what's also there is a familiar, uh, but overlooked natural object, the Tree of Life. Just listen to what Revelation 22 says On each [00:21:00] side of the river stood the tree of life bearing 12 cups of fruit, yielding its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city and his servants will serve him. They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads. There'll be no more knight. They will not need the light of a lamb or the light of the sun. For the Lord God will give them light and they will rain forever and ever. There's so much in these verses which draws on so much in the previous books of the Bible, which are found between Genesis and Revelation. And to understand all that better takes, you know, a lifetime of studying and reflection. But [00:22:00] for the purposes of today, we can offer some headlines on what the afterlife will actually be like for, for many of us. So here's, here's the key points, right? First one, number one, everything that is broken. In every place and people group will be healed. Number two, there'll be no more curse, which means no more sickness, no more death. Three, God will be visibly accessible to all of us who are there. Number four, there'll be no more confusion or wickedness. That's what's symbolized by the word night in the passage, confusion and wickedness. There won't be any of that. There'll be clarity and righteousness. And number five, the faithful servants of God will be given everlasting leadership [00:23:00] responsibilities. The good people will be in charge of stuff. That'd be nice, wouldn't it? So in summary, in the afterlife, there will be this great reversal of the fall of man humanity will be restored, body and soul, and the natural world will also be renewed. This second Garden City is gonna be truly great and truly amazing and exciting, um, and worth, worth waiting for really. Uh, but there is, um, a catch if you like or maybe a kind of a caveat, which is that not everyone will be allowed in to the Garden City, just as Adam and Eve when they EP from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Were expelled from the original Garden of Eden. So some people will be expelled from the second Garden City. Now that sounds a little bit more like the kind of traditional heaven and [00:24:00] hell kind of talk, um, and you may be thinking, oh, is that where this is going? Is that what you mean? And my answer to that is kind of yes and no. So it, it needs qualification if you're gonna go down that route. See, um, heaven in the Bible is actually, um, it's not what a lot of people think. It's more like a temporary place, um, where the spirits of those who were faithful to Jesus in this life have gone and go to and indeed remain in until the resurrection of the dead, when their spirits will return to earth along with Jesus. Uh, and they will join their resurrected bodies and they will rule with him forever and ever, as the previous passage said. Um, but to my understanding, heaven itself. Uh, being a temporary place is probably best understood as a bit like a wonderful hotel. Great for those who get to go to, but never intended to be a final resting place or home. [00:25:00] Uh, and this is because the biblical teaching is that Jesus will one day return to the earth and heaven comes down with him. Um, heaven will be joined together with the earth. That's why in the book of Revelation, uh, there's, there's this talk about a, a new heaven and earth. It will all be renewed. There will be no more other place heaven far away from here, uh, where the righteous dead or waiting for the resurrection of their bodies. They will come to earth in spirit form, be be reunited with the resurrected, resurrected bodies. And there's gonna be a whole, you know, it is like life 2.0 or maybe 3.0 or 4.0. I don't know. It will be, um, in totally different, um, life will existence will enter a different kind of phase, completely. It's gonna be great. But like I said earlier, not everyone who has died goes to heaven or gets into the restored garden city. Um, for those who ignore Jesus on Earth, it seems that they go to a place, um, [00:26:00] which the Bible calls Hades, um, which can be appropriately translated as the land of the dead. So there's heaven and there's Hades rather than heaven and hell at at the moment. Now, Hades is where people who have died outside of the presence of Jesus, um, who weren't interested in Jesus, where they have to remain until what is essentially a judgment day, um, after the resurrection when everyone who's ever lived will give an account of their lives on earth to Jesus. Let me read to you the words of Jesus in Revelation as he describes this, um, awesome and terrifying event to us. He says It's Revelation 22, 12 to 15 Look. I am coming soon. My reward is with me, and I'll give to each person according to what they have done on the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, [00:27:00] the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who wash their roads, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city outside of the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. Now, this passage is binary. It's divisive. If you've washed your robes, you have the right to the tree of life. You may go through the gates into the city, and if you've not washed your robes, you, you don't have that right. What, uh, washing your robes is, is being cleansed by Jesus. How that actually happens is covered in, uh, the gospels and the letters of the New Testament, and in a lot of the Old Testament by kind of reference. [00:28:00] Um, so between Genesis and Revelation, you can read how, how that cleansing by Jesus has been set in motion by God, how he has redeemed, um, the curse and so that the, the next thing can happen. But for now, all I can say for now is, and without getting into that in details, the point is that those who refuse to allow themselves to be cleansed by Jesus in the here and now are acting like the first people in the garden when they chose the fruit of the tree of knowledge and not the fruit of the tree of life. And the same thing happens to those who make this choice, uh, to live outside of God. To ignore Jesus, to do life their way as happened to, um, the first people in the first garden. They will in some way be sent outside of the garden city, never to enjoy its healing, never to experience its peace, um, never to enjoy the delights of this magnificent new heaven and earth along with [00:29:00] everyone who loves and practices. F And this in part, is what I think is being referred to when people talk about the traditional ideas of hell. It happens at the very end of time. Uh, and it's basically you are in exile, you are, you are out, you are an outsider to be fair, to be balanced. Um, it is sometimes described a bit more graphically in other biblical texts than Revelation, uh, and it's sometimes a bit more scary. But however it's described what we really know, it's clearly not a place. Or a situation that you'd wish for anyone to end up in, particularly not yourself. So there we go. In terms of the afterlife, uh, there's an introduction for you. That's what the Bible says about it from my understanding. 30 years of thinking about it so far. So there's more I could have said. Um, but for now I think that'll probably do, that's probably enough to be chewing on. Um, and I'll just finish with some practical lessons that, that we can [00:30:00] all take away from it no matter where we are at. Um, we can all take some, take some practical things from it and, and here and here goes. So, I would say we all need to learn from the story of the first garden. We all need to make a, a better decision than our original ancestors did. We all need to swerve the tree of knowledge of good and evil and everything that symbolizes the kind of desire to be equal with garden. Do stuff without reference to him. That's what it symbolizes. Instead, we need to go after the tree of life. We need to go after what's of eternal value, what's life giving, what's wholesome and what's what's righteous. That's what we all need to do. We need to stop competing with God for a position in the universe, which he will never surrender. [00:31:00] Instead, we need to start being thankful to God for the life that we have and we know to. We need to learn to live it on his terms. And if we do this, then in the afterlife. We have nothing to fear because we'll have found his redemption, we'll have found his forgiveness, and we'll have aligned ourselves with him and we'll know a thing called holiness will be set apart for the Lord. And so, um, for those who have set apart for him, um, he welcomes and includes and prepares great things for. So we've got much to look forward to, um, much to be thankful for if that's what we do. But if we don't, then we're right to be afraid of the afterlife. Our, our mistakes on earth will catch up with us and it'll be too late to do anything about it. So main thing is deal what you need to do today. Today, while you still have time, do what you need to do. Make the changes in your thinking and in your relating to the creator that you still [00:32:00] can do. And you need to do, and, and you should do for your, for your own good. But if you are already on the right path and you've done that. Um, and you're finding it a little bit harder than you thought it would be. Maybe no one told you it would be such a slog. No one thought you would, it, no one told you. It would be quite as frustrating as, as, as you are experiencing it to be or sometimes disappointing. Um, all I would say is keep the end in mind. Remember what the future's gonna be like. Just think about how everything that is bad now will be reversed and renewed later. It'll all be worth it in the end. So keep going, keep going. And I'll end, uh, with this little verse of encouragement, which is found near the end [00:33:00] of the New Testament. It's in one Peter chapter one, verse 13 says this, therefore, as a result of everything. We've said already, prepare your minds for action. Be sober-minded and alert. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Say that last bit again. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Thanks very much. Matt: Wow. Thanks Dan. I appreciate you doing that talk. We are gonna get into your questions, your thoughts, your comments, uh, of Dan's talk in just a few minutes time. So get busy writing. If you've got any questions, write 'em in the comments or you can send 'em through to the [00:34:00] WhatsApp number, which I'll put on the screen. Uh, you can, uh, send 'em through to that number. If you have any questions about Dan's talk, if it's raised anything, do get in touch with us. Do let us know, 'cause we're gonna have our discussion time, uh, in just a few minutes, uh, from now where we will get into a lot of those things. But wasn't that a great talk? I mean, it was pretty in, pretty heavy in some places. Heavy. I mean, it was, there's a lot of meaty stuff in there, isn't there, about what's going on with bodies and resurrection and new heaven and new earth and all that kind of stuff. But it's, for me, I find it's one of the most exciting things and we're gonna get into all of that. Why and all that sort of stuff. Uh, after this, which is now, we're gonna have a time of worship and reflection as we like to call it. So, um, if you are, uh, you know, a regular member of Crowd or if you, you know, are used to church, uh, we just call this worship and we're just gonna, we're gonna put some song, uh, some songs, one song. We're gonna play through one song. Uh, we're gonna put the words on the screen, and if you're able to do so, why not sing along? But if you're new to church, [00:35:00] um, and it seems a bit alien to you, just read the words. Just, just think about them as they come on the screen. Think about what Dan has said, and then if you've got any questions or thoughts, do write them in the comments. I'll be back again after this, uh, time of worship reflection. So here we go. Video: What is our home in life and death? Christ alone. Christ alone. What is our only confidence that are soul to him belong, who holds within his, what comes apart from command and will keep us end the love of [00:36:00] Christ in which we it. Christ what truth can come. God is good. God is good. Where is his grace? And who holds our faith? When fear arrives, who stands above [00:37:00] the stormy trial? Who sends the wave that bring a snide unto the show? The rock of. Christ, what will we sing? Christ, he lives Christ. He lives and what real will have ever lasting life with him? [00:38:00] And we'll rise to me the Lord then sin and be destroyed and we will. Now Christ Life. Now. Christ.[00:39:00] Matt: Christ, our hope in life and death. What a great track that is. Uh, as it says there in the comments, all of the worship tracks we use here at Crowd Church, most of 'em have been recorded by the amazing John Farrington. Um. And a few of the guys from the church have done some, like Dan and Greg and all those kind of cool guys. They are available on the YouTube playlist. So just go to youtube.com/ Crowd Church, uh, and just hit the worship track playlist and you will be able to just listen to all the songs over and over again to your heart's content. Uh, which is great because they're just some wonderful songs like that One Christ, our Hope in Life and Death, just reminding us that actually this life is temporary. There is an eternity, there is an eternal life, and we get to do that with Christ, which is an awesome thing. And that's something that Dan sort of picked on really. In his talk. So, uh, what we do now, if you're new to the Crowd, start that sentence again. What we do now, if you're new to the Crowd, Church livestream, is we have something called Conversation Con.[00:40:00] I think we're just, I'm just gonna give up. Uh, no, no. Uh, we have something called, uh, Conversation Street, and we go through your questions, your thoughts, your comments, some of which you put in the comments, uh, on the live stream, some of which you email in, some of which you text in. But we are gonna go through those. Now, ordinarily there would be two of us having this conversation, but unless it is me this week, so, uh, we're gonna get into it. Uh, and if you're up for it, just join in on the livestream comments, whether you're on Facebook or YouTube, just join in. Uh, and they pop up on my screen here and, um, even without my glasses, I can read them. So we're, we're good to go. Uh, so just picking up on a few things that Dan talked about. So he talked about the new Heaven and the new Earth at the end of time. And all things merging and becoming one, and a lot of people have questions around that. Is there a rapture? Uh, there was a, a, a really well-known book series done, uh, several years ago, uh, which I read the whole series. I've got totally, totally [00:41:00] engrossed in, um, called Left Behind and, and I can't remember how many books there were, but it was all about the rapture and it was just engrossing, uh, and just, you know, getting into that. Uh, the truth is, I don't know the details. The Bible's a little bit sketchy on the exact details. And so there's a lot of interpretation which goes around. All I know is, and what we can say with absolute certainty is there is an eternity, uh, and there's an eternity with God and there's an eternity without God. And you do get to choose, uh, and it is your choice. Uh, no one's gonna force you to do anything. Uh, and for those of us who would profess to have the Christian faith, this is our, what we call our eternal hope is that actually we, we have this life, whatever that is, and whatever that looks like. But it is a snapshot of things, which is to come, so, which is great, uh, and very, very helpful. What do you think about, I mean, Dan touched on it a little bit. Uh, you know, he talked about Hades, he talked about hell, um, and hell being like an [00:42:00] exile from God. What do you think about that idea? Do you like it? Do you not like it? Um, I think it's a really interesting one because even the church has sort of shied away from this topic of hell recently, but to do away with hell in my mind, and I'd love to know what you think about this, it does away with the concept of justice. So no one likes the idea of hell, but everybody knows at least one person they think should go there, right? Um, and so think about, uh, people like Adolf Hitler should, if there's a heaven, should he be there? If he answer no, where should he be? Do you see what I mean? So there's a real interest in sort of. Uh, mind shift that a lot of people have. They don't like the idea of it unless we're talking about a very few specific people and they deserve to go there because, you know, then there's justice for their actions, which they did here on earth, which they don't seem to have paid for while they're here, if that makes sense. They kind of live the high life for a little bit. Um, [00:43:00] and they had it all. And it wasn't very just, it wasn't very fair. But we think about that where other people's concerned. Uh, I was chatting with a friend of mine, uh, this week and I, I, there's a quote that I love, uh, by a guy called Kerry New Off. I dunno if it's his, originally I'm giving him the credit. Uh, but it's one of those things where I'm like, you know, we judge other people by their actions, but we judge ourselves by our intentions. And so it's easier to say, well, they might need to go there, but for me, I deserve to go to the good place. The fundamental truth of Christianity is it's not about what you deserve, which is good news because actually what you deserve is not what you think you deserve all the time. Uh, but it's about what God's done, right? And so one of the big questions is, uh, I guess is will people go to heaven? Will uh, I had an email. Um, I've got some of them here actually. Lemme see if I can pull them up on the screen. I've obviously taken the names, uh, out of it. So, uh, one email that came [00:44:00] in this week, I'm not a Christian, but I'm curious about life after death as my husband died almost four months ago. And it's interesting how people think about the afterlife when it becomes like super real to them. You know, will I go to heaven? Will my loved ones be in heaven? And it's not until death sort of knocks on our door, whether it's our door or whether it's the door of a loved one, that we start to think about it. Um, I another email here from a lady. I've got terminal cancer. What happens next? You know, your heart breaks, trust me, when you get these emails and we get lots of them. Uh, and we do respond to all the emails, by the way. So if you do want to email in, please peel the freedom, uh, or Crowd. Uh, it's go to the website or just WhatsApp is, and we will do our level best to try and help you, uh, deal with some of these things. But Roache has put here, um, let me just take that off the screen and bring this on here. Roache has put one of my favorite truths. God will wipe away every tear when we are [00:45:00] with him in heaven. And that's a fascinating thing, isn't it? Because the other thing that we think about is, well, will my loved ones go to heaven? And actually what happens when they're there? What did you think of Dan's analogy of heaven being a kind of a hotel, a pit stop until everything is kind of reconciled back together? I thought it was a really cool analogy, actually. I, I, I, I'd never really thought about it in those terms. Um, but what do we do? And this is another question, what will we do in heaven? That's a big question. Do we sit around on clouds playing harps with little fat babies? It's just, you know, that are angels not quite what I'm gonna be doing in heaven. Definitely got plans for when I get there. Uh, if you've had an email from me, you know, that I talk about when you ask me questions like this, I talk about my uncle's funeral and my uncle passed away and I took his funeral during COVID. So there was a very limited spaces in the funeral home that could be there. Um, and we live streamed it out. And, um, I talked about how at his [00:46:00] funeral, um, the, the very famous verses, uh, that are in the Bible in John's gospel where Jesus says, I'm the resurrection and um, he believes in me shall live, but never die. And it's this kind of, uh. This kind of thing. And I was talking about this with regards to my uncle, and he was a big football fan. He was a Sheffield United fan. I want to get that right. It was definitely not Sheffield Wednesday. He was Sheffield United. And in the book of Hebrews, it talks about, which is a, is a book in the new New Testament. It talks about how US on earth are surrounded by what it calls a great cloud of witnesses. And it's almost what, as a writer's writing this down, you can you, you can see the same imagery. They're picturing the Colosseum at Rome. Do you know what I mean? And you've got all of these saints that have gone before you and they're in the crowds and they're cheering us all on. It's like we're surrounded by them and they're cheering us on. They're telling us to go for it. They're telling us to [00:47:00] what the Bible calls run our own race to not only just think about heaven, but to think about earth and what we do on earth and how we live our life. Uh, and I talked at my uncle's funeral. About how I think my uncle is in those stands and how I think that when he ever, he went to watch a match at Sheffield United, it was a warmer pact. A warmer pact for him being in those stands, being in those great cloud of witnesses, cheering everybody on. It's very different to playing a heart with a little fat baby on a cloud. Just saying. The other thing I also write in my emails, uh, again, if you've had one, you'll know, uh, is I have this, the, the Bible talks about how in heaven, the streets are made of gold and I'm gonna slide down those streets in my socks. That's what I'm gonna do. Uh, and so the Bible has a lot to say about heaven. So what will we do in heaven? Dan talked about this a little bit, didn't he said Those who, um, are what was, I can't remember the exact phrase, but [00:48:00] basically there's gonna be, uh, responsibilities given to God's people. That good people will have the leadership responsibilities. That's good news, isn't it? Especially, uh, in the world in which we live, where you could argue that not always. It's not always the good people that get the leadership responsibilities just saying, uh, but there will come a time when those leadership responsibilities will go to someone who is good and has the heart of God and man alive. What a difference that's gonna make. So there's leadership there, there's great clouds of witnesses. We know that there's worship going on in heaven, uh, and everyone's around the throat of God singing Holy, holy, holy is his name. And we'll hopefully get into that at some point and what that all means. But there's all this amazing stuff going on in heaven. There's feasts, there's food. Did you know there's food in Heaven? Uh, the heavenly banquet table, the Bible talks about, I don't know what your food choice on that banquet table is. I have a very clear set menu of what I know is gonna be on there tasting super, [00:49:00] super amazing. Let me tell you. And Brownie pie is probably gonna be in there. Just that's on my portion of the table. You can meet with me if, if that interests you. Um. So how many people can go to heaven? This is a great question because I know that there are some faiths, um, out there that put a limit on it and you can maybe interpret one or two scriptures, or they have interpreted one or two scriptures to put a limit on it. For reasons which I won't go into now, I personally don't think there is a limit on how many people get to go to heaven. I think the only limit is our own choice. That's it. I don't think it comes from God. I think it comes from our own decision. It's like God's like, are you in yes or no? Make a decision. All of this awaits for you, and why would you not? I mean, like Rachel says, you know, in all the tears are wiped away, which is just Oh, fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. So, uh, what other the questions do we have? What does Jesus say about heaven? [00:50:00] Again, he has a lot to say about heaven, doesn't it? Talking about it being his father's home. The Bible actually talks about three types of heaven, uh, which I've always found quite fascinating. Uh, it talks about the heaven, Liz, um, referring to what we would call the solar system. You know, the stars, everything sort of above earth. We still do that, don't we? We still call it the heavens, referring to outer space. And the Bible does that, it calls it the heavens. Um. And then there are the spiritual heaven, Liz, uh, which is where we know that, um, angels, uh, reside and things happen in that spiritual realm, in the spiritual heaven, Liz, uh, and all kinds of cool things happen in that realm. Um, and then we have heaven itself, which is where the throne of God is based. So it has this sort of, it talks about heaven or heaven lives in three different ways in Scripture. Um, and so the Bible, Jesus has a lot to say about these kind of things as well. Um, and he talks about going and preparing a [00:51:00] place for us in his father's household. And you're just like, can you imagine? I don't know if you've ever seen any of those TV shows where, uh. Where a presenter kind of goes off and finds the perfect house for you, and then they kind of, you know, and you walk in, you go, this house is amazing. This is my house. And they found it for you. I mean, that's super cool ride. Imagine having a house prepared for you in heaven by Christ himself, the gods, the savior, the man who knows you better than you know anything better than you know your own self. He knows you inside out, and he loves you and he's preparing a place for you. I just, I just want to point out, I can't wait to see it. I ju, I dunno. I ju I just can't wait to see that. I can't wait to get there and look at that place, which Jesus has prepared for me because. That is gonna [00:52:00] be amazing. I mean, if there's like a Jesus prepares your home TV show in heaven, that's gonna be worth watching right? As, as you walk into the house and see what is going on. Uh, so yeah. Uh, and again, I like what Dan talked about, how heaven kind of reverses the whole death and decay thing. So, um, uh, you know, uh, this again, is, is so helpful, especially the lady that's dying with terminal cancer. Could God heal her on earth? Yes, he could. Um, will he? I don't know. Um, we can pray for that. And we do, we pray for that lady that has terminal cancer, but we do know that di people die from sickness and from disease. I mean, you could argue that we're all gonna die from sickness and disease or some kind of decay that's gonna ultimately, uh, cause us to pass from one life to the next. I do know this. I know that on Earth I believe that there is a God that heals, and I've seen the healings and I've seen things which just have blown my mind, [00:53:00] but I know it doesn't always work out down here. I've seen the unjust live incredible lives and then pass away peacefully on their beds without any justice at all. But I do think there's coming a point. I do think there's coming a time where we stand before our God and our maker, and when we do, I don't think terminal cancer. It is gonna be there. Cancer killed my uncle. I don't think my, my uncle has cancer in heaven. And I think there'll be no more sickness. There'll be no more tears in the Bible. Just talk about this. And there will be health and wholeness and joy like you have never seen and celebrations and jubilance and all that amazing stuff, which just makes heaven the place to be. I just, oh, uh, Sharon's put here, love these well-known verses for God's soul of the world that he sent his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life. John three 16, uh, I'll add, that's the broadcast Great verse. Very, very true. [00:54:00] 'cause that answers the question, will you go to heaven? Or, how do I get to heaven? Uh, is another question we get asked a lot. And it's as simple as this. Simple as those verses just believe in Jesus. That's all. That's God's so loved the world that he sent his only son, that whoever believes in him won't perish. But will have, everlasting life will be welcomed into heaven. You'll have your house in heaven prepared by the Lord. It just comes down to faith and accepting what God said. Uh, what strange put here we will live in God's mention, I'll have my log burn. Amen, sister. Amen. If you wanna log burner, I'm sure you can have one, and I'm sure it'll be, you know, uh, doing whatever it needs to do, bringing that roaring, toasty fire, uh, and heat in heaven where I'm not sure you'll need the heat, but you know, you can have it. I, why not throw it in there? I'm sure Jesus [00:55:00] knows what he's doing for you. HII have no doubt and I, for one, cannot wait to come around and have a look, just saying, uh, there's a lot of people, I'm gonna go around and see when I get there, uh, and I know Rachel will be one of them. So that's some of the questions. I'm sorry, we've, I, I'm looking at the time here. There's stuff like. What is heaven like according to the Bible? We've talked about that a little bit. Uh, is Jesus building houses in heaven? We've talked about that a little bit. Uh, where is heaven? We've not talked about that so much. Will you be a spirit or an angel in heaven? I think he'll just be you. Uh, but a just more full, complete version of you. Uh, how many people can go to heaven? We talked about that is my loved one in heaven. We talked about that. What will we do in heaven? Common misconceptions about heaven. We've not got into that, but I'm aware of time. Uh, and so we won't touch on those. I'm just going through the list of things that has come through here. Uh, hoping is heaven a myth. That's a great question, isn't it? Is it a myth? I love what Dan said. How am I at the start? Did you hear what you said in his talk? Uh. How [00:56:00] can I talk about life after death? How can I talk about the afterlife when I have not died? I'm still here. Uh, but he also said it's the, it's the main stat, isn't it? One for death is one for one. We are all gonna die at some point. Uh, is gonna come for all of us, and we can talk about heaven the way that we do as Christians because we believe that Jesus came as that statement. Again, we believe, we believe in Jesus that he came, that he died, but he was raised from the dead and resurrected and is now in heaven and we can go with him. It's as simple as that. Uh, apparently more than 80% of the US population believe. This place exists called heaven. That's interesting, isn't it? I wonder what the stat is for, uh, people believing in hell. Uh, dunno. Mind blown. So, uh, we are gonna end Conversation Street there. Hope you found that helpful. Thank you for your comments. Thank you for your thoughts and your scriptures and your ideas. Thanks for emailing in. Thanks for commenting. Uh, thanks for WhatsApping in. I'm super excited actually. 'cause next week we're gonna ramp [00:57:00] up the whole WhatsApp comment thing. Yes, we are, uh, uh, more on that as we go through, but I know more and more of you again in touch via the WhatsApp. So, uh, there's some really cool things coming to the WhatsApp. Uh, I'll put the number again on the screen if you would like to get in touch with us via the WhatsApp number. It is on your screen also via the website. Next week we are gonna be carrying on our study and our look at what the Bible says about, so next week we are tackling the topic. What does the Bible say about me? Whew. That's a big topic because that comes down to this whole conversation around identity. Who am I and what does the Bible say about me? And it might not be what you think it says, but we are gonna get into that next week. So make sure you come join us again, uh, on the live stream. We live stream 6:00 PM here in the uk, 1:00 PM Eastern. Uh, every Sunday do come and join us in the live stream or watch on the catch up. As I [00:58:00] know many of you do, either on Facebook or on YouTube. Uh, again, get in touch with us. The WhatsApp is permanently obviously available. You don't just have to get in touch with us on a, on a Sunday as we do in the live stream. If you've missed a chance to, again, in the comments, email, in, use a WhatsApp, be great to connect with you. Great to meet you. So have a fantastic week. Do come and join us as we get into that question. What does the Bible say about me? I'm very much looking forward to this one. Uh, like I say, this whole topic around identity for me is such a crucial topic in the modern world. I think it's probably one of the most confusing topics out there. One of the most misunderstood and one of the most damaging. Uh, to our, to our mental health, to our wellbeing and all kinds of things. And we're gonna bring some guidance to that whole thing by asking what does the Bible say about me? It's gonna be epic. Thank you so much for joining us. Uh, thanks for being part of the Crowd. The way this livestream ends, if you are new to the livestream, not familiar with it, we are [00:59:00] gonna play another worship song from The Amazing John and Nana Grace Frankton, who have recorded this one, how Deep The Father's Love for Us. Again, sing along if you can, or just, you know, read the lyrics and let them wash over you. Uh, it will be, uh, it's, it's a great track actually, how deep the father's love for us. It's a, it's an oldie, but it's a goodie. Yes, it is. Uh, so thank you again. Thanks so much for joining us. Really, really appreciate it. Do check out the website for more information about Crowd Church and I'll see you next week. Have a right. Have a great week, guys. God bless you. Bye for now.