Is there an afterlife

1. Is there anafterlife –4th
June 2016
“Ifsomeone dies,will they liveagain?All the daysof my hard service I will wait for my renewal[a]
to
come” (Job 14:14).
As statedabove the bookof Job asksthe questionaboutanafterlife verysimply:“If aman dies,will he
live again?”asabove in Job 14:14. Askingthe questioniseasy,butthe difficultpartisfindingsomeone
to answerthe questionwithauthorityandexperience.“Deathandtaxes”have saidtobe the two
universalsthateveryone livingcanexpecttodeal with.Butwhile everyone ishandledsomewhat
differentlybygovernmenttaxation,deathisthe greatequalizerthattreatseveryone…kingsorpaupers,
the same result.
Because of this,it’snot uncommonforpeople tobe afraidof death due to itsuncertinity.The ancient
philosopherEpicurus(341–270 B.C.) recognizedthatthe fearof deathwaspresentineverybody,andhe
soughta way to remove thatfear.Epicurustaughtthat humanitynotneedfeardeathbecause human
beingsare nothingmore thana compositionof elements,whichatdeathsimplydisperse,andthatisthe
endof things.Epicurusdidn’tbelieve therewere anygodstofearor anythingto face once a person
breathedhislast.Histeachingof maximumpleasureinthislife withminimumpainandsuffering
dictatedthateverythingendswhendeathoccurred.
One of the groupsthe apostle Paul encounteredinhistriptoAthens wasthe Epicureans.Theyare
followersof Epicurus(whodiedat AthensB.C.270), or adherentsof the Epicureanphilosophy.We can
learnaboutthemwhenwe read Acts 17:18 “Agroup ofEpicurean andStoic philosophersbeganto
debate with him.Some of them asked,“Whatis thisbabbler tryingto say?” Others remarked, “He
seems to be advocatingforeigngods.” Theysaidthis because Paul was preachingthe goodnews
aboutJesus and the resurrection”.Thisphilosophywasasystemof atheism, andtaughtmento seekas
theirhighestaimapleasantandsmoothlife.Theyhave beencalledthe "Sadducees"of Greekpaganism.
But after thousands of years sincethat time, the fear of death remains fixed in many people. The book of Job
describes death as the “king of terrors”as we read from Job 18:14,“He is torn from the security of his tent and
marched off to the king of terrors.). This factis visiblein the movie The Bucket List when the character played by
Jack Nicholson,tryingto come to grips with dying, says, “We all wantto go on forever, don’t we? We fear the
unknown. Everybody goes to that wall,yet nobody knows what’s on the other side.That’s why we fear death.” But
as Christiansweknow that just one person has gone to that wall,gone through to the other side,and come back to
tell us what to expect. He alonepossesses the authority and knowledge to tell everyone the truth about the
afterlife…and that is Jesus Christwhom we have faith and believe as our God and saviour.
From a historical perspective,no crediblescholardisputesthe life of Jesusof Nazareth.There isno
debate aboutHisteachingsor the fact that He reportedlydidmiraculousthings,andthere isuniversal
agreementthatHe was putto deathby crucifixionunderthe RomanprefectPontius Pilate.Jesuswent
to the wall of deathand throughto the otherside.The resurrectionputsJesusinaplace of beingthe
sole authorityandwitnessable toanswerthe question,“Isthere anafterlife?”AndwhatdoesHe have

2. to say?Christmakesthree basicstatementsaboutthe subjectof life afterdeath:
JesusChristmostcertainlyaffirmsthere isanafterlife inanumberof biblical passages.Forexample,in
an encounterwiththe Sadducees,whodeniedthe teachingof resurrection,Christrebukedthem by
saying, “Regardingthefact that the deadrise again,have you not read inthe bookof Moses,in the
passageaboutthe burningbush,howGod spoketo him,saying,‘Iam the GodofAbraham,and the
Godof Isaac,and the Godof Jacob’?He isnot the God of the dead,but of the living;you are greatly
mistaken" (Mark12:26-27). Jesusclearlytoldthemthatthose whohad diedcenturiesbefore were very
much alive withGodat that moment. Inanotherpassage,JesuscomfortsHisdisciples(andus) bytelling
themspecificallythattheycanlookforwardto beingwithHiminheaven: “Donotlet your heart be
troubled;believe in God,believe alsoinMe. In My Father’shouse are many dwelling places;ifit were
not so, I wouldhave toldyou; for I go to prepare a place for you.If I goand prepare a place for you,I
will come againand receive you to Myself,that where I am, there you may be also.And youknow the
way where I am going” (John14:1-4).
All of us will certainlywanttoknownasto whatdetermines ourEternal Destination…Jesusalsoisclear
on whatdetermineseachperson’seternaldestination—whetherhe hasfaithinGodand what he does
withrespecttoChrist.For those whorepentandreceive ChristastheirSaviorandLord, the afterlife will
consistof an eternityspentwithGod.Butfor those whorejectChrist,theirdestinywillbe spentaway
and separated fromGod’spresence.Jesuscontraststhesetwodestiniesinthe endof the Sermononthe
Mount: “Enter throughthe narrowgate; for the gate is wideand the way is broadthat leads to
destruction,and there are manywho enter throughit. For the gate is small andthe way isnarrow that
leadsto life,andthere are few whofindit” (Matthew7:13-14).