Dennis L. Finnan Commentator NOTES FROM THE OTHER SIDE “WITH THE WORLD TRADE CENTER DISASTER, ALL
OF US HAVE BEEN THRUST INTO THE REALITY OF THE FRAGILITY AND UNCERTAINTY OF
LIFE. MANY HAVE HAD TO FACE THE QUESTION, IS THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH?” I’m Dennis Finnan, host and speaker on the World, the Word &
You! Broadcast and in a moment we’ll explore this age-old question… … Yes the World Trade Center disaster that occurred in September 2001 will never be erased from the memory of the world. Everyone, everywhere thinks about how quickly more than 7000 lives were snuffed out by the wild, evil and murderous work of fundamental Shiite Islamics following Muhammad's writings and faith in the quest to conquer the world for Islam. Yet, being thrust into thoughts of eternity in itself is not bad for it causes all to think deeply and seriously about the age-old question – “Is there life after death?” Well I’ve got good news and bad news for you. There is a source of truth and reality that tells us the answer to that question is yes! There is life after death, but it can only be found in two distinctly different forms. The Bible, the Word of God of Christians alone, tells us the truth concerning the afterlife. In this divine Book that has proven itself to be totally reliable, we have the revelations of our Creator God who tells us that He has designed all human life to survive death. Now that seems to be good news for all those who have lost loved ones who mourn their departure and wonder if they will ever see them again. But today I want to talk about the afterlife from the dark side, the negative side of the eternal equation, because, everyone needs to know what divine revelation tells us about it. Not to scare anybody, or depress them, but truth always must be faced whether it be good or bad, and all of us need to know the options available to us, especially when it comes to life after death. So after we pause one more time for another moment of music. I’ll return with today’s message entitled: NOTES FROM THE OTHER SIDE, stay tuned… … Friend know this ¾ the Bible is the only source of truth about who we are and where we are going ¾ All other religious writings pale in significance and truthfulness because they are false representations of the revelation of God the Creator. I say that confidently because only the Bible the Word of God, passes the test of being a divine book given to us by God the Creator for our good and learning. Now I’ll not go into substantiating why the Bible is inerrant, infallible and totally reliable. I’ve done that in other messages you can readily receive. Suffice it to say, only the Bible tells us the truth about what’s on the “other side” of death. Now concerning that matter, the Bible tells us plainly there are two destinies for all who die. The one on the bright side is called Heaven and Eternal Life. Jesus Christ told His disciples, John 14:1-3 (NNAS) “”Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” 1 Th 4:17 (NNAS) “Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” Mat 25:46 (NNAS) “”These will go away… the righteous into eternal life.”” Yes, from all indications in Scripture, the Bible gives us “notes from the other side” telling us that there is a wonderful, blissful place waiting for all those who follow God and His Word to enter the kingdom of Heaven. No one has trouble with the idea that instantly upon death, our soul and spirit will survive and go into the glorious abode of God Himself, except the religious cults, that in their own teachings they devise, deny the Word of the Creator. Now saying all that, we do need to know that there are additional notes from the other side of physical life that we all should be aware of. Regardless of their pleasantry or not, we must be warned. Take for example the Word Trade Center disaster in New York City, were the Twin Towers were destroyed by the impact of two jumbo jetliners crashing into them. The moment the crash occurred, many lives were saved because people heeded the unpleasant, uncomfortable frightening, life disturbing call to evacuate. Imagine how unpleasant that was. So many had just come to work and settled down to a satisfying comfortable day. All of a sudden the loudspeakers blared, the alarm siren or bell sounded, and building authority voices demanded that everyone leave their offices and desks, and file out to the stairs and get out! Strangely, many stayed figuring it was just a fire drill. Some were even told to ignore the warnings and stay at their desks in their offices. Sadly they perished, because they did not HEED THE WARNINGS! Well in like manner our building authority, who created the world we live in, has given us warnings to. The Bible says that their is coming a great disaster. The good “ship or building” of humanity has suffered a devastating attack that has taken us all down. We, like the World Trade Center buildings, have become unstable and are about to collapse. The Bible says sin entered the world through Adam and Eve. Originally created in a perfect state, a marvel to behold, these two first human beings heeded the false words of Satan and caused the wrath of God to come upon them. We read in Scripture of this terrible tragedy that befell the human race, Gen 3:17-19 (NNAS) “Then to Adam [God] said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. 18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; 19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”” Yes, God originally planned for the human race to live eternally in the perfect, sinless presence of God. But Adam and Eve, our foreparents and progenitors of the human race, sinned and disobeyed God. They were warned, but they disobeyed anyway and they suffered the perilous fate of physical and eternal death to come. Now we who are all born of Adam and Eve, are born in a race of life that is under the same death sentence because it was passed upon all life of humanity ever to come. Yet the story of the Bible is one of great love. Scripture declares, John 3:16-17 (NNAS) “”For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” Rom 5:8 (NNAS) “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Only the message of the Bible given to the entire world as proclaimed by Bible believing Christians, is the necessary need of every human being. You see, our building, our humanity was struck by the evil and disaster of sin. The Devil and his fallen angels wanted our eternal life and blessings of God to be destroyed. Satan himself came to Adam and Eve and caused them to sin against God thus incurring the penalty of death. Scripture warns us, Rom 6:23 (NNAS) “For the wages of sin is death… From the moment they sinned, they began to die. Now thankfully, God designed our humanity to begin the process of dying, and it would take generations before the full course of death and decay would consume us. Yet, like the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, upon being hit by the monstrous planes and exploding fuel, it was obvious these towers had to be evacuated quickly. It took some time before these buildings totally collapsed, and those who heeded the warning bells and loudspeaker cries to get out, were saved! But sadly, those who didn’t or delayed were lost. When our human race began, do you realize God intended for us to live forever in sinless perfection in the presence of God? The Garden of Eden, the world itself and universe for that matter were perfect. But alas, sin entered and destroyed the Creation, and man and angels, and death now reigned. Yet, Adam and Eve we are told in the Bible, lived for almost a 1000 years, but our life spans, because the seeds of death are in us all now, has been reduced to three score and ten and not much longer. We all die! Regardless of technology and medicine that can extend our lives a decade or so, within a century almost all are dead. But, God’s warning bell has been sounding for centuries. God has given us the Bible, His notes from the other side, to warn us our building is coming down and we must heed the warning and take the safety exit to be saved ¾ And if we don’t, the negative side, the awful truth will come down on us all. Now what is that truth to heed? Here in a nutshell is what the Bible warns us to avoid, Mat 25:46 “Some will go away into eternal punishment” You see, the Bible is the only source of truth about a place called Hell. Man’s science knows nothing beyond death. Human experience does not reach beyond the grave. If any of us are ever to know what’s beyond the grave, we must hear God’s Word. Jesus warned us all, Mat 5:22 (NNAS) “”But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” Mat 10:28 (NNAS) “”Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Mat 25:41 (NNAS) “”Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;” It’s an awful thing to be confronted with such negative, and frightening words isn’t it? It unsettles us and we simply don’t want our comfort zones interrupted by them. As a result many, the vast majority of people, just close their ears and shut it out. Yet, when the moment of death comes, and their building in this life ceases to exist, their soul and spirit goes on to the other side of existence and as Scripture warns, perishes in the fires of Hell for all eternity. Remember, the Scriptures I quoted to you are the very words of the Creator Himself, Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us who Jesus Christ really is, Col 1:16-19 (NNAS) “For by Him [Jesus Christ] all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,” Yes, the Goodness of God is seen in the fact our Creator does not want any of the human race to perish. Right in the Garden of Eden, God saved both Adam and Eve ¾ And, all their children who follow who heed the warning bell of Scripture. Our evacuation route is through hearing and heeding the words of Jesus who can save all who come to Him. Now what is Hell like that we should avoid it? The Bible tells us: 1. Hell is a real place of everlasting existence minus the presence of God for all eternity. Yes the Bible says, Hell is the absence of God and all His being. That means what ever God is, will not be there for all who enter to enjoy. Scripture tells us God is perfection, goodness, love, joy, truth, peace, holiness, just, comfort and delight. All that will be absent. 2. Hell is place of total abandonment. You see, God created us in His very image. God is eternal and although we have a beginning, unlike God who is eternal, He created all human life to be endless. We must therefore live somewhere in our souls and spirits after death. If we choose not to be with God, then God had to plan a place for all spirits that refused His love and obedience to Him. That place is Hell, the eternal penitentiary for sin-laden spirits. All who go there will be abandoned forever. Unlike modern thinking, Hell is not the kingdom of Satan where he reigns over demons and His human followers who rejected Christ. There is no fellowship in Hell. It is a place of complete aloneness. No one will ever see, hear from, or communicate with another life ever again. I can’t think of a more terrible thing! 3. Hell is also a place of eternal suffering. Now I realize what the Bible says that Hell is a place of everlasting fire is frightening. However, Jesus used such words to describe it. Is it literal fire? Well, we really don’t know, but one thing is sure. If it is figurative we know that figures are always less intense than reality. Everyone who saw the pictures of the World Trade Center disaster who were able to see it personally stood in awe at the magnitude of the devastation reality brought. Likewise, will be Hell. The fires of Hell are different from physical fire here on earth. Fire consumes on earth, but in Hell there will be no annihilation. When the jumbo jets slammed into the Twin Towers in New York, experts said the exploding fuel caused fire and temperatures exceeding 2000 degrees. Instantly, people were vaporized and the steel support beams melted which caused the collapse of the Towers. In Hell the heat will be more intense than that, but to the horror of its residents, they will not be annihilated or evaporated but live on and on suffering the pains of such fire. How awful, but remember God wants no one to God there, for in the Bible “”fire” is the symbol of God’s wrath. His wrath is upon all who reject His offer of love and grace wherein He has given us a ticket to freedom and avoid the burning Hell to come. Have you taken your ticket to freedom? It is found in Jesus Christ. When you come to Him and call upon him to save you, surrendering your life to God the Creator Jesus Christ, God opens the exit door of judgment against you and grants you’re the promise that Hell will never be your place when you enter the other side. 4. Hell is a place where the utter blackness of darkness will exist forever. Now it’s hard to understand how fire and darkness can exist together, but the Bible says it does in Hell. In Mat. 8:12 we are told those who do not accept Christ will be cast into outer darkness. Perhaps this is a description of Hell where the absence of God’s spiritual light exists? No one can imagine seeing nothing, hearing nothing, and suffering the agony and pain of burning but not being consumed. That will be Hell for all eternity for those who pass this life and do not heed the warning bell of God’s Word. Now I tell you these things not to scare you, or irritate you. Some are irritated, as surely were those who comfortably sat down at their desks for a normal day at the World Trade Center. But I tell you this, everyone who was saved, has thanked God for disturbing them that day with the loud siren and brash voice that came over the loudspeaker and said get up and get out! Take to the stairs; follow the plan for evacuation, now, now! ¾ f or in a moment of time it will be too late. How thankful they are now. Well it is the same with life, your life, our world and eternity to come. The world is perishing, we as human beings are too. Your life, or mine can end at any moment and the fires of Hell that crashed into the human race at its start will consume you. But, God loves you and wants no one to perish. Yet, you must hear His Word and follow His plan. What must you do? Here it is and simple as possible. You must hear and believe God’s Word that tells you… 1. You are a condemned sinner and because you are you are under God’s coming wrath, you will be cast upon death into an eternal place called Hell. (Rom 3:23; Rom 6:23) 2. There is nothing in and of yourself you can do to change this except to follow God’s plan of rescue. By admitting this, you will seek to hear and follow God’s plan of rescue found only in the bible. (Ecc. 7:20; Rom. 3:10; Rom. 5:12) 3. God has a plan to save you. That plan is found in Jesus Christ alone and what the Bible says about Him. Jesus Christ is your Creator come in human form to save you from the penalty of sin and death to follow.(1 Cor. 15:3-4) 4. Christ died for your sins paying your penalty for all eternity. In the World Trade Center many firemen entered the burning building and rescued many. But they gave up their lives in doing so. Christ gave His life to rescue all humanity and He did this by paying for the sins of the whole world. (Eph. 1:7; Rom 5:18) 5. Jesus Christ warns all that the sin payment of our sins will not be applied to us until we surrender our lives and hearts in faith to Him as our Lord and Savior. When we acknowledge God’s rightful rule over us we surrender our own wills to God through Christ. Have you surrendered your will and heart to Jesus? Call upon him right now and He will save you! (John 3:36; John 1:11-12; Rom. 10:13) 6. All who come to Christ, surrendering their hearts, are granted forever and full forgiveness of all their sins and given life eternal that will unfold the moment we die. All who love God’s Son Jesus Christ will enter Heaven and enjoy Eternal life in the presence of God for eternity. (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9; John 10:28-29) Friend, are you saved? Have you heeded God’s warning bell the Gospel, I’ve just given you? If not, you will perish for all eternity when your building comes down. All who heeded God’s warning of Hell to come have avoided it and been saved for they accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. May God use these simple facts to cause you to be sure of your eternal destiny, and to know God’s love is yours for the asking and keeping for Jesus said, John 6:47 (NNAS) “”Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.” John 3:18 (NNAS) “”He who believes in Him [Jesus Christ] is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Luke 13:3 (NNAS) “”I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” John 1:12 (NNAS) “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,” The warning bell of danger from the other side is ringing, the sirens are wailing, the loud voices are heard over God’s loudspeakers, from His servants – “Turn to Christ, flee the coming judgment and destruction ahead.” “The buildings coming down, that is your body and soul and spirit are perishing!” But God is ready to save you, if you obey His instruction given to you today. May God bless these words to your heart for Jesus sake. Amen. · Radio talk #4201 · Broadcast date: October 21, 2001 · Speaker: Dennis L. Finnan, Commentator · Program: The World, the Word & You! Radio Broadcast · Address: P.O. Box 40133 Grand Junction, CO 81504 The World, the Word & You! Broadcast is a non-denominational ministry based on the historic fundamental evangelical interpretation of the Scriptures. A copy of our doctrinal statement is available upon request. These weekly radio commentaries are not exhaustive studies of any particular subject due to the time limit of broadcasting. Actual broadcasts can be heard in selected areas around the nation, as funding provides. Dennis Finnan has been the speaker for 22 years, and serves as General Director. These transcripts are available free of charge to all who desire them. Also available are actual radio cassette tapes and printed booklets of each message. A free listing of recent messages is available upon request also. 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