Tony Evans - Eternity: Understanding Life After Death

2016 by
ANTHONY T. EVANS

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Chapters 13 and 5 in this book appeared previously in the book Tony Evans Speaks Out on Heaven and Hell, 2000 by Anthony T. Evans.

Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

Edited by Jim Vincent

Interior design: Ragont Design

Cover design: Erik M. Peterson

Cover photo: copyright 2010 by ZargonDesign/iStock (14487576).

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-8024-1388-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Evans, Tony, 1949- author.
Title: Eternity / Tony Evans.
Description: Chicago : Moody Publishers, 2016.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015040799 | ISBN 9780802413888 (paperback)
Subjects: LCSH: Future life--Christianity. | BISAC: RELIGION / Christian Life / Spiritual Growth.
Classification: LCC BT903 .E93 2016 | DDC 236/.21--dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015040799

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L et me give you a fact that shouldnt surprise you. Unless Jesus Christ returns in our lifetime, we are all going to die.

You may be saying, I know that, Tony. Whats your point? My point is many people are trying to deny or dodge that simple fact, even though their eternal destiny is at stake. Our culture tries to camouflage death or dress it up. People use soothing terms like pass away and laid to rest to talk about it. But the reality is that you and I are marching toward a date with death.

On the following pages, I want to bring us face-to-face with that reality, and to answer the question of what awaits us beyond the grave by examining what the Bible says. Everyone has an opinion, from the atheist who says theres nothing beyond death to the universalist who says God is waiting with open arms to receive everyone.

But anyone other than Jesus Christ who gives you an opinion about death, heaven, and hell is giving you an uninformed opinion. So dont let anybody who hasnt been there tell you about eternity, because you cant afford to get this one wrong. Lets set the stage for our discussion of eternity with several important facts about the reality of death.

The first thing we need to know about death is that it is not a random event. The Bible says, It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Every person who has ever lived will die by appointment. People may be late for a lot of things, but this is one appointment everyone will be on time for, because it has been set by God.

The story is told of a man who came face-to-face with death one day. The man was standing on a street corner in his city when a stranger walked by. The stranger looked at the man in surprise, but said nothing and kept on walking.

When the man learned that the stranger was Death, he became afraid and went to a wise friend for advice. Death just walked by and looked surprised to see me. What should I do?

The wise friend said, If I were you, Id flee to another city far away.

So the man got ready and that night fled to a faraway city. But as he was walking on the streets of that city the next day, he was horrified to run into Death. I thought I left you behind in my home city yesterday, the terrified man said to Death.

Death replied, Thats why I was so surprised to see you there yesterday. I have an appointment to meet you here today.

All of us have a God-ordained appointment with death we will most definitely keep when the time comes. It cant be avoided or missed. Once you accept that reality, it can help you better prepare for it. Rather than living in denial or running from something you may fear, choose to learn about eternity. In this way, you can better utilize your time on earth by focusing on the things that matter mostin light of your eternal destination.

The common idea of death as the end of human existence is not what the Bible means when it talks about death. In the Bible, death involves separation, but never cessation.

Most people think we are in the land of the living on our way to the land of the dying. But actually, we are in the land of the dying on our way to the land of the living. Thats why I say death is a conjunction, not a period. It is the bridge between this life and the life to come.

Well see that later in a familiar passage from the Bible, Jesus teaching in Luke 16. In this story of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus said, The poor man died and, then the rich man also died and (v. 22, emphasis added). Luke 16 could have been a very short chapter if Jesus had simply said, These men died, period. Instead, he said and.

Without and that would have been the end of the story. But the Bible knows nothing of a concept of death that means the person ceases to exist. Death is the separation of our temporary, material body from the eternal, immaterial part of our being, the spirit or soul. James 2:26 says, The body without the spirit is dead, but the opposite is not true. Our souls were created to live forever.

The Bible says our bodies are dead without their immaterial part because the soul is what gives life to, or animates, the body. At his creation, Adam was just a shell made out of dust until God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and [Adam] became a living being (Genesis 2:7).

Adam had no personhood or life until he received his soul. You are who you are because of your soul, not your body. Your ultimate value is not in your body, but in your soul, because it is the part of you that will live forever. When you die life is not over because the only part of you that died is your body. Some people say that at death, the soul sleeps until it is resurrected. But that view does not have any support in Scripture.