Resurrection
• Almost all religions teach the immortality of the soul, but the Bible teaches the redemption and survival of the total person: spirit, soul, and body.
• The Bible does not teach that the physical body is the source of evil. When Paul instructed the church not to live “according to the flesh” but “according to the Spirit,” he was not saying that the body is the source of all evil (Rom. 8:1-17). Instead, he was pointing out that although sin manifests itself through the actions of the body, evil behavior is derived from a “carnal mind” (Rom. 8:6-7).
• Christ, through His incarnation, death, and resurrection, took our human body and “condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3). He has redeemed the total person who is in Christ, giving every believer hope of a bodily resurrection that will occur at the rapture of the church (1 Cor. 15:21-23).
• The New Testament also contains examples of persons raised from the dead. These were not resurrections as will occur at the second coming and the last judgment, for these individuals later died and will experience the final resurrection. However, these stories of individuals being raised from the dead are prefigures of the final resurrection (John 11:41-44, Lazarus; Luke 8:41-56, Jairus’ daughter; Luke 7:12-15, the widow’s son; Matt. 27:52-53, Old Testament saints).
• The resurrection of Jesus is the true and ideal resurrection. When Jesus rose from the dead, He became “…the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20). His resurrection is the guarantee of the resurrection of all believers: “But God… raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…” (Eph. 2:4-6).
• The resurrection of humans will be universal. Not all humans will have eternal life, but all will have eternal existence.
• The resurrection of humans will be a literal, bodily resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus demonstrates this truth. His resurrected body still bore the prints of the nails and the wound of the sword (John 20:26-28). After His resurrection, Jesus had a body of “flesh and bones” and even took food to eat (Luke 24:36-43).
• On the other hand, the body of Jesus was sufficiently glorified that His disciples did not always recognize Him at once. His appearances show that His body was not subject to regular physical limitations (John 20:19, 26).
• Although our resurrection will be literal, this does not mean that all the same molecules of our dead bodies will be recovered. Our body cells are replaced many times throughout our lifespan without losing our personal identity. We may be sure of this: God will form our resurrected bodies with a definite relationship to our earthly bodies, but they will be transformed and fashioned to our new environment (Phil. 3:21).
Final Judgment
• God’s final judgment is for all humanity, from Adam to those born at the end of human history. No one is exempt (2 Corinthians 5:10, Revelation 20:11).
• The primary purpose of judgment will be to determine a person’s eternal destiny based upon their acceptance or rejection of Christ before death (Matthew 13:41-43, 1 Peter 4:5).
• This is important because it impacts how we view our call to share the gospel with everyone who needs to hear it. May this truth impassion us with a love for the lost.
Heaven
• We believe Heaven is both a real and literal place and the culmination of a believer’s journey to know and experience the inconceivable “things God has prepared for those who love Him” (Colossians 2:9).
• Heaven, as a spiritual dynamic and reality, carries the nature of God. Understanding the nature of heaven gives us a clear indication of the heart and will of God for healing, abundance, light, justice, security, and place with His children.
• The Scripture uses many glorious words to describe the place Jesus has prepared for us:
Heaven is where Jesus our Savior abides (John 14:2-3; Acts 7:56; Luke 1:2; 2 Cor. 5:2; Phil. 1:23).
1. Heaven is an ample place: “In My Father’s house are many mansions [abiding places]” (John 14:2-3).
2. Heaven is a better place (Heb. 10:34; 11:16).
3. Heaven is a perfect place: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).
4. Heaven is a place of inheritance where believers will receive an inheritance because they are joint heirs with Christ (1 Pet. 1:4; Rom. 8:17).
5. Heaven is a place of reward (Matt. 5:12; 6:20; 19:21; Luke 12:33; Col. 1:5; 2 Tim. 4:8).
6. Heaven is a place of praise (Rev. 19:1).
7. Heaven is a place of beauty, splendor, and glory (Rev. 21, 22).
8. Heaven is a joyful place (Rev. 21:4; Matt. 25:21-23; Luke 15:7-10; Heb. 12:2).
9. Heaven is a place of personal identity.
Hell
• We believe that hell is a real and literal place of outer darkness and deepest sorrow and is an eternal destiny for those “who have rejected the mercy, love, and tenderness of the crucified Savior” (Revelation 20:15, Matthew 13:41-44).
• The Bible uses various descriptions to represent the final condition of the wicked:
1. Separation from God (Luke 13:25-28; 2 Thess. 1:9)
2. Outer darkness (Matt. 22:13; 2 Pet. 2:4-17; Jude 6-13)
3. Eternal, everlasting, unquenchable fire (Matt. 18:8; Mark 9:43, 45, 48; 2 Pet. 3:7; Jude 7)
4. Everlasting contempt (Dan. 12:2)
5. Everlasting torment (Rev. 14:10-11)
6. Everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:46)
7. Everlasting destruction or perdition (2 Thess. 1:8-9; Phil. 3:18-19; Matt. 7:13; Rom. 9:22; 2 Pet. 3:7)
8. The wrath of God (Rom. 2:5, 8, 9; 1 Thess. 1:10)
9. Retribution: punishment proportionate to the evil (2 Cor. 11:14-15; 2 Tim. 4:14; Rev. 18:6; 22:12)
10. The second death (Rev. 20:14; 21:8)”
Foundations of Pentecostal Theology, Guy P. Duffield & Nathaniel M. Van Cleave
ARTICLE XVIII: THE FINAL JUDGEMENT (purple polka dot) (10 min)
We believe that the dead both small and great shall be raised up and stand with the living before the judgment seat of God; and that then a solemn and awful separation shall take place wherein the wicked shall be adjudged to everlasting punishment and the righteous to life eternal; and that this judgment will fix forever the final state of men in heaven or in hell on principles of righteousness as set forth in His holy Word (2 Cor. 5:10; Matt. 13:41-43).
Take a few minutes to write your sentence:
ARTICLE XIX: HEAVEN (purple polka dot)
We believe that Heaven is the indescribably glorious habitation of the living God and that thither the Lord has gone to prepare a place for his children; that unto this foursquare city, whose builder and maker is God, the earnest believers who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and have overcome by the word of their testimony will be carried; that the Lord Jesus Christ will present them to the Father without spot or wrinkle; and that there is unutterable joy when they will ever behold His wonderful face, in an everlasting kingdom where unto comes no darkness nor night, neither sorrow, tears, pain, nor death, and wherein hosts of attending angels sweep their harps, sing the praises of our King, and bowing down before the throne, cry: ‘Holy, holy, holy’” (1 Cor. 2:9; John 14:2; Rev. 22:5; Rev. 21:4; Rev. 7:15-17).
Take a few minutes to write your own sentence:
ARTICLE XX: HELL (purple polka dot)
We believe that hell is a place of outer darkness and deepest sorrow, where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched; a place prepared for the devil and his angels, where there shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, a place of grief and eternal regret on the part of them who have rejected the mercy, love, and tenderness of the crucified Savior, choosing death rather than life; and that there into a lake that burns with fire and brimstone shall be cast the unbelieving, the abominable, the murderers, sorcerers, idolaters, all liars, and they who have rejected and spurned the love and sacrifice of a bleeding Redeemer, passing the cross to their doom, in spite of every entreaty and warning of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 13:41,42, Rev. 20:10,15; 14:10,11; Mark 9:43,44; Ezek. 33:11).
Take a few minutes to write your own sentence:
Questions and Scripture
What is your view of the final judgment? Why is the subject of final judgment important in your own life and how would you explain it to someone in very simple terms?
What is your view of heaven? How would you explain heave to a new convert – both as an actual place and as a dynamic?
What is your view of hell? Why is the subject of hell important in your own life and how would you explain it to someone in very simple terms?
What makes heaven important to the gospel, both now and after death? What makes hell important to the gospel?