I’ve been wondering about the afterlife
Good afternoon Pastor Sue,
I have recently been listening to the Resurrection series from all the way back in 2010. I decided to listen to it as I had questions about the afterlife. Jevarne told me that years ago, you preached that the lake of fire is the final death and not 'burning forever'.
I believed Jevarne and fully trusted that the Lord had revealed to you the truth. However, I purchased a study bible and whenever it referred to hell, there were lots of notes talking about why hell is 'burning forever'. Although I saw these notes, I still didn't believe this doctrine as it doesn't match the nature of our loving Heavenly Father. I asked Jevarne for the CDs on the resurrection so I could personally hear it explained by you.
I'm currently on part 3 and I am absolutely amazed! The Lord has blessed you with so much understanding of the scriptures, Pastor Sue. You perfectly explained Sheol/Hades and that our souls sleep when we die. You also explained how our spirit will go to be with the Lord when we die.
You perfectly explained Gehena and that it's symbolically representing the final judgment. And you also explained that the English term 'everlasting' only means 'age long' in Greek. Thank you for explaining that the fire will be for a period of time and not forever.
And, as always, you always backed up your points with scripture. You pointed out many first testament verses that speak of absolute destruction/death of the wicked after the final judgment. Isaiah 66:24 even says 'the wicked will be carcasses'. Wow!
The most amazing part of the sermon was the way you explained the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. That parable is absolutely awesome! Jesus truly is wisdom personified. All glory belongs unto him!
It all made so much sense when you explained it! Lazarus represents the Gentiles and the rich man represents the Jews. You also said that "everything Jesus taught was in parables so why do we now decide to say this isn't a parable?" Wow. Lazarus was the only name Jesus ever used in a parable; which foreshadowed the fact that he would raise him from the dead. It all makes sense now as to why Jesus said that even if someone came back from the dead you still wouldn't believe, because people didn't believe at the time! Wow!
God bless you Pastor Sue!! You have been blessed with an amazing gift of teaching. Thank you for allowing the Lord to use you to explain the truth of his Word. You explained everything in detail and made everything clear! Thank you so much!! May the Lord open the windows of heaven and pour out such a blessing upon you that you don't have room enough to receive it!
May the Lord continue to guide you and reveal to you more kingdom pearls!!
Hezekiah Walters is 17 years old. He serves in the Worship Team and the Tech Team.