Oxford Bible Church - Living in the Last Days

Derek answers a number of questions, with a special emphasis on Bible Prophecy. His discussion with Howard Condor includes how Jesus fulfils the Feasts, why we are living in the End Times now, the New Birth, where believers go after death, what happened to the Old Testament saints, putting God first, eternal security, the antichrist's kingdom, overcoming sin, Day of the Lord, One Day is as 1000 years, the Ezekiel 38-39 invasion, God's resurrection program, Mansions in Heaven, the Bride of Christ, the nature of sin, the outpouring of God's Spirit, God's purpose for this life in relation to eternity, the Rapture, and salvation in the Tribulation for those who are left behind in the Rapture.

There are only 2 possible eternal destinies for every person - either (1) a state and place of everlasting life and blessedness in God’s Presence, for those who have received Christ as their Saviour and Lord, or (2) a state and place of everlasting punishment, for those who have rejected Christ and His offer of Salvation. Every man's final destiny is fixed by God at the time of his death, according to the condition of his soul in relation to God (Ecclesiastes 11:3). There is a HEAVEN to gain and a HELL to shun!

Before the Death and Resurrection of Christ, at death both believers and unbelievers went down to a place called ‘Hades’ (in Greek) or ‘Sheol’ (in Hebrew), a place under the earth for departed spirits, but the believers and unbelievers went to 2 different compartments of Hades, separated by the Bottomless Pit. This is revealed by the true story of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-26). Before the New Covenant it was impossible for anyone to be born again, and so it was impossible for their spirits to go into Heaven. But now through Christ's death and resurrection, the New Birth is available, which means that when believers die now, our spirits can go straight up to Heaven, because our spirits have been changed, born again, and made perfect in Christ. When Christ rose from the dead, He made the spirits of the Old Testament saints perfect by giving them the New Birth, and then took them to Heaven with Him, so they are there now.

Jesus promised that believers in the Church Age would not go down to Hades, but up to Heaven for they are now in the Kingdom of God (Matthew 16:18, John 3:3-6). Derek gives a number of scriptures that prove that believers now go up ti Heaven when they die.

On the other hand, unbelievers still go down to Torments in Hades, a temporary place of punishment for their soul, because they died in their sins and are guilty. They rejected the grace of God, the work of Christ and the witness of the Holy Spirit. They must wait in this temporary holding-cell in Hades until they are resurrected at the end of time and made to stand before the Great White Throne for their final sentencing and dismissal into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20), which is their final and everlasting place of punishment, for both their body and their soul (Matthew 10:28).

God's eternal Judgment will determine each person's eternal destiny. God will ultimately divide all mankind into 2 groups with 2 very different eternal destinies, which is decided at death, when a permanent separation takes place between the righteous and unrighteous.

This Judgment, which happens when we cross over the threshold from this life to the next, will be solely a judgment of that individual, and the decisions he has made in his life (Ezekiel 18:20). The Bible teaches that mankind generally goes through 3 Phases of Existence: (1) this life in a mortal body, (2) the INTERMEDIATE STATE, and (3) the ETERNAL STATE in an immortal body. After death the invisible part of man (his spirit- soul), will live on independently from his body. This is called the Immortality of the Soul (Matthew 10:28). Although the body is made from dust that dies, the spirit is made from God’s breath (spirit) and so cannot die. It continues to exist and live on after death (Genesis 2:7). Physical death is simply the separation of the spirit from the body, when the body is no longer able to house the spirit (James 2:26). The condition of each soul at death will determine its destiny for eternity (Ecclesiastes 11:3, Rev 22:11).

The first Stage of man's Eternal Judgment happens immediately after his death (Hebrews 9:27). Stage 1 determines a man’s guilt or innocence. You will either die 'in your sins' (John 8:24) or 'in the Lord' (Rev 14:13). The righteous go up to Paradise, and the wicked go down to Hades, where both groups wait for the 2nd Stage of their Eternal Judgment, which is at their resurrection. After death a man enters the next phase of his existence, the Intermediate State (a temporary State, the time between his death and resurrection). After leaving his body, he continues to exist as a disembodied spirit.

In Stage 2 of man’s Eternal Judgment, at his resurrection, he will appear before the Judge for sentencing. Believers will come before the Judgment Seat of Christ to be judged according to their works to determine their eternal rewards. *Unbelievers will stand before the Great White Throne for their final sentencing. They are judged according to their works to determine the degree of their eternal punishment. They are then dismissed to their final place of punishment, the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:11-15).

A major change took place through the Death and Resurrection of Christ, so Derek shows what happened in Old Testament times before the Cross (Luke 16), and the difference that Christ made possible for us by establishing the New Covenant and providing the perfecting of our spirits through the New Birth. Thus before the Resurrection, Heaven was not populated by man (John 3:13), but now in Christ, our spirits have been changed, born again, and made perfect. So now when believers die, they go straight up into Heaven.

In this short video, Derek completes his overview of the the 8 Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12 - the heart attitudes that we need to develop to enable us to receive God's grace and blessing.

In this short video, Derek explains the Beatitudes: (1) Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God, (2) blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted, and (3) blessed are the MEEK, for they shall inherit the earth.

In this short video, Derek continues to share from the Beatitudes of Christ. The grace (blessing) of God flows through our heart into our life, so to enjoy His blessing, our heart must be soft and open to God. In other words, we must cultivate these blessed attitudes of heart. On the other hand, hardness of heart blocks the blessing of God.

In this short video, Derek shares from the Beatitudes about the heart attitudes that God wants to form in us, especially purity of heart. Jesus said that only the pure in heart will see God. The pure heart is a heart that is fully devoted to God and free from idols. As we draw near to God and worship Him, like a Consuming Fire, He will cleanse our heart from idols, and we will start seeing Him more clearly. May God give us a heart that is fully devoted to loving Him with every part of our lives without any foreign mixture.

Philippians 2:6-11 is the classic passage of Scripture describing the descending steps of the humility of Jesus, which resulted in His exaltation. Derek explains these steps of humility resulting in exaltation, and shows how Jesus acted out these same steps, when He washed His disciples' feet at the Last Supper in John 13. In fact, there is an exact correspondence between these 2 Passages of Scripture. In other words, in the Foot Washing, Jesus prophetically acted out the whole Drama of Salvation in a number of steps, and Paul, seeing this, described the very same Drama of Salvation, which Jesus accomplished, in terms of the very same steps, but by using theological language rather than actions.

Derek shares 3 major KEYS to receive HEALING from God:

*KEY 1: Know that HEALING is God’s WILL for you, because Healing is in the Atonement.

*KEY 2: God gives us His HEALING by giving us His HEALING POWER as a free gift, upon request. We must believe that He is our Healer and we must receive His Healing Power as a free gift by faith.

*KEY 3: To receive Healing Power into our bodies requires the surrender of our bodies to God (our faith-submission to God), because God does not force His Power on us.

How can God's sovereignty and man's free-will be both true at the same time? If God foreknew us, chose us and predestined us to be His before the foundation of the world, what possible place can there be for our free-will in our salvation. Yet the Bible clearly speaks about our choice to believe (trust) in Christ, or reject (rebel against) Him. God holds us accountable for our choices and decisions, especially our response to Christ and His Gospel. If God is sovereign and if we are made in His image then surely our free-will (sovereignty over our life) is real, even though it is limited and not absolute like God's sovereign free will to do as He pleases. For many, the truths of Divine Sovereignty and human free-will are contradictory, but in this study Derek shows how both can be true at the same time, once God's Omniscience is fully understood. This is known as Molinism, which is a middle view between Calvinism and Arminianism, which full upholds Divine Sovereignty and at the same time fully affirms man's dignity as a moral agent, with freedom of choice (rather than a robot in disguise).