All the Dead Shall Live

ALL THE DEAD SHALL LIVE

Youth Camp June 1998 Theme; “God is a mighty fortress”

The directors of this camp have set out to make this experience an eternal benefit to all the youth that attend. Most of you know that the purpose of the camp is not just fun and games but to alert and inform each of us about our eternal destiny. Every one of our directors and counselors have settled their eternal destiny by their commitment and faith in what the Word of God says. That is why they were chosen as counselors. Tonight I want to share with you as clearly as I can what your options are. Sometime, and nobody knows when, this world system that we have now will be terminated and a whole new system called the Kingdom of God will be established. In this camp that is not a controversial issue because every counselor here believes that with all their heart. Since we cannot make any decision for you in these matters and we have no desire to force our faith upon you I will simply inform you of the options and you are free to make your own decision.

One of the secular theories that are proclaimed on television, in books, in schools and in public forums is that once you are dead, you are dead and that is the end. That man is no different than a dog or an elephant because we have all been evolved from the same slime or frogs or whatever the current opinion.

We believe and are convinced with no doubt in our minds that man was created differently than animals or birds or fish. The reason was because God had a divine plan for man that is going to only be revealed fully in eternity future. However, the scriptures reveal so much about the alternative to God’s plan and the result of choosing the wrong kingdom.

I want to begin with the conflicts of kingdoms. God is the creator of all things and everything was created by Him and For Him and without Him was not anything created that was created. The whole universe belongs to God and He alone rules over it in righteousness and justice. God has chosen Jesus Christ, His own Son, as the King over all things.

However, there is another “king” who has set up a rival kingdom called the kingdom of darkness. God’s Kingdom is called “the Kingdom of God’s dear Son” which is the kingdom of light. This is found in COL 1:13] For He delivered us from the domain (authority) of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, This is what the salvation experience is all about.

Since we were all born into this kingdom of darkness and are under the influence and authority of darkness we must escape or we will be judged and condemned along with that whole kingdom and it’s rulers. When we commit our life to Jesus Christ and come under His government we can escape from the darkness and begin to walk in the light or the revelation of Christ.

The problem is that we immediately come under attack from the conflicting kingdom. Satan who is the prince of darkness and of this rival kingdom will begin an instant warfare to recapture you and drag you back into that darkness. This is found in EPH 6:12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. [13] Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

The theme of our camp is “God is our mighty fortress”. A fortress is a military encampment where we are secure against the enemy and his forces. As long as we stay within this mighty fortress there is no danger of ever being taken captive again by Satan.

Now Satan has many, many voices in this world system and many of them are spreading his lies. The Bible declares that he is a liar and the father of all lies. One of those lies is that when you are dead, you are dead and you no longer exist. The theme of this message is “The dead shall live again”.

We are all going to die. There is no question about that and the funeral homes are a constant testimony to that fact. The question is this; Exactly what is it that dies? According to scripture and also to the testimony of the Son of God it is only the body that dies but the soul or consciousness remains alert. At death we merely lay aside this body but the person that dwells in that body will remain alert. This consciousness is still called death because it is separated from the source of all life which is God, Himself. This is found in Luke 16:19

LUKE 16:19 "Now there was a certain rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, gaily living in splendor every day. [20] "And a certain poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, [21] and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. [22] "Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. [23] "And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. [24] "And he cried out and said, `Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame.' [25] "But Abraham said, `Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. [26] `And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to come over from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.' . The rich man, Lazarus and Abraham are all dead and their bodies are buried but they are all conscious. The rich man is conscious and feels and thinks and cries out for mercy and seeks for someone to bring relief. The problem is that no one in hell can help him because they have their own torment and because there is a great separation or chasm fixed between the saved and the lost no one in heaven can come to help either.

Those who are in the kingdom of darkness have no escape and no hope of it being any better for all of eternity. For all eternity they will all suffer, be in torment and in agony in that terrible flame. The lie of the devil is that at death you are annihilated and no longer exist. The Bible reveals that once you are born you will live forever, either in heaven or in hell but no one ceases to exist. This is the terrifying thing about missing God’s salvation which is Christ, Himself. We are either “in Christ” or we are “in darkness”. We are either in “Christ’s Kingdom” or we are in “Satan’s kingdom”. There is no third choice so we must choose one or the other. If you decide to make “no choice” you are making the choice to stay in “Satan’s kingdom” because all are born there. If we choose Jesus Christ and His salvation God will deliver us from the kingdom of darkness and transfer us into the Kingdom of His Son. We are born again into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son.

As the book of Revelation comes to an end we see everyone who is not redeemed by the blood of Jesus fleeing or running away from God but they cannot escape the sword of His mouth. All will be killed and the beasts will eat their bodies but the persons will still know everything that is taking place. The beasts can eat their bodies but they cannot eat the souls of the unsaved and for that reason they are still conscious.

REV 19:17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in mid-heaven, "Come, assemble for the great supper of God; [18] in order that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great."

REV 20:11 And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. [12] And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. [13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. [14] And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. [15] And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

It doesn’t matter if these persons (now without bodies) (spirits) lived before the law, during the law or in the time of the New Covenant, they all are conscious and stand before the great white throne and are judged. Everyone’s name is written down in the books of heaven and everyone will be judged according to what is written there. Each one of us has their names in a book of life or a book of judgement. REV 20:15] And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Tonight our goal is to make sure that everyone’s who is here has their names written in the book of life before they leave here. That means that you are willing to escape from the kingdom of darkness and be transferred into the Kingdom of Christ and to live under His government. All “salvation” is “in Christ”. Outside of Christ there is no salvation!

1 THES 4:16] For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead “in Christ” shall rise first. [17] Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.

We can either be dead “in Christ” or alive “in Christ” and we shall be caught up to meet

the Lord when He comes. The key is to be “in Christ”. First we must receive Christ into us and then we need to be baptized “into Christ” so that we are “in Him”.

Now then WHY DO WE NEED TO BE “IN CHRIST”? Because He is that mighty fortress and none can snatch us out of His hand. In Christ we are secure because “He is a Mighty Fortress”!


	ALL THE DEAD SHALL LIVE Youth Camp June 1998 Theme; “God is a mighty fortress” The directors of this camp have set out to make this experience an eternal benefit to all the youth that attend. Most of you know that the purpose of the camp is not just fun and games but to alert and inform each of us about our eternal destiny. Every one of our directors and counselors have settled their eternal destiny by their commitment and faith in what the Word of God says. That is why they were chosen as counselors. Tonight I want to share with you as clearly as I can what your options are. Sometime, and nobody knows when, this world system that we have now will be terminated and a whole new system called the Kingdom of God will be established. In this camp that is not a controversial issue because every counselor here believes that with all their heart. Since we cannot make any decision for you in these matters and we have no desire to force our faith upon you I will simply inform you of the options and you are free to make your own decision. One of the secular theories that are proclaimed on television, in books, in schools and in public forums is that once you are dead, you are dead and that is the end. That man is no different than a dog or an elephant because we have all been evolved from the same slime or frogs or whatever the current opinion. We believe and are convinced with no doubt in our minds that man was created differently than animals or birds or fish. The reason was because God had a divine plan for man that is going to only be revealed fully in eternity future. However, the scriptures reveal so much about the alternative to God’s plan and the result of choosing the wrong kingdom. I want to begin with the conflicts of kingdoms. God is the creator of all things and everything was created by Him and For Him and without Him was not anything created that was created. The whole universe belongs to God and He alone rules over it in righteousness and justice. God has chosen Jesus Christ, His own Son, as the King over all things. However, there is another “king” who has set up a rival kingdom called the kingdom of darkness. God’s Kingdom is called “the Kingdom of God’s dear Son” which is the kingdom of light. This is found in COL 1:13] For He delivered us from the domain (authority) of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, This is what the salvation experience is all about. Since we were all born into this kingdom of darkness and are under the influence and authority of darkness we must escape or we will be judged and condemned along with that whole kingdom and it’s rulers. When we commit our life to Jesus Christ and come under His government we can escape from the darkness and begin to walk in the light or the revelation of Christ. The problem is that we immediately come under attack from the conflicting kingdom. Satan who is the prince of darkness and of this rival kingdom will begin an instant warfare to recapture you and drag you back into that darkness. This is found in EPH 6:12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. [13] Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. The theme of our camp is “God is our mighty fortress”. A fortress is a military encampment where we are secure against the enemy and his forces. As long as we stay within this mighty fortress there is no danger of ever being taken captive again by Satan. Now Satan has many, many voices in this world system and many of them are spreading his lies. The Bible declares that he is a liar and the father of all lies. One of those lies is that when you are dead, you are dead and you no longer exist. The theme of this message is “The dead shall live again”. We are all going to die. There is no question about that and the funeral homes are a constant testimony to that fact. The question is this; Exactly what is it that dies? According to scripture and also to the testimony of the Son of God it is only the body that dies but the soul or consciousness remains alert. At death we merely lay aside this body but the person that dwells in that body will remain alert. This consciousness is still called death because it is separated from the source of all life which is God, Himself. This is found in Luke 16:19 LUKE 16:19 "Now there was a certain rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, gaily living in splendor every day. [20] "And a certain poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, [21] and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. [22] "Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. [23] "And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. [24] "And he cried out and said, `Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame.' [25] "But Abraham said, `Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. [26] `And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to come over from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.' . The rich man, Lazarus and Abraham are all dead and their bodies are buried but they are all conscious. The rich man is conscious and feels and thinks and cries out for mercy and seeks for someone to bring relief. The problem is that no one in hell can help him because they have their own torment and because there is a great separation or chasm fixed between the saved and the lost no one in heaven can come to help either. Those who are in the kingdom of darkness have no escape and no hope of it being any better for all of eternity. For all eternity they will all suffer, be in torment and in agony in that terrible flame. The lie of the devil is that at death you are annihilated and no longer exist. The Bible reveals that once you are born you will live forever, either in heaven or in hell but no one ceases to exist. This is the terrifying thing about missing God’s salvation which is Christ, Himself. We are either “in Christ” or we are “in darkness”. We are either in “Christ’s Kingdom” or we are in “Satan’s kingdom”. There is no third choice so we must choose one or the other. If you decide to make “no choice” you are making the choice to stay in “Satan’s kingdom” because all are born there. If we choose Jesus Christ and His salvation God will deliver us from the kingdom of darkness and transfer us into the Kingdom of His Son. We are born again into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son. As the book of Revelation comes to an end we see everyone who is not redeemed by the blood of Jesus fleeing or running away from God but they cannot escape the sword of His mouth. All will be killed and the beasts will eat their bodies but the persons will still know everything that is taking place. The beasts can eat their bodies but they cannot eat the souls of the unsaved and for that reason they are still conscious. REV 19:17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in mid-heaven, "Come, assemble for the great supper of God; [18] in order that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great." REV 20:11 And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. [12] And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. [13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. [14] And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. [15] And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. It doesn’t matter if these persons (now without bodies) (spirits) lived before the law, during the law or in the time of the New Covenant, they all are conscious and stand before the great white throne and are judged. Everyone’s name is written down in the books of heaven and everyone will be judged according to what is written there. Each one of us has their names in a book of life or a book of judgement. REV 20:15] And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Tonight our goal is to make sure that everyone’s who is here has their names written in the book of life before they leave here. That means that you are willing to escape from the kingdom of darkness and be transferred into the Kingdom of Christ and to live under His government. All “salvation” is “in Christ”. Outside of Christ there is no salvation! 1 THES 4:16] For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead “in Christ” shall rise first. [17] Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. We can either be dead “in Christ” or alive “in Christ” and we shall be caught up to meet the Lord when He comes. The key is to be “in Christ”. First we must receive Christ into us and then we need to be baptized “into Christ” so that we are “in Him”. Now then WHY DO WE NEED TO BE “IN CHRIST”? Because He is that mighty fortress and none can snatch us out of His hand. In Christ we are secure because “He is a Mighty Fortress”!