Q&A: Buddhism, Loved Ones in Heaven, and the Final Judgement

From the Christian Research Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina, you're listening to the Bible Answer Man broadcast with Hank Hanegraaff. We're on the air because life and truth matter. The mission of the Christian Research Institute is to equip believers to always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you, to give the reason for the hope that you have with gentleness and respect. For more information, resources, or to donate to CRI.org, Call 888-7000-CRI or go online to equip.org. The following program was pre-recorded. And now, here's Bible Answer Man host, Hank Hanegraaff.

Thank you, Randy. A lot of you hanging on. First up is Menga, listening in San Francisco, California. Hi, Menga.

Thank you for taking my call.

Pleasure.

You know, I have a question. I'm a Christian, and I know the Scripture. And I was approached in my church by a lady. She's very powerful in this church. She's famous. She's a doctor. Her husband is in politics. And she approached me and told me, you know, Christianity is compatible with Buddhism. It can be united. And I told her it's impossible. See, she is married to a Buddhist.

She wants to bring that together. And she didn't listen to me, so I went to my pastor. And he called her in and he told her it's not compatible. He told her the right thing. But then she got up and she said, you know, there are more ways to God. And this is totally against Scripture, you know, in 2 John 9, it says it's a doctrine of Antichrist.

And I don't know. So far, nothing was done about it. Should I stay in the church, or should I... I actually love her. I want her to be saved.

Well, first of all, the pastor said the right thing, just as you did. So as long as she's not given a platform there to communicate false doctrine, I don't see any reason why you can't be in the church. The real issue with respect to the church is, are they teaching essential Christian doctrine? And if they are, then the statement that you made... is a statement that should be ratified, and it should be exonerated, and it should be uplifted. Because if you say that Buddhism can be harmonized with Christianity, what you're going to do is relegate Buddhists to false doctrine and false hope. In truth, they have an eightfold path, and that eightfold path is said, to lead you through many reincarnations. They hope to erase

karmic debt and then achieve nirvana. Nirvana being an escape from self, and therefore they attain liberation from suffering and escape an endless cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Well, in sharp contrast to that Buddhist teaching that we must eliminate desire in this way, The Bible teaches that we must exercise the spiritual disciplines in order to transform our desires. Ultimately, suffering is not overcome through stamping out the self, but through the selfless sacrifice of a sinless Savior. So these are two belief systems that cannot be harmonized because at the very root, you have the capstone in the arch of Christianity, which is resurrection. And in Buddhism, you have reincarnation.

So in Buddhism, the soul escapes the body, and it returns continuously dressed up in other bodies. So it's a completely different belief system, as you've correctly pointed out, that cannot be harmonized with Christianity.

Yeah, yeah. And the pastor has to do this, and if she does not recall her belief, what should be done?

Well, I mean, I think it's great. that she is in that church because this gives you an opportunity to influence her. But the big thing that can't happen in these kinds of circumstances is that that person receives a platform within the church to poison the church with false doctrine. But what's critical in this circumstance is that it becomes an opportunity, a case study as it were, for why Christians need to be equipped so that they can take these kinds of deviations and use them as opportunities to share the truth and love and grace that only the resurrected Christ can bring to the human heart.

Yeah, yeah. Oh, thank you. You know, she had the Pilates ministry, and she said Hindu mantras, and I stepped out of it. I told her I am not participating anymore because my spiritual direction is only with Jesus Christ. And I stepped down, and now she terminated her ministry. But it's a mix-up, and I tried to influence some pastor who is very young. But he believes in the right doctrine. So he just has to tell her and to enforce it.

Well, yes, and again, this becomes an opportunity to reach someone. That's our call as Christians, to be so familiar with truth that when counterfeits like Buddhism loom on the horizon, we know it instantaneously. Let's go back to the phone lines. Go to Mitchell listening in Oklahoma. Hi, Mitchell.

Yeah, this is Mitchell.

Nice to talk to you.

I had a quick two-part question. Just not shy of four weeks ago, just a little four weeks ago, I buried my wife at 35 and a half years, and she passed away of cancer. And it's really hurting me bad. And I've been trying to figure it out and study, and I've been reading and stuff, but I'm wanting to know, will she, when my time comes, will she remember me when I enter into heaven? Because we were both Christians, you know, devout to the Lord. And I've heard people saying that she won't, and I hear people say she do.

I don't know, but it's really hurting me.

Well, I can tell you for a certainty that you will know your wife in eternity. In eternity, you will not have less knowledge. You will have more knowledge. In fact, I can also tell you that the relationship that you will have with your wife in eternity, although she won't be known as your wife, the relationship that you will have will transcend any imagination that you have of your most idyllic moment as spouses on this earth. So while on the one hand I grieve with you in your loss, you have a great hope and a great expectation in the future. And this is one of the things that you have to understand with respect to the Christian faith.

It doesn't give you a peaceful way to come to terms with the difficulties of life. And that's why you grieve right now, and justifiably so. But it does give you something far greater, and that is a way to overcome those trials and travails in the hope of resurrection. That's the hope of the Christian faith. You will see your wife again, and she then will be in a glorified body, perfectly suited for a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness, and you too will be in a glorified body. So you will be immortal, imperishable, incorruptible, so will she, but you will know one another, and you will experience relationship in a way that you can't even conceive of now.

That's great. That just helps me out so much, and also I found out through three doctors. I went to three different doctors. I've got about seven months to live. And I'm in my last stages of emphysema, and my attacks are coming about every two or three weeks. And they said my next one could be my last. They don't know, but they don't give me no more than seven months. I'm asking if you would pray for me, because we took every penny we had to bury my wife.

And I don't want my children, who are teenagers, to try to figure out how they're going to bury dad. If y'all could pray that God will bless me with some funding to pay for my funeral costs, because I don't have much time.

Well, yes.

And I don't have no work, you know.

Yes, we will pray, and then we'll see what we can do practically as well. Father, thank you so much for Mitchell and for his faith in you. Lord, thank you for the hope of resurrection. that his wife has gone on before him, and that the two will know each other in eternity. Father, thank you that you have promised us that there's life after life after life, that absent from the body means present with the Lord, and that one day you will return, and on that day we will rise immortal, imperishable, incorruptible. I pray, Father, that you would comfort us Mitchell with that hope. And Lord, I do pray that you would bring people and circumstances to surround Mitchell so that even in his death you might be glorified and that the truth of your word

might stand forever. that you will meet all of our needs. Father, I pray that you would cause this to take place, not by might nor by power, but by your Spirit. Lord, thank you for Mitchell's faith. Father, surround him with those that love him and can encourage him to the end. And Father, might this be a great reminder to all of us that we are one heartbeat away from your presence.

A heartbeat that, as a Christian, we can look forward to in the meantime cause us to be faithful and fruitful. We pray this not by might, nor by power, but by your spirit in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Mitchell, don't go away. Hang on.

All right.

God bless you. See you in just a few moments after some commercial interruption.

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Thank you very much, Randy. And we will go right back to our phone callers. Next up is Carol. She's listening in Milton, Washington. Hi, Carol.

Hi, Hank. What I wanted to ask you, have you ever heard of Irvin Baxter? He preaches on the End Times.

Yes, I have heard of him. And he's a classic case of newspaper eschatology in that he has, in essence, at least metaphorically speaking, newspaper in one hand and the Bible in the other, and he creates the this is that fallacy. So he's focusing on explaining current world events in accordance with biblical prophecy and trying to pin the tail on the Antichrist. And the one thing he does again and again and again is get it wrong. So he does not have a good fix on reading the Bible for all it's worth, and so he's not someone that we would recommend at all.

All right, because I.

Have several friends that, you know, think he has the answer, and I said, well, I'm going to call you, and I have two copies of the Apocalypse Code. I'm giving one of them to this person so he could read your interpretation. I've always had high regard to what you teach, you know, but I don't really know all the time what to look for. Where would I find that in your books?

Well, I don't have anything specifically on Irvin Baxter Jr. in my books, except in relationship to his association with the oneness teaching of the Godhead. So, a denial of the Trinity and an embracing of oneness theology, which I do deal with in the Complete Bible Answer Book Collector's Edition.

Okay, well, I was.

I don't want to be led astray and fall for anything, but he was saying something about the fourth horse was green, and that that was a Muslim-Islam religion.

That's absolutely absurd. It's absurd. And this is not in any way saying that Islam is true. It's not. It's a false religion. But that's not what's in view in the book of Revelation. And again, if you go through the Apocalypse Code, you'll learn... how to read the Bible for all it's worth, particularly when it comes to prophetic passages.

And I think that it's important for us to learn how to read Revelation and to first consider the fact that this is, in terms of form or genre, an apocalypse, a prophecy, and it's also an epistle. And as a result of that, it takes some work. But the key to understanding the book of Revelation is to understand the Old Testament, because Revelation is 404 verses, 278 of which are allusions to Old Testament passages. So if you want to understand what John is driving at, you have to have a working knowledge of the Old Testament. There just isn't a shortcut. But I lay all this out in the Apocalypse Code.

Oh, very good.

Well, thank you, and I praise the Lord that you're on the air.

Well, I'm glad you're listening, and thank you for your encouragement.

All right, thank you very much, Hank.

You got it.

Bye.

I want to go back to the phone lines, talk to Rick. He's listening in Texas. Hi, Rick.

How are you?

I'm doing good. How are you?

Oh, better not serve, for sure.

Question.

Being a saved individual as I am, if I was to die right now, where would I go? Straight to be with the Lord? Or as a person who is unsaved, would I go straight to hell? And where can I find this in the Bible? Because I've searched and I can't. find me on my own any definite descriptive line.

Well, yeah, I mean, the Bible's pretty clear about this. If you look at 2 Corinthians 5, Paul says home in the body means absent from the Lord. Absent from the body means to be at home with the Lord. Likewise, if you read Philippians chapter 1, you will see Paul there saying that he's hard-pressed from both directions having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. So the biblical teaching is that when you're absent from the body as a believer, you're present with the Lord. Now the inverse of that is also shown in Luke chapter 16, where Jesus is tells the story of a rich man, and there's a beggar who dies lying by the rich man's gate. The beggar is named Lazarus.

And in Luke 16, Jesus unfolds this story such that both end up in eternity. One in the presence of God, the metaphor that's used there is Abraham's bosom or paradise, a way of talking about being in fellowship with God. And the other is in torment, the rich man ends up in torment. And so you have both sides of the coin shown there. If someone dies in unbelief, they're experiencing an earnest of hell, they're in torment. If they die in belief, they're absent from the body, they're present with the Lord. Now that is only a precursor to what is to come, because in biblical theology, there's a time that Jesus Christ appears a second time. And when that takes place, the dead will rise immortal, imperishable, incorruptible.

So the person that is now absent from the body present with the Lord will then have the soul returned to the body and that body resurrected. So we'll live in a renewed universe with a resurrected Savior and resurrected bodies. Right back to the phone lines. Talk to Tom. He's listening in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada.

Hi, Tom.

Hi, Hank.

How are you doing? Thanks for taking my call. You sort of kind of answered my question. It was about Hebrews. I was reading Hebrews this morning about man's one appointed wants to die and then the judgment.

Yes.

My question was, are we judged straight away, or like you were telling, do the unsaved go to hell first and then come back up for the judgment?

Well, here's the idea in Scripture. There's a distinction between Hades and Gehenna. Hades is. Prefigured as it were in Luke chapter 16, the very passage I just referred to in the previous answer. But Gehenna is something that you see as the eternal abode of those who are separated from the love and grace and goodness of God because they didn't want a relationship with God. So Hades in biblical language is a place that encompasses both Abraham's bosom and paradise and as well as the place for those who are unregenerate. So it is, in essence, a way of describing the abode of the dead.

To those who believe and have faith, they are in Abraham's bosom or paradise. To those who reject and are faithless, they are apart from the goodness of God, and that is depicted graphically as torment. Gehenna is a word that describes hell, which is forever being separated from the love and grace and goodness of God. And that takes place after Jesus appears a second time. Jesus himself spoke about this.

He said, do not be amazed at this. The time is coming when all who are in the grace will come out. Some will rise to live and some will rise to be condemned. So when Jesus appears a second time, he's going to put all things to right, which is to say there is going to be a judgment of reward for the redeemed and a judgment of punishment for those who are unredeemed.

That's correct. I mean, there are a.

Lot of differing views on this, but in my view, yes, that's what takes place. When Jesus appears a second time, that's when he puts an end to sin and to Satan. It's when the universe that now groans in travail will be liberated from its bondage to decay, and it is where there is judgment of rewards and punishment very much as depicted rather graphically in Revelation chapter 20 where John has a vision and he sees the dead and they're being judged. He says, then I saw a great white throne, and him who was seated on it, earth and sky, fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life he was thrown... into the lake of fire. In essence, what you have portrayed here is a book of life or a book of mercy which contains the names of all those who are dressed in

the spotless robes of Christ's righteousness. On the other hand, you have books of merit which contain a record of the deeds of those who have lived. And these books suggest that what we do on earth counts for all eternity. And therefore, I think it's safe to say on the basis of biblical teaching that there are degrees of reward in heaven and degrees of punishment in hell. I lay this out in a book titled Resurrection. But remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. He said, Behold, I come quickly. My reward is with me, and I'll give to everyone according to what he has done. God bless you.

Thanks for tuning in.

We appreciate you tuning in to the Bible Answer Man broadcast. Before we sign off today, here's our contact information. By phone, dial 888-7000-CRI, which translates to 888-7000-274. On the internet, go to equip.org. That's equip.org. You can also write CRI at Post Office Box 8500, Charlotte, North Carolina. The zip code is 28271. Our prayer is that today's broadcast has equipped you to better defend your faith and encouraged you to pursue sound doctrine and godly living. Thank you for listening.

The Bible Answer Man broadcast is supported by listeners like you. We're on the air because life and truth matter. Breaking the code of the book of Revelation has become an international obsession. The result has been rampant misreading of scripture, bad theology, and even bad politics and foreign policy. In the Apocalypse Code, find out what the Bible really says about the end times and why it matters today. Hank Hanegraaff argues that the key to understanding the last book of the Bible is the other 65 books of the Bible, not current events or recent history. The Apocalypse Code offers sane answers to some very controversial questions, such as what does it mean to take the book of Revelation literally?

Who are the Antichrist and the great whore of Babylon? And what is the real meaning of 666? Order The Apocalypse Code by Hank Hanegraaff today. Available in softcover, MP3 CD, or MP3 download from equip.org. Or call 888-7000-CRI.

Q&A: Buddhism, Loved Ones in Heaven, and the Final Judgement

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