Is Death better than Life?

Ecclesiastes 9 v.1 – 12

The two clocks

Under the sun From dust to dust

The parable of the Rich Fool

Luke 12 v.19 I will say to myself, ‘You

have plenty of good things laid up for

many years. Take life easy; eat, drink

and be merry.

Luke 12 v.20 “But God said to him,

‘You fool! This very night your life will

be demanded of you. Then who will get

what you have prepared for yourself.’”

Eccl 9 v1 So I reflected on all this and

concluded that the righteous and the wise

and what they do are in God’s hands, but

no man knows whether love or hate

awaits him.

Rom. 5 v.8 But God demonstrated his

own love for us in this: While we were

still sinners, Christ died for us.

Save yourself and us

Jesus, remember me

Today you will be with me in paradise

Isaiah 25 v.6 – 9 On this mountain the

Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich

food for all peoples, a banquet of aged

wine – the best of meats and the finest

wines.

Acts 2 v.21 Everyone who calls on the

name of the Lord will be saved.

On this mountain he will destroy the

shroud that enfolds all peoples, the

sheet that covers all nations. He will

swallow up death for ever. The

Sovereign Lord will wipe away the

tears from all faces; he will remove the

disgrace of his people from all the

earth. The Lord has spoken.

In that day they will say, “Surely this is

our God, we trusted in him, and he

saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in

him; let us rejoice and be glad in his

salvation.

Isaiah 25 v.10 The hand of the Lord will

rest on this mountain; but Moab will be

trampled under him as straw is trampled

down in the manure.

BUT

Rev. 21 v.22/23 I did not see a temple

in the city, because the Lord God

Almighty and the lamb are its temple.

The city does not need the sun or the

moon to shine on it, for the glory of

God gives it light and the Lamb is its

lamp.

Under the sun

Eccl 9 v1 So I reflected on all this and

concluded that the righteous and the

wise and what they do are in God’s

hands, but no man knows whether love

or hate awaits him.

As it is with the good man,

So with the sinner;

As it is with those who take oaths,

So with those who are afraid to take

them.

v.2 All share a common destiny – the

righteous and the wicked, the good

and the bad, those who offer sacrifices

and those who do not.

v.3 This is the evil in everything that

happens under the sun: The same

destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men,

moreover, are full of evil and there is

madness in their hearts while they live,

and afterwards they join the dead

v.4 Anyone who is among the living has

hope – even a live dog is better off than

a dead lion!

v.5For the living know that they will die,

but the dead know nothing;

they have no further reward,

and even the memory of them is forgotten.

v.6 Their love, their hate

and there jealousy have long since

vanished;

never again will they have a part

in anything that happens under the sun.

v.7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and

drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it

is now that God favours what you do.

v.8 Always be clothed in white, and

always anoint your head with oil.

v.9 Enjoy life with your wife whom you

love, all the days of this meaningless

life that God has given you under the

sun – all your meaningless days. For

this is your lot in life and in your

toilsome labour under the sun.

Under the sun - - meaningless – vanity

1Cor. 13 - - If – I have not love, I gain

nothing

v.10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do

it with all your might, for in the grave,

where you are going, there is neither

working nor planning not knowledge nor

wisdom.

Col.3 v.23 Whatever you do, work at it

with all your heart, as working for the

Lord, not for men, since you know that

you will receive an inheritance from

the Lord as reward.

v.11 I have seen something else under

the sun:

The race is not to the swift

or the battle to the strong,

nor does food come to the wise

or wealth to the brilliant

or favour to the learned;

but time and chance happen to them all.

v.12 Moreover, no man knows when his

hour will come:

As fish are caught in a cruel net,

or birds are taken in a snare,

so men are trapped by evil times

that fall unexpectedly upon them.

The parable of the Rich Fool

Luke 12 v.20 “But God said to him, ‘You

fool! This very night your life will be

demanded of you. Then who will get

what you have prepared for yourself.’”

Heb.9 v.27 Just as man is destined to

die once, and after that to face judgment;

Acts 2 v.21 Everyone who calls on the

name of the Lord will be saved.

Heb. 9 v.28 so Christ was sacrificed

once to take away the sins of many

people; and he will appear a second

time, not to bear sin, but to bring

salvation to those who are waiting for

him.

Lk 12 v.37 It will be good for those

servants whose master finds them

watching when he comes. I tell you the

truth, he will dress himself to serve, will

have them recline at the table and will

come and wait on them.

1 Cor.15 v.55 - Where, O death, is your

victory? - Where O death, is your sting?

v.57 Thanks be to God! He gives us the

victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Rev.21 v.3/4 And I heard a loud voice

from the throne saying, ‘Now the

dwelling of God is with men, and he will

live with them. They will be his people,

and God himself will be with them and

be their God. He will wipe every tear

from their eyes. There will be no more

death or mourning or crying or pain, for

the old order of things has passed away.