Spiritual Light.

Our spiritual light must not be corrupted. Satan will attempt to corrupt the spiritual light in us.

Luk 11:34  The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. 

Luk 11:35  Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. 

Luk 11:36  If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light. 

We need to 'take heed' that the light in us isn't darkness.

If I tell you to take heed that the road up ahead may have been washed out by a flood, what would you do? You'd be very cautious as you were driving on the road. You don't know whether or not the road is safe to travel so you look as far ahead as you possibly can and you adjust your speed accordingly so that you aren't taken off guard. You take heed to my caution, you pay attention to what I'm saying and it affects how you go forward.  We are told to 'take heed' concerning our spiritual light. The verse could be talking about no other source of light because there is no physical light that can fill our whole body.

The light of our body is the eye. It's what we see, what we focus on. We have a choice where to focus our gaze unless someone is forcibly holding our head in a certain direction and at the same time forcing our eyelids to stay open. We physically control what we see and we spiritually control what we see. Where is our spiritual gaze at? What are we looking to spiritually? If we are waiting for some supernatural manifestation to appear so we can look upon it and perhaps use the miracle of it to claim our spiritual focus- we may wait in vain for such a thing. We have to live by faith.

Faith is-

Heb_11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

The evidence of things NOT SEEN.

Our spiritual sight works by faith without physical evidence.

Our focus, the light of our body, our eyes must be singly set upon the light of our Savior.

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God. 

Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the LIGHT of men. 

Joh 1:5  And the LIGHT shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 

Joh 1:6  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 

Joh 1:7  The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the LIGHT, that all men through him might believe. 

Joh 1:8  He was not that LIGHT, but was sent to bear witness of that LIGHT. 

Joh 1:9  That was the true LIGHT, which LIGHTETH every man that cometh into the world. 

Joh 1:10  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 

Joh 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 

Joh 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 

Joh 1:13  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 

Joh 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 

Joh 1:15  John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. 

Joh 1:16  And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 

Joh 1:17  For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 

Joh 1:18  No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

Jesus is the LIGHT which LIGHTS us.

Luk 11:34  The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. 

Luk 11:35  Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. 

Luk 11:36  If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.

When our focus in on Jesus the Word made flesh, the True Light, then our focus will not be on the dark things of this world. Our focus will not be inward upon our receiving selfishly, living self-centeredly, our focus will be upon Jesus and the life He taught us through His Holy Word to live, by the power and grace of the Holy Spirit. 

We have to TAKE HEED that the light in us isn't darkness. 

You'd think we know automatically if our light was darkness, wouldn't you? And if it's something we'd know automatically that why do we have to take heed to it? Why do we have to watch out for it? Why the caution? Because of deception. The power of self-deception is incredibly strong. It doesn't matter how convicted you are of something- believing you are living in spiritual light, not if that light is really darkness and you have been deceived because you would rather holdfast to your comfortable deceptions than step out into unfamiliar light. 

Paul could have kept his own spiritual darkness, he could have. He was zealous for what he believed was pure truth. The blood of many innocent people lay upon his hands because he was focused on the light that was really pure darkness, he was deceived.

Paul wasn't from some distance land, off on a journey for three years while Jesus ministered upon earth. Paul did not come home from some mission to be informed there was a rabble rouser about that had been killed, but the dead man's followers refused to give up following the dead man's teachings. Paul was LIVING right there as Jesus worked His miracles and gained a following. Paul was among the Pharisees Jesus constantly talked about as being ungodly. Like most of the Pharisees, Paul only knew hatred for the troublemaking, lying, blaspheming man called Jesus. In fact you could say truthfully that Paul's hatred for Jesus, even if he never once spoke to Jesus personally during those three years, was a vile hatred. How else could anyone account for how furiously Paul sought to persecute the followers of Jesus after Jesus died? How?

Paul was so caught up in the deception of his people, of their religious interpretation of the scriptures over the truth of the scriptures, that he believed whole-heartedly that he was filled with the truth of God.

Paul was given a manifestation of the miraculous supernatural kind and allowed an opportunity to follow the true LIGHT, the truth found in Christ.

Paul was shaken to the core, blinded physically as a part of his spiritual enlightenment. For three days Paul was physically sightless as his spiritual sight was awakened.

We have to comprehend something right now- Paul was NOT forced to believe, not even after he was blinded. There was NO force involved in changing him. Paul was given enlightenment that he had to choose to accept. That enlightenment would mean giving up all the previous darkness that had him persecuting Jesus' followers. All his cherished beliefs had to be abandoned for him to move forward in the new spiritual light given to him.

Giving up beliefs you've held for a life time, beliefs that grounded you in your life's calling is not easy to do. You have to be 100% sure that what you're giving your lifelong beliefs up for is something worthy of such a sacrifice. You have to know for a fact that your beliefs are truly wrought in the deception of the master deceiver who will, according to the word of God, be able to deceive the majority of people.  I've said it before and I'll say it again- the following verses are FRIGHTENING and rightly so!

Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 

Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 

Do you see why they are extremely frightening?! MANY are going to say to Jesus that they did all sorts of things in His name, believing they were following Him, following the truth. Jesus is going to say to them He NEVER KNEW THEM to DEPART, they work iniquity!

They don't think so! They don't believe they are under Satan's deception. They don't believe their light is really darkness.

Luk 11:34  The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. 

Luk 11:35  Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. 

Luk 11:36  If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.

We must take heed.

Isa 8:20  To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. 

Pro 4:18  But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 

2Pe 1:19  We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts

Pro_6:23  For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life

Isa_5:20  Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Are You Wearing Satan's Blinders?

God is spirit.

Joh_4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

God did not make us in spirit form.

God made angels in spirit form.

Psa_104:4  Who maketh his angels spirits

God created us out of the dust of the earth.

God put the first breath in our lungs which infused our entire being with life. We cannot live without air in our lungs, without air infusing our body.

Gen_2:7  And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

The first body created out of dust was lifeless as it lay there on the ground. There was no thought in the newly created brain, why? Because there was no breath of life in the body. God did not separately created another being made of spirit with the same brain as that in the lifeless body and merge them later intending to divide the two when the body ceased to function. There is no mention of such a thing at all in the Word of God.

Why would death be considered a punishment for separating ourselves from God's will if it isn't a punishment but rather a transition to another way of life?

What makes death a punishment?

What makes death an unwanted state of being?

God did not tell Adam and Eve if they sinned and ate of the fruit from that single tree then they would enter a new phase of living, and a good one at that if they were sorry for what they did.

God did not say He would strip them of their flesh, but let them continue living in spirit form.

Adam without the breath of life in his dust created body was not alive in anyway at all. The body lying there did not breathe, he did not have a single thought in his head, there was no awareness of anything, no heart beating. Adam was a husk made of dirt until God breathed life into Him awakening his entire body and all its miraculous attributes. The breath of God entered and Adam's lungs filled, his heart beat that first of many continuous beats, his brains sparked to life waking from the nothingness just as our brains do when we wake from being asleep.

Think about it, wouldn't living on after death in any form make us immortal beings? If our thoughts which make us each unique to ourselves are unending, that makes us immortal, yes? Not immortal flesh but immortal in spirit. Yet there is no mention of us being able to live on as spirit beings after death. We are not given any immortality not until Jesus returns.

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, AT THE LAST TRUMP: for the trumpet shall sound, and the DEAD SHALL BE RAISED incorruptible, and we SHALL BE CHANGED. 

1Co 15:53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and THIS MORTAL MUST PUT ON IMMORTALITY.

Again, I have to ask, why is death considered a punishment if you believe that you transition from flesh to spirit form instantly upon your body dying?

God could have said 'in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely lose your flesh body and there will be a physical divide between you and those who haven't lost their flesh bodies, at least until they lose their flesh body too and join you.'

God said-

Gen 2:17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 

Die. As if it's something not to desire, yet who wouldn't want to desire a spirit existence over a pain fill physical existence?

Die. As if it's something to dread and shun at all cost.

God most assuredly did not give a word of warning as a pleasantry.

Eat of every tree- do this- eat of every single tree in the garden BUT…

Do NOT eat from this one tree.

DON'T DO THIS ONE THING.

Why shouldn't they want to do this thing, what was the deterrent to doing this? Punishment.

God was giving them an unending existence it was theirs for the taking. God was there in the garden with them, communicating with them.  However, God told them that unending existence would end if they disobeyed His direction.

Life or death.

Living or dying.

And if dying isn't the end of living, what is it?

God held out hope to the couple AFTER they chose to die, and that is what they did when they did the very thing God told them not to do, they chose death.

Gen 3:14  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 

Gen 3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 

A hatred would be placed between humanity that belongs to God and the humanity that belongs to Satan, and that hatred would ultimately destroy Satan even as Satan hurts the humanity belonging to God.

The hope held out to Adam and Eve along with their future descendants was for the ultimate destruction of the one who caused the disobedience to God's command.  The hope was that there would be those who belong to God, who lived with a hatred for Satan.

Meanwhile… until that destruction…

Gen 3:16  Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 

Gen 3:17  And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 

Gen 3:18  Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 

Gen 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 

They would continue to live until such a time they returned to the ground.

Where?

Until they return to the ground… until they returned to dust.

What would they be?

Dust.

Could it be any clearer?

Did God say… they would eat until they split from their flesh body and lived on in spirit form, like Him?

They were told they would return to dust because they were created out of dust. They were NEVER told they would return to dust but live in heaven in spirit form, not once!  What God said sounded awful. Being returned to dust after a lifetime of hardship all because they chose not to obey God but to obey Satan.  A drastic punishment for a drastic action.

However, there was that hope left to them of Satan being destroyed at some point, but for now they would suffer in their dust created bodies, and then return to the dust they came from, their body no longer maintaining a shape but ultimately decayed to the very dust they were created from.

They would create more dust created creatures, and they too would live in a world where Satan would ultimately be destroyed. The destruction of Satan meant hope for the end of evil, the end of what caused disobedience between the creature and Creator. The end of the separator between God and man. The end of death.

Until then…

You will return to dust.

Now there is a punishment.

You will be dust.

Pickup a handful of dust from the ground… what is it? Does it think? Does it praise God? Does it have memories? Does it love? It's dirt.

You will have no form at all because you will be dust.

God even said this…

Gen 3:22  And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 

Gen 3:23  Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 

Gen 3:24  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. 

NO longer will man be allowed to eat from the tree that keeps him living forever. NO longer will man have access to what would keep him from turning back to dust.

So, tell me if God went to such great lengths to keep man from living forever, why would man continue to live after death? What would the point be? It is ludicrous to think there is immediate life after death, because then there is no death, no real downside.

Man wasn't told he'd be changing shape and get sent to a new location after he turned to dust.  If that was the case, the end of living wouldn't really be the end of living.

Jesus would have NO ONE to call out of the grave, NO ONE, if no one is in their graves.

Why people want to believe they don't turn to dust without any ability to think any longer is beyond my comprehension.

The alternative to not believing you return to dust- is believing you live on and then comes the whole where do you live on? Of course most believe they'll go to heaven, some believe they'll go to a place in-between heaven and a fearful burning forever place, a waiting penance filled place so they can earn their way to heaven, and some believe they'll go on to that fiery burning place. There are others who believe they just jump into another body and we are all just endlessly repeating people. Some believe they'll take on animal form, and so on and so forth. There are numerous beliefs for those choosing to believe they go on living after their bodies turn to dust.

All those beliefs are not of God though, they are lies from the very one who told Eve she would not die leading to the original sin of mankind.

Satan has wrapped up his grand lie in pretty packages and offered them to everyone and so many have taken the pretty packages, unwrapped them and cling to their contents refusing to believe the pretty packages are filled with eternal death, eternal non-existence. Deception by the greatest of all deceivers.

If I'm called to return to dust, I want to stay dust until my Savior calls me from my grave and I rise up to meet Him in the air- that is what I want my first thought to be upon my resurrection- Jesus!  And what joy there will be as all those who are His are raised from the dust at the same time, and those blessed not to have tasted death are changed to immortality. What a perfect, love filled return to life- no living on right after death in any form especially not in a form that can continue to witness the pain and heartache of loved ones still living- how disgustingly morbid to think there are no more tears after death and yet you can witness horrific things. That is NOT of God! That is pure deception and why such deception can bring people comfort is beyond my comprehension.

Please Lord, remove the blinders that Satan has placed upon the eyes of so many! Please open their understanding before it's too late and they are caught up in Satan's deceptions leading to their eternal nothingness. Please!

Come, Lord Jesus, come and raise the dead in You to life, and raise the living in You to You.

Rev. 20: 7-15 Book of Life

Revelation

Daniel and the Revelation by Uriah Smith
Revelation Chapter 20


Verse 7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.


Perdition of Ungodly Men.--

At the end of the one thousand years, the holy city New Jerusalem, in which the saints have dwelt in heaven during that period, comes down and is located upon the earth. It then becomes the camp of the saints, around which the risen wicked gather, numberless as the sand of the sea. The devil deceives them, and thus brings them to this battle. They are induced to undertake an impious warfare upon the Holy City, in prospect of some advantage to be gained by fighting against the saints. Satan doubtless persuades them that they can overcome the saints, dispossess them of their city, and still hold possession of the earth. But fire comes down from God out of heaven, and devours them. The word here rendered "devoured," Moses Stuart admits is "intensive," and signifies "to eat up, devour, so that it denotes utter excision."


This is the time of the perdition of ungodly men--

the time when "the elements shall melt with a fervent heat, the earth also," and when the works that are in the earth shall be burned up. (2 Peter 3: 7, 10.) In the light of these scriptures, we can see how the wicked are to received their recompense in the earth. (Proverbs 11: 31.) We can see also that this recompense is not eternal life in misery, but an "utter excision," entire and complete destruction.


The Wicked Never Tread the New Earth.--


Two views deserve a passing notice at this point. The first is that the earth is renewed at the second coming of Christ, and is the habitation of the saints during the thousand years. The other is that when Christ appears the second time, He sets up His kingdom in Palestine, and performs in connection with His saints a work of conquest over the nations left on the earth during the thousand years, and subdues them to Himself.


One among many objections to the first view is that it makes the wicked come up in their resurrection, and with the devil at their head, tread with their unhallowed feet upon the purified and holy earth, while the saints, who have held possession for a thousand years, are obliged to yield the ground, and flee into the city. We cannot believe that the saints' inheritance will ever be thus marred, or that the fair plains of the earth made new will ever be soiled with the polluting tread of the resuscitated wicked. Besides outraging all ideas of propriety, there is no scripture from which even an inference can be drawn to support this position.


As to the second view, one among many of its absurdities is that although Christ and His saints have conquered the earth during the thousand years, at the end of this period the wicked get the upper hand, they lose their territory, the work of a thousand years is undone, and they are compelled to beat an ignominious retreat into the city for shelter, leaving the earth to the undisputed sway of their foes.


A Thousand Years in Heaven.--


In contrast with these theories, there is harmony in the view herein presented. The saints are with Christ in heaven during the thousand years while the earth lies desolate. The saints and the city come down, and the wicked dead are raised and come up against it. There the latter receive their judgment. From the purifying fires which destroy them come forth the new heavens and the new earth, to be the abode of the righteous throughout endless ages.


Subjects of Torment.--


From verse 10, some have argued that the devil alone was to be tormented day and night, but the testimony of this verse includes more than that. The verb phrase "shall be tormented" is in the plural, and makes affirmation concerning the beast and the false prophet, whereas it would be in the singular number if it referred to the devil alone. It will be noticed in the expression, "where the beast and the false prophet are," that "are" is a supplied word. It would be more proper to supply the words "were cast," coordinating with what was spoken of the devil just before. A more exact translation, too, supplies the word "also" after "where." The sentence would then read, "The devil was cast into the lake of fire, where also the beast and the false prophet were cast." The beast and the false prophet were cast into the lake of fire and destroyed, at the beginning of the thousand years. (Revelation 19: 20.) The individuals of whom their organizations were then composed, now come up in the second resurrection, and a similar and final destruction is visited upon them under the names Gog and Magog.


The Lake of Fire.--


Some readers may be inclined to ask for a definition of the lake of fire. As a comprehensive definition, may it not be called a symbol of the agencies which God employs to close up His controversy with the living wicked at the beginning of the thousand years, and with all the hosts of the ungodly at the end of that period? Literal fire will of course be largely employed in this work. We can better describe its effects than the thing itself. At the second coming of Christ, it is the flaming fire in which the Lord Jesus is revealed, the spirit of His mouth, and brightness of His coming by which the man of sin is to be consumed, the fire in which great Babylon shall be utterly burned. (Revelation 18: 8.) At the end of the thousand years, it is that day that shall burn as an oven (Malachi 4: 1); it is the fervent heat that shall melt the elements and the earth, and burn up the works that are in it; it is the fire of Tophet prepared for the king (the devil and his angel, Matthew 25: 41), the pile whereof is deep and large, and which "the breathe of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle" (Isaiah 30: 33). In short, it is the fire that comes down from God out of heaven. (On the expression, "tormented day and night forever and ever," see comments on Revelation 14: 11.)


Verse 11 And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.


A Throne of Judgment.--


With verse 11, John introduces another scene in connection with the final doom of the ungodly. It is the great white throne of judgment, before which they are assembled to receive their awful sentence of condemnation, and death. Before this throne the heavens and the earth flee away, so that no place is found for them. A moment's reflection on the changes which must then take place in the earth will bring out the great force of this language. The scene is that of Peter's burning day, which is the "perdition of ungodly men," and in which even the "elements" melt with fervent heat. (2 Peter 3: 7-13.)


Fire comes down from God out of heaven. The works that are in the world are burned up, and the wicked are destroyed. This is the fire of Gehenna, which contains all the elements necessary to consume utterly every mortal being that comes under its power. (Mark 9: 43-48.) Then will be fulfilled Isaiah 66: 24: "They [the righteous] shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against Me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenced: and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh."


Then also will be fulfilled in Isaiah 33: 14: "Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" The answer in the following verses shows it to be the righteous. This must be the time to which Isaiah's questions and answers apply.


In all this conflagration the elements are not destroyed. They are only melted and purged from the taint of sin and every token of the curse. The almighty fiat then goes forth, "Behold, I make all things new. . . . It is done." Revelation 21: 5, 6. At the first creation, "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." Job 38: 7. At this new creation, that song and shout will be augmented by the glad voices of the redeemed. So will this earth, wrenched for a time by sin from its intended orbit of joy and peace, be brought back renewed into harmony with a loyal universe, to be the everlasting home of the saved.


The Books of the Record.--


Men are judged out of the things written in the books, from which we learn the solemn fact that a record of all our deeds is kept on high. A faithful and unerring record is made by the angelic secretaries. The wicked cannot conceal from them any of their deeds of darkness. They cannot bribe them to pass over in the record their unlawful acts. They must meet them again, and be judged accordingly.


Execution of the Sentence.--


The wicked are to be punished according to their works. The Scriptures declare that they shall be rewarded according to their deeds. That the degree of suffering which each one is to endure is taken into the account as a part of the punishment for his sins, is evident: "That servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required." Luke 12: 47, 48.


The Book of Life.--


Why, it may be asked is the book of life brought forth on this occasion, when all who have part in the second resurrection, beyond which this scene is located, are already forejudged to the second death? At least one apparent reason is that all may see that none of the names of all the multitude who die the second death are in the book of life, and why they are not there; and if the names have ever been there, why they are not retained. Thus all the intelligences of the universe may see that God acts with justice and impartiality.


It is stated also that "death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." Here is the final epitaph of all the forces from first to last that have risen up to oppose the will and work of the Lord. Satan originated and led out in this nefarious work. A part of heaven's angels joined him in his false position and murderous work, and for him and them the everlasting fire was prepared. (Matthew 25: 41.) Men become involved only because they join him in his rebellion. But here the controversy closes. The fire is to them everlasting because it allows of no escape, and of no cessation until they are consumed. The second death is their punishment, and it is "everlasting punishment" (Matthew 25: 46) because they never find release from its dread embrace. "The wages of sin is death," not punishing forever. Roman 6: 23.


To sum up the argument, "Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Reader, is your name written in the book of life? Are you striving to avert in your own case the fearful doom that awaits the ungodly? Rest no until you have reason to believe that your name is among those who are to share at last in eternal life.


*******


By the grace of God alone may we find our names written in the Book of Life. Through the righteousness of Christ and Christ alone may we be found His in all truth now and forever. May His will be done, not ours, and may we accept His will knowing that - 'All things work together for good to them that love the Lord.' We may not see how any of it works for our good but we are looking at things in terms of our life here and now and our future life here and now and not the only life that matters, the life we will live in heaven with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.


Amen.