Pilgrim- I want to take a moment and remind myself that I'm just a pilgrim in life.
We grew up being taught a pilgrim was someone who came from another country to a new one to start a new life. Who here in the United States hasn't been taught the story of the pilgrims and indians? It's the foundation of our Thanksgiving holiday. We are taught pilgrims are a people who lived long, long ago and who exist no more- the pilgrims having integrated themselves into this country. The descendants of the pilgrims were born natural citizens of this country and were no longer considered pilgrims but descendants from pilgrims.
But all that is talked about as something that happened a very long time ago. We don't call anyone that comes over to this country now- a pilgrim. We call people who come over here now- immigrants.
We keep the word pilgrim for our ancestors dating way back, for those who were adventurous and coming to a NEW land. If you told someone you were a pilgrim today they'd smile and nod, and then they'd play along. You could tell someone you're on a pilgrimage and they'd be more understanding- you're on an adventure but you're not really a pilgrim. It's more acceptable to be on a pilgrimage than to be considered a pilgrim. Yet, anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and longs for His return is a pilgrim. It's too easy for us to forget this fact. It's too easy for the devil to skew our thinking and get us to believe that we are home, that this is our home, this existence is our beginning, middle, and end. We will be born here and therefore we will live here and die here, and that's all there is.
It is true, we are born here.
It is true, we live here.
It is also true, we might die here, many have.
Yet you can die in a strange land can't you? Many pilgrims died in the foreign land they traveled to- all of them did if they didn't return to their homeland.
How many of those who travel to other lands and make a living there, spending the majority of their lives in that new place, always think of their homeland? I imagine those who left their original place of birth and didn't want to leave think of their homeland fondly and those who left under threat of persecution are glad have gotten out from under oppression. I know having just moved about here in the U.S.A. that I consider the place of my birth, the place I spent most of my life, home and yet I wouldn't want to return there to live. I have a million fond memories of that place, but life changes so much and there is no true going back because you can't go back to a time, just a place.
Do I like the place I live now? Do I consider it my home? The fact that I actually live here makes it my home, but I don't necessarily like living here. In fact every place I've lived has had its downsides. I imagine even the most perfect place we could find would still have it's downsides. The truth of the matter is… we are pilgrims here on earth and by the grace of God we will NEVER find a place here in this sin-filled, degraded earth that we are willing to call our true home, perfect in all ways. While we can have a certain peace here on earth it must be a peace we find in Christ, not in things, not in our earthly homes, not in our earth bound, flesh bound, sin encumbered lives. We have to find peace outside of ourselves, outside of our surroundings whatever they may be, however wonderful, or however awful they may be.
We cannot forget we are pilgrims. I know I've spoken on this before but it's something that's touched me again.
Gen 47:8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?
Gen 47:9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.
Gen 47:10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
The days of my pilgrimage.
People talk about birthdays and whether or not we should celebrate them. Some people say only the ungodly celebrated birthdays and we shouldn't and I do understand their point of view but I also have to wonder at the fact birthdays were NOTED, every time someone's age is mentioned in the Bible- it's a fact that their birth day was noted, it was remembered. The celebration aspect is something that can be perverted in my estimation. As with a lot of things you can celebrate them in a perverted fashion and by that I mean celebrate them taking glory to yourself, or putting glory upon another. All glory goes to God. When we note the day of our birth we CAN do so and give glory to God.
Here Jacob was brought before Pharaoh as Joseph brought him from the land of Canaan to Egypt to survive the famine under his care. Pharaoh sees this old man, the father of the one who has literally saved Him and all of Egypt and then some, because God gave him the interpretation to dreams, dreams God gave to Pharaoh.
Think about it a moment-- Joseph was 17 when he was sold into slavery- He was 30 years old when Pharaoh set him over all the land of Egypt. Seven good years passed after that, so Joseph was 37 years old at that point. Two years into the famine Joseph was reunited with his father again, at 39 years of age. For NINE years Pharaoh knew Joseph on a personal level. Pharaoh knew Joseph had been a slave, he most likely learned all there was to know about him and knew that he'd been in Egypt for 22 years- without any family. Then miraculously his family is there. It isn't any wonder that Pharaoh would want to meet the father of the man who saved all of Egypt. Upon meeting him Pharaoh wants to know how old this man was, this father of Joseph, and he's told-
Gen 47:9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.
130 years.
Jacob knew his age and it was termed in this way- The days of the years of my PILGRIMAGE are 130 years. Those years had to be kept track of. Our birth days were NOT ignored, they were noted. The days of the years of OUR PILGRIMAGE … The days of the years of my pilgrimage are 47. Say your age that way, let it roll off your tongue. Or simply say the years of my pilgrimage are… (for me) 47. Isn't that beautiful? Seriously, it's a STARK reminder to us of what? Not to celebrate the years we've lived, not to celebrate the age we've attained as if it's some great achievement, not to celebrate our existence alone, but rather a celebration of the number of years we've been on our pilgrimage here on earth. A celebration of acknowledgement that we've been given by God those years however few or however many they may be. We are acknowledging our journey just at is was acknowledged throughout the Bible. Acknowledging our pilgrimage!
Remember this…
Gen 5:5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
Gen 5:8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.
Gen 5:11 And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.
And so on… noting years of our lives is something that was done from the beginning. They HAD to take note of the day of birth to keep track of the years of their lives, right?
Every single acknowledgment of that day of birth added to the years of pilgrimage they had lived. Just imagine for a moment- that day comes around and the person knows it's that day- do they just simply ignore it completely? Don't you think they acknowledge it, seriously? If someone came up to them and asked them how old they were do you really think they have to stop and calculate it, or have they made note of their age as that day in the year passed so they could readily give an answer? Age isn't something that is ignored in the Bible at all, yet there are people who would have us just ignore our day of birth completely.
Can you imagine Jacob upon the day of his birth that year noting that his age is now 130. Don't you imagine that they day might bring some reflection with it?
Jacob went on to say this about his age--
Gen 47:9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.
Gen 47:10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
Few and evil have the days of the years of my life have been.
Few and evil.
We, who don't live as a rule into our 130's, 140's, but rather mostly into our 70's and 80's- can say the same can't we? The days of our years of life are few and evil.
We may want to deny the evil part but in truth we live among evil and we sin, falling into evil over and over again. By the grace of our Savior we can be forgiven of the evil in the days of the years of our life, but that doesn't make them any less evil-- it makes us forgiven.
This study isn't intended to be a plug for keeping birthdays, but simply an acknowledgment of our PILGRIMAGE and yes, we need to note the days of the years of our pilgrimage, there is no shame in that and as we note our age, our birthdays, we need to note especially that we are MARKING the years we've been PILGRIMS here on earth, and bring to mind more pointedly that we are STILL on this pilgrimage. We still live in this strange land that isn't anything like the land we are promised will be ours one day. We are pilgrims in this life- everything around us is temporary. If we don't feel as if we belong to this world, PRAISE GOD, we don't! We are PILGRIMS!
David said--
Psa 119:54 Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.
Paul said--
Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Peter said--
1Pe 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul
From now on upon your birthday think of it the way God would have us think of it- as marking the years of our pilgrimage here. Let it be a reminder of our being pilgrims still and all that entails. Let our birthdays remind us even more starkly that we are here only temporarily and we live for eternal life in our Savior. All praise, all honor, all glory to our God!
By the most amazing, wondrous grace of our God, in His love now and forever!
Amen.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Hell 2- You don't burn ashes
Yesterday we began a study on Hell. Let's recap a bit.
There are four words translated as hell in the Bible.
1. Sheol
2. Hades
3. Geenna ( gehenna )
4. tartaroō
Sheol is one of the words used for hell. In a verse from Psalms David is prophesying of Jesus and he says this--
Psa 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Hell- sheol)
Paul repeats the words of David-
Act 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Hell- hadēs)
We know for a fact our Savior never went to man's fictional idea of hell, upon His death. Christ did go to the grave and He was left in the grave for three days.
Let's look at the word Hades.
Hades
G86
ᾅδης
hadēs
It never means the place of punishment. Its meaning is 'an unseen place', 'the grave', 'pit', 'region of the dead'.
Act 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
Rev 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Rev 6:8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
Rev 20:13 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.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Wait… what?! What was that last verse? 'And death and HELL were cast….' WHERE? 'INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE.'
Okay, let's get this straight. Hell is imagined by the majority of people to be a lake of fire right? I mean we've all seen it depicted in movies and such and it's always a huge fiery place where people are suffering endlessly. And yet the Bible clearly says- and HELL is going to be cast into a lake of fire. So if Hell is a huge fiery place of torment and it's cast into a lake of fire would that make any sense at all whatsoever?
Again this word can mean grave as we've already noted.
1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
That word grave there is hades.
Now the word - Geeena- Gehenna
G1067
γέεννα
geenna
gheh'-en-nah
Of Hebrew origin ([H1516] and [H2011]); valley of (the son of) Hinnom; gehenna (or Ge-Hinnom), a valley of Jerusalem.
(2Ch 28:1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did NOT that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father:
2Ch 28:2 For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim.
2Ch 28:3 Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
(2Ch 33:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem
2Ch 33:2 But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. )
2Ch 33:6 And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
This was a REAL place. And it was considered a place of punishment. There WILL be a punishment for evil make no mistake about that, none. The Bible is clear that that wicked will be punished and this place of punishment was a place of punishment that no one who walk through that fire in the valley survived- they were destroyed utterly after suffering the pain of burning in that fire. There will be a LAKE of FIRE. Remember we just read about 'hell' being cast into a lake of fire. That fire will exist and the wicked will be punished in that lake of fire- but it isn't a place that exists right now where spirit bodies go to suffer endlessly.
Mat 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell (geenna)?
Mar 9:43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched
Jas 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
Jas 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
Read this--
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Every man in his OWN order shall be MADE alive- after death.
Christ
The firstfruits
They that are Christ's at his coming
THEN cometh the end… he must reign till he hath put ALL enemies under his feet.
And read this--
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 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.
Rev 20:9 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.
Rev 20:10 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.
Rev 20:11 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.
Rev 20:12 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.
Rev 20:13 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.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
There is a lake of fire for those NOT written in the book of life- but NO ONE is cast into this lake of fire until after Christ comes, until after Christ and His people reign in heaven 1000 years!
Now the last word for hell-
G5020
ταρταρόω
tartaroō
ONE time in the entire Bible does the word hell mean this.
2Pe 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment
Cast them to hell- to chains of darkness to be reserve unto the JUDGMENT. Who was cast there? A person? No! Angels that sinned! Angels are not flesh and cannot die as our flesh dies. Angels can suffer eternal death- the second death, but only after the judgment. Until then - these angels that sinned are kept in darkness- hell. This word hell doesn't mean those angels are suffering eternally in a pit of fire.
Surprisingly hell as people have been taught to believe- DOESN'T EXIST!
A lake of fire will exist at the end of the world.
Another question that is brought up is the eternity this fire is supposed to burn.
I don't know about you but I cannot ever imagine God keeping a lake of fire burning forever and ever and ever, never ending it, but having people (those who are with Him) see and KNOW former loved ones, suffering horrifically. I can't comprehend this aspect and with good reason- God would NEVER do that. God would never keep a place we would call the HELL people imagine exists even now-forever and eternally in existence. Satan is the root of all pain and suffering, not God! Satan would win a victory even in eternal, endless suffering if people were to be forever reminded of sin and it's horrors. God is a JUST God. God is a fair God! All we know of goodness and of God the Father was revealed to us by His Son and His Son showed ONLY compassion for the suffering.
So these words- eternal fire, unquenchable fire, forever and ever- what exactly are meant by them?
Let's look at a few examples--
Jeremiah 17:27
But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.
Obviously there is NOT fire STILL destroying Jerusalem. Right? Jerusalem was destroyed as Jeremiah predicted it would be if the people did not turn from their evil ways. They didn't turn from them and they were taken captive to Babylon, though many were killed and the temple was completely destroyed. There were fires but saying it would not be quenched did not mean it would go on forever and ever without end. Not being quenched as any fireman could tell you means a fire that is unable to be subdue burns until there is NOTHING left to burn. It's not quenched by man, it goes out on its own only when it no longer has a source of fuel.
2 Chronicles 36:19-21
2Ch 36:19 And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.
2Ch 36:20 And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:
2Ch 36:21 To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.
Jude 7
Jud 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
READ that again!
Suffering the vengeance of ETERNAL FIRE.
Is Sodom still burning?
Is Gomorrha still burning?
No and no. The eternal part of the fire is the END results. Eternal destruction, eternally destroyed. That eternal fire from God was truly an eternal fire as only such as God can possess.
Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
2Pe 2:6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly
Ashes.
Eternal fire.
You don't burn ashes- the result OF the burning- is the ashes. The fire has burned all it can burn.
Mal 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Mal 4:3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.
Do you see? With Sodom and Gomorrha as our example for the ungodly- we know that there will be a punishment that will be eternal in its results. Just as stubble is burned to ash, the wicked will be burned to ash without any ROOT or BRANCH left for them to ever live again. This is the second death- the death that NO ONE who receives it will live again. There will be no spirit body given to these people to suffer endlessly, they will be GONE, entirely gone. Anyone that has had the great misfortune of living through a house fire understands the eternal state of things they possessed being forever gone. Medical examiners understand that a cremated body is beyond examination-the fire having destroyed all that was flesh. God's eternal fire, eternal in its results is ALL consuming and hotter than anything we can ever fully imagine. Satan will be destroyed in that fire, death will be destroyed in that fire.
There is NO eternal suffering, but there is eternal nothingness. And honestly this is a just punishment for all evil, for all sin- not some ongoing ever burning pit of agonizing pain.
People love to use that idea to scare people into wanting to be good, into wanting to be in heaven, but at the same time it has people wondering about the LOVE of GOD. They can't comprehend a loving God allowing something so horrifying to exist- with good reason too. How many people have NOT wanted to know anything about their Savior because people have succumbed to this belief in hell, to this belief in ongoing suffering?
If we believe our God is love then we KNOW in our hearts just as we abhor the suffering going on in the world, that He abhors it infinitely more than we do. He could NEVER be an advocate of ongoing suffering, but rather just punishment and then and end to all sin and the results of all sin.
The earth will be made new and it will not contain any lake of fire for people disembodied or not to know suffering.
So, yes, there is a hell- but really studying the Bible reveals the truth to it all.
Death is a sleep. (Jn 11:11-14)
Resurrection will come when Christ returns- the holy in Christ will rise to meet the Lord then and the wicked will be killed. (1 Thess 4:16,17; 2 Thess 2:8)
A second resurrection will come after 1000 years as the earth is left desolate- Satan confined- having NO one to deceive. (Rev.20:3-7)
The wicked dead will rise again in this resurrection and Satan will be loosed allowed to deceive all over again and then all will be judged and accordingly punished, and destroyed in the second death. (Rev.20:7)
Sin, Satan, Death- all will be GONE ENTIRELY! (Rev.8-15)
Rev. 21 (All)
AMEN!!!!!!!
There are four words translated as hell in the Bible.
1. Sheol
2. Hades
3. Geenna ( gehenna )
4. tartaroō
Sheol is one of the words used for hell. In a verse from Psalms David is prophesying of Jesus and he says this--
Psa 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Hell- sheol)
Paul repeats the words of David-
Act 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Hell- hadēs)
We know for a fact our Savior never went to man's fictional idea of hell, upon His death. Christ did go to the grave and He was left in the grave for three days.
Let's look at the word Hades.
Hades
G86
ᾅδης
hadēs
It never means the place of punishment. Its meaning is 'an unseen place', 'the grave', 'pit', 'region of the dead'.
Act 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
Rev 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Rev 6:8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
Rev 20:13 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.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Wait… what?! What was that last verse? 'And death and HELL were cast….' WHERE? 'INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE.'
Okay, let's get this straight. Hell is imagined by the majority of people to be a lake of fire right? I mean we've all seen it depicted in movies and such and it's always a huge fiery place where people are suffering endlessly. And yet the Bible clearly says- and HELL is going to be cast into a lake of fire. So if Hell is a huge fiery place of torment and it's cast into a lake of fire would that make any sense at all whatsoever?
Again this word can mean grave as we've already noted.
1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
That word grave there is hades.
Now the word - Geeena- Gehenna
G1067
γέεννα
geenna
gheh'-en-nah
Of Hebrew origin ([H1516] and [H2011]); valley of (the son of) Hinnom; gehenna (or Ge-Hinnom), a valley of Jerusalem.
(2Ch 28:1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did NOT that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father:
2Ch 28:2 For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim.
2Ch 28:3 Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
(2Ch 33:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem
2Ch 33:2 But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. )
2Ch 33:6 And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
This was a REAL place. And it was considered a place of punishment. There WILL be a punishment for evil make no mistake about that, none. The Bible is clear that that wicked will be punished and this place of punishment was a place of punishment that no one who walk through that fire in the valley survived- they were destroyed utterly after suffering the pain of burning in that fire. There will be a LAKE of FIRE. Remember we just read about 'hell' being cast into a lake of fire. That fire will exist and the wicked will be punished in that lake of fire- but it isn't a place that exists right now where spirit bodies go to suffer endlessly.
Mat 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell (geenna)?
Mar 9:43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched
Jas 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
Jas 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
Read this--
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Every man in his OWN order shall be MADE alive- after death.
Christ
The firstfruits
They that are Christ's at his coming
THEN cometh the end… he must reign till he hath put ALL enemies under his feet.
And read this--
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 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.
Rev 20:9 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.
Rev 20:10 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.
Rev 20:11 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.
Rev 20:12 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.
Rev 20:13 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.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
There is a lake of fire for those NOT written in the book of life- but NO ONE is cast into this lake of fire until after Christ comes, until after Christ and His people reign in heaven 1000 years!
Now the last word for hell-
G5020
ταρταρόω
tartaroō
ONE time in the entire Bible does the word hell mean this.
2Pe 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment
Cast them to hell- to chains of darkness to be reserve unto the JUDGMENT. Who was cast there? A person? No! Angels that sinned! Angels are not flesh and cannot die as our flesh dies. Angels can suffer eternal death- the second death, but only after the judgment. Until then - these angels that sinned are kept in darkness- hell. This word hell doesn't mean those angels are suffering eternally in a pit of fire.
Surprisingly hell as people have been taught to believe- DOESN'T EXIST!
A lake of fire will exist at the end of the world.
Another question that is brought up is the eternity this fire is supposed to burn.
I don't know about you but I cannot ever imagine God keeping a lake of fire burning forever and ever and ever, never ending it, but having people (those who are with Him) see and KNOW former loved ones, suffering horrifically. I can't comprehend this aspect and with good reason- God would NEVER do that. God would never keep a place we would call the HELL people imagine exists even now-forever and eternally in existence. Satan is the root of all pain and suffering, not God! Satan would win a victory even in eternal, endless suffering if people were to be forever reminded of sin and it's horrors. God is a JUST God. God is a fair God! All we know of goodness and of God the Father was revealed to us by His Son and His Son showed ONLY compassion for the suffering.
So these words- eternal fire, unquenchable fire, forever and ever- what exactly are meant by them?
Let's look at a few examples--
Jeremiah 17:27
But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.
Obviously there is NOT fire STILL destroying Jerusalem. Right? Jerusalem was destroyed as Jeremiah predicted it would be if the people did not turn from their evil ways. They didn't turn from them and they were taken captive to Babylon, though many were killed and the temple was completely destroyed. There were fires but saying it would not be quenched did not mean it would go on forever and ever without end. Not being quenched as any fireman could tell you means a fire that is unable to be subdue burns until there is NOTHING left to burn. It's not quenched by man, it goes out on its own only when it no longer has a source of fuel.
2 Chronicles 36:19-21
2Ch 36:19 And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.
2Ch 36:20 And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:
2Ch 36:21 To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.
Jude 7
Jud 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
READ that again!
Suffering the vengeance of ETERNAL FIRE.
Is Sodom still burning?
Is Gomorrha still burning?
No and no. The eternal part of the fire is the END results. Eternal destruction, eternally destroyed. That eternal fire from God was truly an eternal fire as only such as God can possess.
Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
2Pe 2:6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly
Ashes.
Eternal fire.
You don't burn ashes- the result OF the burning- is the ashes. The fire has burned all it can burn.
Mal 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Mal 4:3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.
Do you see? With Sodom and Gomorrha as our example for the ungodly- we know that there will be a punishment that will be eternal in its results. Just as stubble is burned to ash, the wicked will be burned to ash without any ROOT or BRANCH left for them to ever live again. This is the second death- the death that NO ONE who receives it will live again. There will be no spirit body given to these people to suffer endlessly, they will be GONE, entirely gone. Anyone that has had the great misfortune of living through a house fire understands the eternal state of things they possessed being forever gone. Medical examiners understand that a cremated body is beyond examination-the fire having destroyed all that was flesh. God's eternal fire, eternal in its results is ALL consuming and hotter than anything we can ever fully imagine. Satan will be destroyed in that fire, death will be destroyed in that fire.
There is NO eternal suffering, but there is eternal nothingness. And honestly this is a just punishment for all evil, for all sin- not some ongoing ever burning pit of agonizing pain.
People love to use that idea to scare people into wanting to be good, into wanting to be in heaven, but at the same time it has people wondering about the LOVE of GOD. They can't comprehend a loving God allowing something so horrifying to exist- with good reason too. How many people have NOT wanted to know anything about their Savior because people have succumbed to this belief in hell, to this belief in ongoing suffering?
If we believe our God is love then we KNOW in our hearts just as we abhor the suffering going on in the world, that He abhors it infinitely more than we do. He could NEVER be an advocate of ongoing suffering, but rather just punishment and then and end to all sin and the results of all sin.
The earth will be made new and it will not contain any lake of fire for people disembodied or not to know suffering.
So, yes, there is a hell- but really studying the Bible reveals the truth to it all.
Death is a sleep. (Jn 11:11-14)
Resurrection will come when Christ returns- the holy in Christ will rise to meet the Lord then and the wicked will be killed. (1 Thess 4:16,17; 2 Thess 2:8)
A second resurrection will come after 1000 years as the earth is left desolate- Satan confined- having NO one to deceive. (Rev.20:3-7)
The wicked dead will rise again in this resurrection and Satan will be loosed allowed to deceive all over again and then all will be judged and accordingly punished, and destroyed in the second death. (Rev.20:7)
Sin, Satan, Death- all will be GONE ENTIRELY! (Rev.8-15)
Rev. 21 (All)
AMEN!!!!!!!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Hell -1
I've been talking about death lately or rather the state of the dead. The Bible tells us beyond a doubt that the 'dead know nothing' . Jesus tells us death is a sleep. We are told the dead will rise again when Jesus returns- not before, not upon dying. These are all Biblical facts. More facts from the Bible have led me to believe that there are a few other things that the majority of people seem to get wrong.
God is love.
God wants pain and tears done away with.
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Do we believe God? Should we? Yes, we should. And God is telling us through His amazing word that HE shall wipe away ALL tears, that there will be NO death, NO sorrow, NO crying, NO Pain.
Yet people want to believe that there is a place filled with pain, filled with sorrow that will exist forever without end.
The opposite side of the heaven scenario is the hell scenario. People going to heaven or hell upon death. Because we've already established that people don't go to heaven when they die, it's a given that they aren't going to a place called hell. We've discussed heaven and now we need to discuss hell.
What exactly is hell?
Let's look at the word itself--
There are four words translated as hell in the Bible.
1. Sheol
2. Hades
3. Geenna ( gehenna )
4. tartaroō
Taking them one at a time--
Sheol- this word is used a lot and it's necessary to note that both the righteous AND the wicked go to sheol.
Gen 37:35
Gen 37:34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
Gen 37:35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
Sheol-grave ( this is Jacob, righteous before God, who talks of going to the grave- going to sheol.)
Psa 89:48 What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.
Man. Man cannot deliver himself from death or the grave. We can't keep ourselves from dying and we can't bring ourselves out of the grave. But God can do both.
We have to note this as well-
Sheol is the same as Hades in the New Testament compare- Ps.16:10 with Acts 2:27
Psa 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Hell- sheol)
Act 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Hell- hadēs)
Who is the Holy One? Jesus. Jesus was NEVER in the HELL people envision - burning and torment, the place of the wicked. Jesus was in the grave for three days, not descended into a burning, fiery pit alive. Yet you say the word hades, the word hell and that's what people believe. This word has the meaning of GRAVE. Christ was left in the grave, but not for long. Christ saw NO corruption.
Let's read more of this passage - it's enlightening really.
Act 2:24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
Act 2:25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
Act 2:26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
Act 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Act 2:28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
Act 2:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
The patriarch David DEAD and BURIED and IN his sepulchre IN PAUL'S time- many, many, many years after He'd died. David was NOT in heaven.
Act 2:30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
Act 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
Christ was not left in the GRAVE. This makes such perfect sense.
Act 2:32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Act 2:33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
Act 2:34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand.
More tomorrow by the grace of our Savior.
Amen.
God is love.
God wants pain and tears done away with.
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Do we believe God? Should we? Yes, we should. And God is telling us through His amazing word that HE shall wipe away ALL tears, that there will be NO death, NO sorrow, NO crying, NO Pain.
Yet people want to believe that there is a place filled with pain, filled with sorrow that will exist forever without end.
The opposite side of the heaven scenario is the hell scenario. People going to heaven or hell upon death. Because we've already established that people don't go to heaven when they die, it's a given that they aren't going to a place called hell. We've discussed heaven and now we need to discuss hell.
What exactly is hell?
Let's look at the word itself--
There are four words translated as hell in the Bible.
1. Sheol
2. Hades
3. Geenna ( gehenna )
4. tartaroō
Taking them one at a time--
Sheol- this word is used a lot and it's necessary to note that both the righteous AND the wicked go to sheol.
Gen 37:35
Gen 37:34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
Gen 37:35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
Sheol-grave ( this is Jacob, righteous before God, who talks of going to the grave- going to sheol.)
Psa 89:48 What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.
Man. Man cannot deliver himself from death or the grave. We can't keep ourselves from dying and we can't bring ourselves out of the grave. But God can do both.
We have to note this as well-
Sheol is the same as Hades in the New Testament compare- Ps.16:10 with Acts 2:27
Psa 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Hell- sheol)
Act 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Hell- hadēs)
Who is the Holy One? Jesus. Jesus was NEVER in the HELL people envision - burning and torment, the place of the wicked. Jesus was in the grave for three days, not descended into a burning, fiery pit alive. Yet you say the word hades, the word hell and that's what people believe. This word has the meaning of GRAVE. Christ was left in the grave, but not for long. Christ saw NO corruption.
Let's read more of this passage - it's enlightening really.
Act 2:24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
Act 2:25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
Act 2:26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
Act 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Act 2:28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
Act 2:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
The patriarch David DEAD and BURIED and IN his sepulchre IN PAUL'S time- many, many, many years after He'd died. David was NOT in heaven.
Act 2:30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
Act 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
Christ was not left in the GRAVE. This makes such perfect sense.
Act 2:32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Act 2:33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
Act 2:34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand.
More tomorrow by the grace of our Savior.
Amen.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Sleep Death
Psa 6:5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
None. Yet don't you believe that giving thanks would be something done constantly if you've gone over from a flesh body to a spirit body leaving behind all the infirmities the flesh has with it? Wouldn't you be shouting your thanks if you were granted heaven upon death? There is NO thanks in death. Death is something to be abhorred, not something to welcome. Don't get me wrong, death can be welcomed by many who are fighting for their lives against a painful, vile disease. What is it that is welcomed though? The end of the pain, not the end of life, just the end of the pain life brings. People who are happy don't wish to die, why? Because they know on some level that death is an ending. Death is the end of their flesh existence and their ability to interact with those still living. If death were something wonderful- an immediate passing into a spirit life living in a wondrous heavenly abode where you could still know everything there is to know about all that is going on with your loved ones- wouldn't it be wise to just encourage the death of ALL the world. Seriously, wouldn't death be desired if we REALLY believed it was a passing into that sort of existence? The thing is people AREN'T sure what happens after death. People want to believe it's a wondrous passing into a spirit life living in a wondrous heavenly abode, but there is something wrong about that belief- it's not TRUE. It simply isn't TRUE. Death isn't any great mystery! It isn't! There is NO question about what death is, not if you believe in Jesus Christ God's Son, the Savior of the World. He says--
Joh 11:11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
Joh 11:12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
Joh 11:13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
Joh 11:14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
JESUS said plainly-- Lazarus is DEAD.
But Jesus just said-- our friend Lazarus sleepeth.
There are different types of sleeping. A sleep that is nightly. A sleep that is healing (have you ever notice how the majority of sick people seem to need more sleep?). A sleep that is the sleep of death.
Lazarus is sleeping.
Lazarus is dead.
Which is it? Both. Lazarus is sleeping death's peaceful sleep of nothingness, of painlessness.
There is NO mystery here! None! Jesus wasn't confused about what death was. Jesus understood that death is exactly like sleeping, knowing nothing until you wake again. Is it any wonder you can't give thanks in death, do you thank people when you're sleeping? No. Is it any wonder the dead know nothing? No. Do you know anything when you are sleeping? You're clueless as to what is taking place around you, completely clueless until you wake up and your thought process begins again.
Read this…
Psa 88:10 Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
No, the dead have no thought why would you show them wonders?
No, the dead won't rise up and praise you, they can't…they're dead.
Ecc 2:16 For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.
Everyone dies the same. Death is the same for EVERYONE. Death is the same slipping down into nothingness of death's sleep for every single person. You can be the richest man in the whole world and when you die you will sleep just as the poorest man. The wisest man and the biggest fool both inherit the sleep of death.
Job 7:8 The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.
Job 7:9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more.
Job 7:10 He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.
You go down to the grave and you come up NO MORE!
You do not return to your house!
Your place will not know you any more!
Death is a sleep, not some grand adventure into the spirit realm where you can watch the living as they go through the struggle of life. How wondrous would it be to have to watch your loved ones suffer and be able to do absolutely nothing for them? Death is a sleep and nothing more. A sleep you can and will wake from- some to eternal life and others not.
1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
The DEAD in Christ will RISE!
Why would they need to rise if they are already living as spirit beings in heaven?
1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
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.
1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
1Co 15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
The DEAD SHALL BE RAISED incorruptible, when? At the LAST TRUMP.
Remember this… we just read it…
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
The LORD will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the TRUMP of God!
When our Savior return if we've died in Christ, if we are in death's sleep, we will be awakened by our Savior! Just as the moment awareness comes to us upon waking in the morning from a night's sleep, we will wake when Christ returns for us and the first awareness after we die that we have will be rising to meet the Lord. How amazingly wonderful is that?! How awesome is it to know that death is NOTHING to fear if we live in Christ and have accepted Him as our Savior, loving Him more than life itself.
Our loved ones are not without us in some spirit form in heaven, because truthfully, could they really be happy being without us… their loved ones? Oh sure, people like to pretend they are up there visiting with all those that passed on before them, but it's just not so. They are sleeping, they're not existing in another form without us. What a blessed sleep that is, knowing they'll be woken up by the calling of our Savior Himself!
By the grace and mercy of our Lord, may we be found in Him alive or in death's sleep. To hear the sound of our King's calling us to Him, it's a day not far off, and it's a sound I long to hear.
In HIS love, in HIS righteousness now and forever!
Amen.
None. Yet don't you believe that giving thanks would be something done constantly if you've gone over from a flesh body to a spirit body leaving behind all the infirmities the flesh has with it? Wouldn't you be shouting your thanks if you were granted heaven upon death? There is NO thanks in death. Death is something to be abhorred, not something to welcome. Don't get me wrong, death can be welcomed by many who are fighting for their lives against a painful, vile disease. What is it that is welcomed though? The end of the pain, not the end of life, just the end of the pain life brings. People who are happy don't wish to die, why? Because they know on some level that death is an ending. Death is the end of their flesh existence and their ability to interact with those still living. If death were something wonderful- an immediate passing into a spirit life living in a wondrous heavenly abode where you could still know everything there is to know about all that is going on with your loved ones- wouldn't it be wise to just encourage the death of ALL the world. Seriously, wouldn't death be desired if we REALLY believed it was a passing into that sort of existence? The thing is people AREN'T sure what happens after death. People want to believe it's a wondrous passing into a spirit life living in a wondrous heavenly abode, but there is something wrong about that belief- it's not TRUE. It simply isn't TRUE. Death isn't any great mystery! It isn't! There is NO question about what death is, not if you believe in Jesus Christ God's Son, the Savior of the World. He says--
Joh 11:11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
Joh 11:12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
Joh 11:13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
Joh 11:14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
JESUS said plainly-- Lazarus is DEAD.
But Jesus just said-- our friend Lazarus sleepeth.
There are different types of sleeping. A sleep that is nightly. A sleep that is healing (have you ever notice how the majority of sick people seem to need more sleep?). A sleep that is the sleep of death.
Lazarus is sleeping.
Lazarus is dead.
Which is it? Both. Lazarus is sleeping death's peaceful sleep of nothingness, of painlessness.
There is NO mystery here! None! Jesus wasn't confused about what death was. Jesus understood that death is exactly like sleeping, knowing nothing until you wake again. Is it any wonder you can't give thanks in death, do you thank people when you're sleeping? No. Is it any wonder the dead know nothing? No. Do you know anything when you are sleeping? You're clueless as to what is taking place around you, completely clueless until you wake up and your thought process begins again.
Read this…
Psa 88:10 Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
No, the dead have no thought why would you show them wonders?
No, the dead won't rise up and praise you, they can't…they're dead.
Ecc 2:16 For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.
Everyone dies the same. Death is the same for EVERYONE. Death is the same slipping down into nothingness of death's sleep for every single person. You can be the richest man in the whole world and when you die you will sleep just as the poorest man. The wisest man and the biggest fool both inherit the sleep of death.
Job 7:8 The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.
Job 7:9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more.
Job 7:10 He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.
You go down to the grave and you come up NO MORE!
You do not return to your house!
Your place will not know you any more!
Death is a sleep, not some grand adventure into the spirit realm where you can watch the living as they go through the struggle of life. How wondrous would it be to have to watch your loved ones suffer and be able to do absolutely nothing for them? Death is a sleep and nothing more. A sleep you can and will wake from- some to eternal life and others not.
1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
The DEAD in Christ will RISE!
Why would they need to rise if they are already living as spirit beings in heaven?
1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
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.
1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
1Co 15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
The DEAD SHALL BE RAISED incorruptible, when? At the LAST TRUMP.
Remember this… we just read it…
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
The LORD will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the TRUMP of God!
When our Savior return if we've died in Christ, if we are in death's sleep, we will be awakened by our Savior! Just as the moment awareness comes to us upon waking in the morning from a night's sleep, we will wake when Christ returns for us and the first awareness after we die that we have will be rising to meet the Lord. How amazingly wonderful is that?! How awesome is it to know that death is NOTHING to fear if we live in Christ and have accepted Him as our Savior, loving Him more than life itself.
Our loved ones are not without us in some spirit form in heaven, because truthfully, could they really be happy being without us… their loved ones? Oh sure, people like to pretend they are up there visiting with all those that passed on before them, but it's just not so. They are sleeping, they're not existing in another form without us. What a blessed sleep that is, knowing they'll be woken up by the calling of our Savior Himself!
By the grace and mercy of our Lord, may we be found in Him alive or in death's sleep. To hear the sound of our King's calling us to Him, it's a day not far off, and it's a sound I long to hear.
In HIS love, in HIS righteousness now and forever!
Amen.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
You know you will die
Ecc 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
You know you will die.
We ALL know we will eventually die.
We know that when a person dies that which keeps them alive- their breath, their heartbeat- all stops. We know that decay begins in a dead body and that body goes through a breakdown process until- if left untouched- the flesh returns to dust, and if even more time passes, the bones turn to dust also. There is NO dispute here, it's all proven fact that can't be denied by anyone whatsoever. The flesh dies. The person that was that flesh is no more. Some have the process of returning to dust accelerated through cremation, burning the flesh and bone until it is nothing more than ashes. These are all known facts.
We know we will die. We know what happens to us when we die. We cease to function ever again. We are buried and eventually we are forgotten (unless we are famous in some way and the memory of our actions become part of history. Us, being able to partake of ANYTHING is gone.
Over 150,000,000 American's believe in ghosts (as per a site on the internet how true it is, I don't know) .
74% of American's believe in life after death. (Same note as above)
It doesn't say on the site I read if that's INSTANT life after death or DELAYED life after death, but I'm more than willing to believe that MOST of that percentage believe in INSTANT life after death. You can tell just by the mainstream media - people LOVE to console other people with the words- 'They are in heaven NOW.'
This is DECEPTION! People want me to shut up about it and are quick to say- 'It's a HARMLESS deception if it is one, which it isn't. Believing people go right to heaven after death hurts NO ONE. If the majority of people believe this it can't be wrong!'
DECEPTION! I can't shout it here any louder. DECEPTION!!!!!
This is a deception that was begun BEFORE our first parents- Adam and Eve- ever sinned. This was part of the LIE that caused them to sin. This was part of the deception SATAN used! He used it back then and He hasn't stopped using it, and He won't stop using it until He is no more.
Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die
If SATAN is telling the truth then there IS life right after death- which means there is life after life because obviously there is no REAL death. If your conscious being never dies, if your consciousness never ceases at all whatsoever but just goes on and on and the moment you die your consciousness breaks free from your flesh body- then you don't DIE. If your consciousness goes on endlessly then you KNOW you are transformed in that moment of death, you know your body is dead, you know you are living on in another form and you know everything that is going on around you- you might even go to heaven- where people say all the time that loved ones go and watch over us. Your knowing awareness of things around you is endless after death if you no longer possess a body that needs to sleep to function. But this can't be true, not according to the Bible, not according to our Creator.
Remember this…
Ecc 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing
The DEAD KNOW NOT ANY THING.
If the part of you that makes you - you- conscious of yourself, the part of you that KNOWS things- never ever dies, never ceases to exist, never stops, then you continue to know things, right? You are still living.
We aren't told that the living know their bodies will die but they will continue to have knowledge. Where in the Bible are we told that? We aren't told that upon the body dying we will live on forever bodiless. We aren't told that upon death part of us will keep living and that part will be rewarded or punished. We are told that our reward comes WITH Christ.
Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Read this… There is more than one resurrection -
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
IF people DON'T REALLY DIE- this makes NO SENSE whatsoever. The REST of the dead lived NOT again. IF everyone just keeps on living, why would the dead need to live again? Why????
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell(the grave) delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Why are the dead being delivered up from anywhere?! Why, if we just keep on living after our bodies die???
Christ dying means NOTHING if we just continue to live on in some disembodied form after our body dies. If we have this spirit form that lives on happily in heaven why would we ever want to go back into a body? We can't believe in Christ if we believe we just keep on living after we die and there really is no such thing as real dying- mind and body.
Christ came and NOT even HE went on to live in spirit form in heaven after He died. He lay physically in the grave- dead in body and mind- dead - as in what being DEAD REALLY means- knowing nothing until He was brought to life again by God days later. He even says He hasn't gone to His Father yet, He hadn't gone to heaven yet.
For some reason people think they are greater than the God that came to save them. They believe they live on and on endlessly, and not even the God-Man who died did that.
Satan's deception is alive and well and many have bought into it, believing it's harmless to believe that the dead are still alive- it some how eases our minds when we grieve and it helps when we have to linger in illness or injury before dying ourselves.
Deception is NEVER harmless, and this great deception is far from being harmless.
What is the harm? Believing in a lie, not believing in the truth.
Lies. Deceit.
Psa 101:7 He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.
May God help us as we continue to study on this subject, this VERY important subject.
We must not believe in deception no matter how much we might be inclined to do so.
By the grace and mercy of our Savior may we be found in HIS TRUTH, not believing in lies and deceit.
In His love!
Amen.
You know you will die.
We ALL know we will eventually die.
We know that when a person dies that which keeps them alive- their breath, their heartbeat- all stops. We know that decay begins in a dead body and that body goes through a breakdown process until- if left untouched- the flesh returns to dust, and if even more time passes, the bones turn to dust also. There is NO dispute here, it's all proven fact that can't be denied by anyone whatsoever. The flesh dies. The person that was that flesh is no more. Some have the process of returning to dust accelerated through cremation, burning the flesh and bone until it is nothing more than ashes. These are all known facts.
We know we will die. We know what happens to us when we die. We cease to function ever again. We are buried and eventually we are forgotten (unless we are famous in some way and the memory of our actions become part of history. Us, being able to partake of ANYTHING is gone.
Over 150,000,000 American's believe in ghosts (as per a site on the internet how true it is, I don't know) .
74% of American's believe in life after death. (Same note as above)
It doesn't say on the site I read if that's INSTANT life after death or DELAYED life after death, but I'm more than willing to believe that MOST of that percentage believe in INSTANT life after death. You can tell just by the mainstream media - people LOVE to console other people with the words- 'They are in heaven NOW.'
This is DECEPTION! People want me to shut up about it and are quick to say- 'It's a HARMLESS deception if it is one, which it isn't. Believing people go right to heaven after death hurts NO ONE. If the majority of people believe this it can't be wrong!'
DECEPTION! I can't shout it here any louder. DECEPTION!!!!!
This is a deception that was begun BEFORE our first parents- Adam and Eve- ever sinned. This was part of the LIE that caused them to sin. This was part of the deception SATAN used! He used it back then and He hasn't stopped using it, and He won't stop using it until He is no more.
Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die
If SATAN is telling the truth then there IS life right after death- which means there is life after life because obviously there is no REAL death. If your conscious being never dies, if your consciousness never ceases at all whatsoever but just goes on and on and the moment you die your consciousness breaks free from your flesh body- then you don't DIE. If your consciousness goes on endlessly then you KNOW you are transformed in that moment of death, you know your body is dead, you know you are living on in another form and you know everything that is going on around you- you might even go to heaven- where people say all the time that loved ones go and watch over us. Your knowing awareness of things around you is endless after death if you no longer possess a body that needs to sleep to function. But this can't be true, not according to the Bible, not according to our Creator.
Remember this…
Ecc 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing
The DEAD KNOW NOT ANY THING.
If the part of you that makes you - you- conscious of yourself, the part of you that KNOWS things- never ever dies, never ceases to exist, never stops, then you continue to know things, right? You are still living.
We aren't told that the living know their bodies will die but they will continue to have knowledge. Where in the Bible are we told that? We aren't told that upon the body dying we will live on forever bodiless. We aren't told that upon death part of us will keep living and that part will be rewarded or punished. We are told that our reward comes WITH Christ.
Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Read this… There is more than one resurrection -
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
IF people DON'T REALLY DIE- this makes NO SENSE whatsoever. The REST of the dead lived NOT again. IF everyone just keeps on living, why would the dead need to live again? Why????
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell(the grave) delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Why are the dead being delivered up from anywhere?! Why, if we just keep on living after our bodies die???
Christ dying means NOTHING if we just continue to live on in some disembodied form after our body dies. If we have this spirit form that lives on happily in heaven why would we ever want to go back into a body? We can't believe in Christ if we believe we just keep on living after we die and there really is no such thing as real dying- mind and body.
Christ came and NOT even HE went on to live in spirit form in heaven after He died. He lay physically in the grave- dead in body and mind- dead - as in what being DEAD REALLY means- knowing nothing until He was brought to life again by God days later. He even says He hasn't gone to His Father yet, He hadn't gone to heaven yet.
For some reason people think they are greater than the God that came to save them. They believe they live on and on endlessly, and not even the God-Man who died did that.
Satan's deception is alive and well and many have bought into it, believing it's harmless to believe that the dead are still alive- it some how eases our minds when we grieve and it helps when we have to linger in illness or injury before dying ourselves.
Deception is NEVER harmless, and this great deception is far from being harmless.
What is the harm? Believing in a lie, not believing in the truth.
Lies. Deceit.
Psa 101:7 He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.
May God help us as we continue to study on this subject, this VERY important subject.
We must not believe in deception no matter how much we might be inclined to do so.
By the grace and mercy of our Savior may we be found in HIS TRUTH, not believing in lies and deceit.
In His love!
Amen.
Monday, January 17, 2011
We Choose
Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
The International Standard Version of the Bible reads that same verse like this--
(ISV) Therefore, rid yourselves of everything impure and every expression of wickedness, and with a gentle spirit welcome the word planted in you that can save your souls.
The Contemporary English Version of the Bible reads this way--
(CEV) You must stop doing anything immoral or evil. Instead be humble and accept the message that is planted in you to save you.
And the Literal Translation of the Holy Bible reads as follows--
(LITV) On account of this, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of evil, in meekness receive the implanted Word being able to save your souls.
Where do people get the impression that they can live immorally and still claim salvation? I'm talking about a knowing, willing acceptance of their immorality? Maybe I’m being too harsh. I feel like I'm being too harsh - as if I'm being JUDGMENTAL and SELF-RIGHTEOUS, even though I’m not pointing a single finger at a single person. I look at my own life and know my own personal struggles and wonder if I'll ever be without filthiness in my life, and in wondering comes that sense of hopelessness that the Devil loves to use on us.
The path is STRAIGHT and NARROW.
Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
The Bible tells it like it is without any sugar-coating.
We are lost hopelessly without our Savior.
We have to put away all the filth in our lives, we have to shun all evil- how much evil? ALL evil. We have to RECEIVE the WORD put within us with meekness if we are to have any hope of salvation.
Humbly we must receive the Word.
Conscientiously we need to stay away from all evil. Conscientiously we must choose right over wrong. Conscientiously we MUST choose to obey God.
Life is all about choices and we are accountable for the choices. We must choose to receive the Word meekly.
Our hope is solely in Christ.
We must choose Christ.
Maybe I sound like a broken record- constantly harping on our accountability to God, constantly shouting that we are saved by Christ's sacrifice, by Christ's righteousness, but I CAN'T stop. We live in a world that seems hopeless, and Christ is the ONLY hope we have. CHOOSING CHRIST is choosing to obey, it is choosing life over death, it is choosing salvation over hopelessness. It's a constant choice, a living breathing choice that surrounds us always and if we forget that then we are without hope. WE CHOOSE.
By the grace of God may we choose life eternal through our Savior over ANY and ALL evil that seems tempting to us. Only Christ is eternal, evil is temporary and one day will be gone forever.
In His MERCY!
Amen!
The International Standard Version of the Bible reads that same verse like this--
(ISV) Therefore, rid yourselves of everything impure and every expression of wickedness, and with a gentle spirit welcome the word planted in you that can save your souls.
The Contemporary English Version of the Bible reads this way--
(CEV) You must stop doing anything immoral or evil. Instead be humble and accept the message that is planted in you to save you.
And the Literal Translation of the Holy Bible reads as follows--
(LITV) On account of this, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of evil, in meekness receive the implanted Word being able to save your souls.
Where do people get the impression that they can live immorally and still claim salvation? I'm talking about a knowing, willing acceptance of their immorality? Maybe I’m being too harsh. I feel like I'm being too harsh - as if I'm being JUDGMENTAL and SELF-RIGHTEOUS, even though I’m not pointing a single finger at a single person. I look at my own life and know my own personal struggles and wonder if I'll ever be without filthiness in my life, and in wondering comes that sense of hopelessness that the Devil loves to use on us.
The path is STRAIGHT and NARROW.
Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
The Bible tells it like it is without any sugar-coating.
We are lost hopelessly without our Savior.
We have to put away all the filth in our lives, we have to shun all evil- how much evil? ALL evil. We have to RECEIVE the WORD put within us with meekness if we are to have any hope of salvation.
Humbly we must receive the Word.
Conscientiously we need to stay away from all evil. Conscientiously we must choose right over wrong. Conscientiously we MUST choose to obey God.
Life is all about choices and we are accountable for the choices. We must choose to receive the Word meekly.
Our hope is solely in Christ.
We must choose Christ.
Maybe I sound like a broken record- constantly harping on our accountability to God, constantly shouting that we are saved by Christ's sacrifice, by Christ's righteousness, but I CAN'T stop. We live in a world that seems hopeless, and Christ is the ONLY hope we have. CHOOSING CHRIST is choosing to obey, it is choosing life over death, it is choosing salvation over hopelessness. It's a constant choice, a living breathing choice that surrounds us always and if we forget that then we are without hope. WE CHOOSE.
By the grace of God may we choose life eternal through our Savior over ANY and ALL evil that seems tempting to us. Only Christ is eternal, evil is temporary and one day will be gone forever.
In His MERCY!
Amen!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Satan's Sole Purpose
We WANT to walk upright, don't we?
We desire to walk upright in the paths of righteousness, yes?
We long to follow the ways of our Savior, correct?
Constantly we are buffeted by the enemy who doesn't want us to do any of those things. It is the enemy's JOB, it is the enemy's SOLE PURPOSE to keep US- each of us- from following the Savior. If something is your sole purpose what exactly does that mean?
You've heard someone say before - 'It's my sole purpose in life to love you, or they might say it's my sole purpose in life to get revenge on you.' They're in essence saying that they are LIVING for this reason. They are living to love you and without you they have no other purpose in life. Or they are living to hurt you and for no other reason. We know that when people say stuff like that it's usually an exaggeration. The same person who said they live to love you might turn around and ask for a divorce a few years later because they no longer can stand to be near you. As well as the one seeking revenge, their ire may cool and life make take on new purpose. But with Satan his IRE never cools, His love to deceive us never grows cold and will exist as long as He exists. This is the truth. He will EVER go about seeking to devour who He can, untiringly in his angelic spirit heritage he needs no sleep, no resting. And if we understand how intense it can be on a human to human level to have someone with a 'sole purpose' that is very changeable, how much more intense is it on the spirit level with a being who won't ever change?
We desperately wish to be Christ's and we have an enemy that will stop at nothing to keep us in doubt, keep us confused, keep us questioning, keep us hopeless and all he has to do is hold up our shortcomings to us and make us believe we will never be Christ's not with how exceedingly sinful we are. He loves to act as a circus funhouse mirror reflecting back at us our evilness, and yes, sin is evil and the sin we commit is evil- we can't pretty it up and say it's just a tiny little bitty sin, not one of those awful ones. And the funhouse effect of this mirror is to make us feel HOPELESS, so evil we can never be forgiven, never hope to be sin-free in Christ. He gets us to keep looking at ourselves so that we have no desire to take our eyes off ourselves and our failings. And as long as Satan has us looking at ourselves we are not looking at our SAVIOR! We have no hope in ourselves, NONE and the sooner we realize this the better. We have to STOP looking at ourselves and look beyond ourselves to our Savior. HE IS able to save us, we are NOT able to save ourselves!
The questions were…
We WANT to walk upright, don't we?
We desire to walk upright in the paths of righteousness, yes?
We long to follow the ways of our Savior, correct?
Then we have to LISTEN to the LORD! We can't close our ears to Him and expect to walk upright. We can't ignore Him and expect to walk upright. We can't close our eyes and expect to follow Him. Do you know how quickly one falls off a path once they are blindfolded? If we blind ourselves, if we keep ourselves in the dark we can't expect to find light on the path.
Remember yesterday's study… all those things we are told to do to understand the fear of the Lord and to find the knowledge of God?
RECEIVE, HIDE, INCLINE, APPLY, CRIEST, LIFTEST, SEEKEST, SEARCHEST!
Actions, verbs!
Here read it again…
Pro 2:1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
Pro 2:2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
Pro 2:3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
Pro 2:4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
Pro 2:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
And there is more...
Pro 2:6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
Pro 2:7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
Pro 2:8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
Pro 2:9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.
Pro 2:10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
Pro 2:11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
Pro 2:12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
Pro 2:13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
Pro 2:14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
Pro 2:15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
Pro 2:16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
Pro 2:17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
Pro 2:18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
Pro 2:19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.
Pro 2:20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
Pro 2:21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
Pro 2:22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
Righteous and wicked.
We choose.
We are told to act in upright ways - to -
RECEIVE, HIDE, INCLINE, APPLY, CRIEST, LIFTEST, SEEKEST, SEARCHEST
And when we DO NOT do as we are told is it any wonder we can be tempted away to the wicked path?
We can do absolutely nothing and hope that doing nothing is enough. Or we can do the things we are told to do and HOPE that by the grace of OUR Savior it will be enough.
We can stand without armor on and hope to live, but the chances of that are very, very slim. We are told to wear spiritual armor and we are told what that armor is.
Salvation
Righteousness
Truth
Gospel of Peace
Spirit of the Word of God
Faith
We have to choose these things.
Not, put the armor on once and never again; not, only wear one piece of the armor and no more; not, put on the armor when the mood hits us. The war we are in is ongoing- night and day, everyday. Ask soldiers that go to war if they sleep in protective gear when they are close to or among the enemy lines. We exist in the enemy's camp without any hope of survival unless we have our armor on.
We must have SALVATION first and foremost and with our head protected we must protect the rest of us and that Salvation we have in Christ is also where we get the rest of our protective gear.
We have an inheritance in Christ and the Holy Spirit will guide us and keep us in the promise of that inheritance if we allow Him. We can be blessed with all spiritual blessings. We can be before Our Savior without blame in love. We are adopted by Jesus Himself! We have redemption through His sacrifice. This is WISDOM, the knowledge of HIM and His love towards us! It is the WILL of our Savior that we be with Him! Read it! I didn't write it… HE DID!
Eph 1:2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Eph 1:8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
AMEN!
We desire to walk upright in the paths of righteousness, yes?
We long to follow the ways of our Savior, correct?
Constantly we are buffeted by the enemy who doesn't want us to do any of those things. It is the enemy's JOB, it is the enemy's SOLE PURPOSE to keep US- each of us- from following the Savior. If something is your sole purpose what exactly does that mean?
You've heard someone say before - 'It's my sole purpose in life to love you, or they might say it's my sole purpose in life to get revenge on you.' They're in essence saying that they are LIVING for this reason. They are living to love you and without you they have no other purpose in life. Or they are living to hurt you and for no other reason. We know that when people say stuff like that it's usually an exaggeration. The same person who said they live to love you might turn around and ask for a divorce a few years later because they no longer can stand to be near you. As well as the one seeking revenge, their ire may cool and life make take on new purpose. But with Satan his IRE never cools, His love to deceive us never grows cold and will exist as long as He exists. This is the truth. He will EVER go about seeking to devour who He can, untiringly in his angelic spirit heritage he needs no sleep, no resting. And if we understand how intense it can be on a human to human level to have someone with a 'sole purpose' that is very changeable, how much more intense is it on the spirit level with a being who won't ever change?
We desperately wish to be Christ's and we have an enemy that will stop at nothing to keep us in doubt, keep us confused, keep us questioning, keep us hopeless and all he has to do is hold up our shortcomings to us and make us believe we will never be Christ's not with how exceedingly sinful we are. He loves to act as a circus funhouse mirror reflecting back at us our evilness, and yes, sin is evil and the sin we commit is evil- we can't pretty it up and say it's just a tiny little bitty sin, not one of those awful ones. And the funhouse effect of this mirror is to make us feel HOPELESS, so evil we can never be forgiven, never hope to be sin-free in Christ. He gets us to keep looking at ourselves so that we have no desire to take our eyes off ourselves and our failings. And as long as Satan has us looking at ourselves we are not looking at our SAVIOR! We have no hope in ourselves, NONE and the sooner we realize this the better. We have to STOP looking at ourselves and look beyond ourselves to our Savior. HE IS able to save us, we are NOT able to save ourselves!
The questions were…
We WANT to walk upright, don't we?
We desire to walk upright in the paths of righteousness, yes?
We long to follow the ways of our Savior, correct?
Then we have to LISTEN to the LORD! We can't close our ears to Him and expect to walk upright. We can't ignore Him and expect to walk upright. We can't close our eyes and expect to follow Him. Do you know how quickly one falls off a path once they are blindfolded? If we blind ourselves, if we keep ourselves in the dark we can't expect to find light on the path.
Remember yesterday's study… all those things we are told to do to understand the fear of the Lord and to find the knowledge of God?
RECEIVE, HIDE, INCLINE, APPLY, CRIEST, LIFTEST, SEEKEST, SEARCHEST!
Actions, verbs!
Here read it again…
Pro 2:1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
Pro 2:2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
Pro 2:3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
Pro 2:4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
Pro 2:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
And there is more...
Pro 2:6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
Pro 2:7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
Pro 2:8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
Pro 2:9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.
Pro 2:10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
Pro 2:11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
Pro 2:12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
Pro 2:13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
Pro 2:14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
Pro 2:15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
Pro 2:16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
Pro 2:17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
Pro 2:18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
Pro 2:19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.
Pro 2:20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
Pro 2:21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
Pro 2:22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
Righteous and wicked.
We choose.
We are told to act in upright ways - to -
RECEIVE, HIDE, INCLINE, APPLY, CRIEST, LIFTEST, SEEKEST, SEARCHEST
And when we DO NOT do as we are told is it any wonder we can be tempted away to the wicked path?
We can do absolutely nothing and hope that doing nothing is enough. Or we can do the things we are told to do and HOPE that by the grace of OUR Savior it will be enough.
We can stand without armor on and hope to live, but the chances of that are very, very slim. We are told to wear spiritual armor and we are told what that armor is.
Salvation
Righteousness
Truth
Gospel of Peace
Spirit of the Word of God
Faith
We have to choose these things.
Not, put the armor on once and never again; not, only wear one piece of the armor and no more; not, put on the armor when the mood hits us. The war we are in is ongoing- night and day, everyday. Ask soldiers that go to war if they sleep in protective gear when they are close to or among the enemy lines. We exist in the enemy's camp without any hope of survival unless we have our armor on.
We must have SALVATION first and foremost and with our head protected we must protect the rest of us and that Salvation we have in Christ is also where we get the rest of our protective gear.
We have an inheritance in Christ and the Holy Spirit will guide us and keep us in the promise of that inheritance if we allow Him. We can be blessed with all spiritual blessings. We can be before Our Savior without blame in love. We are adopted by Jesus Himself! We have redemption through His sacrifice. This is WISDOM, the knowledge of HIM and His love towards us! It is the WILL of our Savior that we be with Him! Read it! I didn't write it… HE DID!
Eph 1:2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Eph 1:8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
AMEN!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)