Purpose

 Existence is a purpose. There are some people who from the day they were born have been reliant upon others for everything that happens to them- unable to feed themselves, relieve themselves, dress themselves, speak, see, hear, or walk. What would you say their purpose is? They live but their life isn't one we'd say had any real quality to it. We believe that because we can feed ourselves, walk, talk, etc we have purpose. Yet, they exist and their purpose is in existing. We are all a part of God's plan, I believe this. Every human being born is born with the opportunity for eternal existence through Christ. Our purpose is to live, and in living to use the capabilities given to us for God. If we have no capabilities, that is what we've been given and God will use us in that capacity as well, as long as we submit ourselves to Him. 

We are not all the servant given ten talents (money) who goes on to double those talents for Christ. We can all be the servant who hid the one talent, rather than used it in any capacity- but if we hide any talent (any ability) that God has given us are turning our backs on God. Your talent, your ability that God has given you whatever it may be- and it could be something we believe is completely insignificant- is glorified by God. If your ability is to let God's will be done in You as He chooses and you are someone who has no clue what ability they have to use for God so you're not the one who hid the money and subsequently was forsaken for doing so, realize that a life lived for God unashamedly is not a hidden talent. 

We need to yield to God and allow Him to lead us, believing He leads us. All lives have a purpose in existing- and it may not be that your purpose is a grand one, but a single tiny purpose in man's sight that is everything in God's.

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We are called to compassion.

We are called to serve.

We are called to turn the other cheek.

We are called to be spitefully used… Christ was spitefully treated, we are His servants and can expect the same.

I say these things because we have placed ourselves on pedestals believing we need the kindness of others, we need respect, we need appreciation. We are so caught up in believing our lives of hardship are undeserved and make us martyrs and people to be lauded for perseverance in light of heavy burdens. We grumble, grumble, and grumble some more as our personal plans are thwarted by the seeming selfishness, bossiness, compassionless people that fill our existence. The truth is… if we are to serve unreservedly- how can anyone be selfish? If we live to serve- the more another needs the more our purpose is being fulfilled in serving, yes? I hear you saying that you could be taken advantage of… but if you are to serve without restraint, serve endlessly, serve abundantly, if your joy is to serve then you are overjoyed with being able to serve so much.  Crazy thinking? Most would think so. We've been raised in a society that thinks so. We pat ourselves on the back when we do good deeds and bask in the compliments. We grumble when what we do goes unrecognized. We are SO self-serving, self-absorbed that how we feel is so important and how we do so much in spite of how we feel is to be applauded - by someone, or lots of someones if possible. We bemoan our wretched existence in so many ways and we do so because we are the center of our lives, not God.

We exist this is our purpose, to be used of our God with HIM being first and glorified before everything, before every part of our lives. Our abilities whatever they may be, let them be used of God. If we find ourselves in the situation of the one needing instead of the one aiding, you are serving the purpose of God's by being someone another can aid. You have purpose, we all have purpose and we should not ever think that we have the right to believe our life now is not purposeful in ways we cannot begin to comprehend.

Our lives here and now serve God's purpose wondrously in ways we are unable to comprehend fully, we have the hope of heaven, the hope of salvation from all the horrors of our lives, and that hope will be fulfilled only when our Savior returns for us. 

Ecc_9:10  Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

We live now, sleep death's sleep when God determines, and live again when Christ returns for us.

All glory to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, all honor, praise and majesty to our Father God in heaven, all by the Holy Spirit we pray!  And give thanks to all! Now and forever! Amen!!!!!!!

 

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(Excerpt) The Judgment.

(The Immortality of the Soul, Is it a Scriptural Doctrine?) 

V. THE MISSION OF CHRIST

Once more: The doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul makes the body

only worthless clay, formed into a prison that binds, and fetters, and clogs the

free action of the soul, while death is the friendly messenger that bursts the

prison bars, and sets free the aspiring soul to seek its native sphere. One of the 

most influential of American preachers said lately, of one who had died, that that person "is living, and more thoroughly living to-day than any of us who are clogged and hampered and chained down by earthly impediment." This is simply the expression of the common belief of those who hold to the idea that the soul is immortal. Embodied in meter so that it can be sung, it runs on this wise:-

"Why should we start and fear to die?

What timorous worms we mortals are!

Death is the gate to endless joy;

And yet we dread to enter there."

Now we read in the word of God as follows: 

"O death, I will be thy plagues." Hos. 13:14. And again we read that "death" "shall be destroyed." 1 Cor. 15:26.

Can it be that God is going to visit with plagues, and destroy, the gate to endless joy? Is he so displeased to have his creatures entering into endless joy that he is determined to destroy the very means by which they enter that blissful state? If the words of this preacher, the language of this hymn, and the doctrine upon which they are founded, be the truth, then the Lord is going to do just the thing that is here pointed out, that is, he is going to visit with plagues. and destroy, the gate to endless joy.

But this is not all. We read further of Christ: 

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." Heb. 2:14. 

Granting the claim that death is the gate to endless joy, then from this scripture it follows, just as absolutely as logic can demonstrate, that the devil, having the power of death, is the gate-keeper. And so the Lord is not only going to destroy this "gate to endless joy," but he is going to destroy him that keeps it. Nor yet is this all. Granting not only the claim based upon the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, that death is the gate to endless joy, but also that the soul is clogged, and hampered, and imprisoned by its confinement in the body, and that it is released by death, it follows that if there had never been any death in the world, no soul could have ever been set free, and there never would have been any gate to endless joy. And as it was the devil who brought death into the world, therefore, under that doctrine, to him must be accorded the honor of setting men free from this world, and of creating and opening to men the gate of endless joy. But this is the very thing that Christ says that he himself came to do.

He says: "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me." John 14:6. 

"I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved." John 10:9. 

Therefore when the doctrine of the immortality of the soul makes death the gate to endless joy, and the friendly messenger that releases men from this world, it supplants the Saviour of the world, and bestows upon Satan the honor that is due to Christ.

And by all this we lay against the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul the legitimate and logical charge that it frustrates the purpose of God, that it nullifies the mission of Christ, and supplants the Saviour of the world. And if anything more is needed to show that between that doctrine and the truth of God there is a difference wide as eternity, it will be found in the following pages.

To be continued…

Painless.

 No more pain.  When the Bible tells us there will come a day when there is no more pain (Rev 21:4  .. neither shall there be any more pain…) do you believe this to be true?   

Is this only for the God-fearing, or is there no more pain in the world period, no more pain for anyone at all, ever? We believe the later, don't we? There is going to come a time when pain won't exist at all- this is God's word, God's truth.

If pain is wiped out of existence entirely that would mean no one would ever feel pain again, right? Right. 

Of course, right now we find it impossible to believe. We live with daily pain. Most of the people I know (adults) live with some kind of pain. Chronic pain is so very common. We have pain management clinics everywhere. Relieving pain is so common an opioid problem occurred. People would take pain relievers for real pain and then find it impossible to go without them, addiction would occur and from there it turned into a nightmare for many people. Pain.

To realize that one day pain won't exist, not physical, not mental, not emotional, not spiritual… no pain at all- truly this is a miracle we all look forward to experiencing. 

If you believe in the immortality of the soul and immediate judgment, and sentencing from that judgment at the time of your death, or a loved one's death then you cannot believe that there will ever be a day where pain is no longer in existence.  It's true.  Why do I say that? Because if you are judged at death and your sentence is not to go to heaven but to a place of what you believe to be eternal punishment, then that punishment would include pain. Pain will still be in existence, and our God tells us there will be no more pain.  He doesn't add notes to that, saying… 'except for…'  Just that there will be no more pain. 

There is no eternal punishment going to take place for an immortal being who has not made it to heaven. God's plan is so much more of God- of love, than man's Satan led delusions. God's ultimate plan is the complete and utter end to all pain for all time, for all. The evil will be consumed by fire until they are nothing but ash that disappears into nothingness- this is Biblical truth, God's truth.  We have to keep studying God's word and pray to be able see through all of Satan's deceptions! 

May God bless us all as we seek ONLY TRUTH, for HE IS TRUTH!

All through Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior, now and forever!!!!!!!

Amen.

(Excerpt) The Judgment.

(The Immortality of the Soul, Is it a Scriptural Doctrine?) 

IV. A CLEAN UNIVERSE

To put away sin and plant righteousness in its stead, is the mission of Christ to this world. 

That he might accomplish this, he had to make the awful sacrifice of himself, the Creator of the universe. "Now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." Heb. 9:26. 

By the greatness of the sacrifice we may judge of the enormity of sin, and how abhorrent it is in the sight of God, and also how widely contrary it is to every principle of the government of the King of eternity. To deliver man from its thralldom he spared not his own Son. Rather than to see the blight and stain of sin upon the fair face of his universe, God gave up the "Son of his love" to die the cruel death of the accursed tree. John says: "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." 1 John 3:8. The work of the devil is sin; for he says, "He that committeth sin is of the devil." Therefore when it is said that the Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the devil, it is simply expressing, in other words, that which we quoted from Paul, that Christ appeared to put away sin.

As therefore Christ's mission is to destroy the works of the devil-to put away sin-it follows that as long as there is a vestige of sin remaining, his mission is not accomplished. Whatever, therefore, tends to perpetuate sin, tends just so far to delay the accomplishment of the mission of Christ. And if by any means sin were made eternal, the inevitable result would be to nullify and subvert the mission of Christ.

 Now that is exactly what is done by the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul. 

The very meaning of the word immortal being "not subject to death," it follows that if the soul be immortal, it must live eternally, whatever its condition may be; and from this again it follows that when the awful sentence is pronounced, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still," whatsoever soul it be that shall then be unjust must live so to all eternity; which is simply to make sin eternal, and so to subvert the mission of Christ. 

That sin is to be eternal is strenuously maintained by those who believe that the soul is immortal. This is shown positively in the doctrine of the eternal torment of the wicked. In fact, the belief in the eternal torment of the wicked is simply the necessary consequence of the belief in the immortality of the soul. 

We know, for the word of God says it, that the wicked will be punished. We know likewise, by the same authority, that they will be punished as long as they live (aion-a lifetime). Now if they live eternally, it is evident that they will be in pain eternally. But the word of God says just as plainly that the wicked shall die as it says anything at all about them. "The wages of sin is death." Rom. 6:23. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Eze. 18:4. 

That word tells us of a time when "every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them," shall be heard saying, "Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Rev. 5:13. This scripture can never be fulfilled if the doctrine of eternal suffering be true, or, in other words, if the doctrine of the immortality of the soul be true; for every living intelligence joins in the song of joy and praise. Again, we read of a time when "there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away." Rev. 21:4.

 If the doctrine of eternal suffering be the truth, it is literally impossible that there can ever come a time when there shall be "no more pain."

But there stands that faithful word, that there is coming a time when there shall be no more pain; there is coming a time when every voice in the universe will ascribe "honor, and glory, and power," "unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." This is the truth of God; he has given his only-begotten Son that it might be accomplished; and we have seen that the mission of the Son is declared to be "to put away sin," to "destroy the works of the devil." And the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, in making sin eternal, and in immortalizing the works of the devil, frustrates the purpose of God and subverts the mission of Christ.

To be continued…

God Alone Knows the Heart.

 Do you know the heart of anyone? We like to think we do. How often we are found mistaken though? Divorce courts are filled with men and women who have been betrayed by someone they never imagined would betray them. They are filled with people who thought they knew the heart of someone else only to be proven wrong, terribly, heartbreakingly wrong.  Not only are divorce courts filled with the betrayed, many homes are filled with the betrayed who choose to remain with those that have betrayed them - and they do this for many reasons and it's not our place to judge.  

Why am I asking about knowing the heart of others? To make it perfectly clear that we can't know another person's heart. Try as we might, we just are not capable of knowing. Too often through life we are proven wrong when time and time again a supposed good person turns out to be deplorable. The facades we see of one another are just that, people perceive us as they choose to do so. The opposite is quite often true as well, someone you believe is awful turns out to secretly have a heart of gold, but again, we just don't know the heart of a single person. 

Psa 44:21  Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. 

1Co 4:5  Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. 

Heb 4:13  Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Job 34:21  For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings. 

Psa 139:23  Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 

Psa 139:24  And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. 

Our God knows our hearts, He knows all of us and because He is the only one who can know us so completely ONLY HE CAN JUDGE US.

Why do we suppose we have the right to deem someone unworthy of heaven, or anyone worthy of heaven? We don't really KNOW them. We like to think we do. Our hearts ache when someone we love dies and we want to imagine only good for them, but it is NOT our place to give them eternal punishment or eternal glory. How arrogant we are to even assume we have that kind of power. Satan has worked his evil deception so that it appears to be good! Satan has convinced the world of the immortality of the soul and immediate judgment after death. Satan has wormed his way into the very fabric of our lives so that we believe and tell others quite often that so and so is in heaven having a heavenly birthday, Christmas, Easter, and oh how great when so and so can meet up with their loved ones when they die too. Satan wants us to believe that we will join our loved ones who have preceded us to heaven and as soon as we are caught in that deception we have ROBBED GOD of His right to judge each and every person's eternal status. Yes, ROBBED GOD! Something you wouldn't dream of doing or even think of doing and yet unknowingly you are doing just that and you scream out your innocence to such evil. You say you didn’t know, you didn't understand! And yet, right now, if you are reading this and believe in the immortality of the soul and life right after death, you are ROBBING GOD, and you are still refusing to let go of your cherished belief because to do so would make your whole world turn upside-down. You'd have to stand out as someone who is bucking the system, turning their backs on long held truths, going against the grain, upsetting the status quo and so on. You don’t want truth, you want the comfort of Satan's deceptions that he's made so perfectly they will deceive all but the very elect. 

If you are thinking it just doesn't matter, then think again, because it matters- eternally.

God HELP us! God you know our hearts, search them and see if there is any evil in them, if there is any wicked way in us, please GOD lead us in the way everlasting, YOUR WAY not ours and most certainly not Satan's! It may be very hard, but You, oh God, you have the power, the glory and the honor! Save us from ourselves! Save us from Satan's deceptions- ALL OF THEM! Do for us all that we cannot do! Save us!

All through Your love and mercy, Your grace and beauty, Your wonder and majesty! All in You now and forever!!!!!!! In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, Your only begotten Son!  Amen.

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(Excerpt) The Judgment.

(The Immortality of the Soul, Is it a Scriptural Doctrine?) 

In short, if the doctrine of the immortality of the soul be the truth, the Bible doctrine of the judgment cannot be the truth.

And the time has now come when a choice must be made between them. 

As for us, we choose the Bible, with all its doctrine, and with all that that choice involves. 

That we do not misrepresent the popular doctrine of the immortality of the soul when we say that it puts men into heaven or hell at death, can be proved by anyone who will consult the hymn books, or the papers of the religious denominations that believe that doctrine, or listen to the average funeral discourse or revival sermon.

But that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is subversive of the Bible doctrine of the judgment is not all. By virtue of that doctrine, men have usurped the seat of the Judge of all, and have arrogated to themselves the prerogative of reading into heaven whomsoever they see fit. How often we read that such and such a person is in heaven! But what right has any man to say who is worthy of a place in that bright world? Who knows the heart?-None but God alone. He alone it is who pronounces upon the worthiness of men "to obtain that world and the resurrection from the dead," and when men take upon themselves to read into heaven this man or that man, they are simply usurping the awful prerogative of the Most High. And only for belief in the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul, no man would ever think of it. 

We repeat: It is God alone to whom belongs the right to pronounce that decision. He will pronounce it in every case, but it will be in the judgment; not at death, but at the resurrection of the dead, and before the assembled universe, and by the voice of the glorious Son of God, who hath loved us and hath washed us from our sins in his own blood; for he "hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man." John 5:27-29. Any doctrine that will lead men to thus usurp the prerogative of the Judge of all the earth, cannot be the truth. This is exactly what the doctrine of the immortality of the soul does, therefore it cannot be the truth; and as it is subversive of the Bible doctrine of the judgment, it is not only not the truth, but the belief of it is subversive of the truth.

God created man upon the earth, and gave him dominion over all upon it. He made him, not as the angels, but lower than they-inferior to the angels. Ps. 8:5; Heb. 2:7, margin. God made man upright, but through the deception of Satan he turned to crooked ways-he sinned. And although God had put all things in subjection under him, and "left nothing" that was not "put under him," yet now, says Paul, we see not all things put under him. Heb. 2:8. Through sin he has been deprived of his glory, and honor, and dominion, which God gave him, and which the Lord intended that he should forever enjoy. This sin was brought upon him by Satan, and, hard upon sin, death followed.

But when man had thus sold himself under sin, God gave by promise, and in the "fullness of time" he gave in fact, his only-begotten Son, "that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." When man had so sold himself under sin, under the curse, God gave his dear Son to redeem him from sin, from the curse, and from all condemnation. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. 8:1. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree." Gal. 3:13. "He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Cor. 5:21. "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. 8:3, 4.

To be continued… (End Excerpt) 

Judgement Day.

 Judgment Day.

A movie? Some would think that's all it is, a fictional movie. Truthfully there is a judgment day for all of us, without exception. Is judgment day important, something we need to contemplate? Think about it for a moment. The day you and I are judged is the day our eternal reward is given. When someone is judged they are found innocent or guilty based upon evidence presented. Do you believe in the judgment? You ought to, the Bible talks about it a lot. Jesus talks about it quite a bit. Do NOT take my word for this, read it for yourself. 

"I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the DAY OF JUDGMENT." Matt. 12:36. 

NOT- as many suppose, at their death. At death you no longer have an opportunity to make any choices - towards eternal life through Jesus Christ, or not. You stop having the ability to think at death. In the grave there is no thought. 

Psa 88:10  Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah. 

Psa 88:11  Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction? 

Psa 88:12  Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 

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. 

Ecc 9:6  Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.

Why would there be any talk at all of the dead knowing nothing, if they were immediately rewarded with eternal life or eternal punishment?  Why? What good is a reward or punishment if you aren't aware of it? No good. The reward and punishment comes with Christ at His return and not before!

There IS a DAY OF JUDGMENT, my Bible says so, my Jesus says so!

"The queen of the South shall rise up IN THE JUDGMENT with the men of this generation, and condemn them; for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh shall rise up IN THE JUDGMENT with this generation, and shall condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here." Luke 11:31, 32. 

The judgment- my Savior speaks of the judgment so clearly as being a very real thing. He also used parables to illustrate the truth of the judgment. Read a few…

Mat 22:-14  And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.

Mat 25:14-30  For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.  His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.  He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.  His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Mat 25:31-46  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?   When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Going to the Old Testament we read the following-

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his

commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work INTO JUDGMENT, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Eccl. 12:13, 14.

"I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool; his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him; thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; THE JUDGMENT WAS SET, and the books were opened." Dan. 7:9, 10.

"Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to EXECUTE JUDGMENT UPON ALL." Jude 14

Act 24:25  "And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and JUDGMENT to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee." 

"Because he hath appointed A DAY in the which HE WILL JUDGE THE WORLD in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." Acts 17:31. 

"As many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law; and as  many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;" "in THE DAY when God SHALL JUDGE the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel." Rom. 2:12, 16. 

"WE MUST ALL APPEAR BEFORE THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST; that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." 2 Cor. 5:10. 

"And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever."

"And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the TIME OF THE DEAD THAT THEY SHOULD BE JUDGED, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." Rev. 11:15, 18. 

Again we quote the words of Jude:

"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, TO EXECUTE JUDGMENT UPON ALL, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." Jude 14, 

"Behold, I come quickly; and MY REWARD IS WITH ME, to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. 22:12. 

"I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, WHO SHALL JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD AT HIS APPEARING AND HIS KINGDOM: Preach the word." 2 Tim. 4:1, 2. 

"The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto THE DAY OF JUDGMENT to be punished." 2 Peter 2:9.

So many text plainly speaking of a judgment day and that day being when the Lord Jesus Christ returns for us!

Another author makes these notable points-

'(1) that there is a time "appointed" for the judgment; 

(2) that this is after death; 

(3) that it is the time of reward to all, for good or evil; 

(4) that this is called the "day of judgment;" 

(5) that it is at the appearing and kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ; 

(6) that then, and not till then, it is that the righteous receive their reward; 

(7) and that the "unjust" are "reserved" until that time to be punished, and are not punished before that great day of judgment'

THINK about it please, pray and think about what this all means. Do you really believe that a person who died four thousand years ago went immediately to heaven or to a place of punishment and when Jesus comes this same person will then be called to the day of judgment to determine what his lot should be?  The absurdity of such belief is unfathomable. The Bible speaks plainly of a day of judgment, the day when Jesus Christ returns, yet people do NOT want to think about that fact with any sense of logic. They've been taught the dead go immediately to heaven or to punishment, or someplace in-between the two that the Bible NEVER speaks of where they -after death - are working out their salvation- preposterous! The Bible does not support any of that in a real exegesis of the entire word of God. Anyone can take a few scriptures here and there and make them say what they want them to say. Ask for all texts to make sense together in a very logical manner and then you are in for a big surprise. 

Satan the master of all deception has worked his evil into beliefs that so many hold to be sacred truths and yet they are not sacred truths at all. He takes them and twists them into things people will believe as they allow themselves to be blinded, refusing to see, holding fast to cherished fables and long held traditions of men. No traditions of man will trump the truth of our God, not a single one. 

God help us everyone! All through the LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST now and forever!!!!!!!  All through His love and mercy, His grace!

Only One of These Can Be Truth.

 Do you believe the Bible? 

Every single one of your beliefs that you follow as a Christian should be backed up by the Bible- every one of them. The Bible only is the inspired word of God and if anyone tells you different they are among those who are following traditions of men.

Can men and women be inspired by God today?  Yes. However, all the inspiration that men and women today are given and have been given since God's word was put together as led by the Holy Spirit, will only expound on the already established truths without changing them- without adding or taking away from them.

The Bible tells us that those led by Satan would think to change times and laws, yet so many dismiss this as if it's unimportant. A change here, another change there, a tiny tweak of change only to make things better, right? That sort of belief will only cause you to be among the deceived. You will happily go about believing you are a true Christ follower unconcerned with such things - changes and such, because you know in your heart you love God and Jesus and that's all you think matters. You will think that, and so will millions think that right up until the very moment Christ utters the words for you to get away from Him, that He doesn't know you. 

We have to have the testimony of Jesus and follow the commandments of God. We must believe the word of God above all the words any man may speak.

May the Lord Jesus our Savior, through the Holy Spirit guide us ONLY to truth! Open our eyes no matter how painful it might be for us to see the truth. Please, let us know only truth, we do NOT want to be deceived, please! All through Your amazing love, Your mercy, Your grace! Now and forever! Amen!!!!!!!

(Excerpt) The Judgment.

(The Immortality of the Soul, Is it a Scriptural Doctrine?) 

Continued from yesterday's excerpt…

*******

III. THE JUDGMENT

The judgment is one of the certainties of Bible doctrine. Time and again Jesus

sets before us the awful scenes and the all-important decisions of the judgment.

"I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." Matt. 12:36. 

"The queen of the South shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them; for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here." Luke 11:31, 32. 

In the parable of the wheat and tares, in the parable of the marriage of the king's son (Matt. 22:1-14), in the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14-30), in fact, in all his teaching, the judgment was made prominent. In Matt. 25:31-46, he sets before us a view of the very judgment itself.

Mat 22:1  And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, 

Mat 22:2  The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 

Mat 22:3  And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. 

Mat 22:4  Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. 

Mat 22:5  But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 

Mat 22:6  And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 

Mat 22:7  But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 

Mat 22:8  Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 

Mat 22:9  Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 

Mat 22:10  So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. 

Mat 22:11  And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 

Mat 22:12  And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 

Mat 22:13  Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

Mat 25:14  For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 

Mat 25:15  And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. 

Mat 25:16  Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. 

Mat 25:17  And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. 

Mat 25:18  But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. 

Mat 25:19  After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. 

Mat 25:20  And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 

Mat 25:21  His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 

Mat 25:22  He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. 

Mat 25:23  His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 

Mat 25:24  Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 

Mat 25:25  And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 

Mat 25:26  His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: 

Mat 25:27  Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. 

Mat 25:28  Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 

Mat 25:29  For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 

Mat 25:30  And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Mat 25:31  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 

Mat 25:32  And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 

Mat 25:33  And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 

Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 

Mat 25:35  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 

Mat 25:36  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 

Mat 25:37  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 

Mat 25:38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 

Mat 25:39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 

Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 

Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 

Mat 25:42  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 

Mat 25:43  I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 

Mat 25:44  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 

Mat 25:45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 

Mat 25:46  And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

The Old Testament as well as the New tells of the judgment. Solomon says:

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his

commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work

into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."

Eccl. 12:13, 14.

Daniel says: "I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool; his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him; thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the judgment was set, and the books were opened." Dan. 7:9, 10.

Isaiah, David, Job, and other prophets speak of this, as well as Solomon and Daniel. Even "Enoch, the seventh from Adam," prophesied of this, saying, "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all." Jude 14, This is not a judgment that is constantly going on during men's lives and completed at their death, so that then their reward is given, whether for good or ill. "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Heb. 9:27. Paul "reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come" (Acts 24:25), not judgment already come, nor constantly going on. There is a time appointed for the judgment 

"Because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." Acts 17:31. 

"As many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law; and as  many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;" "in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel." Rom. 2:12, 16. 

And again: "We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." 2 Cor. 5:10. 

It is not that alone that he has done in his direct personal acts for which he must account; he must answer for the fruit of his doings. "I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." Jer. 17:10. 

The time when men shall receive for that which they have done, whether it be good or bad, is at the coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the end of the world.

"And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever."

"And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." Rev. 11:15, 18. 

Again we quote the words of Jude:

"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." Jude 14, 

With this agree exactly the words of Christ: 

"Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. 22:12. 

And Paul, in his charge to Timothy, and to all ministers of Christ, says: 

"I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick [living] and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom: Preach the word." 2 Tim. 4:1, 2. 

Peter also says: 

"The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished." 2 Peter 2:9.

More texts might be given on these points, but these are sufficient. From these it is plain (1) that there is a time "appointed" for the judgment; (2) that this is after death; (3) that it is the time of reward to all, for good or evil; (4) that this is called the "day of judgment;" (5) that it is at the appearing and kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ; (6) that then, and not till then, it is that the righteous receive their reward; (7) and that the "unjust" are "reserved" until that time to be punished, and are not punished before that great day of judgment Yet, however plain all this may be, it is equally plain that there is not one of these propositions that the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul does not tend to subvert. For if, at death, righteous men enter immediately into their reward, and the unrighteous go immediately to the place of punishment, then where is there any possible room for the judgment (unless, perhaps, the absurd idea be adopted that men should spend hundreds or thousands of years in happiness or misery, and then be brought to the judgment to see whether they be worthy of that which they have enjoyed or suffered!!)?

For if at death men enter immediately into their reward or punishment, as the case may be, then it follows, if there be any judgment at all, that instead of there being a time "appointed" "after this" for judgment, there must necessarily be a judgment constantly going on in the life of each individual, and that that judgment closes at his death, and that he in consequence of judgment passed enters then upon his destiny, whether for good or for ill. It can be seen at a glance that such a view is utterly subversive of the Bible doctrine of the judgment. If such be the truth, then there can be no such thing as a day of judgment when the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment upon all, because all are judged as fast as they die; there can be no such thing as Christ judging the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom, because all the dead have been judged when they died; there can be no such thing as the "time of the dead that they should be judged" when the seventh angel sounds, and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, for all the dead will have been judged before the seventh angel shall have sounded; and there can be no such thing as reserving "the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished," because by this theory they are sent to punishment as soon as they die. 

In short, if the doctrine of the immortality of the soul be the truth, the Bible doctrine of the judgment cannot be the truth.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Jesus Will Return and Receive Me Unto Him.

 Joh 14:3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

If Jesus goes to prepare a place for us….. HE WILL COME AGAIN AND RECEIVE US TO HIM so WHERE HE IS WE WILL BE.

Has Jesus come again to receive us to Him?  

NO! A resounding NO! Jesus has NOT returned again. All those places He is preparing for us will be ours when He RETURNS for us and not a moment before. 

Believing in the immortality of the soul, that the knowledgeable part of us lives on immediately after death, negates Jesus having to return for us. If there is a system in place where those who are His simply go to Him upon death, then why does He need to return at all? Why can't things just continue on as they are? 

We are told this-

Heb 11:39  And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 

Heb 11:40  God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. 

They without us… should not be made perfect.  The they included-  Abel, Moses, Abraham, Noah… etc they were NOT made perfect, and only the perfect can live with God in His heavenly kingdom. We are made perfect in HIM. All those who are God's throughout history did NOT receive the promise.  The promise of another world, this world wasn't their home- they were just pilgrims and strangers here, as are we. We don't belong to this world but we are a part of it and until our Savior returns and receives us to Him, we stay in this world- if alive then upon the world, if dead then in death's sleep. Our bodies decay and the part of us that has knowledge is in death's sleep, while our spirit breath, the essence that gave our bodies life- not thoughts- our physical body life, that returns to God.  In death's sleep we aren't thinking any longer, we aren't able to praise God, we are stored in the grave until our Savior comes for us and calls us from the grave. We have to ask ourselves, who is Jesus calling from the grave to meet Him in the air, if NO ONE is in their grave? 

Do we have knowledge of all the details of how God does things? We don't, we are not God. We were made by God. There are secrets that belong only to Him, not us. 

Deu_29:29  The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

I know my Savior called death a sleep, I know my Savior said He would return for me- not that I would go to Him when I died, but He would come for me and call me and all those that are His from the graves to meet Him in the air.  Being called from the grave to meet the Lord in the air does not sound like some life after death mystery to unravel. We remain in the grave until we are called to meet Christ in the air upon His return. 

The world of believing in the immortality of the soul, and immediate life after death is not of God it is of the father of lies, Satan. 

How many people has Satan seduced to his evil way through this corrupted, perverted belief? How many people are deceived by Satan and don't even realize it because they refuse to believe the truth? How many are going to tell Christ they are His when Christ returns and He is going to tell them to get away from Him, that He doesn't know them? He won't know them because they've refuse truth only to cherish lies. Satan is a deceiver, and only by seeking truth can we not be deceived.  We are told this- 

Mat_24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect

It's not possible for the very elect to be deceived, but Satan will deceive ALL those he possibly can, anyway he can. The art of deception is those deceived being unaware of the deception. God won't allow any who seek His truth in all sincerity - to be deceived. 

Help us, Lord, not to fall into the deceptions of Satan that are surrounding us and passing themselves off as Your truth when they are really lies. Please, save us from all evil! Keep us in YOU now and forever, Lord, now and forever! Amen!!!!!!!

(Excerpt)

(The Immortality of the Soul, Is it a Scriptural Doctrine?) 

Continued from yesterday's excerpt…

The coming of the Lord, and the resurrection of the righteous dead, are directly connected by Paul thus:

"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; 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." 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. 

And again: "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 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. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 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. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" 1 Cor. 15:51-55.

"Then shall be brought to pass the saying." When?-"At the last trump," certainly; "for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised." When is it that the trump shall sound?- "This we say unto you by the word of the Lord, . . . The Lord himself shall descend from heaven . . . with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise." "Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." Then it is, and not till then, that men shout, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" But through belief in the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul, it is now sought to be made to appear that this "saying" is "brought to pass" when men die! There can be no more direct perversion of the word of God than to represent this saying as being brought to pass when men die. But what does the doctrine of the immortality of the soul care about the perversion of the word of God? 

The first time that that doctrine was ever uttered, it was in direct contradiction of

the express word of the Lord himself. The Lord said, in the event of man's disobedience, "Thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:17); and the devil said, "Ye shall not surely die" (Gen. 3:4; Rev. 20:2.) And there is no shadow of reason to expect that the doctrine will, in reality, ever assume any other position. 

It is not alone a perversion of Scripture to so apply the "saying" in question; it is alike a perversion of the plainest principles of reason and experience. For instance, here are death and a saint of God struggling for the mastery. Presently death obtains the mastery. The saint lies lifeless; death has the victory. When he is dead, is that a time to claim victory over death? When he is being lowered into the grave, is that a time to shout the victory over the grave?-Nay, verily. But it is not to be always so. There is One who exclaims, "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell [the grave] and of death." Rev. 1:18. And when that glorious One "shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God, and with power that bursts the bars of the cruel grave and destroys the strength of death, then the saint arises triumphant over death, and "then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." Then the saint can shout exultingly, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? "And, "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord

Jesus Christ." And thrice thanks, yea, "blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead," 1 Peter 1:3.

However, it is not alone through the subversion of the doctrine of the resurrection that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul strikes against the coming of the Lord. The issue is directly joined. For by those who believe in the natural immortality of the soul, it is held that those who die in the Lord go straight to heaven; that they go direct to the place where the Lord is; and so they sing,- "Then persevere till death Shall bring thee to thy God; He'll take thee, at thy parting breath, To his divine abode." - Gospel Hymns, No 112.

And obituaries are actually written by them such as the following, which we read not long since in the Christian Cynosure: "Alvah Palmer went to heaven from" a certain place in New York; and then the notice went on to tell when and of what he died, etc. And Dr. Talmage, in relating how a certain saintly woman was "emparadised," tells how the chariot of Elijah was outdone; for there it must have taken some little time to turn out the chariot and hitch up the horses; but here, in this instance, the transition was all made instantaneously, without waiting for either horses or chariot! And all this when a person died! These are only notable

expressions of the common idea of those who believe in the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul. 

Now, if these things be true,-if it be true that death brings people to God; that men and women go direct to heaven from their homes in this world, and this so instantaneously that there is no time to get ready the chariot of God, as was done when Elijah went without dying at all,-we say if these things be true, then there is literally no place left for the coming of the Lord. It would be simply the height of absurdity to talk about the Lord's coming to this world after people who are not here at all, but are, and have been, for years and hundreds of years, in heaven,-in the very place which he leaves to come here! This is why the doctrine of the coming of the Lord is so neglected, so despised, in fact. Believing this, and there is no need to believe in the coming of the Lord; indeed, it is a palpable inconsistency to believe in it. Believing this, and there is no need to look, or wait, for the coming of the Lord; all there is for such to do is to wait till death shall come and take them; and so death-"the last enemy," "the king of terrors"-is given the place and the office of Him who is our life (Col. 3:4), of Him "that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood."

But this belief is not the "belief of the truth." There is no element of truth, in any form, in the idea of people going to God or to heaven when they die. Christ himself said as plainly as tongue can speak, "Whither I go, ye cannot come." John 13:33. Then when his disciples were troubled because of these words, he told them, in words equally plain, of the event upon which they must place their only hope of being with him where he is, and that event is, "I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:3. And

that word "that" shows positively that that is the only way in which men may ever be with him where he is. Therefore the coming of the Lord is the Christian's hope. And the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, in supplanting, as it certainly does, the doctrine of the coming of the Lord, supplants the Christian's hope. Then when the doctrine of the immortality of the soul sends men to heaven before the end of the world, before the sounding of the last trump, before the time when the Lord himself shall descend from heaven and raise the dead, before he appears in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and sends his angels to gather together his elect-we say when the doctrine of the immortality of the soul puts men into heaven before the occurrence of these events, it does it in defiance of the word of Christ, which liveth and abideth forever. Therefore we say it stands proved that the belief of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is subversive of the doctrine of the second coming of Christ, and, in that, is subversive of the truth of God.

(End excerpt)

The Lord's Second Coming.

 The Lord is going to return and when He does, He's going to raise the dead. 

The dead are not risen already, He is going to raise them when He returns, He says so.

He doesn't say He's going to put people back into their bodies so He can raise them.

He tells us, Lazarus is sleeping and His followers say it's best not to wake Lazarus, it's good he sleeps, and Jesus tells them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 

Death's sleep- like any sleep, you don't know anything while you're sleeping, the next thing you know is waking up in the morning. You don't recall the world around you at all while you are sleeping- you know nothing.

Death's sleep is a blessing. Our loved ones aren't in heaven waiting on us and able to see us suffer down here on earth. They are sleeping death's sleep and when Christ comes they will be raised up, just like we will be. Abraham, David, Isaac, Joseph….all the Apostles, all of them are sleeping death's sleep and they'll be raised from their graves when Christ returns. What a glorious day that will be!

May we be among the dead who rise, or the living who are changed when our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ returns for us! 

All through His amazing love, now and forever!!!  Amen!!!!!!!

(Excerpt)

(The Immortality of the Soul, Is it a Scriptural Doctrine?) 

Continued from yesterday's excerpt…

II. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

There is another doctrine of the Bible which holds just as important a place in the divine scheme as does that of the resurrection; and that is, the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

This likewise is subverted by a belief in the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul. The subversion of this truth is, in a measure, involved in that of the resurrection, because without the second coming of Christ there would be no resurrection, and anything that destroys belief in the resurrection of the dead, by that means destroys faith and hope in the second coming of the Lord.

That the event of the resurrection of the dead depends wholly upon the second coming of Christ, is easily shown by the Scripture, which, of course, in these things is the only authority. We have before shown that the righteous are rewarded only at the resurrection; and to show plainly the connection, we will repeat a verse before quoted: "When thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just." Luke 14:13, 14. 

And of his own coming, Jesus says: "Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. 22:12. 

(The Immortality of the Soul, Is it a Scriptural Doctrine?)  (Excerpt)