And I heard a voice from heaven saying
unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die
in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit,
that they may rest from their labors; and their
works do follow them. and I looked, and behold
a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto
the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown,
and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel
came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice
to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle,
and reap: for the time is come for Thee to reap;
for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And He that sat
on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and
the earth was reaped.
Revelation 14:13-16
Before we move on I must address the symbol of the mark, one on the forehead the other on the hand. Whatever that mark be, whether it is physical, or implanted device, or just mental, whatever it is, it is apparent that the mark is showing a person(s) as to whom that person believes and belongs. Discuss all a person wants to discuss, or speculate, the mark is not something that an Authentic Christian will receive. As for me, this mark on the head represents that a person has fallen prey to false teaching and heresy. It is this mental attitude about God that is in full opposition to God. This person carries out all that the beast, that one who is Satan, his will. For the one who receives the mark of the beast on the hand, that person is working to do the will of God. We see this mark played out in our lives by those who accept immorality, same-sex marriage, abortion, and other such sins. They do, not just talk, the will of Satan. The history of Babylon shows that this beast has its foundation in Babylon who from it very founder, Nimrod, a grandson of Noah who fell into opposition to God and to gain power developed another god(s) for the people to worship and morality was not something Babylon detested, rather they accepted it as normal.
We must address hell as there are many theories as to what this place is and where it is located. If you read Dante' Infernal you get his idea of hell. Some preachers preach hell fire so loudly and vehemently to somehow scare people into becoming a Christian. Some preachers say little about hell. What do you believe about hell? Let us look at this so that we get the truth about this word and how it affects people.
There are three words in the New Testament or in Greek for those words are found in the Septuagint, and one word used by the Hebrews. The three words in the New Testament are: hades, gehenna, and tartarus. In the Old Testament: sheol. First, and foremost: I do not believe in soul sleep a doctrine found with Jehovah Witnesses. Man dies, no one gets out of this life alive. It is what happens to a man who dies? Does this man simply go into the grave? If man has a spirit, and he does, what happens to his spirit? What happens to the spirit of a sinner who dies, and what happens to the spirit of the one who believes in Jesus Christ? All sides of this subject bring their Scriptures to prove their doctrine. In this blog I do not have the time or is it within what I am teaching to delve deeply into this subject. I may do so but not in this blog. I will keep it simple. Man dies! God resurrects! You cannot deny death! You man not believe in a resurrection! If you believe in a resurrection then why get yourself so tangled up with all the speculations and theories? What does that have to do with salvation? Nothing! You either believe that Jesus Christ is God, the Savior, the One who will resurrect the dead, Who will judge people and will cast away the sinner and save for eternity the believer. Here is the crux of the matter: "Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). There it is! You must change from the inside/out to become holy. No, not in this lifetime will a man become fully holy for within man is still the fallen soul, the very thing that opposes God and desires to lead you away from Him. It is up to you to grow in holiness. Many people go to great lengths to reach holiness. Holiness is not knowledge, while that may be worthwhile and it is, and our holiness must be practical, that does not mean that that person does not need to know Scripture holiness is the habit of being one mind with God, according as we find His mind described in Scripture. A holy person will shun all forms of sin. Sin simply is missing the mark. A true holy person will do all that he/she can to do what is right. For instance: do you follow all the rules of the road, or do you speed because you love speed or that you do not see a policeman? Do you dress appropriately with respect according to the occasion? Are you denying yourself and picking up your cross and following Jesus? Are communing with God in prayer, reading the Bible and in assembling with God's people? Heaven is a holy place and only holy people will live in heaven. Does this mean that due to sin, that sin that continues to reside in me make me unholy? No, unless that sin is allowed to make you unholy. A Holy God came to die for you, cannot you do all to be living a holy life for the One, the Holy One, who came for you?
What we have learned from the opening Scriptures is that God will come and will judge the world and blessed are those who die in the Lord. Do not become so overwhelmed with all the talk, the speculations, the theories, those things which need to be discussed, but they are not what saves you: Only your belief in Jesus Christ, and by that you change the course of your life to follow Him, to grow in holiness. The question: will you?
Boast not thyself of tomorrow;
for thou knowest not what
a day may bring forth.
Proverbs 27:1
Live a holy life: Now!
Richard L. Crumb
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