Believing in the here and now…or the Eternal!

Believing in the here and now…or the Eternal!
By Don Twobears

Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

Most of us have read this passage before and the Bible Student understands what is being said by our Lord. The entire reason that we die is to bring us to the point of Judgement before the Lord God Almighty and the demarcation line is “What have we done about our SIN”. The reason the Lord gave us His Word is to understand that Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to the Father and Heaven. Once we were Convicted by the Holy Spirit concerning our SIN, we asked for the Lord’s forgiveness of our SIN. This in turn brought us to the point, that we no longer needed to go before the Judgement Seat of Jesus Christ, because HE had already paid the price for SIN and we voluntarily accepted our position. There must be a place, that we come to, where we recognized that we are a fallen people in God’s eyes. It is the place where we confront our position concerning our own SIN, a place where we must decide whether we wish to be cleansed of our SIN or not. This place is in front of the Cross of Jesus Christ on Calvary and to “Live” we must leave our SIN there, in opposition, we simply walk away, which would lead to “death”. Believe it or not, it truly is that simple!

Take one more look at the verse above and note, “appointed unto man once to “DIE”. This can also say alot about what happens when a person truly DIES and then what happens next…JUDGEMENT! It can also be termed, that a person that does not accept Jesus Christ, will definitely DIE…and not just to this world, but for Eternity as well. Think of it in terms of a person who is lost, never accepts the Gift of Salvation, they do indeed DIE and then there is the Great White Throne of Judgement. Would you not call this the Line of Demarcation?

Everything I have been talking about, concerns our single and simple decision of whom we wish to follow, Jesus Christ or satan. When the Word of God talks about the “Path to destruction being wide and broad and that many will walk it”, think for a moment of what that means. It is apparent, that the lost choose to be deceived, because they prefer to have riches here on earth, therefore they choose the short life, right? Actually there is no short life, we who are born-again live just as long as they do, it’s the second step into Eternity that changes. It is not the length of time in Eternity, because we will exist just as long as those that turned their backs on Salvation. The point of difference is WHERE we will spend Eternity and that decision of WHERE…is made in this Life!

John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, “I” am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by “ME”. (The Emphasis is mine) Again we see the simplicity of the Lord and His Holy Word to us. The verse tells us, without deviation, that Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to Heaven and the Father. We must remember that Jesus Christ said John 14:9 “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?” Jesus Christ IS God!

It is paramount for us to understand what we have just read, when Jesus Christ was here, they were seeing God! This amazes me every time I read or think on this, what an opportunity it must have been to be one of the Disciples! In opposition, it bears remembering Judas Iscariot and his deception of our Lord, that has got to be the 2nd most heinous act of anyone on earth. Then as you think on that, the simple act of turning your back on the gift of the Lord…is just as bad. All together, accepting the Gift of Life through Jesus Christ, is the most special gift we could receive. The distance between Heaven and Hell are as far as the East is from the West and the togetherness with our Savior is infinitely closer than we would ever be able to imagine! Absolutely incredible!

The single most important thing to remember is the “Relationship”. You, as an individual, either have a Relationship with Jesus Christ or you don’t! This speaks volumes about that Individual, depending on his/her decision and subsequent relationship or lack there of. It must be noted here and now that Jesus Christ (God) did indeed create everything and everyone on this planet. To that end we must also note that man, any man, has never created anything! That being the case, God still and forever will, own everything and everyone and there isn’t a thing any one man can do to change that. It must also be noted, no one individual can have a single thought, except that the Lord God allows it. Remarkable isn’t it?!

This last sentence then begs the question by the Lost, “Then why does God allow such horrible events to take place”?? The obvious answer is that God does NOT have a problem with DEATH, by whatever means. It is you and I, that has the problem! If that individual truly belongs to the Lord God, then they will be immediately in the Presence of the Lord God! Those that do not know our Lord, will reside in Sheol/Hades until the Lord calls them before the Great White Throne of Judgement! As things are right now, no one exists in Hell or the “Lake of Fire”! That particular place was created by God for satan and the fallen Angels, but will now be the last place for those that turn their backs on Jesus Christ. How sad and horrible it must be, to actually know that you are counted among those destined for Hell or the “Lake of Fire and Brimstone”. The question still remains though, “Why would anyone, thinking they are in their right mind, allow themselves to be thrown into such a place, as Hell, for all of Eternity”?!

For some it may be that they simply do not understand what they are being told. For others, usually the majority, they do NOT wish to be under the governing hand of God. It is most evident, especially today in these closing hours before the Rapture, that the majority are defiant to God, because they have been deceived by satan. In the same manner that he deceived Eve, people today think or believe they are too good, too smart or too intelligent to believe in a “Just God”. They are lied to and believe as Eve did, that they can be a God. What we usually end up with, are individuals that think they are better than others.

The Scientist Bill Nye, is one of these people and he wants the Creation belief to be removed from our schools entirely, in his view, the evolution theory is predominate. How sad to know where he will reside for Eternity, if he does not change his heart and accept Jesus Christ. How sad that he chooses to use his Profession and his standing in the world, to promote himself and his ideas. The Lord God has given him a wealth of knowledge and in turn he uses it to discredit the one Person, that has given him everything! He wants to go down in history as a great mind, gifted with Great thoughts, even though we all know he is incorrect. How sad to be gifted with knowledge and yet so ignorant at the same time!

Have you ever noticed it is the “Most Knowledgeable, or the most Prominent”, that are against the Lord?! We all know that man is a fallen man, these individuals are the epidemic of ignorant people, that have chosen to be against God in any way possible. They have chosen to be important, Wise or intelligent for such a small period of time, yet they will suffer for all of Eternity in Hell. In the Beatitudes, we read; Matthew 5:1-12 “And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him. And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” After reading these verses I have a problem with anyone that is not Humble of Heart, including myself. Therefore I pray that I am humbled of the Lord before anything!

I am not sure how to phrase this, so I wish to say it, how it comes into my mind, “I am totally lost without Jesus Christ! I must hide in HIM! And as John the Baptist said, “I must decrease and HE must increase”! Let HIM shine until I am no longer seen in any manner what-so-ever! Because HE sees me, HE knows me….for me that is enough for all Eternity!” I know something, that the majority of people don’t know and it should be this way with every Born-Again Christian, we should be and are Hidden in Jesus Christ! There is no other life for us than that, HE is our beginning and our end, our first and our last! Jesus Christ SHOULD be all things to us!

PRAISE THE LORD!!!