BIBLE MEDITATION:
Revelation 20:15; “And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
ENCOURAGING WORD:
Let me start out by saying this; If you believe that the Bible is the true and inerrant Word of God, listen up, this message is for you. If you do not believe the Bible is the true Word of God, take note, whether you believe it or not doesn’t change what is inevitable. We all have a soul and every one of us will end up with a resurrected body that will live forever in one of two places for all eternity, whether you accept it as truth or not.
When you read and understand the Bible, you will find that Jesus spoke more about hell than He did about heaven. This is because He wants us to be fully aware that hell is for real, and His wish is that all would repent and come to the Saving Grace of Salvation. But as the following Bible verse says in the following Bible verse,
Matthew 7:13-14; “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
The last part of this Bible verse is scary, to say the least, “and there are few who find it.” These are Words that were spoken of by Jesus Christ, and once again, it boils down to, do you believe the Bible is the true Word of God or not. Why is it that so many people will say that they believe in God and then not take the Bible seriously. I can tell you what the most obvious answer is to that question. It is because very few people read the Bible for themselves because they would rather trust in their certain religion to tell them the truth than to read what the Bible actually says. That is like playing Russian Roulette. If you are not attending a church that teaches through the Bible, Book by Book, Chapter by Chapter and Verse by Verse, you are not being taught the whole counsel of God and most likely you are missing most of what the Bible has to teach. That is a huge gamble taking into account that the Bible is the Word of God, the Creator of the Universe.
I’m going to share a story out of the scriptures that gives us a glimpse into the reality of the unknown. It comes from Luke 16:19-31; ““There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. (Which was Paradise at that time) The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he (The Rich Man)cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted, and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ Then he (The Rich Man) said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.’ ”
First of all, let me say that this is not a parable. This is a true story because it names the participants. A general definition of "parable" is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels. Parables are not true stories of actual living people, but lessons for us to learn from. This story should be a wake up call to all those that do not believe that hell is for real. Hell is definitely for real and as much as I hate to say this, most likely we all know someone that is already in there and will be spending eternity in the “Lake of Burning Fire.” Image this if you will, say someone that we know, and love is already in Hell. I can most assuredly guarantee that those that left this world before us and are in hell as we speak are wishing that they could reach their loved ones that they left behind to warn them of the reality of hell. Here is the sad truth about this, those that did not receive Jesus Christ before that passed away are there for all eternity regardless of what religions say. But we, who are still alive and well, still have a choice to make. Do we want to be one of those that wish they could come back to warn loved ones of what lies ahead if you are unsaved or do you want to take this seriously and give your life to Jesus Christ while there is still time?
Another thing to understand about this Bible story is this. Nobody that has passed away can come back to visit those of us that are still alive. It is very clear in the Bible verse that I just read where it says, “And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ So, if you feel you had an encounter with a deceased friend or a family member, it was not the person that you think it was. They can't come back to our time domain. I will give you an example without naming certain people. I’ll leave it up to you to determine who you believe I am referring too. There are certain angelic beings that are bringing a message of peace to our world. They are saying that we need to bring peace to our world so that Jesus can return and set up His Earthly Kingdom. If you have any knowledge of the Bible whatsoever, you should know that Jesus said there would be no peace on earth until He returned.
We read in Matthew 24:22; “ And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”
Does this sound like Jesus is coming back to a peaceful world…not hardly. Things are going to be so bad that if Jesus didn’t return, no life would be spared, and Satan would have thwarted the plan of God.
Jesus said in Luke 12:51; “Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division”
“Peace will not come to the world until Christ returns. Jesus did not come to bring peace as we just read, at least not in this world as we know it right now.
Now back to our loved ones not being able to contact the living.
2 Corinthians 11:14-15; “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.”
Satan’s Ministers (Demons) can appear to us in the likeness of a loved one, and most likely they will bring a message of deception. I’m going to give you an example for you to consider. Like I mentioned a couple minutes ago, there are certain angels saying that we must strive for world peace so that Jesus can return. I can promise you by the written authority of the Bible, these are demons appearing as an angels of light. These demons are also those that are giving false messages to those that claim to have been visited by an angel or even Jesus in some cases. They are parading around bringing a message that a revival is coming to the world. Side note; A revival is coming, but not until the first 3-1/3 years of The Great Tribulation Period. These so-called prophets (false prophets I might add) are being visited by demonic beings that are bringing deception into the world just as Jesus said would happen in the end days. I’m going to share three Bible verses with you that validate exactly what I just said.
Matthew 24:24; “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.”
1 Timothy 4:1; But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,"
2 Timothy 4:3-4; For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths."
These messages that I just read are all being fulfilled in our time just as prophesied back in the days of the Old and New Testament by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was working through prominent men of God to share what would be in the future. You have to be blind not to see that these prophecies are coming to fruition right before our own eyes. Let me ask you a question. When was the last time you heard these messages' being taught in your denominational church? Most likely you haven’t, because the great deception in these days is that we will usher in this great peaceful Utopia and then Jesus will set up His Earthly Kingdom. This is a lie from the pit of hell, and it is being taught from the pulpits of today. There may however, be a short period of time where things might seem to be getting better, but it will be short lived and then all hell will break loose. Do not believe for a second that Jesus will be returning to a peaceful world.
Here is another Bible verse that will explain a few things. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11; “The coming of the lawless one (The Antichrist) is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,”
In other words, if you refuse to believe the truth of the Bible, God will send you a strong delusion so that you will believe the lies of the AntiChrist. You need to be grounded in the Word of God and be Born-Again into the Holy Spirit in order to understand the truth of what is coming. This is why there are so many arguments about truth because those that are not Born-Again cannot know the truth, so they have to allegorize scriptures of the Bible to mean something that makes sense to them. There is absolute truth, but it can only be received from the Holy Spirit.
That can’t happen until you accept what Jesus did for you on the cross which is written in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,"
This is the Gospel in a nutshell. But therein lies the problem. A lot of people have the knowledge on scriptures in their mind, but it has never reached their heart. A good way to explain this is, some people will miss heaven by eighteen inches, the average distance between the brain and the heart. Knowledge of the Bible will not save you.
This statement is validated in the following verse, Matthew 7:21-23; “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”
Jesus is clearly saying that no works of the flesh can save you. No level of knowledge can save you, only Jesus Christ can save you. Unless you have a relationship with Jesus, you will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
One more example of how this can be understood in terms that we all should understand. We all have people in our life that we know, but we don’t hang out with them so to say. They know you, but not in a way that equates to any real friendship. Now, let's say they get married, but because you haven’t reached out them during your life in friendship, you were not invited to the wedding. Personally I knew a lot of people that didn’t invite me to their wedding, because I never really got to know them personally. In the same way, of course Jesus Knows you, but in the same way, you will not be invited to His wedding ceremony which will consist of believers only because you never spent any time with Him in fellowship. Because of that, you will be cast into the “Lake of Burning Fire” because you never reached out to Jesus with a personal relationship. Here is a good time to say this, Christianity is a relationship with Jesus Christ, not a religion as most people believe. Religion does not save you!
Just so you don't misunderstand what I just said, if you are a true Christian, you should attend a church regularly, but if you are just going to a church because you think it will get you into heaven, you're wrong. There will be millions of church going people that will not be in heaven because they are being told by their pastor that good works will get them into heaven.
A Bible verse that I quote very often because it needs to be understood comes from John 3:3; “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
You must be Born-again into the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus Christ into your heart. When this conversion is real you should start to see a change in your life. You will start to transform into the image of Jesus Christ.
It says in Romans 12:2; “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
What is the perfect will of God? That we continue to transform into the image of Jesus Christ so that we may prove what is that good and acceptable will of God. I need to share this very popular Bible verses that all of us should have heard in our lives at least one time or another.
John 3:16-18; “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
This is it; do you believe the Bible is the true and inerrant Word of God or do you reject it. Your answer to this question will determine where you spend eternity. The only way to the Father in heaven is through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
We read this truth in John 10:1-2; “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber." But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.”
Jesus is the Door!
Do not wait another day, the age of grace could close at any time. Once it closes then the worst time in human history will be ushered in and there will be nothing that you can do to escape it.
A message from my heart. I don’t send out these messages to earn points in heaven, I know in whom I believe and where I am going. I send these messages out because of what was said in 2 Peter 3:9; “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
This is also my hope, believe it or not. Please take God's Word seriously.
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.”
God Bless you in all you do and Take Care!
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