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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I am a former Roman Catholic, and I am now non-denominational. I now believe all disciples of Christ are 'free' to study Scripture Alone, and not follow any traditions and doctrines from men. We must be like little 'infants'.
Something that I have spent much time studying is what Scripture, and Scripture Alone, teaches the punishment for sin is.
I have come to understand that the punishment for sin is death.
The chaff will be burned up….really.
The wages of sin is death…..really.
The lake of burning fire and sulfur is the Second Death….really.
The wicked shall perish…..really.
Rome denies that the wicked will perish. Rome does not believe there is any such thing as death.
Death, according to Scripture, means the end of life.
God has the power to give life, and God has the power to end life.
The Gospel is all about LIFE and DEATH.
All men who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake to stand at the Judgment.
Those in Christ will receive eternal life.
Those who have rejected Christ will perish. They will suffer the Second Death and NEVER be resurrected again….ever.
I have concluded that the punishment for sin is death.
I wanted to ask if other fellow Christians have come to realize the same. The Romish doctrine of eternal torture is a man created pagan teaching. It is a lie.
In Jesus,
Berean2005
Hi B,
Do you understand the second death-the Lake of Fire?
How do you read Is 65.24, Mk 9.42-48,2 Thess 1.7-9, Rev 14.9-11,Rev 19.20,and Rev 21.8?ETERNAL LIFE vs THE SECOND DEATH:
John 4:10: Jesus answered, “If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water.” (The Message Translation).
(1st) DEATH
If death as we know it is “sleeping” (and the bible does call it sleeping), well, it is a sleep that is still in enmity with all living things. Almost all people, regardless of how rough their lives may be, love living. I have watched animals… they love living and don't want that kind of sleep… even flies don't want to be swatted. It is interesting to reflect that as many people as have lived and died since the world began, we still have not developed a comfort zone to say, “you know what, this thing is done everyday, let me take it in stride!” Most everbody hates it and God recognizes it as our enemy and we agree (even those who speak of gazillion recyclings of life). I haven't heard of someone who had such a wonderful near-death experience that they were eager to give up the ghost and be dead for sure. Not even those who attempt suicide…though their bleak dispair and need may drive them to make further attempts. So death can't be a good thing without our hope in Jesus. And with our hope in Christ, we who love him all eagerly await that day when we shall see him face to face, when we shall evermore be with him. It is not to say we want to die. Far from it. It is our Lord and Father we want to be with as we've tasted of the fullness of joy in their presence, even here on earth.Now the SECOND DEATH.
Personally, based on the word of God, I believe that it is NOT merely a ceasing to be…. but that it is so awful a thing as to require us to vehemently avoid it by fully living to Christ and helping others know that God sent his son to the world for this purpose, to save us, if we would believe and follow him (John 3:16-18).Now I've heard people say: How can God let any one suffer infinitely in a Lake of Fire? And my only response is, how could we still be suffering the effects of the fall since Adam and Eve ate of that tree of knowledge so many thousands of years ago (or millions and billions depending on whether or not you count by genealogy)? … and it gets worse on earth according to current world news and the Bible… This does not even speak of the private issues in each individual's life or family! I mean this is not exactly the Garden of Eden…and yet, have God's lovingkindness and mercies attended us daily! How much then in that place of the second death when those mercies eventually cease, when God turns his face against the unrepentent wicked and the son declares them enemies like their father, rather than friends and brethren and bride, children of his own Father?
If this death (sleep) is a terrible thing for mankind–which so many beloved saints of God have experienced, even Jesus for our sake, who would be so foolish as to consider the Second Death of which Jesus warns so expressly, something to be complacent about (mind you, no one living has as yet experienced the second death to bring back a fair report)! And if it means that the dead just cease to be, then what is it about ceasing to be that makes the living so abhor it, even in regards to the first death.
For all its issues and problems, living as we know it is preferred to dying on any day by just about everyone everywhere in the world, and that, tells me that there's nothing worst than the SECOND DEATH.
Jesus, give me your living water to drink that I may live with you and to as many as would drink of you. We thank you and say blessings and honor, riches and dominion be ever unto you who have so redeemed us to our Father. Amen.
Death really means death.
“You shall not surely die” is a lie fom the father of lies.
Psalm 145:20
20Yahweh preserves all those who love him, But all the wicked he will destroy.When God says the punishment is death, He really means the punishment is death.
Luke 13:1-5
1Now there were some present at the same time who told him about the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2Jesus answered them, “Do you think that these Galilaeans were worse sinners than all the other Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? 3I tell you, no, but, unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way. 4Or those eighteen, on whom the tower in Siloam fell, and killed them; do you think that they were worse offenders than all the men who dwell in Jerusalem? 5I tell you, no, but, unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way.”Jesus says unless you repent, you will all perish. You will perish in the same way as having your blood poured out. You will perish in the same way as being crushed by a falling tower. Jesus is teaching the people, unless you repent of your sins, you will die. The punishment for sin is death.
I used to be Roman Catholic. I know how hard it is the break from the Roman teaching. Rome has 'twisted' the word 'death' to mean 'life'. Rome teaches the wicked shall never perish. Rome teaches the wicked shall live forever as they are brutally tortured by God for all eternity. This is what we are taught from the time we are tiny little children. It is very hard to break away from.
Our only hope is to say to God, “I don't know anything, teach me.” And proceed to conduct a 'Scripture Alone' and 'In Context' study on this and all subjects.
If we 'cling' to a certain doctrine, and search the Bible for 'proof texts' to support that doctrine, I guess we can find verses that we can take out of context to support whatever we wish.
God has the power to create life.
God has the power to end life.
There is no immortality apart from the Lord Jesus Christ.
God sets before us LIFE and DEATH. Choose life.
In Jesus,
Berean2005
Question to think about:
How come Jesus never tells the woman at the well He can deliver her from being sentenced to the 'eternal torture chamber'? How come the chamber of horrors never comes up?
All Jesus tells the woman at the well is that He can give her eternal life — immortality.
If the Roman doctrine is true, then why didn't Jesus tell the woman He could deliver her from an eternity of being brutally tortured by God by being burned alive like a hotdog on a barbeque?
Another question:
The rich young man.
Why didn't the rich young man ask Jesus, “Good teacher, how can I escape being tortured by God for all eternity?”
No, the rich man asks, “Good teacher, how can I possess eternal life?”
The rich man wanted to know how he could live forever. The rich man did not mention anything about escaping from a 'place' called 'hell'.
Matter a fact, Jesus NEVER preaches about a 'place called hell'.
Jesus preached about the Valley of Hinnom, a VERY significant place in the Old Testament.
Why was Christ's Valley of Hinnom preaching SILENCED and COVERED UP and REPLACED by the word 'hell' ?
That's another good question.
In Jesus,
Berean2005
Isaiah 66:24
24They shall go forth, and look on the dead bodies of the men who have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring to all flesh.Here Scripture teaches us that the wicked have all been killed by God, and we see powerful language of their worm never dying and their fire never being quenched. This is powerful language that the wicked will be completely and utterly destroyed by God's fierce wrath, with no hope of ever rising again.
The wicked are DEAD.
The ENTIRE CONTEXT of Isaiah is God's wrath DESTROYS and KILLS and CONSUMES.
Mark 9:43-48
43If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having your two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire, 44'where their worm doesn't die, and the fire is not quenched.' 45If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life lame, rather than having your two feet to be cast into Gehenna, into the fire that will never be quenched — 46'where their worm doesn't die, and the fire is not quenched.' 47If your eye causes you to stumble, cast it out. It is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna of fire, 48'where their worm doesn't die, and the fire is not quenched.'Jesus uses the term 'eternal fire' only two times in the Gospels. The term “eternal fire” is used by Jesus interchangeably with the terms 'Gehenna of fire' and 'unquenchable fire'. Eternal fire means the same thing as Gehenna of fire. Gehenna, or the valley of Hinnom, in Jesus' day was a perfect illustration of perpetually burning fire, because this valley burned garbage day and night. Gehenna of fire means the same thing as unquenchable fire. Unquenchable fire means the same thing as eternal fire. Jesus uses all three terms interchangeably. It is all language of fire that burns and burns, and cannot be put out.
Jesus also uses the language of Isaiah 66:24, 'where their worm doesn't die, and the fire is not quenched', to powerfully illustrate the destruction of the wicked on the Judgment Day, using it together with the powerful imagery of the burning valley of Hinnom.
Even though the valley being used as a garbage dump certainly gave a perfect illustration of the wicked being burned up in fire, I think there is an even more significant reason why Christ preached the valley of Hinnom. It has to do with a powerful prophecy regarding this accursed valley, which we find in the book of Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 7:31-33
31They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I didn't command, neither came it into my mind. 32Therefore, behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that it shall no more be called Topheth, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of Slaughter: for they shall bury in Topheth, until there be no place [to bury]. 33The dead bodies of this people shall be food for the birds of the sky, and for the animals of the earth; and none shall frighten them away.Jesus combines his preaching of the Valley of Hinnom together with Isaiah 66:24, which speaks of the dead bodies of those who have transgressed against God — telling how their worm shall not die, and how their fire shall not be quenched. Here, in Jeremiah, we see the dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the earth, and we are told that none shall frighten them away. None shall frighten them away. And why does God say none shall frighten them away? The same reason why God says in Isaiah that their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched. The birds and animals will keep feeding and feeding and feeding, until the disgusting dead bodies of those who have trangressed against God are completely devoured and consumed. The worms will keep feeding and feeding and feeding on the dead bodies until they are completely devoured and consumed. The fire will keep feeding and feeding and feeding on the dead bodies, until they are completely devoured and consumed. The punishment for sin is death.
No man knew the Scriptures better than Jesus of Nazareth. There can be no doubt that when Christ was preaching the Valley of Hinnom as the place of final judgment, that he was aware of the prophecy of Jeremiah, where the valley would no longer be called Topheth, nor the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the valley of Slaughter.
II Thessalonians 1:7-9
7and to give relief to you that are afflicted with us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, 8giving vengeance to those who don't know God, and to those who don't obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, 9who will pay the penalty: eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might,Here Paul tells us what the penalty will be for those who reject Christ — that the penalty will be eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when Jesus comes in glory to judge the world. What Paul teaches here is precisely what we find taught in the Old Testament Scriptures. Multitudes of Scripture verses that we have read in this study teach of being destroyed by God's glorious presence.
Hebrews
Heb 12:29 for our God is a consuming fire.Ex 19:21 Yahweh said to Moses, “Go down, charge the people, lest they break through to Yahweh to gaze, and many of them perish.
Ex 20:19 They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don't let God speak with us, lest we die.”
Ex 24:17 The appearance of the glory of Yahweh was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.
Ex 32:10 Now therefore leave me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of you a great nation.”
Ex 33:20 He said, “You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live.”
Ex 33:21 Yahweh also said, “Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand on the rock.
Ex 33:22 It will happen, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by;
Ex 33:23 then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back; but my face shall not be seen.”
Nu 17:13 Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tent of Yahweh, dies: shall we perish all of us?
Deuteronomy
De 04:24 For Yahweh your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.
De 04:33 Did ever a people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live?
De 04:36 Out of heaven he made you to hear his voice, that he might instruct you: and on earth he made you to see his great fire; and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire.
De 05:24 and you said, Behold, Yahweh our God has shown us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God does speak with man, and he lives.
De 05:25 Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of Yahweh our God any more, then we shall die.
De 05:26 For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?De 09:03 Know therefore this day, that Yahweh your God is he who goes over before you as a devouring fire; he will destroy them, and he will bring them down before you: so shall you drive them out, and make them to perish quickly, as Yahweh has spoken to you.
De 18:16 according to all that you desired of Yahweh your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of Yahweh my God, neither let me see this great fire a
ny more, that I not die.De 32:22 For a fire is kindled in my anger, Burns to the lowest Sheol, Devours the earth with its increase, Sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.
Psalms
Ps 021:009 You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of your anger. Yahweh will swallow them up in his wrath. The fire shall devour them.
Ps 050:003 Our God comes, and does not keep silent. A fire devours before him. It is very tempestuous around him.
Ps 068:002 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away. As wax melts before the fire, So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
Ps 078:021 Therefore Yahweh heard, and was angry. A fire was kindled against Jacob, Anger also went up against Israel,
Ps 079:005 How long, Yahweh? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire?
Ps 081:015 The haters of Yahweh would cringe before him, And their punishment would last forever.
Ps 089:046 How long, Yahweh? Will you hide yourself forever? Will your wrath burn like fire?
Ps 097:003 A fire goes before him, And burns up his adversaries on every side.
Isaiah
Isa 10:16 Therefore will the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory there shall be kindled a burning like the burning of fire.
Isa 10:17 The light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day.Isa 30:27 Behold, the name of Yahweh comes from far, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue is as a devouring fire;
Isa 30:30 Yahweh will cause his glorious voice to be heard, and will show the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of [his] anger, and the flame of a devouring fire, with a blast, and tempest, and hailstones.
Isa 30:33 For a Topheth is prepared of old; yes, for the king it is made ready; he has made it deep and large; the pile of it is fire and much wood; the breath of Yahweh, like a stream of sulfur, does kindle it.
Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless ones: Who among us can dwell with the devouring fire? who among us can dwell with everlasting burning?
Isa 66:15 For, behold, Yahweh will come with fire, and his chariots shall be like the whirlwind; to render his anger with fierceness, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
Isa 66:16 For by fire will Yahweh execute judgment, and by his sword, on all flesh; and the slain of Yahweh shall be many.Jeremiah
Jer 04:04 Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh, and take away the foreskins of your heart, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
Ezekiel
Eze 21:31 I will pour out my indignation on you; I will blow on you with the fire of my wrath; and I will deliver you into the hand of brutish men, skillful to destroy.
Eze 21:32 You shall be for fuel to the fire; your blood shall be in the midst of the land; you shall be no more remembered: for I, Yahweh, have spoken it.Eze 22:20 As they gather silver and brass and iron and lead and tin into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire on it, to melt it; so will I gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will lay you there, and melt you.
Eze 22:21 Yes, I will gather you, and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it.
Eze 22:22 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall you be melted in the midst of it; and you shall know that I, Yahweh, have poured out my wrath on you.Eze 22:31 Therefore have I poured out my indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I brought on their heads, says the Lord Yahweh.
Eze 38:19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
Nahum
Na 01:06 Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the fierceness of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken apart by him.
Zephaniah
Zep 01:17 I will bring distress on men, that they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against Yahweh, and their blood will be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung.
Zep 01:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of Yahweh's wrath, but the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he will make an end, yes, a terrible end, of all those who dwell in the land.Zep 03:08 “Therefore wait for me,” says Yahweh, “until the day that I rise up to the prey, for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour on them my indignation, even all my fierce anger, for all the earth will be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
Nahum 1:6
6Who can stand before His indignation? Who can endure the fierceness of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken apart by Him.This verse of Scripture asks these questions: Who can stand before His indignation? Who can endure the fierceness of His anger? Can anyone survive God's fierce wrath? Can anyone have God's wrath poured out on him, and live? Who can survive God's fierce wrath? For His wrath is poured out like fire. Who can suffer God's wrath and still have his life intact? The implied answer is: no one!
In Jesus,
Berean2005
Hi B,
So you say that the first death is exactly the same as the second death? I do not see this written.
Rev 19.20
” And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet……these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone”
Then there is the 1000 yr reign of Christ, then
Rev 20.10
” And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, WHERE THE BEAST AND THE FALSE PROPHET ARE ALSO;and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever”I guess what I need to do is ignore what Genesis thru Jude says about the punishment for sin, and just take Revelation 20:10….take one symbolic verse in one of the most symbolic books of all of Scripture, and then IGNORE it when John explains what this fire actually IS. Sometimes the SYMBOLS of Revelation are explained. In the case of the lake of burning fire and sulfur, it IS explained for us.
All of Scripture must be read together and taken in context. The plain and simple verses that say flat out the wicked shall perish cannot be ignored.
The lake of fire and sulfur is death according to Revelation.
Rome has completely 'twisted' the meaning of the word 'death'.
Look at the way the word DEATH is used in Scripture. Does death 'really mean' death, or does death not really mean 'death' ?
John 15:6
6If a man doesn't remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.Look at the context of John 15:6.
What is the context?
You gather a bunch of dried up, rotting branches, toss them all into the fire, and burn them to ashes. CONTEXT: You get RID of the useless, rotting braches by burning them away.
God's wrath consumes to stubble:
Exodus 15:7
7In the greatness of your excellency, you overthrow those who rise up against you: You send forth your wrath. It consumes them as stubble.Can anyone say God's wrath DOES NOT consume men as stubble?
In Jesus,
Berean2005
Hi ,
The context of Jn 15 is of branches that do not remain in the vine. To remain in the vine one must first be grafted onto that vine. So this applies to the saved and not the unsaved.Hi Nick,
I don't understand your last response at all.
Regarding the question, “What is the wages of sin?”
Is the wages of sin:
1) To be brutally tortured by God for all eternity (the Roman eternal torture doctrine)
2) To be sentenced to solitary confinement for all eternity in a dark dungeon (the 'modern day' eternal separation doctrine)
3) Death
What is the wages of sin? 1, 2, or 3 ?
In Jesus,
Berean2005
Try this writing regarding the destruction of the wicked. Feedback on it is appreciated.
Exactly.
What does it say the punishment for sin is?
From the beginning of Genesis, to the end of Revelation, Scripture teaches us PRECISELY what the punishment for sin is.
Jesus Christ was put to death, because the punishment for sin is death. He was hung on a tree. The spotless lamb of God who took away the sins of the world by dying the death of a sinner.
Is anyone still not sure what the punishment for sin is? All one has to do is look at the cross. All one has to do is look at Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. All one has to do is look at Christ, dead on the cross. His life horribly ended, because the punishment for sin, the punishment we deserved, the punishment He took in our place, is death.
All we need to do is look upon the cross of Christ, and we will see the punishment for sin.
The punishment for sin was perverted by pagan teachings from Rome, that is true. But the punishment for sin is so simple it can be understood by a little infant. And, in truth, the understanding of Scripture is revealed to infants, and not revealed to the 'wise and understanding'.
Perhaps the punishment for sin is too hard for wise and learned theologians to comprehend….perhaps. But it is very simple for infants to comprehend.
Be an infant, as well as a Berean.
In Jesus,
Berean2005
Hi Berean2005 and t8,
Just some thoughts on my mind concerning the subject:
The wages of sin is death.
All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Subsequently all die. This includes babies, animals, prophets, apostles, kings and all manner of people who shall remain nameless.On such coffins, it can be written: Wages Received. The dead here may have never actually committed an offense of their own but we fall under Adam & Eve's sentence.
Jesus came into the world and brought us the promise of a new life and eternal life in him. He dearly purchased our pardon in a cosmic event that still rocks the universe. He said somewhere to one of the Apostles about another: if I would that he tarries until I return, what is that to you? And we know that the faithful who actually see his descent shall be caught away to join him while yet alive, then the dead in him shall rise also….
John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”The above is a promise to those in Christ.
So I believe that Jesus is saying that though one believes in him, he/she MAY die. This is true of death as we know it because many are dead in the Lord… These shall live.“verse 26) Whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
This sounds to me like the second death which is reserved exclusively, not for all who sin, but for the wicked. Because again, whether or not one actually commits a sin (eg baby and animals), they are considered to have fallen short of the glory of God and die; whether or not they are in Jesus, many have died and so shared the same fate as the “wicked.” So then what would be the difference b/n the two groups… for which some have abandoned all fear of God.
I say there is a difference b/n the original penalty which applies liberally to all living and the second death. And it seems to me that the cross was more to redeem us from the second death.
So then it could be that vs 25 applies to those in Christ that are affected by death, whereas vs 26 is a promise against the second death in that the righteous shall NEVER DIE {second death}… because to be in Christ is to live.
For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Phil 1:21
This can only be viewed in hope of the fulfillment of John 11:25, no?
Hi Cubes,
I wonder if it could be read
” those who ARE ALIVE and believe in me”?In other words repeating the promise of the rapture?
Hey Nick,
I think it is two fold: vs 26 has got to be referring to the Rapture. It could not have been referring to Martha who was alive at the time when Jesus said so and should have not died, if anything else was meant. vs 25 applies to Martha and all others of the faithful who die BEFORE the rapture… Jesus was fully aware that we shall continue to die until that day as indicated by the verses below.
Whereas Death (as the wages of sin) applies liberally to all without discrimination (excepting the raptured faithful),
The Second Death would be exclusively applied to only the wicked whose names are not Found in the Lamb's Book of Life, not necessarily due to the first penalty of which they died (already if before the judgment) anyhow and received that wage.So man dies for the general Adamic sin…even those in Jesus.
The cross of Christ would appear to save us rather from the second death, not the first. Otherwise, how do we explain the fact that after the cross, even we who are in Christ still die… if the WAGES of SIN = DEATH and we die anyhow?Romans 8:20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance
John 21:18 Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” 19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”
Rev 2:10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”'Matt 24:6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for *all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, *pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.John 11: 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
And BTW: Martha's confession about Jesus: “You are the Christ, the Son of God…” NOT you are YHWH, the 2nd person of the Trinity/God.
Yes cubes,
The second death is the only important one in the eyes of God. That is why Jesus says in Jn 5.24“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and does not come under judgement, but has already passed out of death into life”
As Rom 6.8 says we “have died with Christ” having been baptised into his death.
Eternal life starts now. The first death is just sleep and we awake into the millenial reign and do not face the white throne\sheep and goat judgement.
Amen. Awesome. If only people will realize it and take God seriously so they can receive eternal life in Christ.
Hi cubes,
1 Jn 5.11f
“And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life”
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