THE IMMORTALITY OF MANKIND, MATTHEW 25:46.

 

There are many Bible verses that are taken out of the context of the passage they are found in to support various Christian doctrines.  In order to understand passages, the entire passage needs to be read, and then it has to be related to the time period that the passage is referring to.  We then need to be sure that our interpretation can be verified and not denied by other passages in the Bible.  

Matthew 25:46 is one of these passages.  It reads, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”  Several questions immediately come to mind.  What time period is this talking about?  Who are “they”?  What is meant when is says that the righteous will “go away…to eternal life”? 

The chapter Matthew 25 is describing the future judgment of the “nations”.  This judgment will take place immediately after the second coming of Jesus Christ.  During this time period there will be mortal human beings, on earth, who survived the tribulation.  Christ is on the earth. 

There will be people living on the earth at this time who started believing in Christ during the tribulation during the tribulation period.  There will be other people who still do not believe.  These two groups of people are represented by the sheep, (the ones who believe in Christ), and the goats, (the ones who do not).  The people will be judged on how they treated each other during the tribulation period.  (Matthew 25:37-45).

There will also be a group of people on the earth who will be resurrected at that time.  These are people who died during the tribulation period believing in Christ.  Revelation 20:5-6 says “This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.”  Revelation 20:5-6 is referring to Matthew 25:46.

Revelation 20:5-6 indicates that before these people were judged at this point in time, they were subject to “The second death…” (Revelation 20:6).  If that is the case, these human beings are not yet immortal because they can die.  It is here that the righteous people, those who survived the tribulation and those who were just resurrected, are judged and receive eternal life, immortality. 

Matthew 25:46 confirms this where it states clearly that, “Then they will go away…the righteous to eternal life.” (emphasis added).

 

CHRISTIAN LIVING FOR GOD - TODAY AND BEYOND.

God's Sovereignty Can Not Be Questioned...

...IF YOU KNOW THE FACTS!

 

 

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Ecclesiastes 7:11-14   Wisdom is good with an inheritance, And profitable to those who see the sun.  For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense, But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it.  Consider the work of God; For who can make straight what He has made crooked?  In the day of prosperity be joyful, But in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.   Solomon is comparing two powers that offer their possessors the ability to defend themselves against many of the vicissitudes of life. On the one hand is money and on the other, wisdom. Money can help one avoid and even preserve a person from many of life's difficulties. Wisdom, however, can give him something no amount of money can—life. Wisdom produces things material possessions cannot because it is insurance against willful self-destruction, whether physical or spiritual. Consider in verse 13 literally means "to see." It counsels us to understand that some situations cannot be rectified. No amount of money or wisdom will prevent them from occurring. We can do nothing about them because circumstances are beyond our powers, and we should not fret overmuch about them. An obvious example is the impossibility of a person being able to stop wars, floods, riots, or a hurricane. Each of these can bring devastation and a great deal of personal pain that may be entirely unavoidable. All one can do in such a case is to deal with the aftereffects as wisely as possible. Verse 14 carries on the thought, counseling us that good and bad times occur in everybody's life. There will be situations that are seemingly unjust, such as the righteous seeming not to be prospered, becoming diseased and dying young, while the evil are prospered with wealth, good health, and long, comfortable lives. These things occur in every culture on earth. We are to consider—to see—that God overrules all and is well aware of what is happening. He may even be directly involved in causing the kinds of circumstances that upset our sense of fairness (Isaiah 45:7). We must never allow our thoughts to wander from the reality of the depths of God's involvement in governing His creation. The passage concludes by drawing our attention to the future. It is beyond our abilities to know precisely what is going to happen. How long will our present trial last? Will we be drawn into another? Are we pleasing God? Will we be prospered to a greater level? When will Christ come? Solomon is not saying we should not think about the future, but that we will never know precisely what is coming. Thus, we should not be overly concerned about it. We must live our belief that God is on His throne, which allows us to be emotionally stable. Solomon does not begin to give an answer to the thought he is posing until verses 18-19, and even then, it is a very brief answer: "It is good that you grasp this, and also not remove your hand from the other; for he who fears God will escape them all. Wisdom strengthens the wise more than ten rulers of the city." The combination of the fear of God and wisdom, which is the fruit of vision, appear together as a solution. Because the circumstances he posed will affect all, Solomon's advice is to keep on following wisdom. This is a precursor to the climax of the book where he 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 will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it is evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). It is also foreshadows Romans 8:28 where Paul writes, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." In his terse statements, Solomon is saying, "Keep on following the revelation of God, for this is wisdom. The vision of His overall purpose is wisdom. It is an unerring guide through good and bad times. Always consider—see, discern—that an unseen Hand is involved in events, even those of our seemingly insignificant lives." — John W. Ritenbaugh To learn more, see: The Elements of Motivation (Part Two): Vision   Related Topics: Fear of God God's Sovereignty Revelation Vision Wisdom New King James Version copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.   (http://www.theberean.org/)

Living In A Cashless Society.

Today the trend is to live in and conduct all our personal business without using actual physical cash.  It has been reported that North Americans pay 97% of purchases today without using money.  Instead they use some sort of credit, debit or some other plastic bank card.  This was unprecedented 60 to 80 years ago. 

Technology does not have to be developed to live in a society that is described in Revelation 13:16-18.  The passage is talking about a period of time where a person will have to have some type of electronic identification if they want to "buy or sell", if they want to engage in any type of economic activity. 

It is in this passage that the scriptures talk about man receiving “the mark of the beast”.  The scriptural text describes man receiving some type of mark “in their right hand or in their forehead”.  What the scripture is actually talking is about how people will act during this period of time.  “In the right hand” means what people do, and “in their foreheads” means what people think.

The “mark of the beast“ is associated with the period of time when the Antichrist will come into worldwide power.  It is actually describing who people will swear their entire allegiance to in the end times, starting in last seven years before the return of Jesus Christ.  It is all about how people will think and how they will act as they are living their daily lives. 

If an individual swears their allegiance to the Antichrist and his policies, they will receive  “the mark of the beast”.  These people will receive some type of electronic identification which will allow them to engage in economic activity related to "buying and selling".  These people will be left alone.  Those who do not have this type of electronic identification, if found out and if they refuse to swear their allegiance to the Antichrist, they will be martyred.

“And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.  Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” (Revelation 13:15-18).

Current Events Have Been Predicted Thousands Of Years Ago.

There is a general outcry today about the atrocities that are happening in the Middle East, especially countries that are Muslim, and also about what is happening around the rest of the world.  There has been a major effort in the last thirty years by utilizing political maneuvering coupled with diplomatic and economic unification efforts, to set the stage for a future global government.

One of the key tools that the masterminds of this global effort uses the commissioning of the scientific community to support the idea of “climate change”.  The climate in one way or another effects every nation, every human being living on earth no matter what your political agenda is.  Because of the negative consequences to all human beings, this is one thing that every nation can rally around.

The scientific community does use climatic facts to support their theories.  This is why it makes their arguments so convincing.  The planet over the last decade or so shows evidence of what the proponents of the theory claim to be “global warming”.  They claim that the cause of this is man made.  The problem with that claim is that there is no conclusive or clear evidence to supports this claim.

The earth has warmed over the last century, the polar ice caps have decreased, and the oceans have risen.  An intergovernmental panel from the United Nations has produced evidence that supports the theory that the earth will continue to experience significant negative change for years to come.

The interesting point to this whole narrative is that the Christian Bible made these claims of what is happening today almost 2000 years ago.  The Bible says that as we approach the end of time, when Jesus Christ is going to return to the earth, there will be major changes in the earth and its climate, the type of which were never seen before up until that time.  (Read Revelation 8:7-11).

It is predicted to get worse and if you watch the daily news, there is evidence that what the Bible predicts is starting to happen today.  The unstoppable and continuing destruction of the earth’s rain forests which was also to predicted to happen when the apostle John said that on-third of the world’s vegetation will be destroyed (Revelation8:7).  He said that this would be completed in the last seven years of the generation that will witness the return of Jesus Christ.

The Warfare And The Terrorism We See In The World Today Will Come To An End.

King Cyrus was ruling over Babylon.  It was the third year of his reign.  The Jews were being held captive in Babylon since Jerusalem was conquered and they were taken as slaves.  One of the people taken was the prophet Daniel.  (See Daniel Chapter 10). 

The prophet Daniel was concerned over the eventual fate of the Jewish nation and was earnestly praying to God for an answer to this concern.  “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.  In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.  I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled” (Daniel 10:1-3).

Daniel had a vision from God.  He writes, “Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:  His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude….(and I)saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.” (Daniel 10:5-8).

Daniel understood the "thing" that was represented in the vision but he did not understand the full meaning of the vision because God had to send the angel Gabriel to explain the full meaning to him.  When Gabriel got to Daniel he told him, “Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days” (Daniel 10:14).

But, Satan was hard at work as usual trying to do everything he could to thwart the efforts of God and to control all humans on earth, especially God’s chosen people.  When Gabriel came to Daniel, he found it necessary to explain to him why it took so long for him to get there so he could explain the vision to Daniel.

The reason it took so long for the angel to get there was that Satan and his demons had held Gabriel hostage for three weeks.  Satan and his army of demons were so powerful in preventing Gabriel from completing his mission that God had to send Michael the Archangel to give Gabriel a hand so he could complete his mission and explain the meaning of the vision to the prophet Daniel.

The prophet Daniel in writing about this reveals to us an interesting fact about the spiritual world that we inhabit.  The Persian prince and the prince of Grecia were actually demons, part of Satan’s earthly army of fallen angels.  These warriors of Satan were in the past, and still are, given earthly kingdoms to rule.  These demons, these earthly rulers, were then, and still are sent, to carry out the will of Satan in active opposition to God and His rule over human beings.  (See Daniel 10:14-20).

This perpetual spiritual warfare between Satan and God has been going on since Satan’s original rebellion.  It still is going on today.  “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:” (Ephesians 2:2).  “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).

The Bible confirms the fact that this spiritual warfare will continue on earth.  There are countries today being ruled by demons, controlled by Satan.  This warfare will continue on earth until Jesus Christ’s final victory over Satan and will culminate in a physical, bloody human warfare on earth and will come to a finale end only with the coming of Jesus Christ.

“Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time” (Revelation 12:12).  But, Jesus will return to the earth.  “(The)…heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war” (Revelation 19:11).  Jesus will make war with Satan and “…the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, (will be) gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army” (Revelation 19:19).

The human armies under the control of Satan and his demons will be defeated, but they will not be buried.  Instead, God will instruct an angel to command all the carrion eating birds of the earth to eat the flesh of the dead humans led by Satan’s Demons.  The apostle John wrote that he “…saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;  That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great” (Revelation 19:17-18).  All the dead humans that were influenced by Satan and his demons and that will be involved in this finale war against Jesus Christ will be have their finale humiliation when they will be left unburied to rot in the sun and be eaten by birds.

But, this doesn’t happen to the demonic rulers of the world which include the beast, Antichrist, and the false prophet.  In His vision, the apostle John saw that “…the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” (Revelation 19:20).   Since these were fallen angels, immortal, and they cannot be killed, they will be sentenced to eternity in a lake of fire that will burn through eternity along with Satan’s other Demons, fallen angels.

This is not the end.  At this point of time Satan will not be thrown in the lake of fire, hell, but rather, God will have him bound for one thousand years to prevent him from influencing any human on earth in that time period.  The apostle John has a vision of an angel coming “…down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,” (Revelation 20:1). 

God has been using Satan since he rebelled, for the salvation of human beings since they fell from grace in the Garden of Eden.  Instead of throwing him in the lake of fire with the rest of the fallen angels, God will have him bound “And (will) cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he… (will be)…loosed… (for)…a little season” (Revelation 20:3).

Jesus Christ will return to the earth and He will defeat Satan and his army of demons.  This will end the warfare and terrorism that we see today.  But that is not God’s ultimate goal.  God wants to complete the salvation of all human beings on earth and give humans the opportunity to get back the gift of eternal life.  Eventually He will do that by using Satan one more time. 

That is why Satan is simply bound for a thousand years and at the end of that time will be loosed one more time because  “when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth… to gather them together to battle….(A)nd they…(will go)… up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints…, and the beloved city: and fire…(will come)… down from God out of heaven, and devour…them” (Revelation 20:7-10).

This time there will not even be a battle.  All humans on earth worshiping God and Jesus Christ will be protected and no one protected will die.  When Satan and his armies are ready to attack, God and Jesus Christ will simply kill all the human beings who are following Satan.  The fire that comes down from the heaven will be the wrath of God combined with the ultimate fate of every human who is disobedient, the lake of fire.

These human beings along with “…the devil that deceived them… (will be)…cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are..." (Revelation 20:9-27).  The human beings will not be tortured forever and ever because the prophet Malachi tells us that "...(T)he day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch" (Malachi 4:1).

Satan and the demons are imortal and cannot die, therefore they "...shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever”  (Revelation 20:7-9).  Since the human beings were not yet immortal, they will be simply burned up, they will eternally cease to exist.  Satan and the demons will be tormented forever and ever.

The warfare and the terrorism we see in the world today will come to an end, all terrorist led by Satan in the past, present and future will be judged at the great white throne of judgment.  “(T)he dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Revelation 20:12).  If God does not find them “…in the book of life…” they will be “…cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 19:10-15). 

There will finally be peace on earth, eternally.