Jesus warns us that we will receive the same kind of judgment that we make of others.

 

 Matthew 7:2

(2) For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
New King James Version 

Jesus warns us that we will receive the same kind of judgment that we make of others. Do we really want that? That warning ought to sober any thinking person! Do we really believe God when He gives us such a stern warning?

Jesus adds another warning: Our judgment may be distorted because we may have a flaw of far greater magnitude in us than the flaw we observe so critically in our brother. The unspoken intimation is that because the flaw is ours, and we love ourselves, we are willing to be lenient in our self-judgment. By focusing our criticism on another, it enables us to avoid scrutinizing ourselves carefully and critically. Some enjoy correcting others because it makes them feel virtuous, compensating for failures in themselves that they have no desire to face. But the judgment we make about others is in reality the judgment we will receive from God.
(The Berean.org, John W. Ritenbaugh, http://www.theberean.org/)

— John W. RitenbaughJohn W. Ritenbaugh

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.

SPIRITUALISM AND THE BIBLE - LIFE AFTER DEATH.

SPIRITUALISM AND THE BIBLE – LIFE AFTER DEATH.

 

 

“Spiritualism is the belief or doctrine that the spirits of the dead, surviving after the mortal life, can and do communicate with the living, especially through a person (a medium) particularly susceptible to their influence.” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/spiritualism).

Satan uses many successful agencies in order to seduce man and spiritualism is one of these delusive teachings.  The belief that spirits of the dead can return and/or communicate with the living is a sacred channel through which Satan works to accomplish his purpose.  The fallen angels who do Satan’s bidding appear as messengers. 

Satan has the power to bring before men what appears to be their departed friends.  His counterfeits are perfect in familiarity as far as looks, words, tone and demeanor.  Satan comforts many with the false assurance that their loved ones are enjoying bliss in heaven and he does this without any suspicion of danger.  Men give ear “…to the seducing spirits and doctrines of devils”. (1 Timothy 4:1).

The these fallen spirits sometimes utter cautions and warnings which prove to be correct.  They build confidence and then they present doctrines, by leading people to misinterpret scriptures, which actually undermines the scriptures.  They state some truths and this gives their statements the appearance of reliability and the false teachings are believed as implicitly as if they were the most sacred truths of the Bible.

He contradicts what the apostles wrote as documented in the Bible and in this way he denies the truth of the Holy Spirit and the divine origin of the Bible.  In this way Satan tears away the foundation of the Christian’s hope for eternal life and puts out the truth that reveals the only path to salvation.  This is ultimately Satan’s goal.  The same way Satan tried to exalt himself…

“For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:” (Isaiah 14:13).

…and lost his place in heaven, he is now trying to do the same thing to mankind.

Satan misleads people by exciting the ambition for self-exaltation.  In the place of righteousness and perfection of the infinite God, he has substituted the sinful, erring nature of man himself as the rule of judgement, standard, and character.  Instead of progressing upward toward the likeness of God, man is descending downward.

Spiritualism professes to teach Christ and the Bible.  The problem is, the Bible is interpreted in a manner that is pleasing to the ears of unrepentant men with un-renewed hearts.  Love is upheld as the chief attribute of God, but it is degraded with a weak sentimentalism and does not make a distinction between what God and Jesus Christ view as good and evil.  God’s denunciations of sin, the requirements of His holy law and His justice are all kept out of site.

Satan, as sure as the sunrises in the east, is preparing for his final effort to deceive the world.  He laid the foundation when he assured Eve in the garden “In the day ye eat thereof, then you surely not die.  In the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as good as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5-5).  


God never intended man to determine "good and evil".  That is why he told Adam and Eve, (...Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."  (Genesis 2:16-17). 

 

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WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT LIFE AFTER DEATH?

 

The Bible does not contradict itself and the word of God does not lie.  The scriptures all have to support each other in what they mean.

King Solomon wrote:

“So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them.  All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.

“As it is with the good, so with the sinful; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them.  This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun:

“The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead.  Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

“For the living know that they will die but the dead know nothing.  They have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 9:1-6).

After we die, we do not either go to heaven, hell or somewhere else to continue to live on as a conscious being until the time when Jesus passes judgment.  When we die, we no longer exist in any conscious form, we simply "...return to dust".

Daniel 12:2 says “…those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awaken.” Explaining the present condition of the dead, they are asleep, not aware of what is going on.  Solomon explains “For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them:  as one dies, so does the other…All go to one place:  all are from dust, and all return to dust.”  (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20).

Job wrote, “man comes forth like a flower and fades away; he flees like a shadow and does not continue” (Job 14:2).  “Since his days are determined, the number of his months are with you; you have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass” (Job 14:5).  

Job goes on to note the stark reality of death when he wrote, “So man lies down and does not rise.  Till the heavens and earths are no more, they will not awake or be aroused from their sleep” (Job 14:12).  Job wrote about the complete absence of consciousness in death.

I do believe that there is both eternal and immortal life, just not the way most Christians define it.

Let Mankind Boast Of Their Glories.

In Jeremiah 9:1-26, the prophet, began his lamentation because he saw the inevitable catastrophe coming to his country and people. God pronounced judgment over Jerusalem, and when God says something, He does it.

What they would face wasn't something that was going to happen by accident or by chance, was going to be designed by God.  It was not just one of those terrible and inexplicable things that happen from time to time.

What they would face was going to be the direct judgment of God. And it was this realization that was causing Jeremiah such sorrow. They were bring this catastrophe on themselves.  It was not God being vindictive, it was them bringing this on themselves.

The cross should be a revelation to our dull senses of the pain that sin has brought to the heart of God our Creator.  But, like in the time of Jeremiah, people continue to ignore this fact.

When there comes the calamities that are sure to result from our separation from God, it is said that God and “His soul [is] grieved for the misery we bring on ourselves.' 'In all [our] affliction [God is] afflicted”.  (Judges 10:16, Jeremiah 63:9)

Read Jeremiah 9:1-26, tIt is about the prophet's sorrowful lament. Focus especially on Jeremiah 9:23-24. Why are those words so relevant even to us today?

Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:  But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:23-24).

• People gain success and riches, but if they do not know God it is ultimately fruitless when it comes to death and eternity. All the riches in this world are worthless it you do not have a relationship with God.
• Wisdom, might, and riches all have their place, but to rely on these things, especially amid catastrophe, or when death looms, is fruitless, meaningless, and empty.
• People are told what really matters, and that is to know and to understand the loving kindness, the justice, and the righteousness of God.
• There is nothing else.  Nothing can give us hope and comfort when everything earthly fails us.

What does the Cross tell us about the loving kindness, the justice, and the righteousness of God?

• God gave us His everything in order to save us.  He gave his Son, Jesus Christ, who willingly sacrificed His life for us in order that we may be saved.  All we need to do is repent and believe.

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