Dawn - I was brought up in a Bible (KJV) believing and preaching church and I came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ at the age of 20. I well know the verses you shared in this essay and I know pastors are still disputing if the TRUE Church (the body of believers in the finished work of Jesus on the cross at Calvary) will be spirited into the heavenlies PRIOR to the 7 years of "great tribulation" - I will leave all of that "disputation" to the clergy. I am just praying throughout each and every day for God's will to be done on EARTH as it is in HEAVEN (from the Disciples Prayer the Lord Jesus gave to the original 12 disciples while He ministered here on earth).
Bless you for being a faithful sharer of The Word.
I will guy you a cup of "whatever" you enjoy right now!!
I think there is a certain reward reserved for those of us who believed in our youth and endured the trials of our faith as we matured in doctrine over the years. For those deathbed conversions, where men resisted their whole lives until their conscious pricked them hard at the end, it will be God's great mercy that will cloud them throughout eternity. We all who are saved will be most thankful for that.
Thank you for filling up my coffee bean jar. I will enjoy many cups of fresh ground, French pressed Guatemalan gold :)
Not quite certain about your 'take' on the deathbed conversions experiences. But I do know that the LEAST of all saints in the heavenlies will proclaim the MIGHTY RIGHTEOUSNESS, GLORY AND GRACE of Jehovah and His precious only Son, Yeshua!!
Right. To be clear, many have changed their minds before death took them and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. I find only evidence in Scripture that God will have mercy and save at any time in a person's life, even if it is within seconds before passing. Pity those who did not see death coming and died in their sins.
The entire chapter of Isaiah 24 is timely and applicable to your excellent article. The Chapter describes the condition of the earth, and especially the land of Palestine/Israel/Jerusalem during the coming Great Tribulation/Time of Jacob's Trouble (Jeremiah 30:7-8)(Obadiah 1:12). It will be wasted by judgement until at the Second Coming of Christ, the nations of the earth will be broken (Isaiah 24:21)(Daniel 2:44-45). After this has come to pass, "The Lord of Hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously". *Notice the present tense used, as is frequently the case in the Bible for the future, in order to express something that is absolutely certain to occur. Here are just a few verses from Isaiah 24. 1 Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. 5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. 21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. 22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited." Therefore, "behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)(Isaiah 49:8).
Praise God! Christ did rise from the dead and therefore there is a resurrection of the dead. Our faith is by no means in vain and we are Not of all men most miserable. We are no longer in our sins and Christ was first to be raised into an endless life over which death could have no power. Some had been raised from the dead previously, but they tasted death again. (Death had no dominion over Christ because He was sinless). He is the resurrection "Firstfruits", and the raising of believers will be the resurrection harvest (1 Corinthians 15). By natural birth we are all in Adam, and are therefore dead in sins (Ephesians 2:1). By being born again we are made alive in Christ (Romans 6:11). The unsaved person is in Adam. The saved person is in Christ.
"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified." (1 Peter 4:12-14) also (2 Timothy 2)(Matthew 5:11-13).
We are truly blessed by God to have "eyes to see and ears to hear" (Mathew 13:13-17)(Isaiah 6:9-10).
Dawn - I was brought up in a Bible (KJV) believing and preaching church and I came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ at the age of 20. I well know the verses you shared in this essay and I know pastors are still disputing if the TRUE Church (the body of believers in the finished work of Jesus on the cross at Calvary) will be spirited into the heavenlies PRIOR to the 7 years of "great tribulation" - I will leave all of that "disputation" to the clergy. I am just praying throughout each and every day for God's will to be done on EARTH as it is in HEAVEN (from the Disciples Prayer the Lord Jesus gave to the original 12 disciples while He ministered here on earth).
Bless you for being a faithful sharer of The Word.
I will guy you a cup of "whatever" you enjoy right now!!
I think there is a certain reward reserved for those of us who believed in our youth and endured the trials of our faith as we matured in doctrine over the years. For those deathbed conversions, where men resisted their whole lives until their conscious pricked them hard at the end, it will be God's great mercy that will cloud them throughout eternity. We all who are saved will be most thankful for that.
Thank you for filling up my coffee bean jar. I will enjoy many cups of fresh ground, French pressed Guatemalan gold :)
Not quite certain about your 'take' on the deathbed conversions experiences. But I do know that the LEAST of all saints in the heavenlies will proclaim the MIGHTY RIGHTEOUSNESS, GLORY AND GRACE of Jehovah and His precious only Son, Yeshua!!
You are truly a coffee connoisseur (smile)!!
Right. To be clear, many have changed their minds before death took them and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. I find only evidence in Scripture that God will have mercy and save at any time in a person's life, even if it is within seconds before passing. Pity those who did not see death coming and died in their sins.
There--but for the GRACE of our magnificent Saviour--go I!!
The entire chapter of Isaiah 24 is timely and applicable to your excellent article. The Chapter describes the condition of the earth, and especially the land of Palestine/Israel/Jerusalem during the coming Great Tribulation/Time of Jacob's Trouble (Jeremiah 30:7-8)(Obadiah 1:12). It will be wasted by judgement until at the Second Coming of Christ, the nations of the earth will be broken (Isaiah 24:21)(Daniel 2:44-45). After this has come to pass, "The Lord of Hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously". *Notice the present tense used, as is frequently the case in the Bible for the future, in order to express something that is absolutely certain to occur. Here are just a few verses from Isaiah 24. 1 Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. 5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. 21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. 22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited." Therefore, "behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)(Isaiah 49:8).
" Therefore, "behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."
It certainly is.
"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Heb 10:31)
But many will. It is more than I can comprehend why anyone would not receive life, when it is offered freely.
"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." (1 Cor 15:19)
Praise God! Christ did rise from the dead and therefore there is a resurrection of the dead. Our faith is by no means in vain and we are Not of all men most miserable. We are no longer in our sins and Christ was first to be raised into an endless life over which death could have no power. Some had been raised from the dead previously, but they tasted death again. (Death had no dominion over Christ because He was sinless). He is the resurrection "Firstfruits", and the raising of believers will be the resurrection harvest (1 Corinthians 15). By natural birth we are all in Adam, and are therefore dead in sins (Ephesians 2:1). By being born again we are made alive in Christ (Romans 6:11). The unsaved person is in Adam. The saved person is in Christ.
"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified." (1 Peter 4:12-14) also (2 Timothy 2)(Matthew 5:11-13).
We are truly blessed by God to have "eyes to see and ears to hear" (Mathew 13:13-17)(Isaiah 6:9-10).