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A Bible answer to this most vital question.
Can anyone think of a more relevant question? All of us pass through the
narrow passageway leading from thins life to the next-- the passageway we
call death. We shall all experience the transition into a new realm,
another existence beyond this life and world we know today.
Let us for a moment consider the personal experience we shall have with
death. One day our hands will be folded across our lifeless breast and our
eyes will be closed as our body takes its last ride to the cemetery. The
purple curtains will be drawn. "The black camel of death," said
one, "will kneel for each of us at our door, and we shall have no
choice but to mount and ride off into the desert of darkness." Death
is no respecter of persons.
Beyond life what?
We may only speculate on certain aspects of the future, not knowing much
that it holds, bet we do know the One who holds
the future in His hands. And it is He who has revealed much of the future
to us. He who knows the end from the beginning, the future as well as the
past. Reveals in His Word that at death the body returns to the earth,
while the soul goes to a temporary destination to await final judgment.
Each of us determines in this life what our destiny will be; it will depend
upon our response to redemptive plan that God designed for the sinner's
deliverance from eternal doom.
We may ascend to a place of peace in the presence of God, as Paul
declared in II Corinthians 5:8. It is possible for us to dwell eternally in
a place of happiness, bliss and contentment, knowing that our redemption
has been completed, that we have finished our course in faith, and that we
are being rewarded. Or we may descent into a place of suffering, there to
be detained until the final judgment and then to be sentenced to the
everlasting punishment of the lake of fire. (See Mathew 25:46; Luke
16:22-26; Revelation 20:11-15).
Both places are, in a sense, temporary, for we shall wait until our
souls are reunited with our bodies in the resurrection. Jesus described the
resurrection in John 5:28-29, and Paul spoke in detail of the first
resurrection in I Thessalonians 4:16-17.
The resurrection of the just and the resurrection of the ungodly are
separated by one thousand years of peace on earth (Revelation 20:2-7). The
just of the present age will be those who have been redeemed by the blood
of the Lamb-baptized in His name and filled with His Spirit; the ungodly
will be those who have reused to surrender to the terms of the gospel.
Final Reward of the Righteous
For those who are saved, there will be the city not made with hands- the
new Jerusalem. This city is described in Revelation 21 as the eternal home
of the redeemed.
Missing in this city will be the evil things that are found in every
large earthly city. Gone will be all crime an
violence. God's people will walk the golden streets without fear of
molestation.
Revelation 21:18 describes the wall of this city as jasper and the city
itself as pure gold. There will be no need for the sun or moon there, for
the Lamb will be the light of the city (Revelation 21:23).
And, wonder of wonders, the redeemed will enjoy the blessings of this
city eternally. The poet exulted:
When we've been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we'd first begun.
The Fate of the Wicked
In contradistinction, for unbelievers there is 'the lake which burneth with
fire and brimstone" (Revelation 21:8). The only emotions there will be
agony and regret, and from that place there will be no escape.
The Present Determines the Future
Eternity-never-ending ages! A person's state there is totally dependent
upon the present-what he does during time. His eternal destiny will be
decided by whether or not he trusts in the redeeming blood of Christ and
avails himself of its merits through faith and obedience.
Let us consider today the nearness of our souls to the rendezvous with
death. David solemnly declared, "There is but a step between me and
death" (I Samuel 20:3). Death is a certain step, and yet it is an
uncertain step as to time, place, and manner. It is, further, a solitary
step so far as other human beings are concerned. Only Christ can go with us
through that dark valley.
Are you ready for that moment and for the eternity to follow?
The Bible proclaims how to prepare for eternity and enjoy eternal life with
Christ: "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall received
the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38).
JRE
Tract # 1-56722-073-8
Word Aflame Press
8855 Dunn Road
Hazelwood MO 63042-2299
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This tract was put into HTML format by Stan Hallett.
This non-copyrighted tract is available in hardcopy tract format
from the Pentecostal Publishing House at www.upci.org/pph/
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