ETERNAL LIFE AND ETERNAL PUNISHMENT

ETERNAL LIFE AND ETERNAL PUNISHMENT (DECLARATION 14)

                Declaration 14 of the 14 declarations of faith says this:

WE BELIEVE:  In the bodily resurrection; eternal life for the righteous and eternal punishment for the wicked.

                I am only going to touch on this subject lightly, simply because there e is so much waiting to be written about in the world right now. Some groups believe in soul sleep, which is directly connected to their related belief in the nature of man. Does the soul or spirit live on when the body dies or is it snuffed out and non-existent until the resurrection?

                I did a study in which I compiled everything that both the Old Testament and the New Testament said about the deaths of all whom the bible described. My conclusion concerning the Old Testament is that Jesus, the son of God and Son of Man summed up the Old Testament theology in His story of the Rich man and Lazarus, for in the deaths of each of the Patriarchs it was said that they went to be with their Fathers, while their body was buried in a cave or in the ground. Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 12:5-7:”for man goes to his eternal home while mourners go about in the street… then the dust will return to the earth as it was and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” And again Jesus confirmed it on the cross as both the Son of God and as a man, saying: “Father, into Thy hands I commit my spirit. He would not have been saying, Into Thy hands I commit the air in my lungs, for that would have been contrary to Scripture.

                Now as for the New Testament, I believe that Paul was commissioned by God to take all of the symbolism of the Old Testament combined with the revelations and teachings that Jesus lived out in life and to coalesce it all into what we know to be the Gospel. What did Paul believe on the subject? He simply said: ”for me to live is Christ and to die is gain… but I am hard pressed in both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.” Phil. 1:21-23 So Paul expected to go and to be with the Lord when He died and so did Peter in 1 Pet.3:18, 19, 1 Pet. 4:6, 2 Peter 1:12-15

                At any rate our final declaration of faith is taken from Hebrews 6:1, 2 where the writer talks about elementary principles So, I will defer to what Hebrews says about it since the writer here lists the “elementary teachings about Christ.” These elementary teachings are listed as:

1.       Repentance from dead works

2.       Faith toward God

3.       Instructions about washings and laying on of hands

4.       Resurrection from the Dead

5.       Eternal judgment

                In Revelation 20:12-15 we see that both death and hell are eventually cast into the like of fire and from this we can’t exactly say whether death and hell are exterminated, or if the lake of fire becomes the eternal home of the damned.

                On some of these issues we must simply believe what the Word says and as the writer of Hebrews said; he wanted to leave behind these elemental teachings and move into the meat of the Word. Some groups believe it one way, and so ignore every text to the contrary, while others believe it another way while ignoring the texts that don’t agree with their theology. So you can find Biblical proof for soul sleep just as easily as you can find proof that our spirit goes back to God and that your spirit is the real you, the real conscious you, as in the souls beneath the altar crying out asking the Lord how long it would be until God judges evil and brings retribution upon those who shed their blood while on the earth. So I will leave you to your own conclusions on the matter.

               

                In juxtaposition to what the writer has said about the elementary teachings, he now goes on to speak of a different level of faith saying:

                “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. Hebrews 6:4-6

                This text is directly related to Hebrews 10: 26-29 where he says:

                “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has insulted the Spirit of grace.

                You see, this is what is so devastatingly dangerous about the false grace that is being peddled in certain circles today. They teach that we can go on sinning willfully after we have received the grace and forgiveness of God and that it doesn’t matter any longer since we are forgiven. But that idea is as biblically wrong as wrongness can get, since we are to be formed into the image of Christ, by the Holy Spirit and the Word.  And so both those who are lawless and those who preach the Law, are missing something fundamental in Christian belief. If we have the Son, we have the life. If we are born again; then we have received eternal life and as Jesus said in John 11:23-27: “Those who live and believe in Me shall never die.”

                The lawless ones say it no longer matters if we sin because it is covered by grace. But here we find out that willful sinning insults the Spirit of grace which has been given for overcoming sin. Likewise for the one who keeps presenting the Law, he does not grasp the idea that we are under an even much stronger mandate and a greater power to obey the Lord by the Holy Spirit rather than by the Law on stone. To keep on sinning after receiving the grace of God, grieves the Holy Spirit. Continued sin prevents us from our continuous consummation of marriage in Christ. That is to say that if we refuse to be sanctified and transformed, that is equivalent to being unfaithful. We are consorting with other lovers.

                Think of an earthly marriage, in which one spouse keeps going out and having affairs with other people. What does that do to their covenant of marriage? What does it do to the heart of the faithful spouse? How can such a relationship grow if it is constantly being abused and ignored and broken?

                We are the Bride of Christ just as the tabernacle of Moses shows us. Our marriage takes place in the outer court where we receive the Lamb of God as our Savior and Lord and there we also offer our own bodies as a living sacrifice even as a husband and wife give themselves to each other with vows at the wedding.

                But that is not the end of the marriage, but just the beginning. Entering within the veil into the Holy Place represents the consummation of our marriage. It is the place of our growing love, our sexual commitments, our Holy Spirit borne unity of spirits, our fellowship and communication… everything that makes for a good and whole marriage. It takes place in the Holy Place.

                Then in the case of a chaste marriage, the Seed of Christ enters into the womb of the Bride, (represented by the Most Holy Place) and their the man child is conceived and born to grow up in us and to become our Lord and King as we learn to live by the Spirit, rather than by the flesh.

                Within this context of this understanding, pagan religion is not altogether wrong in all of its fertility rites. The difference is that they are represented by the temple prostitutes whereas the temple of God is represented by a pure virgin and a pure and monogamous marriage. Marriage was intended to be entered into by two virgin people who give themselves to each other for life. This, as Paul says, is a picture of Christ and the church.

                So can we not therefore see why it is that Satan is seeking to pervert marriage and fidelity and sexual purity in every imaginable way? Sexual perversion and the satanic marriage of same sexes or with animals, or in gender bending or any of the rest of it, we see Satan hard at work, perverting and destroying the image and desire of God for humanity.

                Even the false global religion that is now forming in these last days is identified as a great harlot who is riding on the global government of the Beast (Rev 17 and Rev. 13) and that is exactly what we see forming today and we don’t want to go there because hell and the lake of fire is their stated end and it is the end for every soul that takes the Mark of the Beast.

                And so we have important choices that are very much like a commitment of marriage to Christ. It is a marriage in which, if we fail to consummate it in our relationship (Through sanctification) with Christ, He will have to say “I never knew you.” You came to the wedding, but you never consummated our marriage. You never engaged in an intimate relationship with Me. In us the two never became one. So you acme to the altar to be married, but you   immediately went out to date all of your high school sweethearts.  You never received my Seed into your womb. You never engaged with My Holy Spirit. The man child was never conceived or formed in you. You have consorted with other lovers and so the child that you have produced is not in my image or likeness.

                Whatever hell is and however long it lasts we know this: It represents the broken heart of God and the ultimate grieving of His Holy Spirit. It is the ultimate rejection of His grace and His salvation and so you end up in the kingdom of Satan. In the end, Satan’s end is the lake of fire and you share that with him, since you have chosen him as your lord.

                So, leaving behind the elementary teachings, let us press on into a mature and loving marriage with Jesus Christ through His Word and His Holy Spirit. Let us make sure that our marriage with Him will be one that will last forever. “Faithful is He who calls you and He will also bring it to pass. 1 Thess. 5:24.

                Just remember that the outer court of the sanctuary, which represents our justification, is where the marriage takes place, while the Holy Place within the first veil speaks of our sanctification, which is tantamount to our consummating our marriage to Christ by allowing Him to plant His Seed in our spirits in order to produce the man child in us. Remember, if you will that Sanctification stands between u in the outer court and Jesus Christ who dwells in the Most Holy Place. Our growth and relationship with Christ takes place in the Holy Place where the Word of God and the Spirit of God transform us into His image.

                I have previously likened this relationship with Jesus to the FOB I hold in my pocket that unlocks my car and allows it to be driven. My car gives a happy little chirp when I approach it and it unlocks my door. But it isn’t really me that my car is welcoming… it is the FOB in my pocket that the car is welcoming. Likewise many will come to the Lord in that day saying Lord, lord and He will have to say, “I never knew you.” You have never received My Spirit… you never consummated our marriage… You have no FOB in your pocket by which I might recognize you. Depart from Me.”

                If then we want to be known by Jesus when He returns, then we need to make sure that His Holy Spirit and His Word dwell in us. For as Jesus says to the church at Philadelphia. ”I have set before you an open door that no man can shut. I have given you the key of David. My spiritual “FOB” dwells in you… welcome home.