I saw the dead - standing!

Who saw the dead standing? It seems to be a contradiction in terms; the dead standing.

The book of Revelation in the Holy Bible gives us the answer. It is a scene from the end of time. The apostle John is describing what he witnessed.

Revelation 20:11, 12, “(11) Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. (12)  And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.”

It is judgement time! It is the time the Lord Jesus Christ spoke about in John 5:28, 29, “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice (29) and come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”

This is the sequel to the raising of the wicked dead!

Let’s read on in Revelation 20:13-15, “(13) the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. (14) Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (15) And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

All the wicked dead from Adam and Eve’s time until the end of the 1,000 years reign of the Messiah (the Lord Jesus Christ) will stand before God to be judged according to what they have done in their lives. Romans 3:19 tells us “...that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God.”

Now here is a startling fact; our lives – every detail, is being recorded in heaven. Nothing is hidden to the true and living God – nothing!

Revelation 21:5, 8, “(5) Then He who sat on the throne said,...’The cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death’.”

Is this how you want your life to end?

It does not have to be this way!

If you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour; your name will be written in the Book of Life. Plus – you will not stand before the great white throne to be judged and cast into the lake of fire.

Jon Peasey

Words of Life blog  www.jrpeasey.blogspot.com

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version]

[You are welcome to comment on this blog post by clicking on the comment section at the end of the post.]

Life's hard - then you die!

Have you ever heard this saying?

It sounds fatalistic and the person saying it has no hope. This is the way life seems to them; the way is hard and the end is death.

The Scriptures concur with this saying.

Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”

Isaiah 57:21, “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

Life’s hard; this covers more than just physical labour. It covers things such as mental pressures, illness, financial stress, verbal and physical abuse, family dynamics and many other pressures in life. Some of these come about of our own choosing; some are thrust upon us.

There will be many testings and trials in our lives. However, we don’t have to face them alone.

Let’s look at the words spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew’s gospel. Matthew 11:28-30, “(28) Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (30) For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

1.      The invitation is to come to Him.

2.      He will give us rest.

3.      Walk in partnership with Him and He will take care of your burdens.

4.      Learn from Him.

5.      The load He gives in return is light and not hard to bear.

1 Peter 5:7 tells us, “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

So there is a choice; life doesn’t have to be so hard! Eliphaz in the Old Testament book of Job tells us in Job 22:21, “Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you.”

Why did Jesus Christ die on a Roman cross for you?

1.      To pay the price of your sins.

2.      To conquer sin, hell and death for you.

3.      To reserve a place for you in heaven.

1 Timothy 1:15, “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners...”

Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

The Lord Jesus Christ can take away the burden of your sins; if you are willing to acknowledge that you are a sinner, for He came to save sinners. You can acquaint yourself with Him and be at peace.

Jon Peasey

Words of Life blog  www.jrpeasey.blogspot.com

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version]

[You are welcome to comment on this blog post by clicking on the comment section at the end of the post.]

The Hidden Gospel

Now this seems to be a strange phrase! Gospel means “good news”; why then would you want to hide it? Why would the apostle Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthian believers, refer to his gospel as being hidden, or veiled?

Let’s look at 2 Corinthians 4:3, 4, “(3) But if our gospel is veiled [hidden}, it is veiled to those who are perishing, (4) whose minds the god of this age [Satan] has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” [Words in brackets are given for clarity.]

Verse 3 tells us that if the gospel is hidden, or veiled, it is hidden from those who are perishing. Does this mean that anyone on their way to Hell has no hope? Of course not!

Verse 4 is quite explicit in meaning. Satan, the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. Satan does not give up any soul without a struggle; the reason being that Satan does not want anyone to see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ. He wants to keep them in darkness!

The Lord Jesus Christ speaking in John 3:19 said, “...men loved darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil.” Have you ever turned over a piece of rubbish in your yard on a sunny day? Little insects or beetles will scurry away seeking another dark place to hide. That is a picture of sinful souls running away from the good news of the gospel.

Light reveals things as they are. Light dispels darkness; darkness goes when light comes. Satan is aware of this fact and will always try to keep souls in darkness. In other words, keep them from the truth; the truth that there is a wonderful, eternal salvation for sinful men, women and children.

Do you believe the gospel? If not, what clever piece of subterfuge is Satan blinding your mind with? When your life on Earth is finished, do you really want to go to Hell and later be cast into the Lake of Fire. This is where Satan and his fallen angels will end up!

The Lake of Fire is not what God wants for you. He has provided eternal salvation and Heaven through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The choice is yours and only you can make the decision.

Jon Peasey

Words of Life blog  www.jrpeasey.blogspot.com

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version]

[You are welcome to comment on this blog post by clicking on the comment section at the end of the post.]

He Bearing His Cross

It’s that time of the year again – Easter. Christian nations celebrate with four days of holiday; as they commemorate a unique time in the history of mankind.

How many of us will spare a thought for what Jesus of Nazareth did for us at Calvary? How many of us will give God thanks for what Jesus accomplished at Calvary?  How many of us will give God the glory for allowing His Son to die for us at Calvary?

John 19:16-18, “(16) Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led Him away. (17) And He bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. (18) where they crucified Him...”

Why would Jesus Christ allow Himself to be taken and led away to die on a Roman cross? The Scriptures bear record that:

1.      “He did no sin” (1Peter 2:22)

2.      He “knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

3.      “in Him was no sin” (1 John 3:5).

Now, the Scriptures also bear record that “...the wages of sin is death...” (Romans 6:23). Therefore, He was not subject to death. However, He chose to die for you and me; to pay the penalty for our sins. He bore our punishment on the cross so we could obtain eternal life through Him (Romans 6:23).

His dying is not the end of the matter. His blood was shed at the cross for the remission of our sins. He was buried the same day and three days later rose again in resurrection power; thus proving that death had no hold on Him.

So Easter is a celebration of death defeated! Easter is a celebration of Christ’s mighty victory over sin, death and the grave! He did it all alone – for our sakes – to save our souls and bring glory to God.

1 Corinthians 15:55, “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”

Do you know the power of Jesus Christ’s salvation in your life? Will you be in the resurrection of life? (John 5:29).

Jon Peasey

Words of Life blog  www.jrpeasey.blogspot.com

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version]

[You are welcome to comment on this blog post by clicking on the comment section at the end of the post.]