JESUS RETURNS TO HIS HOUSEHOLD

We read that after the death and resurrection of Jesus he spent 40 days with his disciples, instructing and encouraging them. Following this period he departed from them and ascended into heaven. But the disciples were told clearly about the fact that he would return:

"As they were looking, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they were looking steadfastly into heaven, as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? This same Jesus, which was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have beheld him going into heaven." Acts 1v9-11

So clearly Jesus is to return, but when? Jesus told his disciples that the days of his second coming would coincide with a period of universal unrest and trouble among the nations. He said there would be:

"upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity; men's hearts fainting for fear, and for expectation of things which are coming on the earth." Luke 21v25-27.

There are many passages in the Bible that indicate that the return of Jesus will be unexpected by the majority. He would return suddenly, quietly and unobtrusively as a "thief in the night". Of the signs relating to the return of Jesus it is not our purpose to go into detail now. Other pages cover this subject in more detail - [link ] signs. But briefly, Jesus spoke of the time immediately prior to his return as being like they were in the days of Noah and Lot. These righteous servants of God were removed before the outpouring of Divine judgements upon their wicked contemporaries. [Luke 17v26-30] When Jesus returns, his first concern will be with the calling and judgement of his household:

"For the time is come for judgement to begin at the house of God: and if it begin with at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God." 1Peter 17-18

Judgement then is to begin with the household of Jesus; those who have had opportunity in the long years since Jesus left to learn the Gospel message and obey it. In this context we recall Jesus told a parable about a noble man who left on a journey to a far country in order that he may receive a Kingdom. Before he went he entrusted his servants with a certain amount of money to use wisely in his absence. Upon his return having received the kingdom he demanded to know how they had dealt with what they had been entrusted with. So we read:

"It came to pass when he was come back again, having received the kingdom, that he commanded those servants, unto whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by trading." Luke 19v15.

John gives us encouragement to strive to be faithful servants, wisely using in the service of Jesus all that he has entrusted to us. If we do we will not be ashamed when we must give an account to him of our lives when he returns. John writes:

"Now my little children, abide in him; that, if he shall be manifested, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming." 1John 2v28

It is only right that we should expect a judgement. We read all "must stand before the judgement seat of Christ." Much has been given, much will be expected. A great price has been paid for salvation and if we scorn and reject that salvation we can only deserve condemnation.

source; posted by permission of  www.biblelight.org 
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 "For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done." Matthew 16;27

 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left." 
Matthew 25;31

“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.  If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!"  Mark 13;35-37


 "And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." Acts 3;20-21

 "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." 1 Thessalonians 4;16


"(...)to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels  in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus." 2 Thessalonians 1;7

"for our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." Phillipians 3;20 

"Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." Hebrew 9;28

Gospel of powerful Savior

Gospel is a great message of the hope given by God. It is a light in the darkness you should look to.  For those who believe it it is a power into salvation. For those who ignore it it is a stumbling stone. Gospel is a message  which can change  your future, if it is accepted it guaranties a great future with the Lord, if it is rejected it will testify against you as you are under God's wrath. We  sometimes do not fully realize  the significance of the great truth. If you are aware  of what are you saved from, you will appreciate the great message in which God gives you the way out. The fact about  God's coming wrath  is very often taken as a sort of dormant volcano. We ignore it, we put our feet on it, we may drop a stone into it, and the volcano is quiet.  We think God doesn't respond. When we look at the  world around  us in the news; facts filled with crimes, injustice and we think people just get away with everything and we wonder where is God in all that? The truth is if His justice came right away we ALL would be a subject to condemnation. Including the apparent' good " people as there is no one without sin.
( Romans 3;11)

In the world we live in the name of Jesus often causes offense- the only name by which people can be saved. We don't realize that postponed judgement that is to come from God is result of God's love and grace. He doesn't want you to be condemned! His patience is to give you time to escape into a safe place coming to the Savior of the world.
But there are many who are lost because they  do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as  their Lord.

They underestimate the  power of Christ as many remember him only  as a crucified man. Man of sorrows, betrayed and killed.  So we should be looking also at Christ glorified. He is not in the grave any longer  because He  is risen, He is not here because He has ascended and sits at the right hand of God and makes intercession for us. He is not coming as a judge now, because He is waiting for to come to Him to be saved.
We as believers would like Christ to come right away because for us it means seeing our Savior, but for the rest of the unbelieving world it means judgement. So if you want Christ to come quickly- share the gospel message with the lost world!

Coming to Jesus it is not coming to the dead image of a dead man, it is not coming to a little baby Jesus nursed by a woman. We must look to the Lord " that lives and was dead and is alive for evermore and has the keys  of hell and of death." Revelation 1;18
We have to look  to glorified Jesus who said: " All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." (Matthew 28;18)
After remembering Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane in His  bloody sweat then  dying on the cross, now  we find Him risen  in glory surrounded with  the omnipotence. He has received the privilege, honor, glory, fullness and power that lifted Hm far above the sons of men.
He is no longer the sufferer but a sovereign, no longer a victim but a victor, no longer a servant but a Monarch of heaven and earth.

"He went down into awful depths of unutterable agony  to save us and now  all power in heaven and earth  belongs to Him as our Redeemer and Covenant Head." Ch.Spurgeon.

As we think about the words " all power" we can see omnipotence given Him by his Father. That includes the power over creation, the power of sustaining that which has been made, the power of making alive, the power to pardon and to condemn, to give and withhold- all this has been placed in authority of Jesus Christ our Lord.
                                                           "All power in heaven"
Jesus has divine power. Whatever God can do, Jesus can do, whatever belongs to God, it belongs to Jesus. " All what the Father has, is mine." (John 16;15)
"If it were His will to immediately fold up creation like a worn out garment  ( Hebrew 1;10-12)  the elements would pass away ( 2 Peter 3;10) and the heavens would be shriveled like a scroll ( Isaiah 34;4). Angelic hosts are waiting in midair to obey the commands of Jesus. He who was despised and rejected by men ( Isaiah 53;3) now commands the homage of all heaven as the One who was given all the power in heaven and earth by the Father. "


" All power in heaven " relates to the providential skill and might with which God rules everything in the universe. He holds  the reins of all created forces  and impels or restrains them at His will giving force to law and and giving life to all existence. Jesus is Lord of all for the Father has committed all things into His hands.  ( Matthew 11;27)

                                                           "All power on earth"
If a man could rule over all his fellowmen, he still would not all power on earth, for there are other forces he has no control over.
Deadly diseases and natural disasters,  power of nature  laugh at the power of men. Even before being glorified Jesus demonstrated power over nature where wind and waves obeyed Him, when the fig tree withered at His spoken words.  ( Matthew 8;27)  ( Matthew 21;18-22)

He is the One whose power will raise all the  people who have ever lived  back to life, either to eternal life with Him or to the judgement.
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.
 Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man."John 5;24-27

" By sickness, pain and death the proudest princes have been forced to recognize that, after all, they were only men."  Ch.Spurgeon.
All can understand in our weaknesses  that power belongs to God alone.  When He entrusts a little bit  of  it to the sons of men, some  usually tend to boast about it. But it ALL belongs to God and now given in the hands of Jesus. We keep waiting when His name will be honored by everyone.

At the present time Jesus Christ the Lord is indeed ruling over the earth (and indeed over the entire universe), however He is not yet reigning on the earth.
There is coming a day when everyone who has ever lived and everyone who ever will live will bow their knee to the name of Jesus.
Troubling events we hear in the news may distress us but there is coming a day when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians  2;9-11

"Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father."

One day all rebellious sinners may hear these words of Jesus Christ, “During that long day of grace, I was the Savior whom you were insulting and despising, and I would have forgiven you. But  you chose to ignore my grace. Today I am your Judge. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire!”


Matthew 24;37-39 says that all who are ignoring the message of salvation, the second coming of Christ as a judge may take them by surprise;

"As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man."

Rejecting God's grace  now will have its consequences in the future;
"(...)when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance upon those who do not know God and upon those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.  (2 Thessalonians 1;7-9)

Those who don't want to know Jesus now, they will have to know Him later at  His second coming in glory and power. But it will be already too late for salvation as the time of grace is now.( 2 Corinthians 6;2)

God's coming judgement is described in a powerful way;
"Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come! Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every man's heart will melt, and they will be dismayed. Pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in travail. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame. Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the earth a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising and the moon will not shed its light. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant, and lay low the haughtiness of the ruthless. I will make men more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger." (Isaiah 13:6-13)

So now is the day of salvation.
Jesus  is living and accessible Savior and He  is able  to save anybody  that comes unto God by Him. Hebrew 7;25
The New Testament offers wonderful, complete forgiveness of all sin made possible by the death of God's own son, Jesus, on our behalf. The full power of his resurrection enables those who follow Jesus to live whole and godly lives. Furthermore, Christ promises that his bride, the true church, will escape from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:10)
Don't wait until it is eternally too late! Accept Him as your Savior and Lord today. Know that you will spend eternity in His presence.

Does calling only 'Lord Lord' save me?

About a month ago I overlooked  something really important to me. Because I fly every summer to Europa I had  enough miles to have next ticket for free.
For free- under the condition I would keep my miles not expired by paying a small fee. But I ignored the  email I got from my airlines thinking it was  another advertisement and that way I missed my great opportunity for a special flight. I thought I was so close, if only I opened and read that information they sent me. If only I responded. But it was too late. Well, I realized  there are more important things people will overlook in their lives.
I my situation it was just a  free plane ticket. But what about overlooking  ' time of grace', ' time of salvation' that is now and many will ignore it?
The consequences are much more dramatic than  my 'lost'  ticket to Europa.

 I thought about people who will miss their important opportunity of responding to Jesus why they are still alive. Just the thought that there would be too late for them, because the message about salvation was ignored- is a hard feeling.  They will  miss their whole  eternity with God!  They will have to experience the second death and will be unaware of the great things  God has in store for those who love Him.
As the note in the email about my mileage said; 'expired', so will  end everybody's opportunity to come to Jesus. If in this life we don't want to have anything to do with God, we can't expect He would want anything to do with us after our time on earth  is finished.

"Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven." Matthew 10;32-33

The Bible is filled with many warnings about missed opportunities of reconciliation with God, ignored message about salvation,vulnerability to believe  lies if people won't hold on to the truth. It gives  us warnings against being  'fake' believers,  apparently christian-looking people. It commends us to be watchful so that we wouldn't be disappointed at Christ' second coming. There will be no excuse if somebody  will be found without Christ as his/her Lord.

There is a specific situation we - as believers-are warned, too. It  relates to  turning back to sinful life and ignoring the relationship with the Lord
A 'Christian' who is not enduring in the relationship with the Lord to the end. Back to sinful life.
( Matthew 24;48-51)
"But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming, and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards,  the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

We  can notice  that the person Jesus is talking about is somebody who knew Him as His master, he knew about His coming back. We would say today that this person should  definitely be a  Christian. This 'Christian'  doesn't take  his master's  coming seriously  so if  Christ is not  coming right away, he  foolishly turns back to his sinful life. He looks like the one who never understood what  it meant to be a follower of Christ. He doesn't understand that 'delayed coming' of His master  means opportunities for others to still get saved. He is called 'evil servant', imposingly there is no  good fruit in his life, which means there is no relationship with his master.
We have to understand that Christianity is the RELATIONSHIP  with the Lord! It is not  a -one time in life- prayer. It is not living in sin because 'I am saved' so I can do whatever I want to.  If there is no communication  with our Lord, you won't know Him, and He might say one day' He doesn't know you'. Let's read what Jesus once said;
"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." John 10;27. Then He  also said;  "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish." 
It is obeying the Lord, it is listening to His voice! Then you can be sure, you will never perish.

The question is why is the 'servant'  in  the parable (Matthew 24;48-51) rejected at the end? We can know based on  John 10;27  that  if he followed the Lord and listened to His voice, he should have a grantee of  being saved. So definitely that was missing in his life. Just knowing who Christ is, doesn't make us true believers, it doesn't make us saved. The question is; Is He really your Lord, are you following Him?


A 'Christian' who  does  works in the name of the Lord but must have never been in relationship with Jesus.
(Matthew 7;22)
"On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
If Jesus would say to these people 'I never knew you', that means these people never belonged to Him although they made all impression that they did.They were never His!
He says; "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me." John 10;14

Jesus is warning us  that there will be a number of people who look like Christians, who associate with Christians, and who even think they are Christians, who will be shocked to learn that they are not saved at the return of our Lord. What a sobering thought. This text is not seeking to create uncertainty and doubt in the heart of the Christian. It is not seeking to rob the Christian of his assurance. But it is seeking to warn those who have a false assurance, but not salvation. In the last days, just as in Jesus’ time and today, there will be those who appear to be Christians, but are not:


   Warning about being a 'sleeping  Christian'  in the parable about ten virgins;  not  being watchful resulting in disappointment   at Christ coming;

 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of the virgins were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish ones took their lamps, they did not take extra olive oil with them. But the wise ones took flasks of olive oil with their lamps.  When the bridegroom was delayed a long time, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is here! Come out to meet him.’ Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’  ‘No,’ they replied. ‘There won’t be enough for you and for us. Go instead to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’  But while they had gone to buy it, the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went inside with him to the wedding banquet. Then the door was shut.  Later, the other virgins came too, saying, ‘Lord, lord! Let us in!’  But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I do not know you!’  Therefore stay alert, because you do not know the day or the hour” (Matthew 25:1-13).

Even though the five virgins plead, “Lord, Lord … ,” they were sent away with the words, “I do not know you!”
We find it emphasized here that once our Lord returns, there is neither the time nor the opportunity for the five foolish virgins to 'fix' their relationship with the Lord. In our text, the five foolish virgins are not given the time to reverse their folly, once the groom has come. They had their opportunity, and they lost it. Now it is too late. Once again, we notice that the story refers to people who knew who the Lord was but weren't doing what He was saying. They weren't watchful, more- they surely weren't listening to His voice.  They might have been people who once heard the gospel but then the  worldly things  took over so much that there was no time to listen to His voice and obeying Him. That way they  'overslept' their Lord's coming.  
Once again, knowing who Christ is doesn't make you saved. You have to make Him Lord of your life. Give your life to Him. It is not the knowledge about the Lord that gives you life but the  relationship with Him. Listen and obey what He says. That's why Jesus said ;

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." Matthew 7;21

So what is the will of the Father in heaven? To believe in the One He sent and obeying Him, listening to His voice, doing what He says.
We are warned against being only listeners but not doers!
"Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like.  They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” Luke 6;46-49

Our faith without works is  simply nothing. If there is no fruit in our life, no love expressed toward other people, if there is no prayer at all  - our relationship with the Lord might be questionable.

James 1;22-24 says; "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror  and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. "

Christianity differs from all  the worldly religions that it is a relationship with the living Lord. For a very important  reason -there is so much teaching in the  four gospels about who is a true follower of Christ. We can make a conclusion that   the true Christian  loves the Lord  all the time, he keeps in communication with Him,  and as the result he is producing  good fruit, he shows the love towards others. 

" By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13;35

Warning against ' having  no heart' ,  lacking love toward others;
{ A parable in Matthew 25;31-46}
His story about the separation of goats and sheep must have unsettled his audience.  The Day of Judgement will reveal who showed true compassion and mercy toward their neighbor. As much as we might like to judge the parables, the parables, nonetheless, judge us.  Jesus teaches us a very important lesson about loving our neighbor and taking responsibility for others.  God will judge us not only for the wrong we have done but also for what we have failed to do.  Now is the time of God’s mercy for seeking his help and grace to turn away from sin and to walk in his way of love.

We can see that as the result of our relationship with the Lord , good fruit should be produced in our  Christian life.We can't impress God with our good deeds on our own. We usually produce fruit by abiding in Jesus;
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15;5

How much do we care?

Do you know that most people who are perishing and going to hell are the ones who don't care?  Those who simply  don't care what will happen after they die.
Not  necessary the bad ones as lots of sinners in the time of Jesus repented and came to Him for forgiveness.  Also the  " apparently"  'good' ones are the most 'endangered'.  I say 'apparently' as they give all the impression of being good and  think  of themselves as good people.
Luke 18;11-14 talks about one example
"The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’  But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The Bible says no one of us is good enough on our  own, and the 'righteous' to themselves need to see they also need a Savior. The other careless group of  people is the one  enjoying  only the present time and  for whom all the worldly things seem to take over. 
Happy as long as there is  a  good retirement plan, but what about the eternal plan of salvation ? Nobody said you will die at the age of 90 so you have time to wait, God can call you earlier at the age of 40 or 50  or any  other time. It might be  by surprise.
We read that those who don't know Christ will pay the price. A severe, terrible price. In referring to this price Jesus is talking in Matthew 24;38-20
"For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man."
The parable is clear. A message of  judgement was proclaimed at the times of Noah as it is now. People didn't listen much at that time, people don't  care much in these days. People could be saved in Noah' s ark, people can be saved in Jesus now. There came  judgement of flood, next there will come the judgement of fire.
"In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." 2 Thessalonians 1;8-9

Whoever was to hide in the wooden ark was to be saved, whoever will hide in Jesus and His cross will be saved.
If God didn't give up  the judgement  in Noah's generation,  He is also  not going to give  it up at Christ's return. In both situations people had enough time to change and choose life with God Until Christ comes it is your time to get right with God. Don't put it off so you  wouldn't have to be taken by surprise.

"But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment." 2 Peter 3;10
The era of Noah was a sad one. People on earth did what God said was evil, and violence was everywhere.. Gen 6;11
Such rebellion was breaking God's heart. He even regretted creating it.
Only Noah and his family responded to His call and they and the animals were saved. Whoever responds to Christ's call will be saved also.
When the  door of the ark was closed and it started to rain- it was too late for anybody else. When Christ will come second time, the door will be closed as well.If you don't  know Him you will pay the severe price.

You would ask, why should I know Him? Are you sure there is such a place as hell? Isn't God love? How would He sent anybody there?
His justice and holiness requires the punishment of sin.
When Christ was teaching  thirteen percent of the  of His  teaching is about judgement and hell. More than half of His parables refer to God's  eternal judgement  of sinners. No one spoke of hell more than Christ did. He spoke about it so much to let you know where you don't  have to go if you put your trust in Him!
He is our high priest interceding for us. You need to be forgiven to be able to avoid God's eternal punishment. And that sin- forgiveness is only from Jesus.
God is giving everybody a chance, a chance to escape the horror of eternal hell, and if you choose to ignore it, there will be no mercy after Christ return.

We all celebrate Easter, we all know what happened before Easter, we know Jesus had to go through lots of pain, cross and experience of separation from God.  If   God's judgement wasn't real and wasn't  terrible, Christ wouldn't have to worry about saving us from that. We would die for our sin, God would resurrect us and say, " I forgive you" and that's it. If God's Son experienced the separation from God and pain, surely will those who will die without Him.
Don't choose  the worldly things  to captivate your minds so  much and become careless person.
You might know Jesus ' dead'  only on the cross and you don't know  how much your life depends on Him. Get to know the real resurrected Christ who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

When John saw Jesus on the island of Patmos, he was amazed. John's encounter was far too different  from any in Galilee. The impression was so powerful that John was knocked out cold." When I saw Him I fell in a dead faint at his feet." Rev 1;17

John describes; "He was dressed in a long robe and had a gold band around His chest.". The significance of the robe  and band  is great. Jesus is wearing  the clothing of a priest who presents people to God and God to people. He is at the right hand of God interceding. Rom 8;34

He is the one who can wipe away your guilt. He is the one who doesn't want you to perish.

We also see absolute strength. "His feet were like bronze  that glows hot in a furnace" Rev 1;15 

He comes to you gentle.
"His voice like a noise of a flooding water." The sound of His voice soothes a soul.
 
"Coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword" Rev 1;16
The truth of His voice  pierces a soul.
He knows everything about you, He knows  your heart, every thought, every sin of yours and wants to wipe it away when you come to Him. "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrew 4;12

 He doesn't want you to experience judgement;
"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." John 5;24





He wants to give you life;John 10;10
"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full"  John 10;10

He laid His life for you;
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" John 10;11



He is alive and He is definitely coming again;
“Look, he is coming with the clouds,
    and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
    and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.
So shall it be! Amen." Rev 1;7

The living Jesus

I remember first time somebody told me about Jesus and salvation. I thought my friend was really 'religious'. Just because I had never heard before anybody talking about Jesus so much I thought the person must have  been super 'religious'.
 I also recall her explanation to me about the difference between trusting  in God and religion. At that time I had no clue what she was talking about  as it seemed that both topics were pointing to one.  Before I really got to know Jesus,  believing in God seemed a religion.What made the difference is when I finally put my trust in Him and accepted Him as my Lord and Savior.
 He just answered  my prayer after I cast all my burden upon Him saying that I didn't have peace in my heart and I wanted to be sure I was saved and that I was following His call. Then  the peace came into my heart  about which I  also read  in the Bible;
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. It is not as the world gives that I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not let it be afraid.”
John 14;27

I realized Jesus was true and living.
Then  I knew  what my friend was talking  about. There is a  big difference between  knowing the  true God  and religion. Religion  is  only holing on to man -made regulations  or holding on to different man made -rituals, doing different things to impress an unknown God, aiming to your salvation on your own.  Religion is for those who want to be religious but Jesus offers life! No rituals to hold on to.Salvation is free.
You are not  saved by offering any animal sacrifice to God, you are not saved by fasting or reading the Bible constantly, you are not saved by going to the church or because your parents baptized  you as an infant and put a name " Christian"  in your documents so you belong somewhere. Jesus doesn't  call us to a new 'religion' but to life. He never mentioned a word 'religion' about trusting  in Him.
You would say everybody has life so what is the difference? What did Jesus mean by life?

What  we think about life -is what relates to out earthly temporary existence. Life in which God has no authority over us. " Let us eat and drink  for tomorrow we might die." Death will destroy everything, it is the end. So let's have as much fun now as possible before that end comes. That is how many understand 'life"
"But if there is nothing more to life than that, no meaning, no purpose, no knowledge of God, no Christ, how pathetic life becomes." somebody already said.
We are more than just the  bodies, we are  also souls Surely life is more than food!

There are many  religions but only  one person through whom we are saved- Jesus Christ. Only one man who died and rose again- Jesus. Only one person with the given authority over death and life- Jesus. Only one  person that  can give you peace and meaning in your  life- Jesus. Only one  person who demonstrated power over the rules of the nature- Jesus.

People  throughout  the centuries weren't dying for a lie.They weren't dying for an uncertain fact. They were dying for their faith, that they couldn't deny as they experienced real presence of Jesus in their lives. "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
And The Life was revealed and we perceived and we testify and we proclaim to you the Life Eternal, that which was with The Father and was revealed to us."
1John 1-2

  If Christ didn't  rose from the dead, if nobody experienced any changing power that gives hope and new life - Christianity would be built on a lie.
If there had been no resurrection, the Christian church would never have come into being.There would be no meaning to life whatsoever. Even the Bible says;
"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." 1 Corinthians15;19
There is a true hope beyond the earthly life.First of all there is no fear. Death is no longer the end and time is no longer the enemy. When you know Christ you know life is forever. The purpose of it Jesus stated in His prayer;
 "And this is life eternal, that they might know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent."  John 17;3
Life is yours for taking. You take it by faith in the living Christ. You can't believe in a dead Christ. Only the living Lord can save you. Eternal life - "now and forever." It is offered freely, but how many of us take it seriously?
 We care about things like our house to be paid off  in 20- 30 years,about our life insurance, but what about eternal insurance in Jesus? We think about our little  kids going to college in 20 years, but what about us  in 40, 50, 60, 70 years from now? At some point we will face  God  and eternity. For some it will come sooner, for some later. Eternity either with God, or apart from God in a darkness..

Life without Christ  is actually  very scary! Very uncertain. You want to hold on to it as much as possible, preserve it with all possible means but no matter how much you try, you won't be able to keep it forever.  There is a story in the Bible.
Jesus talked to people who came to Him complaining about  ' innocent'  people killed in an accident;
"Those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?  I tell you, no!
But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”  Luke 13;4-5
Without a Savior the future is very uncertain, life very fragile.
Forgiveness  and life is offered now. Don't wait, don't put it off before it is too late.


No teacher has ever said anything like that  " All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth".  Have we ever thought about that?
What does it really mean? All power is His as He is the risen Lord. Because  He is the risen Lord, He is the Savior of the world. He said " I am the resurrection and the life"
Do we forget why we celebrate Easter?  Put the  eggs, and the bunnies aside, it is celebrating victory over death! He is risen, He is alive! Death could not hold Him. He is victor. He is the resurrection. He is triumphant over death.
" I am alive forevermore...and have  the keys of hell and death." Revelation  1;18

Remember the knowledge about Jesus doesn't save you. You might know all details about His life  and still be missing the life  He is offering.  Christ is life and gives life to those who take it, but we must want it. We must mean it. This is no gift for which you say ' thank you' and put it away in a closet. Salvation was purchased for you by a very high price, it cost God's Son to shed His blood.
 Jesus comes to us when we really mean it. Then we can experience a new transformed life, full of hope with the living Lord.
Then we can say; He is REAL!

The way to God

Most of the world developed an idea about God, who is a great Unknown. The thought that He is detached from the world, the Unknowable is very common because He doesn't  do things according to our own expectations or imagination.
According to the Stoics - God is utterly detached from the human scene and we cannot influence Him, neither have any relationship with Him. Many still retain these ideas. God is Unknowable and  He doesn't care. We want Him to be  a sort of a Fairy to fulfill  our wishes.
We wonder why isn't  He simply visible to us, why isn't He  talking to us from heaven with a loud voice so we can clearly see this is God?
Because it is not about seeing but getting to know  who He is, how  much He cares and  how much He is involved in our lives.  And it is based on His conditions;
 "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." James 4;6
If  we  only knew how He looks like but didn't  care about getting to know His character, His personality, His heart- would that be  satisfying for is- just to say;
" Oh, I saw God, He is of that shape, looks  so and so." ?
No. God  is definitely more than we could  see to be able to describe Him. Besides, God is a Spirit and we can know Him by getting to know His character. God made the way to know Him. For those who believe the gospel, there comes His revelation.
He doesn't  have to be the Unapproachable One any more.
In a Jewish temple there was  a curtain hanging  to hide  the Holy One. Only once a year  the high priest could  enter  to make atonement for the people.He alone could come near the Holy One, the God who was separated from man.

But we forget  that huge curtain hiding The Holy One  - was torn down when  JESUS DIED ON  THE CROSS!
He came into this world where God seemed unknown  and removed our own conception  of  unapproachable God.
Jesus comes to call us to God. He comes  with the news that God is not  removed from us  that He wants us to approach Him, that in fact, this Holy God  is friendly to sinners. For this reason the Pharisees were filled with anger  when they  saw Jesus  befriending  the common people. But Jesus reveals God, enters the human scene and calls us to Him;
"Come unto Me, all ye that labor  and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon  you  and learn from Me..."  Matthew 11;28
Here Jesus reverses our  human ideas of God  and shows that  God wants you to come to Him. God calls you as a  father calls his children home. God seeks you as a shepherd seeks a lost sheep. He calls you in His name ." Learn from Me....you  shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke  is easy and my burden is light."
"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19;10 That is -us-  who were lost in this sinful  world, and by sin  were separated from God.

Somebody once said;" Shakespeare can give  you literature, Browning can  give you poetry, Kant can give you philosophy, Sartre can give you existentialism,Freud can  give you psychoanalysis, Einstein calls you give you science, the newspaper  calls you to give you information, the motion picture gives you entertainment, the advertisers- a better living... Everything the world gives you is temporal. Everything Jesus gives is ETERNAL! He calls you to salvation!
What is Jesus cure? " Come unto Me"  A call not to join an organization, to follow an ethic,  a new teaching, or even a way of life, but this is a call to meet a PERSON,  an invitation to come directly to Him and through Him to God. He is the DOOR. He is the WAY. Who else can save you if not the One who demonstrated His power over life and death? The One who died and rose again.
"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to." John 5; 39-40

God desires to be approached. He can be approachable through Jesus. Can anyone hold an intimate conversation with  one of the Greek gods or any other man-made gods -statues?  Definitely not! But the Father of  Jesus Christ offers Himself to us; :" Come unto Me."

Can any of the man-made gods in different religions  give you salvation? Definitely  NOT.
"No one can come to the Father except through me" John 14;6
And Jesus says;" I will give you rest" The release of sin. The removal of fear. Freedom of conscience. Everlasting life. Jesus brought us the vision of God, the God who desires  to be approached. It is not the fear of sin but the love of God which sets men free.
So Jesus calls you  He invites you to the eternal God. For this God approaches you in Jesus and invites you to salvation and service. You may come from the lowest of motives. You may only want  peace of mind, or  rest from your burdens.. Someone once said; " I came looking for shelter. I found a shell. And then in a shell, I found a pearl"
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation". Colossians 1;15

All about salvation

 Who will be saved?
There is no universal salvation, some will be saved and others lost. The Bible says that  the day to separate one from the other will come for sure. This is the day to separate grain from the chaff, the good from the bad, the sheep from the goats. Each person will be classified into one or the other group. The Holy Bible  says that in many places. Therefore, I do not accept the thesis of universal salvation. The question is: Are you between the saved or the lost ones?

To emphasize the importance of this issue, I must refer to the parable of the wheat and the tares and the parable of the fishing. We do not  have to find our own  interpretation of these parables, the Lord  explained  them to us  clearly Himself. Wheat - says Jesus - symbolizes the children of God, and the tares - the children of Satan. The servants wanted to root out the tares and to leave the wheat , but Jesus said: "Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."
(Matt. 13: 30).

How long will they grow together? Until the harvest. When will be the harvest? When the Lord  says it is time for that. That means, while we are on this earth there will be wheat and tares, children of God and children of Satan. If we all  were to be saved,  the weeds  would have to be turned into the wheat. But the Bible says  the tares are tares, they are  not intended to be saved, but will be collected in bundles and burned.

The same lesson is in the parable about fishing. The fisherman catches the good and bad fish. In the sea there are also bad fish.The sea  is the Kingdom, the visible church - and it has also unbelievers ( or fake believers) in it  who are like bad  fish in a net. The separation does not take place earlier than at the end of the ages( whenever the Lord decides). Then the good will be separated from the bad. Not everyone will be saved.

"Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who commit iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear! (Matt. 13: 41-43).


"Angels shall come forth, and separate the wicked from the righteous" (Matt. 13: 49).
"And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then the King will say to them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world [...]. Then  He`shall say to those on his left hand, Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels [...].
Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
(Matthew 25: 32-34, 41, 46).

Our Lord says that the angels  will separate the sinful from the righteous, The sheep will be set on his right and the goats on the left. To ones He will say, "Come, ye blessed ones " to the others He will says : "Depart from me, ye cursed ones ." Thus, if there is a separation, not everyone will be saved.  The question is  are you between the saved or the lost ones?
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
(Matthew 7: 13 - 14). So many are on the broad road and  not too many on the narrow.

"But, how  God of love - you would say - may take so many for  destruction?!
Let me ask you a question: Do you remember from the Bible when God allowed for so many to go to destruction? Yes, there was such a time. It was the time of the flood. Only eight people were saved, and all the others were killed. So many were lost in the waves of the flood.Their salvation was in the ark God told Noah to build but only Noah's family hid in there.

If God had already done so, is it difficult to accept that the judgement will happen again? Do you remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah? How many people survived? Only three.  There were only three righteous people God led out of the city before He destroyed it. All the others were killed. If God judged the wicked ones for the second time, He will surely carry on His judgement  for the third time. Unfortunately  the vast majority is rejecting the only savior Jesus Christ and   so they will be lost.

Why today so many are  walking on that wide road that leads to destruction? The vast majority have no idea at all about the Gospel ...

Most people do not have Jesus Christ in their lives. And which group do you belong to?

 Many of those who expect to be saved- relying on their own righteousness, not on the God -  will be lost

This is the saddest fact, but some of those who confidently expect that they will be in heaven, they will be not there.
Those  who deceived themselves, were not looking for the truth  but were holding on to Satan's lies regarding their salvation. It is a faith that is rejecting God's grace, relying on your own righteousness, faith without Christ the Savior, when the doors of mercy are closed.

"Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name cast out demons, and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then I tell them, 'I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness "(Matthew 7: 21-23).

Make sure you are building on the one foundation that is Jesus Christ.
Do you let yourself be deceived by false teachings that are not rooted in God's word. You might have been  listening to the Gospel all your life but never received Jesus as your Lord and Savior. You might have been raised in a Christian home, attending Bible classes and were active member of the church but never really received Jesus as your Savior. There is no salvation without Jesus.

Second coming of Christ

"The prophecy  about Messiah, based on books of  Daniel, Isaiah, Zachariah"
"The One coming back"
Prophet Daniel  had a vision  "I kept looking into  the night visions, and behold with the clouds of heaven  One like a son of man was coming  and he came up  to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion, glory and  a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations  and men of every  language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away, and his kingdom is one which  will not be destroyed."
But then we also know  from the prophets that the Messiah  will have to meet the other  requirements ;he will be the descendant of David, born from a woman, one  from  among  his brothers, born in Bethlehem. How is that all possible, prophet Daniel  showing  him coming in the clouds of  heaven to conquer  and rule , as the one to whom  was given everlasting dominion and a kingdom. Prophet Isaiah  talks about the one who will  be  born of  a woman ( Isaiah 7;14), having the earthly life like ours, coming in a gentle and humble way to suffer (Isaiah 53) .  The only way  for all these verses to be  true  is that there would have to be two separate comings. The first followers of Jesus  didn't understand that either, until after Jesus' death and resurrection when he told them that the Messiah came to suffer first before entering his glory.
Isaiah 53  talks about a servant who had to suffer and  die   before he was glorified and gives a purpose for that;
v.3 " the one despised and rejected by men" v.5 “wounded for our transgressions, crushed because of our sins, the punishment  that brought us peace was upon him and by his wound we are healed“
The verse .6  explains ;  ” We all like sheep went astray, we turned each one to his own way, yet Adonai laid on him the guilt of all of us."v.7 "led as a lamb to the slaughter....he opened NOT his mouth"
v.8. "cut off from the land of living,  for transgressions of my people  he was stricken”,
v.11. ” My righteous Servant shall justify many , for he shall bear their iniquities“
As the verse 10 says; He made his soul offering for sin .He made his life a quilt offering, sacrificed for us so that we may have  God's  forgiveness and life. Forgiveness of sins that we have in his blood shed for us.
Isaiah talks about him having his life back; "  He shall see the labor of his soul, and be satisfied."
In the  verse 12  Isaiah  said; ” Therefore I will assign him a share with the great, he will divide the spoil with the strong for  having exposed himself to death and being counted among the sinners."
Some Jews saw that  the Messiah  would  have to suffer but they did not see his death  and resurrection. Just before  what we now clearly see as a classic prophecy about his suffering and death, comes Isaiah 52;13  which speaks of the exaltation  of the Messiah " See my servant will act wisely, he will be raised  and lifted up  and highly exalted"
While Daniel 7;13  speaks of  'son of man' coming in the clouds of heaven to bring justice,  Isaiah  also talks about the same suffering servant who will bring justice  (verse  42;1 ) says;   "Behold  my Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom my soul delights! I have put my Spirit upon Him, He will bring justice to the gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise his voice to be heard in the street (...) He will bring justice for truth."
We will read later about why all the scriptures haven't been fulfilled yet. All the great promises are still to come.
Old Testament scriptures talk  about Messiah' glorious time in the future to come.  Why  couldn't  it all together be accomplished  at once?  Had he come to bring justice right away, nobody would stay alive!
For it says; "all have sinned and fell short of the glory of God."  We  had to be justified by him to have clean heart,  he had to die  in our place, by that sacrifice we are saved from God's wrath.  Restoration of hearts  by forgiveness of sin comes first. He said himself  " This is my body given for you ...this cup is a new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you" Luke 22;19-20
We can rejoice in the hope and peace we have in his salvation, many people are lacking living without Christ.
Ignoring that fact, we wonder why ALL the prophecy about Christ hasn't been fulfilled yet . Even Jesus' disciples asked him the same question;" When they had come together, they asked him saying "Lord will you at this time restore  the kingdom to Israel?' And He said to them '  It is not for you to know  times or seasons which the Father  has put in his own authority. But you shall receive power when  the Holy Spirit  has come upon you  and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea  and Samaria  and to the end of the earth."  Acts 1;6-8
So   'Now'  it is  time of salvation. He took  upon himself the sins of  us  freeing  all  who would accept His payment.
Who would be just enough to live forever?  Without the Savior, nobody would!
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that
whoever believes in Him shall never perish but have everlasting life"  John 3;16
His promise about everlasting life to those who trusted in Him was supported by  his authority to give life; apart from healing others, he raised Lazarus and Jairus' daughter back  to life. He was risen back to life after his death on the cross.
" John 10;17-18  "Therefore my father loves me, because  I lay down my life  that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I  lay it down of myself  I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again."
The roots for our beliefs are the same ; God's promise about the Messiah to come who would 'save ' their people.  We can choose to see only one side of the whole picture skipping the suffering part, and expect only the glorious future or we choose to see the whole picture- all scriptures   put together like a  big puzzle. The first followers of Jesus were Jews who watching Jesus' life were able to see in him the lamb of God. They saw him being ascended to heaven on clouds, and angels coming down saying; " Man of Galilee, why do you stand  gazing up into the heaven? This same Jesus  who was taken up  from you into heaven  will so come in like manner  as you saw him  go into heaven."    Acts 1;11  " Behold he is coming with clouds  and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes  of the earth  will mourn because of Him.Even so, Amen." Revelation 1;7
Look  also how  does  Zachariah talk about the Messiah  coming as  the deliverer  of Israel.
  Zachariah  12-8-11
" In that day the Lord will defend  the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the one who is feeble  among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord  before them. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy  all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour on the house of David and on the  inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit  of grace  and supplication then they will look on Me  whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him  as one mourns  for his only son  and grieve for him as one grieves for  a firstborn. In that day there shall be  a great mourning  in Jerusalem."
The question is 'why would they cry and mourn? Who  was pierced??? Who suffered like the  Isaiah 53 talks about? Who justified many by suffering for our sin?  (Isaiah 53;11) By whose wounds we are healed?? Based on Isaiah 53;5, who  would have to  be "raised  and  lifted  up  and highly exalted " ?   If the only one thing the Messiah was to accomplish was to come as the glorious deliverer of the nations, why  it talks about him first raised and lifted up?
All scriptures in the Old Testament are  pointing to  Christ, all events relate to Him, all stories written have a meaning  so that we would recognize Him;  Abraham willing  to offer his only Son as the sacrifice, Joseph' life  in affliction, rejection by his own, saving  their  family and people when they came to him  in need in the 'trouble years'  and  at the end he revealed himself to his family that he was one of their own.
The same it says about the Messiah; before he comes  there will be really bad times, nations gathering around Jerusalem, his own people will finally recognize Him;  Zachariah 12;10  " They will look on Me , whom they  pierced..."
He is like an Noah's ark -in Him everybody can hide before the coming wrath of God.He is our  Passover lamb,  his shed blood for us keeps us from eternal  death. The Jewish  feast of Bikkurim ( first-fruits) points to Him. Paul tells the Corinthians that Jesus raised from the dead  is the 'first-fruits'  of those who have fallen asleep."  1 Cor 15;20
Feast of Unleavened Bread points to Him as Jesus called Himself  " the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever." John 6;50  "Eating" as the symbol of trusting in him.

Authority of Jesus Christ in Heaven and on Earth

"The great authority of Christ"
How many of us think about real purpose of  life? The questions about the purpose and our destiny are in so many of our minds. Most people  are just satisfied in achieving their own  goals  and enjoy only the present time.  Did God have any purpose in creating us if our goal was just to live that short life on earth and then die and be forgotten? Are we all scrod up? The answer is surely no.

 The Bible tells us clearly more  about  much greater things . It talks about our restoration, about the restoration of all things.
The creative purpose of God to redeem the mankind  was in the very beginning.
 It was all planned with wisdom before this present  creation. Jesus as the redeemer was  God's plan and all things came into being through him.
He  is the ultimate  expression of   God and His love for us. His plan was expressed in pieces  and parts in history, as people acted  and in prophecy, as people spoke.  The plan was being expressed  as Abraham set off to sacrifice Isaac, his only son, about which we read in the Old Testament.   In John 3;16 we read that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him, shall not perish but have everlasting life." Then as Moses lifted up the serpent on the desert Old Testament) - so is the Son of Man  (Jesus) lifted up by God so whoever believes in Him has everlasting life.
We read in  the prophecy in the Isaiah that the Servant of God would be pierced for our transgressions, we read in Psalms about all he faced on the cross. No coincidence,  coming of Jesus was planned by God and He  foretold  him in so many ways throughout  Old Testament scriptures.  God   wasn't to surprise  anybody with  sending the savior as  if  He made up His mind to redeem us from our sin  in the middle of our life' history.   He clearly foretold him to us.   Christ is a real person with a real meaning.  We  can understand this important meaning  in our lives  by studying the scriptures about the  authority given him by God  both  in heaven and on earth.
He said " all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth" Matthew 28;18
"The Father judges no one but has given all judgement to the Son. So that  all many honor  the Son  just  as they  honor the Father who sent him." John5;22-23
"The Father loves the Son, and  has given all things into His hand." John 3;35

In  the above verse  "He has given all judgement to the Son" , we see  that it will be Jesus Christ  who will judge all men and that thereby all men will honor the Son even as they honor the Father.
That is what we saw in Philippians  2;10-11
 "Every knee will bow down  and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord , to the glory of God the Father."
 Jesus Christ the one who was judged, condemned  and executed by men,  raised from the dead  seated at the right hand of God-will be the one to finally judge all men.

.Every person who has ever lived will be judged by him.  But there are 2 different  'finals'. Believers in Christ will be judged for what they have done in the body, but they are not the subject to God's condemnation.
"For we must all appear  before judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." 2 Cor 5;10
For those who trusted Jesus, the judgement is not for death and condemnation;
"Very truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word  and believes Him who sent me has eternal life, and will not be condemned, he has crossed over from death to life." John 5;24
Those who listen to Him and trusted him, those who are born again are justified.
God didn't sent Jesus to die on the cross just in vain. He offered you and me the way out, to avoid God's wrath.
So all unrepentant people, all who don't want to know him, who rejected Him,they will be subject to God's wrath.
"(...) he who does not believe  the Son  shall not see life  but the wrath of God  abides on him. " John 3;36

John 12;48  " He who rejects  Me, and  does not receive My words, has that which judges him- the word that I have spoken  will judge him  in the last day."

More about Jesus as the judge we read in John 5;27-29;
v.25." I tell you the truth, a time is coming  and has now come  when the dead will hear the voice  of the Son of God and those who hear will live."
                                We see that it is Jesus Christ who will call people  to new  and everlasting life.
v.26." For as the father has life  in himself , so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself."
v.27 " And He has given Him authority  to execute judgement , because He is the Son of Man."

It will be Jesus Christ's voice all people will hear in their graves and it will be Him to decide who is to live  and who is to die;

v.21." For just as the father raises the dead  and gives them life , even so the Son  gives life to whom  He is pleased to give it."
v.28 " Do not be astonished at this, for the hour is coming  when all who are in their graves will hear  His voice."
v.29 " and will come out -those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."
This is what is commonly known as the resurrections of "the just" and "the unjust". The Bible clearly says that all people who have ever lived will get up  from the dead.

We can be sure His judgement is just as He is always doing God's will;
John 5;30 " I can do nothing  on my own, as I hear I judge, and my judgement is just, because I seek  to do not my own will  but the will of Him who sent me."
Because  Jesus Christ  works in perfect harmony  with his heavenly Father, there will be justice for all.
v.19." Jesus said to them;'Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing  on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing,  for what ever the Father does, the Son does likewise."

"Who do you say I am"?
Jesus of Nazareth put this question  to His followers nearly 2000 years ago, and  the question still hangs in the air, requesting the answer  from every person living now. But is it not just to know who He is in general but who He is for you. Your time on earth, your life now is to accept Him as your Lord and savior.  This the the only way out given by God  to avoid His judgement and not to be condemned but have new life.
It is not the life of limitations but the life of abundance.   " I have come that they may have life,, and that they may have it  more abundantly." John 10;10