The life after death- in the Bible

When we talk with other people -most of them although they claim they are Christians- they are completely hopeless when they hear about death.  But dying doesn't mean the end of life forever like many think. Those who don't have interest in searching the Bible may think that  there is no hope and that the future is unclear, uncertain. People would read every magazine they see that looks interesting or discloses secrets of a famous person, but there is a very little interest in reading the Bible. I wonder if a famous actress dug herself out of the grave and came back to a studio saying ; 'Guys I am back to life!,- every news would be talking about it. More- if she said 'Guys, I have something for immortality!'- wouldn't everybody want to know about it?

So why the fact about Jesus resurrection isn't speaking to people so much that they would hold on to hope of coming back to life manifested in Jesus?

The thing is most people are not really taught about it too much. There are lots of Christian churches that would only talk about Jesus as Him being born as a baby and then at Easter time- about Him crucified and risen again- without teaching what was the whole purpose of  it.

You would say; He was risen from the dead but what about me? I have no peace, no hope. I am trying to live my life in a good way but still I have no clue what will happen to me when I die. So we would rather avoid thinking about the whole story.

But if you  look into the  Bible , you would be surprised  how many great things are still possible in your future.

You can be sure you can have  life after coming to Jesus. And it is not about this life only but the life after you died. Life forever.

"Very truly I tell you, the one who believes in Me has eternal life." John 6;47

In order to be sure you have life you have to come to Jesus. Don't think about Him as a baby from the 'Christmas story'but accept Him as your powerful Lord and Savior.

You won't be sure about what will happen to you after you die, until you come to Jesus. 'Playing' the religious life without coming to the Son of God, won't bring you peace and hope.

"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;39

You start with coming to Jesus, then you can read about the whole future the Bible is talking about. You will find out that Christ promised to come back and that there will be a time with  Him as a king on earth, time in which all those who belong to Him, will reign with Him for 1000 years.

You can see that you will be alive again  if you are to reign with Him during that time on earth.

The Bible says that if you – as a true believer in Christ- die before the return of Christ, you will be risen from the dead at His coming and you will receive the nature of what Christ received after His resurrection - He was the "firstborn from the dead" (Col.1, 18). The nature which Christ received, isn't subject to the death , it is as the nature of angels. Luke 20;36 talks about the 'righteous in Jesus' resurrected; " they can not die, because they are equal to the angels."

The body of Christ was transfigured - He could walk through the door, move through space (John.20, 26), He ate with His disciples (John.21, 13) - but He was not a ghost, but a person in a physical body.

 (John.20 , 27).

 In the Philippians we read, that "the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body." (Phil.3, 21)

You can be sure of your resurrection if you belong to Jesus;

“And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you. Romans 8;11

We read about that also in Revelation (chapter 20), that talks about  two resurrections: the first one - when Christ returns to earth (v. 4), and the second one -after the 1000-year period of Christ reign on earth (v.13).

In the first (v. 6) case the reward for the righteous will be their immortal life that Jesus spoke about 

(Luke.20, 35-36).

“But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.”

Paul also writes about that in 1 Corinthians 15; 23, the first resurrection is at the time of Christ's coming.

There is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.

Not all people will have their share in the first resurrection ( at His coming). Those who are subject to God's judgement because they rejected Jesus who could save them- they won't see life.

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." John 3;36

Jesus said;

"Whoever rejects me, and receives not my words has a judge: the word I preached,  will judge him in the last day" (John.12, 48). 

 

If you trusted Jesus as your Lord, you will not be judged into condemnation.

”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

Those who are subject to God's judgement will be resurrected after 1000 years of Christ reign on earth

 ( second resurrection).

“The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.”

"Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire which is the second death." Revelation 20;14-15

"Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for thousand years."

                                       Christ 's Kingdom -1000 years of reign on earth

The period of 1000 years between the first and second resurrection will be a time of great blessing on the earth but before "God will be all in all" (v.28)-as Paul says in  1 Corinthians.15- Christ must "destroy all dominion authority and power; because He must reign, until He has put all His enemies under His feet "(v.24-25).  Finally, Christ's kingdom will cover the whole earth.

(Satan will be bound for a thousand years.) Christ will reign over the nations (mortal men), together with all the faithful (whom He will raise from the dead at his coming.  (1Corinthians.15, 23) 

 

"... they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him thousand years "

(Revelation 20:6). 

They will accompany Christ in the introduction of a new order when He returns. They have their share in so called 'the first resurrection'.

“Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert. " Isaiah 35;5-6

“Never again will there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not live out his years;
the one who dies at a hundred
will be thought a mere child;
the one who fails to reach a hundred
will be considered accursed.

They will build houses and dwell in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
No longer will they build houses and others live in them,
or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree,
so will be the days of my people;
my chosen ones will long enjoy
he work of their hands."             Isaiah 65;20-22

Eventually -after 1000 years -there will be perfect world, when the death will be totally destroyed.

                                          The Judgment of Satan

"When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Revelation 20;7-10 

                                         A New Heaven and a New Earth

                                 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”  Revelation 21;1-5

The disciple of Jesus

The disciple of Jesus is a man who belongs to Him, follows Him, he is learning and serving Him. Usually he is called a Christian which means follower of Christ. He knows who his master is, he listens to His voice.

There are many people who claim that are Christians now-days.

Just because they show up at the church and know some facts about Jesus,

it doesn't mean they are necessary the followers of Christ.

Many times we describe some nation as a Christian nation. We say; 'this is a Christian church', but how many real disciples of Christ are there in these Christian churches? How can we recognize them, how can we be sure we are one of them?

Jesus said that our life will be a testimony of whether we really belong to Him or just 'think so' we do.

Whether we abide in Him or not will be shown by our fruit;

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” John 15;4 

 

He also said “ My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me “ John 10;27 

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13;34-35

These verses show that ' bearing no fruit' or ' not responding to Jesus' voice''  or 

' no love toward other people maight be  a clear evidence a person  has very little to do with being the Christian - Jesus wants him/her to be. Without a fellowship with the Lord, without learning from Him and serving Him – how can somebody be called His follower?

Of course we shouldn't compare each other's abilities and talents we are given or expect we all will be doing things the same way and that our ministry will be as 'huge' as somebody's else.

We are given different gifts and talents. Lots of our work for the Lord depends on the spiritual gifts we received. The more you are given, the greater is your responsibility, the more you are expected to do. The Bible is encouraging us to be faithful in using of what God has given us. You might be suprised but even the 'little' talent has a great meaning. If you were entrusted with that minimum to multiply- with only that one little gift you are given- it is what your Lord will be happy with. But if in somebody's life even that 'little fruit' to bring is missing, the person is called 'a worthless servant' and is not allowed in his master's everlasting presence.

Matthew 25;14-30
“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

We should carefully note the outcome of faithful service, and of unfaithful service, in this parable. Faithful service led to increased responsibilities in the kingdom of heaven, and eternal joy in the presence of the Master, Jesus Christ. Unfaithful service led to condemnation, the removal of one’s stewardship, and an eternity of weeping and gnashing of teeth in outer darkness, away from the presence of our Lord.

One must surely admitt that this parable is a message of eternal significance.

The Day of the LORD

I thought it would be good to post something  about  what the Bible says about God's wrath to come one day to earth. Here are selected Bible verses that relate to so called The Day of the Lord, second coming of Christ and God's wrath coming on those who won't accept God's grace. Since the today's world is filled with so much evil, we tend to think that God is not seeing this and not taking any action. But the below Scriptures verses clearly say that the time will surely come- unexpectedly- when all His wrath will be poured out on the wicked and unrepentant people.

The Day of the LORD is a special term in the Bible used to refer to a period of time when God directly intervenes in human affairs---in judgment or in blessing.

For the unrepentant who reject Christ's rule over them now during the present Day of grace, the fast-approaching Day of the Lord will be a time of terrible retribution, judgment and eternal destruction.

 "This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be made worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering-since indeed God deems it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant rest with us to you who are afflicted, 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, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at in all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed."
(2 Thessalonians 1:3-12)

In contrast to the coming Day of the Lord, we can think of the present age as "The Day of Man," because God has allowed human evil to run its full course in our time. God's interference with man's attempts to conduct his own affairs as he pleases, is today minimal. Although there is restraint from God on man's attempts to run things, God is now allowing what is called "the mystery of lawlessness" to run its course. The culmination of "Man's Day" will be the appearance on the stage of history of a great world leader, a "lawless one," who will in actuality attempt to counterfeit God's Messiah and King, Jesus.

    "For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by his appearing and his coming. The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power and with pretended signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false, so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12)

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. It is God's will "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:10-11) According to God's decree all men will one day submit to the authority of Jesus.The above quotation is repeated also in Romans 14:11 and is derived from Isaiah Chapter 45 in the Old Testament which says in part,

    "...I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God...I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe, I am the LORD, who do all these things..."Woe to him who strives with his Maker, an earthen vessel with the potter! Does the clay say to him who fashions it, `What are you making'? or `Your work has no handles'? Woe to him who says to a father, `What are you begetting?' or to a woman, `With what are you in travail?'" Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: "Will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands? I made the earth, and created man upon it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host...

    "For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it a chaos, he formed it to be inhabited!): "I am the LORD, and there is no other. I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, `Seek me in chaos.' I the LORD speak the truth, I declare what is right.

    "Assemble yourselves and come, draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save. Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness a word that shall not return: `To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.'"

The actual second coming of Christ to earth is described several places in the New Testament (as well as in the Old). Towards the very end of the First Century the aged apostle John saw the Second Advent in a great vision,

    "I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed which no one knows but himself. He is clad in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.

    "And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, followed him on white horses. From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of  lords." (Rev. 19:11-16)


 The Old Testament is replete with vivid poetic descriptions of impending judgments ;
    "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)

God's judgments-both of men and Satan, "the god of this world (or, age)" ---are especially directed at the root problem of sin---which is pride.

    "Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust from before the terror of the LORD, and from the glory of his majesty. The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the pride of men shall be humbled; and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up and high; against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up; and against all the oaks of Bashan; against all the high mountains, and against all the lofty hills; against every high tower, and against every fortified wall; against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft. And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the pride of men shall be brought low; and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. And the idols shall utterly pass away.

    "And men shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the glory of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth. In that day men will cast forth their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats, to enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the glory of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth. Turn away from man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?" (Isaiah 2:10:22)

Today, 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. (See 1 Thessalonians 1:10)
The writer of the letter to the Hebrews warns that God will soon shake not only all the cities of the earth, the foundations of all human society, but also the heavens themselves, including the "principalities and powers in the heavenly places," the unseen angelic orders who presently control human affairs to a great extent. Only those things in heaven and on earth which God himself has built will survive!

    "See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less shall we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. His voice then shook the earth; but now he has promised, 'Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.' This phrase, 'Yet once more,' indicates the removal of what is shaken, as of what has been made, in order that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire." (Hebrews 12:25-29)

Zephaniah the prophet gives us an especially vivid view of the Day of the Lord. A partial fulfillment of this prophecy occurred about 30 years later in the Babylonian captivity, however it is clear that the full implications of this prophecy are yet future:

    "The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. 'I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth,' says the LORD. 'I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. I will overthrow the wicked; I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth,' says the LORD.

    "'I will stretch out my hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal and the name of the idolatrous priests; those who bow down on the roofs to the host of the heavens; those who bow down and swear to the LORD and yet swear by Milcom; those who have turned back from following the LORD, who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him.'

    "Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is at hand; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests. And on the day of the LORD'S sacrifice---'I will punish the officials and the king's sons and all who array themselves in foreign attire. On that day I will punish every one who leaps over the threshold, and those who fill their master's house with violence and fraud.' 'On that day,' says the LORD, 'a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second Quarter, a loud crash from the hills. Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar! For all the traders are no more; all who weigh out silver are cut off. At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are thickening upon their lees, those who say in their hearts, "The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill." Their goods shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them.'

    "The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter, the mighty man cries aloud there. A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. I will bring distress on men, so that they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the LORD. In the fire of his jealous wrath, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full, yea, sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth." (Zephaniah 1)

Zephaniah also writes of blessings upon Israel and all the nations in the days of Messiah's visible, earthly, thousand-year reign:

    "'Therefore wait for me,' says the LORD, 'for the day when I arise as a witness. For my decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them my indignation, all the heat of my anger; for in the fire of my jealous wrath all the earth shall be consumed. 'Yea, at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call on the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, the daughter of my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering. 'On that day you shall not be put to shame because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me; for then I will remove from your midst your proudly exultant ones, and you shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain. For I will leave in the midst of you a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the LORD, those who are left in Israel; they shall do no wrong and utter no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouth a deceitful tongue. For they shall pasture and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.'

    "Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away the judgments against you, he has cast out your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear evil no more. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: 'Do not fear, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. 'I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it. Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you together; yea, I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,' says the LORD." (Zephaniah 3:8-20)

Joel tells of disturbances in the heavens and great disruptions in nature associated with the Day of the Lord. These events are also described in the New Testament.

    "And I will give portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes. And it shall come to pass that all who call upon the name of the LORD shall be delivered; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls." (Joel 2:30-32)

And in the New Testament,

    "When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale; the sky vanished like a scroll that is rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the generals and the rich and the strong, and every one, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand before it?'" (Rev. 6:12-17)

God's ultimate purpose in judging evil is not the destruction of mankind but a new creation:

    "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD, and their children with them. Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, says the LORD." (Isaiah 65:17-25)

The Apostle Paul tells us that the Day of the Lord will approach and come upon the world silently and unannounced:

    "But as to the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When people say, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them as travail comes upon a woman with child, and there will be no escape.

    But you are not in darkness, brethren, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But, since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we wake or sleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." (1 Thessalonians 5:31-11)

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.

All will rise one day

“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out. Those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned." John 5;28-30
This is one of the great devotions  Charles Spurgeon wrote based on these words spoken by Jesus.
Have you ever thought about the magnificence of what this means? One day Christ will raise all the dead out of their graves. All does not only mean all whose bodies are actually in the grave at this time, but all who ever have been buried, all who have ever existed. Try to imagine all the people who lived in the earth, who lived before and after the flood.
Think of the all Adams descendants from Tarshish to Egypt, people in  Nineveh, Babylon, Chaldea, Persia, Greece, Rome. These were vast empires of men. Then the Saxons and the Franks and Celts, yet these nations were only some of a numerous group of nations. Think of the whole continent of Africa, people in India and China and Japan. Out of all who have ever lived  not one will be left in the tomb. We can say the same words as the psalmist did  of  another matter;
 " Such knowledge is too wonderful to me, it is high, I cannot attain unto it." Ps 139;6 

How has God marked all of the bodies , how has He tracked the remains of each one?  More of this  - He even knows all the stars and knows them by name. Billions of billions  of stars in every galaxy!

How will Jesus Christ  be able to raise them all?  We do not know it  but He will do it for He declared it and God has purposed it.
Jesus proved this fact that He can raise the dead ones to life  on several occasions in His lifetime; at the gates of Nain where He met the funeral procession  of the widow's son; then in the room of the dead daughter  of Jairus, and again at the tomb of the almost-decaying  Lazarus. Jesus had power to raise  the dead ones to life when He was on earth and He still has power to speak to those who have passed away and command them back to life.
"For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will".
John 5;21

 " All that are in the graves will hear His voice." All the righteous and the wicked,  no single individual will be omitted.
We all we see Him coming again in His glory; Revelation  1;7
“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."
As`surely as you are alive right now, you will stand before the once- crucified Son of Man. It is not possible that you will be forgotten. We must all rise without a single exception. This is an amazing truth, and we should not doubt it.  We may be in awe of this and admire  the Lord who will  bring it to pass.
The first voice you will hear after you 'wake up' to life again, will be the voice of Jesus Christ himself.
 He knows everybody by name.

 For those who  don't want to hear the voice of Jesus Christ now, they  will surely  hear  it  then  whether they  wish  it or not.
"You may plug up your ears today, but there will be no doing  that in the Day of the last  trumpet, on that day,  you will have to hear." Charles Spurgeon.
 If you do not  respond to His voice this life, you will hear only the  summons of  judgement. Those who hear and obey His voice they  hear the summons  to mercy and  life with Christ. We all will become subject  to the power of God's omnipotent command and will appear before His sovereign judgement seat

The judgement, the  future resurrection  to life, seems to us  temporarily far away as we are busy with the present.
But Christ said; "The hour is coming(...)"  In God's mind the day of resurrection  is very near.
It may be thousand years off , yet to God it is only one day ( 2 Peter 3;8) 
"Christ wants us to try to think God's thoughts about it, He does not wants us to consider any amount of time  to be long , since time is very short by its own nature  and will be regarded it that way by us when it is past and the day has arrived. It is practical and wise for us to  come face- to face with  what is inevitable  and act as though it was as soon as tomorrow that the trumpet would sound  and we would be judged." Charles Spurgeon.

This day is appointed for all of us for the Scriptures  says;  Acts 17;31
"For he has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead."
 If people weren't going to be risen and be accountable for what they have done in their lives, think about the evil ones just sleeping forever and never paying for what they have done, would you call it a justice? Definitely not!  We all have to face the Lord.

Speaking about the resurrection the second part of  John 5;28-30  is sometimes confusing for some believers as it talks as if we were justified by works;
v.30" (...)those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned."
Will men  then be saved by their works?  No, by no means! Salvation is completely  the gift of grace
or else Jesus wouldn't have to die for us.
But the judgement will be guided by our works. We are justified by faith but not by the dead faith.
 The faith that justifies  is that which produces holiness  for without 'holiness' no man shall see the Lord. (Hebrew 12;14)

Knowing that there is life after death should help us to be aware that our actions are not confined to this present life so we shouldn't be careless about them. They are reaching far, they are casting influence  across an eternal destiny." Charles Spurgeon.

 "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil." 2 Corinthians 5;10.
 

The holiness is the evidence of your  faith because the faith without any works is considered dead.
 "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,  and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?  So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.  You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!  Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?  Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?  You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.  You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.  And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?  For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead." James 2;14-26

But there is a promise that by abiding in Christ you will be producing good fruit. Your heart will change if your life will be with Christ. (John 15;5).


Those who trusted and obey  Him  -they don't have to be afraid of the Judgement Day as Christ  is able to keep them from stumbling  and   present them before  His glorious presence with great joy without fault.
 ( Judy 1;24-25) 

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

Wake up church!

Revelation 3;1-6 "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars says this, I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive but you are dead. Wake up and strengthen the things that remain which were about to die, for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. Remember therefore what you have received and heard and keep and repent. If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments and they will walk with Me in white for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments and I will not erase his name from the Book of Life and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
Although the words are directed to the church in Sardis that was facing some problems, they are also relevant as a warning in our life. They would  relate to  the church  where believers  are in the state of 'spiritual sleep.   What does it really mean to be in a spiritual sleep?
Some think that all we have to do is going to church  sing a few songs, we might do once a while something extra  contributing to the whole congregation by some kind of service like welcoming the guests, opening the door, sticking a  leaflet about the church to a visitor's hand, and after the service we rush quickly home. It  definitely should sound familiar. Sometimes we might actually do even more but  still  we would be considered  in  a state of 'sleep'. Jesus might refer to us with the same words like  He confronted the church in Sardis;  "You have a name you are alive, but you are dead."
One example of an alive person and being 'dead' at the same time is a person in coma. Although the body is alive, the main organs sustaining  life are working but one is not. The part of the brain is not responding. There is no communication with the person speaking the the one in coma. The sleeping person won't respond to our words. The same is true with the 'sleeping '  believer. There is no communication with the Lord, there is no response to His words. The believer might be doing  some works but they would be  coming out of the wrong motivation. You might be singing in a  church' choir  but if there is no relationship with the Lord in your life, you  are spiritually sleeping. You might be doing Sunday school but if you do not abide in relationship with the Lord,the work would be done  by the obligation and you are considered  spiritually 'asleep'.
A believer might be apparently 'active ' member of the church, but without walking  with the Lord, he is  definitely in a spiritual 'coma'. Many Christians have dozed off and they don’t even know it. They are in need of an abrupt wake-up call. We can decline into spiritual lethargy if we do not stay alert. We better watch our spiritual condition.
Jesus  continues " I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God."  We read that there  might be some deeds, there might be some activity but something is missing. The deeds are not completed. They are not perfect. We know that we are not saved by works so why  Jesus would be  talking about the works that are not perfect? If we read carefully the chapter 3 of the book of Revelation, we notice that  the works relate to the spiritual  condition of believers' heart  and  mind.
He says;  "Remember what you have received  and heard and keep and repent."
" Wake up and strengthen the things that remain which were about to die."
What we have received when we came to Jesus for the first time?  Isn't it  forgiveness of sin purchased with a high price by His  blood? We`accepted it with a great joy, our hearts were filled with gratitude. We were eager in reading and abiding in God's word and excited about it but then we neglected it and  our spiritual life 'froze'.  We stopped applying God's word into our life. His  words might be kept in our memory but if they are not in our heart, our dependence upon God  is diminished. The works are not 'completed'.
If there is a little need for prayer, little reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit, where there is only  confidence in human wisdom, human effort, we loose our dependance upon God.  We need to be able to hear the Lord's voice. He is alive! We need to hear His call. He has a plan for every one of us! We need to cooperate by applying His word into our life!
We are reminded  to strengthen what is about to die  which is our relationship with the Lord.
The church might have a great reputation, seen as a group of very active believers but from God’s perspective, some deeds  there might be  as good as “dead.”  We have to notice that  the church in Sardis doesn’t appear dead. This church has a reputation for being alive. People are impressed. They have a name, but that is it!
 We see that this church’s deadness is not man’s evaluation but God’s.
He knows the hearts and knows how close people are to Him. The fame of some  church might be great but the hearts of the believers cold. God doesn't want the fame, He is looking for  our obedience toward His word.
For many  believers today God's word  isn't alive  and active in them anymore.They may remember what it says . They may even be able to quote some scriptures  but they aren't really speaking to their hearts anymore. As  a result, their faith weakens and starts to fail. They stop getting answers to their prayers. They don't move forward but they decline in their spiritual life. Their works are considered  not 'completed'.  They might think that God is not hearing them but the truth is,  it is them who don't communicate with Him.
We  are to bring fruit by abiding in the Lord. It is not on our own. Neglecting  the close relationship with Jesus  is what keeps us from  bringing   fruit. It keeps us from being useful in His work.
In John 15;4-5 Jesus said;
"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. "
By bringing no fruit the Christian is unproductive. If the whole church  is like that, it looses it's purpose. It becomes spiritually 'dead'.  It is not doing what the Lord pleases.
Such church will focus  only on it's rules, regulations and forms and will  neglect the spiritual condition of it's members. It will mainly get  involved with management rather  than with ministry. It will be operating on its own, while the Lord  Jesus will be only on the pages of the Bible!
What can be done about sleeping believer? How can he/she  be revived? Jesus will answer these questions and more in Revelation 3:1-6.
What is  needed,  it is renewed commitment to Him. He says; “Wake up!” This is His reminder and we should respond to it. Be awake or else you will be apathetic.
The cure for this nearly dead church  in Sardis was to keep in mind the way that they had first responded to the truth of God and to once again respond in the same way. Psalm 139, verses 23-24  are  worth going through every day. This will ensure that you wake up well and are spiritually watchful.
 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.”
God has called us to apply the truth of His Word.  We don't just  keep it on the pages of the book. We apply it into our life! Do others  see the difference in your life without being told that you’re a Christian? Jesus still exhorts us to “walk in a manner worthy of our calling” (Eph 4:1). Don't allow yourself to fall into  comfortable church  pattern where you just sit and listen and do nothing else. James 1;23 says ;"Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror." You don't want to be like that, you can do much more by applying the word!  If you don't hear His voice any more, you need to wake up. Pray and renew your relationship with the Lord.
  We know God is compassionate and merciful but surely everybody can be pushed to his limits. So Jesus  continues; " If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you."   The same words we hear in Revelation 16;15
"Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed"
You don't want to be shamefully exposed! You wouldn't want to hear the words like the five foolish  virgins in the parable in Matthew 25;1-13;
"Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you!." v.12. And the verse 13 says ; "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming."
A similar warning we find in Mark 13;33-37
"Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.  It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task,
 and tells the one at the door to keep watch. 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!’”