Eternal Life

Eternal Life

by | Dec 21, 2019 | Bible, Simple Bible Truth

Eternal Life

Life of the Age to Come

Have you thought much about eternal life?  People over the centuries keep trying to figure out how to live forever, or at least a lot longer.  They look for the fountain of youth.  They spend thousands of dollars to just make themselves look younger, even though with each passing day they are one step closer to death.

Why would anyone even want to live forever in a fallen world, in a world with pain, sorrow and suffering?  If you have a good life now that you live comfortably, maybe you could see living longer as a blessing, but what about people in war-torn countries or third-world countries?  So, do you think that there could be something better to look forward to, for all people?

The Bible promises a future with no more sorrow, pain or death.  It is a promise for a truly brighter tomorrow.  It unites the physical and spiritual together on a renewed Earth, not some fanciful existence disembodied somewhere out in the Universe or playing a harp on a pink cloud.

Often, we read the verses about the Earth being destroyed and don’t understand the true meaning of there being a new heaven and a new Earth.  If we read the rest of the Bible in context, we will see that the meaning really is that of a REnewed heaven and Earth, not utter destruction of what exists today.  The Bible also says that the world was destroyed at the time of Noah during the flood, but we know that the Earth did not cease to exist, it was just cleansed to its very core.

Unfortunately, the English translation, “eternal life”, makes this promise and reward a bit vague. If to translate it in from the Greek, it actually means life in the age to come. We must understand that there are different ages. In the beginning God-created the heavens and the Earth and that was the first age that we know, from creation until the time of Noah, when everything was destroyed.  So when you read the words “eternal life,” substitute “life in the age to come”.  It will make much better sense.

Then there was a new age after Noah, which we are living in at this present time.  At some point, when Jesus returns, this age will end, then we will enter into the millennial age which will be a period of 1000 years. After this there will be what is known of as the White Throne Judgment, when all evil will be destroyed, even death itself.  Then we will enter into the final age that will last forever.

Our finite minds cannot totally grasp or understand eternity, but the Bible tells us that God has put eternity into the hearts of men, which is why so many keep searching for something more in this present life.  If we look at the world today, people are looking how to live longer or be assured of some better life after they die.  Most religions promise some sort of afterlife because that’s what people are looking for.  But unlike most of those false teachings and false hopes that lead people astray and farther from God, the Father offers something very real, tangible, and understandable to our minds.  It is not something that we cannot grasp at the basic level. You do not need to believe in some fantasy as your hope, or have a PHD in order to understand God’s plan and how life works.  You die, and then you are resurrected, either to immortality or  destroyed forever.  It’s that simple!

Why do many religions or churches make this so difficult?  We can see throughout history that many of the false teachings were merely to control people.  Often a church or religion controlled people by making them think they would not “go to heaven” or they would be disfellowshipped if they didn’t follow what the religious leaders said.   They also used this faith control to collect money from people.  Churches would require money from people to help their deceased relatives go to heaven or get a better reward.  Also, there are some Christian denominations, that hold out a reward, but make it so difficult to attain that they control people their whole life as they try to attain this reward, or not lose it.

The New Testament teaching is quite simple, if you choose to be a citizen of the kingdom Jesus spoke about.  You follow his teachings today, and walk in that righteousness and in obedience to what he taught, today, then you are promised resurrection to immortality and all the other wonderful things spoken of.

What will life in the age to come look like?  The beginning of that age to come, the first 1000 years after Jesus has returned and triumphed over the false prophets and Anti-Christ, and put Satan in a prison for that time, will be a time of teaching the nations about the one true God and governing the nation’s righteously with love.  We will be helping Jesus manage the nations and teaching them about the one true God.

After the second resurrection and the destruction of Satan and the wicked, that age will continue into eternity.  The Bible tells us that there will be a restored (new) heavens and Earth where the righteous will live forever with Jesus and his Father, and ours.

Revelation tells us that there will be a new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven.  Where God and Jesus will have residents of some sort.  We only have a limited understanding of the complex city of God, the father’s presence and what things will be like.  It does say that God will be with us and He and Jesus will be among us.  Just as Adam-and-Eve walked with God in the garden and communed with him, it sounds like we also will.  Yet, the Bible also tells us that we cannot even begin to imagine how wonderful this eternal Kingdom life will be. .If we look around us at the beautiful and different creation, nature and all of the wonderful things that God-created, we can only begin to imagine how beautiful and wonderful it will be. There is not much said about this life in the age to come, other than it will be better than anything that we can imagine.  We are told that there will be no more death, dying, tears, pain, and all that will have passed away.  We must accept that this is enough knowledge for now.  Personally, I think that this is enough for us to know in order to trust God that it will be well worth living and sacrificing this life now for!

Later we will talk about how to get let’s say a passport and be a citizen in this Kingdom. That too is quite simple.

Scripture to consider:

What Happens When I Die?

What Happens When I Die?

by | Dec 8, 2019 | Bible, Simple Bible Truth

What Happens When I Die?

Life After Death

Have you ever thought about what happens when you die, or if there is life after death?  Is there a reward for the righteous, or punishment for the wicked?  Who are the righteous and what makes one wicked?  These are all good and important questions to ponder.

Most professing Christians will tell you that when you die, you, or a part of you, your soul, will go to heaven or hell.  Some believe in the in-between state known as purgatory.  Fortunately, the Bible tells us something very different.  But first we must ask ourselves if we are going to believe what traditions of men teach, or if we are going to believe what Jesus taught, and what the Bible tells us is true?

The Bible is quite clear as to what happens when we die.  We return back to the dust of the ground.  Science even tells us the same thing!  In other words, we are dead in the grave with no thought or consciousness.  If we are not resurrected, we will remain dead.

The Bible teaches us that all people will be resurrected in one of two resurrections.  The first resurrection is for those who are considered righteous, and that is at the time of Jesus’ return to the Earth.  We are told that he will return in the same way that he left, that is, visibly.  When he comes he will come with his angels, and then those who have died in faith will be resurrected and given immortality.  Those who are alive at his coming will be changed in the twinkling of an eye and be made immortal instantly.  This is God’s immortality plan!

Resurrection and immortality are the reward of the righteous.  They will be made immortal and will govern and manage the world with Jesus for 1000 years.  After that, the rest of the dead will be raised to be judged according to what they have done.  Some will be given immortality, and others will be destroyed forever in the lake of fire (Gehenna), what most people typically think of as hell.

This is all quite simple and makes a lot of sense to the minds that God has given us.  You have a life to live, on average let’s say 60 to 80 years.  We live in this present age from our conception and birth into this world, until we die.  Then we rest until we are resurrected either in the first or second resurrection. If God could create Adam out of the dust of the ground, He can certainly put us back together again, people who have already been created.

Jesus is God’s anointed king and ruler for that thousand years (1st Corinthians 15.)  Those of us who have been part of the first resurrection are rewarded, along with Jesus, to rule over the nations on this Earth.  What a fantastic reward for following Christ now!

Jesus will share his authority with the righteous, those who lived in faith during their mortal life. People who never heard, or rejected what they heard, will be raised at the second resurrection and Jesus, the righteous judge, well determine their fate at that time.  I trust that he will judge righteously and make the best judgment.  I do not need to worry about that now, nor do I need to make those decisions or judgments for those people at this time; Jesus will do that in the future.  I must only be concerned with what he told me to do, and that is to share this wonderful kingdom hope and immortality plan with as many people as I can so that they have the opportunity to be a part of the first resurrection.

So in short, death is compared to sleep and it is quite simple, we live, we die and we remain dead until we are resurrected either in the first or second resurrection where we will be granted either immortality in the age to come, or we will be destroyed in the lake of fire and will never live again.  This is a stark contrast to what many churches teach.  God is not some evil ogre wanting to see you suffer forever and burn all of eternity.  It is quite clear that the “wicked” people are destroyed, burned up, and will no longer exist.  Their memory is even forgotten.  Total destruction is enough punishment.

Please join us again as we talk more about this wonderful Kingdom hope that Jesus spent his entire ministry teaching people about and even spoke to his disciples about the forty days after his resurrection before going up into heaven.  If the kingdom message was that important to Jesus, it should be important to us as well!

Scripture to consider:

  • Matthew 24
  • 1 Thessalonians 4-5
  • 1 Corinthians 15
  • Revelation 2:25-29
  • Revelation 5:10
  • Revelation 19-21