Born to Die!

Practically everyone has heard about some "civilization" that sacrificed children to their evil deity. The feeling of disgust it creates in us is nearly universal, and rightly so.

Thousands of years ago, the son of the greatest king ever, was destined to die a horrible death. The king's subjects had been told it was coming for quite some time, most of them discounted its importance.

Put this into the proper perspective... is there ANY WAY you'd agree to sacrifice YOUR child? I don't care what the benefit to ANYONE is! Under NO circumstances would I ever let any slimeball hurt my kid, nor any other child I care about, either! I'd proudly die to protect that child!

But, I'm talking here about Jesus, the Son of the living God.

The Father loved the Son much more than we are capable of loving... and yet, He loves each of us so much that he allowed the sacrifice of His Son to pay for all of our sins!

What does the Bible have to say?

"God is to us a God of deliverance. To Yahweh, the Lord, belongs escape from death." (Psalm 68:20) wev

"Death" here means eternal damnation.

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." (Rom 5:8-10) kjv

We do not deserve salvation. Nothing we can do by ourselves will pay for the sin we have committed. Only the death of Jesus can suffice, His sacrifice paid the cost!

"Have no feeling of shame, then, for the witness of our Lord or for me, his prisoner: but undergo all things for the good news in the measure of the power of God; Who gave us salvation, marking us out for his purpose, not on account of our works, but in the measure of his purpose and his grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before times eternal, But has now been made clear by the revelation of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who put an end to death and made life unending come to light through the good news." (2Tim 1:8-10) bev

Eternal life - that is the incredible gift, available to us only because of Christ's sacrifice!

"For Jesus during his earthly life offered up prayers and entreaties, crying aloud and weeping as He pleaded with Him who was able to bring Him in safety out of death, and He was delivered from the terror from which He shrank. Although He was God's Son, yet He learned obedience from the sufferings which He endured; and so, having been made perfect, He became to all who obey Him the source and giver of eternal salvation." (Heb 5:7-9) wnt

Jesus prayed, wept and begged God for safety and deliverance. He knew the terrible fate of those who will not accept salvation. He is God's Son! Yet He accepted the awful death he knew was coming. His obedience to the Father made Him the reason we can look forward to eternal life.

He was Born to Die!

...for us!

...in our place!

If you've never done so before, pray earnestly and accept His sacrifice! "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved." (Rom 10:13) drv

See you soon, in Paradise!

Revelation churches - part 2

The next church mentioned in Revelation is the one in Smyrna. This city still exists today, but is now primarily Islamic.

"To the angel of the assembly in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life says these things: I know your oppression, and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Don't be afraid of the things which you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested; and you will have oppression for ten days. Be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. He who overcomes won't be hurt by the second death."
(Rev 2:8-11)web

The "first and last" here is Jesus, of course.

He lets them know that He is aware of their lack of worldly riches, but He reminds them that their true riches are not of this world. He also warns them that they are to face imprisonment and torture at the hands of Satanists who pretend to be "the way to God." Jesus promises the crown of life for those who are willing to risk death for His sake. This risk is very real, even today. In many countries, around the world, you can be tortured, imprisoned and put to death for being Christian. This risk will only increase greatly after the start of the tribulation.

Believe me, God is very aware of those who pretend to be Christians in order to pervert His Word. The devil has many tools operating for him around the world. They are currently planning Satan's rise to power. Jesus warns us that we should not fear these foul puppets. They have no power, except in this world.

If you overcome evil in this world, and lose your life doing so,
you will not die the second death.

So, what is this "second death?"

It is the eternal death of the soul. Death of the body does not begin to compare. Even the most hideous death in this world will end sooner or later. Eternal damnation will not.

Many are asking if the passage above means that poverty is the only way to honor Christ's death for us. The answer is "of course not." We must simply not set such store for things in this world that we lose sight of what is really important. There is a quote whose source I no longer remember, that says, "Why trade that which you cannot afford to lose, for that which you are unable to keep?"

Few, who call themselves Christians today, are willing to actually place Jesus first in their lives. They will be rewarded. Be one of them, please...

The Crown of Life will look great on you!