“It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the Judgment.” – (Hebrews 9:27)
We often hear people say, “When I meet God, we’ll have a talk,” as if the time after this life will hold second chances of questions or debates face to face with God. But this is not the case. It is this life in which we have our chances to reason with God… “Come NOW, and let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18).
Our world provides a smorgasbord of lies regarding eternity, but Jesus said there are only two destinations after this life – Heaven or Hell – and that He is the one-and-only Gate to Heaven (Matthew 7:13,14). There is no such thing as soul-sleep, reincarnation, heavenly planets filled with virgins to indulge in the sexually immorality God condemns on earth, nor are there three-levels of paradise for those rejecting Christ as ‘God the Son.’ The “here and now” is where our research, reasonings, and eternal choices regarding individual accountability towards Truth, are made and solidified.
God has given us His written Word that we might know His thoughts and plans for us. He sent us His Son, the Living Word, to commend His love toward us… “And this is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son, has life; whoever does not have the Son, does not have life” (1 John 5:11,12).
We have all been given an average of 70 years, that we might… “number our days and apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:10-12), before our appointed time to die. This is a once-for-all life that we’re gifted with. Eternity is chosen here. And since no one knows what tomorrow holds, or when Christ will return to judge this evil world and rescue His own, the Gospel we share must come with a loving urgency not to put off for tomorrow what must be settled today…
“NOW is the time of God’s grace; behold, NOW is the day of salvation.”
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