Author: Economides

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Learn from King Asa’s Reign

2 Chronicles 16:9. Rely Solely on God

As the northen tribes of Israel turned against the tribe of Judah, they started fortifying Raman, a key city in order to prevent anyone descending to Judah.

Asa, the king of Judah resorted to sending a large sum to the Syrians for them to attack the Israelites up North.

This would divert the northern tribes, and prevent them from stopping the Israelite believers from worshiping God in Jerusalem!

We prophet Anani confronted king Asa telling him:

Because you did not rely solely upon God, but relied on this stratagem of yours, you will have to face many wars from now on!

God is displeased with you because you did not turn to God for help. Your heart is not found to be perfect in God’s eyes… He only strengthens such people!

Soon, King Asa fell ill, and again he did not turn to God for healing but to the doctors… He did not recover from his illness but died!

Do we not do much like king Asa, who although he was a true believer and did much for God, he did not trust solely on God to solve his problems, and by doing so, defeat ourselves from being taken care off by him?!

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Lifelong Christian Experience

Speaking out of a long Christian Experience

“If our hearts do not condemn us, then we can expect with confidence to receive from God what we have been asking from him, because we obey his commandments and we do what pleases him.”

 (1John 3: 21)

In the above passage the apostle John assures us that our prayers will be answered if we have lived our life in a faithful, holy and loving manner…

I am too young a Christian to be able to validate this passage with my life’s experience, but my father, who has is now 73 years old and has lived 50 years as a jealous and obedient child of God, shared with me his experience in Christ, and I am now going to share it with you:

He told me:

“Since the blessed day that I was born again, I have been as dedicated and obedient to Jesus Christ as I could be. My conscience is clear, and I therefore expected to receive from God what I  have been asking from him, because I  obeyed his commandments and we did what pleases him.” (as promised  in 1 John 3: 21

And yet… my most fervent requests have not been granted to me!

I fought very hard with myself, against my strong sinful tendencies, so as to live an obedient, holy and loving life, and I am convinced that I have succeeded in doing so!

So, why hasn’t this verse been proven true in my life?

I must have certainly failed to pass the high standard that Jesus demands of us: that of loving our brothers and sisters in Christ as much as Jesus loved us, or as much as we love ourselves, but I did my best, and I did not see anybody else do better! On the contrary…

And yet, now, in my old age, I see everyone else, Christian or not, being better off in this life than I am!

At least, they seem to be so, and I have been at a loss as to why…God has forsaken me!

Lately however, (a bit late, I know), I have came to realize that the petitions I was making in my prayers have been opposing one another:

On the one hand, I have been begging God to guide me and make me happy here on earth, namely by giving me a loving wife, a good job and a blessed and healthy family… which he did, for a while, but then, repeatedly took all that away from me!

On the other hand, I have been always been asking him to help me become one of his best, closest and most faithful followers, with whom he is well pleased!

These always were my most fervent wishes put into a nutshell, and God must have been at loss himself as to how to grant them, since they conflicted with one another:

In order to become great in God’s eyes one must certainly be sorely tried!

He must be put through the fire, the fire of afflictions and sorrows that is meant to burn what is impure in man and make him pleasing to his God.

And then, he must be sorely tested much like Job was: He must prove himself to be worthy of being called “a child of God”!

Such a necessarily painful process would have been impossible if God was primarily concerned with granting me happiness on earth!

In his mercy and goodness, God gave me, short periods when I felt like being the happiest and most blessed person on earth, but he, then, repeatedly took away all that and make me feel like being the most forsaken and miserable child of his.

And this because my loving God is far more interested in making out of me the “better” child of his that I wanted to be, than the “happy” person that I was expecting to be!

My daily studying of the Bible should have taught me all this much earlier, but I was blinded by my needs and by the prevailing theology of our times that convinces us that God wants to make us happy and fulfilled!

I should be thankful for whatever little happiness I got along the journey. It was a bonus!

But I should have resigned much earlier of expecting to receive blessings upon blessings in this world.

I should have braced myself to live a life of sorrows, and hardships, for that is what how all great men of God experienced in their life!”

That was my father’s experience and conclusion, and his words make sense and help me to better understand God’s ways.   

I hope that they will help you too, remembering the passage in …….. that tells us:

“Do not find it strange that you have to suffer, because that is what we can expect when living for Christ!” ?(…)

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Sin and its Consequences

Consequences of Sinning

Sinning against other men will certainly be punished with woes in this world and sufferings in the world after this one, the World of the Dead, (whether Hades, or Paradise…)

But the sinner doesn’t necessarily have to end up in Hell!

All those who belong to the Lord Jesus will be exempted from going to Hell because Jesus paid himself for their sins, having offered to shed his own blood in order to save them from going to such a terrible place.

Indeed, whoever believes in Jesus Christ and submits to him whether here in this life or the one that follows it, will

suffer for his sins on Judgement Day, but will not be finally thrown into the Lake of Fire »

As the Bible tells us:

 « The Good News of Salvation was preached to those who are now dead, so that even though they have to suffer for what they did in their flesh on earth, they may live for what they are doing in their spirit, in Hades» (1 Peter 4: 6)

Sinning against our fellow man differs from sinning against God himself!

We sin against our fellow man when we break the following underlying principle that Jesus gave us:

“Do unto others what you want them to do to you”

                            (Matthew 7: 12)

Do good, help those in need…

And don’t do what is evil to anyone.

The most common but also most destructive sin that is today committed against our neighbour is our sexual immorality.

To have sex with your fellow man’s wife, or with his future wife-to-be, or with anyone else except your spouse, is very destructive.

Think of how much it would hurt you if the one whom you truly love and care for…has intimate relationships with others… It will break your heart, your marriage and your life…

Such a sin destroys the inner being of those who take part in it (them losing their innocence and much of their self-worth) and ultimately it also destroys the lives of whole families.

No wonder therefore that God forbids us to touch sexually anyone except our own spouse.

Even though this sin is so desirable and satisfying, we must learn to hate it wholeheartedly and never allow ourselves to fall into it because of the great damage that it inflicts in so many people’s hearts and lives.

Do not do unto others the evil that you don’t want it to be done to you.

Do not murder, do not steal, do not deceive, do not take advantage of anyone… in brief, do not hurt anyone emotionally, physically or in any other conceivable way.

Such sins deserve the harsh punishment which no one will be able to avoid on Judgement Day, whether we are a child of God or not, for God shows no favouritism:

Jesus told us:

On Judgement Day, the believers will be judged first, and then the unbelievers. (1Peter 4: 17)

It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of God in order to be judged: (Hebrews 10: 31)

On Judgement Day, some believers will be beaten much for their sins and others little… (Luke 12 : 45)

Others will be jailed and remain in jail for a long long time..(Matthew 5: 25-26)

Let us, children of God, truly fear God and be terrified of sinning willingly, since each of our petty or serious sins will certainly be punished.

Christians will not escape such punishment,  but since they belong to Jesus (who took upon himself their sin) they will not end up in hell.

Sinning however against God himself will certainly lead to the « second death », Hell!

« Whoever sins against me, says the Lord, will have his name removed from the Book of Life! »

  (Exodus 32: 33)

« If someone’s name is not found written in the Book of Life he will be thrown into the Lake of Fire…

This is the « Second Death »

 (Revelation 20: 14-15)

It goes without saying that we must strive not to sin at all against our fellow man, but most importantly we must definitely not sin against God himself, for it leads us straight to Hell!

Sinning against God himself !

When we hurt God’s feelings with our words, with our actions or with our attitude, when we are actually insulting him to his face then there is nothing but hell awaiting us!

Who sins against God?

  • Anyone who worships, prays or gives thanks to anyone else than God himself:

“I am Yahweh your God. Do not treat anyone else as a God: do not worship anyone else than me, do not bow down to anyone else than me, nor give thanks for what I give you to anyone else, because I am a jealous God!”     

              (Exodus 20: 1- 5)

I am Yahweh your God and I don’t share my glory and praises with anyone.      (Isaiah 42: 8)

So, anyone who prays to and worships Mary or the “saints” or anyone else apart from God himself insults and infuriates God with his idolatry…

God says this clearly in the Bible, and yet, men disobey him in order to hold on to the traditions of their deceitful churches… woe to them!

Catholics and Orthodox believers: Repent and change your ways!

2) You sin against God himself when you blaspheme against the Holy Spirit.

When for instance you teach others that what is obviously true… is a lie, or when you do the opposite: you present as Truth what is obviously a lie…, when you mislead others into believing that what is evil in God’s eyes… is actually good.  And what is God says is good…you call it evil!

Exactly like Satan did with Adam and Eve, or like the Pharisees did with Jesus, or like the today’s churches do with the Truth!

3) And above all, we sin against God himself when we reject his only Son, Jesus Christ!

We reject the Only Son of God, (Jesus who gave his most precious life in order to save ours), when we refuse to love him wholeheartedly, when we refuse to let him rule our hearts and lives, when we refuse to submit to him.

And this includes when we refuse to do as he commands us:

To help his followers who are in need…

We have been warned!

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Last Days

Summary of Revelation 10 to 22   (The Last Days)

John was given a second book to prophecy about people and nations.

In it he saw the temple of God and those in it, put aside and trampled by the nations for 42 months.

Two prophets arose and stopped the rain over Israel.

After the prophets were killed and ascended to heaven, the Kingdom of God and Christ started on earth and the dead were judged.

Satan, the great red dragon came to earth with his angels and was about to kill the baby but God intervened and took the baby to heaven and the woman went to the desert and was fed there of 1260 days.

The dragon and his angels lost the war in heaven and were thrown to earth. They attempted to destroy Israel by running the sea over her, but failed.

So then he turned against the Christians.

He brought about a beast out of the sea like himself who would make war for 42 months and who will annihilate the saints.

He also brought about another beast from the earth who spoke like a lamb, was making great signs and wonders and mislead the inhabitants of the land.

He killed all who would not worship the first beast and obliged every human to have a mark in their right hand or on their forehead.

Then suddenly the lamb appeared on mount Zion with his 144.00 of his holy faithful followers.

And suddenly he rose on the clouds of heaven and the land (of Israel) was harvested, he returned to the Temple and woes on the rest of mankind, and bring all nations all the nations against Zion in Armageddon.

A great earthquake shook the earth, divided the great city in three and hail fellon all the surrounding nations.

And the Great Babylon (Jerusalem under the beast’s rule)  who drank on the blood of the followers of Jesus and ten kings all their power to the Beast (for an hour) … fought the lamb of God and Jesus won in one day, one hour! 🏆

Then the wedding of the lamb took place.

Blessed are those who are invited to his wedding.

The heavens opened and Jesus the Lord of Lords and King of Kings appeared.

The beast and their armies fought him and were beaten.

The beast from the sea and the beast from the earth were caught and thrown alive into the lake of fire, and the rest were killed by Jesus himself, and an angel took hold of Satan, and throwed him in the abyss for a thousand years.

Those who were beheaded for the word of God and did not worship the beast or take the mark on their hands or foreheads came back to life with Jesus for a thousand years.

The rest of the dead were resurrected a thousand years later, That is the first resurrection.

And after the one thousand years, Satan was freed and gathered much of mankind and surrounded the place where the saints were living and the beloved city of God.

Fire came down from heaven, from God, and burned them all.

And Satan was also thrown in the lake of fire and will be tortured day and night for ever and ever.

The dead were judged by God himself according to their deeds.

Those in death and hades were also thrown in the lake of fire; that is the second death, together with whoever is not written in the Book of Life.

Then a new heaven and a new earth was created; for the old ones past away.

  • Zechariah 14
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Jeroboam made King

Lessons taken from king Jeroboam’s failures

 

King Solomon, at the later part of his life, allowed his non-believing foreign wives to influence him to the point of him bowing down and worshipping with them their false Gods!

By doing that, he greatly offended Yahweh, the True God of Israel!

Yahweh sent then a prophet to one of Solomon’s officials named Jeroboam and foretold him that he would be the future king of the ten northern tribes of Israel, leaving only the tribe of Judah to Solomon’s son, because of Solomon unfaithfulness!

And indeed, after Solomon’s death, Jeroboam was made king of the northern tribes at their request.

As soon as he was made king, Jeroboam made two temples and placed in each of them a golden calf, ordering all his subordinates to worship them, instead of worshipping Yahweh in Jerusalem, (Judea), as God demanded it.

The ten northern tribes of Israel readily did so, and this had a terrible effect on their kingdom who was from then on plagued with wars and instability until the Assyrians finally deported them all from the land God had given them some 250 years later.

They were not heard off ever since…

The question now arises:

“Why did the all-knowing God choose such an unfaithful person as king of these 10 tribes?

Couldn’t he see what kind of a man he was, couldn’t he foresee what would happen?”

He could, of course, but God was very disturbed by the hypocritical self-righteousness that the Israelites had developed, and he needed to expose the wretchedness of their faith in him: They were phenomenally keeping certain laws and traditions, thinking their “religiosity” would satisfy and appease their God when in fact their lack of true commitment and eagerness to please him was deeply disturbing him!

He wanted to expose and correct their hypocrisy and chastise them for it, but first he had to prove them to be as unfaithful to himself as he knew they were. So, he chose to give them the opportunity to do what was utterly offending him: Idolatry.

He put over them a king that was much like themselves. As soon as he became king, he took  the opportunity to get rid of this demanding God of theirs and replace him by a more accommodating one… And they grabbed that opportunity with both hands…

The Israelites proved to be incorrigibly untrustworthy towards their Creator and they were eventually taken away for good from God’s land and care…

Lesson to be taken:

God arranges events in our lives to test our words and hearts so as to make clear to himself and us weather we are or not as good as we think or claim to be!

The truth must be determined above all doubt with facts, for he will not reprimand or condemn anyone on mere suspicions: We must be given the opportunity to do what he hates and forbids,

and only if we pass the test will we live in his presence.

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God regretted

Let me share with you some thoughts that may help those who have an inquisitive mind, like mine:

At some places in the Bible, it is written that “God regretted” some of his actions:

For instance, it is written in Genesis 6: 6-7:

“God regretted having made the human race because of its wickedness. So much so that he was about to destroy all living beings, until he noticed Noah…

Or, in another passage of Scripture it is written:

“God regretted having made Saul as Israel’s first king”. (1Samuel 15:11)

But… isn’t God “all-knowing”? Doesn’t he know the end from the beginning? He cannot take a wrong decision can he?… and then regret of having  having taken it in the first place?!

Certainly, God the Father is “all-knowing”!

He knows exactly what the end product of every decision he contemplates to take!

But Jesus, God’s only Son is not all-knowing”, and it is he who takes the decisions on earth.

Our world was made by Jesus, and for Jesus! So the Bible says! Jesus is therefore in charge of this world. He takes the decisions, and sometimes, he does not take the best decision there is, and does, at times, regret having chosen one decision rather than another.

He is not all knowing!  He only knows what his Father reveals to him or shows him.

Whatever the Father does not tell him or show him, the Son does not know! He, himself said so!

For example:  Jesus does not know the exact time of his second coming, because the Father did not tell him!

He, himself, said:

“No one knows the exact day and hour when heaven and earth will pass away, not the angels in heaven, nor the Son… but only the Father”        (Matthew 24: 35-36).

Jesus is an un-divisible part of God, the Son of God, and as the title of “Son” implies, he is second in rank in the Deity, and submits totally to his Father, whom he calls “his God”!

All spiritual beings, and all humans however, have been created “through Jesus and for Jesus”, and are commanded to keep their hearts and eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, much like they would fix them to the God the Father, if anyone could differentiate the one from the other. But it is impossible to do so, since all the attributes the Bible addresses to the Father are also addressed to the Son, except that of being “all-knowing”and “all-powerful”.

Take the scenario where a glorious king chooses a wife for his son.

Would it be proper if she pledges allegiance, love and submission to the Father king, whom she loves and admires so much, when she was created, chosen and commanded to worship the King’s Son?

Of course not!

Let all Jehovah Witnesses re-consider their stubborn refusal to have their hearts and eyes fixed on Jesus!

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Freed from Old Testament Law?

Moving the Christian Assembly from Sabbath to Sunday

Having finished creating the universe, in six days, God rested on the seventh day, and asked us, men, to commemorate that event, by keeping every seventh day as a day of rest.

The “Sabbath” was meticulously kept from the beginning of creation and throughout the ages by all those who believed and followed the Only True God, our Creator.

On this day of rest, God’s people had to not only stop going about their daily activities, but they also were to assemble and spend much of the day together, having fellowship with one another in God’s name and in his unseen presence!

When however the Messiah (Jesus) came to earth a New Covenant was introduced and God’s original directives were re-formulated…

Jesus’ death inaugurated a new age, the “Age of Grace”, of “Freedom from the Law”:

Godly men were no longer instructed to obey the Laws of God to the letter but had to obey the “spirit” that laid behind the commandments, the basic principles that the law was trying to convey to mankind. 

Once we were to understand that, then we would instinctively know how God wants us to behave in life’s various circumstances.

Basically, the New Covenant taught us that we needed to learn to love God supremely, and seek to please him by being loving, just and merciful towards our fellow men!

Nothing had to be done if it did not spring out of a righteous love and respect for God and for our fellow man, while being just! 

That was the emphasis!

Suddenly, now, the rules that God had set for us could be understood differently, be altered, or be ignored at times.

The Spirit of God was to lead us as to how to live, what was permissible and what was forbidden. 

Jesus sent the apostle Paul to clarify to us all this:

“Christ has set us free from the Law! Make sure that you stay free and do not get tied up again in slavery to the Law.

Beware however not to use your newfound freedom wrongly, trying to satisfy your physical (mostly sexual) desires.  

(Galatians 5: 1, 13)

Let no one condemn another for not obeying certain laws of the Old Testament such as: not keeping the prescribed religious festivals or Sabbaths, not eating this, not drinking that, not touch the other… 

(Colossians 2:16)

As you see, a new era had started, one that expected men to be honest with themselves and sensitive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God

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Correcting the worst misconception

Correcting the Worst Misconception people have!

 

Is “being moral and good” all that is needed to go to heaven?

There is no better summary as to how to behave towards our fellow man than this:

“do no harm to anyone and do as much good as we can to all” 

Jesus himself said the same, but in slightly different words.: “Do to others as you would like them to do unto you”

But, according to him, doing this is not enough to give us entrance into God’s family as his adopted children!

For there is a similar rule that is even more important to God than this one.

I will not quote it right outright; I will rather illustrate it first with an example taken out of my own life, (a part of my life that is very personal and difficult to share with anyone. Please, do not judge me too quickly or harshly…)

“I, Constantin, am now 72 years old as I write, and have had an eventful and varied life.

I am a very emotional person, and very family centred.

I have been married twice, so far. Both of my wives left me, (not vice-versa).

 I loved my wives and children with all my heart, (I had 10 children in all, 9 still in life)

I had concrete dreams and plans for both of my families, plans to create a family like no other, united with love, happiness, security and purpose. 

I expected all members of my families to trust me and follow my plans and dreams for them, but my wives and children did not tolerate me for long, for I am also a difficult and demanding man, with strong moral or behavioural principles.

So, at some stage in our lives, when things got tough, both of my wives decided to leave me, and my children chose to follow their “softer” mothers rather than stay with “demanding” me.

(Danielle, one of my daughters was an exception; she respects me and loves me much, and lives with me…)

Now, my children live all over the world: some in England, some in France, in South Africa, Dubai, Greece, Cyprus, and for a time in the Philippines.

We haven’t kept contact, and I haven’t seen some of them for many years now.

My children may be the best persons in this world, applying to the letter the principle that I taught them, that of “doing no harm to anyone, and doing as much good as they can to all their fellow men and women”, but, since they do not apply it to me,

I, their father, am not at all pleased with them: 

They are not doing their foremost duty towards me: That of loving me back, respecting me for who I (morally) am, and honouring me for being their father by behaving the way I taught them.

 They have turned their backs on me and have not returned to my “fold”.

None of them has come to me, repentant and seeking to make up for the unbelievable pain and disappointment that they brought upon me. 

My whole life has been messed up because they left.

We have become strangers, blaming and despising each other…

I am still waiting, like a fool, for them to return repentant and be reconciled with me.

Deep inside, I still love them and am willing to forgive and even forget (up to a point) whatever happened. But their absence says it all.

They do not care about me, how I feel.

By saying all this, I have opened to you my innermost self, saying things that I do not want to discuss with anyone, for I know, (by experience), that people seldom understand or agree with my way of seeing things, and chose to find fault with me rather than get the point I am trying to make,

that of better explaining what else God expects of us, aside of doing no harm to anyone, and doing as much good as we can to all:  

God demands that we love him above all, respect, honour and submit to him.

That is what is more important than loving our fellow man as we love ourselves!

If we do not, love God, our Creator, with all our heart, soul, spirit and with all our strength.

 (or, at least, sincerely strive to do that), he will not accept us as his (adopted) children, he will not let us enter his home, where eternal life and perfect happiness alone exist.

Outside his Kingdom, sorrows will be experienced eternally, to a degree that depends on the hardness of our hearts, the wickedness of our actions, and, most of all, the failure to love God.

“Loving our neighbour as ourselves” is the second most important commandment, according to Jesus himself, and will not be enough to convince our Creator of accepting anyone into his family and Kingdom.

We must repent of our apostacy and submit unconditionally to him. 

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Beware of False Teachings

Beware of choosing the first church that you find yourself involved in as your home church!

Beware of the insincerity and false teachings that exist in many of today’s churches! Their teachings can be deadly, completely misleading…

They will offer you the truth as a main course, but the desert…may be poisonous, deadly!

There are a number of many well established churches that you would not expect them to be heresies. But they are!

Their theologies have been greatly influenced by their need to get their adherents to “support” them financially…

 Catholic and Orthodox Churches are a good example of a completely derailed theology!

Others, such as the Jehovah Witnesses or the Adventists have exploited the difficult theological concepts or passages of the Bible so as to snatch some believers into their ranks…

And others, again, such as, the Prosperity Cults and even the Charismatics have pushed aside the end goal that a christian should have for more earthly experiences…

Most of these  church adherents are, up to a point, sincere. They are sincere but wrong!

They, themselves have been fooled, brainwashed by their churches’ leaders who chose to close their eyes so as not to be disturbed by the un biblical teachings of their dogmas.

Those leaders have chosen to become teachers of God’s Words and Truth bear an unforgivable guilt when they lead the flock away from the Truths of the Bible. Becoming someone important, and the appeal of an easy and secure income blinded them too easily!

As I said earlier, there may be some truth in the main course, but the desert can off set it all, since it contains deadly poison!

Let me give you an example:

The Seventh Day Adventist churches teach (like all other churches do),the need to be holy and loving.

They simply insist also on keeping the Sabbath holy, instead of Sunday. And there is nothing wrong with that!   

Like the Jehovah Witnesses, they have rejected the existence of man’s soul after death, and other biblical teachings, which make their dogma somewhat weary…but not deadly for as much!

The deadly part is reserved for latter: in the “desert”, they finally present you the most deadly teaching of all:

Against Jesus’ express repeated warnings written in Revelation 13 and 14, they teach that there is no problem whatsoever in accepting and receiving the Mark of the Beast in the final test that God’s children will have to go through!

(God’s faithful children are commanded to refuse to receive that Mark, if they want to enter into his Kingdom!)

So, when the time will come, all Adventists are taught to accept the forbidden Mark of the Beast on their right hand or their forehead, which stands much like the forbidden fruit that Adam and Eve accepted long ago…

They will accept it, to save their lives, and be condemned to Hell because of doing so, because of not passing the final test set by God, that will separate the saved from the unsaved…

As you see, the poison is in the pudding! Beware of what church you join!

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Purpose of our earthly life

The purpose of our earthly life,                  

Do you know that there are some people, today, who do not believe that the earth is a sphere? And this in spite all the evidence to the contrary, including photos of our planet from space… 

And there are also many people today who do not believe that there is a God, a Creator, regardless of all the evidence there is around us. 

In spite of all the unbelievably complicated design that can be seen in everything that exists, they reject the idea of an intelligent, Sublime mind, a Creator! 

But, there are also some of us, who are honest enough with ourselves to recognize that there is a super intelligent Creator, who has created all there is for a good purpose.

(John 12: 45  ,  14: 9  ,  Colossians 2: 9)

And we need to know what that purpose is, in order to know how to live our life on earth! But first, we must determine who that the True God is! ( since mankind has invented many false God’s, many false religions..,

 Is it possible to know which is the true religion, the True God? Yes, it definitely is!

 Briefly: Only one religion can prove in an intelligent, logical, critical way that its founder truly came from God: The Judeo/Christian religion.

 For the sake of conciseness, I will quickly bypass Moses, and come straight to Jesus of Nazareth:

His apostles, (whose 2.000 years old writings  have been meticulously kept unchanged until today), claimed that they saw Jesus resurrected after his crucifixion and watched him- with their own eyes- ascend in the sky! (Luke 24: 51)

 If true, that would be the ultimate proof that Jesus truly came from God and knew what he was talking about, wouldn’t it?

 If, on the other hand, what the apostles wrote in the New Testament was a lie, (a lie that they themselves had created), they would definitely not have given their lives, all of them, for spreading such impossible, crazy claims. But history unequivocally testifies that the apostles did die, (after a long life of dreadful persecutions) a martyr’s death, each one of them.

Can we logically explain that twelve men were willing to suffer much persecution and give their lives for a lie that they had invented? No, that is for sure. Not if we are sincere with ourselves.

We therefore conclude that the writers of the New Testament truly saw Jesus resurrected, and that what he had told them was the Truth, the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth.  His resurrection proved it to them and their self-sacrificial lives, to us. (Acts 4: 29)

So, we can be assured that the God of the Bible is real.

We need to know, now,  what is the purpose of our existence on this planet!

Well, it transpires from God’s Word that our Creator spends much of his time observing each one of us:

 He made us, he says, much like himself, eternal beings, free to choose what kind of a person we want to be, and he needs to know where he should place each one of us for eternity…

 In his written Word, he says that he will assign a place near himself to anyone who seeks him and lives a selfless life, does what is good, just and loving in his eyes, and who submits to his Son, Jesus, above all. They will be his friends, his children, for ever…  (Psalm 53: 2  ;   John 4: 23  ;   Chronicles 16: 9)

In order to determine who is what, God puts us all through a variety of tests, of experiences, while on this earth, and watches out to see:

Will we seek in all circumstances, to please Him? (Matthew 6: 33.  ;  Luke 12: 29 – 34   )

Will we be loving to others and do to them as we wished they would have done to us, (if we were in their shoes), or will we live self-centered lives! (Luke 6: 31.  ;   Galatians 5: 14. ;  Leviticus 19: 18)

 And, most importantly, he watches to see if we will recognize and love his Only Son, Jesus Christ, for whose sake we actually were created! Will we love him, whole heartedly? Will we obey his commandments and stay faithful to him no matter how hard it may be?  (Matthew 7: 21  ;   Matthew 24: 13   ;   Matthew 10: 22)

 Depending on how well we pass these tests, our Creator will assign to each one of us, a place in eternity where we deserve to be, where we will fit in best… (2 Timothy 2: 20 – 21)

 We, humans, do likewise, don’t we?

 Animal lovers, for instance, do not want to have a disobedient, dangerous, unpleasant or dirty dog to live in their home, do they? No!

So, they observe the behaviour of every dog, and choose one that is affectionate, good natured, obedient, and clean so that it can live in its master’s house and lay at his feet… Other dogs, with less praiseworthy qualities, their masters will put them in the garden, or in the fields to look after the sheep… They love them all, but each dog is placed where it suits it best, depending on its character, the nature it has proven to have. (2 Timothy 2:20-21).

 As for the vicious and rebellious dogs, their masters will have them chained and caged, far away from themselves, so that they may scare away unwanted intruders…

 Well… God will do likewise:

 He will choose his faithful followers, (those who have sought to please him on this Godless earth), to live near himself, (in his Holy City, the New Jerusalem), forever.

He will have them washed clean of the guilt of their sins by the blood of Jesus, and they will enjoy the best there is in God’s Kingdom. (John 14: 2  ;   Revelation 21: 27  ;   Isaiah 65: 18)

 Others, (such as those who did good to God’s children in need, but did not belong to Jesus), will be “guests” on that new earth. They will live outside the city of God long and happy lives, lives as long as those of the trees, but sooner or later… they will die !  (Matthew 22: 2-14    ;   Matthew25: 31- 40   ;   Isaiah 65: 17-25)

 And some, (actually most), will be thrown outside of God’s heavenly kingdom altogether… in hell, for being wicked, rebellious and unrepentant, and most of all, for rejecting his very Son, who gave his life for them to be spared from going to such a terrible place. (Matthew 22: 2-14  ;   Revelation 20: 12-15  ;    21: 8.   ;    Isaiah 66: 4,  24)

 I, for one, want to live my eternal life as closely as possible to Jesus, for whom I know I was created. For that is where the wonderful God that I love will be!

That is also where the best people, the best living conditions, the best shows and all the excitement will be found, in God’s presence.

 Therefore, now, in this life, I do not seek so much to enjoy it, to live as happily as I can, but rather I strive to be as faithful as I should be to my loving God, who may put me through many tests, many disappointments and failures, who allows me to go through many deep sorrows and dark tunnels of despair. But, through all these sorrowful experiences, he transforms me into the kind of person he wants me to be, while also bestowing on me many unexpected blessings and some happiness…

Through all these experiences God gives us the opportunity to prove ourselves and improve our soul by letting it grow in faith, in holiness, in humility, kindness and faithfulness, all those qualities that he wants to develop in us. (Hebrews 12: 3 – 11)

 And one day… we will receive what we aspire for, and deserve. For it is written in the Bible:

 “God will judge everyone according to what they have done:

To those who, with persistence, kept on doing what is good and sought to receive honour, glory and immortality from God, he will give them, in the eternal life, what they have been seeking for.

But God’s anger and wrath will be poured out on those who choose to please themselves, and refuse to obey the Truth, but live instead lives of wickedness…”  (Romans 2: 6-8)

 

Where will God will be placing you for eternity?

 Won’t you try harder to please him, so as to, one day, live eternally in happiness, in his presence?

 

                                       

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For those who want to know more:

 

 A Glimpse of the life to come

After Judgement Day, and the destruction by fire of our universe, God will create a New Heaven and a New Earth.

He will then lower down from heaven a readymade city that he had built in advance, (the New Jerusalem), and place it on a mountain, his Holy Mountain, upon that New Earth. (2 Peter 3: 7 & 10.    ;    Revelation 21: 1,  10 – 11  )

God himself, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, will live there, together with all those who love and obey him. In his presence, love, happiness, goodness and beauty will be paramount… (Revelation 21: 3, 22   ;    22: 3 – 4   ;   Zechariah 2: 11)

 God will choose those with whom he is most pleased to become his closest friends: Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Daniel, David, the apostles and the likes of them… (I strive to be included in that number)

They will live near God’s house, sit with Jesus around his dining table and will help him rule and judge the universe. So the Bible says.  (Luke 22: 30  ,   John14: 2-3 )

 God will choose other of his faithful followers, who have lived less outstanding lives but whose names are written in the “Book of Life” and have been “washed by the blood of Jesus», to also live in the New Jerusalem, in dwellings that he has prepared for them for whenever they visit the City of God! (John 14: 2  ;   Revelation 21: 27  ;   Isaiah 65: 18)

 Their permanent home, however, will be in the countryside, on God’s Holy Mountain, where they will build farmhouses and will live peacefully and happily on them, forever and ever! (Isaiah 65: 21-24)

The Bible does not give much information about everything we would like to know, but, through the parable of “the Son’s Wedding” in Matthew 22: 2-14, we gather that in the Kingdom of God there will be: Citizens, (the “bride” of Christ) , and Non-Citizens, (the “guests”…)  (Matthew 22: 2-14)

 Those guests will be spread out on the rest of the surface of the New Earth that will be created, living in different nations, much like it is done here on earth. (Revelation 21: 24)

 The citizens, God’s children, will live on God’s Holy Mountain and will never suffer long or die. (Revelation 21: 1-4.   ;   Isaiah 11: 9 )

 The guests, however, will live among the nations; things there will be much as it is on our earth: people will work, have families, and when they sin, they will  suffer long for it. They will live as long as the trees do, but sooner or later they will die!  (Isaiah 65: 17-25)

 Animals will live on the New Earth also, wild and domestic animals alike, for they too have souls that will be judged by God. Each will be assigned where they will live..  Those animals whom God approves, he will renew them, just like us, and they will live happy and harmless lives on God’s mountain. All animals there will be vegetarians, lions and bears included…  (Genesis 9: 5  ;  Isaiah 65: 25 )

 Some of today’s “spiritual leaders” (that are followed, loved and admired by all here on earth), will be among the least important in heaven, whereas some of the most unappreciated individuals in this life will be among the greatest ones there… (Luke 13: 30)     Will I be one of them?

 And some people, actually many…, will be thrown outside of God’s heavenly kingdom altogether… in hell, for remaining unrepentant, wicked and rebellious, and most of all, for rejecting his very Son, who gave his life for us all to be saved, to be spared from going to such a terrible place.  (Revelation 20: 12-15  ;    21: 8.   ;    Isaiah 66: 4,  24)

 God will apparently enclose the souls of those condemned to hell into the body of worm-like creatures that will live in a deep valley on fire outside the New Jerusalem,  They will be a warning to all passersby… (I suppose they will be put into good use, eating all the rubbish that is thrown in it). (Isaiah 66: 24.  ;  Matthew 25: 41  ;   Revelation 20: 10 )

 As I have already mentioned, the purpose of God placing us here on our earth is for us to pass through a set of tests that will determine where we must spend eternity… (Revelation 20: 11 – 13)

 Let us make sure that we do not end up spending eternity in the wrong place.

The picture that I have described in this presentation is the one that I have reached by gathering all of the Bible’s “jig-saw” pieces on the subject together…

Others may see things differently.

 What matters, in the end of the day, is that each of us strives to enter God’s Kingdom where we will live eternally happy.

    Constantin Economides

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