Basic HTML Version
DEAD
(Continued from page 14)
tality to eternal immortal spirit life.
They are those who, in this life,
believed God and received the
promise of eterna! life through the
Holy Spirit, which imparts the
divine nature
(JI
Pet. 1:4) and
impregnates repentant humans
with the beginning of eternallife (I
Pet. 1:23) .
What about the multitudes of
people wbo never really knew God,
or tbe Bible, or realized tbe need to
obey God's revealed teaching in tbe
Bible? Wbat about tbe bundreds of
millions wbo live in areas of the
world wbere no access to tbe Bible
and to tbe knowledge of tbe true
God is possible? What about tbose
deliberately kept from tbe knowl–
edge of God in tbis atheistic, secu–
lar, deceived world? ·
God is fair. Tbey will be given
their opportunity to live life to the
full in a second resurrection.
Why the Second Resurrection?
God is all merciful. He is full of
outgoing love and concern. His
great plan encompasses giving
every human being who has ever
lived, and ever will live, opportuni–
ty to obtain eternal life . The
hundreds of millions of people who
once lived, but never knew God,
will bave tbeir eyes opened! Their
time will come to live again in the
second resurrection, a tbousand
years after God's government is
restored to this earth.
Once humans, beginning sooner
than you may think, learn to Uve
God's way for 1,000 years, those
who lived and died in the past will
bave t heir first opportunity to
understand God's way in the sec–
.ond resurrection. They will com–
pare, after 1,000 years of God's
government, what it was like to live
man's way, in their first life, with
God's way.
These are those mentioned in
Revelation 20:5, cal led "the rest of
the dead": "But the rest of the dead
lived not again until the thousand
years were finished."
Comprehend that! Every person
now living without the true
revealed knowledge of God or who
has lived arid died, will have a time
of judgment in which either to
34
accept or reject the way of life God
reveals in the Bible.
Notice John's description of the
second resurrection in .Revelation
20:12: "And 1 saw the dead, small
and great, standing befare God,
and books were opened. And anoth–
er book was opened, which is the
Book of Life. And tbe dead were
judged according to their works, by
tbe things wbicb were written in
the books" (RAV).
There would be no reason for a
book of life to be opened if none
were to receive eterna} life.
It
will
be a time when bumanity, cometo
mortal life again, as a wbole will
know God and be offered bis Holy
Spirit. God's Spirit imparts a new,
spiritual life in mortal humans once
There is only one revealed
source of knowledge
available for discovering
the truth about
what happens after
death... . That
revelation of spiritual
knowledge is
the Holy Bible.
again living in tbe flesh. Read Eze–
kiel 37:11-14 for the full details.
The Thlrd Resurrection
Sadly, and tragically, there will be
those few who knowingly reject
God and God's way of life. These
will be in a tbird resurrection to
final judgment and condemnation.
Again, God is all merciful. God
will mercifully and quickly elimi–
nate tbose wbo have made them–
selves unbappy with tbeir own way
of living.
All who spurn God's way of life,
which is for our own good and
which brings joy and bappiness and
abundance, will suffer eternal
deatb. This is called the second
death, from wbence there will nev–
er be another resurrection: "The
sea gave up the dead wbo were in it,
and Death and Hades [the grave]
delivered up the dead wbo were
in them. And they were judged,
each one according to bis works.
· "Tben Death and Hades ["hell"
in the Authorized Version] were cast
into the lake of tire. This is tbe sec–
ond death. And anyone not found
written in the Book of Life [at the
time of the second resurrection] was
cast into the lake of tire" (Rev.
20:13-15, RAV). They "shall be
ashes" (Mal. 4:3), not immortal
souls tormented by tire and worms
and the devil.
(If
you want a fu ller explanation,
write for our booklet
Lazarus and
the Rich Man.
It
is free upon
request.)
Tbe message should be clear for
everybody. lt is time to take
thought. Ask yourself, Wbere do 1
stand before God?
Each of us will have to answer
personally to God for what we do in
tbis life. We will each have to give
an account for our actions: "For we
shall all stand befare the judgment
seat of Christ. For it is written: 'As
1 live, says the Lord, every knee
shall bow to Me, and every tongue
sball confess to God.' So then each
of us shall give account of bimself
to God" (Rom. 14:10-12, RAV).
Each of us has made mistakes.
All of us have sinned and fallen
short of God's expectations: "For
all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God" (Rom. 3:23, RAV).
But we can stop tbe pattern of sin,
breaking God's commandments.
We can begin keeping God's law,
the way to peace and inner bappi–
ness now, and ultimately eterna!
life.
"If
thou wilt enter into · life,"
said Jesus, "keep the command–
ments" (Matt. 19: 17).
lf
you are willing, if you sincerely
seek God and change from living a
life contrary to God and bis revealed
truth as found in the Bible, God will
work with you and in you. He will
give you opportunity to be counted
among those in the first resur–
rection, an event to take place sooner
than most people imagine.
" 'Come now, and let us reason
together,' says the Lord, 'though
your sins are like scarlet, tbey shall
be as white as snow; tbough they
are red like crimson, they shall be
as wool.
If
you are willing and obe–
dient. ...' " (lsa. 1:18-19, RAV).
Take this revealed knowledge
seriously. Seek God's way of life
while God gives you time. o
The
PLAIN TRUTH