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Christian world have almost come
to regard poverty as a virtue. They
mistakenly think the Bible says,
"Money
is the root of aH evil." The
Bible does not say that (but it does
warn about not setting one's heart
on riches in an improper manner).
What the Bible does say is, "For
the
/ove of
money is
a
root of a11
kinds of evil"
(I
Tim. 6:1 O). lt is
lusting after money or the things
money can buy that is wrong-not
the diligent hard and honest work
that wi11 bring appropriate financia)
gain .
We have already read in Malachi
3 that God would bless us abun–
dantly if we place him and his way
first in our decisions and in our
lives. And that blessing is physical
as we11 as spiritual.
· In this regard the apostle J ohn
wrote,
" 1
pray that you may enjoy
good health and that a 11 may go
we11 with you, even as your soul is
getting along well"
(111
John
2).
So while the Bible makes it plain
God would have us prosper, it is
also plain we get ahead by hard
work and proper planning. lt would
not be good for God to hand over
untold wealth to anyone. We first
must learn to effectively handle
what we have been given, then God
will add more.
And that's where budgeting
comes in. From tithing we learn to
aJlocate percentages of our income,
beginning with the most important
allocat ion of all- that of God's
rightful 1Opercent. Then to budget
the rest wisely and efficiently, we
learn to accept the chailenge to live
within our means and achieve a bal–
anced budget.
That is indeed an accompl ish–
ment. And it is fun.
Sticking to a budget, learning
when to adjust because of emergen–
cíes and needed changes, growing
together as a family in allocating
our miniature "corporate" assets–
these are sorne of the most reward–
ing experiences of life.
You may need further help in
working with your family finances.
So why not write for our free book–
lets
Endíng Your Financia/ Wor–
ríes
and
Managíng Your Personal
Fínances.
They will give you an in–
depth picture of how to handle
your financia) life.
o
26
Closing in
(Contínued from page 16)
future is a resurrection-a rising
from the dead!
The Bible teaches the resur–
rection, not the immortality, of the
soul! The resurrection is our only
hope of inheriting eterna) life.
Actually, the Bible speaks of
three resurrections from the dead.
Every person who has ever lived
will be in at least one of them!
The apostle Paul describes the
first resurrection in
1
Thessalonians
4:16-17:
"For the Lord himself shall
descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel, and
with the t rump of God: and the
dead in Christ [true Christians who
have died throughout history] shall
rise first: then we which are alive
and remain [true Christians sti ll
living] shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds, to meet
the Lord in the ai r: and so shall we
ever be with the Lord."
At the Second Coming of Jesus
Christ, the righteous will be resur–
rected to immortal spirit life by the
power of the Spirit of God. They
will rule with Christ during his
thousand-year reign on earth. They
will be changed from mortal to
immortal- "born again," to use the
biblical terminology. (Write for
our free booklet
Just What Do You
Mean-Born Again?
for an expla–
nation of this much-misused
phrase.)
These resurrected saints shall be
spirit as God is spirit , immortal as
he is immortal, divine as he is
divine! They will be born into his.
family as bis very sons and daugh–
ters! This first resurrection is also
described in
l
Corinthians 15:51-
54.
The Rest
of
the Dead
Now, what of those billions of dead
who were cut off from contact with
God during their lifetimes, who
lived and died in ignorance of
God's revealed truth?
They will remain in their graves
until after the thousand-year reign
of Christ and the saints on earth.
They will then be resurrected to
physical life in the second resur–
rection (Rev. 20:5, 11-12). They
will then be given their first real
opportunity for salvation and a
chance to qualify for responsibi lity
in the kingdom of God.
Few understand this vital truth!
The vast majority of mankind have
never even had a chance for salva–
tion!
Anciently, the prophet Ezekiel
was permitted by God to see in
vision this great second resur–
rection. God showed Ezekiel a val–
ley full of dried bones:
" And he said unto me, Son of
man, can these bones live? And
1
answered,
O
Lord God, thou
[alone] knowest" (Ezek. 37:3).
God then declared: ' 'Thus saith
the Lord God unto these bones;
Behold,
1
will cause breath to enter
into you, and ye shall live: and
I
will lay sinews upon you, and will
bring up flesh upon you, and cover
you with skin, and put breath in
you, and ye sha111ive ..." (verses 5
and 6).
Ezekiel then witnessed-across
three-and-a-half millennia into the
future-a portion of this g reat
worldwide resurrection to physical
life. " ... and the breath carne into
them," he records, "and they lived,
and stood up upon their feet, an
exceeding great army" (verse 10).
The Second Death
Finally, what of those who stead–
fastly refuse to follow God's way,
those who are given a chance now,
in this life, to reach for immortality
but turn it down?
These will have a part in the
third resurrection, a resurrection to
physical life, at which time they
will be mercifully destroyed- put
out of thei r misery forever. They
will be consumed in their ent irety
in "the lake of fi re" (Rev. 20: 13-
15), beco¡:ning
ashes
under the feet
of the righteous (Mal. 4:3). How
much more mercifu1 than the con–
cept of eterna) torture in "hell" !
" The wages of sin is death," says
your Bible in Romans 6:23- not
everlast ing suffering in hell fi re!
This is the "second death" (Rev.
20: 14) from which there is no res–
urrection . The second death is
final. God is not willing that any
perish, but he will not force salva–
tion on anyone!
" ... there shall be a resu r–
rection of the dead, both of the just
and unjust," the apostle P aul
The PLAIN TRUTH