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natural death, will be resur–
rected - in the third resur–
rection-to a fi nal , eterna] death.
lt
is called the second death, from
whence there will never be a res–
urrection: "And the sea gave up
the dead which were in it; and
death and hell
[hades,
the grave]
delivered up the dead which were
in them: and they were judgcd
every man according to their
works. And death and hell were
cast into the lake of fi re. This is
the second death. And whosoever
was not found written in the book
of life [at the time of the second
resurrection ] was cast into the
lake of fire" (Revelation 20: 13-
15). They shall be turned to ashes
(Malachi 4:3).
lt's Time to Consider
The message should be clear- it's
t ime to take thought, to consider
and to ask yourself where you
stand before God.
God does exist! What he says
in the Bible will happen! Any
claiming to be an atheist, nonbe–
liever, agnostic or whatever, will
not change the truth of God, nor
reality about life, death and what
happens after death. God even
warns that disbelief is no excuse:
"For the invisible things of him
from the creation of the world are
clearly seen, being understood by
the things that are made, even his
eterna! power and Godhead; so
that they are without excuse"
(Romans 1:20) .
Don't be deceived! Each of
us will ultimately reap what we
sow! "Be not deceived; God is
not mocked: for whatsoever a
man soweth, that shaJI he also
reap. For he that soweth to his
flesh shall of the flesh reap cor–
ruption; but he that soweth to
the Spirit shall of the Spirit
reap life everlasting" (Galatians
6:7-8).
Be warned! Each of us will
have to personally answer to God
for what we've done in this life.
We will each have to give an
account for our own actions: "For
we shall all stand before the judg–
ment seat of Christ. For it is writ–
ten, As 1 live, saith the Lord,
34
every knee shall bow to me, and
every tongue shall confess to God.
So then every one of us shall give
account of himself to God" (Ro–
mans 14: 10- 12) .
Don't treat this information
lightly, and Jet it in one ear and
out the other. There will be a
judgment: "For we must all
appear before the judgment seat
of Christ; that every one may
reeeive the things done in his
body, according to that he hath
done, whether it be good or bad"
(II Corinthians 5:1 0). Only the
few are now ealled to judgment.
Judgment now is on the Church
of God
(1
Peter 4: 17), not the
world as a whole.
lt ls Time to Change
Each of us has made mistakes.
All of us have sinned and faJJen
short of God's expeetations, "For
all have sinned, and come short of
the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
The point is- it's t ime to stop
sinning! And start doing what is
right! That's ealled repentanee,
change.
Says God: "Say unto them, As
1 live, saith the Lord God, 1 have
no pleasure in the death of the
wicked; but that the wicked turn
from his way and live: turn ye,
turn ye from your evil ways; for
why will ye die?" (Ezekiel
33:11). Note, it does not say "live
forever as immortal souls in
hell."
God makes it clear: " If the
wicked will turn from al l his sins
that he hath committed, and keep
all my statutes, and do that which
is Jawful and right, he shal1 surely
live, he shall not die. All his
transgressions that he hath com–
mitted, they shall not be men–
tioned unto him: in his righteous–
ness that he hath done he shall
live" (Ezekiel 18:21-22).
God's merey toward those who
change- who repent- who stop
going the get way, and turn to the
give way, is spelled out in the
Bible. It is beyond human under–
standing: "Come now," implores
the Great God, "and Jet us reason
together, saith the Lord: though
your sins be as searlet, they shall
be as white as snow; though they
be red like crimson, they shall be
as wool" ( l saiah 1: 18).
Says God to those who properly
fear him, that is, respect his
authority and his commands, "For
as the heaven is high above the
earth, so great is his merey toward
them that fear him. As far as the
east is from the west, so far hath he
removed our transgressions from
us" (Psalms 103:11-12).
God's very name, as he himself
spelled it ou t, proclaims his loving
merey toward those who ask him
for forgiveness and seek to do his
commandments: " The Lord, The
Lord God, merciful and gracious,
longsuffering, and abundant in
goodness and truth, keeping mer–
ey for thousands, forgiving iniqui–
ty and transgression and sin ..."
(Exodus 34:6-7).
God mercifully made man
mortal, so that if he did choose
irrevoeably to go the wrong way
be would die, not suffer e.ternaJ
punishing in a hell fire. That final
death of thc wicked, those who
ehoose the way of
get,
will be
dcath by fire, when this earth
burns up. They will be turned to
ashes, but the earth wi11 be
renewed - an eterna] inheritanee
for those who choose the way of
give, of love- the way of the Ten
Commandments.
So1omon's simple conclusion
sums it all up: "Let us hear the
eonclusion of the whole matter:
Fear Ood, and keep his com–
mandments: for this is the whole
duty of man. For God sball bring
every work into judgment, with
every secret thing, whether it be
good, or whether it be evil" (Ec–
clesiastes 12: 13-14).
God grant you the wisdom–
and desire- to take the propcr
steps that lead to repentance and
the receiving of the Holy Spirit
that imparts the impregnating
seed of eterna! life in mortal man.
It
is made plain in a full-length
book
The lncredible Human
Potential
by Herbert W. Arm–
strong- available in bookstores in
the United States and Canada.
lt
is published by Everest House.
Request your copy.
o
The PLAIN TAUTH