everlasting (ĕv ǝr lǎs tǐng) adj
- never coming to an end; eternal
- lasting for an indefinitely long period
- lasting so long or occurring so often as to become tedious;
incessant I cannot bear her everlasting complaints
- endless duration; eternity
God’s word is everlasting. He does not
change. He has no comparison, no equal (Isaiah 45:21). There is none like Him
and never will be.
Think on the marvels of God… His
creation, the sacrifice of His Son to save us from hell, His just judgment and
mercy, His grace when we think we know better than He does.
What can the little gods of our flesh
do for us? What are those gods in comparison to the only living God? Can money
save us from cancer? Can a boat, car or house keep us from depression? Can a
job or education provide us a true identity?
These things are temporal. They rust,
corrode, and decompose. They are merely trappings of this world. Looking beyond
them we can see the true, eternal things of Heaven. Ceaseless communion with
Jesus. It cannot be bottled or bought. It cannot be sold to feed our greed.
Existence in Heaven is not a free gift
from God. The cost, however, is covered by Jesus. All we have to do is let Him
give it to us. Though the world (those who have chosen to follow flesh) sees
only what they can touch or makes up reasons for God’s miracles according to
their human understanding, we true believers in Jesus Christ must look beyond
and see with our spiritual eyes. We are called to see ourselves as visitors in
this world who will one day be brought to our forever home in Heaven. We are
called to be witnesses here in this world so that we might lead others to
eternal salvation through Jesus Christ and enlarge the population of Heaven
I
often hear people state they were saved from this or that, maybe even from
physical death, for a reason. My questions are:
Do we ever ask God what that reason
is?
Are we willing to sacrifice to attain
the answer?
What would we do with the answer if we
learned it?
Are we willing to surrender our lives
to Jesus to accomplish the tasks at hand?
Are we TRULY grateful for our
salvation?
Are we willing to make ourselves of no
account so that when others look at us they see Jesus?
Are we willing to believe that He
saved us not for some big flashy reason, but to be an everyday witness by our
actions and words?
Are
we humbled enough by God’s mercy and Jesus’ sacrifice to endure the punishment
satan will heap on us as we fulfill God’s calling for our lives?
God and satan want the same thing from
us… our eternal souls. The rewards are quite different however.
The bible describes Heaven as a place
of peace and beauty. The walls are made of precious stones, the streets of
gold, and the sea is made of crystal. There is no night, no deception, no
sadness or sickness. Heaven is illuminated by the Glory of God and we, as true
believers, are allowed to be in His presence for eternity.
The bible describes Hell as a place of
constant torment where fire burns eternally. There is no rest in Hell. There is
no quenching for your thirst. What a contrast with Heaven.
If God’s word is everlasting, then
Heaven and Hell are too. Think about that.
Where do you want to spend eternity…
In everlasting Heaven or everlasting Hell?
Riding the whirlwind of God’s grace,
love and mercy
L
heav·en [hev-uhn] noun
- The abode of God, the angels, and the spirits ofthe righteous after death; the place or state ofexistence of the blessed after the mortal life.
hell (hĕl) n.
- The abode of condemned
souls and devils in some religions; the place of eternal punishment for the
wicked after death, presided over by Satan.
- A state of separation from
God; exclusion from God's presence.
- The abode of the dead, identified
with the Hebrew Sheol and the Greek Hades; the underworld.
- A situation or place of
evil, misery, discord, or destruction
- Torment; anguish
Revelation 21 New King James Version (NKJV) All
Things Made New
1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first
heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold,
the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall
be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes;
there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more
pain, for the former things have passed away.”
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make
all things new.” And He said to me, “Write,
for these words are true and faithful.”
6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the
End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who
thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters,
and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and
brimstone, which is the second death.”
9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls
filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the
bride, the Lamb’s wife.” 10 And
he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me
the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear
as crystal. 12 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates,
and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north,
three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.
14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and
on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure
the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as
great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand
furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. 17 Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. 18 The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first
foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the
fourth emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh
chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the
eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl.
And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty
and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to
shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth
bring their glory and honor into it. 25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall
be no night there). 26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the
nations into it. 27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that
defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are
written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
THE BIBLICAL
DESCRIPTION OF HELL
Article by Kathy A. Smith
- A place of weeping and
gnashing of teeth - "And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer
darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 25:30).
- A place of outer darkness
- "Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take
him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing
of teeth" (Matthew
22:13).
- A place of torments -
"And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham
afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom" (Luke
16:23).
- A place of Sorrows -
"The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented
me;" (2 Samuel
22:6).
- A place of everlasting
destruction - "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the
presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;" (II Thessalonians 1:9).
- A place where men are tormented
with fire and brimstone - "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the
abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and
all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and
brimstone: which is the second death" (Revelation
21:8).
- A place where fire is not
quenched - "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:44).
- A bottomless pit -
"And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit,
as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason
of the smoke of the pit" (Revelation
9:2).
- A place of no rest -
"And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they
have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever
receiveth the mark of his name" (Revelation
14:11).
- It is ultimately a lake of
fire - "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the
second death"(Revelation 20:14).
- A place of hopeless of
unsatisfied desires - "And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy
on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and
cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame " (Luke 16:24). The rich man wanted water but
could not get any.
WHAT
IS HEAVEN LIKE?
by Alan Yusko
Well first off, heaven is
a place for the saved ONLY. There will be no God rejecters in heaven. If you
wish to go to heaven then just accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal
Saviour and Lord. That is the only way to go to heaven.
What does the Bible say
about heaven? Well the Bible gives us some clues but does not go into great
detail about the future destination of the saved. Why is that so? Well I
believe that heaven will be so great and glorious that our minds cannot contain
the blessings and riches of heaven. It hasn't even entered into our minds the
good things God has prepared for His people in heaven.
"But as it is
written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart
of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love
him." (1 Corinthians 2:9)
So because heaven will be
so glorious I'm hard pressed to fully describe it. However the Word of God does
have some clues and even a brief description of heaven. So read on and I'm sure
you will be blessed.
HEAVEN
IS A PLACE OF REWARDS
"Rejoice, and be
exceeding glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they
the prophets which were before you." (Matthew 5:12)
"Rejoice ye in that
day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward [is] great in heaven: for in
the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets." (Luke 6:23)
HEAVEN
IS A PLACE WHERE GOD IS WORSHIPPED
"And the four beasts
had each of them six wings about [him]; and [they were] full of eyes within:
and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which was, and is, and is to come. And when those beasts give glory and honour
and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth forever and ever, The four
and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him
that liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast
created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were
created." (Revelation 4:8-11)
HEAVEN
IS A PLACE WHERE GOD LIVES
"Look down from thy
holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which
thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with
milk and honey." (Deuteronomy 26:15)
"Whosoever therefore
shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is
in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before
my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 10:32,33)
HEAVEN
IS A PLACE OF EXCEEDING JOY
"Now unto him that is
able to keep you from falling, and to present [you] faultless before the
presence of his glory with exceeding joy," (Jude 1:24)
"Again, the kingdom
of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath
found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and
buyeth that field." (Matthew 13:44)
TREASURE
MAY BE STORED IN HEAVEN
"Then Jesus beholding
him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell
whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in
heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me." (Mark 10:21)
NAMES
OF THE SAVED ARE WRITTEN IN HEAVEN
"Notwithstanding in
this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice,
because your names are written in heaven." (Luke 10:20)
THERE
ARE NO TEARS OR SADNESS IN HEAVEN
"And God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither
sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things
are passed away." (Revelation 21:4)
BRIEF
DESCRIPTION OF HEAVEN FROM THE WORD OF GOD, THE BIBLE
(Revelation 21:1-27)
- "And I saw a new
heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed
away; and there was no more sea.
- And I John saw the holy
city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband.
- And I heard a great voice
out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will
dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with
them, [and be] their God.
- And God shall wipe away
all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are
passed away.
- And he that sat upon the
throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for
these words are true and faithful.
- And he said unto me, It is
done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him
that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
- He that overcometh shall
inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
- But the fearful, and
unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and
sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake
which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
- And there came unto me one
of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues,
and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's
wife.
- And he carried me away in
the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the
holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
- Having the glory of God:
and her light [was] like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone,
clear as crystal;
- And had a wall great and
high, [and] had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written
thereon, which are [the names] of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
- On the east three gates;
on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three
gates.
- And the wall of the city
had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the
Lamb.
- And he that talked with me
had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall
thereof.
- And the city lieth
foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city
with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the
height of it are equal.
- And he measured the wall
thereof, an hundred [and] forty [and] four cubits, [according to] the measure
of a man, that is, of the angel.
- And the building of the
wall of it was [of] jasper: and the city [was] pure gold, like unto clear
glass.
- And the foundations of the
wall of the city [were] garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first
foundation [was] jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the
fourth, an emerald;
- The fifth, sardonyx; the
sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz;
the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
- And the twelve gates
[were] twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of
the city [was] pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
- And I saw no temple
therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
- And the city had no need
of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did
lighten it, and the Lamb [is] the light thereof.
- And the nations of them
which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do
bring their glory and honour into it.
- And the gates of it shall
not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
- And they shall bring the
glory and honour of the nations into it.
- And there shall in no wise
enter into it any thing that defileth, neither [whatsoever] worketh
abomination, or [maketh] a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book
of life."
(Revelation 22:1-21)
- And he shewed me a pure
river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God
and of the Lamb.
- In the midst of the street
of it, and on either side of the river, [was there] the tree of life, which
bare twelve [manner of] fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month: and the
leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the nations.
- And there shall be no more
curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants
shall serve him:
- And they shall see his
face; and his name [shall be] in their foreheads.
- And there shall be no
night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord
God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
- And he said unto me, These
sayings [are] faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his
angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
- Behold,
I come quickly: blessed [is] he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of
this book.
- And I John saw these
things, and heard [them]. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship
before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
- Then saith he unto me, See
[thou do it] not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets,
and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
- And he saith unto me, Seal
not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
- He that is unjust, let him
be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that
is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy
still.
- And, behold, I come
quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give every man according as his work
shall be.
- I am Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the end, the first and the last.
- Blessed [are] they that do
his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter
in through the gates into the city.
- For without [are] dogs,
and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever
loveth and maketh a lie.
- I Jesus have sent mine
angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the
offspring of David, [and] the bright and morning star.
- And the Spirit and the
bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is
athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
- For I testify unto every
man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add
unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this
book:
- And if any man shall take
away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part
out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things which
are written in this book.
- He which testifieth these
things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
- The grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ [be] with you all. Amen.
