Part 32 – What It Means To Prepare for the 2nd Coming of Our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ
Deuteronomy 10:14
“Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it.”
Most people who firmly believe in God and that I’ve talked to just want to experience the resurrection if God Wills it for all the good they’ve done or at least for striving not to violate His Ten Commandments. Others wonder why God did not provide equality of provisions for all men, considering His magnanimous Being as The Great Provider. They ask why does God allow some people to suffer severely like have no food to eat when it is time to eat or have insufficient nourishment ? If He owns everything and is Almighty, no man should ever be born in a state of deprivation. After all, the sins of parents are not the accountability of children according to
Ezekiel 18:20 CEB Common English Bible “20 Only the one who sins will die. A child won’t bear a parent’s guilt, and a parent won’t bear a child’s guilt. Those who do right will be declared innocent, and the wicked will be declared guilty.”
Reflecting on such teachings should lead us eventually to God’s perfect plan of salvation. But again, the salvation usually preached is oftentimes limited to a point of gaining Eternal Life. God’s Plan of Salvation is much more than a provision for Eternal Life in the sense of Man rising from the dead and having new life. We can read in
Revelations 22:12 NASB
New American Standard Bible
“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.”
When The Messiah returns, He will not only raise the Righteous Believer from death. There are rewards to be received by every man who overcomes sins and temptations to sin. The Eternal Words of God concerning His Plan is also found in Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 29:11
New American Standard Bible
“For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
After the first death before the Final Judgement, those who overcome evil will be given a right to eat from the Tree of Life in Paradise, which will then enable the victorious to enjoy Eternal Life.
Revelations 2:7 NKJV “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”
In the Final Judgement, those with Eternal Life, will not be hurt (Revelations 2:11) while those who fail to overcome evil will be thrown into a lake of fire where their souls will be forever tormented.
Revelation 21:8
“But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
There is therefore a wide gap between the good and evil soon after the end of a person’s life. If a person longs to have as much rewards as can be derived from living a Righteous Way of life, he should LOVE God, Self, and Others everyday in order to store substantial treasures in heaven. The length of years for Man to live in one body is obviously limited. Many estimate the average life span to be only 70 to 80 years. However, the plan of God includes “no more death” or sorrow or pain !
Revelation 21:3 “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. 4 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.”
In answer then to those asking why God created Man imperfect, we should remind believers about His Plan to take The Righteous indeed towards that state where we can approximate the perfection desired by Man. We are a work-in-progress of God’s Almighty Will. However, this is true only for those who firmly and genuinely believe in God — The Father, The Son, Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit.