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"ONE SHALL BE TAKEN...
...and the other left" Matthew
24:40, relates to Christ's return, its precise meaning depending on whether His
coming is to remove His Church to heaven, or 7 years later to establish His
millennial kingdom.
In the first instance the one
will be taken up to heaven, and the other left for judgment.
In the second, the one will be
taken away to hell, the other left to enjoy the Millennium.
If He comes today - and He
could, for all the signs relative to that coming have been fulfilled - would you
be taken up?
You're not sure? Your
uncertainty is its own answer. You'll be left to die in the Tribulation or to
be cast bodily into hell at His coming to inaugurate His millennial kingdom.
To prepare for His coming,
admit that you're a sinner without righteousness; believe that He loved you and
died in your place for your sins, and that in response to that faith God pardons
all your sin.
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THE PRODIGAL SON
Upon returning from the far
country where he had lived as a profligate, the prodigal son confessed to his
father, “I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight, and am no more worthy
to be called your son,” Luke 15:21.
This wasn’t just the admission
of his merely having committed some sins: it was the confession of utter
sinfulness, of total lack of righteousness; and until a man makes that same
confession he can’t be saved; yet millions, clinging to the false notion that
they have some righteousness, that they aren’t completely sinful, and putting
their faith in church membership, baptism, Bible study, prayer, good works,
etc., have robbed themselves of eternal life, and chosen hell instead of heaven
as their eternal abode.
Neither Church membership,
baptism, nor good living, etc., will save anyone, for one’s sinful state isn’t
measured by the amount or kind of sins committed. It rests on the fact that all
men are born into this world with a sinful nature which is incapable of
producing anything except sin, and until they are born again, and thus receive a
new sinless nature, they cannot enter heaven, and are destined to enter hell if
they die without having obtained that new nature.
The absolute imperative of
that new birth, is declared by the Lord Jesus Christ,"Except a man be born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God ... You must be born again," John 3:3,
7.
That new birth occurs only
when a man first admits that he is completely sinful, and believes that when
Christ died on the cross, it was in his place, for his sins, and that in
exchange for that confession and faith, God pardons all his sin, past, present,
and future, and will receive him into heaven.
There is, however, only a
limited time in a man’s life when he can avail himself of salvation, hence the
warning, “NOW is the accepted time; NOW is the day of salvation,” 2 Corinthians
6:2.
Tomorrow may be too late.
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THREE SCUBA DIVERS...
...tied their boat to a buoy
over a wreck they wanted to explore, jumped over the side, and later discovered
that the current was so strong they couldn't swim back.
Their plight portrays the
state of all men, for as they had left the safety of the boat for what they
expected to be a day's fun, so have men left God to live to please themselves,
unaware that time is carrying them towards hell.
A fortunate few are saved by
believing the Gospel, confessing themselves sinners, and trusting Christ as
Savior. The majority perish, however, for "narrow is the way, which leads to
life (heaven), and few there be that find it," Matthew 7:14.
The three were eventually
rescued. Will you be saved before the current of time carries you down to
hell?
God warns, "Now is the day of
salvation," 2 Corinthians 6:2.
Tomorrow may too late. You
may be dead, "He, who being often reproved hardens his neck, shall suddenly be
destroyed, and that without remedy," Proverbs 29:1; or you may have passed
beyond the time when God is willing to save you; then though you may live for
many more years you are as sure of being in hell as though you were already
there. You can’t be saved!
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IF
THERE IS NO HELL...
...then you're wasting your time going to
church, for the Bible is fiction, Jesus
Christ a liar, and Christianity a farce. If
there is no hell Christ's death was unnecessary, and you may as well live it up, for
there will be no consequences. If there
is no hell then heaven is also a myth, and the Gospel absurd - there is nothing to be
saved from, and those who believe in Christ "are of all men most miserable"
1 Co 15:19.
But the Bible isn't fiction, Jesus Christ wasn't
lying when He warned men that there is a hell from which only the new birth can save
them. The Gospel is what God declares it
to be, "The power of God unto salvation (from hell) to everyone that
believeth" Ro 1:16. The ultimate
absurdity is to dismiss the Bible as fiction, Jesus Christ as a liar, His death
unnecessary, and to believe that there are no eternal consequences resulting from our
conduct on earth. God warns that throughout eternity unbelievers will be of all men
most miserable.
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600
YEARS BEFORE CHRIST...
... God said that on April 6, AD 32, Christ
would ride into Jerusalem on a young ass, and then be crucified. He said also that only Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome would
exercise world-wide dominion, and would succeed one another in that same order.
Both prophecies have been fulfilled.
That same God warns that all who die without
having been born again, will enter hell to await the resurrection of damnation, and
consignment to eternal punishment in the lake of fire.
Since only a little prophecy remains to be
fulfilled, out of the much that has proved to be accurate, he who refuses to believe
is a fool, for with nothing to gain, he is gambling his soul against the impossible
chance that any of God's predictions will be wrong.
Have you been born again by confessing yourself a sinner, and trusting in
Christ as your Savior? In the time it
has taken you to read this, over 100 souls have gone into eternity, many of them
discovering with horror that God was right! If
you die without having been born again, you will have lost your soul, and made the
same terrible discovery.
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"SEND
LAZARUS...
... that he may dip the tip of his finger in
water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame," was the plea of
the rich man in hell, Lk 16:24.
On earth he had never thought of needing mercy,
but he was in as much need of it then as in his present torment, and this is true of
all men. It is only on earth that mercy
is available, and death had carried him for ever beyond hope of mercy, as it does
every man. It is by our own choice made
on earth to accept Christ as Savior, that we will enjoy eternal bliss, or suffer
eternal torment. Change of state is
impossible after death. Scripture knows nothing of purgatory.
As to the reality of hell, to deny it makes
Christ a liar, and His death unnecessary; and the same is true of the attempt to
minimize the torment to be suffered for ever by all who die without having been born
again through faith in His death and resurrection.
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THE
COMING CATASTROPHE
The accuracy with which most of Biblical
prophecy has been fulfilled justifies the belief that the rest will also be precisely
fulfilled. The next foretold great event
will be the removal of the Church, followed by the seven years of the Tribulation
which will bring death to two thirds of earth's population.
Every predicted sign relative to the imminence of the Tribulation has been
fulfilled. The Church could be removed today!
Will you be amongst those removed to heaven?
If you've heard the Gospel, and are left behind, you will have lost your soul,
for even if you survive the terrible Tribulation judgments, you will be banished into
hell when Christ returns to end that era. To
save your soul admit that you are a sinner, believe that Christ died in your place
for your sins, and that in response to that faith God will pardon you and receive you
into heaven. Believe today.
Tomorrow could be too late.
To learn more about God's way of salvation, and
our Bible study classes, call:
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WHAT
IS THE GREAT WHITE THRONE?
It is the place of judgment for all who die
without having been "born again," Jn 3:3,7, and it is not to determine
whether they may enter heaven, but to appoint the degree of punishment to be endured
for ever in the lake of fire, Rev 20.
To be born again, admit that you are a sinner
without a shred of righteousness, believe that Christ loved you enough to die in your
place for your sins, and that in response to that faith God will pardon you and
receive you into heaven.
If you're one of those who deride a Bible you
haven't read, or having read, don't understand, read Daniel 9:24-27.
It presents undeniable proof of the Bible's authenticity.
If you disagree, call me. I'd
like to hear your interpretation.
To learn more about God's way of salvation, and
our Bible study classes, call:
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"HE
FOUND NO PLACE OF REPENTANCE...
... though he sought it carefully with
tears" Heb 12:17, is written of Esau, who had scorned God's offer of blessing,
but then discovered too late the value of what he had despised.
He stands as a warning to all who spurn the Gospel, for all will ultimately
discover the value of what God offers in it, some learning in time to save their
souls, others making the discovery too late. God
warns, "My Spirit shall not always strive with man" Gen 6:3.
What if this should be the day He ceases to strive with you?
Then you too will discover too late that your
soul is worth more than the whole world, and like Esau, you will cry eternally
"with a great and exceeding bitter cry" Gen 27:34, but like him, you will
find no place of repentance though you seek it carefully with tears.
"Now is the accepted time" 2 Cor 6:2.
Tomorrow may be too late.
To learn more about God's way of salvation, and
our Bible study classes, call:
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CONDEMNED
FOR ANOTHER'S CRIME
The fact that all are condemned for the sin
committed by Adam, Ro 5:12-21, evokes the response, Unfair!
But is it? When the President of
the USA declares war on a country, every American is brought into a state of war with
that country, because the President, as federal head, acts for all Americans.
Adam, acting as its federal head, brought the whole human race into sin, and
therefore enmity with God, Ro 5:10.
Men however, have a choice as to whether to
remain condemned. Acknowledgement of
their sinful state, belief that Christ has died in their place for their sin, and
belief that in response to that faith God pardons them and will receive them into
heaven, is the way to escape the consequences of Adam's folly.
Isn't it madness to condemn yourself to hell because of the choice made by
Adam, when by your own choice to trust Christ as Savior you can be sure of heaven?
"He that believeth on him (Christ) is not condemned: but he who believeth
not is condemned already, because he hath not believed...." Jn 3:18.
To learn more about God's way of salvation, and
our Bible study classes, call:
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