(221)
THE OTHER SIDE OF NEW
YEAR
Partying, dancing, singing,
and general euphoria will introduce another year, as they have countless
others, but unheard by the revelers will be the ceaseless muffled drumbeat
that marks the passing of time and the approach of eternity.
Unseen by the merrymakers
will be the specter Death brooding over the earth, calling over a thousand
souls into eternity every second, and bringing the others ever nearer to that
inevitable dread appointment.
What if this should be the
year of your appointment with Death?
Where will your soul be?
You’re not sure?
Your very uncertainty
declares that it will be in hell, not heaven, for those going to heaven have
God's assurance of being there, and that same assurance can be yours if you
will do what these others have done:
admit that you’re a sinner without any righteousness,
believe that Christ died in your stead for your sins, and that in response to
that faith, God pardons all your sin, and will receive you into heaven.
That simple act of faith
will introduce you to something better than a happy new year: it will be the
beginning of a happy eternity.
I sincerely wish you both.
******
(222)
YOUR FUTURE FORETOLD
Jeremiah’s prophecy of Judah’s doom recorded in Jeremiah 25 was fulfilled to
the letter in 586 BC, but competent scholars recognize that the prophecy
applies also to today’s equally evil world, of which apostate Judah is the
prototype.
They were bereft of all that had formerly made life pleasant, the happy
activities of normal society being exchanged for the misery of slavery.
A similar dire change awaits Christendom in the impending Great Tribulation
which will destroy the whole structure of society, as the world is ravished by
war, famine, disease, and anarchy, worse than anything that has ever been.
And a still more terrible future awaits all those who die without having
repented of their sin, and having trusted in Christ as Savior. They will
descend into the torment of hell to await the resurrection of damnation, and
the consignment of body, soul, and spirit to eternal torment in the lake of
fire following the judgment of the great white throne, Revelation 20:11-15.
To escape this terrible fate, and make sure of being in heaven eternally,
simply admit that you’re a sinner without any righteousness, believe that
Christ loved you enough to die in your stead for your sins, and believe that
in response to that confession and faith God will pardon all your sin and
receive you into heaven.
******
(223)
YOU’RE FILLING A WINE CUP
Jeremiah the prophet was commanded, “Take the wine cup of this fury ... and
cause all the nations ... to drink it,” Jeremiah 25:15. The nations themselves
had filled that cup of destruction, their punishment being proportionate to
their sin.
The same principle applies to every man: the eternal torment to be endured by
unbelievers will be according to the measure of their sin; the reward of
believers being proportionate to the faithfulness of their service.
Christ prayed, “Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me,
nevertheless not my will, but thine be done.”
He drained that deadly cup of wrath at Calvary, and in doing so filled a cup
of life and blessing for all who will confess themselves sinners, and trust
Him as Savior.
That cup of life may not be available tomorrow. You could be dead, leaving
you to drink instead, first in hell, and then for ever in the torment of the
lake of fire, that terrible cup of judgment you yourself have filled.
******
(224)
NO PARACHUTE
In 1988 a young sky-diver jumped to his death. Occupied with strapping on
extra equipment for a science project, he had forgotten his parachute! A tape
recorder registered his last words, OH NO!
His tragic mistake is like that of many who plunge, not from a plane, but from
time into eternity. Like him they have on lots of "equipment" - religion,
morality, good works, but not the essential "parachute," the new birth,
without which no man can enter heaven, "You must be born again" John 3:3,7.
Perhaps sooner than you think, you will be summoned by Death to take that leap
from time into eternity. Are you sure beyond all doubt that it won't end with
eternity echoing back your terrified hopeless shriek, "OH NO!"?
******
