Keep the faith even to death, and I will give you the crown of life. —Jesus Christ
After many teachings here at Futile World, it’s always good to return to the simplicity of the gospel of God, which is the promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Heaven and hell are real, and when we die, we’re going to get the best thing imaginable or the worst thing imaginable. As human beings, we are born into sin, that is, we’re born to die. But Jesus Christ came at the right time and died for us, paying the penalty for our sins.
God almighty, the creator of the universe, has promised eternal life for those saved in Jesus Christ. This is the only way to be saved from the terrible fate of hell. When we accept Christ as Lord and savior, we turn from wrongdoing and do the right thing. We turn from evil and do good, and we continue to live our lives, doing the best we can in a fallen world. If we sin from human weakness, we go to Jesus to ask for forgiveness, and we should never deliberately sin.
We’re approaching the end of time at an exponential rate. Things are going to keep getting worse from here. We know from the Bible that hard times are coming, and this includes the antichrist.
Commeth the hour, commeth the man.
Some say that Jesus Christ returns before the antichrist. This is a false teaching, so ignore it. Jesus Christ appears on the day of the Lord and sends out his angels to gather the faithful during a time of great tribulation for Christians. Those of us who are alive, who remain from this persecution will be gathered to Jesus at his coming. Then, God’s wrath begins on the world.
Christians throughout history have always been persecuted for their faith to some degree. But the persecution under the world reign of the antichrist might be compared to Adolf Hitler’s holocaust on the Jews, only this time it will be Christians on a worldwide scale. So, let’s remember that when the end begins, whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. That doesn’t mean being saved here, it means being saved in eternity, where it counts. Don’t wait until things get desperate to call on God our savior. But no matter how bad things might get, let’s keep looking ahead with hope by going back to the beginning: In Genesis 1, before there was light, most Bible translations say that God was hovering or moving over the surface of the waters:
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)
The Hebrew word used for the word hovering is marahepet. It means brooding: verb – think deeply about something that makes one unhappy. God knew from the beginning all the suffering that was going to take place and what he would have to do on the cross. But in verse 3, God said, “Let there be light!” By his divine authority, God chose creation despite all the suffering to take place because he’s God, and he’s going to make everything right in the end. He’s fully of aware of everything that happens here, and nobody is getting away with anything. God chose to enjoy eternity with the countless billions who choose to love him by their own free will.
The apostle Peter tells us that the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. So, as we continue to live our lives, doing the best we can in a dying world, let’s keep looking ahead to the everlasting prize—eternal life with God our savior.
For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. (Isaiah 65:17)
In these last days. let’s stay in prayer and be thankful. Let’s love the Lord our God and our fellow human beings and keep the faith no matter how we meet our end in this futile world. When we get to our true home, we’ll be happy forever.
So, the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee. (Isaiah 35:10)
