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| Life Age-Abiding* (Answering the Questions on Salvation) - Download PDF ArticleLiving a life, age-abidingly, with the Creator, in the New Jerusalem is the hope of every worshipper of Yahweh. Yahweh does not delight in the death of the lawless but would rather that all men choose life. The salvation from an age-abiding death is what we base our lives on. Confusion on how to receive a life that is age-abiding is universal because many pastors and teachers do not rightly dividing the Word of Truth, resulting in errors that are taught, leaving believers drifting from certainty to uncertainty on this most foundational truth. Is salvation from death received by works, election or grace? The Word of Yahweh, which gives us all we need for life and godliness, answers this question. In our present age, we can know of a certainty that we have received life age-abiding and we can also know with certainty that it will never be taken away. This statement is not true in the age to come, which is why rightly dividing the Word of Truth, according to the ages, is so absolutely imperative to sound doctrine. Our hope is life age-abiding. We need to be experts in this area of scripture in order that we may give an answer to every man who asks us the question, “How can I be saved?” Yahweh created man to live age-abidingly with Him in the Garden. His love for man was so great that he gave him freedom of will; a freedom to obey him or disobey him; a freedom to chose life or death. Yahweh still offers his great love to each and everyone of us thereby giving us the same freedom that he gave to Eve and Adam; a freedom to choose life or death; to choose to live with him age-abidingly or to choose to be separate from him, to die age-abidingly; to live or to perish is ours to choose. Life and death are the issues and not life or Hell; “…through a man, came death, through a man, also cometh the raising of the dead; For, just as, in the Adam, all die, so, also, in the Christ, shall all be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:21-22). To those who obey Yahweh, they will only die once, for they will be resurrected from among the dead and given new life but to those who reject Yahweh, they will die twice. They will be resurrected after their first death to be judged, resulting in them being thrown into the Lake of Fire, which is the Second Death. Their demise is death and not living eternally in a place of torment, which is why it is called the Second Death and not the Second Life. (For more information, read the article, “Does Hell Exist in the Word of Yahweh?”) Yahweh gives everyone the choice to bow to him or rebel against him; to obey him or disobey him; one’s choice determines whether one will live or die. I believe salvation for all mankind, including those who died before Yahshua paid the price of salvation, came through the sacrificial death of Christ and with out this perfect sacrifice for Adam’s sin, all would perish, which is why all will bow the knee to Yahshua and call him Lord. As we shall see, the worshippers of Yahweh, who lived and died before Yahshua’s perfect sacrifice, acquired life age-abiding through their righteousness and their avoidance of evil. None-the-less, without the future shedding of his blood for their sins, their righteous deeds, I believe, would be to no avail, which is why he will also be their Lord and Savior in his kingdom. He is the only one that can crush the head of the serpent. All age-abiding life comes through (dia) Christ; “For Yahweh, sent not, his Son into the world, that he might judge the world, but, that the world might be saved through [dia] him” (Jn. 3:17). We must ask ourselves, “What are we saved or rescued from?” We have been rescued from the consequence of our parents disobedience; For, dust, thou art, And, unto dust, shalt thou return; the sting of death; the Second Death! Only through Christ can we say, “Where, O death, is thy victory? Where, O death, is thy sting? Now, the sting of death, is, sin, and, the power of sin, is, the law; –– But, unto Yahweh, be thanks, who is giving unto us the victory, through [dia] our Lord Yahshua Christ” (1 Cor. 15:55-57). The heart of our Father was revealed through his Son, who is the image of Yahweh, when upon the cross, the evil-doer, who acknowledged his sin, asked Yahshua to remember him when he came into his kingdom. The heart of Yahweh, through Yahshua, replied, “Verily, I say unto thee this day: With me, shalt thou be in Paradise” (Lk. 23:43). This evil-doer fulfilled all of the requirements to receive life age-abiding. He believed that Yahshua was the Messiah, that there was a future kingdom that Christ would reign over, thereby making him a believer. He confessed his sins thereby receiving forgiveness. He asked Christ, who he had made his Lord, if he could live with him in Paradise. This single event shows the lovingkindness and forgiveness of our Father, who desires that all men choose to live with him. Yahweh gave life age-abiding to this evil-doer and desires to have all evil-doers repent and live with him but as we all know, some evil-doers will not repent of their ways. There was another evil-doer crucified with Yahshua, who was high handed, who defamed Yahshua, who did not repent, who did not make Yahshua his Lord and who did not want to enter into Christ’s future kingdom. We must come to the realization that many people, unlike ourselves, do not want to live with Christ and Yahweh. As hard as it is to believe, these people do not want to live in Paradise, if Christ is the King because they bow to no one. If fornication, drunkenness, murder and sodomy are not in Paradise, they want nothing of it. They would rather choose death than to go without these vises. Their wishes will be granted! The problem we have with this reality is that we have been taught that these people do not die, in the Second Death, as Yahweh has spoken but rather they have been given eternal life to live in a place of fiery torment. This doctrine is the doctrine of man as can be illustrated with a very foundational verse of scripture; “And, just as, Moses, lifted up the serpent in the desert, so, must, the Son of Man, be lifted up,–– That, whosoever believeth in him, may have life age–abiding. For Yahweh, so loved, the world, that, his Only Begotten Son, he gave,––that, whosoever believeth on him, might not perish [apollumi], but have life age–abiding” (Jn. 3:14-16). In the wilderness, people were dying after being bitten by serpents so Yahweh instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent and place it upon a standard. If people were bitten by the serpents, rather than dying they could look at Moses serpent and live. Christ has become the bronze serpent on the standard. Christ is what we behold in order that we do not perish but rather gain life. To perish (apollumi) is to die or be destroyed. To perish is not, as man teaches, to live and not die by living an age-abiding life in a fiery place of torment. A few other examples are, “Sinners shall be consumed out of the earth And, the lawless, no more, shall exist,––Bless, O my soul, Yahweh, Praise ye Yah” (Ps. 104:35)! “For, evil doers, shall be cut off, but, as for them who wait for Yahweh, they, shall inherit the earth… For, the lawless, shall perish, and, the foes of Yahweh, be like the glory of the meadows, They have vanished! In smoke, have they vanished” (Ps. 37:9-20)! (For more information read the articles listed under “Hell and Death.”) The consequence of rebellion against Yahweh is told in Numbers chapter fifteen. (For an in-depth study, on this section of scripture, read and study the amazing Hebrew words that are in the footnotes.) “And, when ye shall make a mistake, and not observe all these commandments,––which Yahweh hath spoken unto Moses; even all that Yahweh hath given unto you in command, by the hand of Moses…it hath been done, by mistake, that all the assembly shall offer one choice young bullock for an ascending–sacrifice…So shall the priest put a propitiatory–covering over all the assembly of the sons of Israel, and pardon shall be granted unto them,––because, a mistake, it was…” (Num. 15:22-25). “But, as for the person who acteth with a high [ruwm] hand––of the native born or of the sojourners, Yahweh himself, he, reproacheth [gadaph],––therefore shall that person be cut off [karath] out of the midst of his people. Because, the word of Yahweh, hath he despised [bazah], and, his commandment, hath he broken, that person shall be, surely cut off [karath], his iniquity [avon], is in himself” (Num. 15:30-31). There are two kinds of people, those that bow to Yahweh, who long to live with him in Paradise, such as was Abel and those who will not bow to Yahweh, such as was Cain; those that with a high hand, reproach Yahweh and despise his Word. The former receive life and communion with the Creator, while the latter “… a penalty, shall pay––age–abiding destruction [not torture] from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thes. 1:9). Inaccurate Bible translations, which the masses desire, bear much of the responsibilities for the errors in our beliefs. The masses and the translators are both to be blamed for false doctrines. (For more information read the article, “Divine Inspiration! Does the Church care?”) I will not use the inaccurate terms such as, ‘Hell’ or ‘eternal life.’ The word, ‘Hell’ does not exist in the scriptures but the words, Sheol (Greeks translated as Hades), Geenna, Tartaroo and the Lake of Fire do. Interestingly, the phrase ‘eternal life,’ which is so commonly used in popular Bible translations, is never used in their Old Testament. In these Bible’s, eternal life appears on the scene, for the first time, in the New Testament. It appears, by these Bible translations, that ‘eternal life’ was not available to the Old Testament believers because this phrase was never used in their Old Testament translations. This fact should open our eyes to these popular translations. The only two translations of the Word of Yahweh, that I have seen, that have life age-abiding in the Old Testament and the New Testament are Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible and Young’s Literal Translation of the Holy Bible. Olam is the Hebrew word that expresses, ‘forever,’ in the Old Testament. Its first usage is in Geneses 3:22; “Then said Yahweh Elohim––Lo! man, hath become like one of us, in respect of knowing good and evil,––Now, therefore, lest he thrust forth his hand, and take even of the tree of life, and eat, and live [chayay] to times age–abiding [olam]” (Gen. 3:22). It is also used in Daniel 12:2; “and, many of the sleepers in the dusty ground, shall awake,––these, shall be to age–abiding [olam] life, but, those, to reproach, and age–abiding [olam] abhorrence.” In this verse, the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) translated ‘olam’ into the Greek word ‘aionios.’ Aionios is the Greek word that the major Bible translations, translate, ‘eternal.’ The word, ‘eternal,’ is an incorrect translation of, ‘aionios.’ Aionios comes from aion which is a period of time, age. Its usage can be seen in Mt. 10:30; “…and in the age [aion] that is coming, life [zoe] age–abiding [aionios].” Joseph Rotherham translates ‘zoe aionios’ as ‘life age-abiding,’ while Robert Young, author of Young’s Literal Translation of the Holy Bible, translates this phrase as ‘life age-during.’ The word ‘eternal,’ according to the Oxford English Dictionary, means infinite in past and future duration; without beginning or end; that always has existed and always will exist. Life age-abiding is a life that will not end. It is not a life that had no beginning and no end. Yahweh has no beginning and no end but we all have a beginning and we choose whether we will have an end. Life Age-Abiding Scriptures Verses dealing with life, which is age-abiding and death, which is age-abiding are throughout the scriptures. These verses, used without reference to which age they were to apply, contradict each other when applied to the wrong age or ages, thereby resulting in the confusion and worry of the worshippers of Yahweh. My point will be illustrated below as I will list the verses in no particular order:
Martin Luther wrote, “Though I lived as a monk without reproach, I felt that I was a sinner before God with an extremely disturbed conscience. I could not believe that he was placated by my satisfaction. I did not love, yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners, and secretly, if not blasphemously, certainly murmuring greatly, I was angry with God, and said, "As if, indeed, it is not enough, that miserable sinners, eternally lost through original sin, are crushed by every kind of calamity by the law of the decalogue, without having God add pain to pain by the gospel and also by the gospel threatening us with his righteousness and wrath!" Thus I raged with a fierce and troubled conscience.” Martin Luther’s despair came about, unnecessarily, because he was taught error and he did not rightly divide the Word of Truth. In order to understand the Word of Yahweh, we must rightly divide it according to whom it is written and in what age were the instructions pertinent. For instance, in the age of Adam and Eve, the age when they were in the Garden of Eden, differs from the age when they were expelled from the Garden. While they were in the Garden, their duties were to till it, and to keep it and their only commandment was not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. After they were expelled from the Garden, their former duties and commandment were no longer pertinent in their lives; a different age had come about with different instructions and commandments. While they were in the Garden, a life that was age-abiding was theirs if they obeyed the command of Yahweh. They were born in an age without sin but in our present age, we are born dead by our offences and sins, in which at one time we walked, according to the age of the world, according to the prince of the authority of the air, of the spirit that now energizes in the sons of disobedience, Among whom also, we all, had our behavior, at one time, in the covetings of our flesh, doing the things desired by the flesh and the mind, and were children, by nature, of anger––even as the rest. Adam and Eve, in their Garden of Eden Age, did not need to be saved but in our present age, it is an absolute necessity. (For more information of Ages, read the article, “Ages, Periods or Epochs of Mankind in the Word of Yahweh.”) Ages in the Word of Yahweh Ages are periods of time; points of reference. The ages that will be listing are not set in stone neither are they doctrinal statements but rather they are designed to differentiate time by epochs; periods of time that had unique rules differing from the rules of other epochs. |
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A brief summation of the ten ages is as follows. In the first age, there was no death and there was only one commandment. In the second age, death brought about by murder arrived on the scene after Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden. Cain murdered Abel but there was no capital punishment during this age. In the third age, after the flood, capital punishment came into effect with Noah. In the fourth age, circumcision (Noah and his sons were uncircumcised) became the law of the land through Abraham. In the fifth age, Levitical laws were enacted by Moses, laws that Adam, Noah or Abraham did not observe. In the sixth age, Yahshua fulfilled the Levitical law and gave new incite into the law of Moses. In the seventh age, Christ, ruling in the heavens, became the Head of the Body, the great sacred secret, which had not existed in past ages. In the eight age, the Day of Yahweh beginning, the Age of the Beast and the earth has seven years of tribulation. In the ninth age, Christ conquers the beast and sets up his 1,000 year reign on earth. In the tenth age, Yahweh descends from heaven to the earth, after those who are not written in the book of life, along with death and Sheol are thrown into the Lake of Fire. This is the final age that has no end. The common thread that is woven throughout nine of the ten ages is our Lord, Savior and Head, Christ Yahshua. His presence in scripture is either in his future coming (Parsouia) (the coming seed of the women); his earthly ministry; his reign in the heavens after his resurrection; his returning presence (his returning in the clouds) and his reigning presence on the earth (his thousand year reign). I believe that if it was not for the accomplishment of this man, who was totally obedient to Yahweh, none of us would exist. (Read the article, “Who is this Man?”) Without his accomplishments, I believe all would have been without purpose; all would have ended in death. To the best of my knowledge, the scriptures show us four different ways to acquire life age-abiding through four different time periods. Worshipers of Yahweh, who later became known as Hebrews (any person could become a Hebrew by following Yahweh’s instructions), comprise three of these four time periods, while in the Age of the Sacred Secret, the worshippers are the assembly of Yahweh, which is comprised of the Hebrews and the Nations. The four different ways of receiving life age-abiding through the different ages is by:
Life Age-Abiding before Christ’s Sacrifice Adam, Eve, Seth and Noah, were worshippers of Yahweh but they did not come from the seed of Abraham; they were not Hebrews. Abraham, Sarah, Ruth, Moses, David and Joseph were Hebrews. All of these worshippers of Yahweh will bow to Christ, their Messiah, calling him Lord and Savior even though his sacrificial death occurred after their deaths. These worshippers of Yahweh, who lived before the death of Christ, acquired life age-abiding because of their just and righteous works and because they did not practice evil. These people lived in the ages from Adam to Yahshua (before his death). Life age-abiding was acquired through works of righteousness as recorded in Ezekiel 33:12-16: “Thou, therefore, Son of man, Say unto the sons of thy people––The righteousness of the righteous man, shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression (King Solomon might fit this profile. Read 1 Kg. 11:1-10), And, as for the lawlessness of the lawless man, He shall not stumble thereby, in the day of his return from his lawlessness (King Manasseh might fit this profile. Read 2 Ch. 33:12-16),––Nor shall, the righteous man, be able to live thereby, in the day of his sin. When I say of the righteous man, He shall, surely live, but, he, hath trusted in his righteousness and committed perversity, None of his righteous deeds, shall be mentioned, But, by his perversity which he hath committed––thereby, shall he die. And, when I say to the lawless man, Thou shalt, surely die, but he shall turn from his sin, and do justice and righteousness: The debt–pledge, the lawless man shall restore, Plunder, shall pay back, In the statutes of life, hath walked, so as not to commit perversity, He shall, surely live, he shall not die:–– None of his sins which he hath committed, shall be called to mind against him,––Justice and righteousness, hath he done, He shall, surely live.” During Yahshua’s ministry, which was still under the Mosaic Law, he was asked how to receive life age-abiding and he answered, “The commandments, thou knowest,––Do not commit murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal; Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honour thy father and mother” (Mk. 10:19). Matthew and Luke agree with this account but the Gospel of John, it appears, disagrees. The Gospel of John is an enigma. It appears that the only requirement for receiving salvation, in this Gospel, is to believe on Yahshua. For example, John 3:15 and many other verses state, “That, whosoever believeth in him, may have life age–abiding.” On the other hand, salvation also appears to be acquired by works as illustrated in John 5:28-29; “Do not be marveling at this: because there come an hour, in which, all they in the tombs, shall hearken unto his voice, and shall come forth,––they who, the good things, have done, unto a resurrection, of life; but, they who the corrupt things, have practised, unto a resurrection, of judgment.” Also another example is in John 15:5-6; “I, am the vine: Ye, are the branches. He that abideth in me and, I, in him, the same, beareth much fruit; because, apart from me, ye can bring forth, nothing. If one abide not me, he is cast out as the branch, and withered, and they gather them,––and, into fire, they cast them, and they are burned.” (For more information on the Gospel of John, read the article, “The Gospel of John is an Enigma.”) Acquiring life age-abiding, in the ages before Christ had paid the ransom for mankind, was based upon one being a worshipper of Yahweh and performing just and righteous works along with not committing perversity. If one committed perversity, he died but if he corrected this mistake and ask for forgiveness he would receive life age-abiding. Life Age-Abiding after Christ’s Sacrific This period of time covers the Day of Pentecost until the revelation of the sacred secret was revealed. Salvation was made available to the Hebrews only. After Christ’s ascension and the pouring out of the ruah (spirit) on the Hebrews on the Day of Pentecost, Peter instructed people in how to be saved; “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved.…Repent ye, and let each one of you be immersed, in the name of Yahshua Christ, into the remission of your sins,––and ye shall receive the free–gift of the holy spirit” (Acts 2:21, 38); Be it known unto you all, and unto all the people of Israel: that, in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene…neither is there any other name, under heaven, which hath been set forth among men, in which we must needs be saved” (Acts 4:13-14); “…Sirs! what must I be doing, that I may be saved? And, they, said––Believe on the Lord Yahshua, and thou shalt be saved, thou, and thy house” (Acts 16:30-31). These invitations were only to the Hebrews. The way of salvation changed from obeying the Levitical Law of Moses to believing on the Lord Yahshua and “to be abstaining from idol sacrifices, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from fornication…” (Acts 15:29). Life Age-Abiding in the Age of the Sacred Secret This age of time was a secret, “…hidden away from the ages in Yahweh…” (Eph. 3:9). This age, which we presently live in, is the only age where worshippers of Yahweh become sons rather than servants, for Galatians 4:7 states, “So that, no longer, art thou a servant, but a son; and, if a son, an heir also, through Yahweh.” In this age and only in this age, salvation is received as a free gift. This age began at Acts chapter ten and will end when the “…the Lord himself, with a word of command, with a chief–messenger’s voice, and with a trumpet of Yahweh, shall descend from heaven,––and, the dead in Christ, shall rise, first, After that, we, the living who are left, together with them, shall be caught away, in clouds, to meet the Lord in the air…” (1 Thes. 4:16-17). In Ephesians 2:8-10, a new kind of salvation is unveiled; “For, by his favour, have ye been saved, through means of faith, and this hath come to pass––not from you, of Yahweh, the free–gift! Not from works, lest anyone should boast. His, in fact we are––his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus upon a footing of good works, which Yahweh prepared beforehand, that, therein, we might walk.” This section of scripture is confirmed in Titus 3:4-7; “But, when, the graciousness and affection for man of our Saviour Yahweh, shone forth, Not by works which we had done in righteousness, but, according to his mercy, he saved us––through means of the bathing of a new birth, and the moulding anew of holy spirit.–– Which he poured on us richly, through Yahshua Christ our Saviour, In order that, having been declared righteous by his favour, we should be made inheritors, according to hope, of life age–abiding.” In this age, life-age abiding is a gift if a person confesses Yahshua as their Master and believe in their heart that Yahweh raised him from among the dead. This salvation is through means of faith. It is faith because we can not see Yahshua or know that he was raised from among the dead but by the written Word of Yahweh. The Word of Yahweh says Yahshua is alive, therefore we believe it but believing it is not just saying it with your mouth but rather by obeying and doing what the Word of Yahweh says. As James says, “faith, if it have not works, is dead.” Faith & Works in the Age of the Sacred Secret Abraham did not just verbally acknowledge the instructions of Yahweh but rather walked forth upon the instructions; instructions such as, “…Come thou on thy way, Out of thy land and out of the place of thy birth, and out of the house of thy father,––Unto the land that I will show thee” (Gen. 12:1); “Take, I pray thee, thy son, thine only one, whom thou lovest, even, Isaac, and get thee into the land of Moriah,––and cause him to ascend there, as an ascending–sacrifice, on one of the mountains, which I shall name unto thee” (Gen. 22:2). His actions upon the Words of Yahweh were manifestations of his faith in Yahweh. Abraham and Sarah’s actions of believing, manifested by acting upon the instructions of Yahweh resulted in righteousness being attributed to them. Abraham was declared righteous through faith. Faith believes to the point that you obey and act upon the Word of Yahweh. Faith requires works. The book of James illustrates this truth very well; “What profit, my brethren,––if one should be saying he hath, faith, but hath not, works; can his faith save him? If, a brother or sister, should be naked, and coming short of the daily food, And one from among you should say unto them––Withdraw in peace, be getting warmed and fed, but should not give them the things needful for the body, What the profit? So, also, faith, if it have not works, is dead, by itself. But one will say,––Thou, hast faith, and, I, have works, show me thy faith apart from thy works, and, I, unto thee, will shew, by my works, my faith. Thou believest that Yahweh is, one: thou doest, well––Even the demons believe, and shudder! But art thou willing to learn, O empty man! that, faith, apart from works, is, idle? Abraham our father, was it not, by works, he was declared righteous––when he offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Thou seest that, his faith, had been working together with his works, and by his works did his faith become full–grown,–– And the scripture was fulfilled which saith––And Abraham believed Yahweh, And it was reckoned to him as righteousness, and, Yahweh’s friend, was he called: Ye see that––by works, a man is declared righteous, and not by faith alone. And, in like manner also, Rahab the harlot, Was it not, by works, she was declared righteous, when she gave welcome unto the messengers, and, by another way, urged them forth? Just as, the body, apart from spirit, is dead, so, our faith also, apart from works, is dead.” (Ja. 2:14-26). If a person says Yahshua is their Master, then there should be some manifestation of this faith displayed by their works in the form of obedience to the words of Christ. Yahshua said, “And why call ye me, Lord! Lord! and not do the things that I say” (Lk. 6:46)? In the former ages, if a person began their life obeying Yahweh but during the end of their life turned to a life of wickedness, they will not receive life age-abiding but will rather receive the Second Death. Only in this age is salvation from the Second Death a free gift. It was not earned, therefore it can not be taken away because of ones actions. In today’s age, a person who has become a son of Yahweh will always be a son of Yahweh. Sin can not break this bond. A son of Yahweh may return to sin and have no rewards when he arrives in the New Heaven and New Earth but never-the-less, he is still a co-heir with Christ. Life Age-Abiding in the Day of Yahweh A unique qualification of receiving salvation occurs during the Day of Yahweh. This qualification is that these individuals, who are servants, remain ‘faithful unto death;’ “But, he that hath endured throughout, the same, shall be saved” (Mt. 24:13). Throughout all of the other ages, this qualification was never heard of. Possibly, this qualification exists because these people were alive during the Age of the Sacred Secret and during this time, they refused to make Yahshua Lord in their lives. Christ then came and took his Body (Church) from off of the earth leaving these individuals behind in the day of tribulation. I believe this could be their last chance for repentance. These people also must not receive the mark of the beast. This time period is, approximately, seven years. What about those who have never hear about Christ? There are people who have never had an opportunity to hear about Yahweh and Christ. Some have died as children, while others have lived in a place where Christ was not preached. Yahweh does speak about people who do not know the law in Romans 2:10-16; “For there is no respect of persons with Yahweh; –– For, as many as without law sinned, without law, also shall perish, and, as many as within law sinned, through law, shall be judged; For, not the hearers of law, are righteous with Yahweh, but, the doers of law, shall be declared righteous; For, whensoever the nations which have not law, by nature, the things of the law, may be doing, the same, not having law, unto themselves, are a law,– Who, indeed, shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience therewith bearing witness, and, between one another, their reasonings accusing––or, even excusing, them:–– In the day on which Yahweh judgeth the secrets of men according to my glad–message through Christ Yahshua.” Another powerful section of scripture is Romans 1:19-32, which deals with those who have maybe not heard the actual Gospel of Christ but they are very much aware of what is right and what is evil. If they have chosen evil, the scriptures speak of their fate; “Who, indeed, having acknowledged the righteous sentence of Yahweh,––that, they who such things as these do practise, are worthy of death, not only, the same things, are doing, but are even delighting together with them who are practising them” (Rm. 1:32). One thing we know about Yahweh is that he delights in lovingkindness, justice and righteousness. Everyone will have an opportunity to say yes or no to life age-abiding. Maybe one of the purposes of Christ’s 1,000 year kingdom is to raise innocent people from among the dead and give them an opportunity to choose between life age-abiding or the Second Death. The Doctrine of Election The doctrine of election states that those who receive life or death was already determined before they were born, which is nonsense. To discuss it would give it credence. To discuss whether men have freedom of will is like debating whether there is a Creator, neither topic is worthy of our time. We should take the counsel of Yahweh when he said, “But, foolish questionings, and genealogies, and strife, and contentions about matters of law, avoid, for they are unprofitable and vain” (Titus 3:9). Conclusion We were all born to have communion with our Father, the Creator. Obeying his counsel presented in his Word is always to our profit. We have been given the freedom of will to choose between being a sheep or a goat. The sheep will live in ecstasy with Christ and Yahweh on a New Earth while the goats will perish. (The goats will not live eternally in a place called ‘Hell.’) The evil-doer who was crucified with Christ illustrates how simple receiving life age-abiding could be in the past ages. Our present age is the best of all ages; an age of splendor; an age of favor; an age when salvation is a free-gift. There is another age coming, the age of the beast where Yahweh’s rules will change drastically. Salvation will not be easy to attain in this age but it will be worth the tribulation endured because “…one day, with the Lord, is as a thousand years, and, a thousand years, as one day” (2 Pe. 3:8). We have been warned that if we are worshippers of Yahweh the world will hate us but we have also been promised, “…that, he who raised up Yahshua, will raise up, us also, together with Yahshua, and will present us together… For, the momentary lightness of the tribulation, in a manner yet more and more excelling, is working out for us, an age–abiding weight of glory…” (2 Cor. 4:14-18). There will be a day when Yahweh will wipe away every tear and death and pain will be no more. There will be a day when we live a life age-abidingly in a kingdom that has no end. There will be a day when we see face to face our Heavenly Father and Creator, Yahweh and His beloved Son, our Lord and Savior, Christ Yahshua. There will be a day when we, as a family, will live together in blessed peace and prosperity, as was always our Fathers intention. (For footnotes, see PDF version) (*When quoting scriptures, from the Rotherham Emphasized Bible New Testament, I will substitute the Hebrew word Yahshua for Jesus, Yahweh and Elohim for God and the LORD and Anointed for Christ.) |
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© 2005-2024 Chuck Cunningham |
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