Names Written in the Lambs Book of Life Spend Eternity With God

One day we will all find ourselves in eternity and every human has the free will to decide where they spend it. When we pass from this life, we don't cease to exist because humans are made in Gods' image to be eternal like Him. Our eternal address is a decision that cannot be reversed once we expire. We all make poor choices, but our final address is the only decision none of us can afford to mess up and indecision doesn't alter the outcome. Satan's intent is to distract us with earthly matters in order to keep us from making a decision, so we spend eternity with him. By not deciding our choice has been made by default, although God intentions are for all of us to be in an eternal relationship with Him.

• “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life." John 5:24

The reason we should desire eternal life is to spend eternity with God the Father (Love), Jesus Christ (Life) and the Holy Spirit (Truth). The Trinity is one essence which is the eternal Light. The alternative is to spend eternity in darkness separated from God and if chosen, it would be impossible to experience love, life and truth in the eternal realm. 

• “This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the One You have sent—Jesus Christ." John 17:3

Once "saved", always "saved". This is core to the Christian experience. There is nothing we can do to lose our salvation no matter how many times we mess up.

• "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand." John 10:28-29 also see Romans 8:38-39

Every human being is born with a body, soul and a dead spirit so to God we are all "walking dead" in the Holy Spirit. Once a person becomes a Christian, they become spiritually alive automatically inheriting God's Holy Spirit. This allows us to be in relationship God for all eternity. Otherwise, we spend our life and potentially eternity walking dead.

There are those who blasphemed the Holy Spirit and insulted the grace of God because like the Pharisees they have heard and understood the benefits of the truth of the gospel message but still reject it. These individuals cannot be brought to salvation because they refuse to repent. These are individuals are described those who walk away from the Christian faith and never return.

• "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. 7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. 9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation." Hebrews 6:4-6,9 also see Hebrews 10:26

“He who is born once shall die twice, but he who is born twice shall die once.” 

― Hal Lindsey

American Evangelist & Author, Houston TX 

The story of the "Rich Man and Lazarus” is one of the most important and powerful teachings by Jesus in the New Testament. This story is told to the Pharisees who were elitists known to be lovers of money, societal status and scoffed at Jesus. “The Rich Man and Lazarus” is found in Luke 16:19-31 and is not a parable or allegory. This passage is considered by many Christian’s Scholars to be a true story about two individuals in which Jesus actually names one of them. This passage will give us a glimpse into heaven and hades.

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.  22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’  25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’  27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’  29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’  30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’  31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."

This passage demonstrates a great lesson about the evils that come with wealth, but even more it gives us a keen insight to what the afterlife looks like. Notice that poor man Lazarus is taken to Heaven by angels as pallbearers and the rich man immediately finds himself in Hell. Starting in verse 24 is one of the most amazing conversations in human history. After realizing where the rich man is, for the first time in his life he humbles himself and begs God for mercy. 

Did the rich man end up in Hell because he was rich? The answer is absolutely not. Abraham was known as one of the wealthiest men that ever lived, and he is also found in Heaven in this passage. We believe this is why Jesus named Abraham, so the Pharisees would make the connection that the rich man in the story represented them and Abraham who was also wealthy was commonly known by the Jewish people in the Bible as a humble servant who believed God. The reason the rich man ended up in Hell was that his money had made him so arrogant and prideful that he refused to humble himself before God while on earth. Not once did he admit that he was a sinful and ask God for help. In Verse 25 Abraham tells the rich man that he had many opportunities while he was alive on earth to repent and had declined. Notice that the people in Heaven can see the people in Hell and vice versa. The passage describes that in eternity there is this “great chasm” or “canyon” that divides us that is fixed, permanent and has been established by Almighty God where no one can cross over. The people in Heaven would like to cross over and help the people in Hell, but they are not permitted.

In verse 27 the rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus (who is dead) to warn his brothers. Abraham replies that they already have the “Moses and the Prophet” which is a reference to the Torah (the first five books of Moses) plus all the book of the prophets. What Abraham is saying to the rich man is that your brothers already have all the information they need to be saved. All they need to do is to humble themselves before the authority of God and call on Him for mercy. By doing this one act, they will receive mercy, become redeemed and avoid eternal Hell. Then in verse 30 the rich man replies, “No, Father Abraham”, meaning that his brothers are proud and arrogant just like him and there is no way they will humble themselves just because the Bible tells them to. The rich man then says if Lazarus were to be rise from the dead to warn them, then a miracle like this would cause them to repent. Abraham says if they won’t believe God then there is nothing that will convince them even if someone rises from the dead. What Abraham is alluding to is that it’s all about the condition of the human heart. If his brother’s hearts were tender towards God, they would hear the Word of God calling them to repent and they would act. Since his brother’s hearts are hard toward God, even if someone rose from the dead, it wouldn’t make a difference. Jesus is making a clear reference to His imminent death and resurrection in this verse that would later occur at the hands of these same Pharisees and Sadducees. We know that even with life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ there are many people who refuse to accept the free gift of pardon. So, this is where the narrative ends with Lazarus securely in Heaven for eternity and tragically the rich man’s in Hell forever with the five brothers needing to humble themselves to avoid the same fate. The number five in the Bible which describes man’s humanness: limitations, insufficiency in himself, death.

Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, a Swiss-American psychiatrist and author who gained international fame for her landmark work on dying and life after death experiences also referred to as NDE's (Near Death Experiences). She investigated thousands of NDE as part of writing her epic book on NDE (On Death and Dying, 1969, 2008). She is quoted as saying; "Up until I did these studies I had absolutely no belief in an afterlife. The data however has convinced me and now I have no shadow of a doubt there is life after death.” 

There are also lots of people like Dr. Dorothy Whipple who was quoted in the John’s Hopkins University magazine; “When you die, you don’t land anywhere you just blow out the candle.” 

So who is correct? Where do we go to get the correct authoritative information to answer the question? 

Believers place their chips on the one who is the owner and sole proprietor of the afterlife and the only one who has died and returned from the afterlife in an eternal body, Jesus Christ that is. We would also like to point out that in the Luke 16:19-31 passage Jesus gives us the four main insights about the afterlife to consider:

1. People in the afterlife keep the same identity they had here on earth. The rich man is still the rich man, Abraham is still Abraham and Lazarus is still Lazarus. So, for the rest of eternality, you are still you.

2. People in the afterlife keep their memories, senses and ability to reason. All of them could see, speak, feel pain, reason, etc. The rich man remembers that he still has five brothers back on Earth and he was even negotiating for them.

3. In the afterlife, there are only two options as to where a person will spend eternity: Heaven or Hell. Jesus describes Hell as a place of fire and tournament. And it’s so terrible that the rich man begs Abraham the send Lazarus to warn his brothers.

4. In the afterlife our eternal destiny is fixed in concrete. Once we pass it is set forever. Those who are in paradise are there forever and those in hell are there forever. And upon death God’s withdraws his offer of mercy for the people in Hell for all eternity. 

The reality of Hell is orders of magnitude worse than anything we could ever imagine. In Revelation 20:14 God tosses Hades (now Hell) into the Lake of Fire where unbelievers reside. We believe that the existence of Hell, above every other reason, is why God sent Jesus to this earth in human form to die on the cross for our sins so that we could receive this free pardon from Hell. We call it our “Get out of Hell free card”. Jesus understood the awful realities of Hell and elected to die on the cross to be our substitute. Do you really believe Dorothy Whipple? If you have never accepted Jesus as your real and personal savior, we ask you to take to heart the advice Abraham gave to rich man’s brothers: “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them”.  It’s just a matter of humbling yourself before the Lord and asking Him for forgiveness.

We cannot stress this enough that once we leave this earth the free offer of pardon is withdrawn. It should break your heart to know that one day we will be in Heaven and will see others that have crossed our path in this life, and we did nothing to share the message of salvation. We don’t want to be in Heaven looking at someone we knew located in Hell and hear them say that we made no effort to warn them. Especially our families. Don’t believe those who say, “We are all God’s children”. It’s a lie. We are all God’s creation, but only those who accept his son Jesus are the children of God.

• “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 9 But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved”. Ezekiel 33:7-9

"I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist." 

― Norman Geisler, Author 

There is only one sin that can keep us from entering eternity in Heaven and it is not idolatry, abortion, murder, rape, prostitution, divorce, incest, infidelity, homosexuality, fornication, adulatory, drugs, drinking, cursing, smoking, lying, stealing, greed, lust, envy, covetous, gluttony, wrath, or sloth. It's our pride that keeps many of us from accepting God's free offer of salvation through His sons sacrifice because we tell ourselves that we've been doing just fine without knowing God personally. It can be very difficult for us to "swallow our pride" and asked God's for help. Pride is the only sin God will not forgive. Don't let the sin of pride keep you from entering the gates of Heaven for all eternity. Pride is the sin that caused Lucifer fall from Heaven. There will be plenty of sinners in Heaven, but there will be one type missing, a boaster. Where we spend eternity, it's your choice.

• "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." Proverbs 11:2

• "For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?" 1 Corinthians 4:7

• "To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech." Proverbs 8:13

• "In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, God opposes the proud
  but shows favor to the humble." 1 Peter 5:5

• "Pour out the overflowing's of your anger, and look on everyone who is proud, and make him low. 12 “Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him, and tread down the wicked where they stand." Job 40:11-12

It's the sin of pride that causes us to reject the Holy Spirit who was sent here to testify to the ministry of Jesus Christ. When we blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, we are rejecting God's free offer of redemption through Christ's death on the cross. We are essentially turning our backs on the only one who can give us eternal life in Heaven because we are all born eternally separated from God. It is our pride that causes up to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. Prideful people will be judged at the Great White Throne.

• "Truly I tell you, people (believers) can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.” Mark 3:28-29

• "And He, when He comes (Holy Spirit), will convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment: 9 regarding sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 and regarding righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you no longer are going to see Me; 11 and regarding judgment, because the ruler of this world (Satan) has been judged." John 16:8-11

Once you believe in Jesus Christ, all past and future sins are forgiven. The moment you believe, you become God's possession and are covered with His righteousness. As a believer, we are bought and paid for by His blood on the cross and resurrection. We can't earn it, we don't deserve it, we can't buy it, and we never lose it because if we could, we would. Eternal salvation is a free gift from God. 

God has given us two revelations of Himself through the book of nature (creation) and the book of scripture (Bible). These books are God's inspired message to us. Some individuals can say on judgement day that they were not exposed to the book of scripture, but no human can say they were not exposed to the book of nature. We are all without excuse when we reject His offer of redemption. God says that if we respond to the revelation that God has given us, He promises that if we believe and submit to that revelation, He will give us even more revelation. The level of His revelation all depends on our level of response.

• "Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — His eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools." Romans 1:19-22, also see Psalm 19:1-4

God has made His presence known through the laws of nature and He has written His existence on every person's heart. And it takes the book of scripture for us to know the name of our redeemer to forgive us from our inadequacies. The Book of Job says that when we look at creation it tells us that there must be a creator and this creator must have incredible attributes of intellect, knowledge, power and creativity (Job 9:4,10;10:12; 12:10). He is also a God who is very caring and loving in the way that He has provided for all of His creatures at a generous level (Job 17:3, 14:17). Job concludes that His creator would provide us an advocate to deal with our flaws that we cannot overcome on our own. Someone who stands between humans and God who is fully God that can do for us what we can't do for ourselves because we don't have the resources. This redeemer has worked out a way to redeem us from our hopeless situation (Job 19:25-27). Notice in the following verse that Job had no knowledge of the incarnation, no knowledge that the redeemer was Jesus Christ and no knowledge on how this redeemer was going to absolve him from all of his offenses. Job only knew that there was a redeemer, and He needed his help to be delivered. It's not for lack of knowledge that people reject the offer of redemption, it's that they engage in self-imposed ignorance.

• "I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth." Job 19:25

Just like Job realized he needed salvation, so did King David 1,000 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. 

• "But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation." Psalm 13:5

The Holy Spirit within us will provide the help to prevent the temptations and sin in our lives because He is more powerful than Satan. We will always sin to some degree because our sin nature, but the Holy Spirit will help us reject sin as we become more and more like Christ. It's a lifelong process that will have its challenges since our opposition is God's greatest creation, Lucifer (Satan).

• "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you (Holy Spirit) is greater than the one who is in the world (Satan)." 1 John 4:4

When one unbeliever repents and becomes a believer there is a celebration in Heaven. 

• "I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." Luke 15:7

God says that when we are sharing the Gospel with a divisive person do not give up on the first rejection, share your faith with them a second time because they may need time to think and ask more questions. Often the skeptic who is searching to find truth fights the hardest right before they get saved. The reason they do this is because they are in a secular situation and under attack from their secular peers since they are now open to ridicule when they share their future faith with them. The secular person is challenging or hitting us with all the questions they will be hit with by their secular peers. He just wants the answers to defend his new faith. If they reject you the second time, walk away.

• "But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. 11 You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned. " Titus 3:9-11

"God takes our sins – the past, present, and future, and dumps them in the sea and puts up a sign that says NO FISHING ALLOWED.”

― Corrie ten Boom

Dutch Christian Watchmaker & Writer

There are millions of people who are sitting on the fence. This is the life to sit on the fence, but the purpose of this life is to get off the fence. There are no fence sitters past this life, and no one dies sitting on the fence. These are those individuals who are partly ignorant because they don't know all the facts yet and don't seek truth. An individual cannot reject the Holy Spirit without all the facts and insult the Spirit of grace. The only one who can truly insult Jesus Christ is the one who's fully convinced that the offer of salvation has been made legitimately. The following passage is written not about Christians but about unbelievers who are convinced of the basic truths of the gospel but who have not placed their full faith in Jesus Christ as their Redeemer. They are intellectually persuaded, but spiritually uncommitted. If you are a fence sitter, don't you think it's time to get off the fence and make a eternal decision for God?

• "For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, became companions with the Holy Spirit, 5 tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age, 6 and who have fallen away, because, to their own harm, they are re-crucifying the Son of God and holding Him up to contempt." Hebrews 6:4-6, also see Hebrews 10:26-29

There are many significant events in our lives where we check a box; high school graduation, attend college, get married, have kids, travel abroad, job promotions, etc. The one box that involves faith and discovering the Truth about our creator is often procrastinated. Securing our eternal faith through salvation in Christ is the most important box we will check because it has eternal consequences.

"The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone."

― Harriet Beecher Stowe

 Abolitionist & Novelist (1811-1896)