Heaven for Nonbelievers (Heavens Message Book 1)

Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Now then make confession to the Lord , the God of your fathers and do his will.

Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives. For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,. You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons,. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.

But you shall kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace, in front of the king's quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace. And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand.

Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.

I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God saw that the light was good.

And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place.

He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For behold, the Lord God of hosts is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah support and supply, all support of bread, and all support of water; the mighty man and the soldier, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the counselor and the skillful magician and the expert in charms.

And I will make boys their princes, and infants shall rule over them. And the people will oppress one another, every one his fellow and every one his neighbor; the youth will be insolent to the elder, and the despised to the honorable. Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. And behold, if it be true and certain that such an abomination has been done among you, you shall surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword, devoting it to destruction, all who are in it and its cattle, with the edge of the sword.

You shall gather all its spoil into the midst of its open square and burn the city and all its spoil with fire, as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It shall be a heap forever. It shall not be built again. None of the devoted things shall stick to your hand, that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of his anger and show you mercy and have compassion on you and multiply you, as he swore to your fathers, The man who acts presumptuously by not obeying the priest who stands to minister there before the Lord your God, or the judge, that man shall die.

So you shall purge the evil from Israel. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.

And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

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For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. Paul says the same thing in 1 Corinthians A brick is of little use by itself. It can only be used for minimal things, however its usefulness is maximized when used alongside other bricks. Similarly, apart from one another, we cannot complete the mission God has called for us either individually or corporately.

Are you walking apart from other living stones in the house of God? We are being built up into the house of God v. The word being in this passage means we are not where we need to be yet. This reminds us that this work is a process like the building of any house. We should not be discouraged when we see sin or failure in the church. We should be careful about the desire to quit or to give up on ourselves. We should be careful about the desire to quit or give up on others.

God is not done with us yet.

A Study of Heaven : Christian Courier

We are being built into a spiritual house. How does this process of being built into a spiritual house work, especially as we constantly see the disunity in our families and church bodies? This process of growing more unified can be seen in the illustration of the triangle. Individual members of the church are on both sides of the triangle, with Christ at the peak, and as we continually come to Christ, we get closer to one another. But the person who focuses less on his time with God, will find more to complain about, more to be upset about.

A Study of Heaven

Instead of building the house of God, you will find yourself breaking down the house. We must continually come to Christ in order to properly build the house of God. One of the things that being the temple of God remind us of is our capacity to worship. In the Old Testament, Israel had to travel to the temple in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the Lord; they were restricted by time and space.

However, in the New Covenant, we are not. We are not restricted by time and space—everything we do can be worship because we are the temple of God. In fact Paul says this: Whatever you do, do it for the glory of God. Even our eating and drinking can be worship to God. In the Old Testament, everything in the temple was set apart as holy, even the drinking cups.

Now that we are the house of God, we also must be holy in every regard. I think this text reflects our need of to be holy. The interesting thing is that Christ was already dwelling in their hearts because they were Christians. What then is he referring to? There are two words for dwell in the original language. I think in many churches and in the lives of many believers, Christ is not at home. He feels like a visitor. We can grieve the Spirit by our language, our thoughts and actions. Therefore, we must seek to make Christ at home in our lives and our churches by the practice of holiness.

This is a proper application to the church being the household of God. Let Christ be at home in our lives and our fellowship.

What things is Christ calling you to do in order for him to be more at home in your life and in your local church? Peter says one of our privileges is to be priests of God. The primary audience of Peter was probably Jewish Christians since he was an apostle to the Jews, and therefore, them being called priests would have been especially significant to them.

Priests came from the line of Levi, specifically the lineage of Aaron. They were chosen by God to pray for the people and to offer sacrifices for their sins. Anyone who tried to do the job of a priest without being one, was judged by God. We see this with King Uzziah, whom God smote with leprosy 2 Chr The priesthood was a special office.

What similarities are there between Christians as priests and Old Testament priests? As priests of God, one of the tremendous privileges we have is to offer spiritual sacrifices to God. What are these spiritual sacrifices? What are the spiritual sacrifices we offer to God? But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God, to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit emphasis mine.

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma emphasis mine. Cornelius stared at him in fear. Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne.

However, the priesthood of believers means that we should all be doing the work of ministry. In fact, pastors are given for the very purpose of preparing the church for the work of ministry Eph 4: In the New Covenant, these are not reserved for any special class of believers. They are given to disciples. There are specific qualifications given for those types of roles as seen in 1 Timothy 3. But as a general principle, the priesthood of believers means that each believer should be offering the spiritual sacrifices that Scripture commands.

How would you support your conclusion with Scripture? For it stands in Scripture: What does this mean? Certainly, as believers and pilgrims in this world, there will be times when we are mocked for our beliefs and persecuted. This verse is not a promise that we will not have trials or times when people mock us. However, it does promise that we will never be ultimately put to shame. God will always use everything we go through for our ultimate good Rom 8: In fact, the believer will have honor instead of shame. However, there is considerable debate over verse 7.

Listen to what Wayne Grudem says about this passage:. The rsv translation To you therefore who believe, he is precious based on the av and followed, surprisingly, by the niv , and apparently nasb , is an extremely unlikely understanding of the Greek text and is criticized by almost every major commentator. Not only will believers never ultimately be put to shame, but when Christ comes, we will be honored before all. We will share in his glory. Listen to this story about two missionaries returning from Africa, which helps illustrate this truth.

An old missionary couple had been working in Africa for years and were returning to New York to retire. They had no pension; their health was broken; they felt defeated, discouraged, and afraid. As the trip began, they discovered they were on the same ship as President Teddy Roosevelt, who was returning from one of his big-game hunting expeditions. No one paid any attention to them.

Here this man comes back from a hunting trip and everybody makes much over him, but nobody gives two hoots about us. When the ship docked in New York, a band was waiting to greet the President. The mayor and other dignitaries were there. No one noticed the missionary couple. They slipped off the ship, disappeared in the crowd, and found a cheap flat on the East Side, hoping the next day to see what they could do to make a living in the city. A short time later he came out from the bedroom, but now his face was completely different. The Lord settled it with me. I told Him how bitter I was that the President should receive this tremendous homecoming, when no one met us as we returned home.

Here on this earth, we may suffer for our faith, we may be mocked, but we will never ultimately suffer shame. We will be honored before all when we get home to heaven. We will be honored before the world and before all creation.

• History and Afterlife;
• What Does the Bible Say About Non Believers?.
• MENSAJE URGENTE A LAS MUJERES (Spanish Edition);

The study of heaven has been a much neglected theme. Surely heaven is worthy of greater attention. What is God like as to his essence? None of us has ever seen one. We know what spirit is not. It is not flesh, bones, or blood Luke It is a serious error to think of God the Father literally as a physical being, as our Mormon friends do Smith, Similarly, heaven is a spiritual realm. The Bible, therefore, employs a variety of figures of speech to represent the grandeur of heaven, and it is a mistake to literalize these symbols.

Yet such is common among well-meaning, though misguided, students. Both expressions are used in several different senses, in each case being defined by the context. There are many figures of speech that represent the heavenly sphere. This section of Revelation falls into four principal segments: Let us consider these segments. The picture of the tabernacle appears, i. He is personally with his people and they belong to him. All of their sorrows and pains are vanquished.

This place and people stand in stark contrast to the vile inmates of hell. It is heavenly in nature, blessed with the glory of God himself. The city is surrounded by a wall, great and high—reflecting the concept of absolute security. The gates are ever open v. On the gates are written the names of the tribes of Israel and the wall is undergirded by twelve foundations upon which are the names of the twelve apostles.

The number twelve likely is a figure for the full complement of the redeemed—from both Old and New Testament eras. The symbolism is clear inasmuch as there were thirteen devout apostles.

Logic and Heaven

Literalizing the context is inexcusable. It is perfectly clear that this is not a literally restored earthly Jerusalem. The cubed shape of the city is reminiscent of the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, which was the dwelling place of God Exodus The unparalleled beauty and value of the city are portrayed by pure gold and brilliant gems. The original term iaspis designates any opaque stone; it possibly refers to the diamond Danker et al.

Here it may suggest a diamond-studded wall. The inseparable connection between the Father and the Lamb is clear testimony of the deity of the Son. This is another clue that this is not a renewed material universe. The sustained purity of heaven is emphasized by the fact that nothing unclean will ever enter the sacred domain cf. Those who glory in their carnality should take careful note. These are they who, by obedience to Christ, entered his spiritual body 1 Corinthians Things that went wrong at the commencement of human history, as revealed in Genesis, are shown now to be rectified in the eternal order of heavenly things.

It is not that which man could initiate for himself. All needs of the saints are provided—water to quench thirst, food from the tree of life to sustain, and perpetual health from the leaves of the tree of life. We must ever remind ourselves that these are spiritual symbols, for there is neither sickness nor death in heaven. The nations that once made war with the Lamb have been conquered by his love Roberts, The curse imposed in Eden has been removed forever.

For comments on the balance of this chapter, see Jackson, ff. The materialistic approach of many with regard to heaven—with its supposed literal buildings, streets, physical bodies, marriages, animals, etc.

See a Problem?

It cannot but make one wonder how some people could ever expect to enjoy heaven once they are confronted with the reality that there will be no shopping malls, golf courses, fishing streams, or hunting seasons. No Monday Night Football or the legion of other material pursuits that utterly consume the attention of far too many professing disciples of the Lord.

When baseball is thrilling, yet Bible study, prayer, and worship services are dull, the biblical heaven is lightyears from the heart. But what will heaven be like from a personal point of view? What are some of the qualities that will reward the believer who remains faithful, perhaps even in the face of pain and death?

It carries the idea of happiness, a state of bliss cf. It is the hope of every child of God Titus 2: This bliss is a present reality that extends into eternity. The rest is entered only by diligence Hebrews 4: The agricultural motif of sowing and reaping abounds in Scripture. Several principles of this symbol are: One reaps only the kind he has sown, whether for good or bad Galatians 6: The harvest is more abundant than the quantity of the seed sown.

The sower must be patient , for he will reap in due season if he does not faint—a warning about possible apostasy v. Elsewhere the Lord provided other glimpses. There is an object of the command—the son; an obligation —work; the urgency —today; and the designated place —in the vineyard. There will be a glorious reward in heaven, but such will be realized only by obedient service. Heaven will be thrilling indeed because of the absolute goodness that characterizes it continuously. It will be inhabited by the Holy Godhead Revelation 4: Some may be alarmed to learn that heaven will not be a place of mere recreation and retirement, though an atmosphere of constant supreme joy will prevail.

But the paradise of God will be a place of responsible service. From our presently jaded vantage point, it is difficult to imagine that the thrill of serving God will be so consuming one will never grow weary of it.