Title Hebrews 09:25-28 Prepare for Death
Contents
Prepare for Death (Hebrews 9:25-28)
where do we stand today It must be said that it stands in the midst of a vortex of tremendous change. Now we are leading that change. Or is it being swept away? How far do you think change will go? We live in a perilous era where we don't know who will die and when.
As I meditated on the Bible for the Sunday morning sermon on Monday morning, the words "It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment" (Hebrews 9:27) came to mind. That's why I set up the title and site of 'Prepare for Death'. But late on Tuesday night, there was breaking news about America on TV subtitles. The headlines and articles appeared in the newspapers on Wednesday morning in capital letters, saying, "America has been terrorized, the American continent has been attacked, terrorism has been hit, America has been attacked," and T.V has been running a series of special reports.
I. "America has been attacked"
First, an official announcement from US President George W. Bush. He said, "At 08:42 on September 11 (Tuesday), I was attacked by terrorists using a bomb with a civil aviation aircraft (UA). According to the report, the Pentagon (Defense Office) in Washington DC and the World Trade Center Building (110-story twin towers) in Manhattan City, New York completely collapsed, and tens of thousands of casualties occurred because it was rush hour.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said he would "openly identify 'Osama bin Laden' as the mastermind behind the attack." Meanwhile, Afghanistan's supreme leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, said, "We are expecting a massive US attack, and in this case we will do everything we can."
Since the Pacific War was triggered by the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor (Pearl Harbor) on December 7, 1941, the United States received a terrorist attack this time and the first war of the 21st century, as Bush said, has occurred and will be punished. . However, we must pray that this situation does not become an excuse for religious conflicts and world wars (Rev 7:1-4).
Second, an analysis of the causes of terrorism in the United States. In general, “Islamic anti-American sentiment is a common sentiment shared by most people regardless of religious sect, ethnicity, or class. It lies in the US' distorted anti-Arab policy, such as economic sanctions," the Wall Street Journal and AP News analyzed.
In fact, among the temples of the Noble Temple in the Holy Land of East Jerusalem, Temple Mount (Haram al-Salif) is the seed of discord. Israel captured Temple Mount in the Six Day War on May 23, 1967. In other words, it claims that the most sacred temple in history is Mount Moriah itself (Genesis 22:1-9), and that Jerusalem is free, that is, our mother (Galatians 4:26).
Meanwhile, Muslims in Palestine claim that the golden dome of the rock is the sanctuary (Exodus 3:5). Islam (Mhammadism, Islam, Islam) is a religion that originated in the early 7th century when Muhammad of Arabia received a revelation from Allah, and uses the Qur'an as the only scripture. The number of believers is about 1.2 billion in 55 countries around the world. What is clear is that when all of them insisted that 'Jesus must be crucified', Pilate said 'You must bear the price of the blood'. The cost of 'filled blood' will continue until the second coming of Jesus (Matthew 27:22-26, 5:28, 1 Thessalonians 2:15,16).
II. prepare for death
First, death is appointed for man (Hebrews 9:27). Since 'determined' is the same as 'the fate lying in front of you,' death and judgment are the existence that will come upon man. What God has ordained is death that no one can escape from. Moreover, if you do not feel the existence of the judgment that comes after death, you are a fool.
In the Old Testament, the high priest offered sacrifices repeatedly every year, but Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice to take away sins once for all, so death must be solemn (Hebrews 9:25-28). And thank you for the grace of redemption.
God created the heavens and the earth through His Word (Genesis 1:3-25, John 1:1-3). However, only man said, “He made man in the image of God, and formed man from the dust, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” (Genesis 1:26, 2:7). The word "living spirit" is 'leah, pneuma' in the original language, meaning 'immortal being, immortal soul'. In other words, he made the earth the lord of all things and gave him three blessings, saying, 'Fill the earth, subdue it, and have dominion over all living things'. Regarding this, he said, 'It was very good' (Genesis 1:28,31).
In creationism, we can have a philosophical concept that divides people into three (1 Thessalonians 5:23). If any one of them is disqualified, it is no longer a person. This is a good example to help you understand. However, it is a theological principle that insists on the dichotomy of the soul and the body. On the other hand, Jehovah said that even if the spirit is present, he created only one in order to have godly offspring. Therefore, talking about clones like building the Tower of Babel is a crime against the principle of creation and must be stopped (Genesis 11:1-9).
Second, it is the problem of death by sin as seen in the eschatology (Romans 6:23). God commanded the first Adam, "You may eat from every tree in the garden, but you shall not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day you eat of it you will surely die" (Genesis 2:16,17). Nevertheless, they ate of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:6). Therefore, it is said that sin entered the world through one man and death through sin (Romans 5:12).
There are three kinds of death. The first is physical death (Hebrews 9:3; Genesis 3:18). The apostle Paul spoke of a secret. Not all of us will sleep, but at the last trumpet all of us will be changed in an instant, and at the sound of the trumpet, the dead will live incorruptibility, and we will be changed. Also, the dead in Christ will rise first, and then we who are alive will also be raptured (1 Corinthians 15:51,52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17).
The third is eternal death (Hebrews 9:28). Soon, the decision of spiritual death is made by the second coming of Jesus (John 5:29). That is to say, some will inherit the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world, and others will enter into the eternal fire prepared (Mt 25:34,41,46). At this time, when Jesus returns, God will execute the Great White Throne Judgment, and all judgments of words and deeds from birth to death will be judged as recorded in the book (Rev 20:11-13). But believe that those who have been washed from their sins before the Lamb and put on white clothes and serve God will receive eternal life and reward (Rev 7:9-15).
conclusion
We have two ways, the way of life and the way of destruction (Matthew 7:13,14). God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked, but delights in turning back to life (Ezekiel 33:11). Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life for us. We hope that you will believe and be saved and lead a life that glorifies God (John 14:6; 1 Corinthians 10:31).
Let's prepare for death. We should fear God, not fearing those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, but fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell (Matthew 10:28-31). The harvest time has come when wheat, bamboo shoots and tares are separated (Matthew 30:10-12, 13:24-30), let's work out our salvation (Philippians 2:12). While looking at the dead in the terrorist accident of bin Laden in the United States, we must all give priority to evangelism so that the second death does not reign in the face of unpredictable death due to unbelief (Rev 2:11, 20:6,14, 21:8). ). I earnestly pray in the name of Jesus that God's grace and peace be with you all who participate in this.