The Fate of Sinners

Posted on by korgrocker

“Don’t let me suffer the fate of sinners. Don’t condemn me along with murderers. Their hands are dirty with evil schemes, and they constantly take bribes. But I am not like that; I live with integrity. So redeem me and show me mercy. Now I stand on solid ground, and I will publicly praise the Lord.”
Psalm 26:9-12 NLT

David asked the Lord to spare him from “the fate of sinners”. In David’s society, people who committed crimes suffered some form of punishment. Leviticus 24 lays out some examples of punishments for lawbreakers, who committed crimes such as blasphemy, murder, theft, and injury, where we read the punishment was “a fracture for a fracture, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (Leviticus 24:20). Stoning was usually used for capital offences. But in the Psalm 26 context, David appeared to be considering behavioural issues – “their hands are dirty with evil schemes and they constantly take bribes”. There was in those days, and still is today, a level of moral lassitude that falls just below the radar of a definition of being a crime but is sin nevertheless. Jesus brought such behaviour to the fore in Matthew 5:21-22, “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell“. The problem for humans in all generations is that sin in God’s eyes can only be discerned by Him. So David cried out to the Lord to not let him suffer the fate of sinners because “It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).‭‭

But what is the fate of sinners? The Old Testament, pre-Jesus, belief was that when someone died they went to a place called Sheol. Faced with the fabricated evidence that Joseph had died as the result of an attack by a wild animal, we read of his father Jacob’s reaction in Genesis 37:35, “Then all his sons and daughters attempted to console him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “I will go down to Sheol (the place of the dead) in mourning for my son.” And his father wept for him”. Both good and bad people went there and it seemed to be some sort of holding area for departed spirits. David also believed that the wicked ended up in Sheol. Psalm 9:17, “The wicked will turn to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), Even all the nations who forget God”. So David and his generation would have no doubts about “the fate of sinners”. Jacob considered Sheol to be a place of mourning, but little was written about what it would be like until Jesus came, and provided some teaching. But one thought spans all the Biblical scriptures, and that is that after a person died, they went to a place of conscious existence, and there are hints that there were degrees of comfort there, depending on whether or not the person had led a good or bad life in God’s eyes beforehand.

In Luke 16 Jesus told the story of a Rich Man and a beggar called Lazarus. Some claim that this was a parable, but Jesus offered no explanation and the story was not about a natural environment that people could relate to, such as sheep and arable farming. It was a statement of fact presented in a way that fitted in with Jewish thought at that time. Basically, the Rich Man had a good life and ended up in Sheol (Hades in the Greek) where he found a place of torment. We can refer to it as “hell” because it was hot – we read, “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames'” (Luke 16:24). So there was communication of sorts with the other compartment in Sheol where the poor man went when he died. We can call this place heaven, because Abraham was there. In the next two verses we read, “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there'”. 

The New Testament belief is based on the Rich Man and Lazarus story, in that people who have died end up in a place of conscious existence, depending on how they lived their natural lives. Believers end up in a place Jesus called Paradise (Luke 23:43). Unbelievers end up in a place of torment that appeared to be another compartment in Hades. Jesus introduced another name for this place – Gehenna, a Greek word used in Mark 9:45. But Hades or Sheol, the Biblical view is consistent with David’s fear about the “fate of sinners”. One place of conscious existence divided into two compartments – paradise (a preview of Heaven) or Gehenna (a preview of hell).  

And then the story gets tragic and sombre. One day all these souls in Hades will be resurrected and judged, as we read in Revelation 20:13, “And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Hades (the realm of the dead) surrendered the dead who were in them; and they were judged and sentenced, every one according to their deeds”. Thankfully, believers will already have been resurrected by this time and will be living with the Lord in Heaven. 2 Corinthians 5:7-8, “For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord”. 1 Thessalonians 4 provides further details. 

David called out to the Lord to save him from “the fate of sinners” and he could do that because he walked with integrity and was redeemed by the Lord. Through his faith in the Lord I’m sure that we believers will probably have the opportunity of speaking with him one day. But we mustn’t rest on our laurels because there is a society full of people who, like lemmings, are rushing headlong to the wrong place. I keep banging on, I know, about reaching out to the lost, but these are serious times. Every day on my prayer walks I ask God beforehand to lead me to opportunities where I can share His message of hope. We don’t know if the next seed we plant might be in the heart of another Billy Graham.

Dear Father God. You are the only true righteous and holy God, full of grace and love. Lead us we pray to those who are perishing in their sins, so that we can share about all You have done for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

No Perishing

Posted on by korgrocker

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”
John 10:27-30 NLT

In our journey through the Gospel of John, the picture is emerging of a caring Jesus, compassionate and loving, looking out for His followers, who are those who believe in Him. He feeds them spiritual water (John 7:37-38, “On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart’”). He feeds them spiritual food (John 6:35, “Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty”). He protects them (John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep”). He brings light and life (John 8:12, “Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life””). In fact His followers will enjoy abundant life (John 10:10, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life”). What is there not to like about Jesus, because all that he promised His followers two thousand years ago is still available to His 21st Century believers? 

But perhaps the most notable promise that Jesus made was His gift of eternal life. Jesus loves His followers so much that He wants to spend eternity with them. “They will never perish” He said. And this offer was not just restricted to His people, the Jews. He also included all the non-Jews, the Gentiles, in His offer of protection and eternal life (John 10:16, “I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd). 

But what is this eternal life with its promise that we will never perish? The Bible tells us that when we die, our physical bodies will be of no further use and can be discarded. But our spirits live on in a place variously called Sheol, or Hades, or Heaven. There seems to be some compartmentalisation in place, because, as Jesus promised the dying thief next to Him, there is a place called Paradise. So it is not unreasonable to assume that Jesus’ followers, those that believe in Him, will join Him there. Perhaps that is Heaven. We should note that Hell doesn’t exist at the moment, only coming into effect when its first inhabitants, the Beast and False Prophet, are thrown there (Revelation 19:20, “And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulphur”). But there is no confusion or alternative, the spirits of all who have ever lived either end up in Heaven or Hades. There is of course then the Great White Throne judgement in Revelation 20, followed by the population of Hell. Hades ends up in hell as well (Revelation 20:14, “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death”). 

Thankfully, we pilgrims, believers in Jesus, will not have to face the terror of the Great White Throne because our names will be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. We will never perish and end up in the company of totally evil beings.

Jesus brought a message of hope to a world floundering and dying in its sin. Evil still prevails, but Jesus promised us that we will “never perish”. As we persevere through this life, illuminating our passage with our testimonies of God’s saving grace, we will one day achieve our goal of eternal life through Jesus. What a Saviour!

Dear Father God. What a Saviour indeed. We praise and worship You today and every day. Amen.

Spirits in Prison (2)

Posted on by korgrocker

“So he went and preached to the spirits in prison— those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 3:19-21 NLT

In a previous blog we asked ourselves three questions – what was the message that Jesus preached, what happens to our spirits after we die and why select just this particular group of spirits. We have considered what happens to our spirits when we die, and concluded that they go to one of two “compartments” in a place called Hades or Sheol. This is the holding place for spirits pending God’s final act of judgement, and believers end up in a compartment called Paradise and unbelievers in another compartment which seems to be a most unpleasant place, and is perhaps a taste of what hell will be like. 

But now taking the first question, what message did Jesus preach? Theologians seem divided on this and some have concluded that He made an announcement to a group of either demons or humans from the time of the flood. But what would be the point of an “announcement”? God will provide that soon enough on Judgement Day. Another suggestion is that Jesus preached in the spirit through Noah at the time of the flood, but they rejected His message. Yet another possibility is that Jesus preached the Gospel to a generation, now represented by their spirits, that otherwise could rightly complain that they were short-changed and unfairly treated. But literally, Peter wrote that there were people who were disobedient to God during the time leading up to their drowning in the flood and Jesus preached a message to them.

While on earth, Jesus devoted His teaching to the message of salvation through repentance of sins. The mechanics of how that message would apply to the spirits of dead people is a mystery, but there is no other logical explanation. The fact that His audience were imprisoned indicates that they were in a place that wasn’t the Paradise promised to the penitent thief. C S Lewis wrote a book called The Great Divorce which fictionally described a spiritual holding place, “hell”, from which the spirits, or “ghosts”, were given the opportunity to travel to Heaven, where salvation became an option for them. But it was of course fictional without any Scriptural basis.

We don’t know anything more about Jesus preaching to spirits in Hades, so we must draw our own conclusions. But we do know about the preaching Jesus did while He was here with us on Planet Earth. Faithful disciples recorded His many messages, often illustrated in a way that everyday people in His generation could understand. And Jesus underpinned His messages with practical deeds, such as healing the sick or raising the dead. As far as we aware, there is no post-death opportunity to hear the Gospel message in the world of spirits. If there was, what was the point of Jesus delegating the preaching of His Word to His followers? And people would become even more complacent than they are. Acts 1:8 reads, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth””. We pilgrims are at the sharp end of spreading God’s grace and love to those around us. The Holy Spirit will bring conviction of sin and repentance. So we must be ready and willing to share all that God has done for us.

Dear Father God. Please bring us to people who don’t know You. Please prepare the ground we pray and give us just the right words to say. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Spirits in Prison (1)

Posted on by korgrocker

“So he went and preached to the spirits in prison— those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 3:19-21 NLT

These are verses that can cause people difficulties, and there are several theories about what they really mean. We know from 1 Peter 3:18b that Jesus was “ … raised to life in the Spirit” so taking these verses literally we conclude that in the period between His death and resurrection Jesus, in spirit form, preached a message to a select group of spirits who were imprisoned in some way. We therefore have to ask ourselves what was the message that Jesus preached, what happens to our spirits after we die and why select just this particular group of spirits.

After we die, the Bible indicates that our physical bodies are of no further use and can be disposed of. However, our spirits continue to live and go somewhere. The popular expectation is that Heaven is the final destination for people’s spirits – most people, regardless of what faith they have, if any, like to think that their loved ones, and themselves, will end up in Heaven after they die. Others assume that unbelievers end up in hell, but Scriptures tell us that this was a place created for the devil (Revelation 20:10). Unbelievers, unrepentant sinners, are not sent there until after the Great White Throne judgement we read about in Revelation 20. But the most likely place for spirits after we die is a place called Hades or Sheol. This is a holding place for spirits until they receive their new bodies. Hades seems to be compartmentalised with a part reserved for believers called paradise. We know that from the words Jesus spoke to the thief next to Him. Luke 23:43, “And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise””. We also read Jesus’ parable about Lazarus and the Rich Man, where Lazarus is in a place of comfort but the rich man is in a different place of anguish. ““Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet. The rich man also died and was buried, … The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’” (Luke 16:22,24). 

So we conclude that after we die, our spirits end up in a holding place, compartmentalised in accordance with our response to God while we were still nalive. Those who repented of their sins and believed in Jesus will end up in a compartment called Paradise, and those who haven’t will end up in a compartment that will probably be a foretaste of what hell will be like. And there is no possibility of a transition between the two. But these are my personal theories, gained from a rather sparse selection of Scriptures – everyone must draw their own conclusions.

Thankfully, God has provided for us a way to avoid the hell-like part of Hades. Jesus came to Planet Earth so that, through Him, our sins would be forgiven. Peter, in his Pentecost day message, and in response to the question, “What should we do?”‭‭‭, said, “ … Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit“. It is important to note that the repentant thief had not been involved in any of the Jewish liturgies of his day. To bring it up to date, he hadn’t been to a Bible study or a prayer meeting. He hadn’t responded to an altar call given out by some trans-national evangelist. Instead, with his dying breaths, he came to a place of repentance and assured himself a future with Jesus in Paradise. All human beings have the same choice. Some may think it unfair that after a life of crime he should receive such a reward. But that is God’s grace. “All have sinned …” Paul wrote, and God will forgive everyone who come to Him. We pilgrims have made the right choice, but we cannot just leave it there. Many people around us have still to make the same decision that we did. Who are we praying for? Who are we telling of our hope in a Heavenly future? The harvest is ready, folks.

Dear Father God. We pray for guidance about who we should pray for, and witness to. We know that Jesus came to this world to save sinners, and is still doing it through His people. We pray for more “divine appointments” as we go out and about in our communities. In Jesus’ name. Amen.