Article - Death: What Really Mattered?(part 2)
Imagine that your body is lying dead in a casket. What really mattered while you were alive? When you died, where did your soul go? Sobering thoughts, huh? Since you are still alive, you need to take heed to Jesus’ revelation about the Hadean realm where your spirit/soul will go once it leaves your body/flesh (Acts 2:27, 31; Luke 23:43; Revelation 1:18; 6:8; 20:13-14). If you die in your sins, you will be like the rich man in “The Rich Man and Lazarus” story found in Luke 16:19-31 (John 8:21-24). You will not be escorted by God’s heavenly messengers to a place of comfort/Paradise in the presence of the righteous (Luke 16:22, 25; 23:43; Matthew 8:11; 22:32; Luke 19:9; John 8:39; Romans 4:16; Galatians 3:29; James 2:21-24). Instead, you will be in torments vainly seeking a mere fraction of relief from the intense pain (Luke 16:23-24, 28; 13:27-28). Not only will you maintain your identity and personality with full consciousness, but you will also know and recognize the righteous (that you personally did or did not know). Once you die, you will not be given a second chance, but will be judged by the things you did while in your body/flesh (Luke 16:26; Matthew 25:41-46; 2 Corinthians 5:9-11; 2 Thessalonians 1:8; -9; Hebrews 9:27). In Hades you will know firsthand what the terror/intense anger of God is (John 3:36; Romans 1:18; 2:8-9; Hebrews 10:31; 12:25-29; 2 Peter 3:5-7). You will not be able to communicate with your loved ones who are still on the earth, nor will you be able to send a righteous soul from the dead to persuade them to get their soul right with the Lord (Luke 16:26-31). God’s written word will remain the power to save – the very word you rejected, mocked, ignored, put off and tuned out (Matthew 4:4; John 12:48; Romans 1:16; 2 Timothy 3:14-17). While you have breath of life, give the more earnest heed to how you hear God’s word and do not make light of Jesus’ warning through the rich man (Luke 8:18; Hebrews 2:1; James 4:13-14)! Remain faithful unto death so that your soul will be escorted to Paradise, awaiting the coming of the Lord and eternal life with Jesus forever (Revelation 2:10)!
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