Focussing on the man Jesus and the relationship with God

Having now three different websites focussing on the man Jesus and his relationship with God we only can hope more people shall come to listen to the very challenging things Jesus said.

Hopefully those Christians who take Jesus as their god will consider those words Jesus spoke like

“on that day” (Matthew 7:22),

i.e., the day of judgement. Jesus speaks of those who will come before him, but to some of them he will say,

 “Depart from me; I never knew you” (verse 23).

 These will be among the

 “many (who) will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name … and do many mighty works in your name?” 

In Christendom we can see many  who try to build mega churches and attract lots of people by laying of hands and claiming to do miracles in the name of God, though “works” does not necessarily mean, perform miracles, and his reference to those who prophecy, we should not think of him as meaning those who have some gift to foretell the future.

It is God Who calls people, but it is the way how they react to God's call which shall be important. We also should be aware that when people hear about Jesus and his heavenly Father they shall come to make decisions. How and why they take them shall be important for God and on the final day of judgement.


Those who Jesus tells to depart are described as “workers of lawlessness”, the ones who are “outside” excluded from a place in God’s “city” because their names were not found in “the book of life” (20:12). them who did things which are not acceptable for God, perhaps wanting to keep to human traditions, participating to heathen rituals and preferring to be popular, i.e. being of this world, instead of becoming a child of God belonging to the world of Christ.

You may wonder when a person does not want to accept the words Jesus speaks, like saying the Father is greater than him, how they sincerely can be called a follower of Christ when they keep holding fast to human traditions and human doctrines like the trinity, worshipping a three-headed god instead worshipping the Only One True God.

How can they who consider Jesus to be God build up a proper relationship with Jesus, when they keep ignoring that Jesus did not do his own will and demands from us to do the same, coming in unity with his heavenly Father like Jesus is one with God


We must make sure we have developed a really strong and committed relationship to and with Christ – only then will we be able to “conquer” our human nature and become more and more like our Saviour. Let us remember what we read last week in Revelation 21:7

 “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son” – then “on that day” he will declare “I … knew you”.

Wondering

Wondering

There draweth near the day of God,
When messengers are sent abroad,
To gather from the world’s bye-ways,
All who these dark evil days
Holding Yahweh’s word supreme,
Make it their daily active theme
That they may judg’d  be;
And I am wondering always,
What will the manner of that day be,
And its time of coming be?

Will it be  the early morning hours,
Before  the day has gained its powers
(So strong to draw our thoughts away
From  things of God to things of clay)
That in its duties lurk?
Or will the angel’s quiet hand
Stay the imperious demand
Of the swift noonday work;
And a grave voice tell me I must be gone,
And let the dead with the dead work on?
Or when the evening morning sweet,
And rest is pleasant and musing meet,
Or when the darkness covers me,
Will the light shine round me suddenly,
And at midnight come the cry?

Ah! The time is little; the thought for me
Is, what will the manner of that day be?
If the angel should meet me on the way,
Or come to me in the house, and say
“The Master is come and calleth for thee,”
What will the summons be to me,
What will my heart reply?
Shall I hear it as a longed-for-word?
And rise up quickly to meet the Lord?
Or will my spirit quail,
And my heart sink down ,with a dread dismay,

A speechless fear, that the Judgment Day
I had not watched for, can only be
One of  contempt and shame for me?
While tremblingly and pale,
I follow the angel forth to stand
Rejected, at the Lord’s left hand?    

Forbid it Lord! Oh grant  to me
Grace to follow hard after Thee,
Studying daily Thy written word
With purpose of heart to serve Thee Lord,
And walk with Thee always.
To let my eyelids look straight on
Unto the prize that must be won,
Yea, fought for, agonized for (Ah me!
How the flesh strives for the mastery
How heavy this weight of clay).

Lord help me that flesh to crucify,
Cut off  the hand, pluck out the eye,
And having entered the straight gate
To lay away each heavy weight.
And the sins that besets so easily,
Still looking, looking unto thee
And gathering strength thereby;
To meet  temptation steadfastly,
As thy hast met the same,

Watching and praying, day by day,
That when the angel comes, I may
Meet him with joy (though tremblingly),
Daring to hope that even I
May have the white stone given to me,
May join the acclaim,
And with the twelve twelve thousand be
Clothed with Immortality
Part of “the Yahweh Name”

Christadelphian  1882

 

How are the dead?

Concerning the dead at the awakening on the day of judgement. “The dead shall be raised incorruptible” To be discussed in our Sunday service November the 30th.

Allon Maxwell wrote:

Hi Marcus,
I saw your post on the Christadelphian Facebook Site on this topic.

Do I assume from this that you believe that the (righteous) dead will rise immortal?

My own belief is that we will rise from the grave immortal.

Marcus Ampe wrote:

I think at the day of judgement we shall have to come in front of the chair of Christ to be judged. This would mean that still a lot could happen to the body in front of Christ. But been resurrected by God, who knows our state, we could already be given the 'body' of the group to which we shall belong to. As righteous receiving an incorruptible body and as cursed a body that can and shall die again. The approved of would perhaps not have mortality any more (or immortality), so those taken out of the grave to come in front of the judgement seat have undergone a transformation. Out from the ashes they shall receive a form that shall hold all the essences of the previous body and live. Their body shall not deteriorate or not been killed any more if they are accepted by God to live forever after.

It is true that there is also a solemn warning that fear of the judgement is something experienced by the wicked – NOT the righteous! So you could say that the righteous shall straightly become 'awake' directly in an incorruptible body and should not be afraid of what would come.
If the sins of the repentant are never to be mentioned ever again, how can it be possible that they must be put on public exhibition at the judgement, and be accounted for a second time? But perhaps there are sins been committed wherefore no repentance had been brought before dying. You also think that sins done after baptism when you feel guilty about them and repent, would not any more be accounted for. Would we not be reprimanded for it? I agree that we would not get a dead penalty for it, and that God shall forgive them. But shall He not do like a worldly father does and talk about what has gone wrong? Shall the forgiveness and cleansing not happen on the day of judgement? Christ is going to do the division and sending us to the right or the left side.
Is it not that those who thought they were doing right but did wrong or believed wrongly would be put in the right place at the day of judgement. For example when someone has lived according to his believes in his faith (catholic, protestant, etc.) or did not have the opportunity to learn God, but learns how it really is on the day of judgement, would he not be left the choice to choose right and be saved. Or would you think no Trinitarian would make a chance to be saved if there is no tri-une God, or the other way that non-Trinitarians would be damned when there is a bi- or a tri-une God? I take it that those who believe in Christ as the Saviour and live according the will of God make a change to live eternally, no matter which denomination they were in. (cfr Ezekiel 33:16)
Coming in front of the judgement throne the righteous can proof to the others that they kneel down and praise the right Lord. Showing the others how they should have behaved in front of Christ and onto God. To them it is not a judgement as such (sentence or conviction) that comes over them.
Because the verdict shall be 'not guilty' the righteous shall be free to live eternally in the form they shall have received by their awakening.
So you assumed rightly that I think that the righteous will rise immortal in a certain way because dead shall not come over them any more. (But not having the eternality of God who never can die, but if He would like to make an end to it all He can and could destroy us) (But we have the promise of eternal life) Therefore the word incorruptible is better.