Who’s Afraid of Death?

Who’s Afraid of Mister Death?
by Brotha DC

A few years ago I was in an office with a bunch of people that liked to get into some deep conversations during slow periods.  Often we discussed the vicissitudes of life... love... etceterra.  But on one occasion, the conversation turned to the concept of death.  “How would you like to go,” the question was asked.
Most wanted to go in some quick and dramatic way... like a skydiving mishap.  Or maybe a quick automobile collision.  The discussion also covered those who were to be executed for a capital crime.  Would a firing squad be preferable to the slow burn of the electric chair?

One colleague finally chimed in.  With a panicked voice, she begged us to please change the subject!  She couldn’t bear the thought of her own demise.  The great unknown of death was terrifying to her... as it seems to be for a lot of people.  Many just try to push the idea aside.  When they do discuss it, the conversation can be like two colleagues I overheard just the other day.  One was concerned that they would be trapped in a paralyzed body with their brain crying out... but nobody hearing. 

I am so happy that I don’t have any such worries or concerns. 

Why?

Because I have a great and precious promise... and you can to.  What promise?  The promise in 2 Corinthians 5:8 that the moment that I am absent from this physical body, I will be in the presence of the Lord.  Check it out:

⁷ For we walk by faith [we regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by our conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, with trust and holy fervor; thus we walk] not by sight or appearance.
⁸ [Yes] we have confident and hopeful courage and are pleased rather to be away from home out of the body and be at home with the Lord.
⁹ Therefore, whether we are at home [on earth away from Him] or away from home [and with Him], we are constantly ambitious and strive earnestly to be pleasing to Him.

2 Corinthians 5:7-9 [AMP]

For those who who by fath make the quality decision to cling to, trust in, and rely upon God’s free gift of love, death is no longer a threat.  So what is this gift?  How can you get it?

¹⁶ For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.
¹⁷ For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.
¹⁸ He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation--he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ's name.]
¹⁹ The [basis of the] judgment (indictment, the test by which men are judged, the ground for the sentence) lies in this: the Light has come into the world, and people have loved the darkness rather than and more than the Light, for their works (deeds) were evil.

John 3:16-19 [AMP]

The great unknown is now revealed. The mystery of what happens after we die is solved. And for those worried that they might not have lived a good enough life to escape hellfire... the good news is that we don’t have to.  Jesus lived the good life that we could never live.  And when we cling to, trust in, and rely upon what Jesus did... then we can receive the eternal life that we could never earn.  And since Jesus told us in John 3:16 that we shall not perish (will never come to destruction... will never be lost) then we can embrace the promise of eternal (everlasting) life.
 
But wait a minute.  People who believe and receive Jesus have been put into a pine box and buried six feet under.  How does that work?  Again, remember the Apostle Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:8 that when we are absent from our physical body, we will be in the presence of the Lord.  So then, what is there to say about Mister Death?

But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I'll probably never fully understand. We're not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed. You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes—it's over. On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we'll all be changed. In the resurrection scheme of things, this has to happen: everything perishable taken off the shelves and replaced by the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the immortal. Then the saying will come true:

   Death swallowed by triumphant Life!
   Who got the last word, oh, Death?
   Oh, Death, who's afraid of you now?

It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive power. But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God!

1 Corinthians 15:51-57 [MSG]

Wow! When the world has reached the end of its lifespan and the celestial trumpet sounds, those who died in Christ will rise first (after all, they have six feet farther to travel).   Then, those who are alive will rise up with them to meet the Lord in the air. 

Okay, but what happens before the end of the world... before the trumpet blast?

Well, Saint Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 15:54 that death is swallowed up (utterly vanquished forever) in and unto victory.  He goes on in the next verse to ask, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The answer for those in Christ is that death has no victory.  For those who have eternal security through Christ, the sting of death has been rendered impotent.

Delivered From the Power of Darkness
by Judy Ann

Father, we thank You for Christ, our Passover lamb, Who has been sacrificed to clear us of sin. You have delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of Your Love. Therefore we will keep the Festival, not with the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the bread of sincerity and truth. Amen.

Purge (clean out) the old leaven that you may be fresh (new) dough, still uncontaminated [as you are], for Christ, our Passover [Lamb], has been sacrificed.

1 Corinthians 5:7 [AMP]

God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it's now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.

Romans 3:25-26 [MSG]

[The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love

Colossians 1:13 [AMP]

Life in the Spirit
by Judy Ann

Father, I thank You for strengthening those whose hearts are fully committed to You. You prove Yourself mighty on their behalf. LORD, You have done great things for Your people, and we are filled with joy! We are a happy people, replacing the lower life for the higher life of the Spirit. Thank You for the great things You have done and are doing for us in the name of Jesus, amen.

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars."

2 Chronicles 16:9 [ESV]

It seemed like a dream, too good to be true, when God returned Zion's exiles.
   We laughed, we sang,
      we couldn't believe our good fortune.
   We were the talk of the nations—
      "God was wonderful to them!"
   God was wonderful to us;
      we are one happy people.

Psalm 126:1-3 [MSG]

Whoever finds his [lower] life will lose it [the higher life], and whoever loses his [lower] life on My account will find it [the higher life].

Matthew 10:39 [AMP]

Complete in Christ
by Judy Ann

My life is complete in You, Lord Jesus. Every answer, every need, every solution I have need of is available to me. You are Jehovah-Rapha, my Healer, Jehovah-Nissi, my Victory, Jehovah-Jireh, my Provider. You are Jehovah M’Kaddesh, my Sanctifier, Jehovah-Shalom, my Peace and Security. My Shepherd, you’re Jehovah-Rohi, Jehovah-Tsidkenu, my Righteousness, and Jehovah-Shammah, my ever-present Friend. Because I am complete in You, Lord Jesus I can overcome my insecurities and bring maturity and wisdom to every relationship for the good and benefit of others. Amen

And you are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead--Father, Son and Holy Spirit--and reach full spiritual stature]. And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power].

Colossians 2:10 [AMP]

A Full Course Meal for Atheists

DEAD FLIES cause the ointment of the perfumer to putrefy [and] send forth a vile odor; so does a little folly [in him who is valued for wisdom] outweigh wisdom and honor.

Ecclesiastes 10:1 [AMP]

Some of you may remember how the Watergate scandal brought down the presidency of Richard Nixon. He should have gone down in history as the man who ended the Vietnam war. The man who initiated detenté with the former Soviet Union. The man who crossed the Bamboo Curtain and opened to the door to diplomatic and economic relations with China. But when you say the name Richard Nixon, the first thing that comes to the mind of many is Watergate. Thus, the words of the writer of Ecclesiastes (commonly thought to be King Solomon) are proven to be absolutely correct.

All it takes is a little foolishness to bring much wisdom and honor to nought.

Most of you know that broadcaster Harold Camping predicted that the rapture would occur on May 22, 2001 -- accompanied by a myriad of catastrophic events. Pundits, comedians and naysayers caught hold of this and responded with a barrage of comments, basically riduculing any belief in God. This has dangerous consequences... as King David found the hard way.

Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord and given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme

2 Samuel 12:14a [AMP]

What makes false prophecies even more dangerous is if the cause you to do something contrary to the will of God for your life. There was a huge controversy over a pastor who taught a relatively famous parishioner of his that God approves of people living homosexual lifestyles. Not to open a can or worms (whoops, too late!) but anyone who questions what God has clearly said is doing the same thing that the serpent did to Eve in the Garden of Eden. There was a prophet in the Old Testament who was led astray by a false prophet and that act of disobedience came with a heavy price.

⁷ Then the king invited the holy man, "Join me for a meal; I have a gift for you."
^8-10 The holy man told the king, "Not on your life! You couldn't pay me enough to get me to sit down with you at a meal in this place. I'm here under God's orders, and he commanded, 'Don't eat a crumb, don't drink a drop, and don't go back the way you came.'" Then he left by a different road than the one on which he had walked to Bethel.
¹¹ There was an old prophet who lived in Bethel. His sons came and told him the story of what the holy man had done that day in Bethel, told him everything that had happened and what the holy man had said to the king.
¹² Their father said, "Which way did he go?" His sons pointed out the road that the holy man from Judah had taken.
^13-14 He told his sons, "Saddle my donkey." When they had saddled it, he got on and rode after the holy man. He found him sitting under an oak tree.

    He asked him, "Are you the holy man who came from Judah?"

    "Yes, I am," he said.
¹⁵ "Well, come home with me and have a meal."
^16-17 "Sorry, I can't do that," the holy man said. "I can neither go back with you nor eat with you in this country. I'm under strict orders from God: 'Don't eat a crumb; don't drink a drop; and don't come back the way you came.'"
^18-19 But he said, "I am also a prophet, just like you. And an angel came to me with a message from God: 'Bring him home with you, and give him a good meal!'" But the man was lying. So the holy man went home with him and they had a meal together.
^20-22 There they were, sitting at the table together, when the word of God came to the prophet who had brought him back. He confronted the holy man who had come from Judah: "God's word to you: You disobeyed God's command; you didn't keep the strict orders your God gave you; you came back and sat down to a good meal in the very place God told you, 'Don't eat a crumb; don't drink a drop.' For that you're going to die far from home and not be buried in your ancestral tomb."
^23-25 When the meal was over, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. Down the road a way, a lion met him and killed him. His corpse lay crumpled on the road, the lion on one side and the donkey on the other. Some passersby saw the corpse in a heap on the road, with the lion standing guard beside it. They went to the village where the old prophet lived and told what they had seen.

1 Kings 13:7-25 [MSG]

Following the false prophecy caused the holy man to meet an untimely demise. You can read more about the holy man, the false prophet, and the full set of events in Chapter Three of our book, Five Men Who Faced the Roaring Lion.

But getting back to Camping’s obviously false prophecy, many people are using this false prediction as an occasion to blaspheme. We read in Hearst Seattle Media’s Seattle P-I web site that atheists are having rapture parties to ridicule religious belief. Adding additional fuel to the fire are other journalistic reports, including an article in The Los Angeles Times regarding seemingly foolish behavior by those who followed Camping’s false prophecy.

Too bad Camping never read our book, Please Don’t Feed the Atheists.

Unfortunately, antics such as Campings false prophecy are giving the atheists a full-course feast. Last year, comedian Ricky Gervais published a piece in the Wall Street Journal speakeasy section in which he explained why he was an atheist. We have seen similar thoughts from Bill Maher and other pundits... and like Gervais’ article, there are the streams of comments by fellow atheists blasting Christianity (primarily the target of such diatribes). Funny how atheists rarely spew hateful venom at Ba’Hai, Hinduism, Buddhism, or other belief systems). For that matter, they never use figures of those religions as curse words.

What can we do about this absolute mess? The only solution is to show the world what real Christianty is.

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8 [AMP]

²⁶I anyone thinks himself to be religious (piously observant of the external duties of his faith) and does not bridle his tongue but deludes his own heart, this person's religious service is worthless (futile, barren).
²⁷External [a]religious worship [[b]religion as it is expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world.

James 1:26-27 [AMP]

One final note: The Powerhouse produced a CD a while ago entitled Atheists Challenge. You can listen to this message via the audio controls below:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8