MidnightCall Magazine
In this issue:
- Before the Last Flood — By Norbert Lieth
- Gaza Flotilla: Aggression or Self-Defense? — By Arno Froese
- Far East AsiaTrendsToday – Part III:Geo-prophecy or Geopolitics? — By Wilfred Hahn
News From Israel MagazineIn this issue:
- The Myth of the Al-Aqsa Mosque: Part 1 — By Herbert Novitsky
- ON THE HORIZON:
- Obama Honors Jewish Heritage Month
- Building an Electronic Human Brain
- ‘Iran Critics Must Get Rid of Nukes,’ Says Turkish PM
- Israel Joins Prestigious OECD Club
- Israel Accepted after Unanimous Vote
- Spy Satellite Successfully Launched
Immortality
Dear Friends,
In Revelation 20:15, we read that “anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” The assumption is that they then live forever in great pain.
I do not believe that is so. In Ezekiel 33:11 it says, “As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked.”
Then in Genesis 3:22 & 24 it says, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever…So He drove out man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.”
Finally, in I Timothy 6:16 it says, referring to God, “who alone has immortality.”
When a person has been born into this world, he had no choice in the matter. He also had no choice where he was born—it might be in a country where he would never hear the gospel.
I’m so thankful I heard the gospel and was born again when I was 16 years old.
Please let me know if you agree with what I have written.
- P. Grothe, WI
Answer: It is difficult to read Revelation 20:10 & 15 and come to the conclusion that it is not eternal punishment: “And shall be tormented day and night forever and ever,” and, “Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Read also the statement of our Lord in John 3:36, which includes the words, “but the wrath of God abideth on him.” It is best to leave it just as it is.
Indeed, only God alone has immortality, but we can’t deny that He has passed it on to us: “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:15). The Lord confirms it in chapter 5, verse 24: “…He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (see also 2 Timothy 1:10).
Did God intend for Adam and Eve to have eternal life? Absolutely, because sin caused death. Had they taken from the tree of life after their trespass, then they would have lived in sin forever.
The Bible clearly teaches that even during the times of the apostles, the gospel “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). Don’t confuse Churchianity with the Church of Jesus Christ. There are many countries in which there is no visible manifestation of the Church, but that does not mean there are no believers there. Jesus is building His Church, and the Holy Spirit supersedes all our organizational capacity. I personally believe that we are on the very threshold of the completion of the Church.
Midnight Call Magazine’s #1 Feature!
Letters to the Editor
Readers have enjoyed the
opportunity of writing in and posing various questions and concerns
relative to the Body of Christ. They have benefited from the author’s
concise scriptural responses on topics such as the Rapture of the
Church, globalism, the Ecumenical Movement, false religions,
eschatology, general Scripture explanations and much more.
