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A Man of His Word
Suppose we make a promise that seems fully reasonable. Though later, circumstances arise in which we have to neglect someone in need in order to fulfill that promise. Maybe a person came to visit and was just leaving in time to fulfill the...
Intelligent Design - Has God turned the tables on Evolution?
Intelligent Design For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. Romans 8:22 According to Darwin's Theory of Evolution, the strong survive by a process of natural selection of the most fit. Yet many of his...
Moslem America
Moslem America Part 1. Aljazira, is the propaganda machine in the Middle East and now we have been introduced to the Bridges network in the United States. Bridges was developed to bridge the gap between Moslems and Americans, or so they say. The...
The Two Most Important Commandments - Love
The Two Most Important Commandments – LOVE By: Lara Velez Love is mentioned well over 350 times in the Bible. I'm sure God must be trying to tell us something. We will start our study with Matthew 22:37-38; And He replied to him, You shall love...
Where Have All the Disciples Gone?
Five years ago my family and I started a new church in the suburbs of Philadelphia. When we arrived I wanted the first dollar our church spent to make a statement about the kind of church we were going to become. So I took every penny we had in our...
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The Fear of Death
The Fear of Death
Death is the ultimate fear among most of society. Actually, it runs second to public speaking but staying realistic, if given the choice, most would choose to speak before a crowd of two or three-thousand than die. The fear is a natural one because we were all cursed to die when the man and the woman ate of tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. Before that, life was eternal, and there is no telling how long the man and woman had lived before the incident.
Nevertheless, once again we a have a chance at eternal life through God’s son Jesus Christ. Not many people realize the gift we have because it is incomprehensible to the human mind, so unconsciously, death, which is more comprehensible, is an expectant part of life. So expectant that people take the notion of eternal life for granted; though, it is an option. One man, when asked if he could have anything on earth what would it be, he sarcastically answered, “to live forever.” Little did he know that eternal life it is a reality.
People fear death for a number of reasons, such as, not knowing what to expect afterward; fear a leaving behind a life so well lived and people they love, and the thought of not knowing in what way death will come, painlessly or not. To add to this fear, the Bible introduced the concept of Hell, a place of torment and eternal suffering. For people who acknowledge Hell, fear increases. However, it seems that lately, in these last days, many have accepted Hell as a final resting place for their soul because they feel they are not worthy of Heaven. This notion is deceptive and dangerous to accept lightly.
Thank Hollywood for this deception. Because movie producers – or any one – has ever been to either after-place, Heaven or Hell, and returned to tell about it, they depict both places from the depths of their own imaginations. The human mind cannot grasp the depth of God nor can it accurately portray either afterworld. The going trend for the ambiance of Hell is the “Party Scene”, where there is one big party and all the bad people of the world act out their most evil and lustful fantasies without punishment. Because there would be no God in Hell, people feel there would be no punishment. However, they forget that there is a god in Hell and how deceiving he is; who is Satan.
The Devil will be a friend while a person lives: He will give any one all the evil possessions of this earth and allow them to get away with murder or any heinous crime they want. One has to remember, the devil has limited power here on earth because God has control, but when time comes for the soul to descend to Satan’s world, the tables will turn. There will be no God, which means no mercy, no love, no grace, no truth, no good feeling. Satan is the god of all evil and there is no good in evil, no matter how good it may have felt while here on earth.
Though some people live like there is no Hell, even they have fears. For instance, depending on what evil a person practiced while alive, it will be that same fear that comes upon them in Hell. If someone lived as a racist, a homophobe, a child
abuser et, once in Hell, they will face that which they practiced here on earth, for eternity.
Not to claim knowledge of what goes on in Hell, the point is, people never consider the consequences of their actions, beliefs, and lifestyles, and how they may be affecting someone else. They never consider that Hell could be a place of a person’s most adamant fears rolled into one long nightmare.
Because the fear of death is such a strong governing force of the human mind, the threat of death acts as an advantage to some. Hold a gun to an unarmed person’s head and ask them for anything of value to them, in most instances they will give it. Others value some things such as family, friends and even material substances to the point of death. However, this takes courage and lots of love, and sometimes lust. Nevertheless, when a person’s life is threatened, they will submit to the one holding the gun. Crooks, drugs dealers, robbers, murderers, child molesters, rapist, even businesspeople, congress people, celebrities, and the average working Joe knows that if push comes to shove, a gun and a serious demeanor can give them temporary power over their victim.
Notice Hollywood movies. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the antagonist uses the threat of death to get what they want from the victim. Be it gun point, knives, bombs, alien invasion, war, or with the bare hands, if death is the antagonist’s strategy for the victim or victims, it makes for a adventurous movie. The fear of death makes the plot. Death also makes good sad stories. When the main or supporting character is suddenly stricken with sickness and dies after the audience grows fond of the character, it makes a good story. If there were no death, Hollywood would have no purpose, neither would many crooks.
Eternal life is an option for those who desire to live a fearless life. Free from the threat of death and of Hell. Trusting in God and His promise of a heavenly kingdom will destroy the fear. In fact, many believers of God desire death over life any day. That means that after they die (or their body dies) they will be with God. This mindset takes great faith, faith that what God promised is true and real. Those who have this type faith do not fear death but await it. When those close to them die, it is no great loss or sorrow because they know that of that person had the same faith, then they are with God.
Do not fear death. Fear death only if there is no faith in God. If there is no faith in God then there should be any belief in Satan, and if there is no belief in Satan, then do not fear death because this means there is nothing afterward in the afterlife. But who can be sure that there is anything? The human mind has the ability to imagine the unimaginable and many people have no control over that realm of the mind. Therefore, if the mind says “know” then realize that there is something greater than the mind. Trust God and live.
About the Author
C R Hamilton is a published author of the book CONTENDER: A Defense Against False Prophets and Doctrine and also the author of many other articles concerning life, religion, and society.
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