Birth And Death

 Many years ago, I wrote about Death And Judgement. Now I write about birth and death.

Three special birth
1. Adam from dust (Genesis 2:7)
2. Eve from Adam's rib (Genesis 2:22)
3. Jesus by virgin birth (Matthew 1:18)

Those who die twice
1. The son of Zarephath's widow (1 Kings 17:17-24)
2. The son of the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:35)
3. Dead man came back to life when he touches Elisha's bones (Kings 13:21)
4. The son of the widow at Nain (Luke 7:13-15)
5. The daughter of Jairus (Matthew 9:25)
6. Lazarus (John 11:43-44)
7. Tabitha / Dorcas (Acts 9:36-42)
8. Eutychus (Acts 20:9-12)

Those who by-pass death straight to eternal life
And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. (Genesis 5:24 KJV)
By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. (Hebrews 11:5 KJV)
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. (2 Kings 2:11 KJV)

Those who by-pass death straight to eternal death
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. (Revelations 19:20 KJV)

Sons of Korah

Now Korah son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took two hundred fifty prominent Israelite men who were leaders of the community and representatives in the assembly, and they rebelled against Moses. (Numbers 16:1-2 CSB)

The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, all Korah's people, and all their possessions. (Numbers 16:32 CSB)

However, the sons of Korah did not die that day. (Numbers 26:11 NLT)

God was merciful and the descendants of Korah who survived. Not only did they survived, they were given the opportunity to write psalms 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 84, 85, 87, 88.

Moses Struck The Rock Twice

"Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle." And Moses took the staff from before the Lord, as he commanded him.
Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?" And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. (Numbers 20:8-11 ESV)

Moses struck the rock twice when God told him to speak to the rock. Because of that, he cannot lead Israel into the promised land.

And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them." (Numbers 20:12 ESV)

But earlier on another occasion, God did asked Moses to strike the rock once.

Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink." And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. (Exodus 17:6 ESV)

The rock is only allowed to be struck once.

For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. (Romans 6:10 ESV)

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:27-28 ESV)

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. (1 Peter 3:18 NIV)

Because the rock was Christ and He died once for our sins.

I would not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:1-4 MEV)

Think I got this verse and the idea that rock was Christ from some YouTube sermon by Adrian Rogers but I have forgotten which sermon.

God's Desire

This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:4 ESV)

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9 ESV)

Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? (Ezekiel 18:23 ESV)

For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live." (Ezekiel 18:32 ESV)

It is God's desire that all people be saved. So He sent His only begotten Son to die for the sin of the world so that all who believe in Him shall be saved.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16 KJV)

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." (John 6:40 ESV)

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV)

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. (Titus 2:11 NET)

For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all people, especially of those who believe. (1 Timothy 4:10 ESV)

Giving Glory To God By Believing Him

He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. (Romans 4:20-21 KJV)

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. (Hebrews 11:6 NLT)

Let us once again re-visit God's KPI, that is, the only way to please God is to believe in Him and His Word.

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. (2 Corinthians 1:19 ESV)

The Millennial Kingdom

Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4 NLT)
The Anointed One will set up His kingdom and rule with the saints for a thousand years.

He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:2 NIV)
Satan will be bound during this thousand years.

They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:9 NIV)
And no longer shall each one teach his neighbour and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (Jeremiah 31:34 ESV)
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD's glory, as the water covers the sea. (Habakkuk 2:14 CSB)
The world is filled with the knowledge of God.

In her, a nursing infant will no longer live only a few days, or an old man not live out his days. Indeed, the one who dies at a hundred years old will be mourned as a young man, and the one who misses a hundred years will be considered cursed. (Isaiah 65:20 CSB)
People born during the millennium will live a very long time.

Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." (Matthew 26:27-29 NIV)
Jesus will drink with His apostles again.

When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the sea. They came up across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the encampment of the saints, the beloved city. Then fire came down from heaven and consumed them. The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:7-10 CSB)
There will be a short break as the Millennial Kingdom transits from the old earth to the new earth.

"See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. (Isaiah 65:17 NIV)
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. (Revelation 21:1 NLT)
The Millennial Kingdom becomes the Eternal Kingdom!

Looking Forward to New Citizenship

While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. (Daniel 2:34-35 NIV)

True Christians should not be proud of their race, culture or country. After all, you belong to that race culture or country for a life time of about 70 to 80 years. And they will be gone, smashed and broken into pieces and the wind will sweep them away without a trace. We should look forward to be citizens of an eternal kingdom.

"In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. (Daniel 2:44 NIV)

Indeed, nations or kingdoms that do not serve you will perish; such nations will be totally destroyed. (Isaiah 60:12 NET)

But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:13 NIV)

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18 CSB)

His Part And Ours - Grace, Faith And Works

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. (Romans 4:19 ESV)

Faith is always difficult to explain. If God promised us something, do we just sit and wait for it to be fulfilled? Is it not written in Romans 4:21 that "what God had promised, he was also able to do"? What else do we need to do? Well, someone by the name of J Sidlow Baxter wrote a whole book (His Part And Ours: God's Promises and Our Responsibilities in the Christian Life by J. Sidlow Baxter | Goodreads) about it, detailing God's part and our part.

But after listening to a sermon by Adrian Rogers: How to Be Strong in the Faith (2052) - YouTube, I suddenly found an easy explanation. It is about sex, so it will catch attention.

When God promised Abraham that he would have a son, Abraham did not do nothing and wait for his son to pop out. Abraham had sex with Sarah. He had to do his part. God worked the miracle through Abraham's action.

He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. (Romans 4:20-21 KJV)

孔子 Self-Perception

子曰：「吾十有五而志于學，三十而立，四十而不惑，五十而知天命，六十而耳順，七十而從心所欲，不踰矩。」(論語2為政4)

The Master said, "At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning. At thirty, I stood firm. At forty, I had no doubts. At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven. At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth. At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing what was right." (Lunyu 2:4, translation by James Legge)

Buddha's first noble truth is right perception (正見). But if you do not have the Word of God, you cannot have right perception.

Grace And Luck

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD. (Proverbs 16:33 ESV,NIV)

Luck is grace without ascribing glory to God.

When someone strike lottery, he thinks he is lucky. But according to Proverbs 16:33, it is God that allows him to win.

Children that are born into Christian families are lucky to have a chance to hear the Gospel. When they believed in the Gospel, they are saved by grace.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)

Important To Experience The Grace Of God

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10 ESV)

Every true Christian would have experienced the grace of God. It is how he or she is saved. Every true believer must understand God's grace. It does not matter if he or she does not know theology. You do not even need to know the whole Bible.

But a preacher or pastor who knows theology and have Bible knowledge and preaches it without grace, he will produce Pharisees.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. (Matthew 23:23 BSB)

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! (Psalm 34:8 ESV)