Many people, either don’t know or don’t understand about Paradise. Under the Old Testament Law, a person had to die in total righteousness. A person could live a perfect life for years, every sin forgiven. If that person died with all sins forgiven, his soul would go to a department in Hell called Abraham’s Bosom. Man had sinned in the Garden of Eden and could no longer live with God forever. Satan had control over the Soul of man. If man lived a righteous life, he could not be punished, but his soul was confined in Paradise, locked away from the presence of God. If man had lived a perfect life, but then had fallen into a trap of sin and died, his soul would go to hell and be tormented until it was brought for judgment at the Great White Throne Judgment. There are five departments of Hell named in the Bible: 1. Hell, the torment chamber. 2. Abraham’s Bosom, where the righteous souls were held. 3. The Abyss or Bottomless Pit. This is where Satan will be held for 1,000 years. 4. Tartarus. This is where the fallen angels are held until judgment. 5. The Lake of Fire. This is where all evil will be cast at the final day. Even Satan himself. Revelation 20:10.
Since Jesus gave His life before His arising, He also being obedient to God’s Word, knew He had to go to Paradise, but He was going there to set the captive free. The Bible teaches us, that Jesus went and preached to those that were held captive, took the keys of hell from Satan and loosed all Saints from Paradise and led the captivity free to the third Heaven where God is. Ephesians 4:7-9. Jesus told the thief, “Today” you will be with me in Paradise, not tomorrow or next week, but today. The Bible tells us in Matthew, that just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. Jesus had been gone for three days when He appeared to Mary in the garden and said, “Touch me not: for I have not yet ascended to my Father.” Where had He been for three days and three nights? You see, all were born a curse of Adam and Eve. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob needed a redeemer also. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Jesus preached unto them and they had to accept Him as their Saviour also. When Jesus gave up the ghost, He and the repentant thief went to Paradise, right then. The Bible has so much for us to learn about our Lord. We just need to read it. We all are going through trying times right now but all we can do is give all of our problems and cares to Jesus and allow Him to take care of them for us. When we were lost and on our way to Hell, we had no one that could or would take care of us, but now we have Jesus. If God is on our side, who can fight against us? We pray that you are saved, but only you and God knows for sure. You can only be saved when God places you under conviction for your sins, you realize that Hell is real and that’s where you are going, unless you are saved. Once you are under conviction, all you need to do is confess that you’re a sinner, admit you believe that Jesus is God’s Son and that God raised Him from the dead. Ask Jesus to save your soul. Then just talk to Him and ask for His help. †
Fight For Your Miracle
God is a, “God of Miracles”. All through His Word, we learn of the great miracles He performed for His people. You may not understand what we’re saying, so let us explain. You were A God’s people before you were saved. God has His seed and Satan has his seed. This is clearly explained in Matthew Chapter 13:24-30 and then 13:37-43. God’s seed or shall we say, “God’s People” will be called unto repentance. At that time, we have to make a decision to accept Jesus as our redeemer or reject Him. Should we decide to accept Him as our Saviour, then we become a child of God. We become heirs and joint heirs with Christ, since we both are children of God. He, of course, is the only begotten Son of God, but we have been adopted into the family, by accepting the price He paid for our redemption. There are many other scriptures that verify what we’re saying. One that comes to mind, right now, is John 17:9. He tells His Father, “God” that He’s not praying for the world, “Satan’s Seed”, but for God’s children. Satan is doing all he can to stop the Christians in these last days. He doesn’t want God’s children to be blessed, because if we are blessed, the lost will see and they might accept Christ also. Satan already has their soul and doesn’t want to lose it, so he will fight us tooth and nail to hinder us from witnessing for Christ. †
A Long Hard Road
No one said the road would be smooth or the way would be easy. Mountains are placed before us every day. Obstacles are placed in our way to see how we will handle them. We are sure that some, that are reading this article, have different trials going on at this very moment. It might be a marriage problem, a financial problem, an addiction problem, whether it be you or someone you care about or it may be a combination of some of the above. The problem is not the issue, it’s the solution that we all must focus on. The problems are in our lives for a reason. Every problem that arisesin your life, is to get you to lean more on Christ and not so much on man. We have become a nation that places their trust in doctors, medicines, lawyers, court systems, government and all walks of mankind. God wants us to fully place all of our trust in Him. Believe and receive. †
Offer This Month
Laren McRae, a member here at Crossroads Church, has recorded his first CD entitled, “Almighty God”. There is a total of eight songs on this CD and you will be blessed by them. If you are intersted in purchasing a copy ask For Offer # CD-194 for a Love Gift of $10.00 or more.
