God is to us a God of deliverance; And to God the Lord belong escapes from death.
Hebrews 11: 5
By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found because God took him up.
Luke 9: 27
"But I tell you truly, there are some of those standing here who shall not taste death until they see the kingdom of God."
Revelation 11: 3
"And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth."
Deuteronomy 34: 5 - 6
So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Bethpeor; But no man knows his burial place to this day.
Romans 5: 8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Philippians 1: 21
For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
~ CHRIST DIED IN OUR PLACE SO WE CAN ESCAPE ~
It's been said that death is a certainty of life's journey. But perhaps our understanding of this certainty, is flawed. The Lord, has swallowed death in victory. Though it has been appointed once for man to die (Heb 9:27), He has allowed a means of escape. Enoch it appears simply stepped off the earth with God.
Is it possible the two end-time witnesses (Rev 11:3), have also eluded death these 2 thousand years, having been here among us all along? Did they witness the very life of Jesus to give the world an eye witness end-time accounting, reserved for that time when all faith seems lost (Luke 9: 27) ?
Jesus Christ however provides us with the ultimate death defying escape. He took our place and offers us the escape as a gift.
Today's Footprint is the gain of the gift. As Paul says, to die in the Lord is gain... that is because we are going home to Him. Going home to Life! O death where is thy victory (1 Cor 15:55) ?
~ Chris
I really like your comments here Chris. With a heart filled with gratitude, do I accept the gift of life from Jesus.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how I feel about this. Why then, make death so mysterious? Why does he not explain it fully so that we do not fear it? To say "to die is gain," and to believe that it is...is one thing...but to go through it and suffer is another whole story. I realize that I'd go home to him, but I don't like the end of the journey, and it scares me.
ReplyDeleteAnd if death was something to escape, why does Jesus weep over Lazarus' death?
ReplyDeleteCompassion
ReplyDelete