Searching for Pokemon

Searching for Pokémon

“Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.”  Isaiah 55:6

Pokémon Go has quickly become popular for those who play it on their cellphones.  I don’t know much about the game, but it looks like a lot of fun if you have the time to be running around.  Many Christians are making a huge argument that the game is totally demonic.  There are things that upset people like things evolving and dark forces and searching for power. 

We went through other things that people grabbed on to such as not using certain products because they had demonic signs on the packages.  Don’t have anything in your home that depicts owls because they are demonic.  Don’t let your children watch the Smurfs because they represent something evil.  I could go on and on about things that Christians think should be banned. The only thing I firmly believe comes against things of God is Harry Potter and I won’t go into that here, but there are other things we’ve all followed or played that we shouldn’t have.

From a Christian perspective there are things about Pokémon that I like and that is the diligent searching.  I wish crowds would gather in various places and play a game called, “Searching for Jesus”.  I can envision this game that leads from one Bible scripture to another as you are searching for Jesus.  You see, once those who play the game would eventually find Jesus, they would also find ‘Power’.  We know there is Power in the name of Jesus which enables the faithful Christion to do amazing things.  To name a few:  heal the sick, eternal life, find provision from God, direction from the Holy Spirit, Jesus gives you the power to do all things, be set free from all the sins of your past and give you understanding of things in the Bible.

Those are just a few of the things you find when searching for Jesus.  You will also meet different people like the Apostles, the Prophets and Great Men of old.  You will see things that in our nature could not happen, like a donkey that could talk, a big body of water that split down the middle and a chariot made of fire.  There is so much of what you would call magic in the Bible, but God calls them miracles. Here are some of those things:  Dead people being brought back to life, water coming from a rock in the desert, crippled people just standing up straight, those that were blind for their whole life getting their sight back and so many more. 

How about scary demonic things, where demons made people do things they didn’t want to do, an evil one called Satan who raised up armies of demons to try to control people and cause pain and agony to all they can.  Then there is a place deep under the earth called Hell and Satan and his demons work day and night to cause others to do evil so they will go to Hell which is filled with fire which burns everlasting. 

Pokémon has nothing as exciting and scary as the Bible.  The best thing of all is if you find Jesus, he did an amazing thing and that is this; he loved you so much, he willingly died on a cross.  These people who killed him hung him and this wooden cross and then they took big nails and a big hammer and pounded those nails right through his hands and feet.  He did it so you would never have to go to Hell if you asked him into your heart.

Pokémon has nothing as exciting as this and besides that, the Bible is real, not a game.  It only tells the truth and never a lie.  In a way, Christianity is a game of life, but one in which you get to choose the ending. You have one of two choices and that is Heaven or Hell for eternity.  How do you choose which ending you want?  The answer is in the Bible, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” [John 3:16]  This choice means that when you die, you will go to Heaven.  The other choice for those who have followed the world, here is the end result: “He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.”  [Revelation 14:10]

I can’t say whether or not you should play Pokémon Go, because that is up to you, but I hope you think about all the exciting things in the Bible and who wins and who loses in the ‘game of life’.  The end of it always happens one way or the other.

When is the End of the World?

When is the End of the World?

             “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled;                  

all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”  Matthew 24:6

All the things going on in the world today scare some people and so many have asked me, “Do you think this is going to be the end of the world? I can answer with assuredly, “No”.  I agree its bad out there and plenty of things are going on to make you wonder.  But, if you read your Bible it tells you exactly what is coming in the future and it is not the end of the world.

The disciples were with Jesus and they were asking “When will be the end of the world?”  Jesus answered them in Matthew 24: 6 by saying, “the end is not yet.”  Then he goes on to tell them what all has to happen before the end. He list several things (which we have already seen) and then in verse 8, he says, “These are the beginning terrible things to come”.  In verses 9-14 he tells how people will try to kill you and lawlessness will overtake the world, while the love of God will grow cold.

In Matthew 24:21we are told about a terrible time to come, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.” The Great Tribulation is a 7-year period of time when an Anti-Christ will rise up and rule the world.  He is also known as the Great Deceiver. In Daniel 7:25, he is called ‘the beast’, “He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time” (7 years).   “This Anti-Christ will try to put a mark on the hand or forehead of every person, and those who refuse will be killed.  Those who receive the mark will not enter heaven.” [Revelation 24:9]

At the end of this 7 year period, all the leaders of the earth will meet in Israel, in a place called ‘Megiddo’ for a terrible war called ‘Armageddon’. Then King Jesus will return with all the saints to destroy the forces of evil.  Then He will rule this earth from Jerusalem for a thousand years called the Millennium. In the end, “Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. Revelation 19:20.

Can you imagine a thousand years of peace in which Jesus will live on this earth as our King?  But, we read in Revelation 20:7-8, “Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth.

Now comes the end of the world as we know it now.  “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:1-4

I don’t think we really have to worry that the “End of the World” is coming soon.  It will come in the future, but not soon.  Many other things will happen before that.  The Word of God is always true so relax, look up and expect his return. 

Next week’s Blog is called, “Searching for Pokémon.”

Is Hell Real?

Is Hell Real?

             “He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels                                                      and in the presence of the Lamb.”    Revelation 14:10

Last week I tried to answer an often asked question about going to Heaven and also included several scriptures about Hell.  However, there are many people who do not believe in Hell.  I grew up knowing there was a Heaven and a Hell, but was confronted with “Hell is not a real place and there is no such a person as Satan.”

In 1973, I attended a Cursillo, a movement of the Catholic Church.  Later this brought around the DeColores, an all church movement which I became involved with.  However when I attended Cursillo, a 3-day study of God, we had a question and answer meeting.  The spiritual directors were a Priest and a Reformed Pastor.  Someone asked the question, “Is Hell a real place and is Satan real?”  Both the priest and the pastor agreed that there was no Hell and Satan was not real.  Their explanation was this, “There is evil in this world and we should strive to overcome it in our lives, but everyone will go to heaven when they die.”

I never forgot the horror I felt when I heard this because I knew they were leading people astray with these words.  I had not committed my life to Jesus at that time, but I knew they were wrong.  Later I began to study the Bible and search out things of God and still have a burning desire to learn the truths in the Bible.  Following are the scriptures that confirm “Hell is real.”

Starting with Isaiah 14:15, “Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.”   What is Sheol and what is the Pit?  According to the Hebrew Bible, Sheol is considered to be the home of both the righteous and the wicked, separated into respective compartments.  [Which I wrote about last week] When the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek in ancient Alexandria, the word "Hades" was substituted for Sheol, which you find in the New Testament.

The word, Pit, is mentioned 227 times in the Bible, but not all refer to Hell; many do.  Isaiah 38:18 says, “For Sheol cannot thank you, death cannot praise you; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your truth.”  In other words, once you have died and went down to the Pit, (Hell) is total separation from God and cannot be changed.  Another scripture is found where God gave this Word to Ezekiel 32:18, [NLV], “Son of man, weep for the hordes of Egypt and for the other mighty nations. For I will send them down to the world below in company with those who descend to the Pit.”  Another scripture in Revelation 9:2 talks about the Pit, “And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.”

When the Bible speaks of Hell in any form it uses words like, ‘go down’ or ‘descends’.  It is very consistent about Hell, Sheol, Hades, being ‘below’.  Another term for Hell is the “Abyss” and is found in Romans 10:7,   “Who will descend into the abyss?”  Luke 8:30 reminds us of the time that Jesus and the disciples were in the boat and they landed on the shore of the Gadarenes.  They came across a man who was possessed, “Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him.  And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the Abyss.” Luke 8:30-31.

Revelation 14:10 describe Hell as; “He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.”  Did you know that science says that the inside the earth is fire and brimstone? Brimstone is another name for ‘sulfur’.  When Mt. Saint Helens erupted, 150,000 tons of sulfurous gas spewed out and is one of the reasons people had to leave their homes and it came from inside the earth.

In the book of Revelation 20:10, John gives God’s description of Hell, “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”  Again in Revelation 21:6-8, “And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Bringing this study to a close, and referring to the above scripture, God says that He will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. All who seek after God and receive Christ as their Savior will live forever in the presence of God.  This is about choices we make in life – to serve God or Satan.  Earthly pleasures only last for a while, but living for God lasts for Eternity. 

Next week we will be studying whether or not these troubling times will bring “The End of The World”.

Do You Go Directly to Heaven When You Die?

Do You Go Directly to Heaven When You Die?

              “So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's Bosom.               The rich man also died and was buried.”  Luke 16:22

I have asked this question in the past at some of my classes and usually the response is “Yes, I do” or “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”  I definitely believe that when I die I will be in the presence of Jesus, but in heaven I don’t think so.  Now don’t get upset about this, but let me go on to share what the Bible says. 

Let me begin by saying that all who think they are Christians because they said a few words and go to church Sundays does not constitute a Christian.  Let’s go to Matthew 25:6-13 “And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”  

Why did Jesus say such a thing; they were Believers and they had purity (a virgin is symbolic of purity)? So what was the problem?  They weren’t ready and they weren’t watching because they didn’t have enough oil in their lamps.  We aren’t always ready because our hearts and minds are on other things.  The light within us can grow dim when we are overcome by so many other things in our lives.  We have been warned by the Word of God to keep our eyes on him; trust him to take care of your burdens; have faith that He will find you waiting and watching on that day when he comes.

Now about heaven.  Jesus spoke to Peter in Matthew 16:18 and said, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”  What did he mean by [the gates of hell]? This may sound really off the wall to you, the Bible clearly tells us that down deep in the earth were two places;  one is hell and the other was a holding place for those who lived before Jesus came.  The latter was called, “Abrahams Bosom” and the other place was Hell. 

In Matthew 12:40 Jesus prophesied about himself. “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”   He used the scripture of Jonah to show that when he died, he would spend three days and nights in the heart of the earth where Hell is.

The in Ephesians 4:8-9, Paul writes what took place after Jesus died and before he was taken up into heaven.  “Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men." (Now this, "He ascended"--what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?”  This scripture also says that he led those spirits from their captivity and took them as his own. The gifts he then gave men were freedom from death and the grave.

Then in I Peter 3:19-20, Peter confirms it all by saying, “So he went and preached to the spirits in prison— those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood.”   So we know that Jesus did indeed go down to preach to those who were in this waiting place.

Jesus proclaimed the victory himself in Revelation 1:18, “I am he that lives and was dead; and, now, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”  What were these keys for – they were the keys for the gates of Hell and the Gate of Abraham’s Bosom.  You may wonder what that has to do with going directly to heaven or not.  Let’s read further.

Luke 16:19-31 is the parable of the rich man and the beggar. Read it all to help understand the whole thing.  But the beggar died and was carried by angels to ‘Abraham’s Bosom.  The rich man died and was in Hell and wanted some water and called out to Father Abraham, but Abraham replied that there was a great gulf between them and neither could reach each other.  That gulf was between Hell and Abrahams Bosom which was deep in the earth.

When Jesus was crucified and hanging on the cross, a thief hanging next to him said to him, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”  [Luke 23:42-43] From that time on, we hear nothing about Abraham’s Bosom, but only Paradise.  In 2 Corinthians 12:4, Paul spoke of being caught up into Paradise.

Where we are, Jesus will also be there to greet us.  This study also ties in with the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and when that will take place.

I only know that when I take my last breath angels will carry me to Paradise and I will be with Jesus forever and ever. 

I will continue next week with “Is Hell Real?”