This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one. (I John 5:6-8, see Blood, and Water)
Do you want to live forever? Then, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. (John 5:24-27)
Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. (John 5:28-30) Ours souls, ALL of us, will spend eternity somewhere, either in the new heaven and new earth (Revelations 21-22:5), or hell and the eternal lake of fire (Revelations 20:11-15). We will study in more detail in a future lesson from Jesus' teaching that everyone who died before His resurrection either go to "Abraham's Bosom" or "torments in Hades" (Luke 16:22-23). "Abraham's Bosom", "Paradise", "heaven" all refer to the same place, because ...to be absent from the body [is] to be present with the Lord. (II Corinthians 5:8) "Hades", "hell", "Sheol", "lake of fire" all refer to the same place.
Every single human being who has ever lived will have to appear before the "judgment seat" of God, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (II Corinthians 5:10) Whether our judgement happens in a moment or is played out before others doesn't matter. What matters is that we will be judged by God, and His judgment is final! There's no changing our minds after the fact! Just like Jesus explained about the ones who go to Hades vs. the ones who go to Abraham's Bosom, ...between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ (Luke 16:26)
First we'll be judged on what we believe, as Jesus said, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life. Those who don't believe in God, His Son nor are filled with His Holy Spirit go to hell. That's it! No long drawn out explanation by God. But for those of us who do believe in God, His Son, and are filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30), then Jesus promises, “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work." (Revelations 22:12) But this everlasting life and rewards isn't withheld from us until after our physical bodies die. If we choose to believe in Christ Jesus as our Savior and Lord, ...the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:11) For Jesus said, I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
Why should we believe any of this to be true? "If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. (John 5:31-40)
We can believe all these things Jesus said to be true, because they have been confirmed: His coming was prophecied accurately and in great detail throughout the Old Testament; God spoke clearly from heaven to the hearing of thousands of witnesses at his baptism saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22); and the entire New Testament is documented fact from eye witnesses of Jesus life and resurrection. "I do not receive honor from men. But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. [Luke 24:27] But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (John 5:41-47)
We who believe have to have the same attitude as Jesus did, not worry whether people believe us or not, not even worry if they believe the Word of God or not, but just Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. (II Timothy 4:2) But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. (II Timothy 2:23) God doesn't need us to prove anything to anyone! He will prove all that is written in the scriptures to be the Truth, especially the things pertaining to His Son and everlasting life; Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11) Let's not be life the Jews who refused to believe The Truth, eventhough "it" was staring them in their face! (John 5:18)
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