Author: hillturnfs

In ancient times names were more important than they are today. Back then a person’s name usually had a specific meaning tied to their family’s hopes and expectations for them. The meaning attached to people’s names was common knowledge. Look at how often in the Bible a person’s name was immediately followed by the meaning. If it’s in the Bible that way it must be important to God. God doubles down on the importance of names by changing the names of several of the important players in the Bible narrative: Abram became Abraham, Sarai became Sarah, Jacob became Israel, Saul became Paul and Simon became Peter.

I count 120 different names for Christ in the Bible. Each name for Jesus is a reflection of one of his attributes and when viewed together give us a picture of who Jesus is. All the names of Jesus together cannot do justice to the glory, honor and majesty of Jesus Christ. God is revealing to us what he wants us to know about Jesus down here on earth. In heaven we’ll know a lot more about our Savior than we know now. When I reflect on the names of Jesus Christ I’m thrilled. I’m like a kid in a candy store. My soul rejoices! Imagine how much more joy we’ll experience in heaven as we learn more about the Lord Jesus for an eternity. You can find all 120 names for Jesus in a good Bible guide. In this blog I’ll just list twelve of my favorite names for Jesus:

1. Son of God – Matthew 16:16 – Simon Pewter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

2. Christ – Matthew 1:16 – And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of who was born Jesus who is called Christ.

3. Messiah – Daniel 9:25 – Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall.

4. Son of Man – Matthew 16:27 – (Jesus speaking) – For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

5. Lion of the tribe of Judah – Revelation 5:5 – But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”

6. King of Israel – John 1:49 – Nathaniel answered and said to Him. “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

7. King of Kings – Revelation 19:16 – And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

8. Son of the Most High – Luke 1:32 – He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.

9. Heir of all things – Hebrews 1:1-2 – God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.

10. Judge – Acts 10:42 – And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.

11. Advocate – ! John 2:1 – My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

12. Redeemer – Isaiah 60:16 – You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles, and milk the breat of kings; You shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Of all the people who have ever lived Jesus was unique. Jesus was wholly human and wholly God at the same time with no mixing of the two natures. The Bible declares that Jesus was as much God as if he had never been human, and as much man as if he had never been God. This is known as the hypostatic union. That’s amazing! This was one of the miracles of the incarnation, along with the conception of Christ through the Holy Spirit. Jesus was a Spirit being in heaven before the incarnation. When the Son of God joined himself to a human body at Bethlehem it was an eternal arrangement. When Jesus ascended back to heaven he didn’t revert back to his original form as an invisible Spirit. Jesus will continue to manifest himself in his resurrected physical body throughout the ages. God knows Jesus can fellowship best with us in heaven when he looks like us. We’re unable to look upon the glory of God directly.

There are people in the world who don’t believe God came to earth in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Let me inform everyone the incarnation was prophesied in the Bible ten times, twice in the Old Testament by the prophets Isaiah and Micah, and eight times in the New Testament by heavenly announcements to Mary, Joseph, Zacharias, Elizabeth, Simeon, Anna, the wise men and the shepherds:

Isaiah 7:14 – Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

Micah 5:2 – But you Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting.

In addition to the ten prophesies about the incarnation of Jesus, the Bible contains at least another 60 prophecies surrounding the life of Jesus Christ and all 60 prophecies were fulfilled by the life of Jesus and documented as fact by Jewish and Roman historical records in addition to numerous eyewitness testimonies of that time in history that were recorded in the Bible. There are over 1,000 prophecies in the Holy Bible, 500 of which have been fulfilled and documented. God put these prophecies in his Word to prove he is God. Do you know how many prophecies have been fulfilled by all the other world religions throughout history combined? Zero. None. Why is that? Because they’re all fake. Do we have any actual historical records to validate the claims of any of the other fake religions? Nope. Do we have any eyewitness testimony confirming the truth of any of the other world religions? Nada. How can anyone believe the tenets of any religion where none of their claims are provable and there are no recorded miracles and no eyewitness testimony?

We have the ramblings of one person who started each fake religion for their own selfish reasons and we’re supposed to believe based on that? Give me a break. Christianity is the only religion with a proven set of facts, hundreds if not thousands of eyewitnesses, and 2,000 years of proof that Jesus has changed the lives countless millions of people around the world. It’s a slam dunk to me. What do you think? Don’t you think you ought to at least have a look? Maybe read the Holy Bible to see what all the fuss is about? Maybe go to church and really pay attention to what the pastor is saying? It might keep you out of the frying pan for a billion trillion years.

We know Jesus came down from heaven to die on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins so that man can be reconciled to God. We also know Jesus came to destroy the devil and his works by bringing salvation to man. God never does anything without a good reason, and in this case, there were at least eleven additional reasons for the incarnation of Jesus:

1. To reveal the invisible God
2. To fulfill prophecy
3. To guarantee the Davidic covenant
4. To provide the believer with a high priest
5. To provide an example for believers

1 Peter 2:21 – For this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.

1 John 2:6 – He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

6. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord
7. To heal the brokenhearted
8. To set at liberty the bruised
9. To escape the historical curse

Romans 5:12 – Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.

10. To give life

John 3:36 – (Jesus speaking) – And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.

11. To glorify God the Father

John 17:4 – (Jesus speaking) – I have glorified You on earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.

John 14:13 – (Jesus speaking) – And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

When I examine the triune Godhead what sticks out to me is the fact that God the Father is a homer. He pretty much stays in the office (i.e. heaven) and leaves all the out of town travel to Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I’m not being flippant. Often the best way to explain something is by relating it to something we’re familiar with. Some people think Jesus never left heaven until the incarnation and Jesus was only involved in the New Testament. That’s incorrect. Jesus created the universe and he’s been actively involved in his creation all along, both in the Old and New Testaments. The New Testament focuses on the life of Jesus, and rightfully so, since the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important event in human history. One moment all of humanity was lost in their sins and the very next moment, with the death of Jesus, we’re all rescued from hell and given a second chance, an opportunity to live forever in heaven. Jesus’ death paid our sin debt to God. Jesus picked up our tab and our eternal destiny was changed forever. We were all headed for hell and Jesus diverted us to heaven by his sacrificial death. Praise God for his love, mercy and grace!

What a lot of people don’t realize is Jesus was also very active in the Old Testament but he wasn’t obvious about it. In the Old Testament every time that I can think of that God appears it’s actually Jesus who was manifested. Pre-Bethlehem appearances of Christ are known as theophanies. Let’s look at some examples. In Genesis 18, it was Jesus who appeared to Abraham in human form (along with two angels) and dined with Abraham in his tent. In Genesis 32, it was Jesus who wrestled all night long with Jacob. Jesus appeared to Moses on three occasions. The first time Jesus appeared to Moses was on Mount Sinai where Jesus appeared as a burning bush. The second time Jesus appeared it was as a pillar of fire to lead Israel to the promised land (Exodus 23:20). The third and final time Jesus appeared to Moses was chronicled in Exodus chapter 33. Moses asked to see the glory of God and Jesus allowed Moses to see his back side after he passed by, because no man may see God’s face and live.

In addition to showing up in the Old Testament as God, Jesus also made numerous appearances as an angel. The archangel Gabriel, the messenger of God, appears in the Old Testament 17 times and each time he is identified. That’s significant because whenever an angel appeared in the Old Testament and he’s unnamed there’s a good chance it was Jesus himself. Let’s look at some examples. The one appearance of Jesus we remember the most is the Old Testament story of Daniel in the lion’s den. It was Jesus who appeared to Daniel as an angel and shut up the mouth of the lion. It was Jesus who appeared to Hagar in the desert and ministered unto her. Remember the angel who appeared to Elijah and Gideon? He was also Jesus. When Moses died God appointed Joshua as the new leader of Israel. It was Jesus who appeared to Joshua as an angel and identified himself as the captain of the Lord’s host. Jesus wanted to assure Joshua that he would be with him as he was with Moses.

Jesus created the universe and it’s Jesus who is intimately involved in every detail of his creation. God’s Word confirms the chief cornerstone of both creation and salvation is Jesus Christ. In any situation in life where you need a decision always look for the person in charge, the decider, the one calling the shots, for the answer. Otherwise, you’re just wasting your time. When it comes to our life, our salvation, and our peace, that decider, the person in charge, is Jesus Christ. Your daddy won’t help you and the Pope can’t save you. You must personally go to the decider of your fate for forgiveness and believe that you have it. The Bible says Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Nobody gets to heaven without faith in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.

All other religions are fake and their gods are lifeless. You never see any books on the shelves by adherents of these fake religions saying how much their god has done for them. Why is that? Because their god is not the true god. He’s a fake. The founders of all the fake religions in the world are still in a grave somewhere. With Christianity, the tomb of Jesus is empty because he is risen! Jesus is in heaven right this minute sitting at the right hand of power as our intercessor with God the Father. God has made all the information needed for our salvation available in his Word, our Holy Bible, for anyone to read. Read the Bible and be saved unto eternal life in heaven forever. Study the Bible to know God.

We know Jesus is the judge over everything, the decider of our fate, so why wait another minute if you haven’t given your life to him? If you die before accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior you’ve waited too long. If Jesus comes in the clouds and raptures the saints before you make your decision you’ve waited too long. If you find yourself standing before the Great White Throne for judgment on the last day you’ve waited too long. When the angel of God grabs you by the arm and throws you into the lake of fire the thing that’ll cross your mind just about that time is. “I shouldn’t have waited so long.” If you’re reading this blog it’s not too late for you. Pray the sinner’s prayer to God right now. The Bible says now is the day of your salvation!

2 Corinthians 6:2 – Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Mark 1:15 – The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!

John 14:6 – I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Acts 4:12 – Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

Luke 19:10 – For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Romans 10:9 – That id you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

John 8:32 – (Jesus speaking) – And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

I find it kind of odd that most of the people in the world believe in a God they can’t see, haven’t talked to, and haven’t heard from and yet when God does show up in person, in the flesh, then most of those same people don’t believe he’s God. God in the incarnation of Jesus doesn’t look the part. Jesus isn’t what people expected God to look like. Jesus doesn’t look scary enough. In the wilderness God attempted to talk to the people of Israel in his glory, in his true form, but it didn’t work out too well. When God showed up as a pillar of fire and as an ominous cloud full of lightning and thunder the people naturally planted their faces in the dirt and were terrified and speechless. When the Israelites recovered their composure a little bit they managed to run away from God screaming their head off and hiding their faces. God decided to fellowship with his creation in a less threatening guise, as a human being just like them. The lightning, thunder and pillar of fire are still in there, you just can’t see it. God is still God, he just looks like Jesus now and he’ll remain in the human form of Jesus for the rest of eternity in heaven so as to not be scary to us.

Other religions in the world acknowledge Jesus as a remarkable person, a noteworthy Jew and a prophet, but they don’t think he’s God. They aren’t giving Jesus his due. Some see Jesus as a lesser deity, somehow inferior to God the Father. Let me be clear about this, Jesus has always existed as part of the triune Godhead along with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. There is only one God but he exists in three persons. Jesus is God. The Holy Spirit is God. God the Father is God. I know it’s confusing. That’s why I know it has to be true. God the Father decided to create the universe but when it came to the actual work of creating everything we see, that was left to Jesus. Jesus made the earth, our universe, and he made you and me. That means Jesus Christ should be the central focus of every human being on earth. Jesus is the Creator of all things and we’re not giving him the glory and honor that the Lord Jesus deserves.

Every person is born with one purpose in life and we all have the same purpose whether we know it or not. We’re all put here on earth to seek out God and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, because Jesus is God. Our life is a lot like that Predator movie where the mercenaries are dropped off onto a deserted planet and they don’t know why. They have to discover why they’re there and once they do, how they can survive. It’s the same with us. If our life was that movie, then God is the one who puts us on earth. God would play the part of the Predator in the movie of our life but we’ll change his name to Savior. In our movie God is not trying to kill us. Just the opposite. God is trying to keep us from destruction, to keep us from rushing headlong to our spiritual death. God is trying to save us from ourselves.

In the movie of our life God keeps chasing after us and calling us to himself. God in his love, mercy and grace has provided his Word for our guidance. Most important of all, God has provided the atoning death of his Son Jesus Christ to remove our sins. We need only to take the time to evaluate the overwhelming evidence of the truth of God and his Christ and then believe it in order to be saved unto eternal life in heaven and get off this accursed planet. Some will make it to heaven because they took the time to check out the Christian faith and give their lives to Jesus. Sadly, most will perish because they didn’t know they should seek God or didn’t know where to find him when they looked for him.

I know the answer! There’s no other way to safely exit this planet other than by faith in Jesus. It’s heaven or bust! For the Christian believer it’s heaven and for the nonbeliever it’s bust. To “bust” is to go to hell and spend eternity in the lake of fire and brimstone God created for Satan and his demons. I’ve told you the truth and the truth will make you free. All you have to do is act on the information I’ve given you. You now know the script of the movie of our lives. It shouldn’t be called Predator, although the plot line is similar. Let’s change the name of our movie to, “Stalker,” because God pursues us all our lives, to the point where God is known as the, “Hound of heaven.” God loves us enough to never give up on us until the moment of our death. I can personally attest that I was a long time backslider but God relentlessly pursued me for 40 years until I returned to fellowship with my Father. When you’re hunted by God you know it; you can feel it.

In Matthew 22:43, Jesus has given us the most important question in the universe for our consideration. Consider it carefully, because the fate of your eternal soul depends on your answer. Jesus asks all of us, “What do you think about the Christ?” “Whose Son is He?” The Bible declares both the preexistence and deity of Christ. The Apostles Peter, John and Paul taught that Jesus preexisted as did John the Baptist. Jesus himself taught he was God before the foundation of the world. If you don’t believe this you’re not a true Christian believer and the wrath of God abides on you.

John 17:5 – (Jesus speaking) – And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

John 8:58 – (Jesus speaking) – Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.

What was Jesus doing before his incarnation? Jesus was communing with the Father. Jesus was busy creating, and more importantly, controlling the universe. Without Jesus everything in our universe would cease to exist. All the elemental building blocks of our universe would simply melt away without Jesus holding the atoms together. When the old earth is burned up one day to make way for the new earth Jesus will simply withdraw his controlling hand to make it happen. Jesus made the world and he keeps it running. Jesus is the sole judge of the nations of the earth and everyone on it. Only Jesus can let you into heaven and only Jesus can sentence you to hell. The Bible says Jesus is the one whom you should fear. You’d best pay attention! That makes Jesus the most important person in the world to you and to everyone else, both now and for eternity.

And yet most of the people in the world give Jesus the back of their hand without another thought. They’ll rue the day they rejected the mercy and grace of Almighty God! They don’t know what they’re doing. Most of the people in the world have rejected Jesus as God when the proof is right there in the Bible for anyone to discover. When they stand before Jesus on the last day they’ll have no excuse. Those who reject Jesus are no better than the Jews and Roman soldiers who rejected Jesus back then and crucified him. Their fate will be the same, an eternity in the lake of fire and brimstone. See, I have told you. I implore all atheists as well as Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist adherents to listen to me to before it’s too late.

Anyone with no religion or from any of the fake religions in the world who doesn’t accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior before they die will receive the wrath of God on the last day. Their destiny is to be thrown into the lake of fire forever. One hundred billion years is only a blink of the eyes in eternity. It’s critically important for everyone of all faiths to give Christianity an honest look because the evidence for our God and for Jesus Christ is overwhelming. I challenge everyone of all faiths, or no faith, to prove me wrong. I know that Christianity offers peace with God and the peace of God. Salvation doesn’t require us to do any good works and you have the promise of God that you’re saved if you believe in Jesus and God cannot lie. No other religion except Christianity makes this promise of eternal life free to everyone just for the asking.

All of the fake religions of the world demand good works from their members and never give any assurance that they’ve ever done enough to reach heaven. Here’s a secret they don’t want you to know: You can’t earn your way to heaven. Salvation is free to anyone and everyone. I promise you’ll never regret it if you compare Christianity with what you now have, whatever that is. The emptiness you feel inside now is all the proof you need that you’ve made the wrong choice. All these fake religions are run by greedy, power hungry people guarding their own rice bowls. They use the fear of damnation to keep members giving them money, working for them and attending their services, which is why they dare not give their adherents any assurance of heaven. If they did the treadmill would stop and their whole evil enterprise would collapse.

I’m sad to say that the worst offender is the Roman Catholic church. Don’t believe me? Compare every one of the tenets of the Catholic church with what the Word of God says and you’ll discover they are polar opposites. Throughout the centuries the Popes and the Catholic clergy have always implemented doctrines that benefited them at the expense of serving their flocks and the God they say they serve. The Catholic clergy are the modern day equivalent of the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. They are a, “brood of vipers.” Jesus Christ is the most important person in the universe and the Catholic church has stolen his honor and glory and turned him into a “cookie” used only during mass.

If you want to find God seek him out yourself. Don’t depend on others to tell you about God or you’ll be disappointed. Seek out Jehovah, the one true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Your eternal soul is too important for you to be wrong about God so make sure you serve the right one. There’s still time for you to find the right path to salvation and you’ll know it in your soul when you find it. It’s called the peace of God. Here’s your chance. Don’t blow it. Take the leap of faith right now!

John 1:3 – All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

John 14:6 – (Jesus speaking) – I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

John 10:30 – (Jesus speaking) – I and My Father are One.

Isaiah 1:18 – Come now and let us reason together, says the Lord.

Isaiah 54:22 – (God speaking) – Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.

Ephesians 2:8-8 – For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

John 8:32 – (Jesus speaking) – And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

One way to talk about angels is to compare them with us since angel and man are both special creations of God who will one day serve and worship God together in heaven forever. While angel and man are both eternal spirits we get to heaven by different paths. God made both man and angel to serve him in heaven and for fellowship. God didn’t want his creatures to be slaves or robots so he created man and angel both with the free will to decide whether or not to serve God. Angels and men are distinct persons each with their own personalities. As individuals each man and each angel has their own intelligence, will, emotions and spirit. Angels are superior to us. Angels are stronger than us, smarter than us and swifter than us but this is only temporary while the spirit of man is in his physical body. Man and angel are both eternal spirit beings and once man gets to heaven we’ll be more on par with the angels. In fact, Scripture says we’ll be above the angels in heaven and we’ll be a judge over them.

Let’s review what we’ve previously discussed about the state of man. At conception the Holy Spirit gives each new human life just beginning a piece of God, an eternal spirit. We know life begins a conception when we look at the life of Jesus. The Holy Spirit was actually Jesus’ father. The Holy Spirit supernaturally provided the male half of the chromosomes needed to fertilize Mary’s egg and make a human being. At the same time the Spirit of Jesus entered the new embryo. Do you really believe the Holy Spirit visited Mary a second time later in her pregnancy to add the Spirit of Jesus when her growing fetus had reached the point where it qualified as a “life”? Not a chance. If it were so the Bible would have told us. To die in our place on the cross Jesus had to be fully human and that means he had to be conceived and born the same way all human beings are. Jesus didn’t receive any special favors. The only difference with Jesus was the Holy Spirit replaced the male in the birth equation. What you see with Jesus is the same way it happens with us. Jesus’ Spirit arrived at conception which proves ours does too. Life begins at conception and God’s Word confirms it.

At the exact instant of conception we’re granted immortality because we receive an eternal spirit from God. Think about that for a moment! We cannot die! Our physical bodies will grow old and die but our spirit is eternal. God gave us a physical body and placed us on this earth for a reason. Our brief human life is our “testing time, ” our probation period to see if we’ll choose to serve God or Satan. God is giving us a chance to exercise the free will he has given us. God’s Word was provided as a guide so we can seek out God and make the right decision. What good would it do for God to test us without telling us the rules by which we are to be tested? The unborn and children up to the age of decision are innocent and therefore if they die God in his mercy grants them eternal life.

The age of decision, when we’re old enough to make a decision about God, varies with everyone but it’s usually around the age of twelve as it was for me. I know some people who were saved at age eight or nine. It all depends on the maturity of the individual. Only God knows when that time is for each person. What we can be sure of is everyone’s probation period ends at the same time which is when we die. Anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior before they die is given eternal life in heaven by a merciful God. Anyone who rejects Jesus outright or fails to make a decision about God before they die then their sins remain with them and they’ll go to hell when they die. They’ll be judged on the last day by Jesus and sentenced to the lake of fire for all eternity. A hundred billion years is just a blink of the eyes in eternity.

So with human beings God is dealing with us all individually on an ongoing basis. Everyone has their own personal journey through life with their birth, probation period, decision whether to serve God or not and their death. Angels, on the other hand, have a totally different experience. Angels were created by God before creation. God made all the angels at one time fully formed and their number is fixed. The Bible tells us there are too many angels to count but God knows the exact number of angels he made and God knows each angel by name. As a created being like man, the angels were also give the free will to choose whether or not to serve God. The angels had their own probation period which started when they were created and ended when every angel had to decide whether to continue to serve God or go with Satan. That time was when the war in heaven occurred. With angels having been given a free will the war in heaven was inevitable. There was no other possibility. It was inevitable some angels would choose not to serve God and then what? To disobey God is a sin and sin is not allowed in heaven. The fallen angels were not going to leave heaven voluntarily so of course the fight was on.

Satan led the rebellion in heaven alongside a third of the angels. When these fallen angels were defeated God expelled them out of heaven and threw them to the earth where we know them as demons. Demons are here in the hundreds of millions. Once all the angels in heaven made their free will decision to serve God their choice was locked in by God. The free will option was removed from the angels so that angels can no longer change their minds. God made the angels currently in heaven, “not able to sin.” We don’t have to worry about another rebellion in heaven. In like manner, God made the fallen angels, “not able not to sin.” The wages of sin is eternal death so why aren’t the demons already in the lake of fire and brimstone God made for them? The answer is, they will be. God is using them temporarily on earth to test man before they are sent to their ultimate fate.

I used to worry all the time about going to heaven. I knew I was going to heaven but I didn’t think I was good enough to stay once I got there. I think a lot of people feel that way. I was thinking about it from my perspective and not God’s. It’s not about us and what we do or what we deserve. It’s all about Jesus and what he did for us on the cross. It’s about God’s love, mercy and grace toward his beloved children. I was also afraid that after I got to heaven they would discover I was there by mistake and send me straight to hell. I thought I’d slip up and start sinning again and that would be it. One mistake and I’d be shipped out of heaven. All that fear and worry was for nothing. Salvation unto eternal life by God’s grace is final. Once your name goes into the book of life it can’t be removed. God doesn’t make mistakes. God doesn’t change his mind. The Bible says God is unchangeable, and so he is. God knows we’re all unworthy of heaven on our own and that’s the point. Salvation is a free gift of God by his grace because he loves us that much. God loves us more than we’ll ever know this side of heaven. God loves dispensing mercy and grace.

Eternal life is not earned, there’s no way it can be. Eternal life is a precious gift of God for our faith in Jesus. I know I’m repeating myself but it’s really important. God doesn’t make mistakes and God never changes his mind. If you’re in heaven you’re meant to be there and you’re never going to leave. God made you and chose you to be in heaven with him before he laid the foundation of the world. You’re the equal of everyone in heaven and Jesus is expecting to see you there. Hold your head up high because you belong there. Praise God for his love, mercy and grace! If you’re in heaven you’ve made it through you probation period. You passed the test. So has every other person you meet. Every angel you encounter has passed his test too or he wouldn’t be in heaven. Rejoice together all you saved souls!

We don’t ever have to worry about sinning in heaven because God will lock in our decision to serve God once we get to heaven by making us, “not able to sin,” just like he did for the angels. On the one hand God promises believers they can live with him in heaven forever while on the other hand God also says sin is not allowed in heaven. If we were allowed to go to heaven and sin God couldn’t keep both promises. If we sinned in heaven God would have to throw us out but how could he if he promised to keep us in heaven? God’s Word would be broken if he threw us out of heaven or if he let us stay. The only way for God to ensure his Word is fulfilled is to make sure we can’t sin in heaven in the first place. There is no other choice. That’s easy for God to do since with God nothing is impossible.

Belief in angels is found in the history of all nations. I’ve never come across a single person who doesn’t believe in angels. I’ve had plenty of people tell me they don’t believe in God. I find that odd since a belief in angels should translate to a belief in God because those who believe in angels also agree angels are made by a higher authority (i.e. God). Deep down in their soul every person knows there’s a God. The Bible tells us God put eternity into the hearts of men which explains the universal belief in angels. Those who say angels exist but deny God’s existence are just trying to convince themselves so they don’t have to face God and admit they are sinners.

Psalm 104:4 – Who makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire.

Psalm 148:2 – Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts!

Nehemiah 9:6 – You alone are the Lord; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.

Angels are mentioned 273 times in 34 books of the Bible (108 times in the Old Testament and 163 times in the New Testament). Angels are created beings just like we are, by a special act of God. The difference is God creates each person one at a time at conception whereas all the angels were created at the same time before God created the universe. The Bible says man was made a little lower than the angels. One day when we’re in heaven we’ll be above the angels and we’ll be a judge over them. Scripture confirms that not only were angels created at the same time, their number is fixed. The Bible tells us the number of angels is too many to count but God knows the exact number and he knows them all by name. The angels were created to glorify Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Hebrews 1:6 – But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: Let all the angels of God worship Him.

Revelation 4:11 – You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.

Hebrews 12:22 – But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels.

Revelation 5:11 – Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.

Angels are spirit beings and therefore invisible to us but angels can manifest themselves to us in physical form if they want us to see them. I’ve always known deep down in my soul that I have a guardian angel and my life experiences have confirmed it to me. The Bible says we have guardian angels and if every believer has one we’re talking hundreds of millions of angels. There are 2.5 billion professed Christians in the world today so even if only 40% of them are actually saved unto eternal life that’s still a billion people requiring a guardian angel. A third of the total angels in heaven fell to earth after they rebelled and that number of demons could potentially be in the hundreds of millions as well. In Mark 5:9, Jesus removed 6,000 demons who had indwelt the lunatic of Gadara so obviously Satan has no shortage of demons to do his work.

Mark 5:8-9 – (Jesus speaking) – “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” Then He asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”

Note: A Roman legion is 6,000 soldiers.

Life is hard. It wasn’t always that way. Adam and Eve had it perfect in the Garden of Eden until Adam sinned against God and fell from grace. Sin corrupted God’s creation. As a result, Satan became the god of this world and everyone who came after Adam and Eve has had to face hardships in their life, both physical and mental. Why is that? Satan and his fallen angels were thrown to the earth after their rebellion in heaven and once man was expelled from the Garden of Eden we were without God’s protection. With man and demon together on the same earth conflict was inevitable and, in fact, has been ongoing from the beginning. Demons from the spirit world can’t touch us physically but God does allow them to assault us mentally, up to a point. Maybe God allows us to be tempted by the devil as part of our purification process during our “testing time” here on earth before we go to heaven.

Mental assault is the same for everyone, it’s constant and never ending. It’s all we know. It’s normal for us. We think that’s the way it’s supposed to be because we don’t have any other frame of reference. We don’t recognize we’re being oppressed from the spirit world because it’s a slow roll, a dull ache that never goes completely away. We learn to live with it and we don’t know any different. When we get to heaven and have no evil attacking our minds we’ll realize what we had to endure on earth. The Bible says everyone experiences the fiery darts of Satan and will need God’s protection. Peace in this life is only possible with God and the one and only true living God is Jehovah. The followers of all the other world religions do not have this inner peace and their souls are always in turmoil. Ask them and if they’re honest they’ll admit it. The following is a list of some the devices Satan uses to enslave us:

A. Disappointment leads to discouragement which leads to despair – There is not one person who has ever lived who has had all their hopes fulfilled. Everyone faces some kind of disappointment in life. Go to God when you’re disappointed so as not to give Satan an advantage over you. Lingering disappointment can lead to discouragement (loss of confidence). Lingering discouragement leads to despair, which is the complete loss of hope. People in despair are the ones who commit suicide because without hope we have nothing.

Romans 8:28 – And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 – We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

B. Doubt which leads to disbelief – Satan sows the seed of doubt in our minds about God. Satan tells us God doesn’t exist. Satan tells us if God does exist he certainly doesn’t love us. Once we start to doubt God and the Bible we’re on a slippery slope to disbelief. Pray and read God’s Word daily to maintain your faith.

Hebrews 3:12 – Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.

C. Distraction leads to doublemindedness which leads to delay – Satan will use the pursuit of your lifelong goals to pull your attention away from the truth of God’s Word and your salvation. As you focus on family, career, money and power it can pull you away from God and you cannot serve two masters. As we are pressed for time in our daily pursuits it can lead to us not making a commitment to God until it is too late. Many a man is in hell today because they died before they had a chance to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. They meant to get saved. They thought they had more time to decide.

Proverbs 27:1 – Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.

James 4:8 – Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

D. Dishonesty, deceit and disobedience – Satan is always urging us to lie and cheat thereby disobeying Gods commandments. As we sin it becomes easier to keep sinning and that widens the gulf between us and God. Satan’s goal is our separation from God.

E. Dullness leads to deadness – Satan wants to quench our faith to the point of apostasy. If our faith in God starts to fail it will ultimately lead to deadness if we don’t nurture our faith. Satan’s goal is to kill our faith so we can’t be an effective ambassador for Christ.

F. Defamation, defilement and discord – Satan urges us to sin against God with out tongues. Satan wants us to sin because when we defile our bodies God cannot use us for his purposes. Satan is a master at stirring up anger, hate and violence. Look at all the murders, wars and carnage throughout history caused by Satan.

Psalm 105:1 – Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples!

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 – Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destrou him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

When I look at what’s going on in the world today things appear to be getting worse not better. I feel it more than I know it. Evil is rampant around the globe. I see more strife, more poverty, more sickness, and more hopelessness than at any point in history. The world is a scary place right now. Satan and his demon horde appear to be winning on every front. Luckily, God’s Word assures us that while we may be losing the battle we’ll ultimately win the war. The Bible promises the believer total victory over the forces of darkness:

John 16:33 – (Jesus speaking) – These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

1 John 4:4 – You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater then he who is in the world.

Revelation 21:7 – He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

The believer must know their strengths and weaknesses. Our weakness is total but so is our strength. Fallen angels (demons) in the spiritual world still have the angelic power they possessed when they were part of the host of heaven and human beings are powerless before them. Knowing our weakness is total we understand our only hope if we want to survive is to run to our greatest source of strength which is our Father in heaven. Just as we are powerless before demons, they are powerless before the Creator of all things. God is our refuge and his strong right hand will protect us from harm if we turn to him. The greatest strength of the believer is the sure knowledge that God is on our side and he has guaranteed our spiritual success over the forces of darkness. God has promised to protect his children and provide a place for them in heaven. This knowledge of God will give believers peace even as the world crumbles around us:

John 15:5 – (Jesus speaking) – I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Satan is strong but he also has weaknesses. Satan cannot tempt a believer without the permission of God. Every creature in the universe is subject to God’s authority, including Satan. Even when God allows us to be tempted by Satan God knows how much we can bear and will not allow Satan to go beyond this breaking point. God will only allow this temptation in the first place in order to purify and strengthen us. Satan is also powerless against the Word of God when it’s used to rebuke him. Follow the example set by Jesus when he was tempted by Satan during his forty days in the desert. Three times Jesus was tempted by Satan and each time Jesus rebuffed Satan using the Word of God. Submit first to God and you’ll be able to resist the devil by quoting the Bible to the wicked one.

1 Corinthians 10:13 – No temptation has overtaken you such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

James 4:7 – Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Satan is the most powerful creature in the universe. Satan is more powerful than the archangels Michael and Gabriel. But Satan is still just a creature and not the Creator. Satan’s power and knowledge have limits. God is omnipresent but Satan is not. Satan can’t be in more than one place at a time. When the forces of darkness assault our minds and oppress us from the spiritual world we collectively call them Satan because the prince of demons is the only demon we know by name. In reality, 99% of us may never encounter Satan himself but he has hundreds of millions of demons assigned to watch us from across the veil.

God is omnipotent and Satan is not. The Bible says with God anything is possible. Satan’s power when compared to God’s power is like an ant taking on an elephant. I’ve often wondered why God doesn’t destroy Satan with a word and be done with it. Satan wasn’t always the devil. He was once the top angel in heaven and created by God to be eternal like himself and so were all the other angels. Once God creates an angel as an eternal being he cannot then change his mind and destroy that creature. The Bible says God is unchangeable, and so he is. God’s Word is truth and cannot be broken. While God may not destroy a creature he creates he will imprison them if they sin against him. God created the lake of fire and brimstone to imprison Satan and the fallen angels who warred against God in heaven.

What’s true for angels is true for us. When God created us he also gave us an eternal spirit and therefore we are also immortal beings like God and the angels. The real us, our spirit being, will never die. When we sin against God while we’re on this earth in our physical bodies, and we all do, God will also imprison our eternal souls if we die with our sins being unforgiven. There’s no need for God to make a separate prison for our eternal souls since one already exists for the fallen angels. God will simply throw us in the lake of fire alongside the demons. We’re the lucky ones. When the angels rebelled in heaven they sinned against God and they were condemned without any way to be forgiven. We, on the other hand, have been given the opportunity to have our sins forgiven by the grace of a merciful God. God sent his Son to die on the cross as payment for the sins of all men, past, present and future. All God asks is for us to believe that he is and that Jesus Christ is his Son and the Savior of the world. We need to repent and ask God to forgive our sins.

God is omniscient but Satan is not. Satan has been around for the 6,000 years of human history and has gained an immense amount of knowledge. There are many things Satan doesn’t know. Although Lucifer served God in heaven he doesn’t know God as well as we do. Satan knows nothing of God’s love, mercy, grace and forgiveness. Satan doesn’t know the secrets of the past or the mysteries of God. Satan doesn’t know what the future holds. Satan has read the book of Revelation but Satan’s wisdom has been corrupted by sin to the point Satan doesn’t believe the ending. Satan still thinks he can defeat God.

Ezekiel 28:17 – Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you.

Satan’s greatest desire is to be worshipped. Satan wants to be God so bad he can taste it. Satan isn’t an original thinker so the best he can do is try to imitate what God does. What Satan is good at is lies, trickery and deception and he uses those skills on earth to create doctrines that are the opposite of what God commands. Satan has sway over the earth and the secular world has implemented many of these doctrines of the devil due to his influence. One of the spiritual laws of God’s kingdom is a creature will produce after its kind. A good tree will produce only good fruit and a bad tree will produce only bad fruit. One of the proofs of Satan’s existence is to look at all the bad fruit he has produced. There are many doctrines in our world today that are the fruit produced by Satan. Satan’s fingerprints are everywhere for those who are spiritually aware. Many are fooled into believing the following doctrines of the devil are a good thing when the reality is they lead to the wrath of God and the damnation of the soul in the lake of fire for all of eternity:

1. Casual sex – Fornication is universally accepted and so is living together without being married. For many years I thought it was okay too. It wasn’t until I started studying what God has to say about it that I realized God hates fornicators. God says fornicators will not enter heaven (unless their sins are forgiven). Fornication is mentioned the most in the New Testament books of 1 Corinthians and Revelation. The dictionary defines fornication as having sexual intercourse with someone you’re not married to. God established marriage as a union between a man and a woman and sex is for the marriage bed only. The Bible is very clear about this:

1 Corinthians 9-10 – Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

2. Adultery – Adultery is commonplace around the world and God hates adultery even more that he hates fornication. What shocked me is the sheer volume of what God has to say on this subject. You can usually gauge how important something is to God by how often it’s discussed in the Bible. There are 69 verses in the Bible that address adultery in one way or another. I personally wouldn’t want to stand before God on the day of judgment as an unforgiven adulterer.

3. Abortion of demand – God creates life and only God can take a life. One of the ten commandments is, “Thou shalt not kill.” At the moment of conception, God says life has begun because at that point he adds a part of himself, an eternal spirit, to the new life just beginning. Killing an innocent baby in the womb is an abomination to God and those who are responsible will face the wrath of God on the last day. Nations who condone this grievous sin will also be judged. All those aborted babies go to heaven and we’ll one day see them as the adults they would have become had they lived.

4. Homosexuality – Homosexuality has become accepted in society and legalized in most places. It’s no longer politically correct to oppose it. In fact, if we don’t accept the gay and homosexual lifestyle in all areas of our lives we’re the ones who are persecuted. God calls homosexuality an abomination and believing Christians should look at it that way. We may have to accept homosexuality as the law of the land but we don’t have to accept it or get comfortable with it on a personal basis.

Leviticus 18:22 – (God speaking) – You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.

5. Evolution – Satan’s influence on the secular world has led to our educational system espousing the theory of evolution as the reason for our existence. Evolution has been drilled into us from childhood in our schools to the point where everyone believes the lie. When you look for the actual proof of evolution there isn’t any. Evolution is only a baseless theory and nothing more. In fact, the evidence against evolution is overwhelming. Once again Satan has pulled the wool over the eyes of an unsuspecting world. Satan doesn’t want you to know God made you because if you did you’d seek him out and accept the free gift of eternal life that God offers. If you believe there’s a God who made you then Satan’s cover is blown. If God is real then so is Satan. Satan is exposed for all the world to see and he doesn’t want that. Satan desires most of all to remain anonymous and fly under the radar because human beings are defenseless against an enemy they aren’t even aware they have.

6. Salvation by good works – Satan has convinced the entire world that if there’s a heaven you can get there by good works. So many people relax in their search for the truth of God because they’re counting on their good works to get them into heaven. Good works avail us nothing. God commands us to do good works after we are saved unto eternal life. Nowhere in the Bible will you find doing good works mentioned as a precondition for going to heaven. All religions on earth, except Christianity, require good works to enter heaven and it’s a false hope. That was Satan’s plan all along since he sponsored all world religions except Judaism and Christianity. Only Christianity is the true path to God. Only Christianity says heaven is a free gift of God just for the asking. Satan has even convinced a majority of Christians that good works are still necessary to get to heaven. The Catholic church, for instance, still wrongly teaches that good works are necessary for entry into heaven. Even Mother Teresa, who spent a lifetime in India ministering to the poor in Calcutta, can’t get into heaven based on her good works. Mother Teresa only got into heaven because she accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. That’s all it takes! For those who have ears, let them hear and be saved!

Ephesians 2:8-9 – For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Isaiah 45:22 – Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.

It’s important for us to realize that many of the norms of today’s society have been created by Satan’s influence. The Bible said these things would occur in the end times so don’t be surprised. When you know your Bible you can recognize the signs of the end times which we are now in. God tells us not worry too much because we’re the children of God and no matter what happens to us our ultimate destination is to be in heaven with the Lord. We’ll either go to heaven when we die or before if Jesus comes in the clouds to rapture the saints. Get to know the book of Revelation like the back of your hand. Revelation has a lot of symbolism and it’s hard to understand at first but keep at it and the Holy Spirit will reveal spiritual truth when you need it. Revelation is the only book in the Bible where God says he’ll bless you every time you read it. God wants you to understand what’s coming soon and how to prepare for it. Good luck on your personal journey of faith. I’ll see you in heaven one day.