Death is a subject no one wants to talk about, especially your own or a close loved one. However, it is inevitable. We live and we die. We are eternal beings and death only extends our life in another realm. Lives that are lived for Christ will be spent eternally in Heaven, those lives lived for self will spend eternity in Hell. That is the truth in a nutshell. In Hebrews 9:27 the writer reminds us we all have an appointment with death. He also reminds us that after that we will face the judgment of our lives. Try as you may to change that fact, you can’t! You can be rich, powerful, smart, strong-willed, or possess any other attribute that men use to control a situation, but this is one area you cannot control. However, you can control how you approach it.
Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”
There is a way that death can be a blessing. John writes in Revelation 14:13 that there are those who are the “blessed dead.” Not everyone who dies is blessed, but those who die in the Lord are blessed.
Revelation 14:13 “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.”
He gives us two blessings for those who die as Christians. Their blessings will be forever, (from henceforth). They will have rest. Rest from our labors. The word “labor” – κόπος kopos – means properly “wailing, grief,” we will be free from this kind of grief. We will be free from things that cause wearisome toil in doing good. When we seek to win others or minister to others, it can often be very discouraging and cause us to feel burdened down because our efforts are not received well. We want to see others saved and defend the truth. Our works will follow us, and when we get to Heaven those efforts will be rewarded. There will be no more fatigue or stress.
The very moment that we take our last breath we will rest from everything that we ever struggled with here on this earth. No more hardships, no pressures, no frustrations, no sorrows, there will be nothing negative in our blessed death.
On the opposite note, those who die without Christ will never rest. The good works they did on this earth will not follow them to eternity, only their sins will follow them. Every sinful thought, every sinful deed, will be with them throughout eternity. They will stand before God at the Great White Throne judgment and God will pass sentence on them that will be theirs for all eternity. Their torment has just begun, and it will last forever. No relief, no other options are available, their fate is sealed. The horrible part about their destiny is that they had the opportunity to have the blessed death, but they rejected it. For whatever reason, they chose to have some pleasures here on this earth, to do their own thing rather than give their life to Christ. Their choice traded a few short years here, for all eternity.
The difference between these two outcomes is as extreme as it gets. What choice have you made?
II Corinthians 6:2 “For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
