Foundations - Eternal Judgement Prt. 1.

Isaiah 59

59 Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
    or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
2 but your iniquities have made a separation
    between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
    so that he does not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood
    and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies;
    your tongue mutters wickedness.
4 No one enters suit justly;
    no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,
    they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
5 They hatch adders' eggs;
    they weave the spider's web;
he who eats their eggs dies,
    and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.
6 Their webs will not serve as clothing;
    men will not cover themselves with what they make.
Their works are works of iniquity,
    and deeds of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet run to evil,
    and they are swift to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
    desolation and destruction are in their highways.
8 The way of peace they do not know,
    and there is no justice in their paths;
they have made their roads crooked;
    no one who treads on them knows peace.

9 Therefore justice is far from us,
    and righteousness does not overtake us;
we hope for light, and behold, darkness,
    and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 We grope for the wall like the blind;
    we grope like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
    among those in full vigor we are like dead men.
11 We all growl like bears;
    we moan and moan like doves;
we hope for justice, but there is none;
    for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before you,
    and our sins testify against us;
for our transgressions are with us,
    and we know our iniquities:
13 transgressing, and denying the Lord,
    and turning back from following our God,
speaking oppression and revolt,
    conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.

14 Justice is turned back,
    and righteousness stands far away;
for truth has stumbled in the public squares,
    and uprightness cannot enter.
15 Truth is lacking,
    and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

The Lord saw it, and it displeased him[a]
    that there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no man,
    and wondered that there was no one to intercede;
then his own arm brought him salvation,
    and his righteousness upheld him.
17 He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
    and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
    and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.
18 According to their deeds, so will he repay,
    wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;
    to the coastlands he will render repayment.
19 So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west,
    and his glory from the rising of the sun;
for he will come like a rushing stream,[b]
    which the wind of the Lord drives.

20 “And a Redeemer will come to Zion,
    to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the Lord

In Isaiah 59 we see a picture of what the vengeance of God looks like for a people who have denied the Lord. Principally, he is speaking to a people who thought they would be fine because of Heritage but in fact were not. This is the warning as we begin this topic, that a lot of us, and a lot of believers who may be reading this, may have come from a Christian background - having grown up in the faith, may even believe that they have a relationship with God. However, just as our friend, John the Baptist put it, the axe may be at the foot of the tree. Don’t assume anything. Test yourself.

In this passage Isaiah speaks to the present reality of judgement in the life of Israel as a nation at the time. I want to highlight here that just as eternal life has a future reality which informs and pervades our experience of the present, that so does judgement. “By nature” Paul says, in Ephesians 2:3, “we were children of wrath.” In other words, what I am saying is that before the flood came the heavy rain. There is a finality to the wrath of God and the great and final day of judgment. “The day which has been set where God will judge the living and the dead.” Long before that there are judgements that I believe are being experienced here and now which echo what is ahead in the time to come. This is what Isaiah speaks to when he writes this prophetic utterance under the influence and direction of the Spirit to a people who had denied the Lord through action, but acknowledged him with their words.  

He starts by saying some very key words:

Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
    or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
2 but your iniquities have made a separation
    between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
    so that he does not hear.

In other words. It is not that God is unable to save or hear, or reach, that people are suffering condemnation but principally because people have chosen to deny God and his Christ that they are left to suffer, and that God will not let the guilty go unpunished. To speak to the condition of the wayward he uses 5 key words:

Sin – To Miss [miss the mark], miss the way, go wrong.

Iniquity – Perversity, Depravity.

Evil – Bad, Malignant (giving pain, unhappiness, misery) – think about having a disease and then wilfully spreading it.

Wickedness – to act wrongfully or unjustly, deviate from what is right.

Transgression - To rebel, or revolt

The summary statement of Isaiah here which summarises all these things is this: Denial of the Lord and turning back from following Him. We are rebellious. That is our principal problem – we are disobedient by nature, apart from the new birth.

God’s intent is to out down the rebellion; I mean that literally as in into hell and by doing so to put an end to it.

The reality of rebellion is denial. At its core sin is the denial of God as God! What an awful thing to be found guilty of, attempting to dethrone the King of Kings, and we do it every day.

So Isaiah shows us a list of realities that come from the wrath of God because

-        we miss the mark and fall short.

-        we’re perverse and depraved.

-        spreading pain and misery

-        wilfully infecting other people with our diseases

-        acting wrongfully and unjustly – deviating from the right way of living

-        Rebelling and revolting.

He says that consequently, humanity experiences the following in the present tense. The discover that:

-        There is a separation from God.

-        God has hidden his face (where was God when I faced this or that? He’s hidden his face)

-        God does not hear.

-        There is darkness and Gloom.

-        Groping around with no energy.

-        Moaning.

-        No justice or salvation.

-        Stumbling.

-        Righteousness stands far away now because we have stood far away from it.

-        Transgressions are before them and with them. In other words, there is a constant reminding of this is what you have done. This is why you are here. Just reminding you again!

You see people will go to hell but many people, just like those of Isaiah’s day are living in the foretaste of their coming condemnation. This state of condemnation describes so many people’s lives and experiences, perhaps even yours.

After the reality of these things, Isaiah says then the Lord clothed himself in his armour – we get the picture here, God is going to destroy the rebellion and the rebels – he’s going to war against people. He’s putting on his garments of vengeance to repay. It is written “vengeance is mine declares the Lord I will repay!” So Isaiah says,

According to their deeds, so will he repay,
    wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;

The bill comes due in the end and the result is that God comes rushing at his enemies with full force. The same force of the wind of the Lord which drove back the Red Sea on Both Sides is now coming crashing towards the enemies of God with no reprieve. A terrible reality of Judgement.

Right before God is about to dress himself, He goes looking for one thing. What does God look for, before he comes in full force? Someone to intercede and stand in the gap. To cry out and say Mercy Lord – Have Mercy. Save this generation Lord. The terrible picture here is that he finds no one who will stand in the gap.

Between the Now Judgements of God and the coming wrath of God – that is where we are a church stand. On the eve before the great and terrible day of the Lord, rushing to make our appeal.

16 He saw that there was no man,
    and wondered that there was no one to intercede;
then his own arm brought him salvation,
    and his righteousness upheld him.

In other words, God will be upheld in his decision for compassionate mercy by the intercession of saints on behalf of sinners, or he will be upheld in his movements towards passionate wrath by his own righteousness. We have a part to play church.

The echoes of what we see in the present condemnation of the wicked is aligned with what Jesus says that future condemnation holds for the soul after death who dies in their rebellion. Here in Luke 16, we see righteousness also standing a long way off. Let’s see what Jesus had to say:

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

This parable refers to a place known to Jews as Sheol – called here hades or hell, meaning the place of the dead. Before Jesus lived and died – descending in those three days to the spirits imprisoned there beneath, there was two parts of Hell, the place of the departed righteous, and the place of the departed wicked. When Jesus died, he led a host of captives on high Ephesians 4 tells us that when Jesus ascended into Heaven – which Paul calls the third heaven where God is, that he led a host of captives on high.

It is my belief that those imprisoned in torment were not released but are still being held. This is still the intermediate state for the non-believer, whilst the believer’s intermediate state before the resurrection, is Heaven. The departed righteous could not ascend until the payment had been made for those who had died in faith but had not yet been atoned for.

There are then two places for the soul to go, if you were to die tonight, if your friends or family were to die tonight. One is above, the other is beneath.

In other words, if you died today, your body would be put down into the ground and your spirit/soul would either be carried away to be with the Lord in Heaven by the angels, or your soul would be put under with your body, your soul being put down into hades. Which is hell.

Hades was and is a place without physical bodies, even Jesus descended into hell to make a proclamation, in the Spirit and not in his physical body which was still entombed when He did so.

We are talking about the spiritual place in between death and judgement now before coming to the final judgement, although Jesus is in Heaven now in a resurrected but spiritually natured Body.

Let’s look at the key features of this text then:

-        We see firstly that the text names Lazerous and the rich man is not given a name – this speaks to the fact that your name

may only mean something here and now but lost in the time after. A name speaks to identity. Identity being established and

recognised for Lazarus but lost of the rich man. Who even Abraham simply calls “child”

-        We see that Lazarus was carried – indicating an upward journey, whilst the text just says that the rich man was buried and

being in hell he was in torment. In other words, the emphasis is that the rich man was put below.

-        The next thing to say is that the man, although it was his soul that was in hell, was aware of who he was and who he had

been.

-        He was able to recognise people, people were recognisable to him.

-        He was separated from the righteous and from comfort.

-        His torment was continual and conscious in nature.

-        The torment reflected what we would say are natural senses and desires. He needed water.

-        He was in a continual fire.

-        He was a Jew who believed that he could be helped by appealing to Abraham. Abraham recognises his natural offspring by

saying “my child.”

-        Furthermore, he had access to Moses and the Prophets as did his brothers.

-        He was unrepentant, there is no obvious change in the way in which he treated Lazarus before or after – as a slave; someone

to serve him and his needs. There is no heart change for people in this hell.

-        He was able to speak and be heard.

-        There was a great chasm between the righteous and the unrighteous.

-        There is no record of anyone else in hell with the rich man, but there is community on Abraham’s side. You won’t see your

friends in hell.

-        The primary warning about hell to be heard is from the Word of God. God views this as sufficient warning for the world.

What we must see is that this is not a condemnation of riches but a condemnation of the sinful withholding of too much of it without care for the need before you. You could help, you should help, you don’t help. We turn away. We sin/fall short/abandon righteousness.

3 chapters later we get the reverse picture of this parable in Zacchaeus. The rich man who received Christ, confessed his transgressions, agreed to repay in surplus, and gave half of his possessions to the poor. Now notice, not all of them, but half of them. He didn’t go from very wealthy to broke – but probably very wealthy to moderately wealthy.

Who does salvation come to in Isaiah 59?

“And a Redeemer will come to Zion,
    to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the Lord

There is a way out! It may be raining on you or on someone you know now; maybe they’re outside the ark; maybe they are experiencing the forestates of judgement – but the final vengeance doesn’t have to fall on them or on you!

Turn from your transgression.

Turn from your rebellion, just like Zacchaeus did, then He heard from the Lord – “Salvation has come to this house today, this man too is a child of Abraham.”

Your believing must produce a turning or returning, or you do not have saving faith! You must put down rebellion to enter life! This my friends is a work of grace.

If we do not, then what awaits us is gloomy darkness.

Jude says in Jude 1:5

5 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved[c] a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire,[d] serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

It was Jesus who destroyed Egypt with plagues, and then crushed and killed the army of the Egyptians, and then destroyed the people of Israel in the wilderness after a 40-year punishment for their disbelief. It was Jesus. If you have a meek and mild view of Jesus, you will not recognise the person of the Godhead who comes on a white horse to tread the winepress of the wrath of God.

“The angels, he has kept in gloomy darkness, until the great day of judgement.”

Notice here in this passage that we see several things as we turn our attention now to that great and terrible day of the Lord.

-        Firstly, there is another mention of gloomy darkness.

-        Those who do not believe are destroyed (meaning to put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to ruin, to kill so as to

bring death – a total absence of life).

-        You see in the picture used of Israel, there was a prolonged time of prejudgment in the wilderness, wandering and suffering;

hardship, before there was a final destruction and a wiping away of that generation.

-        Sodom and Gomorrah serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

-        There is a coming day of Judgement.

-        The judgement is likened in its nature – being a punishment of eternal fire – like that of Sodom and Gomorrah.

“Eternal” meaning: without beginning and end, that which always has been and always will be.

It wasn’t eternal in that it burned forever – we can’t see it today, but we can see the judgement in that the city has been completely obliterated, never to be seen or heard from again. It is a judgement that is eternal – it has no end. There is no reversal. The day of eternal judgement is final. There is no getting out on good behaviour. Once the door is shut the time is done.  God will shut the door to salvation just like the ark. There will be no way in.

-        This example gives us insight into the nature of the judgement on that last day.

This is in line with What Peter says in 2 Peter 2:

2 Peter 2:

 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (in other words their destruction is not under general anaesthetic – they are awake).

4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell[a] and committed them to chains[b] of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;[c] 7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials,[d] and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who indulge[e] in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.

Bold and wilful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, 11 whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. 

12 But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed (meaning nothing left of them)…

God knows how to keep the unrighteous under punishment – that is where people are right now apart from Christ – in chains awaiting the final destruction; under punishment – waiting until the door of the cell is opened and they are led out; but only to face the full wrath of God.

Now I want to transition here to speak about the lake of fire and the second death. That the lake of fire is a fire that is burning day and night forever and ever.

Before we go to that passage in Revelation 20, I want to highlight the nature of the lake of fire and point out that We do not find a single verse that suggests that the disobedient (non-believer) suffer forever and ever. It is inferred by the usage of words such as eternal. But as I have already shown from Jude, the word eternal can simply mean, without reversal. It does not necessarily designate a period of suffering. If there is a life which will not be reversed by sin or corruption – then it will continue and endure without end. Conversely if there is a death or judgement which is eternal; it may just mean that the death or absence of life past this point of judgement can never be reversed or revived by the impartation of life. Sodom and Gomorrah can never be raised again; it was destroyed so thoroughly, likewise the disobedient, rebel, will undergo such a destruction that there is no possibility of life ever returning. No form, no bones, nothing left – utter destruction.

What we do find is a plethora of verses which speak to the reality that the fire burns for ever and ever.

Mark 9:43

And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.

Matthew 8:10-12

“Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel[d] have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 13:36-43

And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. 

Matthew 22:11-14

11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Matthew 3:12

His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

It’s a place of darkness, unquenchable fire, of weeping and gnashing of teeth. You get the picture here, but we are not told that there is weeping forever simply that there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. How does chaff do against such fire? Not very well and for not very long.

There will be a clear and graded level of torment before utter and destruction comes upon those outside of Christ. It will be immensely painful.

The final judgement!

Now let’s turn to revelation chapter 20 picking up from where we left off last week concerning the first thousand years after the return of Christ into his earthly Kingdom and inheritance.

7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven[b] and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Judgment Before the Great White Throne

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

It’s imperative to see that Satan has eternal life so he gets an eternal torment. No human who is granted (as a gift) eternal life is sent to hell, because through Christ they all die and are a new creation. Everyone whose names were not written must face a second death – where they are killed and destroyed; obliterated. Satan does not get a second death because He has never died and won’t die. This is why I believe that it was an unimaginable mercy that God stopped Adam and Eve from reaching the tree of life again after they had sinned. Their punishment would have been the same as Satan’s. They would have had to face punishment with eternal life sustaining them and never allowing them to be finished.

The other thing which we must recognise is that at the great judgement, there will be levels of Judgment. It’ll be worse for the people of this generation Jesus said, than for Sodom and Gomorrah. They would have repented. There are levels of death according to the knowledge of the law and of truth we possess. Those who die in the dark – so to speak without the law: which is the knowledge of sin, won’t be judged by it. However, I am scared to think that our generation is heading for some of the toughest judgement of all; we have access to everything. You couldn’t even go to a hotel and not find a Gideon bible: Moses and the Prophets, the adequate warning for the rich man before he woke up in torment, and later for his brothers, can found in most houses. Most people own a bible. A terrifying reality.

Death and Judgement have levels: Jesus became obedient to death even death on a cross – so there are levels. Someone can suffer through sickness for a year and die horribly and someone else can fall asleep. I think this is the nature of God’s justice at this point to measure out levels in the second death.

Jesus said in Matthew 10:28:

Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna/hell.

Fear of dying, of being killed, and losing your life, is real but much worse the fear that comes with contemplating a resurrected body that suffers destruction of both the body and the soul.

Later in Matthew 16:25 Jesus then says,

“For whoever would save his life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

He’s talking about losing your life on judgement day. Or being given back your life on judgement day. Do you want to live? Or do you want to die? That is the question we must answer.

Christ suffered in the body for sins done in the body. He suffered in the body for his church which is his body, for the sins done in their bodies. He suffered until he had finished the cup of God’s wrath. Until it was done – until it was finished.

Those who are raised to face the lake of fire will be forced to drink their own cup of God’s wrath, and will fall into hell, to bear a punishment in their bodies for the evil, sin, transgression, iniquity, and rebellion. They will drink for as long as God deems it right and until the cup is done. When it is finished – they will be finished forever. There will be no memory of them, no mourning for them, no grief at their final passing, and no flinch on God’s face.

The Mission

I want us to see that the greatest possible use of your life, and calling is to stand in the gap and reach these people with the message of the book.

Many of us have grown up children who are heading to hell, we have friends heading to hell, we have neighbours who in a few short years will find themselves in the gloomy darkness and torment awaiting the lost as they are held in chains for the day of judgement, where they will be forced to face the full force of God’s wrath because we did not stand in the Gap, interceded, cry out to God that his mercy would be invoked. How wicked to see your neighbour daily and not have concern for life.

To smile and wave, then walk away.

To make a friend & not show the way.

To live a happy life whilst saved

Leaving all to hell someday.

To recline at table in the Kingdom

Leaving all to gloomy darkness

Feeling joyful, finally sinless

Forgotten neighbours left for vengeance.

There will be a day on vengeance. (By Jesse Herschell)

We must realise that no one else is coming to the best of our knowledge. We’re it. We have been given the Word of God and the Spirit of God and been told to go – tell them about what’s coming – tell them there is a way out.

-        Where there was a separation from God they can be brought near!

-        Where the face of God was hidden, the veil can be taken off to see the Glory of Christ if they would but turn to the Lord.

-        Where God would not hear them, now his ear can be attentive to their prayers.

-        Where there was darkness and Gloom, there can be light and clarity.

-        Where there was groping and no energy there can be clear steps forwards in fullness of life.

-        Where there was moaning there can be rejoicing.

-        Where there was no justice or salvation/rescue, God will repay those who have sinned against them and save them from the evil which besets them.

-        Where there was stumbling, they can now stand firm.

-        Where Righteousness stood far away now because of the blood they can be righteous through Christ and stand near to God.

-        Where their transgressions were before them and with them. They can be washed to have a clean conscience.

The Gospel is Jesus – who he is – what he has done – what he will do for those whose names are written in the book of life. Jesus can do this and he wills that none of his own would be lost. We do not know who will respond or whom God will draw and call, but we must throw the seed.

Friends we haven’t time. There is a great urgency with which we must appeal.

What is required – repentance through faith?

Call

Will you intercede? Will you go to them? Is there anyone to stand for our town? Or will God wonder why there was no one to intercede.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish (ap-ol'-loo-mee – be destroyed) but have eternal life.” A life without end.

The wages of sin is death; the loss of life. But God’s gift is eternal life.

Think about this wonderful life altering fact: that he who is to be your judge has first come to us as saviour.

To lead us through the door to life there is but one word in which we must delight: Lord.

It is not to believe in Jesus, but to believe in Jesus as Lord  about Jesus that is forces a change. It makes you turn around from iniquity.

It is his Lordship.

“Call upon the name of the Lord and be saved all the Earth” – that is our message! God is sending you.

Rescued ones to rescue the ones.

GO.