Reflections 4: Damnation

“11Then I saw a great white throne, and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.  12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened.  And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.  13And the sea gave up the dead who were in it; and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.  14Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.  15And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11-15, NKJV, Pp.1188).

Damnation: 3. “Theology . Condemnation to eternal punishment as a consequence of sin” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/damnation ).

The living and the dead whose names are not written in the Book of Life, according to the Holy Bible are damned, and will burn forever in the lake of fire and brimstone. Forever damned for ones sins against God. When I read this I think about those people who have rejected God, rejected the teachings of our Lord and Savior, reject morality as it is so described in the Bible, and who think there is no consequence to their actions, I want to scream out loud, “Fools wake up!” Satan as described in Revelation will burn in the lake of fire. So if this is true my logical-self demands me to believe anyone linked with Satan, doing his bidding will also parish in the lake of fire and brimstone, not for a day or two, or a week, or a month,  or a year, but forever. Is this wicked behavior worth it? I dare say “No! It’s not worth it!” But for those among us who are truly lost will be blinded by their sins, which mount into a multitude, stacked so high they themselves have lost count, lost all feelings and emotions, and will burn in Hates forever. The told sum of sin-debt Jesus talked about and which the Apostle Paul wrote about so eloquently in I Corinthians bears enough testimony for the logical thinker to turn about and rethink ones actions while here on planet earth.

“8 No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren! 9 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, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, will inherit the kingdom of God.11 And such were some of you” (I Corinthians 6: 8-11, NKJV, Pp. 1102).

The most dramatic of these things which are of the wicked, according to the Bible and where supported by Jesus can be found in various New Testament Books such as Mark;

“18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments; Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother” (Mark 10: 18 – 19, NKJV, Pp. 979-980).

In the above verse from 1 Corinthians, Paul supports Jesus as found in Mark, by mentioning specifically, adulterers, thieves, and extortioners, or in the words of Jesus defraud.

Moreover, the unchanging word of God is supported by Jesus and Apostle Paul in the following verse from Leviticus as it relates to homosexuals and sodomites;

“22 You shall not lie with a male as with a women. It is an abomination” (Leviticus 18:22, NKJV, Pp. 111).

For those of you who require a less known voice as it refers to all sexual sin which permeates throughout the entire bible, and which supports the word of God, Moses, Jesus, and all the Apostles, then this one verse from Jude, a bond servant of Jesus and brother of James,  sums it up nicely;

“7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality, and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” (Jude 1:7, NKJV, Pp.1173).

For it is these people to which is being referred too, that will not inherit the kingdom of God. The Bible is vast with a plethora of sins, all which are seen by God as an abomination. There are so many who live lives divorced from God, who will speak in a manner as to try and convenience the people of God that these sins mentioned above are not sins, but rather man’s nature, thus is not punishable by God. There again, my logical-self argues violently against such immoral arguments, as again God is unchanging in his will and is perfect, thus needing not to change. However, the words from Jesus as it relates to those who boast in their own works, in their own defense, and who argue matters which come from Satan because they are blind to their own sin, is indeed the most telling;

“42 Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand my speech? Because you are not able to listen to my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murder from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which of you convicts me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God” (John 8:42-45, NKJV, Pp. 1035).

Jesus also points out that their will be those who will be expecting to be saved but are not;

“21 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord.’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord,’ have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:21-23, NKJV, Pp.941).

Damnation if taken seriously is a punishment that will last forever. It is shared by those who have been fooled by Satan, which is one third of all the angels, and all those who are blind, rebellious, hard of heart, staunch in their attitudes, with the conviction they shall suffer not. It is the most twisted joke which is being played upon humanity by a master deceiver, one who has indeed deceived himself. By virtue the path of the damned is wide, but the path of the righteous is narrow. To be sure God’s judgment is final and righteous. It is absolute without blemish or flaw. There will be neither argument nor rebuttal. For God’s judgment is eternal and fair.

“23 Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord GOD, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?”  24 “But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die” (Ezekiel 18:23-24, NKJV, Pp. 818).

It so completely amazes to me that so many people rather live for their own wants and desires, all of which are a sign of contempt and selfishness. The road signs are clearly marked we only have to read where they are leading too. Jesus was very specific on this point, as is God. Our immoral behavior will be judged according to their own works. The real fear I have every time I read Revelation, Leviticus, or any passage that I recognize where I have sinned against God, I have to stop and ask myself, “Where am I when my life is done?  Am I in the Lake of Fire, or am I with God?” Each time I contemplate this question it takes the breath from me, because though I have not sinned as much as others, I have sinned, and I have no other choice but to own it, as does the rest of humanity.

“23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” ( Romans 6:23, NKJV, Pp.1089).

It is all too easy to say that if we just ask for forgiveness then we are forgiven. When hearing this message some of us nod their heads and reply, “Right… I have heard that all before.” All while discounting the simplicity of God’s love, compassion, and want for all of to join him in eternal life in the kingdom of God. But never the less, if you are sincere in you’re asking God through his son Lord, Jesus Christ for forgiveness, your name will be written in the Book of Life and your sins forgiven. The truth is there is no sin which God cannot forgive.  But be warned, you must mean it, because when your sins are forgiven you can feel it deep down in your soul, and you begin to express this in your everyday life, much like Apostle Paul. However, the first step as outlined by Jesus, as written by Matthew if followed, will radically change how you act, and what you believe in;

“22 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets’ ” (Matthew 22:37-40, NKJV, Pp. 959).

Challenge question: If we don’t ask for Jesus’s forgiveness and live a righteous life now, then when?

Amen

If you have been moved by this blog I humbly invite you to leave a message telling me your thoughts and how this reflection has touched you. May peace and love be with you all the days of your life.  May God keep you and bless you.

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Brother Brian

Brother Brian currently serves within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Catholic School System. He is currently in his twentieth year of teaching.

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