DC Talk: "Jesus Freak"

This song reminds me of myself during my junior high and high school days. I used to hand out tracts to the kids and I wore my Christian badges proudly. And when I had an opportunity, I defended Christ in class

Listen to this loud and proud song about our Lord here:

The worst persecution I suffered for the Master was mild compared to the suffering of God's apostles. Hebrews 11:36-38 (Bible in Basic English) reads, "And others were tested by being laughed at or by blows, and even with chains and prisons: They were stoned, they were cut up with knives, they were tested, they were put to death with the sword, they went about in sheepskins and in goatskins; being poor and in pain and cruelly attacked, Wandering in waste places and in mountains and in holes in the rocks; for whom the world was not good enough."

I'm glad Jesus made no secret of persecution to come when we follow him. He warned in John 16:2 (BBE), "They will put you out of the Synagogues: yes, the time is coming when whoever puts you to death will have the belief that he is doing God's pleasure."

I believe that when persecution comes to us, the Holy Spirit will strengthen us to go through it. Revelation 12:10 (BBE) reads, "And a great voice in heaven came to my ears, saying, 'Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: because he who says evil against our brothers before our God day and night is forced down.' And they overcame him through the blood of the Lamb and the word of their witness; and loving not their lives they freely gave themselves up to death."

And lest anybody thinks God won't avenge those who would rather die than abandon Christ, Revelation 6:9-11 (BBE) shows his concern for his martyrs. "And when the fifth stamp was undone, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been put to death for the word of God, and for the witness which they kept. And they gave a great cry, saying, 'How long will it be, O Ruler, holy and true, before you take your place as judge and give punishment for our blood to those on the earth?' And there was given to every one a white robe, and they were ordered to take their rest for a little time, till the number was complete of the other servants, their brothers, who would be put to death, even as they had been."

No matter what happens, we must keep in mind John 12:25 (BBE). "He who is in love with life will have it taken from him; and he who has no care for his life in this world will keep it for ever and ever."

If Christ hasn't returned by Thursday, I plan on posting about pride and a great song by Deep Purple.

Saturday Song, The Beacon Street Union, "South End incident"

This is another song I discovered while shopping at a used record store. I'd never heard of this band but I took a chance on buying the disk. As things turned out, I loved the psychedelic sound and the compelling story of this song. Listen to it here:

I'm sure that any of us would be afraid if we witnessed a murder and we weren't sure if the killers saw us watching them. And though it's easier said than done, we do have one we can turn to in any crisis.

Saint Peter, no stranger to life-threatening situations, wrote in 1 Peter 5:6 and 7 (BBE), "For this cause make yourselves low under the strong hand of God, so that when the time comes you may be lifted up; Putting all your troubles on him, for he takes care of you."

Our Master also encourages us not to worry in Matthew 10:28 (BBE). "And have no fear of those who put to death the body, but are not able to put to death the soul. But have fear of him who has power to give soul and body to destruction in hell."

In the first century, many Christians were murdered by Romans and Pharisees alike. As Jesus warned in John 16:2 (BBE), "They will put you out of the Synagogues: yes, the time is coming when whoever puts you to death will have the belief that he is doing God's pleasure."

And thanks to the Apostle Paul, we have the assurance of stepping from life into the presence of our adored Master when we die. Philippians 1:21 (BBE) reads, "For to me life is Christ and death is profit."

For those who doubt that saints go straight to heaven, We have Saint John's vision in Revelation 6:9-11 (BBE) proving this. "And when the fifth stamp was undone, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been put to death for the word of God, and for the witness which they kept. And they gave a great cry, saying, 'How long will it be, O Ruler, holy and true, before you take your place as judge and give punishment for our blood to those on the earth?' And there was given to every one a white robe, and they were ordered to take their rest for a little time, till the number was complete of the other servants, their brothers, who would be put to death, even as they had been."

How nice that even if death comes, we don't just fade to black or sleep until the resurrection but dwell with Christ.

On Monday, if Christ doesn't return yet, I hope to post about why we must be mad at hell.

The Soul Sleep Error

Believe it or not, some churches teach that faithful Christians don't go directly to heaven but sleep in the grave. Some Bible verses seem to teach that doctrine.

One verse which seems to say that our soul sleeps is Daniel 12:2 (KJV) which says, "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."

What these preachers of soul sleep don't realize is that sleep is a metaphor for death. We see this clearly explained in John 11:11-15 (KJV). "These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, 'Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.' Then said his disciples, 'Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.' Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.'"

The Apostle Paul wrote that we don't sleep but our spiritual selves are awake in heaven. 2 Corinthians 5:8 (KJV) says, "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."

Furthermore, John saw in his vision on the isle of Patmos that believers are in heaven under God's throne. Revelation 6:9-11 (KJV) plainly shows this to be true. "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, 'How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?' And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."


Also, Paul knew he would be with his Lord at death. Philippians 1:23 (KJV) plainly states, "For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:"


These verses alone show that we don't become unconscious but we go to be with the Lord at death.  Martyrs throughout the church's history have held onto this blessed hope. They never felt that they'd just go to sleep like the soul sleep believers think.

I'll be writing more about our eternal destination in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Since there's no "do over" when we die, each one of us must make sure we'll be in the presence of Christ forever. Otherwise, the only other destination for us is hell.

Do Our Souls Sleep Until Christ's Return?

This month, I'd like to move on to the subject of the resurrection. It's the most important factor in our lives and our eternal destination. But I first want to clear up the matter of what happens before we believers rise from the dead.

I read a blog post recently which claimed that Christians don't go to heaven when they die. This sounds like the doctrine of soul sleep to me.

One scripture passage which the post claimed to prove soul sleep is 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and 17 (KJV). "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

It's obvious from the passage that this is speaking of resurrection at the last day. Even so, some people think that the word "sleep" in the previous verses means that the souls of Christians remain in the ground.

But what about John 11:11 to 14? The King James Version renders the words of Christ this way. "These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, 'Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.' Then said his disciples, 'Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.' Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead.'"

And what of Revelation 6:9 to 11? The Bible in Basic English reads, "And when the fifth stamp was undone, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been put to death for the word of God, and for the witness which they kept. And they gave a great cry, saying, 'How long will it be, O Ruler, holy and true, before you take your place as judge and give punishment for our blood to those on the earth?' And there was given to every one a white robe, and they were ordered to take their rest for a little time, till the number was complete of the other servants, their brothers, who would be put to death, even as they had been."

Any clear-thinking person can understand from the contexts of those verses that sleep is a euphemism for death. It's also obvious that the souls of departed believers are in the presence of God. As Paul pointed out in 2 Corinthians 5:8 (KJV), "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." He never said he or we would rest in the ground.

Because I was grossly misled by wicked phoneys, claiming to be advanced teachers of spiritual revelation, I wrote How I Was Razed. This glorious testimony shows how the Lord led me out of a toxic church and into his awesome truth.