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BETWEEN TWO FIRES- Sermonette by Marlene Anne Morphew
There is the fire waiting for God’s enemies and there is the fire of God coming down out of heaven, blessing, anointing and filling true believers of Jesus Christ.
Many people today are under the illusion that they can “hang about” between these two fires. Why? Perhaps they don’t believe there is a fiery hell and perhaps they don’t want to submit their lives to God and His Holy Spirit. Only God knows their hearts.
Be assured peoples, God’s hand will find all His enemies. His right hand will find those who hate Him, He will make them as a fiery oven in the time of His anger. He will swallow them up in His wrath, and the fire shall devour them. Their offspring He shall destroy from the earth, and their descendants from among the sons of men. For they intended evil against Him and His people, devising plots they are not able to perform (Paraphrase Psalm 21:8-11).
In Deuteronomy 4:23 God reminds the Israelites to take heed to themselves, lest they forget the covenant of the Lord their God which He made with them through Abraham and Moses.
But believers and followers of Jesus Christ today have a better covenant which was revealed at the last supper with Jesus disciples (1 Corinthians 11:23-34).
Hebrews 13:20, ‘Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord.’
This covenant was sealed by the fire from heaven at the time of Pentecost after Jesus rose from the grave. Acts 2:1-4, ‘Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.’
Which fire would we prefer to encounter? The last judgement wrath of God or the heavenly fire of the Holy Spirit?
‘For the Lord your God is a consuming fire; a jealous God’ (Deuteronomy 20:24).
Yes, to His enemies God’s wrath is like fire to burn up and destroy all that oppose him and break his commands, and especially idolaters; whose sin of all others is the most provoking to him, since it strikes at his being, his honour and glory. For God is jealous for His people to be holy, jealous of His honour in matters of worship, and will not suffer His glory to be given to another.
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THE DEAD KNOW NOTHING –
Sermonette by Marlene Anne Morphew
When we take one verse of the Word literally without understanding the full context we will be in danger of being in error; believing something that is not Truth. Ecclesiastes 9:5 is one of these and needs to be read with verse 6 at least. ‘For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing. And they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun”.
Verse 5 is sometimes used as a proof text for annihilationism, but that concept is not what is being communicated here. The “dead know nothing,” but in what way?
It is clear from other places in the Word of God that this verse cannot mean the dead have absolutely no knowledge. For example, Matthew 25:46 speaks of everlasting consciousness: “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Every person will spend eternity with God in heaven or apart from Him in hell. Each person will have feelings, thoughts, and abilities that exist in eternity.
In fact, Luke 16:19–31 offers an example of human capabilities in the afterlife. Lazarus is in paradise in eternal joy, while the rich man is in torment in hell (called “Hades”). The rich man has feelings, can talk, and has the ability to remember, think, and reason.
The key to understanding the statement “the dead know nothing” is found in the theme of the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes is written specifically from an earthly perspective. The key phrase, repeated throughout the book, is under the sun, used about thirty times. Solomon is commenting on an earth-bound life, “under the sun,” without God. His conclusion, also repeated throughout the book, is that everything from that perspective is “vanity” or emptiness (Ecclesiastes 1:2).
When a person dies “under the sun,” the earthly perspective, without God, is that it’s over. He is no longer under the sun. There is no more knowledge to give or be given, just a grave to mark his remains. Those who have died have “no further reward” in this life; they no longer have the ability to enjoy life like those who are living. Eventually, “even their name is forgotten” (Ecclesiastes 9:5).
Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 displays a chiastic structure (ABBA format) like this:
A “For the living know that they will die,
B but the dead know nothing;
B they have no further reward,
A and even their name is forgotten.”
Lines 1 and 4 are parallel thoughts in the sense that the living know death is coming while those who remain after a person dies quickly forget those who have died. The second and third lines lay down associated ideas in parallel: the dead know nothing, and the dead can no longer enjoy or be rewarded for their activities in this life.
The saying “the dead know nothing” seems to be a negative sentiment, but it is not without a positive message. Solomon encourages his readers to live life to its fullest, knowing life is short. In the end, the fullest life is one that honours and fears God and keeps His ways (Ecclesiastes 12:13–14)
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THE VEIL – Sermonette by Marlene Anne Morphew
The veil separated the holy place from the most holy (Exodus 26.33).The high priest entered the holy of holies, once a year on the Day of Atonement for the people’s sin with a blood sacrifice (Leviticus 16).
According to history records, it was as thick as a man’s hand. It was 40 cubits (60 feet) long and 20 cubits (30 feet) wide. At the very instant Jesus died, the massive veil before the Holy of Holies was suddenly torn in half from top to bottom (by God, not man).The sound of the veil tearing must have been deafening.
The tabernacle built by Moses and, later, Solomon’s temple were divided into the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place (or Holy of Holies). Though the whole tabernacle was separated into 3 areas, the Outer Court, the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place (or Holy of Holies). Priests and Levites ministered in the Outer Court as they offered sacrifices for sin and guilt as well as the other sacrifices.
At the back of the Holy Place was a smaller chamber called the Holy of Holies or Most Holy Place. Here was the Ark of the Covenant. On top of the ark was the mercy seat; the throne of God. Anyone who entered this chamber when he was not supposed to would be killed.
The tabernacle and the temple emphasized the presence of God in the midst of His people. At the same time, the Holy Place and Most Holy Place emphasized God’s holiness and His inaccessibility due to the sins of the people.
When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain of the temple, that barrier between the Holy Place and Most Holy Place, was supernaturally torn in two (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; and Luke 23:45). The torn curtain symbolized that the way to God was now open to all through the death of Christ. Hebrews 10:19–22a explains, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings.”
The size and thickness of the veil make the event momentous and its tearing revealed that Jesus sacrifice, the shedding of His own blood, was a sufficient atonement for sins. Now the way into the Holy of Holies was open for all people, for all time, both Jew and Gentile. God moved out of that place never again to dwell in a temple made with human hands (Acts 17:24). Hebrews 9:8-9 refers to the age that was passing away as the new covenant was being established (Hebrews 8:13).
Christ Himself is the only way to the Father (John 14:6). He is our superior High Priest. We can now enter the Holy of Holies through Him. He was the veil to the Holy of Holies, and through His death the faithful now have free access to God. Jesus Christ, through His death, removed the barrier between God and man and believers may approach Him with confidence and boldness (Hebrews 4:14-16).
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