Does job contain a secret gentle reminder about eternity?
Philip Yancey makes a great point!
Job had everything taken from him. At the end, he gets double for his trouble.
Double the sheep, camels, oxen, and donkeys...
But...
He lost seven sons and three daughters, he got back seven sons and three daughters.
Could this be a hint? Maybe he did get double! He got ten more kids to go with the ten kids that he'll see again someday.
God views death differently. From his perspective, the ones we've lost (who are in Jesus) are more alive after they've moved on from this Earth.
When you take your last breath here you take your next breath there. You walk into the entrance of heaven, meet Abraham, who still greets everyone like he has since the first time he went there. Jesus talked about Abraham's bosom, and how the rich man begged him to send Lazarus to cool his tongue.
That Paradise was emptied when Jesus rose from the dead, taking captivity captive and setting the prisoners free.
The man who died next to him on the cross was in Paradise with Jesus, but that man entered into Glory three days later with everyone else.
Further, heaven is not our final resting place. There is coming a day when we will follow Jesus back to Earth to take it back from darkness, when he will restore order to the planet. He will ride in on a white horse and we will ride in behind him.
And the gentle Lamb of God will return a Roaring Lion. The very words of his mouth, will slay those who chose to rebel against him. Then he will set up his Kingdom on this physical Earth and reign for a thousand years. But even THAT is not the end of the story.
One last rebellion is coming at the end of that period, then, we will all stand before God on our merrits or His son's, we choose one.
Then the Earth and Heaven will be reborn and merged into one entity. Heaven itself will come down to Earth, and God's physical Kingdom will rest on this planet.
We will absolutely see our loved ones again. We will know them. Actually, we will know them better than we knew them on Earth. We will know family that died before we were born.
This Earth is so temporary. So fleeting.
I've seen Jesus, on his throne, surrounded by angels. That vision has sustained my heart through many doubts and fears. I lived a lot of rebellion but I've never doubted the reality of Jesus, not once.
Many times, when I didn't get what I wanted, I doubted his goodness, like a whiney child that didn't get the new toy and threw a fit. But his reality, I've never doubted.
My late wife and daughter, my Uncle Glenn, others who have gone before, they are in that great cloud of witnesses, cheering me on, waiting my return.
If you don't know that you're going to heaven, know beyond s doubt, read this:
http://www.darrellwolfe.com/p/got-life.html?m=1
#Selah
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