Tag: Heaven

*LAST WORDS OF THE DYING

(*ADAPTED FROM: Life’s Choices by John Lawrence, Pages 54-59)

Non-Believers:

Talleyrand Perigord (1754–1838), achieved distinction as a French statesman and diplomat): “I am suffering the pangs of the damned!”

Victor de Riqueti, Marquis de Mirabeau (October 5, 1715, Pertuis – July 13, 1789, Argenteuil; was a French economist of the Physiocratic school): “Give me laudanum that I may not think of eternity.”

Francis Newport (1st Earl of Bradford, February 23, 1620 – September 19, 1708): “Oh, that I was to lie a thousand years upon the fire that never is quenched, to purchase the favor of God, and be united to Him again! But it is a fruitless wish. Millions of millions of years would bring me no nearer to the end of my torments than one poor hour. Oh, eternity, eternity! forever and forever! Oh the insufferable pangs of hell!”

Thomas Hobbs (1588–1679, English philosopher): “If I had the whole world, I would give it to live one day. I shall be glad to find a hole to creep out of the world at. About to take a leap into the dark!”

Thomas Paine (1737–1809, English American political writer. His pamphlet Common Sense [1776] called for American independence, and The Rights of Man [1791] defended the French Revolution. His radical views prompted the British government to indict him for treason, and he fled to France. He also wrote The Age of Reason [1794]): “I would give words if I had them, that The Age of Reason had never been published. O Lord, help me! Christ, help me! O God, what have I done to suffer so much? But there is no God! But if there should be, what will become of me hereafter? Stay with me, for God’s sake! Send even a child to stay with me, for it is hell to be alone. If ever the Devil had an agent, I have been that one.”

Francois Voltaire (French writer, philosopher, historian; November 21, 1694-May 30, 1778): He was one of the most fertile and talented writers and strove to retard and demolish Christianity. His cry in health concerning Christ  was, ‘Curse the wretch!’ He once said, ‘In twenty years, Christianity will be no more. My single handshake destroy the edifice it took twelve apostles to rear.’ Some years after his death, his very printing press was employed in the printing of New Testaments. 

The Christian physician who attended Voltaire during his last illness, has left a testimony concerning the departure of this poor lost soul. He wrote to a friend as follows: “When I compare the death of a righteous man, which is like the close of a beautiful day, with that of Voltaire, I see the difference between bright, serene weather and a black thunderstorm. It was my lot that this man should die under my hands. Often did I tell him the truth.

‘Yes, my friend,’ he would often say to me, ‘you are the only one who has given me good advice. Had I but followed it I would not be in this horrible condition in which I now am. I have swallowed nothing but smoke. I have intoxicated myself with the incense that turned my head. You can do nothing for me. Send me a mad doctor! Have compassion on me—I am mad!”

The physician goes on to say: I cannot think of it without shuddering. As soon as he saw that all the means he had employed to increase his strength had just the opposite effect, death was constantly before his eyes. From this moment, madness took possession of his soul. He expired under the torments of the furies.”

At another time his doctor quoted Voltaire as saying: “I am abandoned by God and man! I will give you half of what I’m worth if you will give me six months’ life. Then I shall go to hell; and you will go with me. O Christ! O Jesus Christ!”

Charles IX (Charles Maximilien; 27 June 1550 – 30 May 1574, was King of France from 1560 until his death in 1574. He ascended the French throne upon the death of his brother Francis II in 1560, and as such was the penultimate monarch of the House of Valois): This cruel monarch urged by his inhumane mother, gave the order for the massacre of the Huguenots in which 15,000 souls were slaughtered in Paris alone, and 100,000 in other sections of France, for no other reason than that they owned Christ as their master. He died bathed in his own blood bursting from his own veins. To his physicians he said in his last hours: “Asleep or wake, I see the mangled forms of the Huguenots passing before me. They drip with blood. They point at their open wounds. Oh! that I had spared at least the little infants at the breast! What blood! I know not where I am. How will all this end? What shall I do? I am lost forever! I know it. Oh, I have done wrong. God pardon me!”

David Friedrich Strauss (January 27,1808 – February 8, 1874)was a German liberal Protestant theologian and writer, who influenced Christian Europe with his portrayal of the “historical Jesus”, whose divine nature he denied. His work was connected to the Tübingen School, which revolutionized study of the New Testament, early Christianity, and ancient religions. Strauss was a pioneer in the historical investigation of Jesus. After spending years trying to dispense with his belief in God wrote: “My philosophy leaves me utterly forlorn!I feel like one caught in the merciless jaws of an automatic machine, not knowing at what time one of its great hammers may crush me!”

Sir Thomas Scott: “Until this moment I thought there was neither a God nor a hell. Now I know and feel that there are both, and I am doomed to perdition by the just judgment of the Almighty.”

M.F. Rich (an atheist): “I would rather lie on a stove and broil for a million years than go into eternity with eternal horrors that hand over my soul!I have given my immortality for gold; and its weight sinks me into an endless, hopeless helpless hell.”

Believers:

Notice the huge contrast between non-believers and believers. Here are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who have accepted the grace of God for salvation.

Jordan Antie: “The chariot has come, and I am ready to step in.”

Margaret Prior (1773 – April 7, 1842) was an American humanitarian, urban missionary, moral reform worker, and writer who established a school and a soup kitchen in New York City): “Eternity rolls up before me like a sea of glory.”

Martha McCracken: “How bright the room! How full of angels!”

Dr. Culen: “I wish I had the power of writing: I would describe how pleasant it is to die.”

B.S. Bangs: “The sun is setting: mine is rising. I go from this bed to a crown. Farewell.”

John Arthur Lyth: “Can this be death? Why, it is better than living! Tell themI die happy in  Jesus.”

Trotter: “I am in perfect peace, resting alone on the blood of Christ. I find this amply sufficient with which to enter the presence of God.”

Mary Frances: “Oh, that I can tell you what joy I possess! I am full of rapture. The Lord doth shine with such power on my soul. He is come! He is come!

Philip Heck: “How beautiful! The opening heavens around me shine!”

Sir David Brewster (December 11, 1781- February 10, 1868, was a Scottish scientist, inventor of the kaleidoscope, author, and academic administrator): “I will see Jesus: I shall see Him as He is. I have had the light for many years. Oh how bright it is! I feel so safe and satisfied!”

Charles Wesley (December 18, 1707 – March 29, 1788, was an English leader of the Methodist Movement and the prolific writer of over 6500 hymns including “And Can It Be” and “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”): “I shall be satisfied with Thy likeness. Satisfied!”

John Wesley (June 28, 1703 – March 2, 1791, was an English evangelist and pastor who was mightily used to bring about revival in Europe and America and found the Methodist movement): “The best of all, is God is with me.”

Abbott: “Glory to God! I see heaven sweetly opened before me.”

Augustus Montague Toplady (November 4, 1740 – August 11, 1778, was an English Anglican pastor and hymn writer. He is best known for his hymn “Rock of Ages): “The consolations of God to such an unworthy wretch are so abundant that He leaves me nothing to pray for but a continuance of them. I enjoy heaven already in my soul.”

John Quincy Adams (July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848, served as the sixth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825): When he was eighty years of age a friend said to him: ‘Wel, how is John Quincy Adams?’ ‘Thank you,’ he said, ‘John Quincy Adams is quite well. But the house where he lives is becoming dilapidated. It is tottering. Time and the seasons have nearly destroyed it, and it is becoming quite uninhabitable. I shall have to move out soon. But John Quincy Adams is quite well, thank you.’ At death he said, ‘This is the last of earth. I am content.”

Elizabeth B Browning (March 6, 1806 – June 29, 1861, was an English poet): She sated about her writing: “We want the touch of Christ’s hand upon our literature.” At death’s door, she said: “It is beautiful.”

John Bunyan (November 30, 1628 – August 31, 1688, was an English Pastor and the author who is most remembered for his outstanding allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress): “Weep not for yourselves. I go to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will, through the mediation of His blessed Son, receive me, though a sinner, where I hope we shall meet to sing a new song, and remain everlastingly happy, world without end.”

John Calvin (July 10, 1509 – May 27, 1564, was a French Theologian and Pastor famous for his reforming work in Geneva and his outstanding classic Theological work Institutes of the Christian Religion and commentaries on almost every book of the Bible): “Thou, Lord, bruising me, but I am abundantly satisfied, since it is from Thy hand.”

Adoniram Judson (August 9, 1788 – April 12, 1850, was the first American Missionary to go overseas [Burma – He translated the Bible into Burmese]): “I go with the gladness of a boy bounding from school. I feel so strong in Christ.”

A.J. Gordon (1836-1895 was an American Baptist preacher who was named after Adoniram Judson [above]): “Victory, Victory!” and then he breathed his last and went home to Heaven.

Dr. William Anderson: of Dallas, Texas. He seemed better though still very ill. His mother was sitting in the room with him. He gently called her, “Come over here a minute.” As she approached his bed, he said, “I want to tell you something. I am going to beat you to heaven.” And with a smile he shut his eyes and was gone.

Dr. Sewall (An Old Methodist Doctor): When dying shouted the praises of God. His friends said, “Dr. Sewall, do not exert yourself, whisper, doctor, whisper.” “Let the angels whisper,” he said, “but the soul cleansed from death and hell, just on the threshold of eternal glory—oh, if I had a voice that would reach from pole to pole, I would proclaim it to all the world: Victory! Victory! through the blood of the Lamb!”

Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661, was a Scottish Presbyterian pastor and theologian and one of the Scottish commissioners to the the Westminster Assembly): When he was dying said: “I am in the happiest pass to which man ever came. Christ is mine, and I am His; and there is nothing now between me and resurrection, except—Paradise.” 

C.S. Lewis On Wanting Heaven NOW!!!

Is It Wrong to Want Heaven Now? By C.S. Lewis

lewis C.S. writing in his study

We are very shy nowadays of even mentioning heaven. We are afraid of the jeer about ‘pie in the sky’, and of being told that we are trying to ‘escape’ from the duty of making a happy world here and now into dreams of a happy world elsewhere. But either there is ‘pie in the sky’ or there is not. If there is not, then Christianity is false, for this doctrine is woven into its whole fabric. If there is, then this truth, like any other, must be faced, whether it is useful at political meetings or no. Again, we are afraid that heaven is a bribe, and that if we make it our goal we shall no longer be disinterested. It is not so. Heaven offers nothing that a mercenary soul can desire. It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to. There are rewards that do not sully motives. A man’s love for a woman is not mercenary because he wants to marry her, nor his love for poetry mercenary because he wants to read it, nor his love of exercise less disinterested because he wants to run and leap and walk. Love, by definition, seeks to enjoy its object.

(Lewis, C. S. A Year with C. S. Lewis (p. 357). Harper Collins, Inc., excerpted from The Problem of Pain).

 Aim At Heaven

Hope is one of the Theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither. It seems a strange rule, but something like it can be seen at work in other matters. Health is a great blessing, but the moment you make health one of your main, direct objects you start becoming a crank and imagining there is something wrong with you. You are only likely to get health provided you want other things more—food, games, work, fun, open air. In the same way, we shall never save civilisation as long as civilisation is our main object. We must learn to want something else even more.

Lewis, C. S. (2009-03-17). A Year with C. S. Lewis (p. 358). Harper Collins, Inc., excerpted from Mere Christianity).

BOOK REVIEW: RANDY ALCORN’S “SEEING THE UNSEEN”

A DAILY DOSE OF ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE

STU Alcorn

MAKING YOUR DAYS COUNT FOR ETERNITY

Book Review By David P. Craig

This book assemble’s some of Alcorn’s best writings related to living for that which will last for eternity. It contains sixty days worth of devotions or meditations including perspectives from God’s Word and from God’s people in each daily reading. At the end of each devotional there is also a link to Alcorn’s blog where you can read more on the topic (in the Kindle version – you just click on the link and it takes you right there). Some of the topics addressed are as following: True Happiness; Homesick for Heaven; Grasping our need for Grace; Seeking God’s will; True Repentance; A Theology of Laughter; God’s Sovereignty; The Christian Optimist and God’s Glory and our Good.

Each day hones in on two to three key Scriptures on the topic; two to three great quotes from people like Spurgeon, Chambers, Lewis, Piper, Ryle, Sproul, Tozer and Luther; and focuses on the hope and joy that we have in our promises from the God who holds the future in His hands for our good and His glory. Alcorn’s insights from the Scriptures are clear, cogent, profound, and practical. This book makes a great gift for graduates, birthday’s, anniversaries, the elderly, and any disciple of Christ who needs comfort and encouragement for the ups and downs of life. We all need to reminded of the hope that we have in Christ. I highly recommend this excellent compilation of Alcorn’s finest thoughts on Heaven and living for eternity.

Is It Wrong to Want Heaven Now? By C.S. Lewis

C S Lewis image

We are very shy nowadays of even mentioning heaven. We are afraid of the jeer about ‘pie in the sky’, and of being told that we are trying to ‘escape’ from the duty of making a happy world here and now into dreams of a happy world elsewhere. But either there is ‘pie in the sky’ or there is not. If there is not, then Christianity is false, for this doctrine is woven into its whole fabric. If there is, then this truth, like any other, must be faced, whether it is useful at political meetings or no. Again, we are afraid that heaven is a bribe, and that if we make it our goal we shall no longer be disinterested. It is not so. Heaven offers nothing that a mercenary soul can desire. It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to. There are rewards that do not sully motives. A man’s love for a woman is not mercenary because he wants to marry her, nor his love for poetry mercenary because he wants to read it, nor his love of exercise less disinterested because he wants to run and leap and walk. Love, by definition, seeks to enjoy its object.

(Lewis, C. S. A Year with C. S. Lewis (p. 357). Harper Collins, Inc., excerpted from The Problem of Pain).

 Aim At Heaven

Hope is one of the Theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither. It seems a strange rule, but something like it can be seen at work in other matters. Health is a great blessing, but the moment you make health one of your main, direct objects you start becoming a crank and imagining there is something wrong with you. You are only likely to get health provided you want other things more—food, games, work, fun, open air. In the same way, we shall never save civilisation as long as civilisation is our main object. We must learn to want something else even more.
Lewis, C. S. (2009-03-17). A Year with C. S. Lewis (p. 358). Harper Collins, Inc., excerpted from Mere Christianity).

Book Review: Heaven: The Heart’s Deepest Longing By Peter Kreeft

An Apologetics Masterpiece!

The Book of Ecclesiastes says “God has placed eternity in our hearts.” I have read this book several times and have been waiting to do this book a just book review, but the first thing I have to say is that it’s mind boggling that so many books other than this one have received such a wide reading – and this book hasn’t. I think it’s a classic masterpiece by a brilliant philosopher who in the mold of C.S. Lewis and Thomas Aquinas writes one of the best reasonable defenses for life after death that have possibly ever been written.

The book is not an “easy” read, but an incredibly “rewarding” read. I think the depth of Kreeft’s knowledge of philosophy coupled with theology and his wide range of reading and creativity makes for writing that feeds the soul and the mind. So much of what we read today is “fast food.” Heaven: The Heart’s Deepest Longing is a seven-course gourmet meal that leaves you full and satisfied. After contemplating what you have just read it makes you long for Heaven and a deeper and more intimate relationship with Jesus.

The reason I call this an “Apologetics Masterpiece” is because I think Kreeft brilliantly articulates how Heaven is necessary in order for all our desires to be satisfied in the afterlife. He makes a great case for the existence of God and the necessity of our home with Him. There is so much that we long for in this life that will never be satisfied, but will be satisfied in the next. The atheist, agnostic, or even varieties of “ists” and “isms” can’t really explain why our hearts long for so much that can’t be obtained in this life. Peter Kreeft articulates with tremendous insight and creativity to show that Heaven is what we were made for and why that’s the case.

I can’t do the book justice. All I can say is what the Holy Spirit said to Augustine so many years ago: “Take up and read, take up and read…this book.” If you are philosophical and a deep thinker you will absolutely love this book. If you are not a deep thinker, you may struggle along, but I would encourage you to read the book slowly and thoughtfully. Anyone can benefit from this book, but especially those who read it slowly and thoughtfully. One thing this book always does for me, is increase my joy and my hope in my future home – where I will finally be satisfied with everything I’ve ever longed for and more.

Book Review – Forever: Why You Can’t Live Without It by Paul David Tripp

Typical Tripp – Christ-Centered, Biblical, and Immensely Practical

If you have ever asked yourself questions like: Why is it so hard to find satisfaction? Why is it so hard to find a good relationship? Why do I keep getting myself more and more into deeper debt? Why does it seem like life keeps getting more difficult? Why am I suffering so much? And many other questions like these – than this is a fantastic book for you.

Paul Tripp writes with theological acumen, numerous biblical examples, brilliant illustrations, and practical insights in showing how we were made for eternity and that we need to factor in our lives the fall and the future in order to live in the now. Our current life is simply preparation for our ultimate destination. He shows how we typically view current realities without an eternal perspective and how devastating these consequences are and then shows on the flip side how we were designed to live with Christ at the center of all of life and how living with a forever mindset has gracious overtones leading to great peace and joy.

Tripp delineates specifically how having an eternal mindset makes a substantial difference in our lives in our relationship to God, those closest to us, at work, in our priorities, etc.

I highly recommend this book as “must” reading and an excellent choice to give as a gift to those who are disillusioned, deceived, discouraged, and without hope in this life. The gospel is clearly articulated here over and over in masterful brilliance shows how Christ is our only satisfaction in the now and how all our dreams will be satisfied in eternity through a personal relationship with Him.

Book Review: Unseen Realities: Heaven, Hell, Angels and Demons by R.C. Sproul

Good Introduction to Heaven, Hell, Angels, and Satan

 Eminent Pastor, Writer, and Theologian R.C. Sproul has written a very helpful book addressing the “uncompromising supernaturalism at the heart of the Christian worldview.” The stated purpose of Sproul in this book is to provide a “brief tour through the Bible’s teachings in regard to heaven and hell, angels and demons [in order to] bolster your faith in Scripture’s teachings regarding the supernatural.”

Sproul Writes on the Supernatural in Four Parts:

Part One: Heaven – Using Key Passages of Scripture, personal anecdotes, and keen observations from theologians and philosophers – Sproul makes a biblical case for the realities of an objective material place called Heaven reserved for those who have been justified by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In these four chapters Sproul appeals to those things that we all long for – a permanent and secure home, no more pain, and perfect relationships with others and with our Lord Jesus Christ.

Part Two: Hell – In four compelling chapters Dr. Sproul gives an excellent Biblical case for the existence of a literal place where God’s judgment is executed with perfect justice by a God who of necessity because of His Holiness must punish the sin, and refusal to repent of the unrighteous who have refused to submit to the Lordship and salvific offer of the gospel through Jesus Christ.

Part Three: Angels – In five interesting chapters R.C. addresses the nature, character, and purpose of angels and how they interact with God and humanity.

Part Four: Satan – In the final two chapters of the book Dr. Sproul addresses how Satan is our adversary and how he deceives believers and non-believers.

R.C. has written a very helpful book and answers a lot of questions that Christians are asking about the supernatural. In a skeptical culture – it is important for us to be reminded of what God has said, and that He doesn’t lie. His truth stands forever, and it is of the uttermost importance that we understand the significance of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and that our trust in his atoning death on our behalf is our only hope to experience the wonderful realities that await those who have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. Also, the warnings of this book and the importance of what awaits those who reject Christ – must be headed so that through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ hope may be yours.

I recommend this book as a good introduction to these topics, and an excellent summary of the clear teachings of the Bible with reference to the unseen realities that exist now and are a part of everyone’s future. I believe that what Sproul has written is cogent, Biblical, practical, helpful, and matters for eternity.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Christian Focus Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. 

Book Review: God Wins by Mark Galli

The Antidote to Rob Bell’s “Love Wins”

 Mark Galli is uniquely qualified as a journalist, historian, pastor, and leadership expert to write this cogent reply to “Love Wins” by Rob Bell. In this short book that covers the same territory as “Love Wins,” I couldn’t help but think that God was so pleased with Galli’s treatment of the same material. It was charitable, exegetically sound, and God glorifying. I found myself thinking about how great our God is as I turned each page. As a matter of fact – the song “How Great is Our God” by Chris Tomlin kept popping up in my mind as I was reading this book.

The Way Mark Galli Breaks this Book Down is as Following:

Chapter 1: The Really Important Question – In this chapter he discusses the importance of asking good questions and addresses some of the most important questions and answers that we need to be asking in the 21st century. His key point is that until we comprehend the nature and character of God that all of our questions are a “chasing after the wind.”

Chapter 2: Who Is This God? – A Brief Biblical Theology of the character and nature of God. He includes an excellent discussion of how to have our joy and satisfaction in God.

Chapter 3: Becoming One Again – An exceptional discussion of how the atonement of Christ is the perfect solution to seven deadly realities that all humans face before a Holy and Perfect God.

Chapter 4: The Wonder of Faith – What God has done for us in Christ and what our response should be toward His provision for us.

Chapter 5: The Point of Heaven – A very good summary of a God focused (not activities focused or man-centered) Heaven as detailed in the Scriptures.

Chapter 6: Hell and Judgment – Excellent exegetical discussion of these two topics.

Chapter 7: The Bad News: Universalism – Very good historical and biblical discussion of the issues related to those inside and outside of a relationship with Christ.

Chapter 8: The Victory of a Personal God – Brings the whole book together and concludes: “The God of Scripture is fuller, richer, deeper, and more real than the picture painted in “Love Wins,” and that God invites us to know him as he truly is.”

Appendix 1: Discussion Guide – Well done guide: it includes a key verse for each chapter; some key ideas and questions based on the key ideas from the chapter; and some key Scripture passages to read and discuss to bring clarity to each topic of discussion.

Appendix 2: Further Reading – Galli recommends a few books in the following categories: on the Atonement; Faith; Grace; Heaven; and Life in God.

Appendix 3: Charitable Engagement – Great advice here on how to engage with people that hold different opinions than you do – worth repeating here:

1)    Try to listen carefully, and read and reread their arguments.

2)    Listen in particular for the motive.

3)    Aim to use the Bible as a guide to discern the truth of the person’s argument – and of your own argument.

4)    Disagree with ideas, not with the person.

5)    Be teachable.

6)    Try to apply the truths of Scripture not merely as you understand them but as the historic church has held them.

I can’t recommend this book highly enough. I will be using it in a small group setting and I hope that this book receives a wide reading to reflect on the incredibly important topics of eternal significance that have been brought to the forefront of thinking biblically in order to impact culture for God’s glory and the supremacy of Christ.