View source for To experience eternally all the promises to the righteous, all the blessings promised to the Israel of the ages to come, and all the rewards promised to the victorious saint under the new covenant

There are numerous promises in the Scriptures that the righteous in Christ can claim as their own.

For example:

For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. (Psalms 84:11)

Jesus told us heaven and earth will pass away but the Word of God never shall be changed in its slightest detail. Psalms 84:11 is true of the righteous now; it will hold true for the righteous throughout the great and terrible tribulation that soon is to fall on the earth; and it will remain true throughout eternity. Those who walk uprightly before the Lord will receive the desires of their heart, and no sorrow will be added with the blessings.

The Christians who are not walking uprightly cannot claim such promises now by grace, nor during the tribulation period, nor when the Lord appears.

Numerous promises have been made to true Israel, especially concerning the Day of the Lord:

Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. (Isaiah 60:15)

The Christians who are not serving the Lord diligently are facing punishments, not glory, when Jesus appears.

The second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation are filled with the rewards that will be issued to those who, through Christ, gain victory over the love of the world, Satan, and their lusts and self-will:

Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. (Revelation 2:10)

The Christians who are unwilling to remain faithful to death in their imprisonments will not receive the crown of life in the Day of Christ. Rather, they will receive the results of their lack of patience and faithfulness.

How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; (Hebrews 2:3)

But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. (Hebrews 6:8)

The ninefold salvation we have just described will come to the diligent Christian when the Lord appears, not when he dies physically. Each Christian will be raised into the consequences of what he has practiced in his body while on the earth.

And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. (Revelation 22:12)

To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (I Peter 1:4,5)

"Ready to be revealed in the last time."

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: (I Peter 1:7)

"At the appearing of Jesus Christ."

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; (I Peter 1:13)

"At the revelation of Jesus Christ."

The New Testament writings do not emphasize our dying and going to Heaven, as wonderful as that may prove to be, but our being raised from the dead and receiving the rewards for our behavior when the Lord Jesus returns to earth as King of kings and Lord of lords.

When the seventh trumpet sounds we shall be raised from the dead and shall ascend to meet the Lord Jesus in the air (not in Paradise). There we shall receive a substantial part of our ninefold salvation, although the fullness of our destiny, of what we shall become and receive, will continue to grow throughout the Kingdom Age into the new heaven and earth reign of Christ.

What happens to the Christian after he or she dies? Little is stated in the Old or New Testaments concerning this. We know after death comes judgment. Beyond this we understand little. No doubt those who live righteously will experience pleasurable circumstances in the Presence of the Lord, and those who practice wickedness will experience torment.

The Lord has informed us that His servants who did not do His will shall be beaten with lashes and shall be cast into outer darkness. Some will be saved "as by fire." What part of these punishments begin in this present life, what part take place immediately upon death, and what are reserved for the appearing of Christ, is not perfectly clear.

It does seem highly unlikely that God would bring a careless Christian upon his death into the new Jerusalem in Heaven and then punish him or her in the Day of Christ. We cannot speak with assurance concerning this because the Scriptures say so little about what happens to us during the period of "time" between our death and the coming of the Lord.

The Scriptures indeed have much to say, as we have pointed out in the previous pages, concerning what happens to the righteous when the Lord returns. Also, it is clear from the parable of the talents, of Matthew, and other passages, that the disobedient, careless Christians will be tormented in the Day of Christ’s appearing. All persons will receive the consequences of what they have practiced in this present life.

The current Christian doctrine that emphasizes Christians will not be held accountable for their actions, for the deeds they have practiced after "accepting" Christ, is denied by the written Word of God and has created moral chaos in the churches.

The Scriptures state that the victorious saints, the believers who, through Christ, have conquered the enemies they have encountered during their pilgrimage on the earth, will inherit all things. God will be their God, and they will be His sons.

The implication is clear that the believers who, because of their lack of diligent application to the things of the Kingdom are not found worthy to walk in white with Christ, will suffer a tremendous loss of inheritance. They have brought their eternal destinies into jeopardy. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" This question was raised concerning the backsliding Christians to whom the Book of Hebrews was written.

The inheritance of the sons of God is marvelous beyond description, and the punishments reserved for the unfaithful believers are very severe. Let us flee from those of today who are teaching that all professors of belief in Christ will receive the same reward in the Day of Christ. They have no scriptural support for their claim.

Those who currently are announcing that Christians will not be rewarded according to their works may bring themselves and their followers into dreadful consequences. It is appointed to each of us to die, and after we die we shall be rewarded according to our deeds.



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