Redemption or suicide - take your choice

 Redemption or suicide - take your choice - by P.K. Odendaal March 2024

There has been many instances in history and society where people have chosen suicide in stead of redemption, to their own destruction and nihilation.

Judas Iscariot, who sold Jesus Christ to the pharisees, and Hitler, who was instrumental in the death of millions of people, were two.

The Pursuit of Happiness – Part 8 – Becoming a Friend of God.

The Pursuit of Happiness – Part 8 – Becoming a Friend of God.

We have now come to the end of this series, not that the subject is exhausted, but rather that this part is the ultimate happiness and joy any human can live for and even die for; the incredible opportunity to be a friend of God, or more specifically, to be a friend of Jesus Christ, the human side of God. Scripture says 'for in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily'.

The Pursuit of Happiness – Part 7 – Exploring a conversation with God

The Pursuit of Happiness – Part 7 – Exploring a conversation with God

How does one strike up a conversation with God ?

That was my main thought when Jesus Christ came my way some five decades ago, and saved my soul by God's Grace.

I knew or thought at the time that it would be a monumental task and challenge to strike up such a conversation with God, as I thought I would have to remain silent and allow God do do all the speaking, according to the false teaching of the Church I grew up in, which taught that 'God is in Heaven, and we are on earth, therefore our words should be few'.

The Pursuit of Happiness – Part 5 – Genesis to Revelations

Part 5 - Genesis to Revelations

It is not necessary to have or read the Bible to get to know God and communicate with Him.

Millions of people have found Him by searching for Him and He is always ready to reveal and even partially expose himself to those who search for Him, whatever the form or shape of that path may be.

God's Dilemma - Part 1

 In the scheme of things God created everything and that made Him King of the Universe with anything He created becoming subservient to Him ... but it also automatically made Him alone and lonesome with no peer, friend, compatriot, confidante, family, adviser and many other things; not that He needed it, but the human part of Him needed someone to talk to, to confide in, to be friends with, to adore and love Him seriously and unconditionally. To be really one with Him.

Cast out of Heaven onto Earth

And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

Adult Sunday School Part 26 - September 2020.

I am busy writing an article named: 'Why do God reject us?' in which I use concepts which are mixed between the physical and the super natural.

This Sunday School lesson is just a basis for my treatise on rejection and is written as a Sunday school lesson.

Adult Sunday School - Part 25 - Oh, my Son, my Son

Adult Sunday School – Part 25 - Oh, my Son, my Son

The most traumatic moment in the life of God was when His son died. Some of us who have lost a son can relate to that, but, for God,  the grief of that moment was more intense in that He knew when and how His son would die - at least four thousand years before it happened.

The first hint to us that it would happen, is when He spoke to the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Gen 3:15 … it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. This scripture says in my words: You shall bruise His heel when you send Him to Calvary where He will die, but He will bruise your head at Calvary, because there He will be crowned the King of Kings.

Adult Sunday School - Part 24 - The Last Judgment

Adult Sunday School - Part 24 - The Last Judgment - by P.K.Odendaal
Originally written as Part 14 in October 2012.
Now rewritten in April 2020 during lockdown.

This used to send shivers up my spine, but not anymore - and you can prepare yourself for this to take the sting out of it. But sure as we live, there will be a Final or Last Judgement of the World. It will be like a court case for individuals and nations, and it is easiest to think about it in terms of a court case on earth.

Adult Sunday School - Part 23 - Paradise

The Eight destinations  after death – Part 3 – Paradise - by P.K. Odendaal – August 2019

We are continuing our excursion into places we might go to after death and next it is Paradise’s turn, a name we associate with bliss.

The central theme of the whole Bible is Paradise Lost in Genesis and Paradise regained in Revelation, but what a long and treacherous route that is. Some of us lose our way there and end up in other destinations which I write about in other parts of this series.

That is such a sorry state of affairs, but fully understandable due to the fact that the way leading there it is so narrow and beset with crooks and diverse temptations, most of all by our own choice and making. We are literally the masters of our fate and it should not be difficult to recognize the evil which meet us on our way to Paradise.

Adult Sunday School – Part 22 – Outer Darkness

Eight destinations after death – Part 2 – Outer Darkness – by P.K. Odendaal – May 2019.

This is the second place which we are visiting in this series and the places will be getting more and more inhospitable as we go along. This is a place which will mainly be populated by people who knew God and Jesus Christ, but who were unfaithful and disobedient. People who belonged to the Kingdom of God at one time.

The Cleft in the Rock of Ages

The Cleft in the Rock of Ages – by P.K. Odendaal – May 2019

It is well covered in the Bible that Jesus Christ is The Rock and that This Rock has got a cleft in it, made by a sword wound in the side of Jesus Christ during crucifixion. The meaning of this cleft is that we can hide in it and so escape the presence, righteousness or wrath of God.

Adult Sunday School - Part 21 - The Grave

Eight destinations after death - by P.K. Odendaal – April 2019

Introduction and Part 1 – The Grave
 

Introduction.

I think we should know where we go from here quite often, but never so often as when we die. Yes, we might go nowhere as atheists believe when they are on earth and when they die, but we have a purpose. In fact a heavenly purpose for which we have been preparing since our birth and our death will be the culmination of our human career so to speak.

But, some of us may not land up where we intend or want to, because we have seven possible destinations to choose from while we live and one to go to when we die. These are The Grave, Hell, the Outer Darkness, The Bottomless Pit, Paradise and the Three Heavens, and for the sake of Catholics who read my articles, I will include and consider Purgatory.

Adult Sunday School - Part 18 - The resurrection (continued)

Adult Sunday School - Part 18 - The resurrection (continued)

I believe in the resurrection of the flesh - by P.K.Odendaal - January 2014. 

In part 17 we spoke of the resurrection without going into detail.

There is a Nicene creed which was compiled in 325 AD in Nicea (now in Turkey)in which it says that we believe in the resurrection of the dead, which in later centuries have often been changed and adulterated to say: I believe in the resurrection of the flesh.

Although I doubt most of the creed as it is in its present form in the Dutch Reformed Church, I do now believe in the latter fully - and that because of a vision I had last week.

Adult Sunday School - Part 17 - The Dead shall rise

Adult Sunday School - Part 25 - The dead shall rise - by P.K.Odendaal - October 2012. 

Ouch! ... that's a terrible blow to atheists. They think that they can just die one day, and never live again - and never answer for their deeds on earth or anywhere else. How convenient. Atheists believe in determinism which states that each cause has an effect. But, they omit to state that it is only they who are free from this injunction, as their lives and deeds - and death - has no consequences or effects. How inconsistent is that belief? Enough of that. I am here to bury Caesar, not to praise him, lest he should rise again.

But there is a way you may rise again.

Adult Sunday School - Part 16 - The Sign of Jonah

Adult Sunday School - Part 16 - The Sign of Jonah - by P.K.Odendaal - October 2012

Jonah is one of the shortest books in the bible, but so full of meaning and prophecy, that one can hardly ignore it. In fact - it is one of the first books newcomers read, being such a wonderful and even far-fetched story of someone being swallowed by a whale and later spit out on a beach.

So whilst it is a miracle, we will not stop there, but probe deeper into the underlying meaning, especially since Jesus Christ told us that He was giving us the sign of Jonah, when asked for a sign (by the people). Mat 12:39  But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: v:40  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Adult Sunday School - Part 15 - The Lamb of God

Adult Sunday School - Part 15 - The Lamb of God - by P.K.Odendaal

Written October 2010, Rewritten April 2012, April 2014, April 2019

Writing about the Lamb of God is a continuing process as new insights are gained every time the scripture is studied again. It is Pass-over 2019 now and I have freshly considered the last week of the life of Christ. In this last week He is fulfilling the prophecies of the Lamb of God and showing us what will transpire towards the end of the world. Once again I gained new perspectives on this subject since I wrote the original article back then.

Adult Sunday School - Part 14 - The Last Judgment

Adult Sunday School - Part 14 - The Last Judgment - by P.K.Odendaal - October 2012. 

This used to send shivers up my spine, but not anymore - and you can prepare yourself for this to take the sting out of it. But sure as we live, there will be a Final or Last Judgement of the World. It will be like a court case for individuals and nations, and it is easiest to think of it in terms of a court case on earth, as what we have on earth is based on a justice system instituted by God for Israel.

The basis for any such a court case is the presence of a judge (Jesus Christ), an accuser (Satan), an accused (me and you), witnesses (anyone we wish to call), and the Law (Mosaic Law and the Bible). We all know the procedures which will be followed. Satan will bring in an accusation against us, we will plead guilty or not, and if we plead innocence, we will need to defend ourselves with suitably prepared witnesses and arguments in terms of the Law (and the rest of the Bible).

Adult Sunday School - Part 13 - The Rapture and The Bride

Adult Sunday School - Part 13 - The Rapture and The Bride - by P.K.Odendaal - September 2012.

The rapture refers to a group of Christians, known as the Bride of Christ, leaving the earth, in their transformed, bodies, whilst alive, to go to Heaven, in order to  be the bride at the Marriage of the Lamb.

It is not spelled out in detail in the Bible, but we have quite a few scriptures which hints at it, and there are many stories and prophecies out of which we can learn about it.

And it starts quite early in the Bible, because this is what the Bible is really all about. Adam is created by God, and God prepares a bride for him, out of his own body. God creates mankind and prepares a nation, Israel, out of them, to be His wife - whom He has divorced subsequently. Lastly God creates His Church on earth, from which he prepares a bride for His Son. The same theme goes on and on, especially when you read the numerous Bible stories related to a wedding.

Adult Sunday School - Part 12 - Absalom

Adult Sunday School - Part 12 - Absalom - by P.K.Odendaal - September 2012 

We have looked previously at Joseph as a type for Jesus Christ, and we find the same type of story repeated in another form with another person named Absalom.

It starts strikingly in the form of Absalom as the son of David. 2 Sa 13:1  And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David ...

Compare this with : Mark 10:48  And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.

So they both were sons of David prophetically speaking.

It ends strikingly with both being killed by hanging on a tree. That is enough for us to start to make comparisons. There are of course again differences as a son of mankind cannot completely mimic the story of a son of God.

Adult Sunday School - Part 11 - Let my people go

Adult Sunday School - Part 11 - Let my people go - by P.K.Odendaal - August 2012 

Now that we have learnt what a type is and how one story is mapped to another, we can look at Exodus and Revelation, in which Exodus is mapped to Revelation. Both have the central theme of releasing God's people from bondage into bliss.

To understand this story we must start with what belongs to whom.

God has made the earth and it belonged to Him, but He decided to give dominion over it, without any strings attached, to Adam and Eve, to dress and to keep: Gen 1:26  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.