Hebrews 9:27
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
There are many instances in the bible where men have died twice. Lazarus is a prime example. This text is referring to a man dying once spiritually and being born again and after that sin will beget judgment as sons.
Let us consider scripture.
And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? John 9:2
One can see that the disciples knew something we do not recognize. How can a man sin before he is born? Jesus did not rebuke them for saying this He just said in this instance neither did this man sin or his parents.
The conclusion can only be that to have sinned before he was born the man must have lived before.
We are faced constantly with the problem of what is seen as an unjust God. Children are born blind, deaf, and with all manner of disabilities. Good people being struck down in accidents etc.
God is just.
Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
I have often thought how can I ever be like Jesus by the end of my life?
Romans 15: 17 And if Christ be not
raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18 Then they also
which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18
Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.(1 John 3:2)
13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is 14 If any man's work abides which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he shall be saved; yet so as by fire. 1 Corinthians 3
At the end of one's life, we enter into the presence of God, the refining fire Hebrews 12:29. All the dross within us is burned and only that which is born of Christ remains.
Jesus said: In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:2 2
King David said: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:6
Where is the house of the Lord?
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 1 Corinthians 6:19
Job testifies:
Job 19:25-26
25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: 26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
Jesus said: And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. Matthew 11:14
There is only ONE Spirit that gives life to all. Without it, there is no life, no one lives apart from God since God is THE ALL. He is the Universe, all that is beyond, and all life within it. He is you and me too. For in Him we live and move and have our being Acts 17:28 . Jesus is the WORD that came forth from God. They were ONE in the beginning. God gave the word and the word created everything that is. You and I are part of that word. Time itself is an illusion to facilitate learning. Where you were once one (with God in spirit) you became two (spirit and soul) and ALL souls are older than the Universe itself. In the end (your end), you become one again with God (Ecclesiastes 12:7 and the spirit will return to God who gave it.) and your experiences become one again in Him written in the Book of life. So it is with all creation. There is only ONE being in the Universe. ONE Holy Spirit. God is LOVE. God is ALL. God is ONE. The matter is an illusion and so is body and time. Mind is your consciousness and free will. The soul is the collection of your individual experiences (multifaceted over many potential lifetimes) and some might say “personality”. Spirit is your life force and is always ONE with God. So we begin as ONE, so we end as ONE and so the cycles continue. If you are merely “created” at some point, you will be destroyed at another point because in the end there is only ONE who stands, the Omega. God is the Alpha and the Omega. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness perceives it not. Let he who has ears to hear and eyes to see do so (the very statement so often uttered by Jesus speaks of spiritual growth; until you are advanced enough to comprehend what is said for what it is, you will not see or hear what is meant, only what is said on the surface. You cannot accept that which you are not ready to see).
Hell is what you create in your heart and where you’ll judge yourself to be if that is where you belong and it will be you that pardons yourself to move on from there as well since you are your judge. For Jesus said the Kingdom is within you and whether that kingdom is heaven or hell is up to you. Those who need to come back to grow further do so in fact you desire to do so. It is no great mystery. God compels no one. You choose to grow yourself and you plan the life ahead of you with God. You choose the course with God and you are free to move within that course here, but you are stuck with that course throughout this lifetime. If you fail to complete the course, you desire to repeat a similar course until you pass or else you will not progress
John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
All are born with that light of Jesus whether it is acknowledged or not. Those who do not accept the light and live in darkness will choose the life they desire. Nevertheless, they still live according to the cosmic laws e.g. Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
In many instances we see people flaunting God’s laws and seemingly getting away with it.
Tempted and tried, we’re oft made to wonder
Why it should be thus all the day long;
While there are others living about us,
Never molested, though in the wrong.
Refrain:
Farther along we’ll know more about it,
Farther along we’ll understand why;
Cheer up, my brother, live in the sunshine,
We’ll understand it all by and by.
We see the meaning of the disciples' question “Has this man sinned that he was born blind?” They clearly understood that the disability in the man's life had to be the result of disobedience to cosmic laws and Jesus didn’t contradict them. An individual who has not acknowledged Jesus in his lifetime is subject to cosmic law when entering into the presence of God, all that is sometimes left is that light he received when he entered the world, and he has to start to rebuild on that foundation. He will again be faced with the question what will you do with Jesus?
For those of us who have received Jesus and have been born again any wrongdoing against our fellow man is written in the Book of Life and as children of God have access to these records about ourselves we are our own Judge and can choose how we make amends and what circumstances we need to grow and change from glory into glory to become more like Him who died for us.
Romans 8: 28And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.…