Ask Mr Bible

The new name is Jehovah-Shammah, meaning, “the Lord who is present.”

In the final nine chapters of his book (40-48), Ezekiel describes for us the glorious features of the millennial temple and concludes by giving us the new name for the earthly city of Jerusalem in that day!

  “It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there” (Ezek. 48:35).

  Of course the obvious meaning is that God himself will be in that city.  The psalmist had this idea when he wrote Psa. 46: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea”  (Psa. 46:1-2). 
  He is a very present help in time of trouble.  He is an ever-present help in time of need.  He is Jehovah-Shammah at weddings.  He is an ever present strength in times of sorrow.  He is our joy in times of rejoicing.  Jehovah-Shammah—the Lord who is present.

  The greatest thing about heaven is probably connected to the worst thing about hell.  The worst thing about hell is not the terrible pain and the eternality, but rather that hell will be a place where Jesus Christ will be conspicuously absent throughout all eternity.  On the other hand, the greatest thing about heaven is not the pearly gates, the ivory palaces, the jasper walls, or the streets of gold but rather, heaven will be a place where Jesus Christ will be conspicuously present throughout all eternity.  Jehovah-Shammah—the Lord who is present.

  “And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee” (John 11:28). If rightly understood, Shammah may well be the most comforting of all the titles for Jehovah.  In essence, it says, He is there, and He does care!

  In his beautiful gospel hymn, Frank Graeff ponders four painful questions, and provides one glorious answer!

1. The questions:
  
Does Jesus care when my heart is pained too deeply
for mirth and song; As the burdens press, and the cares
distress, And the way grows weary and long.

Does Jesus care when my way is dark with a nameless
dread and fear?  As the daylight fades into deep night
shades, Does He care enough to be near?

Does Jesus care when I’ve tried and failed to resist some
temptation strong; When for my deep grief I find no
relief, Tho my tears flow all the night long?

Does Jesus care when I’ve said good-by to the dearest on
earth to me; And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks—
Is it aught to Him?  Does He see?

  2. The answer:

O yes, He cares—I know He cares!  His heart is touched with
my grief; When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I
know my Savior cares.

I believe it can be safely assumed that if a lost person would suddenly decide to attend church during one given Sunday out of the year it would probably be Easter Sunday morning.

However, for that person (who might attend only to be seen, having no desire to accept Christ), resurrection Sunday would be the worst possible choice, for that Sunday serves as a warning of the future and frightful Great White Throne Judgment!

• Paul declared this judgment during his Mar’s Hill sermon:
“Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead (Acts 17:31).

• John later described this judgment:
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire  (Rev. 20:11, 12, 15).

And the lesson to be learned?
While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
(Heb. 3:15)

Is eternal security really eternal?

“Why, if I believed that way, I could go out tonight, get drunk, lie, cheat, steal, commit adultery, and live like the devil, and still be saved.”

I would like to relate a personal experience here.

Some years ago an Arminian friend of mine would often repeat the above words to me.  One day I said, “Glen, you’re always bringing this up.  Let me ask you a personal question.  Are you telling me that the only reason holding you back from going out tonight and doing all these things is the knowledge that if you did, you’d be lost?”

He quickly assured me, “Oh, no!  That’s not the main reason why.  I don’t do them because I love my family and the Lord!”

Behold all things become new!

I then told him, “I feel the same way!  I simply have no desire to do those things.  My belief in eternal security has nothing whatsoever to do with the matter.”

But someone might object, “How about the person who does all the terrible things but still claims to be eternally saved?”  Well, I think the first question I would ask him is just what the Savior has saved him from!  For such a one the following verses are sobering indeed:

• Examine yourselves whether you be in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5)
• Bring forth fruits showing your repentance (Mt. 3:8)
• A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit (Mt. 7:18)
• Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Cor. 5:17)

 What kind of bodies will we have in Heaven

“It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body (1 Cor. 15:44).
• Suggested Illustration:
Imagine a book with a loose sheet of paper placed inside. In this illustration the book will represent the body of the believer and the loose sheet of paper his spirit. In this earthly life, for the most part, it is the body that controls (or limits) the spirit as the book would enclose the sheet.Jesus Himself once observed that when He spoke to three sleepy disciples in Gethsemane: “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mt. 26:41). This is simply to say that all too often the physical infirmities of our bodies limit or even prevent our desired service for Christ. Think of the missionaries forced to leave their field of service due to serious health problems. In other words, down here it is the body, master/spirit servant relationship.

However, remove the loose sheet and wrap it around the book. Now you have the same elements but a totally different arrangement, whereby the spirit is the master and the body its servant!
• Glorious Conclusion:
The heavenly body, after being transformed into glorified flesh and bone at the Rapture will be in happy and everlasting subjection to the spirit, never again to be plagued by sickness, aging, etc., or limited by the laws of time and gravity! This then is the difference between the earthly, physical, and the heavenly, spiritual body.